A U.S. Court of Appeals panel is deciding whether to uphold Mississippi’s lifetime felony disenfranchisement law, Section 241, a remnant of 1890 Jim Crow legislation aimed to disenfranchise Black voters. Civil rights groups challenge the law, amidst legislative reluctance to eliminate it, arguing it unconstitutionally perpetuates racial discrimination and violates the Eighth Amendment by imposing a lifetime ban on voting for certain offenses.
