Prisoners right to vote
- Thread starter DGB454
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No, not whilst incarcerated.
After prisoners have served their time, their debt to society is paid and they should be allowed to resume normal activities, which includes being allowed to vote.
- 10,081
- WFG9
I agree with Mike.
- 2,281
yes and yes...
as long as they had the right before they were convicted....after all imprisonment does make you any less competant person nor does it affect your citizenship.
- 13,827
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Why does an inmate deserve the right to vote? The whole point of inprisonment is to strip prisoners of their societal rights that they possessed outside prison.
- 1,823
No, the point of prison is to rehabilitate, but everyone - The government, society, almost every prison - Seem to forget that.
I do believe prisoners should have a right to vote, since stripping them of their rights is cruel, and serves no purpose to help the rehabilitation process.
I do believe prisoners should have a right to vote, since stripping them of their rights is cruel, and serves no purpose to help the rehabilitation process.
- 10,832
Not in prison, no. It's prison. Prison is not a little holiday from responsibility, where you don't have to go to work, pay bills, provide for yourself. It's a punishment and a means of removing criminals from society.
Not being allowed to vote after release, however, has never made much sense to me so ex-cons should be allowed to vote.
Not being allowed to vote after release, however, has never made much sense to me so ex-cons should be allowed to vote.
- 2,281
why should it be taken away...they committed a crime, but that doesnt mean you should deprive a person of his rights....
should you take away his right to a fair trial...take away his dignity and self respect...?
they are locked up for a punishment, not rehabilitation....prison has two purposes....to punish and to deter others from committing a crime....rehab is a side issue that rarely works...
- 3,194
In prison, no,.... but if your a workiig member in society, there's no reason you shouldnt have the right to vote.
- 10,081
- WFG9
A person whom votes is automatically considered a member of society whose opinions have merit worthy of expression through voting. A criminal disproves that presumption by his existence. His vote, until redemption is complete, is considered a corrupting influence. This is a reason for denying criminals a vote in prison; they remain in the state of evil, and evil should have no say.
- 1,823
See, this is what's wrong with society. Everyone thinks that throwing someone in a 6x8 for a few years will make them not commit a crime again, and then they have the nerve to say it's meant for rehabilitation, not just punishment. Rehabilitation is the sole reason that imprisonment was invented, but somewhere along the way, society lost sight of that, and decided that instead of actually trying to stop people from commiting the crimes, or helping them, we'd just lock them in a cold cage for a few years and that would somehow make it all better. It doesn't, trust me.
Anyway, I'm off topic, so I won't continue this discussion here.
- 2,281
it cant be proved but common sense tells you your point is utterly laughable....when the Romans threw the Christians into cells almost 2000 years ago, i doubt the Romans were thinking..
okay now, please tell me that you do not recognise Christ as your king. You will be given full support and councelling in order to bring you to your senses. Once you believe that you have done wrong and are willing to change your ways, we will let you out
they were imprisoned in order to be punished for thier beliefs, pure and simple, and people were imprisoned long before this but i bet the concept of rehabilitaion didnt come into being until the Victorian times...or later...
- 10,832
I hate to disturb your rest, but . . . The concept of rehabilitation in prisons is a modern idea. The penitentiary, as many prisons are now called, is an American Quaker invention. Prior to this, prisons were where the undesireable elements in society were put out of the way. They existed for the safety and convenience of the law-abiding population, not the criminals. The devoutly religious and pacifist Quakers applied the notion of penitence, a humble realization of one's erroneous ways, with an eye toward change, to the practice of imprisonment. The idea was to save souls. This is where the word Pennitentiary comes from; it's the source of the idea of "rehabilitation" of criminals, and was the model for prisons for a long time. IT was also the end of the dungeon. The pendulum appears to be swinging away from this in the past fifty or so years, mostly because it doesn't work.
The "twisted" rehabilitation you point to, above, would also have to mean that torture is rehabilitation. The argument falls flat on it's face from the start.
- 1,823
Mile, have you ever been to prison?
Modern prison is torture. Imagine being locked in a 6'x8' room 23 hours a day with a 1" wide 4" high window to see out with a bed that's not even two foot wide made out of bricks is torture. Then you add in the fact that it's constantly freezing ****ing cold, and you have the worst torture a person could ever go through - Physical or mental.
I don't care when the concept of rehabilitation came about, it doesn't happen anyway. When you come out of the cell all you want to do is inflict pain on the people who put you there, which defies the entire point of prison in the first place.
Anyway, I'm sort of changing my stance on this issue. After thinking about it, I'm kind of undecided. Perhaps it should be determined by your crime, for instance a serial killer would have no say, but someone serving a sentence for something small could vote, or something.
Like I said, kinda undecided on it now that I think about it.
Modern prison is torture. Imagine being locked in a 6'x8' room 23 hours a day with a 1" wide 4" high window to see out with a bed that's not even two foot wide made out of bricks is torture. Then you add in the fact that it's constantly freezing ****ing cold, and you have the worst torture a person could ever go through - Physical or mental.
I don't care when the concept of rehabilitation came about, it doesn't happen anyway. When you come out of the cell all you want to do is inflict pain on the people who put you there, which defies the entire point of prison in the first place.
Anyway, I'm sort of changing my stance on this issue. After thinking about it, I'm kind of undecided. Perhaps it should be determined by your crime, for instance a serial killer would have no say, but someone serving a sentence for something small could vote, or something.
Like I said, kinda undecided on it now that I think about it.
- 227
the whole system is a little bit screwed up if you ask me. did anyone see that news about the guy who was facing 655 years in prison? no , seriously !! what is all that about? what kind of rational law would give a sentance that by far outlives any human? was this guy K-PAX or what?
- 227
yep, fair enough milefile, it just sounds strange. you would think that the judge could just have the right to give someone the sentance of, the rest of your life until you die in prison, for the people that have committed multiple crimes that rack up 100+ years..
anyway back to the topic: do you think that given the right to vote in prison, they would all vote? i think you would find that they couldn't care , most of them anyway. They probably never voted before they went to prison either...
anyway back to the topic: do you think that given the right to vote in prison, they would all vote? i think you would find that they couldn't care , most of them anyway. They probably never voted before they went to prison either...
- 3,194
Litter bug = 3 lashes
Reckless endangerment = 5 lashes
Melicious destruction of property = 5 lashes
DUI = 10 lashes
Assult = 10 lashes
Rape/Murder = Shipped off to Austrailia (you know what I mean)....
The term "cruel & unusual punishment" is what has destroyed our "system of rehabilitation"......
Reckless endangerment = 5 lashes
Melicious destruction of property = 5 lashes
DUI = 10 lashes
Assult = 10 lashes
Rape/Murder = Shipped off to Austrailia (you know what I mean)....
The term "cruel & unusual punishment" is what has destroyed our "system of rehabilitation"......
GilesGuthrie
Staff Emeritus
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- Edinburgh, UK
- CMDRTheDarkLord
To the first point, no. If you're in prison, it's because you have renounced the values of your society. You should not therefore be afforded the luxury of an influence in that society's direction.
To the second point, probably yes. If we make a massive assumption - that the rehabilitation aspect of prison is successful - then it would be possible to argue that that person could be welcomed back into the society that they had previously abandoned.
I do see criminality and imprisonment as a departure from the "fold" of society and civilisation.
- Rehabilitation
- Deterrent
- Punishment
In fact, this is the reason why one should never go to prison for life - there's no chance of being rehabilitated in that regard. Granted, there's probably little chance of that with the death penalty, but it could happen in an afterlife or some other wacky religious idea.
What if the person comitted a murder and then served his time? Didn't he take away the rights of the person he murdered? Why should he be allowed any rights(or privilages) when it comes to democratic rights? Basic human rights I can understand but does he deserve the right to help decide the direction our society will head for the next 4 years? There is always the arguement about taxation without representation I suppose.(providing he pays taxes)
(NPR)
(NPR)
- 10,832
I've always had a problem with murderers ever having freedom again. It doesn't seem fair that one who permanantly took away a life and caused a lifetime of suffering for the victim's survivors would ever be permitted to have rights again. Some crimes are worse, especially those where the damage done cannot be corrected or reversed.
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I wasnt aware that I was supposed to feel pity for someone who has raped a woman or killed someone for their car. One makes their bed, and then sleeps in it.
I like the Arab justice system (to a degree). Stealing = cut off hand. Rape = lashes. Murder = death sentence. Thats the way it should be.
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