Civil rights group fights for prisoners’ votes

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund expects a federal court to overturn Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Richard Allen’s recent decision to prevent the Rev. Kenneth Glasgow’s drive to register eligible prisoners to vote.

The Legal Defense Fund filed suit in Montgomery’s U.S. District Court on Tuesday, calling Allen’s decision “arbitrary and unconstitutional,” according to Ryan P. Haygood, co-director of the fund’s Political Participation Group.

Allen’s decision came after being contacted by Alabama Republican Party Chairman Mike Hubbard, who says he will never support voting rights for prisoners, even though state law allows non-violent offenders to vote.

“I believe, and I believe the vast majority of Alabamians, both Democrats and Republicans, believe that when someone is convicted of a crime and sent to prison, they lose certain rights. In addition to losing their freedom, they should lose the right to influence things that go on outside the prison walls,” Hubbard said. “It’s wrong on a number of fronts. For anyone to be going into prisons and registering prisoners is an affront and an insult to the law-abiding citizens of the state. I believe Republicans will take the lead in changing the law if it indeed does need to be changed.”

But according to Glasgow, he’s not just legally right, but morally as well.

“We’re only restoring people who are convicted of non-violent crimes anyway, so it’s people that are getting out in two-to-three years anyway. They’ll be out shortly, and the transformation in their lives needs to be before they get out, not after they get out,” Glasgow said. “Nobody should try to politicize it, because this ministry is the calling God gave us. This transformed my life when I was in there. It’s about reducing crime and re-integrating people back into society.”

Glasgow added he is confident the lawsuit will go in his favor.

Alabama Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Corbett offered no comment when reached Wednesday.