ERIC HOLDER: EX-CONS SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE

The AG wants us to believe that denying ex-cons the right to vote increases the likelihood they will commit future crimes

‘Re-entering society,’ an editorial in Wednesday’s Houston Chronicle, called attention to the problems ex-cons face after they leave prison. The editorial heaped considerable praise on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for calling on the states to restore the voting rights of ex-cons. Here is what the Chronicle editors said:

Last month, Holder called on states to repeal laws that prohibit ex-felons from voting. "These restrictions are not only unnecessary and unjust, they are also counterproductive," he said. "They undermine the re-entry process and defy the principles - of accountability and rehabilitation - that guide our criminal justice policies."

One major injustice, said Holder, is that these restrictions disproportionately affect minorities and the poor. Of the estimated 5.8 million Americans who are barred from voting because of felony convictions, 2.2 million are African-Americans. "By perpetuating the stigma and isolation imposed on formerly incarcerated individuals, these laws increase the likelihood they will commit future crimes."

Here we go again with that crap about the disproportionate number of blacks in prison. Apparently Mr. Holder and the Chronicle editors are unaware that those blacks are not in prison for singing off-key in the church choir. The reason a disproportionate number of blacks are in prison is because blacks commit a disproportionate amount of crime.

As for restoring the voting rights of ex-cons, Eric Holder must think we are all stupid and will swallow his phony baloney that laws prohibiting ex-cons from voting will “increase the likelihood they will commit future crimes.”

Americans are notorious for not taking the trouble to vote. What makes the Attorney General and the Chronicle editors think that if their voting rights are restored, ex-cons will actually turn out to vote? In a pig’s eye they will. But Holder does know one thing for sure – any ex-cons who will exercise the right to vote will vote for Democrats and not for Republicans.

The Chronicle editorial ends by saying:

As long as we have a system that incarcerates the poor and minorities in such disproportionate numbers and then makes it so difficult for them to re-enter society as participating citizens, with or without the right to vote, we have a justice system that is profoundly unjust.

That shoots down the disproportionate minority crap. The criminal justice system treats poor white offenders the same way it treats poor black offenders. It is true that the poor, whether white or black, cannot afford to hire good attorneys, something upper-middle class and wealthy criminals can do. There is no doubt that if the poor had better legal representation, fewer of them would end up in prison.

If Holder wants to do something about the high rate of recidivism, he should have the Justice Department do something about the refusal of employers to hire ex-cons. Most ex-cons, if given a good job, will not pose a threat to the employer’s business or to his employees. The lack of employment, not the lack of voting rights, is largely responsible for the high rate of recidivism.

My personal feeling is that once a criminal has completed his sentence, he should be given the right to vote. It is clearly an injustice to deny the right to vote to someone who has paid his debt to society. And it is also an injustice to deny someone a job solely because he served time in prison.