Store
Yes, you read that correctly. Slavery!
The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, which ended slavery when it was ratified in 1865, states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
The exception highlighted in the 13th Amendment created a loophole allowing for involuntary servitude for those in prison.
except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted
On Nov. 8, voters in Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont will decide whether to remove this punishment exception for involuntary servitude from their state constitutions.
Back in July, when California voters had a chance to put the issue to the ballot, Gov. Newsom fear-mongered legislators by saying it would be too expensive to end slavery. In fact, it would cost just $1.5 billion to pay our prison slaves minimum wage for their labor – the same dollar amount Congress just approved to send to Ukraine’s war. Too bad Biden and Harris didn’t come to our aid to end slavery like they did for the farmworkers’ right to vote for unionization.
Make a voting plan!
