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| British Inmates Win Right to Vote |
| By United Press |
| Published: 10/10/2005 |
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Prison inmates in Britain and 13 other European countries won a right to vote last week in a European Court of Rights ruling. By a 12-5 ruling, the judges rejected a British government argument, and said denying citizens a vote breached the "right to free elections" in the European Convention on Human Rights, The Times of London reported. The right to vote was "a right and not a privilege," the judges said. The case was launched by a man who spent 25 years in prison for killing his landlady with an ax. Free since November, John Hirst told the newspaper he considered it a victory for Britain's 77,000 prisoners. "The human rights court has agreed with me that the government's position is wrong -- it doesn't matter how heinous the crime, everyone is entitled to have the basic human right to vote," Hirst said. The court awarded Hirst legal costs of about $28,000, but ruled against any financial damages because, they said, the finding in his favor was "sufficient satisfaction." |
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