I believe that one should respect the prisoners work. And part of that respect means a decent pay. In fact, I think prison work should be held to the same as re

I believe that one should respect the prisoners work. And part of that respect means a decent pay. In fact, I think prison work should be held to the same as regular work, like minimum wage, employee protection, etc... Work is good, that's the best thing you can do to criminals. It provides guidance, a meaning in life, and revenue. If we can get prisoners to work a honest job after they leave prison, we win. We have turned a criminal into a productive member of society. And I don't think that treating prisoners as slaves rather than as actual workers is the way to achieve that. If you want society to make profit of convicts, that's what fines are for, not prison. You can have both, and prison work, like out-of-prison work can be used to pay that fine, and also damage to the victims. But for that, work has to be decently paid. At less than $1/hour, there is not much to repay the victims.