The Supreme Court declined Monday to decide whether a permanent voting ban on people convicted of felonies in Mississippi is cruel and unusual punishment.
The court, in 2023, had also rejected a different challenge to the state’s voting restriction that was based on the fact it was drafted in 1890 as part of a racist effort to disenfranchise Black voters.
Mississippi is one of eleven states that doesn't automatically restore voting rights after convicted felons finish their sentences.
Voting rights experts say Mississippi’s restrictions are among the harshest because the state bans voting by first-time offenders who commit non-violent felonies. And the process for restoring the right is onerous.
At about 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 17, 2023, Fraser Bohm had just picked up an order...:quality(75):no_upscale():strip_exif()/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fpocket-curatedcorpusapi-prod-images%2F7c0bc573-c0eb-4e8a-ad1a-38f082160f34.jpeg)
In a dramatic conclusion to a trial that has gripped, saddened and divided the nation, the...
