Should prisoners be given the right to vote in the UK? An examination of whether the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights provides a wider right to democracy.
Sample Solution
Prisoners be given the right to vote in the UK
There are few or no votes in prison reform and little interest in the rights and responsibilities of those behind bars. One of the reasons is that prisoners themselves can’t vote. Five years ago the European court of Human Rights ruled that the UK’s blanket ban on prisoners’ voting is unlawful and in violation of article 3 of the First Protocol of the European convention on human rights. Since then, the government has employed a range of delaying tactics to avoid implementing the ruling. Prisoners should be given the right to vote. As the European Convention on Human Rights [ECHR] said, barring prisoners from voting may actually harm rehabilitation work, since participation in elections is likely to encourage them to become responsible, law-abiding citizens. The Prison Reform Trust has now made a formal complaint to the Council of Europe about the government’s failure to comply with the court judgment and amend UK election law. This should be done without a fuss and further delay.
Source: Enard KR. HMP-5720-04 Government Financing of Health Care: Military Health System, Veterans Health System, Public Health. February 2019.
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