"The Cruel Hand"

Disenfranchisement.

Unemployment.

Homelessness.

These are the consequences of being a charged felon in America. In the fourth chapter of The New Jim Crow titled “The Cruel Hand”, Michelle Alexander discusses the impact of a felony beyond jail time.

The consequences of jail time break key foundations of American society. America is a culture with an infamous “dream,” a dream of upward mobility and social equality to all citizens regardless of class, race, or religion. The American Dream is a large component of American culture, and the term “dream” is certainly accurate because it is a fantasy that is nearly unattainable, especially for felons.

Have you filled out an application recently? I did for a volunteer program, and I didn’t think twice when I checked the “no” box when asked whether I had been convicted of a felony. This isn’t the case for the 65 million Americans who are required to check yes (Alexander, 147). What employer is going to hire a felon? What landlord would lease to a felon? Given the choice, very few will provide ex-offenders with the opportunities necessary for success. Their crime, whatever the magnitude, will affect their futures socially and financially throughout their futures. Regardless of the crime, this doesn’t seem fair to me.

Beyond unfair, however, is felon disenfranchisement. A constitutional right in American democracy is the right to vote. Once convicted of a felony, this right is taken away, and after sentence completion, the right to vote can be difficult to regain. For example, Clinton Drake was arrested for possession of $10 worth of marijuana. He spent five years in prison. Now he has to pay a $900 fee in order to regain his democratic rights (Alexander, 160). Like many others, Drake cannot afford to pay these fines, so these fees essentially bar poor black people from employing their right to vote.

Eight years after the publication of The New Jim Crow, progress was finally made for felon disenfranchisement. In November of 2018, courts and legislatures amended Florida’s constitution, giving all felons who have completed their sentences (excluding those charged with murder and felony sexual assault) full voting rights. This restored the voting rights to over 1.5 million ex-offenders (Mak). Amendment 4 to Florida’s constitution gave some rights back to black people targeted by America’s War on Drugs, and it is a step in the right direction. A Florida judge said:

"In Florida, elected, partisan officials have extraordinary authority to grant or withhold the right to vote from hundreds of thousands of people without any constraints, guidelines, or standards" (Mak)

Unfortunately, yesterday (Tuesday, March 19), Florida’s legislature passed a bill that detracts from the value of the amendment and limits felon enfranchisement. Republicans aim to require “former felons to pay back all court fees and fines before they can register” to vote (Timm). If this bill is made into law, it will take away nearly all of the benefits from Amendment 4 because very few ex-offenders would be able to pay the fee.

These events in Florida within the past 6 months show that the impact of incarceration on felons is still true and relevant today, nine years later. I sincerely hope that the bill does not go any further, but we will see. Progress is slow, but it is still progress.

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Works Cited

Mak, Tim. "Over 1 Million Florida Felons Win Right To Vote With Amendment 4."
     npr, 7 Nov. 2018, www.npr.org/2018/11/07/665031366/
     over-a-million-florida-ex-felons-win-right-to-vote-with-amendment-4.
     Accessed 20 Mar. 2019.

Timm, Jane C. "Florida Republicans move to limit felon voting rights despite
     constitutional amendment." NBC News, NBC Universal, 19 Mar. 2019,
     www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/
     florida-republicans-move-limit-felon-voting-rights-despite-constitutional-amendme
     nt-n985156. Accessed 20 Mar. 2019.