If you thought slavery was outlawed in America, you would be wrong. The 13th amendment to the Constitution states that "...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 … ."
In plain language what that means is slavery in America can still exist for those who are in a prison, where you basically lose all of your rights. (You don’t gain a lot of your rights back when you get out of prison, either, but that is a different story.) So, given the country’s penchant for rapacious capitalism, it may not come as a surprise that there is much of the American prison system that exploits American prisoners much like slaves.
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14 comments:
WTF and who cares about prisoners? Do the crime and do the time , slaves ? I don't think so ! Just what in the hell would anyone suggest ? Maybe a 5 year stay at the hotel Hilton Resort .
This is all we need now in this liberal society , feel sorry for the prisoners , give them more , maybe a 50 inch flat screen rather than a 36 inch , 12 hours of free time on the basketball court , free drugs , porterhouse steaks , lobster , lazy boy chairs , hot tubs .
A study of what other countries do would be in order.We need to stay on par with them in as many aspects as possible to be a respectable nation.
Wicomico Civic Center operates with slave labor
WHAT? You mean like Greece? Oh...we already have! Who gives a sh** what other countries do? Should we be more like Mexico? Russia? China? Other countries who have given up their rights to keep and bear arms? Better yet...why don't you just move to one of those countries if you want to be like them so much! You are likely one of the Obama lovers who wants to "fundamentally change this nation".
Since you lose your rights when you are committed for breaking laws, working for nothing is fair. It gives them something to do rather than playing basketball and studying how to outsmart the legal system in the prisons' fine libraries. Have you ever toured ECI? They even have cable tv.
Pay them a fair wage then charge them for the food.. Shelter ... Supervision.. Medical care...Programs etc they receive ... Maybe prisons would then not cost the tax payers so much!!!
So does the landfill, Courthouses, and state police barracks.
You can't charge them when they are forced to be there.
The thing is, prison labor is often used to do manufacturing jobs which means they compete with the rest of us. Why pay someone minimum wage (and maybe benefits) when you can hire the work out to prisoners who won't complain about the hours and work conditions? Guess who absorbs the costs for housing, feeding and medical expenses? (hint: the taxpayer)
It's one thing to use prison labor for public projects like picking up trash, working on roads, etc. It's quite another to contract them to stuff coffee mugs into boxes for Starbucks and for a company like Corrections Corporation of America to make enough profit from their labor that they are publicly traded.
In addition, many of these "for profit" prisons are guaranteed a fill rate so they can supply labor. Makes you wonder about mandatory sentencing and three strikes laws and why the US has more people in prison than any other country.
There's more going on here than meets the eye. And they're counting on the knee jerk "don't do the crime" reaction to keep the public from raising an outcry.
You guys are so ignorant. You got tax paying people making minimum wage ($7.75/hour) with 15-20 hours a week and trying to take care of their household with children. These folks aren't breaking the law. This writer need to work slave wages. Who really cares about the slave wages for criminals. I certainly don't. I'm working part time at $7.75/hour for less than 20 hours per week. This is what most corporations are paying now. Part time minimum wages and less hours per week, just to avoid mandatory health insurance. So don't talk to me about the rights of an inmate. Hell, some are living alot better than the average citizen.
Your all stupid. Inmates still have Rights! Just not as many as us.
8:03-Just saying that prisoners in this country are treated like royalty in comparison to how they're treated elsewhere.Other countries have offered to sub contract prisoners in the event of an overflow in the US.Even a Canadian prison would be a harsh reality for American inmates,let alone South American prisons.
Remember, crime doesn't pay! If a person commits a crime and goes to jail, so be it. They get room and board, three meals, medical treatment, visitation, exercise, TV and library books, so where is the slavery??? I think they are getting better than they gave to the victim(s).
Absolutely agreed.
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