On December 6th, 1865, the 13th amendment was ratified and slavery was forbidden in the United States from that point on. However, there was an exception made which allowed for enslavement or forced labor as punishment for a crime. This exception, which is often overlooked by the majority of those in the U.S, would lead to the exploitation of the people occupying prisons across the country for the next 160 years. The worst of this would be done by private prisons and the companies that partner with them. The most egregious example of this can be found in southern states such as Alabama, which has and still does lease inmates to various private companies as a source of cheap labor.
An investigation conducted by the Associated Press found that hundreds of companies in southern states like Louisiana (which itself has prisoners working at 1200 different companies), Texas, and Alabama were actively involved in the exploitation of prisoners by forcing them to work in slaughterhouses, fast food establishments, and even crop fields. Inmates who refused to work would be punished harshly, such as having certain privileges taken away or even being subjected to solitary confinement for several days at a time. Through the lens of ethical absolutism, it could be argued that the majority of people believe that slavery is an absolute evil. If this is the case, one could question the implementation of it within our own justice system. Forcing inmates to work for little to no pay is a form of legal slavery that more people should, according to absolutism, be opposed to. Until prison is seen as a chance to redeem and reform the people who are being sentenced rather than punish and persecute, this form of slavery and human exploitation will persist. Our country will continue to reap the benefits of unpaid and forced labor in spite of boasting its status as The Land of The Free. All of which occurs while denying goods from entering the country that were produced with forced labor, from places such as China or Zimbabwe.
There are examples of positive, voluntary prison labor. In Los Angeles, during the wildfires that occurred there in January, 2025, a volunteer firefighter force was helping to quell the blaze alongside various other fire departments. This volunteer force was made up exclusively of inmates from the local prisons who had decided to undergo training in order to learn how to effectively fight fires, despite the low pay that they were offered, around 1$/hour. These inmates could then utilize the skills they learned to work at fire departments when they got out, including having their criminal records expunged so as to make the hiring process easier.
There are ways to introduce labor into prisons that allow inmates to continue to benefit their communities, earn an income for commissary, and learn skills that will be useful as well as keeping them from drifting back into a life of crime. All of which can be done without needing to subjugate them to slavery.