Newspapers React To Governor Steve Beshear's Restoration Of Felon's Rights.
Below is the Courier Journal's take on the issue:
The American system of justice assumes that, once a person has paid the penalty for crime, it's in everybody's interest to help that individual integrate productively into society. Prosecutors should understand that, but some don't get it.
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It makes every kind of sense for Gov. Steve Beshear to have restored voting rights for 790 felons and to have streamlined the needlessly obstructive process that Gov. Ernie Fletcher used for qualifying. Only Dr. Fletcher had put up such barriers to voting and running for public office.
To call what Mr. Beshear has done "partial pardons" is to encourage misunderstanding, and to rouse an overreaction by those who prefer revenge to rehabilitation. The 790 who have had some rights restored have fulfilled all their sentencing requirements. And what the Governor has done will not erase their records or enable them to own weapons.
Mr. Beshear has shown extra concern for the views of prosecutors, by giving them an extra two weeks to object to any proposed restoration of rights. And 56 applicants have been turned down, based on what prosecutors have said.
It wasn't big news when Dr. Fletcher restored rights to at least 50 murderers during his term, and it's no cause to wring hands when Mr. Beshear's actions include at least eight murderers.
Tough-minded Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Stengel got it right. "I was opposed to what Fletcher did to start with." So were we. And we agree with Mr. Stengel that Mr. Fletcher's actions looked like "a thinly-veiled attempt to disenfranchise people or keep them disenfranchised."
The justice system should not be exploited for partisan advantage.
Giving convicts a stake in decent society, and its democratic processes, is not only the just thing to do but the smart investment to make.
Below is the Herald Leader"s:
Restoring felons' voting rights
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Gov. Steve Beshear has taken an important step by making it possible for more Kentuckians to vote.
Who would think it would be possible for a governor to prevent people from voting, but that's the way it works here.
Kentucky is one of 10 states in which a felony conviction carries with it a lifetime loss of voting rights. Only the governor can restore those rights, according to our constitution.
For years, governors have routinely done just that when people who had served their time asked to vote again.
Proponents argue that a citizen who has served out a sentence and has been restored to the community should be able to exercise one of our most basic rights. Released felons pay taxes and so deserve a say in representation.
But former Gov. Ernie Fletcher had different ideas. He required an essay and three letters of recommendation before he would even consider restoring voting rights. As a result, fewer Kentuckians regained their right to vote.
The disenfranchisement falls disproportionately on some groups. One in four Kentucky African-American adults is banned from the polls by this policy, according to a 2006 Kentucky League of Women Voters study.
During the last session of the General Assembly, the House easily passed a bill allowing a vote on a constitutional amendment to restore voting rights automatically when a felon has completed his sentence, but it died in the Senate.
In March, Beshear got rid of the letter and essay requirements. He also extended the time prosecutors have to protest a petition from 15 to 30 days. Beshear has restored voting rights to 790 felons since he became governor and denied requests to 56 based on objections by prosecutors. Fletcher, during his four years in office, restored voting rights to 1,098.
Beshear has done the right thing. Now the General Assembly should follow his lead.
Feel free to tell us how that "grabs you".
The American system of justice assumes that, once a person has paid the penalty for crime, it's in everybody's interest to help that individual integrate productively into society. Prosecutors should understand that, but some don't get it.
Advertisement
It makes every kind of sense for Gov. Steve Beshear to have restored voting rights for 790 felons and to have streamlined the needlessly obstructive process that Gov. Ernie Fletcher used for qualifying. Only Dr. Fletcher had put up such barriers to voting and running for public office.
To call what Mr. Beshear has done "partial pardons" is to encourage misunderstanding, and to rouse an overreaction by those who prefer revenge to rehabilitation. The 790 who have had some rights restored have fulfilled all their sentencing requirements. And what the Governor has done will not erase their records or enable them to own weapons.
Mr. Beshear has shown extra concern for the views of prosecutors, by giving them an extra two weeks to object to any proposed restoration of rights. And 56 applicants have been turned down, based on what prosecutors have said.
It wasn't big news when Dr. Fletcher restored rights to at least 50 murderers during his term, and it's no cause to wring hands when Mr. Beshear's actions include at least eight murderers.
Tough-minded Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Stengel got it right. "I was opposed to what Fletcher did to start with." So were we. And we agree with Mr. Stengel that Mr. Fletcher's actions looked like "a thinly-veiled attempt to disenfranchise people or keep them disenfranchised."
The justice system should not be exploited for partisan advantage.
Giving convicts a stake in decent society, and its democratic processes, is not only the just thing to do but the smart investment to make.
Below is the Herald Leader"s:
Restoring felons' voting rights
Related Content
Comments
Gov. Steve Beshear has taken an important step by making it possible for more Kentuckians to vote.
Who would think it would be possible for a governor to prevent people from voting, but that's the way it works here.
Kentucky is one of 10 states in which a felony conviction carries with it a lifetime loss of voting rights. Only the governor can restore those rights, according to our constitution.
For years, governors have routinely done just that when people who had served their time asked to vote again.
Proponents argue that a citizen who has served out a sentence and has been restored to the community should be able to exercise one of our most basic rights. Released felons pay taxes and so deserve a say in representation.
But former Gov. Ernie Fletcher had different ideas. He required an essay and three letters of recommendation before he would even consider restoring voting rights. As a result, fewer Kentuckians regained their right to vote.
The disenfranchisement falls disproportionately on some groups. One in four Kentucky African-American adults is banned from the polls by this policy, according to a 2006 Kentucky League of Women Voters study.
During the last session of the General Assembly, the House easily passed a bill allowing a vote on a constitutional amendment to restore voting rights automatically when a felon has completed his sentence, but it died in the Senate.
In March, Beshear got rid of the letter and essay requirements. He also extended the time prosecutors have to protest a petition from 15 to 30 days. Beshear has restored voting rights to 790 felons since he became governor and denied requests to 56 based on objections by prosecutors. Fletcher, during his four years in office, restored voting rights to 1,098.
Beshear has done the right thing. Now the General Assembly should follow his lead.
Feel free to tell us how that "grabs you".
Labels: News reporting
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 9:52 AM
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