POLL: Should inmates have the right to vote in elections?

People are sent to prison to lose their liberty, not their identity. In a democratic society, voting should not be viewed as a privilege but an important part of everyone’s duty as citizens. The UK’s near total ban on prisoners voting is an anachronism in a modern prison system, which ought to be focused on rehabilitation and encouraging people to behave responsibly.

Preventing people in prison from voting achieves nothing. It neither protects public safety, nor acts as an effective deterrent. It does not function as a means to correct offending behaviour and does not assist in rehabilitation. It is not articulated at the point of sentence and bears no relation to the crime committed, so is an additional and arbitrary punishment.

In 2017 the UK Government extended the franchise to prisoners on temporary release and on home detention curfew, after over a decade of dragging its feet after the European Court found the blanket ban on prisoners voting to be unlawful. These small operational changes will apply to just a couple hundred people at a time, leaving the vast majority disenfranchised. As an attempt to meet international obligations, it has been described by human rights lawyer Sean Humber as “a very cynical attempt” and “trying to do the bare minimum and falling short”.

All but five member states of the Council of Europe enable people in prison to vote. In 14 European countries, including Denmark, Finland, Ireland Spain and Switzerland, there are no restrictions on prisoners voting. In others, restrictions are reserved for specific offences or left to the discretion of judges.

The Committee’s inquiry on prisoners voting is an opportunity to bring Scotland into line with most countries in Europe, at least in the conduct of local and Holyrood elections. The Scottish Government has a choice – will it be a champion of democracy or will it continue to ape the backward approach of its counterparts in Westminster?

Mark Day is head of policy and communications at the Prison Reform Trust.

AGAINST: NEIL MOORE​

We work with victims of some of the most horrendous crimes and support families and relatives of people who have been murdered. The view of most is that once a custodial sentence has been given, the seriousness of the taking of someone’s life should be reflected by a loss of certain rights – and the person convicted should know that.

If they have committed a crime severe enough for them to be incarcerated for it, they should not be able to have rights such as voting. If we are considering amending our laws on this we believe we should take into account the laws that exists in Greece, Italy and Iceland. In these three European countries life sentence criminals lose their ability to vote forever. Acts of terrorism should also receive a life ban.

Families of murder victims tell us that they feel when someone is murdered, their own rights are totally taken away: The right to a grandchild, or the right to see a son or daughter getting married. They no longer have those rights, so why should prisoners be given extra rights? It can make those affected by a crime feel that their own rights have been eroded.

There is also the issue of whether it benefits the person in prison. Having the right to vote doesn’t really affect their ability to get back to normal life. If it was the right to have proper support and real rehabilitation everyone would support that, but this just looks as if it is making it an easier time for those particular criminals.

We know the support network is there. In general there is a much greater level of support on offer for the perpetrators of crime than there is for the victims. If they have served their time, their debt is paid and they exit the prison system, and have the support network then they may get their rights back. But until then, the ability to have rights such as voting doesn’t go down well with the victims’ families and friends affected by serious crimes.

Neil Moore is CEO of Petal Support a charity supporting victims families, partners and witnesses to murder in Scotland.