RICHMOND, Va. — Dean Turner never voted before
he went to prison. But his right to cast a ballot was the last barrier
to rebuilding his life once he got out.
Released in February 2016, after more than a decade behind bars for selling drugs,
the 50-year-old Virginian worked his way up from dishwasher to line
chef by Googling how to cook. He started mentoring young men, and
coaches a writing class at Virginia Commonwealth University based on the
book he helped write while incarcerated.
But until last fall, Turner was one of the estimated 6.1 million
Americans — 2.5 percent of the nation’s voting-age population — barred
from voting by a felony conviction.
"When you’re able to vote, that means you have
a voice in the world," Turner told NBC News. Former Gov. Terry
McAuliffe, a Democrat, restored his voting rights last year, and Turner
cast his first-ever ballot in November 2017.
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Source: NBC News
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