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May 28, 2008

Elections board allows 2 convicted of insanity to vote

PROVIDENCE -- The state Board of Elections voted unanimously this afternoon to preserve the voting rights of two men found not guilty by reason of insanity some 20 years ago.

The vote reversed a nine-month-old decision by the Cranston Board of Canvassers, which found that John A. Sarro and William Sarmento were too mentally ill to cast a ballot.

Lawyers for the two men said they were pleased with the vote.

“It’s a relief,” said Kate Bowden, a lawyer with the Rhode Island Disability Law Center.

But Joseph A. DeLorenzo, Jr., chairman of the Cranston board, decried the decision.

“I hope they can sleep at night knowing they’ve allowed vicious murderers to vote,” he said.

DeLorenzo said the board may appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.

Lawyers for Sarro and Sarmento argued, during the hearing, that a single moment of insanity decades ago has little to do with their clients’ competence to vote.

-- Journal staff writer David Scharfenberg

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 5:37 PM | Permalink

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