Report: Alabama generates over USD250M from prisoner labor
Date
12/23/2024 8:15:38 AM
(MENAFN) Since 2000, over 250 million U.S. dollars have been generated through wage garnishments from prisoners leased to private companies in Alabama, a southern U.S. state known for having one of the most violent and overcrowded prison systems in the country, as reported by a news agency on Saturday. A two-year investigation into the practice revealed that no state has a longer or more profit-driven history of contracting prisoners out to private businesses than Alabama, which has been involved in convict leasing for more than 150 years.
Since 2018, more than 10,000 inmates have worked 17 million hours outside Alabama's prisons in a variety of sectors, including local government agencies, businesses, and major corporations. Among the more than 500 companies that have leased incarcerated workers are familiar names like Burger King and Walmart, as well as car-part manufacturers, meat-processing plants, and distribution centers for large retailers.
While prisoners are paid at least USD7.25 an hour, the state takes a significant portion of their wages, siphoning off 40 percent and imposing various fees. These include a USD5 daily charge for transportation to their jobs and a USD15 monthly fee for laundry services. If prisoners refuse to work, they face punishments, including the denial of family visits, potential transfer to higher-security prisons, and even a loss of eligibility for early release.
Despite these exploitative practices, the work offers inmates a reprieve from the extreme violence that plagues Alabama's prison system. In 2023 and the first half of 2024, nearly one inmate died every day in Alabama's prisons, a death rate five times higher than the national average. Chris England, an Alabama lawmaker advocating for criminal justice reform, described the situation as a "symptom of a completely, utterly broken system."
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