Should a Convict Have Suffrage?

[britishboy]

Should a convict have the right to vote?

I think no, if they can not respect our country's laws they should not have a say in how our country is run. It should be up to those who can abide by our country's who get the right and power to decide how our country is run.

[Vlerchan]

I've broken the law before.

I'd be willing to bet that most people have at one stage or another.

[thatcountrykid]

I've broken the law before.

I'd be willing to bet that most people have at one stage or another.

I thing he means those in prison or who are on parole/probation.

And to answer i would say no.

[Vlerchan]

I thing he means those in prison or who are on parole/probation.
He was referring to people who have disrespected - i.e., broken - the law at some point in their lives. I'm merely pointing out that he'll find that is a lot of people and goes far beyond those simply locked up in a prison or or parole.

It seems unfairly inconsistent to me to retract the voting rights of only a subset of law-breakers on the grounds that they've broken the law, anyway.

[chrisawesome]

I don't see a reason why someone who has been convicted of lets say a misdemeanor should be illegal to vote. If you spend six months in jail, then that is still ok. Now, if you mean convict as in lets say a murderer who has been in prison for 5 years or so, then no. They aren't open to the outside world like we are and don't really know the details in todays politics.

[Lovelife090994]

I don't think a criminal should be allowed to vote until they prove themselves rehabilitated.

[Harry Smith]

They aren't open to the outside world like we are and don't really know the details in todays politics.

I'd say that 60% of the people in Britain don't really know the details in today's politics, if I was a prisoner I'd want to vote considering what's happening to our prison system and the destructive changes that are affecting them (books being removed, prisoners being abused etc) They're still part of our society despite what people say-in the same way that elderly citizens in a care home are.

if they can not respect our country's laws they should not have a say in how our country is run.

By that logic Sinn Fein shouldn't be able to vote in the British parliament, or Northern Ireland parliament. I mean your using very vague language at best-it's against the law to drop litter in some council areas-should people loss their vote.

The mayor of London broke the law, should he lose his right to vote?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-565882/Caught-camera-The-film-shows-Boris-Johnson-cycling-red-lights-failing-stop-zebra-crossing-AND-mounting-pavement.html

[Plane And Simple]

While inside: No. They dont even know whats going on.
Once outside: yes.

[Harry Smith]

While inside: No. They dont even know whats going on.
Once outside: yes.

Yes they do, prisoners are actually quite politically active, and can use reading material, family members and the internet to learn about what's happening in politics. Should we stop people from voting if they don't leave their house?

[Vlerchan]

Yes they do, prisoners are actually quite politically active [..]

Bobby Sands was actually elected to Westminster as a prisoner in 1981.

There's no reason why a prisoner might not be able to inform himself/herself about the political situation if (s)he does so wish.

[ninja789]

I think they should be given the chance to vote for national ones but not local elections.

[JamesSuperBoy]

I think they should still be allowed to vote -

[Gamma Male]

Yes, they should still be allowed to vote. Most prisoners today are just nonviolent druggies who shouldn't be in prison anyway.

[Miserabilia]

If they don't have the right to vote you'll open a door to a very corrupt and broken system; what if police and a corrupted state somehow work together to arrest a specific group of people for crimes they didn't commit, and then they wouldn't be allowed to vote either, slowly granting more people to a different group of people.
I mean, it's not very likely, but it'll be possible.