LOS ANGELES – Voters in California and Nevada are considering whether to eliminate legal loopholes in their state constitutions that allow slavery and involuntary servitude to be used as criminal punishment.
If passed, the amendments would end the practice of forcing inmates to work for less than $1 an hour or introduce additional punitive measures. Instead, inmates would have the option to spend time participating in rehabilitation programs, which supporters say would reduce recidivism.
California and Nevada will join a growing national trend that began when voters in Colorado abolished forced slavery in 2018. Utah and Nebraska joined the movement in 2020, and several other states, including Alabama, Tennessee and Oregon, began similar measures in 2022.
Slavery and involuntary servitude were banned nationally as punishment for crime, with one exception by the 13th Amendment. An attempt to repeal the federal exemption was introduced by Democratic members of Congress in 2023 and remains in committee.
“California is prioritizing prison labor over rehabilitation programs that are proven to reduce crime when incarcerated people return to our communities,” Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said in a statement. “It increases recidivism rates, creates more victims, and increases costs to taxpayers for a prison system that fails more often than it succeeds.”
Prisoners’ labor is behind many of the everyday items that end up on the shelves – license plates, office furniture and groceries. key suppliers within the country. If people in prison refuse to work, they can face solitary confinement or jeopardize their chances of parole.
In 2016, Shawna Lynn Jones became the first female inmate to die fighting a fire in California. He was struck in the head by a falling rock after he asked the fire captain if he could move further back from the fire line. Prop. On the 6th, according to Yes’s lawyer, the captain said no.
“Prop. 6 offers us an opportunity to take a stand for human rights and ensure that those incarcerated are treated with respect and compassion,” Alyssa Mireles of the League of United Latin American Citizens, the nation’s oldest Latin American civil rights group, told reporters Wednesday.
“It’s about giving incarcerated people the option to participate in meaningful work without the threat of punishment and ensuring they are fairly compensated and given the care they need while they work,” he said.
Lawrence Cox, a lawyer for formerly incarcerated people, said he was exposed to dangerous conditions while working in hot kitchens during his 17 years in prison. He estimates he received 60 days on top of his sentence after receiving three work-related disciplinary infractions.
Cox said he earns about $22 a month for a full-time job and has been denied the opportunity to participate in enrichment programs, such as anger management classes, that would serve him better after his release.
“People in prison really want to work,” he said. “It’s just that some people prefer to be rehabilitated in a different way.”
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Hardy said in an emailed statement that the agency has canceled all unpaid work assignments. As of April, wages have doubled, from 37 cents to 74 cents for the highest-paid worker. Firefighters earn a little over $10 a day.
“CDCR’s goal is for every inmate to have access to positive programming and rehabilitation opportunities such as education, self-help, vocational and other programs,” Hardy said. “These rehabilitation pathways aim to facilitate transition back into their communities and reduce recidivism.”
No arguments were presented against California’s initiative, but according to a recent poll by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, it is lagging behind.
Support for the measure has declined slightly since September, when 50% of voters said they would vote against Clause 6. As of October, 56% of likely voters said they would vote against Proposition 6, according to most polls. final survey.
The numbers appear to be part of a larger statewide trend away from decarceration following a spike in crime during the Covid pandemic, when images of robberies and foreclosures permeated the headlines.
Initial numbers Provided by the FBI, showing that crime decreased earlier this year, the ongoing a the trend As the US emerges from the pandemic. But it misled some voters.
In California, a large majority of likely voters — 73% — supported Prop. He said they would vote “yes” to 36.
Retired prosecutor and Prop. “The public has peaked,” said Greg Totten, a supporter of 36. “There is a growing recognition that we have gone too far the other way and we need to restore some balance.”
Esteban Nuñez, Prop. Along with the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, a major supporter of 6, said the initiative faces a major education challenge ahead of Election Day.
He qualified for the ballot in June and began a paid-only campaign. The initiative does not have the word “slavery” in its title, a misstep he believes could confuse voters.
“People don’t know what it really means,” he said of the term “involuntary servitude.”
“But when we tell people we’re trying to eliminate an exception for slavery, nobody wants an exception for slavery,” he said.
If Point 6 fails on November 5, his group is ready to retake the initiative in the next election and beyond.
“If that means we have to go back to California voters in two or four years, then we’ll do it,” Nuñez said.