Activist pushes for law reform after illegal voting charges dropped - FOX13 Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Black Lives Matter activist Pamela Moses held a press conference Monday to address the dismissal of the illegal voting charges against her.
On Friday, Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich said that prosecutors would no longer pursue illegal voter registration charges against Moses after a judge granted her a new trial.
Charges against Moses, 44, were dismissed, and she will no longer face a second trial “in the interest of judicial economy,” Weirich said in a statement.
Moses was convicted in November of registering to vote illegally in Memphis in 2019 and was sentenced on Jan. 31 to six years and one day in prison.
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She claimed she was unaware that she was ineligible to vote.
Moses filed a motion asking for a new trial.
In February, Criminal Court Judge Mark Ward overturned her conviction because the Tennessee Department of Correction failed to turn over “a necessary document” in the case. He granted Moses a second trial, but now that trial won’t take place.
D.A. Amy Weirich dropped the charge Friday, saying the 82 days Moses spent in jail “is sufficient.”
On Monday, Moses spoke outside the National Civil Rights Museum, stating, “We need change. We need immediately.”
Moses was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of registering to vote despite a felony on her record.
READ MORE: Black Lives Matter activist Pamela Moses arrested, accused of voting illegally
Moses is now advocating for a change to state law.
She believes voting rights should automatically be restored once a person is eligible to vote again.
After serving nearly three months behind bars, Moses spoke out against the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office.
“The current administration, they don’t care if you’re innocent. They’re just like, well, we offered her probation,” said Moses.
Moses faced six years behind bars for registering to vote, not knowing she had a felony conviction on her record.
“The state has the resources to say that a person is automatically restored,” Moses said.
Moses says she believed she was eligible to vote because she filed a certificate of restoration and application for voter registration with the Shelby County Election Commission.
Her probation officer also signed the paperwork stating Moses had completed probation for a felony conviction. But that was not the case.
“They wrote it to disenfranchise people, and I guess I’m just the first to push back on it. They wrote this in 2006. I got my conviction in 2015. I’m the first to challenge this,” Moses said.
Moses says Tennessee is one of two states that require you to submit a certificate of restoration and application for voter registration.
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