In 1865, the 13th amendment was passed, declaring the abolishment of slavery in the United States. Though there would still be (and still are) many years of fighting to end racism, it was an extremely monumental moment in history. People view the 13th amendment as the start of a revolution that is still continuing on today. But, there is one line within the amendment that threatens to ruin said ‘revolution’: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States”. This means that involuntary servitude is not legal within everyday life for most people, but for those who are in jail, it’s a different story.
If you live in the United States, you have most likely seen people in orange jumpsuits picking up trash on the side of the road. If not that, you have at least heard of prisoners doing labor (license plate making, carpentry, sewing, mining, packaging, fire fighting, telemarketing, fish farming, artisanal cheese making, etc.) presumably to lower their prison sentence. Many believe that this work is voluntary, but David C. Fathi, director of ACLU National Prison project says other wise. “Most prisoners want to work and jobs for prisoners can be a very positive thing,” David says, “but given the vast power inequality between prisoners and their employers, they’re also a real potential for exploitation and abuse.”
Really, Fathi is not wrong. As I said before, a lot of work prisoners do serves as an advantage to them. It can give them privileges within the prison itself, or even lower their sentence as it can be marked as “good time credit”. But there is always the standing fact that inmates can be forced to work. And if you refuse to work, you are liable for punishment and can even be put in solitary confinement. Even with this possiblility, the required work isn’t usually considered wrong when the prisoners get paid. Though, it should hardly be called “pay” since they usually only receive less than $4.73 a day. And there are some states, including Texas, Arkansas, and Georgia that don’t even pay the prisoners for their work at all.
There have been instances where inmates have took a stand against this forced servitude. Many have tried suing the prisons to get justice for themselves and others, whereas others have organized protests within the prisons themselves. As if that’s not bad enough, inmates aren’t the only ones bringing attention to this subjects. News stations somewhat recently put Whole Foods under pressure for selling cheese made by prisoners. We see many United States companies being moved to less wealthy countries where they don’t have to pay workers as much for their labor. Well, that’s what Whole Foods and many other companies are doing, but now within the United States’ own prisons. They use cheap labor, but still use high prices, earning them a bigger profit than ever before.
With the growing numbers of people getting wrongly convicted combined with the abuse of power we sometimes see within the prison system, this hardly seems fair. Yes, the option to work in order to earn certain rights should still be available, but forcing it amongst these inmates is morally wrong. As Fathi said, the power inequality between inmates and their employers almost ensures instances of abuse. That is, if you don’t already consider the slavery of these humans abuse in itself.
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