I mentioned in an earlier post that I was going to roll out my legislative agenda. This is the fourth in the series.
Computer whiz kid Aubrey L. Beach III, a Maury grad and currently a student at Virginia Tech, found out the hard way that crime doesn’t pay. Tuesday he was sentenced to 8 months in jail, after pleading guilty to one count of production of false identification documents.
Beach’s computer skills became well known throughout the community, his attorney said. At 16, Beach began making driver’s licenses for his friends, changing the date of birth so the youths would appear to be of legal drinking age, prosecutors said.
Initially, he charged $50 per license but increased his fee to $150.
The licenses were nearly indistinguishable from real ones. He created them with holograms and special paper he purchased over the Internet. He also used software to change not only the date of birth on the front of the card but the birth date hidden in the license’s bar code.
What struck me when I read this story Wednesday morning was the fact that the guilty plea by Beach was a felony. And we all know what that means: loss of the right to vote. Young Mr. Beach joins some 5.3 million Americans who have also lost their right to vote due to such convictions. But Beach also joined some 240,000 Virginians ~ and in Virginia, getting back the ability to vote is an uphill climb.
Virginia is one of two states that permanently bars felons from voting. According to a 2006 op-ed piece by the Virginian-Pilot:
For ex-felons here, however, Virginia is among the toughest states in the country to regain voting rights. Released felons must first finish supervised probation and parole. They then must wait three years if they committed a nonviolent offense, or five years for violent offenses, election fraud, or drug-distribution or manufacturing convictions. Only then can they petition the governor for restoration of civil rights.
No offense to the governor, but doesn’t he have something better to do with his time than review applications? After all, why shouldn’t voting rights be restored once the individual has paid his/her debt to society?
The truth is that the majority of the rest of the states (pdf) have some form of automatic restoration of voting rights. Again from the Pilot, this time from April 2007:
Some 39 states and the District of Columbia now allow voting after completion of a sentence, if not sooner, according to The Sentencing Project.
Virginia, unfortunately, maintains a system increasingly out of step with the rest of the nation.
[…]
This cumbersome procedure should be arrested. There’s no pride in being one of the two worst states for disfranchisement of released felons.
Year after year, Senator Yvonne Miller introduces legislation that would rectify this problem. 2008 is no different; Senator Miller has introduced SJ7. As this article points out, it is a goal that progressives and conservatives alike can ~ and should ~ support.
Technorati Tags: Restoring felons right to vote
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
35 yrs ago as a teen I was convicted of a felony, served time, got out, did 4 yrs parole and never went back. I made up my mind then (while still behind bars) not to let this hold me back in life. Since that time I have raised a family, obtained certification in several areas and worked as a machinist, Systems Engineer and programmer. I vote every election Local, State and National. My right to vote was restored as soon as I was released in 1978. Since that time, with all the new laws and politicians using this issue as a bandstand, I have witnessed the right to vote used more and more as a tool to perpetually control any individual who runs afoul of the system. This is wrong. It is a right, not a privilege. Our forefathers worded it as such. Beware the path you advocate. You see, many people don’t realize that most “felons” are just people who have made mistakes. After a conviction, usually because of a lack of money to fight the system or a lack of knowledge about how much a conviction affects you for life, you lose so much now, much more than the “old days” before computers. Jobs will be denied, landlords refuse to rent to you and it gives others the false sense they are somehow better.
I am one of the fortunate people who has still had a good life in spite of early mistakes. There is now a “sub-culture” of people who will be punished for life for their mistakes and will never escape it. This is sad. 35 yrs ago credit card abuse was a felony, now it is a misdemeanor. I can never remove it. Think about it.
Glen:
Some “mistakes” are worse than others. That’s why some “mistakes” are crimes, and some of those are felonies. 35 years ago you COMITTED a felony. (I’m guessing you committed several, actually, but were convicted of just one.) In committing the felony, you relinquished your rights — to vote and to own firearms.
G. Gordon Liddy said, “I don’t own any guns, but Mrs. Liddy owns several, some of which she keeps on my side of the bed.”
Yes, felons are people who made mistakes. Serious mistakes. Certainly you knew your actions were criminal. Why should an employer or landlord treat you as he treats one who has not had such serious lapses of judgement? Why should someone with such poor judgement as to commit a felony be automatically permitted to exercise that poor judgement in electing those who make and enforce the laws?
Glen, thanks for that. And ignore AEM, who – as you can see – says a lot without understanding a thing.
What MB said.
BM and Vivian — Such brilliant repost. No wonder you are Democrats.
I just want to point out that Scott has an interesting discussion of this topic going on over at his place. And for Mouse – Scott’s no Democrat.
I shall go to Scott’s place. Perhaps he can answer my questions.
LOL – Thanks Vivian!!! I don’t know whether to be insulted or honored!!! Just kidding. Thanks for the link and your input in the discussion.
No insult intended. My point was that it’s not a partisan issue.
Anon E. Mouse – I have voted republican for 30 years, although I don’t agree with Bush anymore so that may change this year. At that time applying for re-reinstatement after your time was up was not required, it was automatic in my state. You did not read the entire post. Laws have changed, I am grandfathered under the old law.
Also, you assume a lot. There were no other felonies. I am the son of a minister. I was taught to tell the truth and thats what we (myself and parents in court) did. The DA had been in office 2 weeks and was out to make a name for himself. There were five of us boys who took a TV and credit card that did not belong to us and bought beer with it. I had just turned 17, had led a sheltered life and was in the rebellion stage that most teens go through (I know, I have raised two of them so far and one more to go in two years). Handling teenagers is tough for every parent.
My court appointed lawyer, without my knowledge, made a deal with this DA that I would get 3 people busted and then the charge would be dropped. The other boys came from families that had more money and savvy than we did. We were country folk in the big city. They hired expensive attorneys and got off. Because of this deal, I was sent out into a world of drug dealers and low-life to do the cops job for them. It was dangerous and I had absolutely no experience.
In the end I did not turn anyone in, I actually did not know anyone bad enough. I remember the night I made my decision. Why should someone else pay for my mistake? It did not feel right and I chose a different path. I still believe it was the right one. I have a clear conscience. The DA was furious and did not see it that way and threw the book at me. I was incarcerated. It was the worst experience of my life but it made me strong in many ways. It was my belief in God that got me through it.
30 years later, I understand now why I had to go through this. When my own son began to get into trouble I came down hard, much more so than my own parents did. It worked. He is Ok now, married to a beautiful wife and we have a great relationship. Kids who get into trouble now will face a much harsher time of it than I did because of all these changes in the law. You see, when you take away the ability to get a good job and have a future, and that includes the right to vote for the person you feel best represents your interests you doom this person to a life of trivial status. What better incentive to cause a person teetering on the edge to return to a life of crime? It’s a hopeless feeling of what more can they lose so why bother. I know of one 20 year old ex-felon who has been turned down 5 times for various jobs and is still looking for work. He was busted for weed. Its a felony in some states and misdemeanor in others. The effect was the same anyway. I plan to help him.
I have worked for many large corporations over the years and even had a government security clearance when building TOW imaging systems for jet fighter aircraft. I have two homes, 4 vehicles, a nice boat and money in the bank and am writing this while sitting in my country home surrounded by 300 acres of land. It was long ago I got in trouble and employers wave it away. I am highly skilled and they want me. I had opportunity. I want the youth of today to have the same thing.
I am not trying to change anyones mind, only you can do this for yourself. I am simply telling another side of it. Experience is a great teacher.
We will all face the creator some day. What will he think of you?
Glen
I believe our entire criminal justice system is skewed. Some of the biggest felons who cause the greatest damage never even have to worry about a cop on their beat….I’m talking white collar crime, similar to what Enron did. Those are the ones that should get the BIG sentences with all the damage they cause.
And if I’m not mistaken (I saw the comment earlier about “felons mostly voting democratic) I’d say the Republican party gets the most money and votes from white collar criminals who want the status quo to stay the same…so if they do get caught they can continue to weasel out of paying for their crimes…..
Buzz…Buzz….
Oh I agree and none was taken. I was poking at ya in fun. It is non-partisan. It’s an American issue.
Glen, you have me completely confused. First, you say there were no other felonies. Then you say you stole a TV. (The conviction was for credit card fraud, was it not?) I suspect that buying beer when you were 17 was also a crime.
Second, you say that having a felony on one’s record condemns one to a life of “trivial status,” without “the ability to get a good job and have a future” (I assume by allowing employers and landlords to check one’s criminal record), but YOU own two homes, 4 vehicles, a nice boat, [have] money in the bank and [were] writing this while sitting in [your] country home surrounded by 300 acres of land.”
Your state may have restored your voting rights, but did it expunge your record so that employers and landlords did not see it? If not, then we cannot say that your record condemned you to a “life of trivial status.” Many people never even register to vote. Are they thus condemned to a trivial status because of that choice?