OPINION | What Crimes Justify Enslavement?

Photo Credit: Dreamstime via Reason Foundation

“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,” reads the Thirteenth Amendment, commonly known as the amendment “that ended slavery.”

However, there’s still a group permitted to be forced into involuntary servitude: prisoners. In most US states, incarcerated individuals being forced or coerced into performing labor against their will in dangerous conditions, and for little or no pay, is still legal. 

According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, there are 133,898 inmates currently serving in prisons, excluding those in mental health facilities and juvenile corrections facilities. Although the Department of Corrections doesn’t publish official data on the number of prisoners forced to do labor, approximately a third of inmates reported performing forced labour. Upon failure to work, they describe being threatened with denial of parole or disciplinary consequences such as solitary confinement. Inmates are forced to gather crops, produce textile items, undertake janitorial services, and fight wildfires. 

Although some may argue that prison labor trains inmates in useful skills that can lead to jobs upon release — even if said labor is performed against the inmate’s will — these skills often can’t be put to use after their sentence is up. Being a felon in the US precludes applicants from securing jobs such as a police officer or firefighter, and makes acquiring licenses for other  careers nearly impossible. As well, inmates who perform work aren't considered “employees,” and therefore aren’t afforded the same protections under labor laws as regular workers.

This isn't exclusively an American issue, however. Although Canada officially banned forced prison labor in 1959, inmates are still mandated to perform certain duties deemed to be in the common good of the prison and its inhabitants, such as cleaning living spaces and assisting with petty tasks. There are other voluntary assignments inmates opt-in to and are paid for. However, these assignments are usually done for pay below minimum wage, and consequences for non-participation may include denial of parole. 

In California, Proposition Six allowed voters to consider amending the state’s constitution to prohibit involuntary servitude in prisons. Prop. 6 needed over 50 per cent of the vote to win, but lost by 6.6 per cent. Other amendments to state constitutions have passed in states such as Nevada, Connecticut, Nebraska and Oregon. The proposition was backed by State Assembly member Lori Wilson and the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, a group dedicated to inmate’s rights and lowering the percentage of incarcerated people in California. The proposition had no formal opposition, which is highly unusual. 

Why? There’s no real argument that anyone can make against this bill. The clause in the Thirteenth Amendment permitting involuntary servitude in the case of those who have been convicted of a crime has no legitimate reason. Forcing prisoners to do hard labor is simply retribution, and that doesn’t help anyone. Even in Canada’s system, where involuntary servitude is technically banned, but paying inmates to work for less than minimum wage, and indirectly forcing them to work by threatening to withhold parole means that prisoners may still have to work against their will. Slavery overall is a reprehensible practice, and can’t be tolerated in any form, even against those who have committed serious crimes that we deem “evil.” While the actions of some could be repulsive, human rights should be applied universally.