CLEMENCY REFORM NOT ALL IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE

LONG ROAD AHEAD TO COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, April 5, 2007

CONTACT:
Brandon Hensler, Director of Communications, 786-363-2700

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida expressed disappointment with today’s announcement by Governor Crist and the Board of Executive Clemency regarding the new rules for restoration of civil and voting rights. This is the first step toward comprehensive reform and represents incremental progress, the ACLU said. However, the new rules for executive clemency fall far short of expectations and of what is needed to address Florida’s civil and voting rights crisis.

The rules are crucially ambiguous, especially as to whether those released years and decades ago still face the burden of collecting their records and applying for the restoration of their civil and voting rights. What is needed is a paperless and immediate automatic restoration process for all ex-offenders who have completed the non-monetary terms of their sentence.

An additional amendment to the rules passed at today’s meeting appears to require those arrested or convicted a second time to wait an additional ten years to re-apply to have their rights restored. This is yet another barrier intended to disenfranchise as many people as possible.

“This plan is a good first step but there is much work left to be done,” said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida. “There are hundreds of thousands of people in Florida – more than any other state – who have had their fundamental civil or voting rights taken away by the State based on a Civil War Reconstruction-era scheme to deprive as many people as possible of their right to vote. The Board of Executive Clemency’s plan apparently does nothing to address the rights of these citizens.

"Florida is still dealing with the consequences of the Civil War and the unfinished business of the Civil Rights Movement,” Simon added.

The vast majority of ex-offenders are the nearly one million citizens who have already been released, completed their sentences and are working to support their families in Florida. These disenfranchised citizens receive fewer reprieves under the new rules. A rule should have been included in the revised set issued today, but now an executive order – issued by the Governor with the support of at least two Cabinet members – could immediately and automatically restore rights to these citizens.

Reaching this large population and educating them on the new rules will be a daunting task. A system that would proactively benefit the majority of the disenfranchised should be automatic, immediate and paperless – not require a tedious, bureaucratic paperwork process and waiting period to receive a certificate of restoration.

“The fact remains that the new rules are unnecessarily ambiguous and will lead to more confusion and a greater backlog of applications,” said Muslima Lewis, Director of the ACLU of Florida’s Racial Justice and Voting Rights Project, a Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) member organization. “Furthermore, restitution remains an often insurmountable barrier that prevents ex-offenders that are law-abiding citizens from regaining their fundamental right to vote, and the ability to obtain dozens of occupational licenses.”

The new rules also continue to perpetuate payment of restitution as a precondition before rights can be restored. Restitution should be paid but should not be a required in advance of rights restoration. People who are trained in a specific field, such as nursing, cannot qualify for work that will enable them to be able to pay restitution until their rights are restored.

“The new rules are needlessly complex and will only confuse and deter potential applicants, also confounding corrections and elections officials,” said Laleh Ispahani, Senior Policy Counsel for the national ACLU. “Complicated schemes such as this one have proven unworkable in other states. One such state, Maryland, recently overhauled its formerly complex policy.”

Many people are unable to work because there are dozens of State-issued occupational licenses that cannot be obtained until a person’s rights have been restored. Barriers to employment can easily be removed, ending this vicious cycle by removing payment of restitution as a condition to rights restoration. Among those are: construction, electrician, notary public, exterminator and many others.

About the ACLU of Florida
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our Web site at: www.aclufl.org.

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2007 Press Releases