• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2022
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

In Spite: DeSantis Denies Pardon for World-Acclaimed Voting Rights Leader Desmond Mead

March 10, 2021 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Desmond Meade. (NSF)
Desmond Meade. (NSF)

Desmond Meade has won international acclaim for his voting-rights advocacy and helped thousands of convicted felons like him be able to cast ballots in Florida.




But the 53-year-old husband and father hasn’t redeemed himself enough for Gov. Ron DeSantis to grant a pardon.

The Republican governor on Wednesday rejected Meade’s request for a pardon, marking the second time in six months that Meade’s appeal for clemency was denied.

DeSantis justified his decision by pointing to Meade’s dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Army three decades ago.

But Meade said he is a victim of political infighting between DeSantis and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat who, as a member of the state Board of Executive Clemency, put forward Meade’s application for a pardon in September and again on Wednesday.

“At the end of the day, the decision not to grant me a pardon is purely a political decision and I just happen to be a casualty of a war that’s going on, a disagreement that’s going on between the governor and our commissioner of agriculture,” Meade, the executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Fried, Florida’s only statewide elected Democrat, is considering a challenge to DeSantis in next year’s election. She has been sharply critical of the governor on issues such as the coronavirus pandemic and his approach to a 2018 constitutional amendment that restores voting rights to felons who’ve completed their sentences.

The decision to deny a pardon for Meade came on the same day that the Board of Executive Clemency made changes in clemency rules that will help many felons get civil rights restored. But Fried lashed out at DeSantis in a news release following the denial of the Meade petition, noting that the governor pushed through a candidate with a rocky military record to serve as chief judge of the state Division of Administrative Hearings.




“This governor continues denying rights to a deserving Floridian in Desmond Meade on the basis of a long-ago military dishonorable discharge, but had no issue with appointing a chief administrative judge who had been discharged for poor conduct from the Navy,” Fried said in the news release. “This hypocritical grandstanding underlies the fact that today’s changes to Florida’s clemency rules, while an improvement, will still needlessly leave thousands of Floridians without their civil and voting rights.”

Meade, a onetime homeless drug addict who graduated from law school after his release from prison, became the face of the movement behind what appeared on the 2018 ballot as Amendment 4, earning him a spot on Time magazine’s 2019 list of the world’s 100 most influential people.

But DeSantis, a former U.S. Navy officer, said Meade’s dishonorable discharge disqualifies him for a pardon.

“As a former military officer, a dishonorable discharge is the highest punishment that a court martial may render. I consider it very serious. I’m not saying that he hadn’t done good things, but I would want that as a precondition for us doing the state case, that that military dishonorable discharge be addressed,” the governor said during Wednesday’s clemency board meeting.

At DeSantis’ urging, the Board of Executive Clemency on Wednesday approved series of changes to the clemency process and made it easier for felons who have paid court-ordered fines, fees and restitution to have their civil rights — the right to vote, serve on a jury and run for public office — restored without hearings before the clemency board.

The new clemency rules eliminated five- and seven-year waiting periods imposed by former Gov. Rick Scott, former Attorney General Pam Bondi and other clemency board members in 2011. Florida’s Board of Executive Clemency is made up of the governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and agriculture commissioner.

It’s unclear how many Florida felons will have their clemency cases expedited as a result of Wednesday’s action, but Meade said the revised rules will clear the way for thousands of “returning citizens” to have their rights restored without going through the lengthy and cumbersome process that has been in place for a decade.




Meade said Wednesday’s victory on the new clemency rules overrode his personal loss. His organization raised $27 million to help felons pay their outstanding financial obligations so they could register and vote in the November election. Meade said the group cleared off debt for 44,000 Floridians, enabling them to register and vote.

Under the approved clemency changes, those people would have not only their voting rights but their other civil rights restored, Meade noted.

“So you can see at the end of the day, there’s still a lot to smile about,” he said.

Meade conceded he was disappointed at the rejection of his request for a pardon, which would allow him to practice law in Florida, The clemency process is focused on “how you transform your life … and whether or not you’ve been in trouble” since being released from prison, he said.

“It gets a little frustrating to have to keep going back and talk about” a court martial that occurred over 30 years ago, he added.

“And to have to speak on it, I mean, what else is there to speak on? At the end of the day, I’ve owned up to every mistake that I’ve made in my life and I’ve moved forward, and I believe I’ve gone above and beyond to show that not only have I been quote unquote rehabilitated but I’ve committed my life to giving back to the community, to making this world a better place for everyone,” Meade said.

–Dara Kam, News Service of Florida

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
You and your neighbors collectively read our articles about 25,000 times each day (that's not a typo) with up to 65,000 daily reads during emergencies like hurricanes. Flagler County residents rely on FlaglerLive for essential, bold and analytical journalism that cannot be found anywhere else. But we depend on your support. Please join our December fund drive! If you donate the cost of a scoop of ice cream, you will be helping us continue to provide comprehensive local news and honest, serious journalism for our community. If you can donate more or become a monthly donor, even better. Donations are tax deductible since FlaglerLive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donate by clicking anywhere in this box. Think of it as buying a scoop, in every sense of the term!  
All donors' identities are kept confidential and anonymous.
   

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kat says

    March 10, 2021 at 8:26 pm

    Now this gentleman is deserving of the public office that our governor most certainly is not.

    Reply
  2. Outsider says

    March 12, 2021 at 9:08 am

    Why doesn’t the article state WHY he was discharged? How can anyone make an informed decision without this glaring lack of information? I can’t help but suspect this was not an oversight, but another intentional deletion of facts so one can’t get the whole picture which seems to be the M.O. of the mainstream media these days.

    Reply
    • FlaglerLive says

      March 12, 2021 at 9:18 am

      Sorry to disappoint you Outsider, but he was discharged for the same reason he was imprisoned–drug use. As we told another commenter recently, if you’re fishing for conspiracies, you should find a different venue to indulge your hobby.

      Reply
  3. Jane Gentile-Youd says

    March 16, 2021 at 12:06 am

    What harm did he ever do to another human being other than perhaps to his body? Shameful decision by the Governor.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Advertisers

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents
  • WNZF Creekside Festival

Recent Comments

  • Denali on Food Poisoning: What and Where to Never Eat
  • Denali on Flagler School Board Wants ‘Standing’ Closed-Door Meetings Every 3 Months. That Would Be Illegal.
  • Denali on Sally Hunt Raises Questions About Using Schools as Shelters During Hurricane Emergencies
  • Jared on At FPC, Misplaced ‘Man Cave’ Culture and Improprieties Cause Demise of Girls’ Basketball Coach
  • Deirdre on Brendan Depa’s Mother Tells Her Son’s Story
  • Linda on Flagler School Board Wants ‘Standing’ Closed-Door Meetings Every 3 Months. That Would Be Illegal.
  • Sherry on DeSantis Solution to Climate Change: Burn More Fossil Fuels
  • Dennis C Rathsam on Flagler School Board Wants ‘Standing’ Closed-Door Meetings Every 3 Months. That Would Be Illegal.
  • Deborah Coffey on Bible Challenge in Flagler Schools Unravels Inconsistencies, Arbitrariness and Confusion in Review Process
  • Deborah Coffey on Flagler School Board Wants ‘Standing’ Closed-Door Meetings Every 3 Months. That Would Be Illegal.
  • tg on Palm Coast Council Member Steps Back from Malacompra Beach Annexation, Opting for ‘Different Options’
  • The dude on Flagler School Board Wants ‘Standing’ Closed-Door Meetings Every 3 Months. That Would Be Illegal.
  • Fire them ALL! on Flagler School Board Wants ‘Standing’ Closed-Door Meetings Every 3 Months. That Would Be Illegal.
  • Ben Hogarth on DeSantis Solution to Climate Change: Burn More Fossil Fuels
  • endless dark money on DeSantis Solution to Climate Change: Burn More Fossil Fuels
  • Been There on Florida’s Policing of Public Restroom Gender Draws Federal Lawsuit from Trans and Nonbinary Group

Log in