A Texas appeals court has thrown out a five-year prison sentence for Crystal Mason, a Texas woman who was sentenced for trying to cast a provisional ballot in the 2016 presidential election that was rejected.
Mason, now 49, attempted to vote in Fort Worth in the 2016 even though she was ineligible because she was still on supervised release – which is like probation – for a tax felony. She has always maintained she had no idea she was ineligible and only tried to cast a ballot because her mother urged her to.
A judge convicted her in a 2018 trial that lasted just a few hours.
Glad they threw out her 5 year prison sentence from 2018 in 2024.
For nearly the entire time, she remained out of prison pending the outcome of her appeal.
So what? That’s six years of a major life problem she did not deserve. 40k is horseshit (if she’s even successful in getting it awarded), no matter how it may compare to options in other states.
And I’ll say it - I don’t believe for one second she’d have had this over her head all this time had she been a white registered Republican.
After Mason was arrested in 2017, she lost her job at a bank. She was also sent back to federal prison for several months for being arrested while on probation for a federal crime. During that time, she almost lost her home to foreclosure.
“Although I’ve cried for seven years straight, seven nights a week … I’ve also prayed for seven years straight, seven nights a week. Prayed that I would remain a free black woman,” she said in a statement.
You are correct. There are multiple cases of white Repubs committing voting fraud with full mens rea and they get a slap on the wrist if anything.
I replied to the suggestion that overturning a five year sentence would be meaningless after six years. In this case it’s not meaningless at all.
Ah sorry, misdirected hostility over this effed up system.
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Yes, she can sue. By law the most she can recover is slightly under $40,000, minus legal fees.
And here I thought everything was bigger in Texas.
It is!
AFAICT, Texas has relatively generous laws for recovery of damages after wrongful imprisonment. In addition to the payout ($80K/yr, prorated), you get an annuity. In some cases you can even get free tuition at a state university. Whereas in most states, you can’t sue at all.
$40,000 is not generous.
Hence my emphasis on “relatively”. That would be $25K in Michigan, and $0 in most states.
So technically, it is bigger in Texas.
Iirc, she cast a provisional ballot, she wasn’t certain and asked whoever, in full openness.
If her vote was even counted, then it wasn’t her mistake.
Never mind that the whole point of a provisional ballot is “I don’t know if this vote is valid, but here it is just in case it is valid”
I feel like casting a provisional ballot should protect you in cases like hers, not condemn you!
She asked and was told she was allowed to do so by an election official. I don’t know what else she was supposed to do.
She probably should have just tried being rich and/or white. It’s not that hard.
I’m glad she has finally been acquitted but I am so sorry that she ever had to go through any of this
Serves her right for being brown!!
(/s in case it’s not evident)
Losing the right to vote is ridiculous.
Agreed. Felons should be allowed to vote. Pirsoners should be allowed to vote. Just because you committed a crime doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be allowed to participate in a democratic election. There is, as far as I can remember, nothing in the Constitution that bars felons or the incarcerated from voting.
Not to mention that people in jail waiting for trial who can’t afford bail aren’t allowed to vote either if the election happens while they’re in jail, even though there’s been no conviction.
In Germany there are only a few crimes that take away your voting rights and I am fine with these:
- preparation of a war of aggression and high treason against the Federation
- treason and disclosure of state secrets with intent to cause damage
- attacks against organs and representatives of foreign states
- disruption of election process and falsification of election documents
- bribing delegates
- sabotage against means of defence or intelligence activity endangering national security (provided that a sentence of imprisonment is imposed for at least one year in this case).
disruption of election process and falsification of election documents
Seems like a good one. We should borrow that.
bribing delegates
I’ll have you know it’s called lobbying and it’s perfectly legal! For some reason.
Especially when prisoners are counted toward a state’s apportionment. Now you end up with evil conservative scumbags petitioning to have prisons in their states/districts so they get those extra resources, without all of those damn liberal votes.
It’s essentially the modern equivalent of the 3/5ths compromise.
They aren’t even trying to hide it because you can legally use prisoners as slaves.
https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1100064032/deliberate-indifference
It’s definitely there because of the same politics.
Meanwhile… https://lemmy.world/post/13656660
Only $5000 fine
Mason’s case became well known nationally and struck a chord as an example of an egregious punishment for a voting mistake. Many saw it as a thinly veiled effort to intimidate Black voters.
Ya think?!
Thank God she didn’t try to buy the presidency.
