As November voting in Colorado fast approaches, one hot button issue is the abolition of legalized slavery. Legally, slavery is defined as forced work without due compensation, and it is still commonly found across the country. By way of the United States’ prison system, as well as ambiguities in the Thirteenth Amendment, inmates can be forced to do work without pay, and it’s all perfectly legal. Since the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, slavery in this form has still been anything but uncommon. Inmates often receive only cents for an hour of labor and are not permitted leave for medical issues or given forms of insurance.
Typically, the jobs that inmates are assigned to do not construct marketable skills that employers search for. One example includes sewing American flags for a meager $20 a week. The irony of this seems to be lost on the American justice system, considering the whole notion of forced servitude is blatantly unconstitutional and, not to mention, inhumane. Prisons already exist as a form of punishment for crime, and extending that punishment via jobs that don’t reform or prepare inmates for jobs outside of incarceration is unjust.
Prisoners have expressed their discontent with these conditions too, launching strikes and sit-ins to protest the unconstitutional conditions. While some inmates are grateful for a chance to work, most say that the pay, or lack thereof, is unreasonable and doesn’t allow for saving up properly for when they’re released.
All of this assists in exposing the fault at the root of the United States prison system: the country is exploiting incarcerated people in order to make a profit. The numbers show that the U.S. additionally takes the cake for the highest total population of prisoners, beating second place China by about 500 thousand people and third place Brazil by almost 1.5 million. This fact means that the U.S. also has about a quarter of the planet’s incarcerated people within its borders. This information just further supports the idea that the U.S. is attempting to exploit its people by way of mass incarceration. Once in the system, using inmates for cheap, almost free, labor is only “logical” from the government’s point of view.
This November, though, the public has a chance to help take a step to correct this system. By voting “yes” on Amendment A, voters will “prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude in all circumstances.” Those who oppose the proposition stand on shifty ground, simply declaring it unnecessary, as Colorado already opposes slavery. This may be true, but the passing of Amendment A would cement the doing away of even the possibility of forced work without pay in Colorado. Opponents also say that its passing could stir major problems within employment practices in Colorado prisons, but that exists as a risk that should be taken; ensuring that inmates are properly compensated for their work should be prioritized over other prison employment practices.
Even though the vote would only adjust the Colorado Constitution, not the American Constitution, the odds of other states following suit would likely increase should it be passed. The bottom line is that voting “yes” on Amendment A would be a step towards getting incarcerated people their due rights.
