First Advisor

Melissa Thompson

Date of Award

Spring 6-16-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Social Science and University Honors

Department

Social Science

Language

English

Subjects

criminal justice reform, prison abolition, penal labor

DOI

10.15760/honors.1635

Abstract

This thesis explores the interconnected relationship between the political institution of government and economic development with a particular focus on the United States Constitution’s role in explicitly legalizing coerced carceral labor and the direct impact this has on various economic aspects. The Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution has long been hailed as a guiding light of freedom and justice, and yet, still to this day, it contains a paradoxical loophole that explicitly permits involuntary servitude as punishment for crime. This exemption has long been exploited in order to perpetuate a system of state-sanctioned slavery, in which incarcerated laborers are exploited for profit by private prisons, businesses, and various industries across the country. Through a historical analysis of prison labor, this thesis seeks to unveil the evolution of plantations into prisons and slave patrols into the modern-day police force. By assessing the socioeconomic implications and exacerbations of existing systemic inequities perpetuated by the broader prison industrial complex and by dissecting the framing of the Thirteenth Amendment before delving into the historical roots of coerced carceral labor, this thesis will evaluate various legal and policy perspectives to make the argument for an urgent need for true, robust abolition efforts and rebut against passive arguments for mediocre reform. By highlighting the imperative to address systemic racism and the economic disparities that are inherent in the criminal justice system, this thesis argues for the abolition of the prisoner exemption clause of the 13th Amendment in its entirety, in order to imagine and build a society where freedom and justice are truly guaranteed for all, regardless of their legal status, racial caste, or social class.

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/43671

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