Essay On Forced Prison Labor

How much do you know about slavery in America? If you think slavery began in the 1600s and ended in the 1865, you are wrong. Slavery is ongoing through forced prison labor. USLegal.com describes prison labor as, “the forced labor done by convicts in a prison. The prisoners may have to do even hazardous work” (Prison Labor Law).I believe that forced prison labor should be abolished because it recreates conditions for slavery to thrive, gives companies a way around labor laws, and takes away jobs from working-class Americans. The first reason prison labor should be illegal is because it recreates conditions for slavery to thrive. Slavery was deemed illegal in 1865 and an amendment was made to the constitution stating that, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within
According to an online database, “When BP spilled 4.2 million barrels of oil into the Gulf coast, the company sent a workforce of almost exclusively African-American inmates to clean up the toxic spill while community members, many of whom were out-of-work fisherman, struggled to make ends meet. BP’s decision to use prisoners instead of hiring displaced workers outraged the Gulf community, but the oil company did nothing to reconcile the situation” (Return to Now.net).
Given these points, I believe that prison labor should be illegal. It should be illegal because it reinvents slavery in America, benefits companies voiding labor laws, and steals job opportunities from unemployed Americans.Criminal justice reporter, Carimah Townes, wrote that, “People behind bars are forced to do grueling, back-breaking, and dangerous work for nickels and dimes, while corporations rack up billions of dollars in profit off the cheap labor” (“It’s Just Dressed Up As Slavery”). Do not be content with prison labor, demand that our corrupt government change for the