A woman who voted in the 2016 election while on supervised release from federal prison was sentenced this week to five years behind bars for voting illegally, NBC News reported.
Crystal Mason had testified she didn't know that her 2011 fraud conviction made her ineligible to vote. Texas law makes knowingly voting illegally a second-degree felony with a maximum punishment of up to 20 years behind bars.
Her defense attorney, J. Warren St. John, told NBC News Friday that she voted in good faith. He called the penalty for voting illegally outrageous: "The punishment does not fit this crime."
Mason is out on bond as she appeals, but could face arrest from federal authorities for violating the terms of her release.
