CIVIL RIGHTS FOR EX-CONS?

Many years back, ex-felons, criminals who have served their time and are said to have paid their debt to society, were denied the right to vote and to hold public office, both recognized as basic civil rights. Back then, an ex-con could vote or hold public office only if he had been granted a rarely bestowed pardon by the governor of the state in which he had been convicted. Civil libitarians questioned the appropriateness of what they perceived as perpetual punishment.

Over the years, most states have come to restore these rights automatically once the felon has completed his sentence. Some have waiting periods before these rights are automatically restored. Florida, Kentucky and Virginia require ex-felons to apply for the restoration of their civil rights regardless of how long they have been out of prison. However, Florida is about to grant the automatic restoration of civil rights to ex-cons who have not been convicted of certain offenses, such as sex crimes, murder, and other crimes of major violence.

Ex-felons are generally barred from receiving the state licenses required of teachers, law enforcement related personnel, lawyers, doctors, realtors, barbers, beauticians, and others. Back in the '60s, California started hiring some ex-felons as correctional counselers if they met the educational requirements for these positions. Because they were less likely to be conned by the cons, those counselers were much more effective than the ones who had never been incarcerated. Ex-felons are also prohibited from possessing firearms, a reasonable denial of second amendment rights.

Ex-felons also have problems in obtaining ordinary employment. In most instances, bonding companies will refuse to bond them. Many businesses are reluctant, if not opposed, to hire ex-cons even though there is not a shred of evidence that their work performance and on-the-job behavior is any different from that of ordinary employees. This leads them to falsify employment applications, and when that is discovered, they are fired even if they have been performihng well on the job.

California and other states used to require drug offenders to register upon completion of their sentence. That is no longer the case. Now, all states require sex offenders to register with the police agency having jurisdiction over their place of residence. Whenever they move, they are required to notify that agency and to register with the appropriate police agency if they move to a different jurisdiction. In most places, sex offenders are prohibited from living within a specified distance of any school, day care center, park, or any other place where children might gather.

Miami has some of the toughest sex offender restrictions in the nation. Sex offenders in that city are prohibited from residing within 2,500 feet of any place where children might gather. That makes it impossible for them to reside anywhere within the City of Miami. Those restrictions have the effect of making sex offenders homeless. Miami has an ordinance prohibiting the homeless from taking up residence under bridges. Recently, however, the probation department placed six sex offenders underneath one of the bridges because there was no other place for them to live. They were ordered to register with the police as residing under the bridge and they are visited nightly by a probation officer.

During World War II, many ex-felons served with distinction and honor in the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. Indeed, a substantial number of prison inmates were granted early releases so that they could volunteer for service in the armed forces of our country. Since the end of the Viet Nam war, ex-cons have been barred from serving in the all-volunteer military services. Because our armed forces have been stretched to the limit by the war in Iraq, waivers have been granted to some ex-felons in an effort to overcome a serious decline in recruitment.

Even though I am a hard law and order advocate, I have always felt that ex-felons should have their civil rights restored. Since we want them to be good citizens, we should give them the right to vote and to hold public office if they have paid their debt to society. Because the recidivism rate is about 50%, a waiting period of no more than five years after discharge from a felon's sentence may be appropriate. Instead of a blanket prohibition against granting occupational licenses, applications by ex-cons should be considered on a case by case basis.

Sexual predators, especially child molesters, should be required to register, but restrictions on where they can reside, unlike those in Miami, should be reasonable. You can bet that those six sex offenders under that Miami bridge will soon dissapear to take up residence somwhere in the city and, because they will be living less than 2,000 feet from children, they will not register as required.

The denial of civil rights to ex-felons is a denial of justice. Once, they have served their time and paid their debt to society, ex-cons should not continue to be punished.