McDonnell restores rights to 506 eligible felons
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has granted restored rights 506 of the 574 convicted criminals who applied for restoration.
Restoration of civil rights enables convicted criminals to vote, serve on juries and to run for public office.
Secretary of the Commonwealth Janet Polarek yesterday shared the results of 1,080 applications that the administration has reviewed since it announced the new process May 20.
Of that pool, 574 applications were eligible, complete and waiting for a decision.
A nonviolent felon must wait two years after completing his or her sentence before applying; it's five years for a violent felon.
The governor denied 22 of the two-year applicants and 46 of the five-year applicants.
"We are very pleased that we have been able to stick with the new system," Polarek said. "It's working, we met the deadline and we're turning around these applications in a really fair and fast way."
The new process had a rough birth. The administration in April considered a change that would require nonviolent felons to submit with their application a letter explaining the circumstances of their arrest and conviction, subsequent strides in education or community service and why the restoration is justified.
The proposed process drew criticism from civil-rights groups -- who likened the letters to literacy tests that once prevented the uneducated from voting.
The administration killed the letter idea and instead added an optional item on the application, where felons seeking restoration of their rights can describe any community service or comparable service they want to bring to the governor's attention.
Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, was among the critics of the administration's early proposal. He said yesterday that at this rate, McDonnell, a Republican, is on course to meet and maybe surpass his two predecessors, both Democrats.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine restored the rights of more than 4,300 felons during his term. Gov. Mark R. Warner restored rights to 3,486.
Still, Willis adds, at this pace, the results are still coming too slow, considering there are more than 300,000 people who can't vote because of a felony record. Willis prefers an automatic restoration of civil rights. Virginia and Kentucky are the only states that leave the restoration approval solely with the governor.
"If Governor McDonnell restores voting rights to [4,000] or 5,000 individuals during his four-year term, that will be commendable" he said. "But it's still a drop in the bucket, leaving about 98 percent of Virginia's disenfranchised persons unable to vote."
49 comments:
I think that the criminals who are convicted because of a major felony, should lose their rights to vote. I think this because they already made a huge mistake. If they really cared about society they probably wouldn’t have committed the crime in the first place. When and only when a person commits a small crime can they regain their rights. However if criminals who commit a felony are given a chance to regain their rights, there would have to be an agreement on what criminal act is too unjust or over the top. If I was working in a prison, and a criminal who committed a murder had a chance to regain their right to vote, I would not allow them to. I believe that killing someone that was able to contribute in political elections, is like killing their rights. So the rights of the criminal should be taken away just like that person’s rights were.
My connection to this blog is when I get in trouble. When I am disrespectful or mean to my sister or parents I get in trouble for it. I can get grounded and lose my cell phone and computer privileges. This helps me understand the blog better because people who commit a crime are arrested and their rights are taken away. Both of our rights are taken away although their punishment and conviction is longer than mine.
People who convicted a felony should be able to have the right to vote, to serve on juries, and to run for political office because like what Kelsey said that since they committed a felony they must not care for our society. I feel that I would not want to have a murder as a president. If he/she made a bad mistake in the past who says they wont in the future especially with such a powerful job. People who commit felonies should not be able to still have these rights. They made their choices and they get consequences.
My connection to this is when I get in trouble because I make a bad choice and end up receiving consequences, like being grounded. While people who committed crimes receive jail time. This helped me relate to the blog to try to understand it better.
I believe that the criminals who are convicted of a major felony should lose their right to vote. I say this because these felons have already made a negative impact on our community and our society needs trustworthy, responsible citizens to help shape the U.S. Depending on the significance of the crime, there should be an outline on what kind of crime and level of violence that crime presented deserves to have the criminal’s rights taken away. I agree with Kelsey J. when she says, “I believe that killing someone that was able to contribute in political elections, is like killing their rights. So the rights of the criminal should be taken away just like that person’s rights were.” I also think that these felons should of be able to take into consideration (before they committed the crime) that there could be consequences for their actions; and one of the consequence for their actions was that their right to vote would be taken away. If these criminals truly cared about this nation and what goes on in it, they would not be in a situation like this right now. This blog topic reminds me of the disciplinary agreement at our school. For example, when you acquire a certain number of detentions or penal points, you have a right taken away. These rights include class field trips, dances, social, etc. By taking away a fun activity or an opportunity to be heard by the government it teaches a lesson or two. However, by restoring a person’s rights (like they have been doing in the article), you are enabling them to like they have been rewarded. This is why I think that criminals who are convicted of a major crime should lose their right to vote.
I think that you should definitely lose your right to vote if you are convicted of a felony. If you are in jail and out of society you shouldn't be able to do anything that people in society are doing.
You lose your rights when you are convicted. That is part of your punishment. When you are let out of jail, you can have your rights given back to you, including the right to vote. I agree with Kelsey when she said if they really cared about society they probably wouldn't have committed the crime in the first place.
My connection to this blog is when I lose my rights to the tv, computer or cell phone. Even if I'm innocent, I still have to do the time and then get my rights back after that.
I think that criminals should have their right to vote taken away because they are simply criminals! they are bad people in our society and if they can't learn to respect the American law, then they will never be able to vote for our major leaders in the government. However, if someone was convicted for something that wasn't that bad, then I think that the government should give them a break. The very violent felons is a completely different story and I think that they should be locked up. The thing about the article that really got me thinking was was that there were more than 300,000 people in virginia who couldn't vote because of a felony record. It made me think that there would barely be anyone left to vote. This reminded me of the three-fifths compromise. I thought that there were too many people who weren't able to vote because the have committed crimes so three-fifths of the convicts should be able to vote. This is why I think that criminals should loose their right to vote.
I feel that criminals should not have the right to vote. They committed a crime and they shouldn’t be able to have the same rights of a law abiding citizen. I agree with Kelsey, how if the person really cared about their community, they wouldn’t have committed a crime in the first place. They should have rights taken away depending on the crime. If the crime is small and not really too big of a deal, such as taking a candy bar from CVS, it shouldn’t have the same rights taken away as someone who killed another person. I think they should start by taking away the right to vote and take away more and more depending on the level of crime. I also agree with Kaitlyn, because she said that they also shouldn’t be able to run for political spots. If you know a person isn’t trustworthy, then why would you want them running our country? What if they did something like that again?
My connection to class and school is that we get rights taken away depending on what we’ve done. If we forget our homework or misbehave in class or are late, sometimes a lunch is taken away, sometimes even some of our time after school is taken away. But then if we keep misbehaving, or getting points taken away, now some of our other rights are, like we can’t go on field trips or go to school dances. I think this is like criminals rights being taken away because if you don’t follow the rules or misbehave, your rights should be taken away.
I think that criminals should have the right to vote taken away. If they’ve committed a major crime, they obviously don’t have a respect for the laws and should be punished. I think it is an O.K. idea for nonviolent criminals to be allowed to get some of their rights back, because I think they should have learned their lesson. I agree with Alden that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to give criminals back more important rights, like running for an office. Who would want a criminal to be in charge of them? My connection is that when people get in trouble in school, they lose some of their rights. It’s like if you gat so many points you can’t go to dances or field trips or stuff like that. However they can get a chance to earn them back, like the criminals.
I think people who have committed and been convicted of a felony should lose the right to vote. When they commit a felony, they almost always put innocent citizens at risk of injury or death. It is only fair to not let them decide the community’s fate. If a person was convicted of a felony such as severe drug abuse, they could make a poor decision while voting if they are under the influence.
Also, this could make people think that if they commit a felony, they can regain their rights. This makes them think that felonies don’t give harsh punishments, and people will start committing them. The taking away of rights is a way of punishment for the felony.
This reminds me of a time that my little cousin got in trouble for not cleaning her room. Her mother took away her cell phone, but then gave it back earlier than anticipated. My cousin didn’t think that it had been a bad punishment, so she neglected her room again. This article reminded me of my cousin’s case.
I think that if you are going to jail then no. This is because when you are in jail there is no way you can vote! I mean you can’t leave, so what is the point? But if you are just are accused of a crime and you did not commit, then you should be able to vote still. But when you are accused and you did commit it and you do your time so you get out, you should not be able to vote. This is because if you wanted to vote in the first place you shouldn’t have committed the crime! This tells me that you don’t care about who has what job and who is where in the government. So you shouldn’t be able to vote! You don’t care so it doesn’t matter!
This connects to me because when I get in trouble with my parents they take away some of the rights that they gave to me. For example if they ask me to do something and I don’t do it, they say I cant watch T.V for the rest of the night, or go to someone’s house, something like that.
I feel that when people are convicted of a felony they should lose their right to vote. My opinion is this because, it will prevent some people to not commit a crime. For example somebody might think,oh I shouldn't rob a bank since I'll lose the privilege to vote. Another reason is, it's a good punishment. Why should people who are convicted of a felony have the same right as the people who are peaceful, harmless, civilians? It would just be unfair. I agree with Rachel when she said, "our society needs trustworthy, responsible citizens to help shape the U.S." Do you really think criminals are responsible? That is why I think people who are convicted of a felony should lose the right to vote.
I think that if a person is convicted of a felony that they should still have the right to vote. I think this because if you only had convicted one felony in you life time you should not lose your right to vote. If this right was taken away from anyone who has been convicted of a felony it would be unfair to the people who were going through a ruff patch in there lives. I agree with Kaitlyn when she said that they should not be able to have a high power job.
A connection to this is when I get in trouble for not doing something. When I get my laptop and phone taken away i learn that i should not do it again so i will not get punished. This is just like when people get sent to jail they learn that if they commit the same crime they will be sent to jail again. This connection made my understanding of the blog so much better.
I think that if a person is convicted of a felony that they should still have the right to vote. I think this because if you only had convicted one felony in you life time you should not lose your right to vote. If this right was taken away from anyone who has been convicted of a felony it would be unfair to the people who were going through a ruff patch in there lives. I agree with Kaitlyn when she said that they should not be able to have a high power job.
A connection to this is when I get in trouble for not doing something. When I get my laptop and phone taken away i learn that i should not do it again so i will not get punished. This is just like when people get sent to jail they learn that if they commit the same crime they will be sent to jail again. This connection made my understanding of the blog so much better.
I think that convicted felons shouldn’t get back their right to vote. I think this because if they committed a crime, they obviously don’t care about the country or their community. This would mean that they wouldn’t even care enough to vote. Also, like Mike N. said, it is part of their punishment. You have some privileges taken away when you’re punished, no matter what situation it is. A connection to this event that I have is that when I am punished, I have some of my things taken away from me. This helps me learn to not do whatever I did again. This is what I think about this subject.
I agree with Courtney, that a person that is convicted of a felony should not loose thier right to vote. They are still people after all, and they there for should keep their rights. If we start taking rights from a group of people, it's possible that we will start taking rights of other groups. I understand that yes they have had a negative impact on society, but they are still American Citizens and they deserve to be able to keep their rights. I mean it's not like we're debating weather or not they can become President, just weather or not they can vote. What's the big issue with that? We can't just decide that people lose their right to vote when they do something negative. The United States started off not allowing women or black people to vote, that's changed because people decided things should be fair and equal. If the rights of people who are convicted of felonys are taken away, we are not being fair and equal, and that's not how the United States should be.
My connection to this blog is like when I get grounded, because when I get grounded, my rights to tv, computer, cell phone, ect. are taken. However these rights are not enforced rights, they are privleges, where as a right to vote is an actual right.
I think that if you are convicted of a major crime you shouldn't be able to have the right to vote. I say this because if they believe that going around and committing these crimes is O.K. then they shouldn't able to do such thing like vote for who runs the government. If they are unable to function in society then they shouldn't be able to participate in acts of choosing who is fit to run the government. My connection to this blog is in school is you break a big rule or small rules multiple times you are unable to participate in dances, field trips, and other fun things around school.
I believe that Criminals or people that had convicted in a felony should have the right to vote taken away. I agree with what Liam K, Said. “The criminals should have their rights taken away because they are just simply criminals.” Also if the criminals had the right to vote after they just did a very bad crime they’ll just think that our society wasn’t that strict or demanding. I also agree with Mike N, “You lose your rights when your are convicted, that is your punishment. I do think that if you are a criminal and you have made a crime you should get punished for what you had done, but I do think that it kind of depends on what the person had done. Like if it was a big deal or just something that you would get for community service. One connection that I would have with blog was, onetime about a month ago I got a new Xbox 360 with connect I had guitar hero with it also I had a lot of fun with it. But I had a project that I had to do and so did my brother. One thing was that he also played on that same Xbox, and he didn’t have his project done on time so our parents took it away from the both of us I didn’t know why I didn’t get it either. So this is why I think that people who had been convicted of a crime should have their rights taken away.
I believe that criminals should not have the right to vote at all. Voting is a privilege that they lost. They broke the law that shows that they don’t care for the law. If they don’t respect laws they shouldn’t have the privilege of voting. I agree with James when he says, “If criminals feel the need to go out and break laws, they shouldn’t have luxuries. Also, if a criminal isn’t allowed to vote, maybe it could guide the people to not break laws, so they are able to vote like non-criminals. My connection to the blog is that I get my privileges and luxuries taken away if I go against the rules of my house. If I go against the rules, I can get my X-Box, TV, Computer, and many more things taken away.
After reading the article, I think that criminals should lose their right to vote because, just like Kelsey said, if they cared about the society, they wouldn’t have done the crime they did. I wouldn’t want a murderer or a thief to participate in political elections. I wouldn’t want someone that doesn’t care about our society, to have the right to vote. That person would probably make a big mistake in voting for someone that would not be a good representative. He/she wouldn’t care if the person he/she voted for made a bad mistake or cared about our society. Like many of my classmates said, if they committed a small crime, then they should keep their rights to vote, but if they killed someone, their rights should be taken away like the rights of the person he/she killed. My connection to this is that when I do something wrong at home or school, my parents ground me and take away some of my rights. For example, my right to watch television, my right to use my laptop, my right to use my phone, and my right to use my iPod. After they take my rights away, I learn that what I did was a big mistake but I have never committed a crime that would put me in jail. That’s why I think criminals should not have the right to vote in our society unless they only committed a small crime.
I think that convicted felons should not be allowed to vote. I think this because it was their fault for getting themselves in to the situation that they are in. Also they do not care about their country so why let them vote. We should not let them run for any political seat because if they don’t care about our country they would just try to mess things up. Especially if they have committed a crime they shouldn’t be able to vote, run for political seats or be in juries. If a criminal was in a jury he would want to have people go to jail because he would want to make them feel the way he did. I agree with what Rachel said that if they cared about their community they would not be in the situation that they are now. My connection is when I get in trouble at my house and my parents ay that I cannot go on the computer and things like that. That is what I think about letting convicts do things.
People who have committed felonies should lose their voting rights until they have successfully completed their sentence. I think this because if a person has committed a major crime like rape or murder they should not be able to have the right of voting until they are rehabilitated completely. I do not think it would be fair if they were never given another chance to redeem themselves and it would also not be fair if the felon became an up-standing citizen because he was greatly impacted by his time served. What if, a person was falsely accused and when done serving time , could never participate in U.S. votes. Brian said that they should never get back that right to vote. He said this because he thinks If they have committed a crime they don’t care about our country. But I disagree. I strongly believe people can change over time. That is why I think felons should regain their right to vote, after serving their sentence.
I think if you are convicted of a felony you should't have the right to vote because. If you are convicted of a crime your a criminal. You go to jail you do your time and that is it. When you get out and you do the same thing or a diffrent crime you pay the time . You just do it over and over back to jail. So my point of it is to try to NOT do what you did and stay out of jail so your not a criminal. I agree with Margot you can't leave there is no point in a vote. This connects to because when I get in trouble I loose my rights to the t.v or computer.
I think that convicted criminals should have their right to vote taken away. When you commit a crime you have to go to jail and your rights get taken away. I agree with Kelsey that if they really cared about society they probably wouldn’t have committed the crime in the first place. If the criminals get to have their rights then it’s like giving someone only half of their punishment. When people are only given part of their punishment then sometimes they won’t learn their lesson. If they don’t understand that they shouldn’t break the law then it could lead to them violating more laws. I can connect to this because when I do something wrong I lose my computer, phone, and T.V. privileges. That help me get the message that I did something bad and it will not be tolerated.
My opinion is that covicted felons should not have the right to vote. I say this because people who have committed a crime and broke the laws of our society must suffer the consequences of thier actions. One of these consequences is losing the right to vote. I would not want a criminal deciding who should be running our cities, states, and country; these people make descisions about me and my future, and I would not want a criminal involved in this process. If there are no consequences for criminal behavior such as losing rights, then what are the people's motivation not to do the crime in the first place? As many others in this blog have said, if they dont follow the rules at home, they lose a privelige. This is also my connection; just like taking away rights from citezens who don't follow the laws is motivation for them to follow society's rules, taking away my priveleges is motivation for me to follow my parent's rules.
I think people should lose their right to vote when convicted of felony. We live in a society where people have rights and duties. One of the duties is to obey the law and when you don’t fulfill your duty by breaking the law you should give up your rights. In the article, people are able to regain their rights through an application process. This is similar to what we have in school. If someone breaks a major school rules, they are not allowed to participate in after school activities such as sports and dances. I disagree with Dylan in that just because a felon has completed his sentence or rehabilitation his rights should not be restored automatically. I think the rights should be restored after the felon has applied restoration. The application should be reviewed by a panel and not a single person like a governor whom might grant the rights for his own political reasons.
I think that people who have committed a felony should not get restored rights. I think this because if they really cared about those rights, (voting, jury duty, running for office) they wouldn’t have committed the felony at all. In the article, it said that it takes five years before someone who committed a violent felon can apply. However, like Kaitlyn said, they committed a crime once, and there is a possibility they could do it again. Do we want someone like that running for office? Also, in the article, it said the Governor granted rights back to all but 22 non-violent felons. I think that this is much to many, because couldn’t a “non-violent” felony be possesion of drugs? Or shop-lifting? These people could run for office while on drugs, or steal from the treasury. Obiously, they don’t respect the laws. One of their “duties” is to obey the law, and if they don’t, they should lose their right. My connection to this is school. When someone breaks the rules, (“law”) they lose a “civil right” such as going to socials, dances, or on field trips. This is like losing rights when committing a felony.
I do not think that people who have commited a major felony. If someone has commited a crime they obviously don't care about their country or community so why should they have the right to vote? If i criminal has broken the law obviously doesnt respect laws so why should they be able to vote if they dont care about the law. like James K. said. “If criminals feel the need to go out and break laws, they shouldn’t have luxuries. If other people see that people who break the law are getting their rights taken away they might think twice, before they break a law. In some cases though it depends on the crime, say if someone murdered 5 people then they should defiantly have their right's taken away. If it is not as extreme though i dont think their right's should be taken away. My connection to this is in school if you dont follow the rules you have to serve a detention, or maybe even a suspention, also if i got against the rules in my house i can get my xbox, computer, phone etc taken away.
I think that people should lose their right to vote when convicted of a felony. I think this for many reasons. First, people need to learn that when they make bad choices, they have to suffer the consequences. If we give them back their right to vote after convicting them, what other freedoms would we have to give back to them? When you get the privilege to vote, you know then that you are mature and well-minded enough to vote. If someone commits a felony, they obviously are not in the right mind, or don't have their life in perspective. Felons need to know that when they commit a crime, all of their rights as a citizen are going to be taken away, not just "certain" ones. I believe that good actions should be rewarded, and bad actions should be punished. By giving felons their right to vote, we are rewarding them for their bad action. I agree with Kelsey J. when she says, “I believe that killing someone that was able to contribute in political elections, is like killing their rights. So the rights of the criminal should be taken away just like that person’s rights were." I also think that the crime the person committed or the punishment they received for it may cause them to vote differently or unfairly on a certain election. My connection to this blog is when I forget to clean my room or do one of my chores, my cell phone is taken away. I then must earn back my right to use it by behaving extra well. I think that people who have committed felonies should have to earn their rights back the same way. This is why I think that people should lose their right to vote when they commit a felony.
I think that criminals that have convicted a felony should be able to vote. I agree with Kelsey when she says: If they really cared about society they probably wouldn’t have committed the crime in the first place. If a person who committed a felony doesn't have consequences then the world would be complete chaos. I am here to tell you that being in jail is a long and painful punishment. This goes back to my first point: if they really did care they wouldn't have acted this way. Taking away their votes isn't going to make them change their ways. The majority of people that are imprisoned probably don't even vote at all. So taking something away that is in the constitution just as a "punishment" doesn't seem fair to me. My connection to this is in a book I read where the boy nearly kills the girl, but every time her boyfriend sees him he throws that in his face, and in away this is throwing salt in his wounds for he shows deep remorse for the accident. This connects to the situation because taking away a person’s right when they are already being punished is in away throwing salt into a wound. This is what I think about people who committed felonies being allowed to vote.
I think that a convicted felon should be granted their right to vote again with some exceptions. We are so lucky as Americans to have rights and freedoms such as freedom of speech or the right to vote. When one has abused these rights in a way that they have committed a crime I think they need to be punished for their actions for at least five years. We can’t let people think that criminals can use their rights for granted and then be given a second chance without showing themselves worthy. However I believe if they have proved themselves worthy of regaining their rights over a substantial amount of time then yes, they should be granted their rights again. I disagree with Willis in the article who proposes “an automatic restoration of civil rights.” They need to do something worth getting their rights back. For example the article says, “The administration killed the letter idea and instead added an optional item on the application, where felons seeking restoration of their rights can describe any community service or comparable service they want to bring to the governor's attention.” I agree that community service is a great way to show to the governor that they have given back to the community and deserve the right to vote. I can connect to this situation but not on as much of a serious level. I disagree with Rachel when she says, “I say this because these felons have already made a negative impact on our community and our society needs trustworthy, responsible citizens to help shape the U.S.”I disagree with her because if they don’t have the right to vote then our country will be missing out on what their opinions are. In my family when my siblings or I have disobeyed one of our family rules, we will get our rights and privileges taken away for a certain length of time. For example we could loose our privilege of watching T.V. or going over our friend’s house. But once we have proved to our parents that we have learned our lesson we are granted our rights back. In both situations someone has lost their rights for an action they have done, and regained it if and when they have been shown worthy of regaining them. However in my house our rights are nearly always restored but in the article it says, “The governor denied 22 of the two-year applicants and 46 of the five-year applicants.” So when they are not showing that they are deserving of the rights they will be denied the right to vote. That is how I connect to the felons applying to regain their rights.
I think people convicted of a felony should lose their right to vote. I say this because they have made a bad decision by committing a crime, so if they have the right to vote they might make another bad choice. I agree with Kelsey when she said if they really cared about society they probably wouldn't have committed the crime in the first place. If they could have the right to vote again they could end up even hurting someone. But, if the crime is not that serious, I think they should keep their right to vote. Unless, the crime is very serious like a murder. My connection is when I don't listen I could get in trouble for it, then I could get my cell phone taken away. Both the criminals and myself are getting our rights taken away. This is why I think people convicted of a felony should lose their right to vote.
I think that felons should have their rights taken away, but should be able to get them back because if they commit felony then they are putting the rest of the community at risk. If they kill someone, then the person they killed will lose their right to live, therefore felons that kill people should lose rights because they have taken other people’s rights away. If a felon did not mean to commit the crime, for example if you’re driving to work and then a person fell into the road at a blind spot and you struck him and killed him, then you would have killed someone and would be pressed charges and lose your right to vote. I don’t think that’s fair because you could have been very good person and contribute to our society very heavily and well, and now not even be able to vote for the society just because of an accidental death? So it would make sense if you did the crime on purpose and were aware of the consequences that you would lose your right to vote but if it were an accident and you were still being blamed that you would not lose your right to vote. I agree with what Kelsey J said how that if the person really cared about their community then they never would have committed felony in the first place. This is how felons should be able to get their right to vote back. If they commit the crime, it shows they don’t care about the community so they shouldn’t be able to contribute to it(so they lose their right to vote), but they should be able to make up for that by doing years worth of community service and other ways like donating money to charities or families in need. That way, criminals have a chance to make up for what they’ve done and earn the privilege of voting for the society once again. This reminds me of school with the points for bad behavior. When you get a certain number of lunch detentions, detentions, and suspensions, you get points and when you reach the limit, then you lose rights and privileges to go on stuff like field trips, dances, and contributing to the school. Then at the end of the trimester you get all of the points to start over again to try and prove yourself to be a better person and that deserve these privileges just like how once you commit felony and lose the right to vote, you can get it back by proving yourself and showing that you really care for the community. That’s why I think felons should have their rights taken away depending on the circumstance and then be able to make up for it.
I think that people convicted of a crime should be able to vote. The reasons I think that are because the more votes in the election the higher a chance a representative has in winning the election. Another reason I think that is because it isn't fair when people get civil rights taken away, civil rights are our freedoms. And besides if someone is convicted of a crime they would still have to go to a jail sentence and at jail you wouldn't even be able to vote! Some people have long sentences so, they wouldn't be able to vote for a long time anyway. As Courtney said if you have only one felony in your life it isn't really fair.
A connection that I can make to this situation is when I don't get in trouble for something that I have done. For example when I yell at my sister and she hits me back I don't get in trouble and she doesn't get in trouble since we both did things. The people that committed the crime don't really get in trouble because they wouldn't lose their right to vote. That is my connection to this situation.
I believe that people who have committed a felony should not have a right to vote. As many people have said, they must really not care about their society, if they went against it, and did something wrong. I also don’t really see the point of them applying to get that right back, because there are so many people who have committed a felony. Together Governors Timothy M. Kaine and Mark R. Warner restored voting rights to 12,786 felons in Virginia. But this leaves over 90 percent on felons without a vote to right. As Sandra said, people who have committed a wrongdoing probably won’t see what or who is best for our country, because they have done something that is bad for our country. Also, about 3 months after this new process of applying for their right to vote was made, there were 1,080 applications received, and only 574 were eligible and complete, and several were denied. So really the whole process would be a waste of time; and people who committed a felony shouldn’t be voting towards our country’s government. The government is what makes the rules, and a felon disobeys them, so it doesn’t make sense for a felon to have a say in the government. They should have to pay for what they did, and have these privileges taken away, anyways. A connection I have to this is when I break the rules in my house, I am punished and have privileges taken away from me, like the right to use my phone, computer, go over to friends’ houses, etc. This connects to this topic because felons should have the right to vote taken away from them because they broke the rules and should have to be punished for it.
I think criminals should have their rights suspended based on the crime they committed. I agree with Dylan people can change over time if they are impacted enough. But if criminals have bad enough since to commit a crime maybe they should have their right to vote taken away we don’t want people with bad since voting. I can also agree with Brian he said if the criminals cared about our community they wouldn’t have committed a crime in the first place. If I do something rungs at home than I have things taken from me but mot permanently. I could have my phone, laptop, and or TV. taken away. But after this happens I lean from my mistake and don’t repeat it. I think a criminal could think the same way.
I believe that a person that has been convicted of a crime should have certain rights taken away, depending on the circumstances. If you're convicted of stealing a bag of chips from Stop and Shop, you should still have all your rights. However, if someone is convicted of murder or a more serious charge, I think there should be limitations on their rights. Becoming a felon does not take away a person's citizenship- and U.S. citizens have the right to vote. I think it would be unfair to take away those specific rights; what harm is a bank robber,for example, going to cause the country by voting for Obama instead of John McCain?
However, as far as felons being able to run for political offices, that's different. Giving a person with a, frankly, bad past a position of power can be dangerous and shouldn't be risked (and let's be honest, the odds of them even winning an election with a criminal record are slim). I don't see what harm a person could do by sitting in the jury- if they are unbiased, then by all means let them serve. If someone opposes it, there are ways in the court to appeal for a new jury or jurers in some cases.
I think these people should not have all their rights taken away because of the system they go through- they have to meet certain requirements and fill out applications to prove they have really changed their life around. Why not give them the opportunity to prove it?
I can connect this to class and school because it is not uncommon for kids to get their rights taken away for what they've done, by fooling around in class or not handing in homework. And we have consequences for that, like a felon after they have commited a crime, but those do not last forever. Neither should their punishments.
I feel that if someone has been convicted of a felony that they should not have the right to vote. I say this because they have no part in the society anymore once they’ve done something like this. Especially if they were convicted of a felony because that means it was a major crime. If they want to be able to vote then they should have thought of this when doing the crime. However, I do think that if it wasn’t as serious as some of the others then they should still have a chance to vote within reason. I think that if they are a repeat offender that they should have their rights taken away. However, if they repay the community with community service then they should have a chance. This reminds me of at home. This is because if I were to get in trouble then my parents would decide whether it deserved to lose privileges.
I think that there should be a longer waiting time for before you can apply for restoration because it would serve as a reminder once your out of jail of what you have done, and ensure that the felons are and have proper time to be turned around and change their ways. Like Kate McGrath said "If you're convicted of stealing a bag of chips from Stop and Shop, you should still have all your rights," in this I believe that non-violent felons should have a less strict but still strict restoration process. And as for 300,000 who can't vote I believe that it is there fault and although they should almost always have a shot a redemption I don't believe it should be everybody else's work to make up for there mistakes, especially while there are much more pressing issues. This reminds me of the ad for voting no on proposition 8 in California we watched in class. The hip-looking-young-fellow said that there are much more important issues than that law about gay marriage like the economy, the war, and jobs.
I think that if someone has been convicted of a felony, they should still have the opportunity to vote later in life. I agree with Kate when she said "a person that has been convicted of a crime should have certain rights taken away, depending on the circumstances." I get that some felony's could be more severe than others, and I think that some who have committed innocent crimes should still have the right to vote. But,the others who committed more severe crimes, they should have to face the bigger consequences. This reminds me of how at my house, if I get in trouble my parents might ground me or take away something just for a week or so, but I still have the chance to get it back. We all have gotten in trouble before with parents, and we all have to face the consequences.
I don’t think people should lose their right to vote when convicted of a felony for the following reasons. You could say the convicted people had their chance, and they lost it, and they did, but people can change. Imagine committing a crime earlier in your life, you went to jail, and now you’re a whole different person but have to live the rest of your life in regret of that crime. People won’t give you a second chance all because of your past, and your life is ruined. Although people don’t always change, a lot of them do, and I believe they should get another chance to have the privilege of voting. I agree with Jim when he says, “there should be a longer wait before you can apply for restoration because it would serve as a reminder once you’re out of jail for what you have done.” I can see it taking a while for people to really change, and I think you’d need a few years out of jail to truly realize what you have done, and decide where you want to take your life from there, and two to five years does not seem long enough to make those decisions and changes. I think if this amount of time was lengthened to maybe five years for non-violent convictions, and maybe ten years for violent convictions, there would be a far less chance of those people committing another crime. This reminds me of when my sister doesn’t listen to my mom’s instructions and ends up getting in trouble, and having some of her things taken away until my mom believes she has learned her lesson; just like how people convicted of a felony get their rights taken away for a long period of time before they can apply for restoration.
Should a person convicted of a felony lose their right to vote? In my opinion, I think that once a person have has been convicted of a major crime they should lose their right to vote, to run for political positions, and to serve on juries, but should be allowed to appeal for reinstatement of their lost rights. I think that Elise B. has a point when she said, "If they really cared about those rights, (voting, jury duty, running for office) they wouldn’t have committed the felony at all." In correspondence to this, one who has committed a crime could be biased towards situations involving related crimes in a court setting, and if a felon could get into a high place of power, they could try to legally vindicate the felon that they committed for all. I think this is valid because if one blatantly violates the laws, they are rejecting said laws and thus should have no right in the process of creating and changing the laws. Another reason to encourage disenfranchisement after a felony is that one who has committed a serious crime could have impaired judgment, as portrayed by their decision to commit such a crime. Then they could work politically to alter the laws for everyone else based on their frame of mind instead of for the people. And in these ways, stripping some civil rights from felons is a good thing.
I would agree, though, that people change. I would think it unjust if there was no way for a felon to redeem themselves and their civil rights. That is why I think that the procedure that is presented in the article would probably the best way to go about judging if a felon is reformed or not, if it went through a committee instead of just a governor. I think this because the article states that the governor of Virginia has in the past reinstated the lost civil rights to about 4,300 convicted felons after reviewing eligible applications. The article also points out that this is only about two percent of the entire felon populace. To maybe present a more thorough review and to look over more applications, a committee could be created for this sole purpose. This would create a just system to give felons a chance to obtain their rights to vote, participate in a jury, and run for a political position again.
The act of stripping a convicted felon of some of their civil rights reminds me of the system for Releasing criminals in The Giver by Lois Lowry. This is because the act of taking away a felon's rights in general terms is like taking out certain person's power to change the society because of dangerous or disrupting insubordination. This is like Release in The Giver because when someone in the Community disobeys the law three times, they are killed. This is a lot more drastic than in our community, but the act of killing the felon stops them from changing their society based on their views, just as taking the right to participate in political activities does in our country. Thus, taking some civil rights from felons is like Releasing in The Giver.
I think if someone is convicted of a felony, the should lose their opportunity to vote. If they made the decision to disobey the law,then they are obviously not capable of the responsibility. However, it would be unfair not to give them a chance to get their rights back. And putting that choice in the hands of a governor seems like a good decision. However, i do not think they should be able to apply for the right to run for office. Having a felon in a political position could result in biased decisions and a loss of seriousness in important matters. This whole debate reminds of when we were training our dog. If they did something bad, they lost certain privileges, like if they ran down the road to far the weren't aloud outside their kennel. The difference with this is that eventually we give them a second chance so that they can earn that right back, and that they really have no say in the matter.
In my opinion convicted felons should not be able to vote at all. I agree with Jessica by saying that they obviously can't handle the responsibility if they broke the law in some way. This reminds me of when i get punished and i get a right taken away. Lets say that a certain person was running and in there campaign speech they said they would grant felons more privileges. In this case all the felons who could vote would vote for that person. This would not be fair to the common public. Don't you agree. I think it makes sense for convicted felons not to have the privilege to vote.
After reading the article, I believe that felons shouldn’t be able to have the rights of voting, being on jury duty, and or running in a political office. I think this because, they have impacted our societies and communities in a negative way. I don’t think that people who intend to hurt those communities and or societies should help decide and shape the future of the U.S. I agree with Elise when she said “if they really cared about those rights, they wouldn’t have committed the felony at all.” Besides, in my opinion, a felon shouldn’t even be able to have restoration of their civil rights. I think that they if they were convicted of a major crime, that that should have been their one and only chance. Coming back to what Elise said, If they really wanted, and or cared about those rights in the first place, then they should have never decided to commit the crime at all. My connection to this is my life at home. For example, when I misbehave, (i.e. neglecting to take out the trash,) I get punished for it, which is usually getting my I-pod taken away. This is what I think about felons not being able to have those rights.
i think people who have done a crime should not be able to vote because the law is like house rules and if you break them you have to be punished and if you break the law the punishment should be not to be able to vote.
Sorry mr croft...i forgot to post my blog report/answer. I hope i can get some credit if i can still answer.
After reading the article, I believe people should not have the ability to vote if they are convicted of any sort of felony. I think this because these people could effect our communities in a bad way. They might still be up to no good and commiting crimes. So I agree with the Virginia Governor in this case. Another reason felons shouldn't have all of their rights is because if they want to use their time and commit crimes, they obviously don't want to participate in the government. I think that because they waste their time doing these negative activities. So i agree with all my classmates who think that criminals or felons shouldn't be able to vote.
If someone commits a crime that means there is something wrong with the community or they don’t like a specific person. It is their choice to commit that crime and if they chose to do it they need to be punished and the federal government should take their voting rights away. Why should they have a say on the government if they have a problem with the community or government? Like Zack said when I break the rules at my house I get my phone and the television taken away until I have proven I will never do the same thing. I usually learn from my mistakes but I sometimes to the same bad thing over again. That is why people who commit felonies should lose their voting right as a citizen.
I think people should lose the right to vote when convicted of a crime because if the person convicted something serious they should pretty much lose their right to everything. I think this because I don’t think a person should have the right to vote on a president etc. Like f I did something bad at my house I would get something taken away or I wouldn’t be able to use it for some amount of time. Another reason why people shouldn’t be allowed to vote after convicting a crime is voting is kind of like a privilege; this is why they shouldn’t be allowed to vote.
I think that criminals who are convicted of a major felony should lose their right to vote. I think this because these felons have already made a negative impact on our community. I agree with Kelsey J. when she says, " I belive that killing someone that was able to contribute in political elections, is like killing their rights. So the rights of the criminal should be taken away just like that persons rights were." I also think that these felons should of been able to take think about the consequences befor their actions. If these criminals truly cared about this nation and what goes on in it they would not be in a situation like this. If you get a certain number of detentions you have the right to go on feild trips taken away. I agree with everyone who said that the felons and criminals should have the right to vote taken away.
Yes I think peoples right to vote should be takes away since if you commit a felony crime you should pay for it. You can’t just be able to get out of things, that is like saying you don’t care about other people and you are disrespecting them. You will be in jail so you should not have the right to make the rules for society. You committed a crime against that society. I agree with Mike N, when he said” You lose your rights when you are convicted. That is part of your punishment.” My connection to this is that if I do something wrong I get something taken away, like this blog, I did not do it on time so I got my Xbox taken away for the weekend. A felony is a very serious crime and so the punishment should be serious also. The right to vote is one of our biggest rights. So I think the punishment fits the crime.
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