Voting as rehabilitation for ex-felon
Just a few days before the election Patricia Wysock, 42, was confused as to where she should go to vote: do people vote by their office or home address? The uncertainty was understandable: this would be her first time voting since Ronald Reagan was in office. She has spent much of the past two decades in and out of prison – eight years total – for forgery and fraud charges.
Over 12,000 New Yorkers are released from prison each year and many of them wrongly assume that a felony conviction prohibits them from voting, according to the NYCLU. To address the problem various advocacy groups throughout the city have held voter registration drives aimed at former felons.
Patricia, who now works for Fortune Society, an advocacy center for formerly incarcerated people, sees voting as an important step in her rehabilitation.
“Participating in voting is esteemable” Patricia said, “and it makes me feel like I am more of an esteemable person. It shows that my voice matters and I have opinions and they are being recognized.”
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Did you just regain your right to vote after spending time in prison? How did you feel voting again?
Or are you still struggling to regain your voting rights? How did you feel missing out in voting during the historic 2008 election?
[Use the comments feature below or call (646) 867-1891 to leave an audio message.]
Joel Schectman attends the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. His focus is economic and international reporting. He graduates in December 2009.
[...] Voting as rehabilitation for ex-felon She has spent much of the past two decades in and out of prison – eight years total – for forgery and fraud charges. Over 12000 New Yorkers are released from prison each year and many of them wrongly assume that a felony conviction … [...]
[...] Lives in Focus: Family Life Behind Bars » Blog Archive » Voting as … She has spent much of the past two decades in and out of prison – eight years total – for forgery and fraud charges. Over 12000 New Yorkers are released from prison each year and many of them wrongly assume that a felony conviction … [...]
HOW LONG IS LONG ENOUGH?
For any man or woman convicted of a crime, successfully completing their sentence, along with any assigned parole or probation, is just the beginning. After their release from confinement, they are faced with re-integrating themselves back into their community – often in the same area and with the same influences that provided them opportunity to break the law in the first place.
Their search for employment is often stonewalled by the fact that they now have a conviction on their record. Employers performing a routine search find the negative information, and unless they are part of a progressive federal or state program, or willing to give the applicant a second chance, the applicant is put at the bottom of the list of candidates – if they remain on the list at all.
The goal of improving their own economic status and fighting the impulse to return to their former ways is complicated further by the fact that even advanced education – like a master’s degree – is often not enough to convince a potential employer to give them another chance.
Apartment leases, home mortgages, opening a bank account or a credit card, and many other processes that non-offenders take for granted are often closed to these individuals. This situation continues for as long as the conviction stays on their record, and with the advent of computers, the information is even easier to find.
How long is long enough for a person convicted of a crime, who has successfully completed their parole and / or probation, to continue to pay for that crime? The Connecticut Pardon Team was founded in 2004 to provide tools and information for individuals convicted of a crime who are interested in clearing their record through the non-inmate pardon within our state through the Connecticut Pardon Team, inc http://www.connecticutpardonteam.org
Very nice work. Thanks…