I agree with you. But don’t you think that punishment for heinous acts of violence are not severe? Basically any convict sent to prison for a felony gets thrown into an environment that promotes more criminal activity, and teaching how to perform other criminal activity. Not all of the prison population is beyond help. Just throwing criminals into these prisons is not helping most. It’s doing the opposite. Some of them go in barely adults that made horrible mistakes, were with the wrong people, or were misled. The prison system hones their mind, and eventually tempers their soul in a permanent state of evil thoughts and acts.
Like I’m saying, people that commit heinous cold blooded crimes should be locked away forever and forgotten. What about the stupid kid that is pressured or coerced into driving a getaway car for a stupid gas station hold up? Someone gets shot, the kid goes to prison without a chance. The other prisoners eat him alive , and teach him what they know about crime. He may want to try to do something productive with his life when he gets out, so he goes to try to find a job and turn his life around, but all he runs into are brick walls. Desperation and hopelessness on every side so this time the kid is the one in the store holding a gun to someones head. Our prison system promotes this type of scenario.
However, stripping felons of their rights on a case to case basis using logic and common sense is not wrong to do. But on the other hand, stripping all felons of their rights regardless of the crime and situation is wrong IMHO. Our entire prison system is completely FUBAR is the point I’m trying to make. Some of these people deserve second chances, otherwise how can they get away from it all? It certainly isn’t impossible to do, but it is very very hard. In fact, I know a few people that have committed felonies, nothing like murder or rape of course. I know two I went to high school with, and spent a lot of time around through mutual friends. They both wised up after jail, have paid off the victims of the property damage caused, never physically hurt anyone. One has married and has an awesome baby boy. The other has worked full time for 4 or 5 years now at a job where he has been promoted multiple times, but it’s still a low wage job. He can’t find anything better even though he has skills and learned good work ethic, because of a stupid mistake when he was fresh out of high school. Both wish they had never done what they did. They want to be successful and be happy, and every time I see either they mention how dumb and stupid they were. But they are felons forever stripped of rights that I and many of their other friends enjoy. But now they have proven themselves, both are productive decent men.
Perhaps without the time served they would still be doing criminal things on a nightly basis. Maybe it worked for them, but they are still being punished after paying their dues, and have suffered because of it for years. Try raising a family when you were a convicted felon so long ago it’s irrelevant to everyone around you, your loved ones, and employer. But still not be able to get ahead, anywhere. Because FELON comes up on any background check. Can’t buy a gun to protect your family. Can’t vote to protect your family. You get pulled over for a tail light out and the cops assume you are committing crimes so you are detained and questioned until they finally realize you aren’t doing anything wrong. No matter what you do, you cannot get away from it. Twenty more years and those two will still be getting turned down by employers, gun stores, and suspected by police. All because of a stupid mistake that they paid for, made amends for, and have been forgiven by those that care about them. They’ve done much much more good then evil in their lives. Yet it’s okay to strip their rights away so they are just a shell of a free American citizen? I will never be able to agree with that.
But, back to the main point. Yes, SOME FELONS SHOULD BE STRIPPED OF THEIR RIGHTS. But not all, is my point. The people I referred to in my long post (I have a habit of this) are not fictional in any way. That’s not hypothetical. That and some family members have had troubles with the law. They are the lucky few I know that have done good with themselves despite being felons. It starts with a stupid mistake like they made, but the system is designed to keep felons committing felonies.
You also have to remember that back in the days of the Founders, you COULD make a fresh start. The all-knowing, all-pervasive Police State didn't follow you everywhere you went. The law-n-order Fascists will never admit to this reality, or the history, either.
Simply because I point out that a law isn't unconstitutional doesn't mean that I agree with it.
I would incarcerate people who are clearly dangerous to others, and do so for likely longer than they are being held now. I would also work their asses off. If they didn't work, they would get bread and water.
For people who have done things like destroy $50k in property, I would treat them separately, forcing them to pay off the actual damage, while also restricting certain freedoms such as travel. When they were done, I would be in favor of a simpler restitution process that would allow them to petition (not at undue expense) for full restoration of rights. Recidivism would be a big factor in restoration.
I could see other people being punished with logical lifetime restrictions due to specific behaviors. For example, a man that has been arrested multiple times for reckless endangerment with a firearm, could lose his right to a firearm for life.
These are all issues of addressing and changing criminal law via the legislature, not constitutional issues.