Criminal disenfranchisement: Developments in, and lessons from, Scotland

Hunter, C. L.C., McNeill, F. and Tripkovic, M. (2023) Criminal disenfranchisement: Developments in, and lessons from, Scotland. Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, (doi: 10.1111/hojo.12546) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

This article explores both the reasons for, and the potential impact of, the current level of disenfranchisement in Scotland. First, we scrutinise Scottish legal provisions for their compatibility with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)’s jurisprudence, which require disenfranchisement's aims to be clarified and delimited. Second, we examine where disenfranchisement sits within the wider context of Scottish penal values, and what principles underlie its imposition. Finally, we turn to a discussion of whether and how dis/enfranchisement aligns with the Scottish Government's commitments to the rehabilitation and reintegration of people who have been in prison, and to related empirical evidence about desistance from crime. The limited enfranchisement of prisoners established by the Scottish Government in 2020 avoided these core questions and this article aims to help address this neglect and to open up dialogue on these issues.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by funding received from the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research’s Development Fund 2020–2021.
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: McNeill, Professor Fergus
• Authors: Hunter, C. L.C., McNeill, F., and Tripkovic, M.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
• Research Centre: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity > Centre for Immunobiology
• Research Group: Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research
• Journal Name: Howard Journal of Crime and Justice
• Publisher: Wiley
• ISSN: 2059-1098
• ISSN (Online): 2059-1101
• Published Online: 23 October 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Howard Journal of Crime and Justice 2023
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license