While there’s no escaping the political implications of what Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe did in his executive order restoring the voting rights of some 200,000 convicted felons, most of them African-Americans, it should not be understated that he also did the right thing. This applies to felons who have served their prison time and finished parole or probation.
Public safety, although overlooked in this context, is a key factor. The rate of recidivism is notably less among felons who have served their time and regained their rights: such as voting and sitting on juries. Not surprisingly, statistics show that non-stigmatized, former prisoners who have had their rights restored re-offend at one-third the rate of other inmates who had completed their sentences. Societal reintegration is in everybody’s collective, vested interest
What McAuliffe should reconsider in his blanket order, however, is that it applies no less to those convicted of violent crimes, including murder and rape, because they have “paid their debt to society.”
Two points. That debt may be a product of a plea deal and regardless of victim “closure,” there is no unscarring of the scarred. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to require further proof of reform and societal-re-entry worth–both as an inmate and as an ex-prisoner. It’s fair to ask for a good-faith track record for a reasonable post-release time from those who were violent felons.