Inside Out Reentry Community

Lisa Smith felt like “nothing was done” to prepare her for re-entry following the six years she served at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women. She also wasn’t prepared for the loneliness she would feel.

“I was surrounded by women all the time, and when I got out, not only did I not have this huge community of women around me that I had lived in a small space with for six years, I was not allowed to speak to any of them — not even on the phone — or it would have sent me back to prison,” Smith said. Read More

The last time Marlon Graham Sr. was allowed to vote, he cast his vote for Barack Obama while he was living in Minnesota.

But back in Des Moines where he’s lived most of his life, Graham is still waiting for his chance to make his voice heard on matters ranging from who should be president to who should sit on the local school board.

Graham, 42, is a father to 11 children, and some of them will soon turn 18 and be allowed to cast their first ballots. Read More

[Source: https://www.thehawkeye.com/news/20200806/rich-mathias-formerly-of-burlington-plays-role-in-restoration-of-iowa-felon-voting-rights

The Hawk Eye, 6 August 2020, by Robin Opsahl Des Moines Register]

IOWA CITY — Rich Mathias, formerly of Burlington, hoped the bumpy road to regaining his right to vote could help end Iowa’s status as the nation’s most unforgiving criminal suffrage state, where tens of thousands of people like him were banned from the ballot box.

He had been calling on Gov. Kim Reynolds to keep a promise she made in June to sign an executive order restoring felons’ right to vote.

She finally came through on that promise Wednesday when she signed the executive order into law. Read More

[Source: https://littlevillagemag.com/prison-recidivism-covid-19-cedar-rapids/

Little Village Magazine, 17 June 2020, by Izabela Zaluska]

Eddie Walker was released from prison last June after being incarcerated for 18 years for a robbery charge. Now living in Iowa City, Walker recalled the arduous process of finding an apartment after his release; in one instance, he was told by a rental company that he was an ideal potential renter, but they wouldn’t draw up a lease for him due to his criminal record.

“That can be crushing, because you’re thinking ‘Man, I got a place,’ … and then someone says no because you have that X in that box,” Walker said. Read More

[Sources: https://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Governor-Reynolds-pushing-to-approve-more-felon-voting-rights-applications-prior-to-caucuses-566856321.html

KCRG, 9 January 2020, Aaron Scheinblum]

With just a few weeks until Caucuses night, Gov. Kim Reynolds is continuing to push to restore voting rights for felons that have been released from prison.

Pat Garrett, Communications Director for the governor, said Reynolds “has directed her administration to do everything possible to review and approve as many felon voting rights applications before the caucuses.”

Currently, Iowa is the only state that permanently bans felons from voting or running for public office. Read More

[Source: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/investigations/2019/11/26/iowa-may-alone-felon-voting-ban-kentucky-prepares-drop-practice/4127351002/

The Des Moines Register, 26 November 2019, by Jason Clayworth]

Iowa is poised to become the only state that permanently bans felons from voting unless they receive gubernatorial approval — a distinction some opponents of the practice predict will result in legal and political consequences for the state.

Kentucky is currently the only other state with such a ban. But its governor-elect, Andy Beshear, has promised to sign an executive order restoring the rights of more than 100,000 people affected by the ban. He is to be inaugurated Dec. 10. Read More