Sad times in Virginia (Gov letting convicted felons vote)

[virginiaJim]

Voting rights issue draws ire
Warner challenged on high rate of felons getting rights back

BY TYLER WHITLEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 21, 2004


Del. Bradley P. Marrs, R-Chesterfield, says he wants to know why Gov. Mark R. Warner is restoring the voting rights of convicted felons so much more quickly than his predecessors.

In a response to Marrs' letter demanding an explanation, Warner said he is carefully reviewing all the applications for voter relief but has improved the system so they are reviewed more quickly.

Warner has granted a total of 1,892 petitions since taking office, which is far more than any previous governor. Gov. Jim Gilmore restored rights to 238 persons. The most previously was 1,180 by Gov. Charles S. Robb between 1982 and 1986.

Warner has granted 1,100 this year. He has denied 114 during his term, Warner said.


Warner said he is restoring rights only to nonviolent felons. Each must have a clean record for at least five years, complete a 13-page application, submit all applicable court documents, write full explanations of their crimes and lives and obtain three letters of recommendation.

"You can be proud . . . that Gov. Warner has instituted a system that protects the safety of all Virginians while enabling deserving individuals to have their rights restored on a case-by-case basis," said Anita Rimler, secretary of the commonwealth. Her office considers the petitions.

Marrs suggested that Warner has changed the policy of the General Assembly, which has rejected easy restoration of voting rights. Rimler said Warner merely has speeded up the process.

"Now, when we choose our local sheriffs and commonwealth's attorneys next year, the votes of law-abiding citizens will have to compete with the votes of those who violated the community's trust," Marrs said.

Warner rejected Marrs' demand that he provide copies of the 1,882 cases in which he has restored voting rights. He said they contain criminal history records and sensitive personal information.

According to the State Board of Elections, the names of 5,333 registered voters have been stricken from the voting rolls this year because they were convicted of a felony.

A 1998 study by The Sentencing Project, which promotes sentencing reform and conducts research on criminal justice issues, found that nearly a quarter million ex-felons were disenfranchised in Virginia.

A 1996 study by The Times-Dispatch found that a disproportionate number of felons who have lost the right to vote are black males.

State law prohibits felons from voting unless the governor restores their voting rights.

[Charlie P]

Warner said he is restoring rights only to nonviolent felons. Each must have a clean record for at least five years, complete a 13-page application, submit all applicable court documents, write full explanations of their crimes and lives and obtain three letters of recommendation

That doesn't sound so bad to me.

[virginiaJim]

What deterrent of crime do we keep in place? What about all the rights of the people they hosed over? I don't want a bunch of drug dealers, forgers, or people who stole money from old people voting, they should should have to live with the consequences of their actions. Soon it will unfair to lock people up because it steps on their rights.

Just because they have not been busted in the last 5 years is not a good rule. Some of the people they harmed might needs more than that to recover from the crime. I say you do the crime you need to live with your actions.

[Charlie P]

What deterrent of crime do we keep in place?

They already did their jail time and then stayed out of trouble for five more years. It's being looked at on an individual basis's. Like I said I don't see a problem with what's being done.

[Tazman]

Warner said he is restoring rights only to nonviolent felons. Each must have a clean record for at least five years, complete a 13-page application, submit all applicable court documents, write full explanations of their crimes and lives and obtain three letters of recommendation.

virginiajim I am just about as hard core as they come to "If you do the crime, you do the time" as they come, but how long do you kick some one after they are down? If an 18 year old kid shoplifts and is convicted of a felony, does thier time, keeps their nose clean for 5 years and goes to all the trouble to get thier voting rights restored especially the process described here, what is the problem?

How long should an individual be punished for a NON violent crime?

When yopu were a kid and messed up, did your parents remove your priveledges for ever or were you after a certain amount of time of keeping your nose clean give them back to you?

Like I said I am as hard core as they come for punishing criminals, but at some point in time the punishment for nonviolent crime must stop!

I really feel you would be surprised how many older people you know and may even be related to you some time in their past was guilty of and convicted of a felony. People do change with time and age, there is one heck of a difference between an 18 year old with a wild hair up thier fanny and a 25 year old who has learned from his past mistakes and changed thier lifes.

[Charlie P]

It's not like this is a new law. There's quarter of a million ex felons in the state he's given back voting rights to 1,800 of them,that's less then 1% right?

[Charlie P]

It also states for at least 5 years in the article for all you know these people could have been out of trouble for 20 years.

[Charlie P]

Couple qoutes that I found from Marrs,

quoted in The Virginian-Pilot last week as saying "Homosexuality is a form of sexual misconduct that is a crime.

"I don"™t believe in the genetic explanation of homosexuality, so to say someone is a homosexual means that person is engaged in illegal behavior on a regular basis."


What's he want to do arrest all the homosexuals in Virginia too?

[virginiaJim]

So if some guy rips your grandmother off and takes her life savings and leaves her eating cat food till she dies. You are fine with that guy geting his rights restored? If some guy sells drugs to your little sister and she dies from an overdose, you are fine with that guy getting able to vote for people to make up laws in our country?

I think when people do this, they are stepping on the rights of the victoms. Just because no one was killed or shot does not make the crime they did after a set number of years a non issue.


Sad.

[virginiaJim]

Charlie P , post a link to the entire article please. Dont just pull the quotes you want people to see. I would like to read the entire thing.