Jessica Schulberg is a senior reporter covering politics and the criminal justice system for HuffPost. Her work has also appeared in The New Republic and The Washington Post. She holds a master's degree in international security from American University. You can contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @jessicaschulb.
When Esteban Nuñez arrived at Mule Creek State Prison, a facility not far from Sacramento, California , around 2010, a prison staffer asked him what he wanted to do with his time.
Like most states, California gives its prisoners mandatory work assignments that pay little to no money. Incarcerated individuals typically have no say in their schedule or the type of work they do. Prisoners can be tasked with cleaning toilets, doing laundry, preparing meals, fighting wildfires, or even making furniture, clothing and food products to be sold on the outside at a significant profit. Some jobs pay as little as 8 cents an hour.
In recent years, Alabama, Colorado, Nebraska, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah and Vermont have taken similar action to remove so-called slavery exceptions from their state constitutions. California is one of 16 states that have yet to close the slavery exception loophole. California lawmakers first introduced a version of the bill in 2020. It stalled in the state Senate amid opposition from Gov.
Vasquez finally took the course years later, and said it was a “life-changing experience” that set him on a journey of “healing and accountability.”Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
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