Strange Fruit

This week, outgoing Governor Steve Beshear announced he would restore voting rights for Kentuckians convicted of most non-violent felonies. "The right to vote is one of the most intrinsically American privileges," Beshear said, "and thousands of Kentuckians are living, working and paying taxes in the state but are denied this basic right." Kentuckians for the Commonwealth's Sean Hardy joins us this week to talk about the importance re-enfranchising voters. He says keeping felons from voting doesn't fit in with a rehabilitation model of punishment. "You go in, you serve your time, you pay your debt to society, and you come back out to be a productive member of society," he explains. "Voting is part of that productive membership." Lost voting rights for non-violent offenses have historically affected African Americans disproportionately (thanks in part to the war on drugs). And being excluded from casting a ballot isn't the only way black Americans are excluded from the s