November 5, 2024 - Proposition 6

 

At this moment, 34 of the 50 United States do not allow forced prison labor to transpire within their borders. Simple math tells us that means16 states allowing to force prisoners to work for a pittance and can punish them if they refuse.

 

Proposition 6 outlaws forced prison labor in California. The justification offered by some that prisoners should “earn their keep” is ridiculous. When the state incarcerates an individual, it assumes responsibility for every facet of that individual's life, for as long as they are held captive. The prison system must feed, clothes, house, and provide for the medical care of the prisoners.

 

Offering prisoners voluntary opportunities to work, learn skills, and earn some money, is fair. Taking the freedom of prisoners for crimes they have committed is unquestionably appropriate.

 

Committing a violent crime rightly earns the criminal an extended stay behind bars. That does not give the prison system the right to profit from the involuntary labor of said prisoners.

I will vote yes on Proposition 6.