Senator Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) said Tuesday that murderers and terrorists “should be deprived of their rights” just one day after saying she was willing to “have a conversation” about whether felons should be able to vote while in prison.
Harris was pressed on the question of felons voting in prison during CNN’s town hall in New Hampshire on Monday night after Senator Bernie Sanders said all felons, including the Boston Marathon bomber, should retain their franchise while in prison.
“I think we should have that conversation,” Harris said when asked if she agreed with Sanders.
Asked to expand on her answer during a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Tuesday, Harris said she has not finalized her position but her history as a prosecutor informed her belief that the worst offenders should be disenfranchised.
“Do I think that people who commit murder, people who are terrorists, should be deprived of their rights? Yeah, I do,” she told reporters. “I’m a prosecutor, I believe that in terms of, there has to be serious consequence for the most extreme types of crimes.”
When asked specifically whether Dzhokar Tsarnaev, the 25-year-old man who is on death row for his role in the Boston marathon bombing, should be able to vote, Harris wouldn’t comment.
“I’m saying that I will weigh in specifically, but that’s a value that I bring to it, yeah,” she said.