The Anonymous Widower

Prisoners and Votes

This is a difficult one as I said earlier and I suspect that when the Commons vote tonight, they’ll make the worst of a bad job.

The general population and the tabloids and especially those of the vengeful tendency are all for a total ban, but perhaps what we need is a radical approach. 

After all the number of people in jail, is probably more than have the right to vote in many constiuencies.  So why not have another parliamentary constituency and they can vote for who they want?  You might put restrictions on those who could stand, so such as the Yorkshire Ripper couldn’t. And obviously anybody serving a current sentence would find it difficult.  But then no-one could argue that we weren’t giving prisoners representation and voting rights.

It is not for me to call lawyers greedy, but if we don’t give prisoners some rights in this area, my learned friends will have a lot of work to do, dealing with compensation claims against the government.  And then if the prisoners should win compensation, their victims would then have some assets to fight over!

So voting not to give prisoners the vote could be a beanfeast for lawyers.

February 10, 2011 - Posted by AnonW | News | Law, Prison