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The 13th amendment to the constitution (emphasis mine): “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall hav
by zaksoup 8y ago
The 13th amendment to the constitution (emphasis mine): “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”
I think it’s important to frame any discussion of criminal justice reform in the US in the fact that our modern legal system is built on laws and loopholes, beginning with the 13th amendment, that exist solely to criminalize and reenslave huge portions of the population.
I highly recommend the documentary “13th” on Netflix for more info.
- arcticbull 8y agoYeah, the US has specifically been criticized for this by the UN International Labor Organization. They definitely frown upon the US prison farms and allowing private organizations to utilize prisoners for below-market-rate work. If you want to see a great way of undercutting US blue collar worker salaries, it's hard to compete with "free and mandatory."
- hopler 8y agoOh but it's not "mandatory" if they restrict privileges for everyone and then offer them back for labor. Or jack up prices for monopoly goods and services and then offer jobs, which is illegal in "compared towns" outside of prison.