The particular section that raised concerns was the abolition of slavery, as well as the limits of involuntary servitude, which was limited to the lawful punishment of prisoners. Proponents, including Sandy Chung, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, say the changes are still significant and will impact the lives of incarcerated people. Although there are honorable and committed people, the movement in the United States for prison reform is still quite weak. Often, those who call themselves prison abolitionists are the same government lobbyists who do not want to disturb anything or anyone. Given the creation of most referendums, it is difficult to know the ethics of their authors. It is even more impossible to know what worried voters. So what remains unclear beyond the electric question of “slavery” is whether or not Louisiana voters thought they would embrace racism. Likewise, if they voted for the fight against crime or support for prisoners. Vermont has now replaced this clause in its constitution with “slavery and indentured servitude in any form are prohibited.” The measure passed with 89% of the vote. The United States abolished slavery in 1865 with the 13th Amendment. But he makes an exception for slavery as a “punishment for crime.” Many states have followed suit, with similar exceptions to individual state constitutions. “Most people thought it was impossible to get the amendment on the ballot in Louisiana, but Louisiana and America shouldn`t be in the legalized slavery business,” he said in an interview.
Nebraska and Utah joined Colorado in 2020. Once this year`s results are reflected in state constitutions, eight states will explicitly prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude. While there is “almost no difference” between slavery and involuntary servitude, Jordan says, deleting the word “the latter” would have meant that slavery and involuntary servitude are both permissible for the “lawful administration of criminal justice.” “We don`t want this law to be confused with a labor law,” said Parthas of the National Network for the Abolition of Slavery. “It`s about ending slavery. What follows remains to be seen. The Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL), Sentell says, rejected the change. Some tried to “move the needle” by banning slavery and involuntary servitude while allowing prisoners to work. “There was just a lot of confusion,” he said. Yet it is difficult to understand why a significant portion of lawmakers put a referendum to a vote that allows slavery, either in society or in prison. Jordan said he wanted to remove slavery and involuntary servitude from the state constitution first. Subsequently, he attempted to amend it to allow it in “administration of justice” cases. The initiative was defeated by the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee by a vote of 9 to 5. Despite knowledge of the horrific history of slavery and how it turned into involuntary servitude after slavery was abolished, nine lawmakers still voted against a bill that would allow voters — their constituents — to determine whether such language should remain in Louisiana law.
Currently, the law states that “slavery and involuntary servitude are prohibited, except in the latter case as punishment for a crime.” Four U.S. states voted to remove language from their constitutions stating that slavery is legal as a punishment. It states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime for which the Party has been duly convicted, shall exist in the United States or in any other place under its jurisdiction.” Institutional racism remains problematic. Racial differences in policing and incarceration suggest this. The growing diversity of hierarchies of public, corporate and social institutions creates many contradictions. In 2018, Colorado became the first state since Rhode Island in 1842 to completely ban slavery and involuntary servitude. Two years after a referendum initiative failed with confusing language, the Coloradans voted 66 percent to 34 percent in favor of an amendment that read: “There shall never be slavery or involuntary servitude in this state.” Alabama also removed its constitutional exemption for slavery and added a section on convict labor, similar to Tennessee. In other words, “the new change technically allows slavery,” Seabaugh said. “I don`t think anyone thought of it that way, but that`s what he says.” Slavery was officially abolished in all states when the 13th Amendment was ratified in 1865.
However, the 13th Amendment also permits slavery or involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime for which “the Party has been duly convicted.” As such, its ratification merely abolished the practice of slavery, in which one person has property over another person as if the individual were property. “Slavery” is currently prohibited by law, he says, but the use of the word “last” in the existing law means that “involuntary servitude” as punishment is still technically legal. On the surface, it seems that one hundred and fifty-eight years after slavery was abolished in Louisiana, many want to defend it. Given Louisiana`s history, strange things are not unknown. Voters in Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont officially abolished slavery in all its forms by voting to amend their states` constitutions and repealing a legal exception that still allowed slavery and involuntary servitude as forms of punishment for crimes. Of the five states that imposed measures on the issue on voters, Louisiana voters were the only ones to vote against the state constitution`s ban on slavery and involuntary servitude, according to calls from The Associated Press. That year, voters in Vermont, Oregon, Alabama and Tennessee voted to ban slavery and involuntary servitude. The initiatives, which will be put to a vote on Tuesday, do not impose immediate changes in state prisons where inmate labor continues to be used, but they could create legal challenges over the practice of forcing prisoners to work under threat of punishment or loss of privileges if they refuse to work. Gillian Brockell of The Washington Post explained that Louisiana`s referendum on “slavery” is actually about current conditions in Louisiana prisons. In Louisiana, the ritualized abuse of prison labor is very real. Electors in four states support efforts to eliminate slavery and debt bondage from books About 20 state constitutions have opt-out clauses that allow slavery or involuntary servitude as punishment for crimes.
Vermont prides itself on being the first in the country to ban slavery in 1777, but its constitution allows for involuntary servitude in certain circumstances, such as the payment of debts, damages, fines, or other costs. One interpretation of the Louisiana referendum dispute is that it is a clash between prison reformers and those who want to crack down on crime. These themes are often brought together to rally around the emotional cause of the renewed abolition of slavery. But Louisiana voted to keep the slavery exception after the legislature that sponsored the voting initiative opposed it. And Hughes in Vermont said, “Who knows?” what the impact will be. “I just want to abolish slavery.” Louisiana Rep. Edmond Jordan initially sponsored the vote, but later urged voters to reject it. Jordan, a Democrat from Baton Rouge, said he opposed the measure after realizing the language was too ambiguous. Jordan said he did not want legal challenges to be left to the court`s interpretation of the law. He hopes to put a revised amendment on the ballot next year. Voters in Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont will decide state constitutional amendments that prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude in some cases except for incarcerators` labor.
Proponents say the changes are necessary to remove outdated language from state constitutions and potentially change the criminal justice system by making all prison work voluntary. Jordan said he realized the measure could have inadvertently expanded slavery. “We want to remove offensive language and offer citizens protection from slavery and involuntary servitude,” Max Parthas, co-director of state operations for the National Network to Abolish Slavery and co-host of a weekly online radio show, Abolition Today, said in an interview.
