Vol. 75/No. 47      December 26, 2011

Under new regulations imposed earlier this year, anyone convicted of a felony must wait a minimum of five years after serving their sentence, including any probation time, before they can apply for restoration of suspended rights. That application can then take years to process, according to Desmond Meade, president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. In the meantime, the person cannot vote, serve on a jury, hold public office or hold many jobs requiring licenses.

“This has an effect on jobs, housing, everything,” Meade told the Militant. “Various housing associations prohibit those who haven’t had their rights restored from renting or owning a home.”

“The change is effective immediately and potentially affects anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 felons,” reported Associated Press. Between 1993 and 2007, the number of prisoners in Florida rose from 53,000 to more than 97,000. Blacks are incarcerated at over four times the rate for whites in the state.

Speaking at the rally, Meade denounced new rules that allow county sheriffs to house juveniles in adult jails, as well as the “outsourcing of prisoners as slave labor at $2 per day” in private industry. “They don’t want ex-prisoners to have a voice. They don’t want immigrants to have a voice,” he said.

Other speakers included State Rep. Barbara Watson, who called for electing more Democrats to the state legislature. Candidates for county sheriff and school board also spoke, along with participants in the Occupy Fort Lauderdale and Occupy Miami protests.

“Once you’ve served your time you should be done, you shouldn’t have to serve time for the rest of your life,” said Vivian Williams, when asked why she came to the rally. Williams has been out of work for two years, after being laid off from a department store, and her unemployment benefits just ended. She said she has no confidence in either the Republicans or Democrats to solve the deepening economic and social crisis. “It’s going to take people sticking together,” she said.

Jessica Chippone told the Militant that she had an application pending to restore her rights when the rules changed, and now she has to wait to start over. Since getting out of prison, she has finished law school but can’t even apply to take the Florida bar exam until she has her rights reinstated. Chippone said it’s important to “raise awareness of the collateral consequences of pleas. I had no idea when I accepted a plea bargain” what the lifelong implications would be.

“So many people have given up hope,” said Lewis Smith, who works in a nursing home. “I want to spark a light in the people who’ve given up hope. They should be able to get a job and vote.”
 
 
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