14 March 2008

felonies of moral turpitude

some time last year i got into a late night conversation with my friend "rob" about crime. he's a bear of a man, a gigantic puppy with a heart of gold.

turns out he's a convicted felon.

ha! the things you don't know about your friends!

he was busted driving through alabama and the cops found a single seed of pot on the floor of his car. i'm shocked that one seed was enough for a felony conviction, but i guess they're a bit harsh in alabama.

last week i saw this article in the times:

In Alabama, a Fight to Regain Voting Rights Some Felons Never Lost


it turns out that in alabama only felons convicted of crimes of "moral turpitude" - breaking and entering, rape, crimes against society - lose their right to vote.

i thought back to our conversation from many months ago. i called a mutual friend and told him about the story - he said he'd remembered that it was in tennessee. i forgot about it.

then last night i went downstairs for a nightcap.

my friends were at the bar and this big bear of a man wraps his arms around me.

man, i owe you a hug, he says. i'm close to crying, he says. i talked to my lawyer yesterday, and i can vote again!

hooray for voting!


btw, check out the article above. legislation to ease the process to return voting rights to felons was opposed by republicans. i wonder why....
Marty Connors, the chairman of the state Republican Party: "As frank as I can be, we’re opposed to it because felons don’t tend to vote Republican."

there's a shocker.

congratulations "rob"! vote early and vote often.

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