Letters: Why we should give prisoners the right to vote

Letter: It is interesting to note that in the mid-nineteenth century only men of property could vote.

This included factory and mine owners, who abused children on an industrial scale, along with convicted felons, working men and all women had no vote.

Only after the elite had sent hundreds of thousands of young men to their deaths in war were they persuaded to give those remaining the vote. It was a further 10 years before women gained the same right.

Too many see the judicial system solely as a vindictive tool to punish those seen to have wronged us. If we want prisoners to return safely to the community we have to do more than lock them up.

Released prisoners who feel they have a stake in society will be better citizens. One way of engaging individuals with the responsibilities of citizenship is to give them the right to vote.

We must try harder to reintegrate prisoners into society.

A C Mitchell

Telford