Added by Staff on February 12, 2014.
Saved under News, Politics, Society
Tags: Eric Holder, life, Sinclair Grey, voting rights
By Dr. Sinclair Grey III
On Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Holder spoke out on the need to restore voting rights to ex-inmates. Those who suffer the most from having their voting rights stripped are African-Americas who make up the majority of prisoners. With an estimated 5.8 million Americans who are convicted or have been convicted of felony crimes, it’s time to rethink the laws and have their voting privileges reinstated.
According to reports, eleven states restrict a person’s voting rights after they’ve been released from prison and are no longer on probation or parole. These eleven states are Arizona, Florida, Alabama, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, Wyoming, Tennessee, and Virginia. Speaking at a criminal justice symposium. Holder stated, “23 states including Nebraska, Nevada, Texas, and Washington state have enacted recent improvements and Virginia has adopted a policy that automatically restores the voting rights of former prisoners with nonviolent convictions.”