A Mississippi appeals court overturned a Jim Crow law imposing a lifetime voting ban on people convicted of certain crimes. A 2-1 decision Friday ruled that disenfranchising an individual who has paid their debt to society is “unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment within the meaning of the Eighth Amendment.” Tens of thousands of Mississippi residents are prohibited from partaking in .
A federal appeals court ruled Mississippi’s lifetime voting ban for those convicted of certain felonies is unconstitutional, overturning a 19th-century law. A three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that the ban is considered “cruel and unusual punishment.” “In the last fifty years, a national consensus has emerged among the state legislatures against permanently disenfranchising those who have…
The 2-1 decision was announced in a one-page order issued Tuesday. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office will ask the court to vacate the stay, a spokeswoman said.