Alabama profiting from prisoners while denying them parole sparks outrage
- Alabama has contracted prisoners to private companies for over 150 years.
- In the last five years alone, over 500 businesses have employed inmates from Alabama's prison system.
- The exploitation of convict labor has become a highly profitable system that raises concerns about human rights and fairness.
In Alabama, a state recognized for its extensive and profit-driven history of utilizing prison labor, a two-year investigation by The Associated Press has uncovered systemic exploitation that dates back more than 150 years. This pattern of labor commercialization began with the brutal convict leasing system that arose after the abolition of slavery. Currently, over 500 companies, including major brands like Best Western and Burger King, have engaged in hiring incarcerated individuals as a cheap and reliable labor force. Prisoners, often facing long sentences and disproportionately Black, are compelled to work without pay in various internal roles, such as cleaning and laundry, or at outside jobs that can jeopardize their chances of being paroled if they refuse work. The investigation found that the state has earned more than $250 million since the year 2000 through contracts with these private companies and deductions from the prisoners' meager paychecks. Oversight of this labor system is limited, with many inmates receiving little to no supervision while working outside their prison facilities, which has led to numerous escapes, known as