Prison Reform: Should Prisoners Vote?

The question of whether prisoners should be given a right to vote has continued to surface in the news over the years. Although David Cameron remains strongly opposed to the idea, stating that prisoners ‘damn well shouldn’t’ be given such a right, voices are continuously being raised against the ban, particularly on a European level. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the UK’s blanket ban on voting for prisoners breached their human rights, something that Euro sceptics are likely to be strongly opposed to. The government is now considering the right to vote for prisoners sentenced for a year or less; as resisting the European Court’s ruling could lead to millions of pounds in compensation being paid out.  

But the question remains: should prisoners be able to vote? 

Views are split between the two extremes of ‘definitely’ and ‘absolutely not’ with others believing that the vote should extend to prisoners under certain circumstances, (such as those serving less than 12 months).

One argument against prisoners voting is that they are responsible for their own ‘removal’ from society and therefore should not be allowed to participate in questions of a political nature. The government has argued that denying their right to vote ensures that justice is ‘seen to be done’, adequately punishes offenders and enhances respect for the law. 

On the other hand, an argument strongly advocated by the Howard League Penal Reform group is that prisoners are still a part of society and should be allowed to make decisions about issues which are likely to affect them on their release. By allowing prisoners to engage with the outside world in this way, it allows them to feel valued and by giving them rights they are able to appreciate their responsibilities. In this sense it appears to be a very good form of rehabilitation.

Another argument is that the right to vote is a basic human right: just because they are not ‘free’ does not mean they are no longer people and therefore should be stripped of their voices and opinions.   

The debate is ongoing and it is difficult to predict what will happen next… 

Photo credits: The Telegraph

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