He was set to plead guilty. But first, he had to vote.

Reginald Albright’s life was about to change forever last week, and not in a good way.

The 20-year-old Memphis man was set to plead guilty to a Class C felony for attempting to rob a CVS Pharmacy. One of his two accomplices in the heist had a gun, which means Albright could spend up to 20 years in prison. At the very least, he will be put on probation. Under Tennessee state law, that means Albirght will not be able hold public office, possess a firearm, serve on a jury or vote, at least until the term of his probation is up.

But that last condition, the forfeiture of his right to vote, hit Albright especially hard, he told The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal. Because ever since he was young, Albright had been looking forward to the day he could cast a ballot.

He told the Commercial Appeal that when he was child, his grandfather would take him to a polling station but make him wait in the car. His mother, meanwhile, served as an election poll worker in 2012.

“I'd be gone from 6 a.m. till 9 p.m., and then I'd come home and he'd say, 'Mama, where have you been all day,'” Gloria Hill said.

“I'd say, 'I was helping people vote. People got to vote.'”

In 2015, Albright could have voted in the Memphis citywide elections, but he held off, wanting his first time in a voting booth to come during an election cycle.

But in that time, Albright fell on hard times. He dropped out of community college because he lacked the funds necessary, he said. His mother’s Social Security checks stopped supporting him once he turned 18. And the boy that had once wanted to be a police officer, according to his mother, decided he would rob a CVS. The robbery failed, and he was arrested.

“I made a stupid decision and hurt a lot of people who care about me,” Albright, who had no previous criminal record, said. “I learned a lot of lessons.”

So he decided to plead guilty and accept his punishment. But when Albright’s attorney, Alex Wharton, told him that as a result he would be unable to vote in the upcoming election, Albright asked if there was any way he could vote before he plead guilty.

“My family takes voting seriously and so do I,” he said.

Wharton was taken aback.

“People will spend $20 to go to a movie, but they won't take 20 minutes to go vote,” Wharton said.

“And the cost has already been paid. People fought and shed blood and died for the simple right and privilege just to cast a vote.”

So Wharton asked the U.S. District Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr. to delay the proceedings long enough for Albright to cast his vote early.

In his 30 years involvement in criminal justice, Fowlkes said he has never had a similar request. He said yes.

“It's an important right and I was glad to give that young man a chance to exercise it,” he said.

Albright went straight from the courtroom to the election commission, cast his ballot, and returned, donning an “I Voted” sticker. He thanked Fowlkes, and then plead guilty. His sentencing will come in January. In Tennessee, convicted felons who have served their time and are no longer on probation can apply to have their voting rights restored.

“It made me feel good to vote, to do this one time before it was taken away from me," Albright said.

This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 7:47 PM with the headline "He was set to plead guilty. But first, he had to vote.."