Felon disenfranchisement Essay -- Criminal Justice

One of the more disputed debates in todays political arena, especially around pick times, is that of felon disenfranchisement. The disenfranchisement of felons, or the practice of denying felons and ex-felons the correctly to choose, has been in practice before the colonization of America and traces back to early England however, it has not become so controversial and publicized until recent times. In todays political system, felons and ex-felons are the only competent adults that are denied the right to ballot the total of those banned to vote is approximately 4.7 million men and women, over two percent of the nations population (Reiman 3). Many people believe that felons do not deserve the right to vote. For these people, voting is not an inherent right rather it is a privilege given to deserving people that wish to make a verificatory change to their lives. Some believe that, there is no reason for a felon to vote or to debate about whether or not they require that righ tthey made the choice to break the law, so why should they have any say in making it? Siegel In this point of view, giving felons the right to vote is similar to rewarding them. With the right to vote, felons are still able to sway decisions regarding the lives of a society they are no longer a wear of. Felons are meant to be punished, stripped of numerous rights including that of voting. Punishments, then, are made to restrict a person, not give them more freedom and decision. If felons are allowed to vote, one essential consider the effects it would have on the elections. Many people believe that felons make the wrong choices for a reason, that they are clearly lacking something law-abiding citizens have. professor Christopher Manfredi ... ..., Parole, and Community Corrections. Upper Saddle River Prentice Hall, 2005.Jeffrey Reiman. Liberal and Republican Arguments Against the Disenfranchisement of Felons. Criminal Justice Ethics 24.1 (2005) 3-18. Cri minal Justice Periodicals. ProQuest. Ryan Library, New Rochelle, NY. 13 Dec. 2007. http//www.proquest.com/.Losing the Vote. 1998. The Sentencing Project. 11 Jan. 2007. http//www.hrw.org/reports98/vote/usvot98o.htm.Siegel, Larry J. Criminology. 8th ed. Lowell Thomson Wadsworth, 2003.United States. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2002. Albany The Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center, 2003.United States. Federal Bureau of Investigations. Uniform discourtesy Reports. Sept. 2007. 12 Feb 2007. http//www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/index.html