Prisoners and Human
Rights
EDITORIAL, NYTimes on
the Web, July 31, 2006
The United States has the worst
record in the free world when it comes to stripping convicted felons of the
right to vote. In contrast, most European countries hold that right so
dear that they bring ballot boxes into prisons.
This point was underscored last week in a scalding report from the United
Nations Human Rights Committee, which held hearings earlier this month to
determine how well the United States was complying with the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which this country ratified in 1992.
The hearings heard testimony about secret detentions, kidnappings and
accusations of torture.
But they also dealt with how the United States treats its prison inmates,
particularly the disenfranchisement laws that bar more than five million
convicted felons from the polls. The American representative weakly
defended the practice’s legality, but dodged explaining its rationale, saying
the rules come from the states, not the federal government.
In a common-sense report made public Friday, the committee said that blanket
disenfranchisement was inconsistent with the covenant and served no
rehabilitative purpose. Noting that disenfranchisement disproportionately
affects minorities, the report urged the United States to restore voting rights
to citizens who have served their sentences or who are released on parole.
The report is not legally binding. But it reminds us how poorly we treat
ex-offenders compared with democracies abroad.
|
