Summary Of American Slavery Reinvented By Whitney Benn

531 Words3 Pages

In the article "American Slavery, Reinvented" by Whitney Benns is an analysis of states forcing their prisoners into full days of servitude to rehabilitate themselves, however, there has been some debate that this form of rehabilitation is cruel. Prison labor is a practice that many states are using on the incarcerated. Once the prisoners are medically cleared, they are forced to work in directed areas or face punishments such as solitary confinement and denying the inmates from family visits. There are multiple theories to justify why prison labor is being enforced that Benns focuses on in her article. Additionally, she believes the prisons found a way to bring back a depressing moment in American history. According to Benns, the prisoners commonly work in manufacturing for for-profit businesses and in plantations. She explains how the United States has the largest amount of confined people in the world, and the prison rates are increasing every year. Those who are prosecuted for crimes are mostly African Americans. Benns also creates an image for readers to visualize the bodies of individuals, earning a few pennies a day, planting and harvesting crops on a farm owner’s land. When the Constitution was written, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. However, the Amendment also included an exception: anyone who is …show more content…

These prisoners are not protected under the same laws as their fellow citizens. Therefore the prisoners are not supported when they attempt to fight for minimum wage with their employer. It is believed that it is only fair that the imprisoned do not have rights as soon as they commit crimes. Furthermore, the author of the article states the prisoners whose actions were severe lack constitutional rights to be released from involuntary