Prisoners to get the vote - Page 2

shakermaker · 03-02-2006, 22:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gayle

Whilst there are possibly some prisoners in prison who are reasonable and of sound mind - possibly they committed relatively minor crimes like theft or non payment of council tax, etc. There are undoubtedly some people in there who are seriously unhinged - i.e. pathologically insane people like murderers etc. Can we for one minute imagine that they can make a reasoned, impartial decision about who should be running the country.

but yet there are comparitively NORMAL people voting BNP on the outside...those people seem unhinged in my opinion
something doesnt seem quite right there

garinda · 03-02-2006, 22:45

I do think that unless someone is criminally insane, who would anyway be in a secure hospital like Broadmoor not prison, prisoners should have the right to vote.

Remember the best criminals are the ones that don't get caught, and already have the right to vote.

Why are you so against it Gayle? Do you think that anybody that is currently imprisoned from St Andrew's ward, the ward you are contesting, is more likely to vote Conservative?

grannyclaret · 03-02-2006, 23:20

what about all those people who are out and about ,with their ankles tagged?

Gayle · 03-02-2006, 23:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

I do think that unless someone is criminally insane, who would anyway be in a secure hospital like Broadmoor not prison, prisoners should have the right to vote.

Remember the best criminals are the ones that don't get caught, and already have the right to vote.

Why are you so against it Gayle? Do you think that anybody that is currently imprisoned from St Andrew's ward, the ward you are contesting, is more likely to vote Conservative?

Do you think that murderers are of sound mind? What sort of prison are they in?

I'm so against it because I think that if someone has been found guilty of a crime and sent to prison then they should not have any rights other than basic needs, i.e. bed, food, etc. Prison is not a holiday camp but from what we're told they're turning into them.

WillowTheWhisp · 04-02-2006, 00:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

If we are to decide who has, or hasn't the right to vote, where will it end? Unemployed people, the very elderly, the illiterate?

If? At present prisoners are not permitted to vote and as far as I'm aware never have been allowed to vote so where does the "if" come into it? Decisions have already been made in the past and I think we should stick with them. Fair enough there may well be criminals on the outside who have never been caught and who vote at present but that doesn't convince me that it's better for all criminals to have a vote. If criminals are allowed to vote don't you fear that they may vote for people who law abiding citizens would rather not have in power?

garinda · 04-02-2006, 00:30

So if the little old lady who was imprisoned for not paying her council tax last year, who a lot of people hailed on here as a heroine, happened to have been in prison during an election, she should not be allowed a vote?

Still not convinced. Taking someones freedom away is the punishment. We might as well throw people into dark Satanic prisons, and have the gentle folk go to gawp at them like they used to do in Victorian times.

Example. A woman is found guilty of wounding her husband in self defence, after suffering years of abuse. Should she have her democratic right to vote taken away?

Charity apparently begins and ends at home.

garinda · 04-02-2006, 00:33

..and yes Willow, I do know prisoners don't have this right at present. My use of 'if' was rhetorical.

Madhatter · 04-02-2006, 01:05

Yes but the whole idea of being locked up is to take rights away, one of those rights is the right to vote, its been decided in the past , and i'm more interested in the motives behind the sugestion to let them vote. Whos sugesting it and why.
People on a tag have limited rights granted back to them, so I see no reason why they shouldn't vote.

garinda · 04-02-2006, 01:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Madhatter

Yes but the whole idea of being locked up is to take rights away, one of those rights is the right to vote, its been decided in the past , and i'm more interested in the motives behind the sugestion to let them vote. Whos sugesting it and why.
People on a tag have limited rights granted back to them, so I see no reason why they shouldn't vote.

All rights? What if the little old lady/council tax heroine needed medical treatment?

Should people in prison not have the right to health care, regardless of the severity of their crimes?

Madhatter · 04-02-2006, 01:29

No not all rights, but in the past someone decided one of those rights is the right to vote. if it's up for discussion again now the original reasons for not allowing it and the reasons for bringing it up for change should be made clear.

chav1 · 04-02-2006, 01:51

well i think its disgusting that prisoners get to play the lottery and keep their winnings never mind been allowed to vote

a prison could in theory upset a local election if they all agreed to vote for one particular party

say preston prisoners got to vote there would be a few thousand votes that if these people were at home wouldnt exist because they wouldnt be in the preston area

anyway the idea of prison is to take peoples liberties away not to pamper them

garinda · 04-02-2006, 01:54

I don't think it would work like that. I presume they would get a postal vote, and it would count to their home constituency tally.

chav1 · 04-02-2006, 01:55

well thats ok then because the way roya mail is these days its unlikely the vites will make it back to the ballot lol

staggeringman · 04-02-2006, 02:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

Prisoners should forfeit all their rights when they are in prison. They cn have them restored if and when they are released. Why should theives, murderers, rapists have a say in the running of the country? Good grief they'll be putting up for election next!

then you had better watch out gayle !there is more of them than us!

katex · 04-02-2006, 10:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

If we are to decide who has, or hasn't the right to vote, where will it end? Unemployed people, the very elderly, the illiterate?

I thought impisonment was the punishment.

Was thinking a little along these lines myself when spotted this post. The problem I have is that I can always see two sides to a discussion and do agree that criminals who have committed terrible acts against the society we have founded, should not be allowed to have a voting opinion anymore. There are some prisoners however that are in there due to other types of crime, such as some pensioner who,as a protest, refused to pay their council tax. Will be many more like this I suspect, and would not object to a vote from these people. That, to me, means that the prisoners would have to be individually assessed for who can and who can't.
Just wondered if people under psychiatric care are still allowed the vote and sectioned people who have been put there for their own safety, e.g. eating disorders etc ??