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Proposed Convict Enfranchisement in the Gambia: Lessons from America

Year 2020, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 168 - 194, 15.12.2020
https://doi.org/10.38000/juhis.734666

Abstract

Convict enfranchisement is among the themes The Gambia Constitution Review Commission is addressing in its appraisal and updating of the 1997 constitution. The dawn of a new political dispensation necessitated the assignment to usher in a third republic. By means of the United States case law, a country where most felonies lead to disenfranchisement, this article examine the likely consequences of enfranchising convicts in The Gambia. Blalock’s Group Threat hypothesis explained the ulterior motives fuelling the enfranchisement call as the social dynamics of the country contrasts those of other nations like the United States which The Gambia seems to be keeping up with. Rather than addressing the issue of enfranchising an insignificant number of convicts, the conclusion shows that tackling constitutional irrationalities undermining the principles propping the separation of powers will be more beneficial.

References

  • [1] Aihe, David O. (1971). “Fundamental Human Rights and the Military Regime in Nigeria: What Did the Courts Say?” Journal of African Law 15, 2, pp 213-224.
  • [2] Blalock, H.M. (1967) Toward a Theory of Minority-Group Relations. New York: John Wiley & Sons (1967). cited in Geoghagann, p. 2.
  • [3] Bonneau Alyssa (2014). A Comparative Study of Prisoner Disenfranchisement in Western Democracies. B.A. thesis Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut pp 87.
  • [4] Bowman, Winston A. (2004). "Life After Civil Death: Felony and Mormon Disenfranchisement in the U.S. West (1880-1890), "Psi Sigma Siren: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, Article 1. https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/psi_sigma_siren/vol2/iss1/1
  • [5] Brian Pinaire, Milton Heumann, and Laura Bilotta (2003) Barred from the Vote: Public Attitudes Toward the Disenfranchisement of Felons, 30 Fordham Urban Law Journal. 1519 Pp 1524.
  • [6] Brock A. Johnson (2016). Voting Rights And The History of Institutionalized Racism: Criminal Disenfranchisement in The United States and South Africa. Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law. [Vol. 44:401] pp 436.
  • [7] Campbell H. (1968) Black Black’s Law Dictionary Revised Fourth Edition. West Publishing Company (1968).
  • [8] Carter A. Wilson and Ruth Watry ( 2015). "Felony Disenfranchisement: A Literature Review." Paper presented at the Southern Political Science Association Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana. PP 12.
  • [9] Christopher Uggen and Sarah Shannon (2012) State-Level Estimates of Felon Disenfranchisement in The United States, www.sentencingproject.org/.../01/State...in-the-United-States-2010.pdf
  • [10] Debra Parkes (2003). "Ballot Boxes Behind Bars: Toward the Repeal of Prisoner Disenfranchisement Laws" 13:1 Temp Political & Civil Rights Law Review 71. P p2 (2003)
  • [11] Ebenstein (2018). The Geography of Mass Incarceration: Prison Gerrymandering and the Dilution of Prisoners’ Political Representation, 45 Fordham Urban Law .Journal. 323 pp 30.
  • [12] Eli L. Levine (2009). Does the Social Contract Justify Felony Disenfranchisement? Washington University. Jurisprudence Review. 193 pp 193 (2009).
  • [13] Erika Stern, (2015). "The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself": The Constitutional Infirmities with Felon Disenfranchisement and Citing Fear as the Rationale for Depriving Felons of Their Right to Vote, 48 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 703 pp740. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/llr/vol48/iss3/5
  • [14] Everett R. S. & Periman D. (2011). “The Governor’s Court Of Last Resort:” An Introduction To Executive Clemency In Alaska. Alaska Law Review 28:1
  • [15] Frazier, Carl N. (2006). "Removing the Vestiges of Discrimination: Criminal Disenfranchisement Laws and Strategies for Challenging Them," Kentucky Law Journal: Vol. 95: Iss. 2, Article 6. (2006) Part III Strategies For Attacking Criminal Disenfranchisement Statutes. PP 499-504. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol95/iss2/6 [16] Geoghagan, Angel Dawn (2007). "Felony Disenfranchisement Legislation: A Test of the Group Threat Hypothesis." PhD diss., University of Tennessee Pp 49. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/175 [17] Grady, Sarah C. (2013) Civil Death Is Different: An Examination of a Post-Graham Challenge to Felon Disenfranchisement under the Eighth Amendment, 102 Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 441 pp 454. https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc/vol102/iss2/4 Also U.S. Supreme Court Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86 (1958).
  • [18] Greenberg, D.F. (1981). Crime and Capitalism: Readings in Marxist Criminology. Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield.
  • [19] Guy Padraic Hamilton-Smith and Matt Vogel (2015). The Violence of Voicelessness: The Impact of Felony Disenfranchisement on Recidivism, 22 La Raza L .J. Pp 413. [20] Haner Christopher (2013) "Felon Disenfranchisement: An Inherent Injustice," Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development: Vol. 26: Iss. 4, Article 6. Pp 933.
  • [21] Harvey E. Alice (1994). Ex-Felon Disenfranchisement And Its Influence On The Black Vote: The Need For A Second Look. University Of Pennsylvania Law Review. Vol. 142:1145 pp 1173.
  • [22] Higgins, Mark (1979). The Roots of McCarthyism: A Historiography of an American Phenomenon 1950-1954" History Undergraduate Theses. 70. https://scholars.carroll.edu/history_theses/70 [23] Horowitz, Irving Louis (1996) "Culture, Politics and McCarthyism: A Retrospective from the Trenches, "William Mitchell Law Review: Vol. 22: Iss. 2, Article 2. http://open.mitchellhamline.edu/wmlr/vol22/iss2/2
  • [24] Hughes, Arnold and Perfect, David. (2006). “A Political History of the Gambia, 1816 – 1994”, Rochester, N.Y.: University of Rochester Press.
  • [25] Hughes, Arnold and Perfect, David (2008) “Historical Dictionary of the Gambia”. The Scarecrow Press, Plymouth, fourth edition.
  • [26] Jason B. Conn (2005) Felon Disenfranchisement Laws: Partisan Politics in the Legislatures, 10 Mich .J. Race & L. 495 pp 538. https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjrl/vol10/iss2/6
  • [27] Javier R. Jaramillo, (2014). Scoppola v. Italy (No. 3): The Progress of Prisoner Voting Rights in Europe, 36B.C. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev.E. Supp. 32 pp 37http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr/vol36/iss3/3
  • [28] Kathleen D. Moore (1993). Pardon for Good and Sufficient Reasons. 27 U. Rich. L. Rev.281 , pp 288. (1993). http://scholarship.richmond.edu/law review/vol27/iss2/7
  • [29] Lauren Latterell Powell (2017). Concealed Motives: Rethinking Fourteenth Amendment and Voting Rights Challenges to Felon Disenfranchisement, 22 Michigan .Journal of Race and Law. 383.
  • [30] Liska, A. E. (1992).Social Threat and Social Control. Albany: State University of New York Press
  • [31] Murray Christopher R. (2006) Felon Disenfranchisement In Alaska And The Voting Rights Act of 1965. Alaska Law Review 23:289.
  • [32] Nunn, Robin L. (20005). Lock Them up and Throw away the Vote. Chicago Journal of International Law: Vol. 5: No. 2, Article 20. pp 769 (2005)
  • [33] Oman, Nathan B. (2002). "The Story of a Forgotten Battle" Faculty Publications. Paper 537 (2002). http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/537
  • [34] Portugal Carlos M., (2003). Democracy Frozen in Devonian Amber: The Racial Impact of Permanent Felon Disenfranchisement in Florida, 57U. Miami L. Rev.1317 pp 1319. http://repository.law.miami.edu/umlr/vol57/iss4/6
  • [35] Richard M. Re & Christopher M. (2012). Re, Voting and Vice: Criminal Disenfranchisement and the Reconstruction Amendments, 121Yale L .J. (2012) http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/ylj/vol121/iss7/1 [36] Roach v Electoral Commissioner (2007) HCA 43 233 CLR 162; 81 ALJR 1830; 239 ALR 1 Before Gleeson CJ, Gummow, Kirby, Hayne, Heydon, and Crennan JJ. 2007
  • [37] Roger Clegg, George T. Conway III & Kenneth K. Lee, (2008). The Case Against Felon Voting, 2 University of St. Thomas Journal of Law & Public Policy1 Pp2. (2008).
  • [38] Sallah, M. Tijan. (1990) Economics and Politics in the Gambia, In Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 28, No. 4: 621-648.
  • [39] Steinacker Andrea (2003). The Prisoner's Campaign: Felony Disenfranchisement Laws and the Right to Hold Public Office, BYU L. Rev.801. https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/lawreview/vol iss 2/14
  • [40] The Dialogues of Plato (428-427---348-47 BCE) [Crito pp 211-222]. Translated by Benjamin Jowett https://webs.ucm.es/info/diciex/gente/agf/plato/The_Dialogues_of_Plato_v0.1.pdf
  • [41] The Gambian Times (2018). Attorney General Tambadou Meets the Press https://www.thegambiatimes.com/attorney-general-tambadou-meets-the...
  • [42] Thedford, Reginald Jr. (2018) "Ex-Felon Disenfranchisement and the Fifteenth Amendment: A Constitutional Challenge to Post Sentence Disenfranchisement," Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality: Vol. 6: Iss. 1, Article 4. pp 96 and 100. https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ijlse/vol6/iss1/4
  • [43] Thompson Mark E. (2002). Don’t Do the Crime if You Ever Intend to Vote Again: Challenging the Disenfranchisement of Ex-Felons as Cruel and Unusual Punishment, 33 SETON HALL L. REV. 167, 172.
  • [44] Thompson Nicholas (2001). Locking up the Vote, WASH. MONTHLY, P. 17.
  • [45] Willis, I. (2017). Banishment, transportation and a penal settlement The District Reporter. (pp. 16) Camden, Australia: Wombaroo Publications. (Newspaper Article http://www.tdr.com.au/images/issues/tdr 2002.pdf

Gambiya'da Önerilen Mahkum Ayrıcalıkları: Amerika’dan Dersler

Year 2020, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 168 - 194, 15.12.2020
https://doi.org/10.38000/juhis.734666

Abstract

Mahkum ayrıcalıkları,Gambiya Anayasa Gözden Geçirme Komisyonu'nun 1997 anayasasını değerlendirmesinde ve güncellemesinde ele aldığı konular arasında yer alıyor. Yeni bir siyasi muafiyetin doğuşu, üçüncü bir cumhuriyette yerine getirmeyi gerektirdi. Bu suçların çoğunun haklarından mahrum bırakıldığı bir ülke olan Birleşik Devletler dava hukuku sayesinde, bu makale Gambiya'daki kuşkulu hükümlülerin olası sonuçlarını inceler. Blalock’un Grup Tehdidi hipotezi, ülkenin sosyal dinamiklerini, Gambiya'nın örnek aldığı Amerika Birleşik Devletleri gibi diğer ülkelerin tezatlarıyla karşıtlık çağrısını körükleyen nedenleri açıkladı. Sonuç, önemsiz sayıda hükümlüye ayrıcalık verme konusunu ele almak yerine, güçler ayrılığını destekleyen ilkeleri baltalayan anayasal mantıksızlıklarla mücadelenin daha faydalı olacağını göstermektedir.

References

  • [1] Aihe, David O. (1971). “Fundamental Human Rights and the Military Regime in Nigeria: What Did the Courts Say?” Journal of African Law 15, 2, pp 213-224.
  • [2] Blalock, H.M. (1967) Toward a Theory of Minority-Group Relations. New York: John Wiley & Sons (1967). cited in Geoghagann, p. 2.
  • [3] Bonneau Alyssa (2014). A Comparative Study of Prisoner Disenfranchisement in Western Democracies. B.A. thesis Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut pp 87.
  • [4] Bowman, Winston A. (2004). "Life After Civil Death: Felony and Mormon Disenfranchisement in the U.S. West (1880-1890), "Psi Sigma Siren: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, Article 1. https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/psi_sigma_siren/vol2/iss1/1
  • [5] Brian Pinaire, Milton Heumann, and Laura Bilotta (2003) Barred from the Vote: Public Attitudes Toward the Disenfranchisement of Felons, 30 Fordham Urban Law Journal. 1519 Pp 1524.
  • [6] Brock A. Johnson (2016). Voting Rights And The History of Institutionalized Racism: Criminal Disenfranchisement in The United States and South Africa. Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law. [Vol. 44:401] pp 436.
  • [7] Campbell H. (1968) Black Black’s Law Dictionary Revised Fourth Edition. West Publishing Company (1968).
  • [8] Carter A. Wilson and Ruth Watry ( 2015). "Felony Disenfranchisement: A Literature Review." Paper presented at the Southern Political Science Association Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana. PP 12.
  • [9] Christopher Uggen and Sarah Shannon (2012) State-Level Estimates of Felon Disenfranchisement in The United States, www.sentencingproject.org/.../01/State...in-the-United-States-2010.pdf
  • [10] Debra Parkes (2003). "Ballot Boxes Behind Bars: Toward the Repeal of Prisoner Disenfranchisement Laws" 13:1 Temp Political & Civil Rights Law Review 71. P p2 (2003)
  • [11] Ebenstein (2018). The Geography of Mass Incarceration: Prison Gerrymandering and the Dilution of Prisoners’ Political Representation, 45 Fordham Urban Law .Journal. 323 pp 30.
  • [12] Eli L. Levine (2009). Does the Social Contract Justify Felony Disenfranchisement? Washington University. Jurisprudence Review. 193 pp 193 (2009).
  • [13] Erika Stern, (2015). "The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself": The Constitutional Infirmities with Felon Disenfranchisement and Citing Fear as the Rationale for Depriving Felons of Their Right to Vote, 48 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 703 pp740. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/llr/vol48/iss3/5
  • [14] Everett R. S. & Periman D. (2011). “The Governor’s Court Of Last Resort:” An Introduction To Executive Clemency In Alaska. Alaska Law Review 28:1
  • [15] Frazier, Carl N. (2006). "Removing the Vestiges of Discrimination: Criminal Disenfranchisement Laws and Strategies for Challenging Them," Kentucky Law Journal: Vol. 95: Iss. 2, Article 6. (2006) Part III Strategies For Attacking Criminal Disenfranchisement Statutes. PP 499-504. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol95/iss2/6 [16] Geoghagan, Angel Dawn (2007). "Felony Disenfranchisement Legislation: A Test of the Group Threat Hypothesis." PhD diss., University of Tennessee Pp 49. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/175 [17] Grady, Sarah C. (2013) Civil Death Is Different: An Examination of a Post-Graham Challenge to Felon Disenfranchisement under the Eighth Amendment, 102 Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 441 pp 454. https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc/vol102/iss2/4 Also U.S. Supreme Court Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86 (1958).
  • [18] Greenberg, D.F. (1981). Crime and Capitalism: Readings in Marxist Criminology. Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield.
  • [19] Guy Padraic Hamilton-Smith and Matt Vogel (2015). The Violence of Voicelessness: The Impact of Felony Disenfranchisement on Recidivism, 22 La Raza L .J. Pp 413. [20] Haner Christopher (2013) "Felon Disenfranchisement: An Inherent Injustice," Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development: Vol. 26: Iss. 4, Article 6. Pp 933.
  • [21] Harvey E. Alice (1994). Ex-Felon Disenfranchisement And Its Influence On The Black Vote: The Need For A Second Look. University Of Pennsylvania Law Review. Vol. 142:1145 pp 1173.
  • [22] Higgins, Mark (1979). The Roots of McCarthyism: A Historiography of an American Phenomenon 1950-1954" History Undergraduate Theses. 70. https://scholars.carroll.edu/history_theses/70 [23] Horowitz, Irving Louis (1996) "Culture, Politics and McCarthyism: A Retrospective from the Trenches, "William Mitchell Law Review: Vol. 22: Iss. 2, Article 2. http://open.mitchellhamline.edu/wmlr/vol22/iss2/2
  • [24] Hughes, Arnold and Perfect, David. (2006). “A Political History of the Gambia, 1816 – 1994”, Rochester, N.Y.: University of Rochester Press.
  • [25] Hughes, Arnold and Perfect, David (2008) “Historical Dictionary of the Gambia”. The Scarecrow Press, Plymouth, fourth edition.
  • [26] Jason B. Conn (2005) Felon Disenfranchisement Laws: Partisan Politics in the Legislatures, 10 Mich .J. Race & L. 495 pp 538. https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjrl/vol10/iss2/6
  • [27] Javier R. Jaramillo, (2014). Scoppola v. Italy (No. 3): The Progress of Prisoner Voting Rights in Europe, 36B.C. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev.E. Supp. 32 pp 37http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr/vol36/iss3/3
  • [28] Kathleen D. Moore (1993). Pardon for Good and Sufficient Reasons. 27 U. Rich. L. Rev.281 , pp 288. (1993). http://scholarship.richmond.edu/law review/vol27/iss2/7
  • [29] Lauren Latterell Powell (2017). Concealed Motives: Rethinking Fourteenth Amendment and Voting Rights Challenges to Felon Disenfranchisement, 22 Michigan .Journal of Race and Law. 383.
  • [30] Liska, A. E. (1992).Social Threat and Social Control. Albany: State University of New York Press
  • [31] Murray Christopher R. (2006) Felon Disenfranchisement In Alaska And The Voting Rights Act of 1965. Alaska Law Review 23:289.
  • [32] Nunn, Robin L. (20005). Lock Them up and Throw away the Vote. Chicago Journal of International Law: Vol. 5: No. 2, Article 20. pp 769 (2005)
  • [33] Oman, Nathan B. (2002). "The Story of a Forgotten Battle" Faculty Publications. Paper 537 (2002). http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/537
  • [34] Portugal Carlos M., (2003). Democracy Frozen in Devonian Amber: The Racial Impact of Permanent Felon Disenfranchisement in Florida, 57U. Miami L. Rev.1317 pp 1319. http://repository.law.miami.edu/umlr/vol57/iss4/6
  • [35] Richard M. Re & Christopher M. (2012). Re, Voting and Vice: Criminal Disenfranchisement and the Reconstruction Amendments, 121Yale L .J. (2012) http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/ylj/vol121/iss7/1 [36] Roach v Electoral Commissioner (2007) HCA 43 233 CLR 162; 81 ALJR 1830; 239 ALR 1 Before Gleeson CJ, Gummow, Kirby, Hayne, Heydon, and Crennan JJ. 2007
  • [37] Roger Clegg, George T. Conway III & Kenneth K. Lee, (2008). The Case Against Felon Voting, 2 University of St. Thomas Journal of Law & Public Policy1 Pp2. (2008).
  • [38] Sallah, M. Tijan. (1990) Economics and Politics in the Gambia, In Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 28, No. 4: 621-648.
  • [39] Steinacker Andrea (2003). The Prisoner's Campaign: Felony Disenfranchisement Laws and the Right to Hold Public Office, BYU L. Rev.801. https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/lawreview/vol iss 2/14
  • [40] The Dialogues of Plato (428-427---348-47 BCE) [Crito pp 211-222]. Translated by Benjamin Jowett https://webs.ucm.es/info/diciex/gente/agf/plato/The_Dialogues_of_Plato_v0.1.pdf
  • [41] The Gambian Times (2018). Attorney General Tambadou Meets the Press https://www.thegambiatimes.com/attorney-general-tambadou-meets-the...
  • [42] Thedford, Reginald Jr. (2018) "Ex-Felon Disenfranchisement and the Fifteenth Amendment: A Constitutional Challenge to Post Sentence Disenfranchisement," Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality: Vol. 6: Iss. 1, Article 4. pp 96 and 100. https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ijlse/vol6/iss1/4
  • [43] Thompson Mark E. (2002). Don’t Do the Crime if You Ever Intend to Vote Again: Challenging the Disenfranchisement of Ex-Felons as Cruel and Unusual Punishment, 33 SETON HALL L. REV. 167, 172.
  • [44] Thompson Nicholas (2001). Locking up the Vote, WASH. MONTHLY, P. 17.
  • [45] Willis, I. (2017). Banishment, transportation and a penal settlement The District Reporter. (pp. 16) Camden, Australia: Wombaroo Publications. (Newspaper Article http://www.tdr.com.au/images/issues/tdr 2002.pdf
There are 40 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Akpojevbe Omasanjuwa 0000-0002-8005-3924

Publication Date December 15, 2020
Submission Date May 9, 2020
Acceptance Date July 8, 2020
Published in Issue Year 2020 Volume: 3 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Omasanjuwa, A. (2020). Proposed Convict Enfranchisement in the Gambia: Lessons from America. Journal of Universal History Studies, 3(2), 168-194. https://doi.org/10.38000/juhis.734666

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