Success of ‘slavery on the ballot’ measures could help incarcerated pregnant people of color
This story was originally published by The 19th
Four of five states in the midterms voted to remove language from their constitutions that allow state prisons to require incarcerated people to work.
By Katherine Gilyard, The 19th
During the midterm elections, five states — Alabama, Oregon, Vermont, Louisiana, and Tennessee — put to vote initiatives purported to prohibit the use of slavery and indentured servitude as a punishment for crime, an antiquated allowance given by the 13th Amendment 157 years ago this month that prisons across the country still use.
Four of the five voted to strike language from their constitutions that granted prison systems the right to force incarcerated people to perform labor with little to no pay in harsh and unregulated conditions. Louisiana,...