

Hanging in the Balance: Florida’s 1.5 Million Felons and Voting Rights
Back in February, a Federal judge ruled that the system that bans felon from voting in Florida was unconstitutional[1]. This announcement came just weeks after a group named Floridians for a Fair Democracy met the required number of signatures to include a re-enfranchisement provision on the upcoming 2018 ballot. The Second Chance” initiative – promising to restore voting rights – garnered the nearly 760,000 signatures needed. With Florida accounting for 27% of all nationally

A Carceral Dilemma: Budget Cuts and the Complex Ethics of Private Prisons
Since the start of the year, Louisiana’s legislature has been locked in a standstill over budget cuts and potential changes to the state tax system. As has been in the past during times of budgetary uncertainty, the topic of privatizing prisons has come up. Specifically, the privatization of state prison facilities has been argued as a potential avenue in cutting overhead. This week’s discussion explores private prisons and what its precarious origins mean for a government lo