Current and former inmates in Alabama are suing the state, alleging that they were forced to work for “next to nothing.” The lawsuit alleged that the convicts were forced into “modern-day slavery” by working in fast food restaurants, meatpacking industries, and city offices.
Though inmates make at least $7.25 per hour, the state deducts 40% of their pay and collects costs, including $5 per day for rides to work and $15 per month for laundry, according to The Associated Press.
According to the AP study, inexpensive and reliable labor has produced more than $250 million for the state since 2000, solely from money confiscated from inmates’ earnings.
While inmates have the option to refuse to work, doing so will result in punishment. The state may refuse inmates family visits or transfer them to higher-security prisons. These facilities are so hazardous that the federal government launched a lawsuit four years ago, alleging that Alabama’s treatment of convicts violates the Constitution. The litigation is still pending.
Refusing work can also affect an inmate’s chances of early release, as only 8% of eligible convicts received parole in 2023. The lawsuit also claimed that the prisoners pushed into “modern-day slavery” are disproportionately Black.
