Justice Paul Heath declared "the most fundamental aspect of a democracy...the right of all citizens to elect those who will govern in their name. Suppressing the right to vote is contrary to the functioning of a democracy. As Heath mentioned, all citizens have the right to elect who represents them in court. Justice Earl Warren wrote in the 1958 case Trop v. Dulles: “Citizenship is not a right that expires through bad behavior. » Disenfranchising prisoners sends the message that they are temporarily not citizens, which dehumanizes prisoners. If prisoners remain citizens while serving their sentences, they should also enjoy basic civil rights, including the right to vote. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay The law taking away prisoners' voting rights is inconsistent. Dr. Susan Easton mentioned in Modern Law Review's "Electing the Electorate" that the law is disproportionate to your crime. Whether you have stolen or murdered more than once, this aspect of your punishment is the same. But that's only if you're punished. The law is also arbitrary, you will only be affected by it if you serve your sentence during general or local election years. This means that some prisoners who committed the same crimes receive unequal sentences. For example, a pickpocket sentenced to a short prison term is incarcerated a week before election day and is therefore not eligible to vote. Whereas a prisoner who attempted to kill and is imprisoned between an election year would still have the right to vote. Prison assault and self-harm is another issue that is not talked about enough. In England and Wales, the number of suicides among prisoners has doubled since 2013. Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “The message of these deeply alarming figures could not be clearer. An overcrowded prison system cannot cope with the number of people it is designed to accommodate. » Incarcerated people are at higher risk of self-harm and suicide than the general public. mental illness or disorder.Keep in mind: This is just a sample.Get a custom paper from our expert writers now.Get a Custom EssayIn a 2011 ruling that overcrowded California prisons violated the Eighth Amendment of the United States, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that an inmate "dies needlessly every six or seven days" in California alone, New Zealand's prisons may be a little less harsh than those in the United States. United, but there are still many different problems in finding accommodation for prisoners in a prison. Prison overcrowding has made beds more expensive and resources limited, increasing the risk of riots..