[adastra22]

They are literal slaves. The 13th amendment of the constitution:

> Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, *except as a punishment for crime* whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Slavery is still legal in the United States of America.

[thaumasiotes]

> They are literal slaves.

It's legal to enslave them, but in general it isn't true that they actually are enslaved.

[js8]

I downvoted you. Reason - I don't see/understand what argument are you making. It seems you're just stating the claim.

[thaumasiotes]

I'm contradicting the claim. Prisoners aren't slaves. They could be enslaved, but they aren't. They are never sold into slavery and almost never compelled to do any work.

This is the opposite of being "literal slaves". They are literally not slaves.

...unless you believe that before the 17th century, everyone in the world was literally a slave? It was legal to enslave them too.

[adastra22]

3/4 of prisoners in the US endure forced labor according to the ACLU:

https://www.aclu.org/news/human-rights/captive-labor-exploit...

[thaumasiotes]

That link doesn't say 3/4 of prisoners. It says 3/4 of incarcerated workers. Incarcerated nonworkers aren't counted at all.

It also doesn't say that they report being compelled to work. It says they receive benefits from working that they don't receive without working. The fact that voluntary workers get their sentences reduced doesn't convert them into involuntary workers.

[onraglanroad]

You're both wrong about the number of prisoners. The link clearly states 2/3 of prisoners are workers and 3/4 of them report being compelled to work. That works out at 1/2 of all prisoners.

Trying to spin this as benefits is...odd:

"they are required to work or face additional punishment such as solitary confinement, denial of opportunities to reduce their sentence, and loss of family visitation."

[lyu07282]

It's incredible that anyone can read this and argue against it, how did we loose our humanity? There is no empathy, it's frightening. The capacity to do horrific things in the near future is here.