Prisoners in the US are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands
apnews.com
The Associated Press found goods linked to prisoners wind up in the supply chains of everything from Frosted Flakes to Coca-Cola.

Prisoners in the US are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands

Unmarked trucks packed with prison-raised cattle roll out of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, where men are sentenced to hard labor and forced to work, for pennies an hour or sometimes nothing at all. After rumbling down a country road to an auction house, the cows are bought by a local rancher and then followed by The Associated Press another 600 miles to a Texas slaughterhouse that feeds into the supply chains of giants like McDonald’s, Walmart and Cargill…

  • xmunk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

    My suspicion is that law makers were concerned that they might accidentally open a door for prisoners to sue America for unjust involuntary servitude using that ammendment as a justification.

    It could definitely be a lot clearer written, though.

    • IzzyScissor@kbin.social
      1·
      8 months ago

      lmao, no.

      It was specifically written after the civil war so that the South could still technically have slavery, they just have to criminalize and convict a person first. It’s how we get the ‘war on drugs’ where even though black and white populations smoke around the same amount, black populations were criminalized FAR harsher, and sent to prison far more often. It’s exactly “Rules for thee, but not for me” on a grand scale where white people would likely ‘get a pass’ for their first arrest. That grace was not extended to black populations, and so we’re back at having slavery with extra steps.

      It’s a nice thought that it just happened over time by accident, but in reality it was planned like this.