Murderer says he has every right to vote from prison. Grieving family asks why.

Inside the concrete walls of Maine State Prison’s visitation room, convicted murderer Foster Bates says the issue is complex.

“Just because a person’s incarcerated, that doesn’t make him less of a citizen,” Bates told NBC News. “That doesn’t make him less of a human being. People are going to make mistakes in their lives.”…

He understands why a devastated family like the Gagnons disagrees.

“It’s not much you can say to the family as to why this person should vote,” Bates said. “But the answer that I would give is that you have to at some point in time say: If that person comes back to society, you want to have a changed person, not the person who committed the heinous crime.”