Example prison and society dissertation topic 2:

Votes for prisoners: A step too far?

The committing of crime and being sentenced to prison has always, traditionally been seen to result in the removal of certain rights to prisoners as they ‘;pay their debt to society’. This has meant within the UK that prisoners have not been allowed to vote. The decision by the ECHR however means that English prisoners should now be able to vote. This dissertation reviews both the legal and ethical arguments surrounding this argument and also questions the likely effect of the empowering of prisoners in such a manner on issues such as marginal seats and voting intentions. A cross disciplinary dissertation that contains a number of interesting avenues that could be effectively explored.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Cheney, D. (2008) ‘Prisoners as citizens in a democracy’, The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 47, pp. 134-145.
• Dhami, M. K. (2005) ‘Prisoner disenfranchisement policy: A threat to democracy?’ Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, Vol.5, pp. 235-247.
• Eady, D. (2007) ‘Prisoners’ rights since the Woolf Report: Progress or procrastination?’ The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 46, pp. 264-275.