China Daily, November 2, According to the BBC (BBC), the U.S. Constitution has banned slavery for 157 years, but prisoners in prisons may be excluded.
In most parts of the United States, slave production is still legal as punishment for criminals.
html On November 8, voters in five states, Alabama, Louisiana , Oregon , Tennessee and Vermont , will decide whether to delete these legal acts from their state constitutions to achieve a complete ban on slavery.Currently, about 800,000 prisoners work for cents, or have no money at all. There are seven states that don’t pay any wages to most prison workers with job tasks.
But critics believe the move is unaffordable and may lead to unexpected consequences in the criminal justice system.
Human rights researchers say the roots of modern institutions stem from centuries of slavery to African Americans.
In the years after slavery was banned, people passed laws specifically designed to suppress the black community, forcing them to go to prisons and demanding their work.
Now, some imprisoned black Americans are still forced to pick cotton and other crops in southern plantations where their ancestors were chained.
"The United States of America has never canceled written slavery in a day." Before being pardoned in 2019, he served more than 25 years of hard labor in Louisiana prisons for false murder.
Mr. Davis has worked in various jobs in the infamous Louisiana State Prison, nicknamed Angola for many slaves from African countries in the region.
Mr. Davis said: "I worked for 25 years and brought home $124." His work never paid more than 20 cents an hour, which he said "did against my will and was done at the gun."
According to the Innocence Project, about 75% of the prison’s inmates are black, and the organization is committed to expelling prisoners who have been wrongly convicted.
They believe that Angola is essentially a place where American slavery never ends.
Few major opponents come forward against states’ efforts to eradicate slavery language, but the movement has encountered resistance from some critics who say the cost of paying the prisoners appropriate wages is too high and they should not be compensated the same, or that these changes may be detrimental to prisoners.
This summer, California legislature’s vote on removing slavery from the law failed after Democrats, including the governor of California , warned that paying prisoners a minimum wage of $15 per hour would cost more than $1.5 billion.
The Oregon State Sheriffs' Association objected to the measure, saying it would result in “unexpected consequences” and the cancellation of all “remodel plans”, including low-wage tasks such as working in libraries, kitchens and laundry rooms.
The association said in a brochure to voters: "The Oregon Sheriff does not condon or support any form of slavery or involuntary servitude," adding that the adoption of the measure "will lead to the cancellation of all renovation plans and increase the operating costs of local prisons ".
article believes that prisoners contribute to the U.S. supply chain and economy in many ways, some of which are surprising.
They were commissioned to create everything from glasses, car license plates to city park benches. They process beef, milk and cheese and work in call support centers for government agencies and large companies.
In the United States, it is difficult to track which businesses use prison labor, because these tasks are usually done by subcontractors. Subcontractors sell products and services to large companies, who sometimes don’t know where they are.
According to a June report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), companies that have previously benefited from prison labor include American Express , Apple , Pepsi and FedEx .
At least 30 states include prison workers in their emergency action plans to respond to natural disasters and other civil disturbances. According to the ACLU report, they have fought against natural fires in at least 14 states.
However, if the five states that are about to vote really support change, it is unlikely that prisoners' lives will change overnight.
Source: China Daily Network
