As of 2019, Tennessee prisons housed over 25,000 prisoners spread across 11 different facilities. The offenders vary in degree, but almost all of them work different jobs within those facilities at some point during their sentences. While helping convicts prepare for working after their release is undoubtedly a positive, poor conditions and an overall lack of choice lends to a far less savory idea — specifically, the idea that offender labor is nothing more than a state-sanctioned loophole for slavery.

All of this may change soon, however. An amendment to the Tennessee Constitution has passed both the State House and Senate, and will be on the ballot as a referendum this year.

Currently, Article I, Section 33 of the Constitution says “That slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, are forever prohibited in this state.” The amendment will change this language to “Slavery and involuntary servitude are forever prohibited. Nothing in this section shall prohibit an inmate from working when the inmate has been duly convicted of a crime.”

If you’re looking at the amendment and thinking, But it says offenders can’t be prohibited from working, so how does this end “slavery?”, we hear you. In order to understand the impact and the potential ripples this could have, we first have to look at how Tennessee uses inmates.

Offender labor: prison jobs vs. prison profits

Forcing convicts to work behind bars has been a hotly debated topic throughout the country for years, and Tennessee is no different. One side of the argument sees that as encouraging good behaviors and providing opportunities for rehabilitation. The other side, though, notes that these prisoners often don’t get to choose what “occupation” they have in prison, and the options that are available usually involve poor conditions and negligible pay (up to a whopping $1.00 per hour for a “specialty” job, and as little as $0.17 an hour for an “unskilled” job).

No problem is without its nuance. As it is with most legal-related issues, the intentions behind prisoner labor of all sorts is in the right place. Our state rehabilitation initiative for offenders both before and after release aims to reduce recidivism, teach valuable job skills, and offset the cost of incarceration. They claim to be “quality-focused and cost effective,” and mention how (a considerably small amount of) an offender’s wages may go towards their families. On paper, these are all worthy goals and fair ideas.

However, even without the initiative, inmate labor is used throughout the state’s many facilities . Nashville, for example, commonly forces inmates to maintain their property, remove litter from public streets, and saving money by using, specifically, “female inmate labor” to do prison laundry. They say this is to help teach vocational skills for the inmates. They also leave a number at the end of the page for you to call to see if their prisoners “could be used.”

But having inmates work within the walls – as cooks, in the laundry, as janitors – is much, much different from having them producing goods that are then sold to make money on behalf of the State. (At one point in time, both J.C Penney and Kmart bought jeans that were produced in Tennessee prisons.) Perhaps this is why Senator Raumesh Arkbari, who originally introduced the bill, told WATE News “What this [amendment] will do is that it will take that exception out, it will ban slavery outright,” Akbari said. “Whether or not someone is incarcerated or not, they can never be put into forced labor.” Though one could argue that since the inmates are paid for their labor, it is not technically slavery – but it is certainly involuntary servitude.

How the U.S. Constitution has allowed states to use prisoners for profits

While there are legal penalties for the misuse of inmate labor (specifically for using it for private purposes), these penalties have more to do with the violation of the 13th Amendment than any sort of concern for the inmates in question. In fact, the only real prisoner-centric concern written into law is the concern of escape or contraband.

The 13th Amendment is why inmate labor exists at all, and that really gets to the crux of the issue. Not only does it outlaw slavery, but it specifically contains an exception for work imposed as punishment of a crime. That little exception allows states like ours to have constitutions that force inmates into any work seen fit as long as it has public benefit. This adds an extra layer of concern when one considers the damning audit of Tennessee prisons that exposed dangerously low staffing, filthy conditions, and rampant unchecked abuse on all fronts.

So, when you have inmates forced into possibly dangerous jobs (like warehouse or roadside positions), in already-unsafe conditions, with a known lack of oversight and legal protections, for incredibly low wages they rarely see — what else is anyone supposed to call it but legally-sanctioned slavery?

If the amendment passes, the exception in our state’s constitution will be removed. This, in turn, would ban forced labor in all cases — including incarceration. Though it may be a largely symbolic vote, it would still draw an important line in the sand that many argue should’ve been drawn a long time ago. While inmates should absolutely have opportunities to learn valuable vocational skills, the power of choice is what separates those opportunities from something our state should very much work to leave in the past.

Avoiding a criminal conviction in Knoxville

Even if the new amendment passes, that is only one of many known issues in our prison systems addressed (and change is unlikely to happen overnight). Until all the staffing, cleanliness, and humane deficits are solved, spending time in a Tennessee prison is still largely more about punishment than rehabilitation on any real level. Avoiding a conviction that invites time behind bars is the only surefire way to avoid seeing just how bad it is for yourself.

Unfortunately, this isn’t as easy as simply not committing a crime. Again, while intentions may be good, the way alleged criminals are treated isn’t always as fair as it should be. Our laws allow for a dangerous margin of error in a multitude of ways, from the time of your arrest to court itself. Without experienced legal representation to catch these mistakes and oversights, it can be all-too-easy for an innocent person to be found guilty and convicted accordingly. The biggest mistake you can make is assuming your innocence means you’re invincible (and therefore have no need for an attorney).

No matter the charges you face, a trusted and successful criminal defense attorney can pursue a number of defenses on your behalf, including but not exclusive to:

• Challenging chemical or breath test results
• Asserting self-defense
• Asserting a violation of Constitutional rights
• Casting doubt on the prosecution’s authority/evidence
• Questioning the chain of custody

If someone is convicted of a crime, they still have the right to humane treatment. The labor “loophole” seems to allow law enforcement to dance around that, but a new amendment may finally step in to address it. If it passes, all involuntary offender labor could become unlawful, which could be a great first step in making our prisons both safer and fairer.

A list of possible defenses can never be conclusive because the best defenses are individualized to the client’s needs. The Knoxville criminal defense attorneys at Banks & Jones know how to explore a case from every angle to get the best possible outcome for their clients, without judgement or bias. Even if you “did it,” there is always something to be done — as long as you call. If you’re facing criminal charges, don’t hesitate to call us at 865-546-2141 or use our contact form.