Forced Prison Labor

                                                                                                                Audrey Raiszadeh 

The Criminal Justice System

Constitutional Flaws:

The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery of citizens in the United States however, many don't know that these human rights are revoked when an individual is convicted of a crime.  

As the amendment states:

"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." 

[U.S. Const. amend. 13]

While this amendment made it illegal to hold innocent individuals as slaves, it did not prevent the manipulation of laws and the conviction of innocent individuals. Laws were created to discriminate against black individuals and other minorities, in order to benefit the more dominant racial group in the U.S. 

Earnings of Prisoners:

“The federal prison industries program earns $500 million yearly in net sales using prison labor” (Junaid pg. 1105). While “sources have stated that workers earn around $0.17 to $0.50 per hour– even for high-skilled positions”(Heben pg. 191).

After completing a labor intensive 8 hour shift of working, it was described that inmates would likely still not be able to afford something as small as a cup of noodles, which costs free workers only minutes of work. 

The Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP) allowed prison made goods to be sold in the open market and not solely to state entities"(189) This program deducted nearly 60% of prisoners wages, which were already shockingly low.

Racial Bias and Exploitation of U.S. citizens:

Since the abolition of slavery for individuals other than convicted criminals, population of prisons in the United States has steadily risen, as shown in the graph below

The next graph shows how, in comparison to other countries, the U.S. has the most inmate dense population around the world

These statistics are unfortunately directly related to the thirteenth amendment, as the government found a way to continue to exploit human labor after slavery, through prisoners.

Katherine E. Leung explains in her article, Prison Labor as a Lawful Form of Race Discrimination, that "If Black and Latinx people were incarcerated at the same rate as white people in the United States, U.S. prison populations would drop by approximately 40%." The reality is that they are nothing incarcerated at the same rate, even despite sociological data suggesting that white Americans commit crimes at a rate equal to or higher than people of color. (Lopez) These facts clearly show the presence of racial discrimination in United State's laws, as well as criminal convictions.

Personal Affects:

This is a social issue that directly affects me because while I do not personally know anyone suffering from these injustices, I am living in a country that thrives off the incarceration of their citizens. Slavery remains legal for prisoners in the United States, which for years, has allowed large groups to take advantage of this forced labor as punishment, for financial and economic gain.

The issue was brought to my attention recently by Samuel Nathaniel Brown who is a former inmate, and communication graduate of Cal State LA. Brown is also the co-founder of the Anti-Violence Safety and Accountability Project (ASAP) and the creator of the 10P program, both which bring awareness to issues in the criminal justice system, and fight to right their wrongs.  He brought awareness to the present issue, describing personal injustices inflicted on him, as well as and those he witnessed all around him. 

Brown revealed to us that large corporations, such as Walmart, McDonalds, Starbucks and many, more discreetly benefit from injustices of prison labor in private prisons. These companies are funded by free citizens who are unaware of cruel labor punishment they use for profit. 

Community:

Below are individuals affected by the allowance for forced labor of incarcerated individuals in the United States

Taymour

Lily 

Charity

Works Cited:

Berman, G., & Dar, A. (2013). Prison population statistics. London: House of Commons Library.

Heben, E. (2021). Prisoners as “Quasi-Employees.” University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy, 31(2), 183–211.

Junaid, W. (2022). Forced Prison Labor: Punishment for a Crime? Northwestern University Law Review, 116(4), 1099–1135.

López, I. F. H. (2010). Post-racial racism: Racial stratification and mass incarceration in the age of Obama. California Law Review, 98(3), 1023-1074.

Leung, K. E. (2018). Prison labor as a lawful form of race discrimination. Harv. CR-CLL Rev., 53, 681.

U.S Constitution, Amendment 13