Inmates strike in Alabama, declare prison is “running a slave empire”

Looks like the penal slaves in Alabama are rising up in protest. Didn't we outlaw slavery in America a long time ago? Guess not. The US prison industrial complex is an ugly thing and in my opinion a crime against humanity. Call it what you want but when people are forced to work through coercion or intimidation for slave wages, well you have slavery, again.

Inmates to strike in Alabama, declare prison is “running a slave empire”

Inmates at an Alabama prison plan to stage a work stoppage this weekend and hope to spur an escalating strike wave, a leader of the effort told Salon in a Thursday phone call from his jail cell.

“We decided that the only weapon or strategy … that we have is our labor, because that’s the only reason that we’re here,” said Melvin Ray, an inmate at the St. Clair correctional facility and founder of the prison-based group Free Alabama Movement. “They’re incarcerating people for the free labor.” Spokespeople for Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley and his Department of Corrections did not respond to midday inquiries Thursday.

Jobs done by inmates include kitchen and laundry work, chemical and license plate production, and furniture-making. In 2011, Alabama’s Department of Agriculture reportedly discussed using inmates to replace immigrants for agricultural work; in 2012, the state Senate passed a bill to let private businesses employ prison labor.

At times I've wondered just how badly this type situation would go for me if I ever found myself in it. There is no way I'd work for the PIC and can visualize the results this attitude would cause. Solitary confinement, beating at the hands of guards or directed inmates, death?

Before you dismiss such things remember, you are only one bad traffic stop away from just such a fate. The privatization of the US prison system needs to end, NOW.

ETA - This is something I'd like to see really investigated, reported on and publicized. Maybe Jesse and crew could look into it. I know it may not be seen as a conspiracy but then again, it really is. Those folks in the PIC are about as forcibly off the grid as you can get IMO.

a reply to: Bassago

Not to mention that when a state gives in to privatization of a prison system to a corporation, that the fine print in the contract DEMANDS that a percentage of beds have to be filled OR the STATE pays a penalty!!!

Talk about a corporate welfare!

AND YES!!! Your right! Some folk might get pissed, but it is definitely a NEW form of modern day slavery!

a reply to: Bassago

PBS Frontline doing a couple of good stories...
PBS Frontline link
locked up
link


With extraordinary access, award-winning producer and director Dan Edge (Inside Japan's Nuclear Meltdown, Kill/Capture, The Wounded Platoon) takes you to the epicenter of the raging debate about prison reform. Solitary Nation, airing April 22, brings you an up-close, graphic look at a solitary confinement unit in Maine’s maximum security prison. Prison State, airing April 29, follows four residents of a housing project in Louisville, Ky., as they cycle in and out of the state’s jails. Both films offer raw and unforgettable firsthand accounts from prisoners, prison staff and people whose lives are forever altered by this troubled system.


Must be this big business has the best anti PR firms?
No one talks about it, is it they deserve it thoughts?
Think again and read about it, the system is broken.
This is not JUSTICE for victim (if there are any) or offender? - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

The privatization of the US prison system needs to end, NOW.

I agree with the above statement.

The thing is if you don't break the law you won't go to prison.

Being "one bad traffic stop away from just such a fate" sounds a bit cynical. Maybe if you are transporting illegal goods or have drugs or a bomb in your vehicle but I don't think most people end up in prison because they were speeding or ran a stop sign.

originally posted by: minusinfinity

The privatization of the US prison system needs to end, NOW.

I agree with the above statement.

The thing is if you don't break the law you won't go to prison.

Being "one bad traffic stop away from just such a fate" sounds a bit cynical. Maybe if you are transporting illegal goods or have drugs or a bomb in your vehicle but I don't think most people end up in prison because they were speeding or ran a stop sign.

Having the wrong kind of salad in your pocket gets you a bigger sentence than someone whom harms another human being!

I am with Bassago! "One bad traffic stop away from........

a reply to: seeker1963


True but if you leave your salad at home then you don't have to worry.

The system sucks. I'm just saying if you act cool to the police and fly low on the radar then you shouldn't worry.

a reply to: minusinfinity

Being "one bad traffic stop away from just such a fate" sounds a bit cynical. Maybe if you are transporting illegal goods or have drugs or a bomb in your vehicle but I don't think most people end up in prison because they were speeding or ran a stop sign.

We'll have to disagree on that. As example I was stopped by a state patrol trooper while driving with my wife. I was in the left (fast) lane when I should have been in the right (slow0 lane. There were no other cars anywhere in sight. The trooper went absolutely ballistic on us, actually yelling and ranting. I was afraid the trooper was going to open fire on us, no joke. Additionally I was armed with appropriate permits. Can you not see that whole thing going bad?

a reply to: minusinfinity

I think your mentality is part of the problem. No doubt you never have been arrested and the majority of Americans have not been arrested and are clueless to what the prison/justice system is truly about. You have it your mind that if someone is arrested, convicted, and sent to prison they deserve it and deserve to be slaves. Most people have never been arrested, or have loved ones been arrested share this view that essentially de-humanizes prisoners and that some how makes it okay for a prisoner to be sent to a slave camp or face other atrocities.

Sorry to call you out, but that is what I have observed in the US.

originally posted by: minusinfinity
a reply to: seeker1963


True but if you leave your salad at home then you don't have to worry.

The system sucks. I'm just saying if you act cool to the police and fly low on the radar then you shouldn't worry.

True!

However, the law isn't always just! I don't think any of us regardless of beliefs can argue the fact that the JUST US system works the best for those whom have the monetary ability to argue against their charges! Also what ever happened to rehabilitation? It seems that in the United States, the best way to create MORE Criminals, is to lock up those whom shouldn't have put there in the first place?

Hell, look at the rich kid in Texas that killed people while driving under the influence and because he had WEALTHY parents, the judge let him off due to "affluenza"!


You have a right to an attorney, if you cannot AFFORD one.........................ladedadeda.

Pretty much says it all right there doesn't it?

Since our tax dollars are spent to incarcerate them, I see no problem with making them work.
Doing laundry and cooking saves the tax payers money by not having to hire someone else. I see no problem making them work for the state. It helps offset costs and maybe some of these inmates will have at least some type of employable skill when they get out.
If they were made to work for a private company, then I see a problem.

originally posted by: Bassago
Looks like the penal slaves in Alabama are rising up in protest. Didn't we outlaw slavery in America a long time ago?

Not true. They actually legalized slavery with the 13th. They outlaw it for private persons but legalize it for the state.

a reply to: minusinfinity
If you look into the situation in many southern for profit prison states you will see the children in school are being introduced to the system directly; Check school arrest records.
If you are poor and can not afford to feed the legal system you will end up in prison.
Hopefully not for life, but recidivism is a result of incarceration in most cases.

a reply to: jrod

Okay. Do you expect me to apologize for not being a criminal? Not going to happen.

I may break minor laws but even if I was caught the laws I break would be considered misdemeanors and I doubt I would end up in prison.

Not sure I understand your point but I have little sympathy for felons. As they say if you play you'll pay.

If the prison population were full of ONLY violent criminals and repeat offenders ect. I would say get the heck over it. However, with the staggering rates of imprisonment and mandatory sentencing, I call bs.

This war needs to

Double post

a reply to: minusinfinity
You do realize in some states if you have prescription medication not in their original labeled containers you can be charged with a felony, right?

The justice system is broken, violent offenders often get a slap on the wrist or walk free because of lack of evidence, yet non-violent people are labeled felon's, do lengthy sentences for very minor things such as possession of a certain plant, or having 'loose' prescription Meds.

The prisons are full of people just like you who got unlucky and the got hammered by the court system. It could happen to you!

originally posted by: jrod
a reply to: minusinfinity
You do realize in some states if you have prescription medication not in their original labeled containers you can be charged with a felony, right?

The justice system is broken, violent offenders often get a slap on the wrist or walk free because of lack of evidence, yet non-violent people are labeled felon's, do lengthy sentences for very minor things such as possession of a certain plant, or having 'loose' prescription Meds.

The prisons are full of people just like you who got unlucky and the got hammered by the court system. It could happen to you!

Great points!

Not to mention that as much as the so called political leaders of the United States like to refer to our country as being the "Land of the Free"!

Yet, we have more people in prisons than China and Russia combined?

Not one of the better examples, but this is one I found fairly quick to show an example of how the rhetoric of the United States being such a free country but yet the prisoner population prove quite the opposite!

While I disagree with privatizing prisons as the requirement for profits is a driving motive, I see no problem with having to work while you are there, or getting good marks for working while those who refuse do not. It has been done for centuries and is not new to Alabama. It is fairly common to see work crews clearing brush or picking trash in many states. These people cost taxpayers lots of money and it helps offset the cost while keeping them busy and in shape which is good for morale.

I do have huge problems with letting private companies employ prisoners as it gives them an unfair market advantage. I also have a big problem if unsafe labor practices are forced or hours that fall outside of labor laws are forced. I can totally agree with someone who feels that these kinds of things aren't right, but general working in prisons is a healthy and productive way of offsetting costs.

a reply to: jrod

It could except I don't run around with a bunch of drugs. The very few times I've been stopped by an officer I treat him / her with respect.

I'm not going to continue this debate. You have your beliefs and I have mine.

No hard feelings or anything I just find it pointless. We'll agree to disagree.

Enjoy your weekend. (watch out for the police.)

a reply to: minusinfinity

Its not really a debate. It a perspective thing.

To an outsider who has never experienced the legal system everything appears to be okay. To someone who has experienced how the legal system truly works they see the prison industrial complex as a real entity that is motivated by profits not justice.

You be careful too, unless you can afford great legal counsel then you are not safe from the Prison Industrial Complex. This is a sad reality in the USA today.