[curiousgeorgio]

Working without monetary compensation is the punishment part. But work itself is rehabilitating. I can't think of a better way to help people feel empowered and able, preparing them to be positive members of society when they're released.

[meheleventyone]

Then this should be supported by evidence that forced labor is rehabilitating. Show us it’s true if it is.

[curiousgeorgio]

A quick search brings up quite a few academic articles supporting it, e.g.:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12122-016-9229-0

https://academic.oup.com/aler/article-abstract/19/2/391/3066...

Like many things, there's substantial evidence on both sides of the argument. The devil is usually in the details, and this is a case where success or failure seems to be greatly affected by the quality of the programs themselves and the people who administer them.