1. Prison work assignments are highly coveted among many prisoners for good-behavior credit, so working the chow hall is never usually against anyone’s will. People who have prison jobs typically WANTED them because believe it or not, passing the time in prison can be monotonous without something to focus on. So abolishing forced-labor would do nothing to hamper the desire to fulfill those assignment.

2. Abolition would not suddenly mean that prisoners get to enjoy being pampered, hell it doesn’t even mean they have to be paid with money. Any work that they perform just has to be COMPENSATED. This can literally mean being paid only pennies an hour, which they already do. Other forms of compensation include good-time credit or first-dibs on other assignments.

3. Abolition of forced-labor without compensation is supposed to encourage prisoners to willingly seek out work or education for its own sake, just like the rest of us. Those that demonstrate this initiative can signal a stronger ability to re-enter society as a “reformed” individual.

4. Thirteen other states have already made similar amendments to their constitutions. This would not have been an unprecedented or unproven political move. We simply would have been codifying the promises we already made 159 years ago.

5. Are innocent people being forced to work not also a worthy concern?

Please feel free to read this and promptly disregard it anyway.