I'm in Favor of Human Rights but There Are Limits
Human Rights is a Big Topic but the Legal System is Taking Things Too Far
Currently in the UK, people who are serving prison sentences are not eligible to vote, but the Council of Europe says that the right to vote is a Human Right, and is threatening to fine the UK if they do not agree to change the laws and to comply with this ruling.
The Government in the UK is caught between a rock and a hard place unfortunately, since if they choose to not change the law to suit the European Court, they face being fined, and if they do agree to change the laws, then they will have to pay compensation to prisoners who were not able to vote in the last General Election.
Government advisers are now considering the implications should the UK decide to leave the Convention On Human Rights, which is 60 years old, and the Liberal Democrats, who form the minority part of the coalition with the Conservative Party, have threatened to leave the Coalition should the Government decide to leave.
MP's voted overwhelmingly a few days ago to reject demands to change the law and to give prisoners the right to vote, and so now the government is in a situation where some form of compromise needs to be made.
David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said that he would rather pay compensation to prisoners than to change the 140 year old law, allowing them to vote, but really, why should criminals be allowed to vote, and why should the legal system play on their side in giving them compensation.
In my opinion, someone who has committed a crime that is severe enough that they are placed in prison, deserves to lose certain privileges, including the right to vote.
A criminal has broken the law, therefore they ought to be paying the price for their crime, and not having the privilege of voting is something that they currently lose under UK law.
For the legal system to claim that a criminal ought to be financially compensated for not being allowed to vote is ridiculous. Under normal circumstances many prisoners would probably not even think about voting, but now of course they are likely to stand up and be counted, just to try and get compensation, which is set to cost the government hundreds of millions of pounds.
The group of lawyers who are defending these claims, branded "vultures" in the legal community, are representing as many as 2,500 prisoners.
There is a growing discontentment in the UK with it's being a member of the European Union, and legal cases like this from what is a very liberal European Court, serve to add fuel to the demands that the UK leave and retain the right to decide on it's own laws.
Take murderers for example, or rapists, or in the USA those on death row. Ought people like that to be allowed to vote?
So what is your view, should prisoners have the right to vote in elections, or by breaking the law should they forego certain privileges that are awarded to normal citizens?
Sources:
Published by Tony Payne
Tony Payne is a freelance writer who lives on the South Coast of England with his wife Debbie. He has worked in the IT Industry all his life, and has been writing on various sites for the last 10 years. T... View profile
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28 Comments
Post a CommentHow severe are the crimes which land people in prison?
Thank you for sharing! Catching up on pvs.
It is not easy Tony, but I feel some Human Rights protagonists carry their arguments too far to stall the legal process in countries. There should be no one-size-fits-all mode playing into the hands of enemies of society. Rule of law is tough enough otherwise in democractic systems with some legal brains working overtime to cook up outrageous cases, belittling the legal process. Yes, UK is caught in a bind on this issue. You are damned if you agree and if you don't! Another, issue that will obscure more important ones for sure - siva
I agree with Josie Rosa. Just because a criminal lands in prison doesn't mean that he is more evil than others walking around who had the good fortune to not get caught. I think the justice system needs to break down the types of criminal offenses that warrant whether or not someone is able to vote. Rapists, murderers, and pedophiles should lose the right to vote. But again, if we take away the right to vote from criminals who are "caught," we still leave thousands of other rapists, murderers, and pedophiles who continue to commit their crimes without getting caught. Who decides? Maybe everybody should vote on it ;)
Thought provoking piece! Never really gave it much thought before.
I have mixed feelings about this, but I don't think that prisoners should be compensated because their voting rights were taken away. That's absurd.
I guess my question is... why SHOULDN'T convicted criminals be allowed to vote? Some states here in the US permit it; some do not. I tend to agree with the position that voting is a right and not a privilege, and I think (although I'm no legal expert) that that position is at least inferred in the American Declaration of Independence and Constitution. The question of whether criminals give up certain "inalienable rights" when convicted has never been definitively settled. These are the perils nation-states face when they give up at least part of their sovereignty to a "union" of other nation-states.
@Darren Nicely put. Maybe you could point that out to the European Courts.
I don't view voting as a right, but rather a responsibility. Someone who has committed a crime that lands them in prison has shown they are not responsible, and like the disobedient child has shown they can't handle that kind of decision making. You simply don't give people jobs they can't perform, and voting is a very serious job.
good job - I feel the same/except that i'vehung around enough judges to suspect there is more.