America’s Plantation Prisons

[coolgeee]

On an expanse of 18,000 acres of farmland, 59 miles northwest of Baton Rouge, long rows of men, mostly African-American, till the fields under the hot Louisiana sun. The men pick cotton, wheat, soybeans and corn. They work for pennies, literally. Armed guards, mostly white, ride up and down the rows on horseback, keeping watch. At the end of a long workweek, a bad disciplinary report from a guard - whether true or false - could mean a weekend toiling in the fields. The farm is called Angola, after the homeland of the slaves who first worked its soil.

This scene is not a glimpse of plantation days long gone by. It’s the present-day reality of thousands of prisoners at the maximum security Louisiana State Penitentiary, otherwise known as Angola. The block of land on which the prison sits is a composite of several slave plantations, bought up in the decades following the Civil War. Acre-wise, it is the largest prison in the United States. Eighty percent of its prisoners are African-American.

continued here:
America?s Plantation Prisons

 

[Gungnir]

Good, at least cut down on the expense of prisons by making the convicts work for their food.

 

[editec]

I am completely opposed to forcing prisoners to work on any for-profit system.

Now if we gave them work that supported the prison itself, farming and so forth, that's another matter.

But the moment we allow prisoners output to become part of the economy outside of that prison, we motivate our government to have more prisons, more prisoners, and more oppressive laws designed to make slaves out of otherwise law abiding citizens.

If you truly love you own freedom, and I think most of us do here, then advocating that prisoners work for outside contractors (as we see happening now all the time) is a misguided notion.

 

[William Joyce]

The difference between slavery and prison is that the latter is the result of conscious choices by blacks. But if it's really going to remain an issue for anyone, how about we separate the races? No more whitey to blame then.

 

[Gunny]

On an expanse of 18,000 acres of farmland, 59 miles northwest of Baton Rouge, long rows of men, mostly African-American, till the fields under the hot Louisiana sun. The men pick cotton, wheat, soybeans and corn. They work for pennies, literally. Armed guards, mostly white, ride up and down the rows on horseback, keeping watch. At the end of a long workweek, a bad disciplinary report from a guard - whether true or false - could mean a weekend toiling in the fields. The farm is called Angola, after the homeland of the slaves who first worked its soil.

This scene is not a glimpse of plantation days long gone by. It’s the present-day reality of thousands of prisoners at the maximum security Louisiana State Penitentiary, otherwise known as Angola. The block of land on which the prison sits is a composite of several slave plantations, bought up in the decades following the Civil War. Acre-wise, it is the largest prison in the United States. Eighty percent of its prisoners are African-American.

continued here:
America?s Plantation Prisons

Yeah, and we put 'em to work cleaning our highways. Tough shit.

 

[MIRCS]

On an expanse of 18,000 acres of farmland, 59 miles northwest of Baton Rouge, long rows of men, mostly African-American, till the fields under the hot Louisiana sun. The men pick cotton, wheat, soybeans and corn. They work for pennies, literally. Armed guards, mostly white, ride up and down the rows on horseback, keeping watch. At the end of a long workweek, a bad disciplinary report from a guard - whether true or false - could mean a weekend toiling in the fields. The farm is called Angola, after the homeland of the slaves who first worked its soil.

This scene is not a glimpse of plantation days long gone by. It’s the present-day reality of thousands of prisoners at the maximum security Louisiana State Penitentiary, otherwise known as Angola. The block of land on which the prison sits is a composite of several slave plantations, bought up in the decades following the Civil War. Acre-wise, it is the largest prison in the United States. Eighty percent of its prisoners are African-American.

So I guess the point you're trying to make is that a person shouldn't break the law.

What this has to do with slavery is beyond me..............last I checked the practice of slavery ended in 1866 in the United States.

 

[dilloduck]

So I guess the point you're trying to make is that a person shouldn't break the law.

What this has to do with slavery is beyond me..............last I checked the practice of slavery ended in 1866 in the United States.

I think the theory here is that blacks are poor and can't help it. Don't blame me--ain't my theory !

 

[Shogun]

I am ALL FOR prison plantations. Hell, maybe that work can facilitate the cost of prisons instead of criminal behavior costing the taxpayer MORE prison space. The racial element is NOT why these people are in prison. Stop robbing a fucking liquor store.

 

[manifold]

Stop robbing a fucking liquor store.

Yeah, no shit! That's a high risk, low reward endeavor. Rob pension plans and shareholders instead, that shit mother fucking pays!!

 

[sealybobo]

On an expanse of 18,000 acres of farmland, 59 miles northwest of Baton Rouge, long rows of men, mostly African-American, till the fields under the hot Louisiana sun. The men pick cotton, wheat, soybeans and corn. They work for pennies, literally. Armed guards, mostly white, ride up and down the rows on horseback, keeping watch. At the end of a long workweek, a bad disciplinary report from a guard - whether true or false - could mean a weekend toiling in the fields. The farm is called Angola, after the homeland of the slaves who first worked its soil.

This scene is not a glimpse of plantation days long gone by. It’s the present-day reality of thousands of prisoners at the maximum security Louisiana State Penitentiary, otherwise known as Angola. The block of land on which the prison sits is a composite of several slave plantations, bought up in the decades following the Civil War. Acre-wise, it is the largest prison in the United States. Eighty percent of its prisoners are African-American.

continued here:
America?s Plantation Prisons

Instead of illegal immigrants, we should build our prisons around farms so they can pick the fruit each year instead of illegals coming in to do it. This is brilliant!! Does anyone have a problem with this? I think it's more inhumane to keep them locked up. Don't work them too hard either.

This is a win win!!!!

 

[sealybobo]

I am completely opposed to forcing prisoners to work on any for-profit system.

Now if we gave them work that supported the prison itself, farming and so forth, that's another matter.

But the moment we allow prisoners output to become part of the economy outside of that prison, we motivate our government to have more prisons, more prisoners, and more oppressive laws designed to make slaves out of otherwise law abiding citizens.

If you truly love you own freedom, and I think most of us do here, then advocating that prisoners work for outside contractors (as we see happening now all the time) is a misguided notion.

Good points. Something to be mindful of. But I still say do it. But don't abuse it.

What is worse? Having prisoners pick fruit every year or illegals? I'd rather the money go to the state and not back to mexico, tax free.

 

[Abelian Sea]

On an expanse of 18,000 acres of farmland, 59 miles northwest of Baton Rouge, long rows of men, mostly African-American, till the fields under the hot Louisiana sun. The men pick cotton, wheat, soybeans and corn. They work for pennies, literally. Armed guards, mostly white, ride up and down the rows on horseback, keeping watch. At the end of a long workweek, a bad disciplinary report from a guard - whether true or false - could mean a weekend toiling in the fields. The farm is called Angola, after the homeland of the slaves who first worked its soil.

This scene is not a glimpse of plantation days long gone by. It’s the present-day reality of thousands of prisoners at the maximum security Louisiana State Penitentiary, otherwise known as Angola. The block of land on which the prison sits is a composite of several slave plantations, bought up in the decades following the Civil War. Acre-wise, it is the largest prison in the United States. Eighty percent of its prisoners are African-American.

continued here:
America?s Plantation Prisons

They do a yearly rodeo, too.

But the moment we allow prisoners output to become part of the economy outside of that prison, we motivate our government to have more prisons, more prisoners, and more oppressive laws designed to make slaves out of otherwise law abiding citizens.

That isn't really happening here. The fruits of their labor go mostly to the prison itself, minus some graft. The prisoners eat the food they grow, for example.

The state does use prisoners for maintainence jobs at government buildings (though not prisoners from Angola), but as far as I know prison labor isn't on the open market.

If you truly love you own freedom, and I think most of us do here, then advocating that prisoners work for outside contractors (as we see happening now all the time) is a misguided notion.

To what extent does this happen?

“Angola is disturbing every time I go there,”

No shit. It's a maximum security prison. It is not a good place.

They are wallowing in the U.S.-style slavery meme, but hey,

The 13th Amendment, which prohibits forced labor, contains a caveat. It reads, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.”

Slavery was never outlawed in prisons.

 

[Shogun]

Yeah, no shit! That's a high risk, low reward endeavor. Rob pension plans and shareholders instead, that shit mother fucking pays!!

hey.. i'd throw a white crime convicted motherfucker out in the cotton field too.

 

[trobinett]

hey.. i'd throw a white crime convicted motherfucker out in the cotton field too.

I'm with ya on THAT Shogun.

Most of what I've seen lately about these shitheads in New York, that have taken the American public for a ride, would be candidates for the electric chair, in my opinion..........

 

[CrimsonWhite]

I am completely opposed to forcing prisoners to work on any for-profit system.

Now if we gave them work that supported the prison itself, farming and so forth, that's another matter.

But the moment we allow prisoners output to become part of the economy outside of that prison, we motivate our government to have more prisons, more prisoners, and more oppressive laws designed to make slaves out of otherwise law abiding citizens.

If you truly love you own freedom, and I think most of us do here, then advocating that prisoners work for outside contractors (as we see happening now all the time) is a misguided notion.

Why can't the state make a profit? In Alabama, the prison farms make money and subsidize stuff like roads and education. What's wrong with that? They convicts, this is their punishment.

 

[editec]

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Quote:[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If you truly love you own freedom, and I think most of us do here, then advocating that prisoners work for outside contractors (as we see happening now all the time) is a misguided notion. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]To what extent does this happen?[/FONT]

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Excellent question.
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Some of you might find this alarming.[/FONT]​

Some of you who are convinced that your guns are keeping you safe from intrusive government might find this alarming too.​

Even though I know MOST of you folks think all prisoners are scum, just THINK about how motivating it is to create prisons and prisoners when governments can MAKE GOOD MONEY OFF PRISON LABOR ​

At any rate, maybe some of you will understand why such a practice is a terrible idea, so here's a list of states and prisons which FARM OUT PRISON LABOR to private industries, paying the prisoners pennies per hour for work that done in the civilian world would pay twenty or thirty times that hourly rate:​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]State-Owned Prison Industries[/FONT]

​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Information provided by the state agencies themselves.[/FONT]

1. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]UNICOR - Federal Prison Industries, Inc. [/FONT]
2. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Alabama Correctional Industries [/FONT]
3. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Alaska Correctional Industries - contact info only [/FONT]
4. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Arizona Correctional Industries [/FONT]
5. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Arkansas Correctional Industries [/FONT]
6. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]California Prison Industry Authority [/FONT]
7. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]California Joint Ventures Program - private corporations purchasing prison labor from the state [/FONT]
8. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Colorado: Juniper Valley Products [/FONT]
9. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Connecticut Prison Industries [/FONT]
10. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Florida Prison Industry Enhancement program [/FONT]
11. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Florida: PRIDE Enterprises [/FONT]
12. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Georgia [/FONT]
13. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Idaho Correctional Industries - empty page as of 4/14/99 [/FONT]
14. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Illinois Correctional Industries [/FONT]
15. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Iowa [/FONT]
16. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Kentucky Correctional Industries - "Kentucky's Best Kept Secret" [/FONT]
17. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Maryland State Use Industries [/FONT]
18. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Massachusetts Correctional Industries - MassCor [/FONT]
19. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Michigan State Industries [/FONT]
20. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Minnesota MINNCOR [/FONT]
21. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Mississippi Prison Industries Corp. [/FONT]
22. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Missou ri Vocational Enterprises [/FONT]
23. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Montana Correctional Enterprises [/FONT]
24. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]New Hampshire Correctional Industries [/FONT]
25. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]New Jersey DEPTCOR - "And you thought we only made license plates." [/FONT]
26. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]New Mexico Correctional Industries [/FONT]
27. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]New York Corcraft [/FONT]
28. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Nevada Silver State Industries [/FONT]
29. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]North Carolina Correction Enterprices [/FONT]
30. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]North Dakota Rough Rider Industries [/FONT]
31. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ohio Prison Industries [/FONT]
32. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Oklahoma State Industries [/FONT]
33. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Oregon Corrections Industries Programs [/FONT]
34. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Pennsylvania Correctional Industries [/FONT]
35. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Rhode Island Correctional Industries [/FONT]
36. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]South Carolina Prison Industries [/FONT]
37. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]South Dakota Prison Industries [/FONT]
38. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Tennessee TRICOR [/FONT]
39. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Texas Correctional Industries [/FONT]
40. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Utah Correctional Industries [/FONT]
41. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Virginia Correctional Enterprises [/FONT]
42. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Washington State Correctional Industries [/FONT]

​

​

[/FONT]​

 

[Shogun]

You so realize that a LOT of those are rehabilitation programs for felons to acquire job skills, right? Are you aware of just how hard it is to find a job out of prison with nothing to offer?

 

[sealybobo]

You so realize that a LOT of those are rehabilitation programs for felons to acquire job skills, right? Are you aware of just how hard it is to find a job out of prison with nothing to offer?

What I would like to see is prisoners getting paid minimum wage, to be saved in a savings account for when they are released. And the money they make should count towards social security retirement.

If minimum wage is $5, they can keep $1 per hour for stuff they need to buy in the prison like toothpaste or cigarettes or condoms for when they have butt sex.

 

[editec]

You so realize that a LOT of those are rehabilitation programs for felons to acquire job skills, right? Are you aware of just how hard it is to find a job out of prison with nothing to offer?

I am obviously not complaining about rehabilitation programs for released prisoners.

I am specifically alerting you that our governments (state governments) are contracting with private corporations to sell prisoners' labor on the open market.

The prisoners make pennies, the state takes a lion's share, and the private corporations get cheaper labor than they can buy in China.

Such a policy incentivizes government to have prison labor to sell.

 

[manifold]

I am obviously not complaining about rehabilitation programs for released prisoners.

I am specifically alerting you that our governments (state governments) are contracting with private corporations to sell prisoners' labor on the open market.

The prisoners make pennies, the state takes a lion's share, and the private corporations get cheaper labor than they can buy in China.

Such a policy incentivizes government to have prison labor to sell.

fwiw: Your point seemed pretty obvious to me, and fair comment too, the first time you said it.