Poll of the Day > wow, ending prison slavery is actually on the ballot in Louisiana

(+) Yeah! (+)

how the hell'd they manage this

good shit

You only need a certain number of signatures.

Honestly the fact that it's a more quiet thing makes sense, you just need to point it out for (I think) everyone to go "oh god what, no we can't allow that". That gets signatures.

shadowsword87 posted...

Honestly the fact that it's a more quiet thing makes sense, you just need to point it out for (I think) everyone to go "oh god what, no we can't allow that". That gets signatures.

my older family members are like "but what are the murderers going to do for 40 years, sit in a cell doing nothing???"

So 60% of them voted no, that means they voted in favor of slavery right?

Tennessee ended it!

BlackScythe0 posted...

So 60% of them voted no, that means they voted in favor of slavery right?

Jesus.

agesboy posted...

my older family members are like "but what are the murderers going to do for 40 years, sit in a cell doing nothing???"

I work in an industry that supports jails and prisons. I can tell you right now they all have inside jobs(with slave pay) because thats the only way they can have enough money for phone calls, tablet use, and supplemental food(which is needed since almost all prisons will feed the bare minimum to keep you alive.

agesboy posted...

my older family members are like "but what are the murderers going to do for 40 years, sit in a cell doing nothing???"

They could get an education and fair wages for any work that they opt into. Such things would reduce recidivism.

Huh.
Louisiana is still a shithole.

Good to know.

Gaawa_chan posted...

fair wages

Prison jobs pay 25 to 55 cents an hour, mostly closer to 25 cents. To put that into perspective most food items have a 100% markup and phone use is normally 75 cents the first minute and 5-15 cents for every minute after that.

shadowsword87 posted...

Huh.
Louisiana is still a shithole.

Good to know.

to be fair:

Amendment 7, which in its original wording would have banned slavery and involuntary servitude, was watered down during the legislative process to the point that its author, Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge, asked voters to reject the proposal.

it would have codified forced labor to be part of a prison sentence

so basically our legislative system is the biggest shithole!

Here is the wording of the amendment:
https://ballotpedia.org/Louisiana_Amendment_7,_Remove_Involuntary_Servitude_as_Punishment_for_a_Crime_from_Constitution_Measure_(2022)

A "yes" vote supported:
removing language from the state constitution that allows involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime; and
adding language to say that the section of the constitution prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude "does not apply to the otherwise lawful administration of criminal justice."
A "no" vote opposed removing language from the state constitution that allows involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime.

How unfortunate. Whoever warped the amendment with the bolded addition is an unfathomable scumbag.

hypnox posted...

Prison jobs pay 25 to 55 cents an hour, mostly closer to 25 cents. To put that into perspective most food items have a 100% markup and phone use is normally 75 cents the first minute and 5-15 cents for every minute after that.

I know.

Gaawa_chan posted...

Here is the wording of the amendment:
https://ballotpedia.org/Louisiana_Amendment_7,_Remove_Involuntary_Servitude_as_Punishment_for_a_Crime_from_Constitution_Measure_(2022)

How unfortunate. Whoever warped the amendment with the bolded addition is an unfathomable scumbag.

So basically no matter what they voted it was no.

Gaawa_chan posted...

Here is the wording of the amendment:
https://ballotpedia.org/Louisiana_Amendment_7,_Remove_Involuntary_Servitude_as_Punishment_for_a_Crime_from_Constitution_Measure_(2022)

So a No vote would allow prison slave labour to remain as-is, while a Yes vote would allow prison slave labour to remain as-is?

I don't know much about law but that seems to be the case based purely off the wording?
It makes the state look really bad, though.

Ah, there is this:
https://www.wdsu.com/article/louisiana-amendment-7-explanation/41803787

As it reads now, people could interpret the bill to do the opposite of what Jordan proposed.
"That is why I am now asking folks to vote no and give us an opportunity to clean it up and correct it next session," said Jordan.

So yes, that is exactly the problem.

It didn't pass, Lousiana still allows prison slavery.

hypnox posted...

Prison jobs pay 25 to 55 cents an hour, mostly closer to 25 cents. To put that into perspective most food items have a 100% markup and phone use is normally 75 cents the first minute and 5-15 cents for every minute after that.

infringing on people's rights shouldn't entitle you to free stuff.

let them work for next to nothing if they want extra beyond what's provided

Apparently the measure was so poorly written that aproving it would have allowed even more slavery, and the guy who started the initiative even wanted it to be killed.

Krazy_Kirby posted...

infringing on people's rights shouldn't entitle you to free stuff.

let them work for next to nothing if they want extra beyond what's provided

Not liking someone doesn't entitle you to enslave them.

adjl posted...

Not liking someone doesn't entitle you to enslave them.

it's not.

they are working if they want extra food/phone calls/etc.

if they hadn't committed a crime, they would have better access to those things

so slavery = punishment is your logic

because by all accounts how america treats prisoners is very much legal slavery

and it's also punishment = slavery in their constitutions own words

what adj said is, in fact, true

angola, louisiana's largest prison which was named after a former slave plantation (ok it's officially Louisiana State Penitentiary but noone calls it that), still uses forced slave labor to pick cotton from the fields from sun up till sun down. 76% of the inmates are black. just like the good old days back in 1865!

Krazy_Kirby posted...

it's not.

they are working if they want extra food/phone calls/etc.

They are working for 3.4% of minimum wage. That's slavery, no matter how much you want to fame it as "earning luxuries" (which are themselves just a reprive from the absolute squalor that's being inflicted on them for no particular reason, so calling them "luxuries" is inherently pretty disgusting).

also everything in the prison commissary is marked up 100% anyways. and it costs $20 to make a 15 minute phone call (including calls to your lawyer). and the prison takes 80% of the tiny pay you make anyways as room and board. but nah, prison's a free fuckin easy ride man

it's almost as if you shouldn't be given free shit in prison

it's also as if you shouldn't have your opportunities to rehabilitate neutered for the sake of state profit

prisoners who exit prison with resources and knowledge have a much lower chance to recidivate. but what our profit-driven state wants is for the individual to relapse and provide free labor for another decade- at the expense of the individuals wronged by the crimes, and for the benefit of the state.

not having money doesn't make it okay to commit crimes

the state depriving minorities of money so they will inevitably commit some kind of crime isn't okay though

can you google "black codes" and understand that- especially in louisiana- a lot of that shit is still endemic in our justice system

Krazy_Kirby posted...

it's almost as if you shouldn't be given free shit in prison

Why not? Do you have evidence showing that the countries that do treat prisoners reasonably well experience higher crime and recidivism rates than countries that give them the barest minimum they need to survive? Or are you just basing your entire world view off of a knee-jerk "I don't like criminals" emotional reaction while considering absolutely nothing about the practical realities of the way the world and people work?

Krazy_Kirby posted...

not having money doesn't make it okay to commit crimes

Depends on the crime. Sorry, nothing will ever make me care about theft of necessities. I don't care.

Gaawa_chan posted...

Depends on the crime. Sorry, nothing will ever make me care about theft of necessities. I don't care.

Unless it's taking those necessities from somebody who otherwise won't be able to have them. Steal food from walmart, not from fellow homeless people.

People who steal aren't stealing because they need it. They're stealing because they're crack heads.