- Benefits of inmate labor, Huntsville Item
- Hays Sheriff puts inmates to work at Hays jail to save money, Austin American Statesman
- Sentence to Serve program is one more way to do more with less, Caledonia (MN) Argus
Today prison and jail inmate labor is mostly performed on behalf of state and local governments and the prison system itself, so it's still a valuable resource even if it's mostly not commodified in the labor market. But free-world workers would likely chafe at prisoners' wider use in that regard, just like folks inevitably complain over prison industries programs and illegal immigrants taking all the good grapefruit picking jobs.
All three of the bulleted articles above essentially depict the positive aspects of using inmate labor. Countering those benefits, consider the situation of a just-captured escapee from a South Texas prison work crew, an episode which is causing TDCJ to reevaluate outside trusty assignments, with the likely result of reducing their number.
The most productive place for offenders to work is in the free world where they pay their own freight plus taxes to support the system instead of leaching from it. (See #5 from Grits' "Six Impossible Things.") In the meantime, inmate labor, as Christ said of the poor, will always be with us. If you've never seen it, set aside thirty minutes one day to watch Pete Seeger's 1966 documentary, Afro-American Work Songs in a Texas Prison; if your attention span's not that long, here's a YouTube preview clip to whet your appetite:
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32 comments:
"Countering those benefits, consider the situation of a just-captured escapee from a South Texas prison work crew, an episode which is causing TDCJ to reevaluate outside trusty assignments, with the likely result of reducing their number."
Two things here.......
1. According to the news report, it appears the inmate was not under constant guard supervison.
2. The inmate was convicted of a serious and violent felony offense.
Therein lies the problem if the news report is true.
OOP.....This is the standard for Texas county jails from TCJS concerning those eligible for outside perimeter work.........
Only inmates classified as minimum custody should be assigned to work outside the security perimeter and should be supervised by corrections officers. Rule 289.4
There is just too much leeway here.
Replace the words should with shall. Course rewording of this might be considered to be an an unfunded mandate :)
Retired LE
Retired, even when they're under guard supervision that's no guarantee things won't go terribly wrong.
now me i have never figured out why the inmates would cooprerate and do the work. here in florida you have to do 95% of your sentence.... so why make nice and work your ass off for the state!
Rod, perhaps the answer may be found, as is so often the case, in the Good Book: 2 Thessalonians 3:10. ;)
And of course sometimes, as in Georgia recently, inmate workers resist and even strike.
Many Texas county jails give time off for labor outside the jail, so their motive is more understandable.
"now me i have never figured out why the inmates would cooprerate and do the work."
I can't speak to how the prison system works but in county jails here in Texas we give "work" and "good conduct" credit to inmates.
For instance, picking up trash along county roads does not cost taxpayers extra money and inmates earn 3 for 1 credit. By earning this credit, they are able for an earlier release which can be a reduction in costs to taxpayers.
One other note, county jail inmates are not forced to work but when they learn of the 3 for 1 credit they're eager to volunteer.
"Retired, even when they're under guard supervision that's no guarantee things won't go terribly wrong."
Granted Grits. But what I see from the news report you referred to indicates there was a procedure in place for the safety of the officers. These safety measures cannot be compromised.
Retire LE
Lots of our offenders, probably most, want to work...keeps 'em moving and healthy and helps pass the interminable boredom. Of course the other 10% do everything they can to avoid work; they generate most of my activity.
if they were giving credit for the work that would be diff. but i know florida does not... you cann't go below the manditory min anything you earn after you hit that point is just free.....cant' use it.
as for reading the "good book" well if they were reading and living it's lessons...i doubt they would be in prison in the first place LOL
And then there's the issue of jail and county officials using inmate labor for their personal use, which we in Smith County like to sweep promptly under the rug. Unless some bold inmate goes to the press and opens up an investigation... This requires a little more effort to dispel. But, hey, the Governor is on our side. The investigation of all that money unaccounted for from the property abandoned in the county never saw the light of day. What's a government job without a few perks?
And then there is the issue of inmate labor for the personal use of jail and county administrators, which has been seen in various counties, including Smith. Unfortunately, issues like these and the misappropriated funds from abandoned vehicles and property in the county are promptly swept under the rug by county officials and our Governor's investigative team.
The thirteenth amendment was to replace slavery to begin with and the state of Texas loved this one. This state fought two wars to preserve slavery.
The reason why inmates work in Texas is because the parol board is so corrupted. They string people along. Why don't they just tell everyone we are playing with you and you are not going to get out early. Because then they lose the slave labor.
I would tell anyone in Texas if you went and work on the field force (aka ho squad) file for disability. Anyone who was ever in the womens prisons in Gateville were probably physical disable in some form by their slave masters and should file for disability compensation.
I was looking at the work songs on this page. I got one for you
OH LORDY DON'T WHOP ME BOSS
The state use to issue whipping orders and beat human beings for not wanting to be slaves
They still lock women in the shower rooms and handcuff them to the shower heads in Gatesville. By the way this is against international human rights treaties this country signed.
They also shine flash lights up into their body cavities also.
Gatesville women's prison is the apidemy of women's prison. Human right abuses are well known but no one especially our law makers will do nothing.
County jails be be able to give and do give good time awards for early release but in TDCJ the parole board plays second judge and once again violates international treaties this country sign concerning human rights violations.
Texas stae lawmakers do not care about human rights at all. They meet every two years to try and determine how much money they will walk away with again. I think this is call stealing or felony thief.
There are "work" credits, but if you are a 3g offender it is not applied to your time. For Retired LE, an offender CAN be charged of a serious or violent offense AND be Minimum custody - alot of violent offenders are "minimum" custody. Inmate labor is used for the benefit of the guards. The units go on lockdown for annual/biannual shakedowns and inmates are still let out at night. People still report to kitchen duty daily. The guards don't want to be burdened with the "inmate's" work, so they let them out DURING lockdown! How can you effectively search a unit when everyone is still roaming freely at night? Many of these guards are lazy and do use the inmates for slave labor. I am not completely familiar with slave labor, but are they not required to be compensated in some way? Work Time Credit is not compensation when the time is not actually applied? The whole thing is corrupt. Certain inmates are able to manipulate what jobs they have, again because of the corrupt guards, and they are able to use that position to obtain contraband and move stuff. It's ridiculous. If the public only knew what really goes on and how truly corrupt the system is.
4.17 is correct, and I suspect works for TDCJ. My husband is a 3g offender but is minimum custody allowed for his offense. He works in food service and is usually picked to make the Johnny lunches when his unit is on lockdown. I keep telling him that is a good thing, and it means that they trust him, because he needs that kind of encouragement. Neither of us believe it will have any influence on the BPP when his time comes though.
If TDCJ inmates decide not to work, they are often written up and find themselves in Ad Seg where they lose most of the "priviledges" that general population have.
That is the key if everyone knew. But TDCJ officials run their prison like the CIA runs those so called black prisons of torture overseas. They will not let the public see and the lawmakers we elected are cowards and will not stand up and do the right thing. If you ever go to visitation and have any comman sense at all you can see these things.
SLAVE LABOR DEFINED: Cutting grass with aggies just to abuse people and let the lawn mowers your tax dollars paid for sit and rusty or taking home by the guards. Look no futher than the home of abuse Gatesville, Texas.
They handcuff those women in the showers to sexual assault them. The female guards are more dangerous than the male guards.
Plane State Prison is actually just as bad as Gatesville. This is where the women first come into the prison system and where they are first sexually assaulted by female guards. Plane State is developing the same generational curse that is Gatesville history now.
If a private citizen in the state of Texas did just half of what these sadistic guards do every day to women they would be tried, convicted and sentenced to prison. But this is state sponsered sexual assaults and the guards get a pass from prosecution in Plane state and Gatesville.
Total horse shit. Women are not CHAINED to shower heads. Ridiculous. It is against TDCJ policy. You people have been watching too many old prison movies.
It might be against TDCJ policy but that does not mean it does not happen. Why don't you go and ask one of them that have been hand cuff to those shower heads yourself. You know so much about TDCJ policy you must be one of them doing this. I do not watch prison movies because I have seen the marks before on some one. Since you know so much are they locked into the showers?
Yes they are both locked in the showers and some guards do hand cuff them to the shower heads for torture purposes. This is true because it happened to me at Gatesville when I incarcerated there. This is true and you do not know what you are talking about, unless it is true you work there.
That is nothing compared to when they gas and pepper spray an inmate and intentionally spray every one standing around that person. Every body has their skin and eyes burned because of one persons actions. This is no movie here my friend it happen to me many of times. I was sitting in my cell obeying the rules and got sprayed because of some one elses actions. Maybe it was the horse stuff person that did it to me.
When I was in both Plane state and Gatesville both male and female officers would sexually coerce the new people in intake because they had lose all hope and were helpless. There is no one to tell that will believe you either. I too was one of those women locked in a shower handcuffed.
When a woman is in intake at both of those units the first strip search by legal definitions is sexual assault if a private citizen did this to some one. I was sexually assaulted no matter what some one says here. I do not even do those things for my husband but the alternatives if you refused were just what has been described here. The showers are used just as much as torture chambers as for showers.
WORKING IN THE FIELDS
Seems to me a lot of people actually believe that they should be pampered in the prison system today.
Working to help grow your own food, clean the sides of the roads are normal things people do in the real world.
I remember over 30 years ago being a stupid kid got me 5 years in the department of corrections.
I worked the fields and I served my time in which my time there gave me time to reflect what I needed to do in my life.
The first few weeks I didnt think I would make it out of the fields, but I didnt quit, the hard work done there and the discipline there that was demanded by us paid off in my years after my incarceration.
I worked my ass off for every employer I ever worked for which was three , I raised and sent three kids to college , opened up a successful electrical company , bought my own home and have all the toys I need.
I was an out of hand kid - I was 17 years old when I got arrested and 19 when I went to prison on that charge which in no doubt was the best thing that ever could of happened to me.
I never knew how to grow and nurture anything, but when I got to the fields in the middle of a serious drought and bucketed water to plant after plant it dawned on me when we started picking the fruits of our labor--we all went out and Boss Brown had us lined up and said look what we did , through all the hard work, the callouses and the sweat you guys grew that and hopefully one day when you guys get out you do the same thing in your lives.
He then gave us all a few minutes to look at the Okra and admire what we accomplished--all of us just had to smile--there was no racial issues , no nothing because we all knew we all worked together for some thing that worked.
That was over 30 years ago and what I learned there impacted me forever.
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