The Sentencing Project -- Disenfranchisement: News/Updates 3/20/08

[Courtesy of The Sentencing Project] Mississippi: Elections Chair Works for Restoration, but with Caveats Amongst a host of election legislation that could be filed, Republican Senate Elections Committee Chairman Terry Burton is working to ease the process of vote restoration after prison sentences are served. The legislation, however, stipulates that individuals' rights would not be restored until two years after having completed a sentence - if they keep a clean record. Currently, the Mississippi Constitution lists 10 felonies that constitute automatic disenfranchisement, which include murder, rape and embezzlement, the Commercial Dispatch reported. In 2004, Attorney General Jim Hood issued an opinion adding 11 more felony offenses to that list, including bad check writing, timber larceny and carjacking. Currently, individuals can only be re-enfranchised with the approval of the Legislature or governor. For more information, visit the Mississippi Legislature's Web site: billstatus.ls.state.ms.us. National: Legal Challenges and Overview An essay by law professor Frank Askin entitled "Felon Disenfranchisement (Or How William Rehnquist Earned his Stripes)" was published in volume 59 of the Rutgers Law Review. Making mention of the many court decisions, the root of disenfranchisement laws, and setbacks and challenges in achieving in reform in past and recent years, Askin writes: "The absence of any political consensus on the issue is in sharp contrast to the general consensus among professional criminologists and penologists that disenfranchisement serves no legitimate goals of punishment and is detrimental to the rehabilitative goals of parole and probation." National: Disenfranchisement on National Public Radio Marc Mauer, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project, was featured this month on a felon voting rights segment of National Public Radio's Weekend America. Mauer spoke on the various issues that have arisen across the country, including Rhode Island's 2006 disenfranchisement reform, recent challenges to Mississippi's voting rights policies, and the "passion" that formerly incarcerated citizens do, in fact, have for voting. "If we can get people engaged in the electoral process that's affirmation of that connection with the community," Mauer said. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information -- e-mail: zjennings@sentencingproject.org, web: http://www.sentencingproject.org