TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Desmond Meade fought to get his right to vote back, leading the successful statewide Amendment 4 campaign to restore voting rights for felons. On Wednesday he went before the Florida Cabinet seeking a full pardon; he was denied.
“It is very arbitrary, you can have someone who has not done half of the things that I have done since turning my life around that could get it,” said Meade after the meeting. “Then, someone like me would appear and you would think it is a no brainer. There is no rhyme or reason.”
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At the hearing, Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis raised questions about charges Meade faced in the 90s including a domestic violence charge and a court martial that led to a dishonorable discharge from the Army.
“If they forgive you, heck, I can forgive you,” said CFO Patronis. “But that’s something between you and them. But. domestic violence is something that is a nonstarter with me.”
Today I appeared before the Fl Gov for a pardon .. didn’t leave with one https://t.co/zOwRlUh517
— Desmond Meade (@desmondmeade) September 23, 2020
Meade served time for drug charges in the early 2000′s before being released in 2005. Following his releases he completed law school and became an advocate for the restoration of voting rights for Florida’s felons.
Until 2018, Florida was one of just four states that automatically stripped away a felon’s right to vote.
With Meade leading the campaign, Florida voters overwhelmingly passed Amendment 4 in in 2018, granting the automatic restoration of rights to nonviolent felons following their release.
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While the Florida Legislature passed a bill requiring the payment of fines and fees before the restoration of rights, something that has significantly limited the scope of Amendment 4, Meade has been able to get his right to vote back; just not the rest of his civil rights.
“Florida’s broken Clemency system is restrictive, arbitrary, and designed to fail our citizens seeking a fresh start. It’s an absolute mockery that in nearly two years under Governor DeSantis, only 30 Floridians have earned back their rights, compared to 234,000 under his three predecessors,” said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.
Fried, a member of the Florida Cabinet, voted for the full pardon, but was defeated.
Meade pressed the Cabinet to instead consider restoring his other civil rights if not a full pardon.
“I think what we would like to do is take it under advisement,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “There is some information that I have asked about on the military side, and Jimmy has asked about that, so, I think that should be pretty easy to get that information. Then, obviously, we can do it from there.”
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The next meeting won’t be until December.
“The state has employed a considerable amount of resources to thoroughly investigate. They have spoken to everybody who they need to speak to. I don’t see why there was a need for further consideration. Everything they should have known, they had ample time to have the answers to those questions,” said Meade.
Cox Media Group
