In a democratic society felons ought to retain the right to vote

As stated by Former Supreme court justice the late Thurgood Marshall "It is doubtful...whether the state can demonstrate either a compelling or rational policy interest in denying former felons the right to vote. [Ex-offenders] have fully paid their debt to society. They are as much affected by the actions of government as any other citizen, and have as much of a right to participate in governmental decision-making. Furthermore, the denial of a right to vote to such persons is hindrance to the efforts of society to rehabilitate former felons and convert them into law-abiding and productive-- (dissent of Richardson v Ramirez) Because I agree With Justice Marshall I affirm the resolution that in a democratic society, felons ought to retain the right to vote." My Core Value will be that Of Justice defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "the administration of law or some other authority according to the principles of just behavior and treatment (oxford) My Criterion Is Preservation of Democracy. Preservation of Democracy means to do what is best to preserve the democratic process and democracy itself. This fulfils Justice because in a democratic society, justice is achieved when the people run the society and everybody has an equal voice. John Rawls Believed The three most fundamental ideas political culture of a democratic society are that citizens are free and equal, and that society should be a fair system of cooperation. 1st contention It must be agreed that racial prejudice in society is a fundamentally unjust principle. Now I would like to point out that the judiciary statistically is prejudice against ethnic minorities. Blacks comprise 13 percent of the national population, but 30 percent of people arrested, 41 percent of people in jail,and 49 percent of those in prison.. Nationally, blacks are incarcerated at 8.2 times the rate of whites. That is, a black person is 8.2 times more likely to be in prison than a white person. Further around 70% of all felons exonerated on DNA evidence are black. So not only are black overrepresented in prison, but there is evidence that the judiciary tends to be racially prejudice. 13% of all Black males are disenfranchised making for 1/3 of the total disenfranchised population. 13% is also just a national Average. In Florida and Alabama 31% of all Blacks are permanently disenfranchised. Nationally 2% of the Population is disenfranchised, However, 13.1% of Adult Black Men are disenfranchised. As African Americans are an ethnic Minority it makes no sense for them to represent a prison majority. Also as I have said many of them have been wrongfully convicted so that a disproportionate amount of Blacks are unfairly losing their democratic right to vote without even having committed a crime. This is No way Is Just and does nothing to preserve the democratic process and democracy. 2nd Contention The United Nations released a "Standard Minimum Rule for the Treatment of Prisoners" that stated "The treatment of prisoners should emphasize not their exclusion from the community but their continuing part in it" This standard establishes that it is the best interest of society to fully rehabilitate ex-prisoners back into society because it provides for the betterment of that society. According to statistics taken in 1998 a total of 3.9 million adults, or 2.0 percent of the eligible voting population, is currently or permanently disenfranchised as a result of a felony conviction. Also around 30% of all eligible black males can not vote in election due to felon disenfranchisement. ï¿½ Six states, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, New Mexico, Virginia, and Wyoming, exclude from the vote more than 4 percent of their adult population. And each Florida and Texas Disenfranchise more than 600,000 people. ï¿½ Lets look at the democratic implications of felon Disenfranchisement In 1996 the number of disenfranchised eligible voters in Florida was 647,100. In the 2000 Elections George Bush won Florida By 1725 Votes. The state of Florida has 27 Electoral votes. In that election George Bush won the presidency by 5 electoral votes. If all 647,100 of these Voters were re-enfranchised and 1726 more of those voters cast ballots in favor of Al Gore than in favor of George Bush the presidential election would have turned another way. So, by disenfranchising voters, Florida brought down the potential voter turnout, and by doing so restricted the democratic process. Because Disenfranchisement Restricts the democratic process it cannot be just as it does not help to preserve Democracy. The fact that these voters were disenfranchised caused a serious lapse in democracy, and therefore did no justice. Because Disenfranchisement restricts the democratic process the resolution is a just principle. 3rd Contention Among democratic countries the united states may have the strictest felon disenfranchisement laws. We are the only known democracy in which felons who have either fully completed or been released from, their sentence are still permanently disenfranchised. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights "Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives…" This Document establishes basic human rights in governments internationally and states quite clearly that every citizen has an innate right to take part and vote in elections. Because Felon disenfranchisement does not respect this basic right then it is an unjust principle that in no way, provides for the preservation of democracy. If a country can decide it can break any universal code as it please it would not be in the best interests of society and would not in any way preserve the democratic process. Conclusion: Because, as I have proved, the idea of Felon Disenfranchisement does not promote the best for society in the form of the preservation of democracy and the creation of justice, the reverse must also be true. If Felons were re-enfranchised it would strengthen the democratic process and would be the most just solution because it preserves democracy.