California voters will have the option in next month’s election to vote on the language used in Proposition 6, which seeks to repeal the state constitution’s requirement of forced labor as punishment for incarcerated people.
What is Proposition 6? An overview of its purpose and implications
According to California’s voter guide, Proposition 6 is the state’s constitutional policy “that allows jails and prisons to impose involuntary servitude to punish crime.” Democratic Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson represents the state’s 11th Assembly District and is currently the only local official to support the policy; however, no one has publicly opposed it.
An alternative to the language could grant incarcerated people greater freedom to voice opposition to “involuntary servitude” imposed as punishment for their crimes.
The Sacramento Observer reported that this replacement would amend the language that permits slavery and involuntary servitude within California’s prison system. Additionally, it would prevent the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from reprimanding any inmate who opts out of a work assignment. Instead, the department would award time credits to those participating in work assignments.
How does the current language impact California’s Black incarcerated people?
Tanisha Cannon, Ph.D., the managing director of legal services for Prisoners with Children, shared how the language used in the current constitutional policy hurts Black incarcerated people. The nonprofit aims to “restore human and civil rights and to reunify families and communities. We build public awareness of structural racism in policing, the courts, and the prison system, and we advance racial and gender justice in all our work.”
“There are really two main messages for this to be a yes vote,“ Cannon told The Observer. “The way that the Constitution names what’s going on in these prisons is called involuntary servitude. Involuntary servitude is just another name for slavery. That means that there’s a force and there’s coercion. People don’t have autonomy over their bodies or their decisions: if they even want to work. So, the main message here is that involuntary servitude is slavery.”
The organization also helps individuals understand the long-term impacts of involuntary servitude on incarcerated people.
“They’re like, ‘Oh, people are in prison; they do the crime; they should do the time.‘ That has nothing to do with bodily autonomy. You should still be able to make decisions — if you want to work or an option maybe if you want to go to school instead or maybe if you want to take anger management classes instead you should have the choice to create what you believe is your rehabilitative process,“ Cannon explained, per The Observer.
In addition to California, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio are the only states to make changes to their constitutional policies, allowing involuntary servitude but not slavery. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 34 states use “earn time“ credits and apply them to “education, vocational training, treatment and work programs.”
What does this mean on the ballot box?
California voters can vote on the language used in Proposition 6.
A “Yes“ vote on this measure means that “involuntary servitude would not be allowed as punishment for crime. State prisons would not be allowed to discipline people in prison who refuse to work,“ according to the California voter’s guide.
Meanwhile, a “No“ vote means that “involuntary servitude would continue to be allowed as punishment for crime.”
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