Current and former inmates in Alabama are suing the state, alleging they were forced to work at jobs for “next to nothing.” The lawsuit claimed the prisoners were forced into “modern-day slavery” by working jobs at fast food restaurants, meat packing plants and city offices.
Though inmates make at least $7.25 an hour, the state siphons 40% off the top of all wages and charges fees, including $5 a day for rides to their jobs and $15 a month for laundry, according to The Associated Press.
The AP report found the cheap and reliable labor has generated more than $250 million for the state since 2000 just through money garnished from prisoners’ wages.
While the inmates can refuse to work, they face punishment if they do. Inmates can be denied family visits or sent to higher-security prisons in the state. Those prisons are so dangerous that the federal government filed a lawsuit four years ago, calling Alabama’s treatment of prisoners unconstitutional. That lawsuit is still pending.
Turning down work can also impact an inmate’s chances of getting an early release, with only 8% of eligible prisoners granted parole in 2023. The lawsuit also said the prisoners forced into this “modern-day slavery” are disproportionately Black.
