In a striking display of judicial division, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a momentous ruling on Friday, decreeing that Mississippi’s practice of stripping voting rights from ex-convicts upon completing their sentences constituted a “cruel and unusual punishment,” with disproportionate impact on Black individuals.
The contentious 2-1 panel scrutinized a provision within Mississippi’s state constitution, which enforced lifetime disenfranchisement for individuals convicted of crimes such as murder, rape, and theft. Unanimously siding with a group of former convicts who sought the restoration of their voting rights, U.S. Circuit Judge James Dennis penned an opinion decrying the state’s policy for its violation of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, designed to prohibit inhumane and disproportionate penalties.
Judge Dennis sternly rebuked the constitutional provision, known as Section 241, asserting that it served no valid purpose, hindered the full rehabilitation of former offenders, and was designed in 1890 post-Civil War era to uphold the “political supremacy of the white race.” The persistent racially discriminatory aim of this provision remained evident despite two amendments made to its list of disqualifying crimes in subsequent years. Notably, statistics revealed that of the nearly 29,000 Mississippians convicted of disenfranchising offenses who had completed their sentences between 1994 and 2017, a staggering 58% were Black.
In a defiant display against the tide, Mississippi persisted with the practice of permanent disenfranchisement, defying the trend embraced by 35 states and Washington, D.C., which have disavowed this approach. Judges Dennis and Carolyn Dineen King, both appointed by Democratic presidents, concurred in overturning a lower-court judge’s verdict, rendering this decision a significant victory for the plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit.
Jonathan Youngwood, legal representative for the ex-convicts, expressed elation at the outcome, emphasizing that this ruling bestowed upon these individuals the right to participate fully in the political process. However, Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s spokesperson indicated the intention to appeal the decision, citing that the Supreme Court’s stance does not view felon disenfranchisement as a form of punishment.
In dissenting opinion, U.S. Circuit Judge Edith Jones, appointed by former Republican President Ronald Reagan, invoked a 1974 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld state laws permanently disenfranchising felons, asserting that such measures did not infringe upon their equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution’s 4th Amendment.
In a resounding clash of legal ideologies, the 5th Circuit’s ruling ignites a fierce debate, as the nation grapples with the delicate balance between justice, rehabilitation, and the protection of civil liberties. The implications of this landmark ruling will undoubtedly echo far beyond the borders of Mississippi, resonating throughout the American legal landscape for years to come.
COMMENTS