This a very good and difficult answer. I know at this point, they are not give their rights back. I would not know how to judge this case versus that case to see if the severity of the crimes warrant further punishment. I guess I trually don't know what would be a correct answer to this. I just hope I never am in the situation to have to find out.

I do not feel they should have those rights restored as they had a choice in keeping them in the first place. This is actually a highly debated topic on the court tv boards. I am not out to offend anyone.. especially if someone out there is a felon who has turned their life around..or was falsely accused.. but I do believe felons forfeit their rights. True felons.. as in those who did actually commit the crime/s. As far as the level of severity.. as a whole I will still have to say that a felon is a felon but I do realize that the judicial system is only as good as those working in it and some people are given harsh sentences when they should not have.. I do believe if the possibility of a felon's rights being stored is possible.. it should be on an individual/case basis.

Yes, I believe convicted felons should have their rights restored after a period of time. Especially non-violent, first time offenders. They are given an actual sentence in a court of law, they complete that sentence and then continue to pay for their poor choice for the rest of their lives...essentially serving a life sentence! People don't realize that some felons are people who were busted with small amounts of drugs, 25 years ago. I promise you they continue to pay for that mistake long after they work to turn their lives around, running into brick walls (employment, education funding, housing, etc.) all along the way. If you think it could never happen to you, well I hope not. Not all conviceted felons are bad people, most made a poor choice and are paying for it for the rest of their lives!

You're forgetting something. They may have served their time for a particular crime, but what about all the others which no one knows about? Still want to restore their rights?

I was convicted of a felony in 1986, did my time, and stayed out of trouble ever since. Where is the harm in letting me vote, get a passport, or for that matter owning a gun for defense of my family at home?

i was recently accused of threatening my soon to be exwife. she claims i said i was going to kill her. which is totaly not true. i have been charged with a felony, but havent been to court yet. whats sad is i was moving out of the country once the divorce was final. now with this charge and possible conviction i cant get a passport. what type of system is this? our government and all of its little troopers want to keep us here? for what? i want to leave. how do i get around it? swim the river to mexico? pass all of the illegals coming in?wtf????

i feel that it would depend on the severity of your crime. and after all if you want to leave the country why would they want to keep you here?

They are called "correctional facilities," aren't they? I think a person should have their rights restored after proving they have definitely "corrected" themselves and their actions.

Ok guys... I am a felon too... I will not go into details. Let's just say that some of America's laws are backward and draconian. And too often, justice is denied to the poor -- which includes single mothers. This is something I am passionate about. Our laws need to be based on the amount of victimization; seeing drug crimes such as selling marijuana serve 10-25 years, yet crimes such as child abuse or rape might serve less. It happens. I can document it. Not to mention that our drug laws are based on misinformation, prejudice, and propaganda, to name a few. But I digress. I was on probation, I did well. I went to college. I just got my bachelor of science in psychology with a minor in criminal justice. I am the perfect argument that we MUST make a stand and use our brains, not just think what we have always been taught. Furthermore, I must clue you in, if you made it this far, you CAN still vote in many states. And a passport is granted to anyone except a current prisoner (no brainer there) or one convicted of treason or a drug crime where they crossed into a foreign country to commit it. So that's a moot point. Look into expungement, many states provide for it. Yes, it's a stumbling block, but you CAN pick your life back up and go on. Good luck!

Yes they should. I am a convicted felon, also I am an american who fought for this country. And now because of a mistake I made I can no longer vote and have any say in who or how this country is ran? This isnt right, nor is it right that as violent as some of the people in this country are, I cant even own a gun to protect my family. I agree that if you break the law you should pay for it, but the court says how you are suppose to repay your debt to society, i.e 1 year in prison or 10 in prison. But to take away our constitutional rights from us for the rest of our lives is not right. If thats the case, why not just deport all the felons? That is crazy, so why cant after a certain period of time can I not have my constituional rughts restored?

Why is that that everyone is discussing weather your rights should be restored. As I understand it a right is something that cannot be taken away by the government. Further if we consider which rights are the ones or one most violated we would have to ask. When was the last time you needed to get a permit to carry your first amendment right. If you are convicted of a felony can you keep your first amandment right? how about your third, fourth, fifth, etc. since if you have been convicted of a felony why should we trust you with any of your rights at all???

Some people have made bad choices in their young adult lives. My child was carrying a gun which was very stupid especially since people are getting murdered every day. The gun was not loaded. However he did not go to prison but he is now a felon. I am very hurt because I know that this is like a life sentence. However, I believe in a higher power, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and he grant favor towards those who believe in him. God is able to open doors no matter what the situation is, he is all powerful.

Felon's right to vote is restored or restricted based upon the state in which they live and are convicted. 12 states bar voting while in prison, on parole, on probation, or permanently. 18 states allow voting after completion of prison and all supervised release programs are completed. 5 states allow voting after completion of prison and parole. 2 states are unrestricted and allow felons to vote from prison. Go to Maine or Vermont if you have plans for a life of crime. Source: http://felonvoting.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=286

I can vote because I am lucky enough to live in the state of Maine. We are thinking of trying to get it pardoned. We'll never sell pot again. But then, I think only violent crimes should be felonies. I was 21 with an unemployed husband and we sold pot, to our friends only. NO ONE under the age of 18! We were 983 yards from a school. If I had lived across the street I wouldn't be a felon. I still think they did the measurements going through peoples homes.

Absolutely! It is unfair to have to pay for your poor choices the rest of your life. Some people commit crimes get caught and pay for their crime in the way that the court decides. While others dont get caught, but that doesnt make the people that dont get caught better people than those who do. If that is the case, then everyone should take a lie detector test and be asked questions like, "Have you ever driven a car after drinking 2 beers or 2 glasses of wine?" Have you ever smoked pot or snorted illegal drugs?" Since being in possession of said drugs at some point in time is illegal, then everyone who fails the lie detector test should be banned from their rights.

Leave it "as is" and treated the same.

What rights?

They should be deported as a condition of release.

I FEEL THAT THE STATE IS SO QUICK TO GIVE OUT FELONYS TO ANYONE. i DONT UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR RECORD CAN BE SEAL IF YOU UNDERGO YOUR PROBATION BUT IF YOU CHOOSE TO TO serve out YOUR TIME AND STILL STAY OUT OF TROBLE YOU AREN'T AWARDED THE SAME RIGHTS. THE SYSTEM IS SET UP FOR THE PEOPLE TO FAIL IF YOU CAN'T GET A NICE PLACE TO LIVE OR GET A JOB NO WONDER THE PEOPLE GO BACK TO CRIME. I WANT TO HELP CHANGE THE LAW PLEASE HELP. iF YOU HAVE ANY POSTIVE INPUT PLEASE EMAIL ME GINASIMMONS@YAHOO.COM

yes,from a convicted felon. i pulled three years in prison for having an unregestered ar 15 that came with parts from an m 16 that was stolen from the fort knox army base. the person that sold it to me had a son that was stationed at fort knox.i never tried to convert the gun to automatic.however, because i was in possession of the parts, i was convicted. i was an avid hunter but now i am restricted to hunting with a bow which is ok i guess, but i feel cheated not to be able to own a gun.i have never pointed a gun at anyone in my life until i was sent to nam and ordered to kill the enemy. i was good enough to have one then.i just want to be able to hunt again.i've been out of prison since 2001 did my probation,(3 years)and have never been in trouble with the law since.

I was protecting myself from my ex-girlfriend boyfriend in which he tried to kill me about her. At the time i was carrying a gun for protection of him because, i heard threw the grape vine that he was out to kill me. To make a long store short, i shot and killed him in a gun battle. I was sentenced to 20yrs for a second degree murder charge. This took place in 1991 however, i was released in 2000 with a great prison history and, now that I'm release i can't get a job and no one will hire me with this conviction. I've been trouble free for 10yrs. So, yes! i know convicted felons rights should be restored as soon as their released. But, the system is a revolutionary system. It's how they make their money and, there's nothing no one can do about it.

Ask your self that question. Have you every had a fight with another person and you won even tho they started it. This person picked on your for 4yrs before you decided enough was enough. Because you won should you be a felon for life. This is on senerio of a violent crime. Another for you. 12yr old and his friend 14yr old broke into someones homethe owners where there and shot and killed the 14yr old. The 12yr old is charged with the murder goes to prison for 12yrs and when he gets out he can find a job and apt a nothing because he is labelled a felon of a violent crime. Honestly you think these people should have a life sentence and never be able to leave a normal life?

First off let me begin by saying I personally am a convicted felon. I have not committed a crime in over ten years, And yes i am still haunted by my bad decisions made all those years ago. Now before anybody passes judgement my crimes were non dangerous and not sex crimes or crimes against children. I had a drug sales, and theft charge but even now I am held back from my full potential in the work force. I am an intelligent male that has alot to offer a company. I believe after your ten years all aspects of your crime should automatically be sealed to employers. If you would like to give me your opinion personally or if you have any legal advice for me on how to handle this isue please feel frree to contact me directly at tcoates32@gmail.com thank you and i look forward to your comments

No - use them as test subjects instead of animals.

I agree that convicted felons should be given back their rights on a case by case basis after a certain amount of years. 20+ or so. I believe this would give incentive to do good. At least for the next 20 years the felon might work toward getting the conviction overturned and society would not have to be subjected to crime by this individual.