As the midterm voting polls neared closure on November 8th, one of the most talked about topics among American citizens and media outlets was 'slavery as punishment.' America abolished slavery in 1865, but various exception clauses have enabled certain states to use it from a punitive standpoint. When the voting polls opened this week, nineteen U.S. states legally consented to involuntary servitude as a form of disciplinary action for the inmates within their borders. For many, this was a direct violation of the federal Constitution. Therefore, multiple human-rights campaigns were created to directly influence the ballots in order to amend the regulations.
On Tuesday, voters in Tennessee, Oregon, Alabama, and Vermont elected to ban the usage of slavery. Although the results were favorable, the alarming amount of voters that wanted to keep slavery in place has seemingly caused a rift between the political lines of the aforementioned regions. But that pales in comparison to what occurred in the state of Louisiana, where voters kept involuntary servitude in place. Voting was highly contested, but in the end, Louisiana rejected the amendment. Political pundits from the area were quick to point out that the logistics involved with the legislation were the reason why the amendment failed, not the sentiment behind ending slavery.
“It was clear that it was really just semantics, to be honest; it didn’t really change anything … [forced labor] is still ‘cool’ under the guise of a lawfully convicted crime,” said Norris Henderson, founder of a grassroots organization called Voice of the Experienced.
The topic of slavery as a form of punishment is especially sensitive in the state of Louisiana because the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) currently sits atop a former slave plantation.
According to reports, about 800,000 U.S. inmates work for little or no pay. Some are paid pennies per hour during a work shift, and in some cases, if prisoners decline to carry out their "job duties," they can be subjected to punishment, including solitary confinement.
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Source: Yahoo! News
