Category: Politics

Wrongfully convicted Men! Speak criminal justice and race Pt. 1

Arrested man in handcuffs

“We know the truth,” said Morgan, speaking Saturday evening (May 27, 2018) as part of a panel on mass incarceration and stereotyping. “We’re trying to present the truth to our community because we’re eager to serve. To whom much is given, much is owed.” Jerome Morgan puts it, “I went into prison at 17 and came out at 37.” He knew he was innocent the whole time, and it took 20 years before he was able to leave the penitentiary as a free and exonerated man .

Morgan’s 1993 murder case, in which the then 19-year-old New Orleanian was convicted of shooting dead a fellow teenager at a Sweet 16 party. Now freed, Morgan has joined with two other wrongfully and overly convicted men to preach the pitfalls of overzealous prosecution and how the image of black men as criminals worsens social, economic and racial marginalization.

Short Takes: Restoring Voting Rights(ex-felons)

Politician swearing an oath with fingers crossed behind back

More than 6 million American citizens are unable to vote because of a past criminal conviction. As many as 4.7 million of these citizens live, work, and raise families in our communities. But because of a conviction in their past they are still denied this fundamental democratic right. These laws, deeply rooted in our troubled racial history, have a disproportionate impact on minorities. Across the country, one in every 13 voting-age African Americans have lost their right to vote, which is four times the rate for all other Americans.

Racism & Felony Disenfranchisement

The United States stands alone among modern democracies in stripping voting rights from millions of citizens on the basis of criminal convictions.

The United States stands alone among modern democracies in stripping voting rights from millions of citizens on the basis of criminal convictions! Lifetime felon voting ban lawsuit filed in Mississippi . Mississippi’s constitution bars its citizens from voting ever again after being convicted of felonies. “Once you’ve paid your debt to society, I believe you should be allowed to participate again,” said plaintiff Kamal Karriem, a 58-year-old former Columbus city councilman who pleaded guilty to embezzlement in 2005 after being charged with stealing a city cellphone. “I don’t think it should be held against you for the rest of your life.”