"The restoration movement gathered momentum after the 2000 election debacle in Florida, where thousands of people mistakenly listed as felons were purged from the rolls or turned away at the polls. Since then, several states ... streamlined the process that ex-offenders most go through to get back their rights," states a New York Times editorial which highlights The Sentencing Project's new felony disenfranchisement report Expanding the Vote: Felony Disenfranchisement Reform 1997 - 2010.

The editorial continues: "Democracy is strengthened when as many citizens as possible have the right to vote. Fully integrating ex-offenders back into society is also the best way to encourage their lasting rehabilitation. It is past time for all states to restore individual voting rights automatically to ex-offenders who have served their time."

The Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy at George Mason University cordially invites you to attend our next Congressional briefing, "Juvenile Justice in the Age of the Second Chance Act, the Youth Promise Act, and the JJDP Reauthorization Bill: Research Guided Policy Implications for Maximizing Reentry Initiatives for Adolescents," Tuesday, October 26 from 10:00a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Room SVC 201/200.

The briefing will include short briefs on key research topics from 12 leaders in the research and  policy arenas. The event is free. Registration is required but closes October 21.

National: The Sentencing Project Releases Disenfranchisement Report
Washington State: Law Upheld by 9th Circuit Court
National: ACLU to Distribute Voting Right Cards to Protect Right to Vote

"It started with petty theft. But then the offenses escalated, and three felony arrests later, 16-year-old Ryan Ray is facing first-degree-murder charges in the killing of a Kentucky man," reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

"The Lake County teen will now be moved to adult court, where he faces life in prison.

"Ray is one of an increasing number of juvenile felony offenders in Florida routed to adult court in the past five years because of the severity of their crimes. Experts say the rising number of transfers shows a juvenile-justice system ill-equipped to handle young violent offenders."

"Among the 18 new cases slated for review by the Wisconsin Supreme Court is a high-profile case in which the court will decide whether sentencing a 14-year-old to life imprisonment constitutes cruel and unusual punishment," according to the State Bar of Wisconsin.

"In 1998, 14-year old Omar Ninham pushed a 13-year-old boy off the fifth story of a parking ramp and was later convicted and sentenced to life without parole. After arrest, Ninham threatened a judge and three witnesses, including a woman he threatened to rape.

"The court of appeals in State v. Ninham, 2001AP716-CR (Dec. 4, 2001) ruled that '[a] sentence to life without the possibility of parole for a crime committed by a 14-year-old does not per se violate the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.'”