Full Fifth Circuit Sides With Mississippi’s Felon Voting Ban

The en banc US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected a challenge to Mississippi’s voting ban for some felons, finding that the law is not a “cruel and unusual” punishment under the US Constitution.

In a 13-6 ruling Thursday, Judge Edith Jones wrote for the majority that the claims against the state constitutional provision fail in part because the ban isn’t penal. And she said that, even if it were a punishment, it didn’t reach the standard of being a “cruel and unusual” one as laid out in the Eighth Amendment.

“The ability to vote, though assuredly important, ...