Should prisoners retain their right to vote?
Stewart in his article “Terrorism and Human Rights” defined human rights as the essential rights and freedoms that belong to each person within the world, from birth until death. They apply despite where you're from, what you suspect, or how you select to measure your life. They will never be got rid of, although they will sometimes be restricted – for instance, if someone breaks the law, or is within the interests of national security. These basic rights are supported by shared values like dignity, fairness, equality, respect, and independence. These values are defined and guarded by law. The history of our nation is fought with battles over its people’s rights, and therefore the right to vote is one of the foremost among them. The right to vote is linked to several other significant rights and principles that of equality and justice. It should be denied to people who have infringed on the right of others.
There is really no polite way to say this so here’s the thing; they're put behind bars because they committed an offense against the law and thus are dangerous to society. From rapists to murderers to thieves. In reality, these prisons keep all and within the process make the country safer to live in after you break the law, you've got no business enjoying the rights that will otherwise be at your disposal had the crime not been committed. Anyone that breaks the law doesn’t have the country’s best interests at heart. In reality, how can such people be allowed to vote? Yes, people do change, and frequently when someone shows an improvement in their behavior, their sentence is typically reduced, in fact, reckoning on the crime they committed. If the state believes someone has reformed to the extent that they will be trusted to measure with others again, they're unleashed from prison then the person can have their rights again (Ntusi, 2002).
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I'm not advocating for an inhumane criminal justice system, but their lock-up attributed to poor decisions that led to chaotic actions. They got themselves into that mess in order that they should get themselves and behave well to serve a lighter sentence. I completely agree that prisoners have to be compelled to be educated because after they finally get out, they will be beneficial to society rather than being idle and disorderly. On the other hand, letting prisoners vote is devaluing the country. It's funny to mention that denying a prisoner an opportunity to vote may be a violation of human rights. Although some prisoners don't seem to be necessarily evil when behind bars, they're not a part of the citizens who will demand full rights. We simply shouldn’t tamper with our judiciary.
As I’ve already argued, prisons have to be compelled to reform and rehabilitate their inmates to really cut crime. People have to be compelled to understand that there are consequences to committing against the law. It doesn't depart unpunished. Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. And after you do time, don't expect your rights to be considered because when the crime was being committed, the one responsible didn’t consider anything. This can be something we look deep into; this can be something that may keep us up at night (Briant, 2011). After all, prisons are for separation and rehabilitation, not pampering them with rights. While crime is perpetrated by individuals, the impact is on society at large. Crime is expensive costing taxpayers–and the government–billions of dollars each year. At the same time, the number of time and resources allocated to court trials takes a lot from time spent on community productivity, and none of this takes into consideration the very fact that crime is hurtful to its victims. Also, when you consider the additional amount of money they will have to allocate to pay election workers will just not be worth it to persons who have already put the country in a negative light. As such, it doesn’t seem right that convicts who have such an in-depth negative impact on the social order should be allowed to be a part of the decision-making process that contributes therefore to order. In violating the accord by committing a crime, convicts are relinquishing their privilege of participating in the forming of societal policy (Stewart, 2018).
The threat of jail time isn’t necessarily enough of a deterrent to those with a criminal streak, as evidenced by the number of repeat offenders who return to jail (45% within five years of release). Jail may be a loss of freedom, and this threat is enhanced when it includes the loss of democratic rights similarly. While some may argue that convicts are mostly indifferent to losing the right to vote, the message may be a societal one the maximum amount as a private one: Criminal behavior is intolerable, and losing your most simple right is quarry as a punishment. Crime is a societal problem and voting is a societal privilege. Having prisoners participate in voting will cost taxpayers more money which would be deemed unreasonable as they have forfeited the right to vote by breaking the law.
Works Cited
- STEWART, DAVID P. TERRORISM, AND HUMAN RIGHTS: THE PERSPECTIVE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW. Middle East Institute, 2018, www.jstor.org/stable/resrep19954. Accessed 2 Feb. 2020.
- Ntusi Mbodla. “Should Prisoners Have a Right to Vote?” Journal of African Law, vol. 46, no. 1, 2002, pp. 92–102. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4141323. Accessed 2 Feb. 2020.
- Briant, Sophie. “THE REQUIREMENTS OF PRISONER VOTING RIGHTS: MIXED MESSAGES FROM STRASBOURG.” The Cambridge Law Journal, vol. 70, no. 2, 2011, pp. 279–282. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41300961. Accessed 2 Feb. 2020.
- Easton, Susan, et al. “Should Prisoners Be Allowed to Vote?” Criminal Justice Matters, vol. 90, no. 1, 2012, pp. 43–44., doi:10.1080/09627251.2012.751247.
- a. Plato was a Greek ancient philosopher, he lived in the city of Athens in Greece. He represented the classical period, 428 – 347 BC.
- b. He is known for his most work, the Republic, and is also famous for his dialogues (early, middle and late).
- c. What I know about these works is that the republic details a wise society run by a philosopher while the dialogues showcase his metaphysical theory of forms – something else he is well known for.
- d. His contribution to literary criticism is
- F. Yes, Plato in his Academy founded a complex theory of literary criticism that initiated the debate, still ongoing, on the value, nature, and worth of the artist and literature itself.
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