Free Republic

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Friday requiring ex-felons to pay court-ordered financial penalties to get their voting rights restored, a move that brought immediate legal action from activists seeking to stop the new law. The Legislature passed the bill this past spring in response to Amendment 4, which was approved by the voters in November to restore voting rights for ex-felons other than murderers and sex offenders. The amendment won 64.5% of the vote.

The state of California has made no secret that it wants to let as many people out of prison as possible. From the early release of inmates through AB 109, to filling parole boards with felon friendly commissioners, to decriminalizing a litany of felonies and drug offenses with Props 47 and 57, Sacramento lawmakers are bending over backwards to dramatically reduce the state’s inmate population. Despite all of these efforts, the number of inmates hasn’t dropped dramatically enough to satisfy the state’s ruling Democrats, so they’re kicking tires on a new approach — rigging the jury system so no one...

The state of California has made no secret that it wants to let as many people out of prison as possible. From the early release of inmates through AB 109, to filling parole boards with felon friendly commissioners, to decriminalizing a litany of felonies and drug offenses with Props 47 and 57, Sacramento lawmakers are bending over backwards to dramatically reduce the state’s inmate population. Despite all of these efforts, the number of inmates hasn’t dropped dramatically enough to satisfy the state’s ruling Democrats, so they’re kicking tires on a new approach — rigging the jury system so no one...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday pardoned seven former felons, including two Cambodian refugees the Trump administration wants to deport, in his first acts of clemency since the Democrat took office in January. Newsom adopted a policy of his predecessor, former Gov. Jerry Brown, to use his state constitutional authority to issue pardons to shield immigrants targeted by federal immigration officials.

Democrats used to argue that once felons had served their time, they had paid their debt to society and should be able to vote. Leading presidential candidate Bernie Sanders now wants felons to never lose their right to vote, not even for those who have committed the most horrible crimes, not even while they’re in prison.

Bernie Sanders reaffirmed his stance on prison voting in an op-ed published Monday by USA Today. The 2020 presidential hopeful and current Vermont senator has vocally supported not just allowing those with prior felony convictions to cast their ballot, but those who are currently incarcerated as well. "This should not devolve into a debate about whether certain people are 'good enough' to have the right to vote. Voting is not a privilege. It is a right," Sanders wrote. "In my view, the crooks on Wall Street who caused the great recession of 2008 that hurt millions of Americans are not...

Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, has said that many of his ideas from his failed 2016 campaign have now become “mainstream.” While some of his ideas have gained traction with some Americans, his latest policy proposal — allowing all felons to vote — is a no-go for an overwhelming majority of Americans.

Crazy Bernie wants Boston Marathon bomber to vote.

Progressive organizations, many financed by billionaire activist George Soros, are working overtime to restore voting rights for Florida’s nearly 1.4 million ex-felons as the nation’s biggest swing state seems poised to play a pivotal electoral role in the 2020 presidential race. The current battle revolves around a Florida state amendment that was passed last year restoring voting rights for felons, with progressive groups opposing a local bill that would require the state’s ex-felons to first pay civil fines and court fees before registering to vote. Florida’s Amendment Four was approved by voters during last year’s Midterm election. The heavily Soros-funded...

Sen. Bernie Sanders has long fought to restore voting rights for felons who’ve completed their prison sentences. Now the presidential candidate wants to go a big step further – arguing that those currently behind bars should be able to vote too. Asked on the campaign trail in Muscatine, Iowa on Saturday if those imprisoned should have the right to vote, the independent senator from Vermont who’s making his second straight bid for the Democratic nomination answered: "I think that is absolutely the direction we should go.” "In my state, what we do is separate. You’re paying a price, you committed...

Go look at the DeMoines Register website. Bernie is advocating to allow felons to vote. Most Democrats have little or no values and are criminally-minded, just like Trump has said. So, it makes sense.

Highlight Clip – Jared Kushner with Laura Ingraham a few hours ago ‘In Florida More Ex-Felons Register as Republicans than Democrats’ Jared Kushner: One statistic that I found very pleasing is that, in Florida they passed a law that former felons can now vote. We’ve had more ex-felons register as Republicans than Democrats and I think they see the reforms… Laura Ingraham: Woah, woah… You’ve had more ex-felons register as Republicans than Democrats? Jared Kushner: That’s the data that I’ve seen. I think that will surprise a lot of people.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — They just won’t die. The Patriots survived a wild, back-and-forth game to beat the Chiefs 37-31 in overtime in the AFC Championship at Arrowhead Stadium. The win puts them back in the Super Bowl for the third straight year and fourth time in five years where they will face the Rams in two weeks in Atlanta.

Vericool is a local company that is not only completely green, but it was founded by a former East Bay gang member who now hires ex-felons who are getting out of jail. Darrell Jobe launched the company in a factory in Livermore. There, workers make packing boxes and shipping containers, but they are also helping the environment. Half the people who work in the factory have been in jail or prison. When Kyil Parker got out of jail for dealing drugs, no one would hire him.

A new Florida law is scheduled to take effect on Tuesday that will reportedly allow those who have been convicted of felonies to register to vote. The Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that the new measure, which 64 percent of residents voted to approve last year, will automatically restore voting rights to Floridians with past felony convictions. According to the local newspaper, offenders who were not convicted of murder or sexual offenses that have also completed “all terms of their sentence including parole or probation” will have their voting rights automatically restored on Tuesday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) introduced the first piece of legislation for the newly convened 116th Congress and it is a political reform bill that includes a provision that would force states to allow convicted felons to vote as long as they were no longer actually in prison. “H.R. 1 will create automatic voter registration across the country; ensure that individuals who have completed felony sentences have their full rights restored; expand early voting and simplify absentee voting; and modernize the U.S. voting system,” says a summary of the bill released by Pelosi. A subsection of the bill is called...

The dogs were pit bulls or pit bull mixes, said John Welsh, a spokesman for Riverside County Animal Services. They have been impounded. “Her injuries were described to the responding officer as severe,” Welsh said. The woman, who is not the owner of the dogs, was attacked on her property on Mitchell Road about 10 a.m. while doing laundry, Animal Services Sgt. Lesley Huennekens said. There were no witnesses. Investigators are still trying to determine why the attack happened. Animal Services has identified the dogs’ owner, Welsh said. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is also investigating the attack.

The package of criminal justice reform proposals endorsed by President Donald Trump is not "soft" on crime. It's tough on injustice. And it's about time. Known as the "First Step Act," the legislation confronts the Titanic failure of the federal government's trillion-dollar war on drugs by reforming mandatory minimum sentences, rectifying unscientifically grounded disparities in criminal penalties for crack vs. powder cocaine users, and tackling recidivism among federal inmates through risk assessment, earned-time credit incentive structures, re-entry programs and transitional housing. There's nothing radical about giving law-breakers who served their time an opportunity to turn their lives around and avoid...

When President Trump "pardons" a pair of Thanksgiving turkeys on Tuesday, prisoners will be watching and hoping that Trump breaks with tradition and frees human beings alongside lucky birds. This year, optimism is fueled by signs that the White House and Justice Department are processing clemency requests, as Trump denounces perceived unfairness in criminal sentencing and vows to release more inmates. Last week, Trump endorsed legislation that would reduce some drug-crime penalties, after saying in October that "a lot of people" are jailed for "no reason," and that he was "actively looking" for inmates to release.

As most of you know, Florida yesterday passed a State Constitutional Amendment that will allow up to 1.5 million felons to vote. Only murderers and sex offenders are excluded. And there is indeed a lot of variation in the severity of the crime. Some felons are hardened criminals, while others are just guilty of possessing a little cannabis. Still, as most of you also know, Republicans cannot (?) win the White House without Florida. Am I exaggerating to fear that we will never win a presidential election again? Now, after doing a little research this morning, I learned that many...