Why do you think they shouldn't be able to vote?

Class A felony = life imprisonment or death sentence.

this can be further broken down to "chance for parole" and "no chance for parole".

personally i dont understand why someone who will never leave a prison alive needs to vote, let alone if they are on death row and will likely be put to death soon.

if you want to make the argument that prisoners generally, and that's like 98% who aren't class A felons, then cool. but this whole "even the Boston bomber" question is just gotcha journalism, we all know Bernie and co are trying to get votes from the 98% and are highly flexible on the 2%.

If there's anything I've learned from listening to true crime podcasts, then it's the absolute absurdity that is "good behavior" considerations for people committing such crimes being released early and not serving their full sentence.

well my point is comparing (chance to ever leave) to (only leave when dead), without taking into account the appeals process which of course could exonerate anyone.

the fairness/unfairness of the process by which people get out early, or at all in the case of life sentences with a chance for parole, is a very valid topic indeed tho.

i just think personally that if someday you might get out you should be able to vote, and if you can never get out you shouldn't be able to. not only based on the logic but also to squash the idiotic Boston Bomber narrative that no one really supports.

edit: but even if you DID support class a felons voting that's a minuscule number of total felons/prisoners, so it's a fairly weak criticism of felon voting. really a fail by Bernie and everyone involved here....



oh for certain, the screwed the pooch big time. just such a stupid story all the way around....

This post was edited by thesnipa on Apr 26 2019 12:32pm

If the question was bait, they took it link and sinker. They didn't even try to ease the overton window over a nudge, they took it to the logical extreme at the outset.
I'm not even sure this helps them in the primary, but it definitely nukes them in the general election

But even for someone who will remain in prison for the rest of their life, should they not be allowed to vote on legislation that directly affects prisons, and therefore their experience?

If you've committed a crime serious enough to warrant imprisonment, it also seems appropriate that you would lose your right to vote. Politicians should be appealing to law abiding citizens, not criminals.

Although to be honest, it would probably produce a better outcome to allow those in prison to vote. Mass incarceration wouldn't be as popular.

Why should they be able to vote?

that's a tough question.

in theory, yes. they should vote for pro-CJ reform candidates. perhaps vote for more pro-clemency governors, etc.

in practice we haven't seen any worthwhile CJ reform at all, we have a fluff piece from Trump and not much else. and in reality clemency is a pipe dream for the average Class A Felon, it's just not going to happen.

when you compare how much a person can affect their own life with a vote on the inside and outside of prison it's not even close. When i voted for Tony Evers the entire legislative agenda for Wisconsin shifted overnight, and maybe 10% or under of that is related to Criminal Justice, so at basic math that's a 10x more effectual vote for me than a prisoner. just to use some random numbers to illustrate my point.

If/When we get into a legislative meta where REAL cj reform is being tried, rather than just talked about in primary politics, i'd revisit my stance on Class A felons. but, again, we're squabbling about the 2% or less when Bernie means the 98%. this is a disconnect.

So I can understand your position more, do you feel that:

- Once convicted with a felony, you should lose the right to vote forever.
- Once convicted with a violent felony, you should lose the right to vote forever.
- Once convicted with a non-violent felony, you should not be allowed to vote until completion of your sentence.
- Once convicted with a felony of any kind, you should not be allowed to vote until completing of your sentence.

I think maintaining voting rights for currently-incarcerated felons is a small, but not insignificant, part of a rehabilitation approach to criminal justice as opposed to a punitive approach. If the hope is that many people currently in prison will someday return to society as positive, contributing members of society, then I think that that process should start from within prison.

While I see your point about the distinction of Class A felons, I think even the people in prison under a Class A felony still have avenues where reform could benefit them. This could include things like the abolition of solitary confinement, private prisons, etc.

As I reflect on this topic more, I feel my position has really nothing to do with empathy or sympathy for folks rightfully imprisoned for things like murder, but it's more about how I think we should treat them. To still be principled for those without any.