Voters in Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont will decide whether to close legal loopholes that allow convict labor as an exception to slavery. Nearly 20 state constitutions include language permitting slavery as a criminal punishment.
None will force immediate changes, though they could lead to legal challenges related to how states use prison labor, in an effort to amend the 13th Amendment.
More than 150 years after slaves were freed in the U.S., voters in five states will soon decide whether to close loopholes that led to the proliferation of a different form of slavery forced labor by people convicted of certain crimes.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — More than 150 years after slaves were freed in the U.S., voters in five states will soon decide whether to close loopholes that led to the