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August 22, 2024

TX Appeals Court to Review Acquittal of Black Mother Who Was Sentenced to Prison for Trying to Vote

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will review the case of Crystal
Mason, a Black mother who was sentenced to five years in prison for
attempting to cast a provisional ballot in the 2016 election when she
was ineligible to vote. At the time, Mason was on supervised release for
a tax felony and was unaware that this barred her from casting a ballot.
Her ballot was never actually counted. Mason's conviction was already
overturned, and she was acquitted earlier this year, but Tarrant
County's conservative district attorney appealed the decision. Crystal
Mason appeared on Democracy Now! in 2018.

Amy Goodman: "Crystal, do you ever plan to vote again?"

Crystal Mason: "I do. I do. And that's what I'm encouraging my kids, to
get out there so we can make a difference right now. I do. I just feel
right now that the system failed me. You get out, you rehabilitate
yourself, you get a good job, you go to school, you graduate from
school, you're doing everything right - so, why would I go and vote, to
go back to prison?"

#democracy-now #texas #voting-rights #vote #voting #election