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California pardons actor Robert Downey Jr for drug conviction

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The pardon does not expunge his record but restores his rights as a citizen, including the right to vote.

It's really shocking that in America you lose the right to vote if you are convicted of certain types of crimes. It's fundamentally undemocratic. What if 90% of people eventually end up with a criminal record and are unable to vote for politicians who propose to change the law? Why should the minority (no matter how pious they are) be allowed to impose their will on the majority?

8 ( +11 / -3 )

Millionaire white guys get pardons; poor black guys rot in prison.

15 ( +17 / -3 )

It's really shocking that in America you lose the right to vote if you are convicted of certain types of crimes.

Those "certain types of crimes" are called felonies. Voting is a privilege accorded to citizens in good standing. A felony conviction kind of goes against the "in good standing" phrase, don't you think? To paraphrase Sammy Davis Jr., "Don't do the crime if you can't do without voting."

Why should the minority (no matter how pious they are) be allowed to impose their will on the majority?

Someone's been feeding you an incredibly rank sample of bovine feces if you think the majority of American adults are felons. Stop eating the B.S.... PLEASE. A study was done using data current to 2010 and found the total number of current and former felons in the U.S. in 2010 was just shy of 20 million people. Divide that by the total adult census (18 and older - children can't vote) taken in 2010 (235,224,016) and you find that in 2010 only 8.5% of the adult population had ever been, or were currently, felons. I'd say there's quite a ways to go before the ratio of current or former felons ever approaches 1:1 with law-abiding citizens.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

@M3M3M3

"What if 90% of people eventually end up with a criminal record and are unable to vote." Thats why it is done, so only people who follow the rules/government can vote.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

@Fadamor

Those "certain types of crimes" are called felonies. Voting is a privilege accorded to citizens in good standing. A felony conviction kind of goes against the "in good standing" phrase, don't you think?

Why should speeding be classed as a misdemeanor (enabling you to keep your voting rights) while drug possession a felony? It's a ridiculously arbitrary distinction. The only reason speeding is not a felony is because more people speed than use drugs.

Someone's been feeding you an incredibly rank sample of bovine feces if you think the majority of American adults are felons. Stop eating the B.S.... PLEASE. A study was done using data current to 2010 and found the total number of current and former felons in the U.S. in 2010 was just shy of 20 million people.

I never said they were. And it's not about the numbers, it's about taking the principle and extending it to the worst case scenario. You can't excuse a manifestly unjust law by saying that at the moment only a minority of people are affected. 20 million is a tremendous amount when you consider how close US elections are and how most of these former felons are likely Democratic voters.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

"I am governor Jerry Brown, my aura smiles and never frowns..." Nuff said (Opening lyrics to California über alles)

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I never said they were. And it's not about the numbers, it's about taking the principle and extending it to the worst case scenario. You can't excuse a manifestly unjust law by saying that at the moment only a minority of people are affected.

"Manifestly unjust"? You seem concerned with drug possession felonies. Please read the following:

Possessing “illegal drugs” may be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, a more serious charge. The prosecutor’s choice will depend on the type of drug involved (sometimes, possessing a certain type of drug will automatically lead to felony charges). The circumstances of the crime will also play a part—when “aggravating circumstances” are present (such as possessing illegal drugs on school grounds), a felony charge is likely.

WHAT is possessed, HOW MUCH is possessed, and WHERE it is possessed determines whether the possession charge is a misdemeanor or a felony. The possessor is entirely in control of which type of charge they could be susceptible to, so don't try to make it seem like they didn't have a choice in the matter. Their choice determined what charge they received. Pardon me if I don't have too much concern for people who chose poorly.

20 million is a tremendous amount when you consider how close US elections are and how most of these former felons are likely Democratic voters.

LOL. Let's cite your source, eh? Ted Cruz on a radio program at the end of November had this little gem:

the simple and undeniable fact is the overwhelming majority of violent criminals are Democrats.

This, of course, caused a whole slew of fact checkers to perk their ears up. Cruz was citing a report that had appeared earlier and he somehow parsed his astounding quote out of a survey that asked former felons (not just violent felons) who had been re-issued their right to vote if they had registered with a particular political party. To top it off, the survey only involved three states, New York, New Mexico, and North Carolina. OF THOSE THREE STATES, anywhere from 60 to 75% of the ex-felons who responded didn't register with ANY party. So as you can see, the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of felons are not a member of ANY party.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/12/01/ted-cruzs-claim-that-the-overwhelming-majority-of-violent-criminals-are-democrats/

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I wish all recovering drug addicts were given as much support and leeway as this man has been. He has been hired and rehired and applauded for 'turning his life around', as though he hadn't had every opportunity, while other men just like him are given no such chances and help. If they were, the world would be a much different place.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

M3, federal law does not regulate voting rights of felons; those are handled by the states. This link provides info: "The chart below provides links to each state's laws on felon voting and places each US state within one of five categories ranging from harshest (may lose vote permanently) to least restrictive (may vote while in prison)." http://felonvoting.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000286 It's been in the news recently as the newly-elected governor of Kentucky has moved to permanently disenfranchise felons.

If you haven't seen him in "Chaplin," you really should. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAr9IPT5Cdw

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Does this mean he'll be allowed to enter Japan now for press tours ?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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