Appeals court affirms Mississippi's ban on voting after some felonies, including timber theft

A federal appeals court has ruled that Mississippi legislators, not the courts, must decide whether to change the state's practice of stripping voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies. The list of disenfranchising crimes includes nonviolent crimes such as forgery and timber theft. In Thursday's ruling, a majority of judges on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that the Supreme Court in 1974 reaffirmed constitutional law allowing states to disenfranchise felons. Last August, three judges on the appeals court ruled that Mississippi's voting ban after certain felonies violates the Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The full court vacated that ruling.