Sara Latshaw, Director for American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida—Northwest Region, stopped me earlier this week to talk about the ACLU initiative to restore the rights for people who have been convicted of felonies and served their sentences.
Florida is one of four states in which a felony conviction means permanently losing civil rights — including the right to vote, hold public office and serve on a jury.
Latshaw explained, “To regain those rights, a felon must petition the governor and Cabinet for clemency, a cumbersome process that can take 10 years or longer.”
Currently, Florida has a backlog of 20,000 clemency cases. Latshaw said the proposed new clemency rules would not apply to those convicted of murder or sexual assault. It’s for the restoration of civil rights to felons after they have served their sentences to resume participation in the democratic process.
The ACLU is holding two 30-minute training session on Feb. 12 at the Lexington Terrace Community Center, 700 S. Old Corry Field Road – @ 10:30 am and 5:30 p.m.
“This is definitely going to be an uphill battle,” said Latshaw. “I’m hoping the shift on criminal justice reform on both sides of the aisle will lend itself to a shift on this issue as well.”
For more info, contact Sara Latshaw slatshaw@aclufl.org or 429-9128.