In response to a question on the YouGov website:
http://yougov.co.uk/news/2012/11/23/votes-prisoners/
The law is a complex beast, and people lose their freedom for all sorts of reasons, sometimes unexpectedly, sometimes unfairly, sometimes disproportionately, sometimes for crimes that cause no harm to others, and sometimes in the course of making a political protest.
- If a Twitter user Tweets something that is considered (by the law) to be grossly offensive, there is the possibility of a criminal offense.
- If someone is making a political protest, and they are considered (by the law) to be creating public disorder, then there is the possibility of a criminal offense.
- There is the crime of possession of small amounts of illegal drugs for personal use.
- People have decided not to pay their council tax, as a political protest, and have ended up in prison.
- A train driver, bus driver, prison officer, or police officer might end up in prison on a manslaughter charge, as a result of a neglection of duty, or a momentary bad decision, in the course of their work.
So, people end up in prison for a huge variety of reasons.
There are many examples whereby a crime could be considered to be not-extreme, but a person is given a prison sentence.
MPs are the people who create the laws which have the potential to take our freedoms away, if we purposely, or accidentally, or unknowingly, break those laws.
What if a particular law is inappropriate, unfair or disproportionate?
What if most people do not agree with a particular law?
What if a prisoner, and others, feel that a deep injustice has been done?
There is only one way to get a law changed, and that is for parliament to change it.
So, shouldn't everybody have an equal say in who represents us in parliament, whatever our status in society?
