|
The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit of Appeals on a 13-6 vote
upheld a provision of Republican-backed Mississippi state
constitution that dates back to the Jim Crow era that today
disenfranchises people convicted of a set of crimes, including
murder, rape and theft.
An 2-1 panel dominated by judges appointed by Democratic
presidents in August had sided with a group of former convicts
who sued in 2018 to regain their right to vote, finding the ban
violated the U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment prohibition on
cruel and usual punishment.
But the conservative-leaning court later voted to have the full
5th Circuit reconsider the matter, resulting in Thursday's
ruling, in which all but one of the 13 judges in the majority
were appointed by Republican presidents.
U.S. Circuit Judge Edith Jones, writing for the majority, said
the U.S. Supreme Court had already in 1974 held states could
enact laws disenfranchising felons.
If the plaintiffs wanted to eliminate Mississippi's ban, they
needed to instead seek a change in law "through public consensus
effectuated in the legislative process, not by judicial fiat,"
Jones wrote.
Jonathan Youngwood, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in a statement
said they were exploring next steps. "We remain confident in
this case, and our clients remain committed to ensuring that
their right to vote is restored," he said.
U.S. Circuit Judge James Dennis, in a dissenting opinion joined
by five fellow appointees of Democratic presidents, said
Mississippi is today among a minority of 11 states that still
permanently disenfranchise felons for offenses other than
election-related ones.
"Denying released offenders the right to vote takes away their
full dignity as citizens, separates them from the rest of their
community, and reduces them to 'other' status," Dennis wrote.
He said delegates of the Mississippi Constitutional Convention
of 1890 intended the provision, Section 241, "to be nothing else
but punitive" and stemmed from a desire to discriminate against
Black people in the South after the U.S. Civil War.
The provision's list of disqualifying crimes has been amended
twice in the years since, but it has continued to
disproportionately affect Black people, according to court
records.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Alexia
Garamfalvi and Aurora Ellis)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
