Argumentative Essay on Voting among the Incarcerated Essay Example

Argumentative Essay on Voting among the Incarcerated Essay Example Argumentative Essay on Voting among the Incarcerated Essay Argumentative Essay on Voting among the Incarcerated Essay Essay Topic: Argumentative Name: Course:Lecturer: Date: Argumentative Essay States have different laws regarding the issue of voting among the incarcerated. In some states, once the offender is incarcerated, he or she loses the right to vote permanently. Other states restore the right to vote after their term of incarceration ends. Some states consider the form of crimes that the offender has committed before deciding whether they can vote. Offenders who have committed crimes such as murder, treason, rape, and incest are not considered for re-enfranchisement. In other states, those who have committed crime have to wait for some time after their release before they become eligible for re-enfranchisement. In America, only felons in Maine and Vermont allow those who are incarcerated to vote (Nunn 763). There are many reasons why people are incarcerated. Some people are imprisoned, yet they are innocent of the crimes that they are accused of and convicted. These people are denied their freedom and their constitutional right of electing their leaders. States shou ld amend the current laws so that they can allow the incarcerated to vote. There is a wide disparity in prison, in terms of the races presented in the prison system. While African Americans make up a minority race in the country, they are the majority in American correctional facilities. They make up about 40% of the population in correctional facilities, yet they are only 13% of the country’s population. Disallowing those who are incarcerated to vote is denying a substantial number of African Americans the chance to participate in a democratic process. The problem does not only affect the African Americans in prison, but also the Latino community in the prison system. This constitutes racial discrimination. There are more than eight million people in American prisons, most of whom are from racial minorities, and they remain disenfranchised because of the law and the legal system (Raskin 559-573). The issue of disenfranchisement is further complicated when even those who are released from prison are denied the right to vote. These people have been rehabilitated, and they have served their time in prison. They should not continue being punished because they were in prison. This is a reflection to the society, that the law does not consider such people fit to elect their leaders (Middlemass 22-39). Denying the incarcerated, the opportunity to vote will have future negative influence as it will reduce the number of people interested in the voting process. Research suggests the children and teenagers whose fathers are incarcerated have weak connections to the political system (Simon and Sparks 180). They are not interested in politics, and there is little evidence that they will change their perception in future. Some people argue that the reason that prisoners are in prison is so that they can rehabilitate after committing crimes. Such people have committed crimes, some of them have denied others the right to live, and so they should be denied their freedom. Prisons should be places where the prisoners are denied their freedom so that they can realize the crime they committed, and thus turn away from crime (Manza and Uggen 559-605). Felons do not have any political right or power. They should not be allowed to make governing decisions, for the same laws that they disregarded. Having the chance to vote is a measure of freedom. Prisoners should not be allowed to vote on this basis. The fourteenth amendment in the constitution supports disenfranchisement, despite the voting right acts passed (Manza and Uggen 493). The constitution does not seem to hold considerable regard concerning the right of all citizens to vote, irrespective of their situation. The voting process in a democratic system determines the leaders who will be responsible for establishing the country’s law. It is, therefore, a moral issue, which should be made by responsible citizens. : Bowers, Melanie and Robert, R. Preuhs. â€Å"Collateral Consequences of a Collateral Penalty: The Negative Effect of Felon Disenfranchisement Laws on the Political Participation of Nonfelons.† Social Science Quarterly 90.3 (2009) 722-743 Frazier, N. Carl. â€Å"Removing the Vestiges of Discrimination: Criminal Disenfranchisement Laws and Strategies for Challenging Them.† Kentucky Law Journal 481 (2006) Manza, Jeff and Christopher Uggen. â€Å"Punishment and Democracy: Disenfranchisement of Nonincarcerated Felons in the United States.† Perspectives on Politics 2.3 (2004): 491-505 Marquardt, E. Susan. â€Å"Deprivation of a Felon’s Right to Vote: Constitutional Concerns, Policy Issues and Suggested Reform for Felony Disenfranchisement Law.† University of Detroit Mercy Law Review 1 (2005) Middlemass, M. Keesha. â€Å"Rehabilitated But Not Fit to Vote: A Comparative Racial Analysis of Disenfranchisement Laws.† Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society 8.2 (2006) 22-39 Nunn, L. Robin. â€Å"Lock Them Up and Throw Away the Vote.† Chicago Journal of International Law 5.2 (2005) Pearson, D. Tanya. â€Å"Disenfranchisement – A Race Neutral Punishment for Felony Offenders or a Way to Diminish the Minority Vote.† Hamline Journal of Public Policy 359 (2001-2002) Raskin, Jamin. â€Å"A Right-to-Vote Amendment for the U. S. Constitution: Confronting America’s Structural Democracy Deficit.† Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy 3.3 (2004): 559-573 Simon, Jonathan and Sparks, Richard. The SAGE Handbook of Punishment and Society. Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 2012. Print Uggen, Christopher, Angela Behrens and Jeff Manza. â€Å"Criminal disenfranchisement.† Annual Review of Law and Social Science 1 (2005): 307-322

Ancient Egypts 1st Intermediate Period

Ancient Egypt's 1st Intermediate Period The 1st Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt began when the Old Kingdoms centralized monarchy grew weak as provincial rulers called nomarchs became powerful, and ended when the Theban monarch gained control of all Egypt. Dates of the 1st Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt 2160-2055 B.C. Herakleopolitan: 9th 10th Dynasties: 2160-2025Theban: 11th Dynasty: 2125-2055 The Old Kingdom is described as ending with the longest-reigning pharaoh in Egyptian history, Pepy II. After him, building projects in the cemeteries around the capital of Memphis stopped. Building resumed at the end of the 1st Intermediate Period, with Menhotep II at Deir el-Bahri in western Thebes. Characterization of the 1st Intermediate Period Egyptian intermediate periods are times when the centralized government weakened and rivals claimed the throne. The 1st Intermediate Period is often characterized as chaotic and miserable, with degraded art- a dark age. Barbara Bell* hypothesized that the 1st Intermediate period was brought about by a prolonged failure of the annual Nile floods, leading to famine and collapse of the monarchy. But it was not necessarily a dark age, even though there are bragging inscriptions about how local rulers were able to provide for their people in the face of great adversity. There is evidence of thriving culture and the development of towns. Non-royal people gained in status. Pottery changed shape to a more efficient use of the pottery wheel. The 1st Intermediate Period was also the setting for later philosophical texts. Burial Innovations During the 1st Intermediate Period, cartonnage was developed. Cartonnage is the word for the gypsum and linen colored mask that covered the face of a mummy. Earlier, only the elite had been buried with specialized funerary goods. During the 1st Intermediate Period, more people were buried with such specialized products. This indicates that the provincial areas could afford non-functional craftsmen, something that only the pharaonic capital had done before. Competing Kings Not much is known about the early part of the 1st Intermediate Period. By the second half of it, there were two competing nomes with their own monarchs. The Theban king, King Mentuhotep II, defeated his unknown Herakleapolitan rival in about 2040, putting an end to the 1st Intermediate Period. Herakleapolis Herakleopolis Magna or Nennisut, on the southern edge of the Faiyum, became the capital of area of the Delta and central Egypt. Manetho says the Herakleapolitan dynasty was founded by Khety. It may have had 18-19 kings. One of the last kings, Merykara, (c. 2025) was buried at the necropolis at Saqqara which is connected with the Old Kingdom kings ruling from Memphis. First Intermediate Period private monuments feature the civil war with Thebes. Thebes Thebes was the capital of southern Egypt. The ancestor of the Theban dynasty is Intef, a nomarch who was important enough to be inscribed on the walls of Thutmose IIIs chapel of royal ancestors. His brother, Intef II ruled for 50 years (2112-2063). Thebes developed a type of tomb known as a rock-tomb (saff-tomb) at the necropolis at el-Tarif. Sources: Bell, Barbara. The Dark Ages in Ancient History. I. The First Dark Age in Ancient Egypt. AJA 75:1-26.The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. by Ian Shaw. OUP 2000.