Appeals court rules against Mississippi Jim Crow-era voting restrictions for felons
Jenny Goldsberry
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The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a Jim Crow-era voting restriction law Friday that prohibits felons from voting.
Judges voted 2-1 against Section 241 of the state’s constitution, which was created with racist intent in 1890. It specifies that those who are convicted of murder, rape, bribery, theft, arson, obtaining money or goods under false pretense, perjury, forgery, embezzlement, or bigamy no longer have the right to vote.
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Judge Jame Dennis cited data that showed that out of 29,000 Mississippians convicted of disqualifying offenses who had also completed their sentences between 1994 and 2017, 58% were black. Previously, the same court cited an amendment from 1968 that removed all “discriminatory taint.” Another amendment from 1950 removed “burglary” from the list.
Roy Harness and Kamal Karriem are black men who were convicted of forgery and embezzlement and lost their rights to vote as a result. They filed their lawsuit in 2018, alleging that the law violated the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishments.
“This is a major victory for Mississippians who have completed their sentences and deserve to participate fully in our political process,” Harness and Karriem’s lawyer, Jonathan Youngwood, said.
Republican state Attorney General Lynn Fitch plans to appeal the decision.
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Mississippi is one of nine states that implements lifelong voting bans for convicted felons. Other states with similar ramifications include Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Wyoming. Additionally, Maryland and Missouri have similar bans for those convicted of specific election crimes.
Another 35 states prohibit the implementation of such a ban. Washington D.C., Maine, and Vermont permit felons to vote from prison before their sentence is complete.