Slavery in prisons

Ideal08 · #1 10-06-2003, 02:56 AM

I have had this question ever since I read Assata. In there, she states that slavery is still legal in the prison system, according to the 13th Amendment. I was wondering if that was true, so I did a search, and here is what I came up with (bolding and italics courtesy of yours truly):

U.S. Constitution: Thirteenth Amendment
Thirteenth Amendment - Slavery And Involuntary Servitude

Amendment Text | Annotations
Section 1. 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, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Oh, I got that from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/c...n/amendment13/

Did anyone know this already and I'm just late? And what do you think of it? Because my thing is this. Sadly, prison populations are largly comprised of minorities. So to have slavery in prisons... you can see where I'm going with this. So, what y'all think?

Eclipse · #2 10-06-2003, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ideal08
IDid anyone know this already and I'm just late? And what do you think of it? Because my thing is this. Sadly, prison populations are largly comprised of minorities. So to have slavery in prisons... you can see where I'm going with this. So, what y'all think?

I guess I knew that there was "involuntary servitude" in prison, but I don't know if I would classify it has slavery. My understanding is, you go to jail, they make you do work, they don't pay you. Now is that slavery? Personally I don't have a problem with that. I say, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime..... Is there something I am missing???

Now of course I realize there are MANY Black men in jail who did not do anything to get there. There was an article in yesterday's Atlanta Journal Constitution about 2 men who were released after 16 and 5 years (I think) after DNA evidence cleared them of rape. I also saw a play called The Exonerated in Chicago eariler this year that was absolutely moving. It was about inmates who had been on death row and were later found innocent.

Honeykiss1974 · #3 10-06-2003, 11:51 PM

Prisoners are used as cheap labor. I believe Dateline or 20/20 did a story a while back about companies that were using prisoners to staff their call centers (I remember TWA being named as a company that used them as customer service reps that booked flights

). There was concern because of the access to personal information (name, address, credit card numbers, etc.).

AKA_Monet · #4 10-07-2003, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ideal08
I have had this question ever since I read Assata. In there, she states that slavery is still legal in the prison system, according to the 13th Amendment. I was wondering if that was true, so I did a search, and here is what I came up with (bolding and italics courtesy of yours truly):

U.S. Constitution: Thirteenth Amendment
Thirteenth Amendment - Slavery And Involuntary Servitude

Amendment Text | Annotations
Section 1. 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, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Oh, I got that from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/c...n/amendment13/

Did anyone know this already and I'm just late? And what do you think of it? Because my thing is this. Sadly, prison populations are largly comprised of minorities. So to have slavery in prisons... you can see where I'm going with this. So, what y'all think?

This amendment was made as a part of President Abraham Lincoln's strategy to maintain the union...

It is not so much that one does a crime so they should do the time, rather it has to with what happens to someone while they are incarcerated and the issues with recidivism (sp.)--meaning the prison mentality, what the mental breakdown one goes through and how well a "rehabilitated" former felon can reintegrate into "civilized" society... Given that recidivism is high, one would think that this amendment is part of a self-fulfilling prophecy...

ClassyLady · #5 10-08-2003, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Eclipse
I guess I knew that there was "involuntary servitude" in prison, but I don't know if I would classify it has slavery. My understanding is, you go to jail, they make you do work, they don't pay you.

Prison workers are in fact paid. They receive an hourly wage anywhere from ten or twelve cents up to about a dollar or two. It's not much, but it is a wage so I don't think that imprisonment constitutes slavery.

ilovemyglo · #6 10-08-2003, 10:43 AM

sorry to bust into your forum, but you also have to keep in mind, they work but they also get food, clothes, healthcare (for their families also in some cases), cable tv, recreational facilities. They don't pay rent, utilities or any bills. So I think the least they can do is a little labor.
But that is an opinion, but also something you may want to factor in.

Ideal08 · #7 10-08-2003, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Eclipse
My understanding is, you go to jail, they make you do work, they don't pay you. Now is that slavery? Personally I don't have a problem with that. I say, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime..... Is there something I am missing???

My issue is not with the prison system in this case (I have other issues with the prison system). My issue is that slavery is allowed ANYWHERE, prison or not. When it was abolished, it should have been abolished COMPLETELY. Why is there even an "except" in the amendment??? Now whenever the question is asked why do minorities make up the majority of those incarcerated in the prison system, I will always think back to this: because slavery is allowed there.

I guess it's just me that feels this way. But I get used to that.