Chain Gangs And Convict Labor Essay, Research Paper

The Truth About Chain Gangs and Convict Labor

Jeremy A. Greenfield

English 101

Iowa Western Community College

11/16/98

Outline

Thesis: From the early chain gangs to the prison industries of today, prisoners have

been used as labor in the United States.

I. Definition

A. Definition of convict labor

B. Definition of chain gangs and prison industries

II. Chain Gangs

A. Early history

B. Mid-history

C. Decline

D. Present

E. Curtis Brown

III. Convict Labor

A. Statistics

B. Reasons for

C. Reasons against

D. Other benefits

E. Types of jobs

IV. Main Points Restated

A. Best arguments for convict labor

B. Best arguments against convict labor

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Prisons have been used as the way of punishment in the United States since its

beginning. Throughout the history of prisons, convicts have been used as labor. The

methods of labor, the number of laborers, and the arguments for or against has

constantly been changing. From the early chain gangs to the prison industries of today,

prisoners have been used as labor in the United States.

When people think of chain gangs, they usually think of people in white and

black stripes, being forced to work in a harsh environment. This was often true.

Employees, also called ?leasees?, were in charge of the inmates. They often treated the

inmates brutally. The name ?chain gang? probably comes from the fact that the

inmates were chained together at the legs to reduce the chance of escape. (Reynolds

181) Inmates were often controlled by whips and other harsh disciplines and

punishments. People argued that the treatment was just because of the increased

chance of escape in chain gangs. (Reynolds 182) People also thought that the chain

gangs would deter crime, but studies show that they failed to deter. (Brownstein 179)

The living conditions were often unsanitary, crowded, and poorly constructed.

(Reynolds 182) These bad conditions of the past have given the chain gang an

extremely bad rap. The way people view chain gangs has changed several times

throughout their history in the United States.

The earliest history of chain gangs holds the cause for the bad views of them.

The public sees chain gangs as a racist part of the old South. The first chain gangs

began in England and the northern part of the United States during the eighteenth

century. (Reynolds 180) Even though chain gangs were legal in almost every state, the

South seemed to be the only region using them. Some reasons for this include the bad

climate of the North and the public?s thoughts against chain gangs. (Reynolds 183)

Another reason why we see the South as the source of chain gangs is because it was the

region that needed them the most. The South used chain gangs because after the Civil

War there was a labor shortage. The labor shortage and an escalation in crime caused

the South to begin leasing out convict labor. (Reynolds 180) It did not take long for

convict leasing to spread.

After the Civil War the South had to rebuild. That is why most of the states in

the South had convict labor by 1875. The most common workers of the chain gang

were county inmates who worked on the roads. A large amount of repairs was needed

to mend the roads that were destroyed during the war. Many convicts were also leased

out to farms in the South to replace the slaves who were freed because of the Civil War.

(Reynolds 180) The South was still a farming region with many large plantations that

needed workers. Southerners were accustomed to having cheap labor so convict labor

was thought as a good solution.

There seemed to be no concern for welfare of the convicts or the jobs of others.

Nobody cared that chain gangs were humiliating and degrading to inmates, which was

against the eighth amendment, preventing cruel and unusual punishment. (Brownstein

179) Early chain gangs were used only for economic gain. Convicts made money

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which helped to support themselves and were used as cheap labor. Rehabilitation was

not a concern back then. (Reynolds 181) Some people did worry about the bad

treatment of the convicts. Other people worried that convict labor took jobs from

average citizens. During the twenties workers in many jobs had decided to form unions

to protect their jobs from bad conditions. The unions that formed in the early twentieth

century also opposed the labor of chain gangs. The unions? concerns and the inhumane

treatment caused the downfall of the convict lease system in the South by 1920.

(Reynolds 181) Private owners would no longer be able to lease prisoners.

During this time period cars and better transportation was becoming important.

The old lease system was replaced by the commonly known public works system. The

atmosphere of the country during the ?Roaring Twenties? caused chain gangs to be used

on roads very often. (Reynolds 181) This revival would soon fall to another problem.

During the mid-1930?s the United States went into a severe depression. When

the Great Depression occurred many states passed laws to stop convict labor because it

took jobs from the public. (?Let the Prisoners Work? 14) Jobs were scarce and nobody

wanted a convict to take a job.

The percent of convicts working dropped dramatically in only four decades. An

escaped convict who wrote a book about the chain gang helped show everyone the

brutality of the chain gang. This, along with new food-making technology helped cause

another demise of the chain gang in the 1940?s. (Reynolds 183) With pressure from

labor and business interests, Congress had passed laws which dropped convict labor

from eighty-five percent in 1900 to forty-four percent in 1940. (Ingley 28) Those

numbers are still remarkably higher than the percentage of today.

From the 1940?s to today the percent of prisoners working steadily dropped. The

number of prisoners working has dropped from seventy-five percent in 1885 to almost

eight percent in 1995. (?Let the Prisoners Work? 14) The nineties brought about a new

type of thinking over crime and how to punish perpetrators. The public seems to be fed

up with crime. Many Americans now believe that prisons are not harsh enough to deter

crime. (Reynolds 183) Some people think that chain gangs will deter crime, but studies

show that they fail to deter. With longer sentences and more parole restrictions, people

are staying in prison longer, causing the population of prisons to quickly grow.

(Brownstein 179) Some people may argue though that no matter how harsh prisons

become, they will not be able to deter crime. The United States is now trying to bring

back chain gangs. (Reynolds 183) There are many reasons why people in the United

States want convicts to work.

America is tired of paying for prisons and the number of prisoners is growing so

much that inmates are having to pay for their prison stays. That is why ?Prisons extract

money from their inmates by charging for court costs, imposing medical co-payments,

seizing prisoners assets, garnishing prisoners wages, and pursuing former prisoners for

the cost of their incarceration.? (Paventi 26) Prison officials were surveyed and were

found to believe that inmate work programs should be increased by 166 percent and

that inmates should pay at least three times more for their stay. (Ingley 28) It costs a

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large amount of money to build more room for the increasing number of prisoners and

the staff needed to watch them.

Statistics show that the prison population is growing faster than ever. The

population in prisons today is three-hundred percent more than it was in the seventies.

(Selke 1) Another statistic shows that the rate of increase is going to continue to grow.

?By the year 2002 the inmate population is expected to increase by another 43 percent.?

(M. O. Reynolds 58) Just the last eight years has shown that the prison population is

growing even when crime is going down. The prison population has almost doubled to

1.2 million since 1990. (?Let the Prisoners Work? 14) The result is an increasing

percentage of taxpayers money going to cover the rising population. Prisons cost

America twenty-five billion dollars a year which is about two hundred and fifty dollars

a year per family. (M. O. Reynolds 58) To some people this proves the need for convict

labor and chain gangs, but there are still many reasons against them.

Often chain gangs were so unbearable that inmates tried to escape. A Virginia

man who escaped from a chain gang in 1956 was caught by bounty hunters. Curtis

Brown had served two of his ten year burglary sentence when he escaped on June 5,

1956. Brown could not withstand the cruelty he went through in the chain gang. After

the escape he tried to live a normal life. The man had changed his name and began

raising a family with three children. When the bounty hunters caught him, Brown had

already been caught the prior year but had escaped. He seemed to have a bad habit of

trying to escape his punishment. He was caught last year, but fled on bond. (Johnson

20)

Those people that argue prisons are not harsh enough, do not consider how

much some people suffer. Brown is hurt from asthma and high blood pressure. He also

is missing a kidney after being a victim of a mugging twenty years ago and he is also

sightless in one eye. His family is worried that the seventy-five year old man will die in

prison. (Johnson 20)

Corrections cost the United States twenty-five billion dollars a year, which gives

a need for inmates to earn wages and help pay for the cost of holding them. The

problem is that this may be threatening the jobs of average citizens. (Cohen 76) Even

though unemployment is extremely low at this time, people worry that the prison

industries will take many jobs from the uneducated and unskilled citizens.

By charging inmates for prison-construction costs, the public is happy their

taxes are not going to prisoners. ?Tax payers like the idea that we don?t allow prisoners

to profit from their crimes,? says Attorney General Frank. (Paventi 26) Something that

many people do not know is that once prisons charge inmates for a stay one year, that

extra money is automatically deducted from the next budget. Some institutions are

finding that it may cost them more to charge inmates for their stay.

Some items that prisoners need, they have to pay for. American prisoners

usually have to pay for their own toiletries, under wear, socks, cigarettes, and stationery.

They also have to buy more food than what they are served just to live. (Paventi 26).

Some items like the cigarettes can be extremely expensive to get in prisons. This has

created severe problems of corruption in some prisons.

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A new way that some states are trying to save tax dollars is to charge for all

court costs. In Virginia if someone loses a jury trial, he or she must pay for the whole

trial. (Paventi 26) A man named Kenneth Stewart owes $57,756.20 for his trial.

(Paventi 27) He needs some teeth pulled too, which he must also pay for. (Paventi 26)

This proves that inmates have to work.

Since the inmates are not protected by most laws they can be paid extremely low

wages. The amount of money inmates are paid is much lower than minimum-wage. At

the Minnesota correctional facility, entry-level workers take home about forty cents per

hour. (Cohen 76) With such low pay prisoners have to work long hours to be able to

afford the expensive items that they need to live.

The biggest concern with convict labor is whether or not it takes average

citizens? jobs. Many people worry that convict labor will take jobs, but many of the

tasks prisoners do, will not affect American jobs. People worry about a few million

prisoners getting jobs while over twenty-seven million people on welfare are being

forced to find jobs and nobody seems to worry about them. (Paventi 27) Most people

do not realize unemployment is low at this time.

Some benefits for allowing prisoners to work include: enhanced mental health,

reduced violence, more family support, preserved marriages, and increased restitution

to the victims of crime. (?Let the Prisoners Work? 14) Another good fact is that only

6.6 percent of convicts who worked in prisons had their parole revoked or were charged

with a crime during their first year of release. (M. O. Reynolds 58) This is lower than

the 10.1 percent of rearrest of prisoners who did not work in prison. (M. O. Reynolds

58)

Alabama?s commisioner for prisons believes the prison industries has made a

?life of luxury? for the inmates. She thinks a prison should be more harsh so it will

deter future crimes. The problem is that prisoners who do not work lose any hope and

are more likely to be hostile and later be rearrested. (Brownstein 179) Many experts

agree with this view. Ron Humphrey said that ?prisoners need to work so they will not

go nuts?. Minnesota had one of the lowest rates of prison violence in the nation when

the inmates were working. (?Let the Prisoners Work? 14) Maybe if we concentrate on

keeping the prisoners from returning, we would not have to worry about our jobs being

taken.

Sometimes prison labor is not a good idea. Some issues like security problems,

high turnover, lack of skills, poor work habits and remote prison locations can make

prison labor more expensive. (M. O. Reynolds 58) Another problem includes

prejudices. Chain gangs are supposed to be well integrated, but in Alabama it is

common for a chain gang to be ninety percent black. (Brownstein 179) The prison

commissioner of Alabama thought about putting women in chain gangs after male

inmates filed a federal lawsuit claiming discrimination. (?Great Moments in Penology?

207) She almost lost her job because nobody else wanted women on chain gangs.

One way people are trying to stop chain gangs is to prove that they are

unconstitutional. Some people believe that chain gangs are humiliating and degrading

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to inmates, which is against the eighth amendment, preventing cruel and unusual

punishment. (Brownstein 179)

Many prisoners are illiterate and have lower Intelligence Quotients (IQ), which

poses a problem. Some of the jobs that inmates would do require a higher intelligence.

Most people in prisons did not make it far in school so they do not know how to do

much. Some prisoners with high IQ?s including counterfeiters, kidnappers, and drug

smugglers may be alright though. (M. O. Reynolds 58)

The jobs inmates do vary, but long hours seems to be common. Last year in

Alabama over seven hundred medium security prisoners were forced to work ten hours

a day breaking rocks and picking up trash along highways. If they are disobedient they

are handcuffed to a post with their arms raised in the air. (Brownstein 179) A prisoner

named Ron Humphey works an eight-hour day as a computer-systems manager and then

works another four hours after dinner. (?Let the Prisoners Work? 14) This is much

better than sitting around doing nothing to him. When most prisoners work they feel at

least some sense of worth, which raises their spirit.

For a long time prisoners have worked, but most of their labor was for the

government of nonprofit agencies. This was done to prevent competition between

inmates and the American public. That is why prisoners are known for producing

license plates. Currently there are enough people making license plates so other jobs are

needed. Some major companies are involved in the one-hundred plus companies that

have thousands of inmate employees in twenty-nine states. (Cohen 76)

The jobs that prisoners now do varies greatly. ?Inmates in South Carolina make

lingerie for Victoria?s Secret and graduation gowns for Jostens.? Prisoners also wrap

software for Microsoft and make electronic circuit boards for IBM. (Cohen 76)

Research has shown that the imprisonment rates vary from state to state and

among the many different countries. This causes people to wonder what is being done

different. (Selke 4) Nobody can seem to figure out what is best for our prison system.

There is no clear answer to whether or not the United States should have convict labor.

There are several reasons that suggest we should have convict labor including: the good

emotional effect working has on inmates, the money taxpayers save because inmates

can pay for their stay, and the easier ability for inmates to find jobs after prison. There

are also many reasons to not have convict labor like: the chance that convict labor will

take jobs from average citizens, convict labor may actually cost more, and the

corruption and prejudice involved. This issue will continue to be argued each year as

prisons continue to grow.

Brownstein, Rhonda. ?Chain Gangs are Cruel and Unusual Punishment.? Corrections

Today. (April, 1996): 179. Proquest. Online. Internet. 1998

Cohen, Warren. ?Need Work? Go to Jail.? US News and World Report. December 9,

1996: 76-77

?Great Moments in Penology.? Fortune. (May 27, 1996): 207. Proquest. Online.

Internet. 1998

Ingley, Gwen Smith. ?Inmate Labor: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.? Corrections

Today. (February 1996): 28-31. Proquest. Online. Internet. 1998

Johnson, John H. ?Man Who Escaped Virginia Chain Gang Back in Jail After 42

Years.? Jet. April 13, 1998: 20

?Let the Prisoners Work: Crime Doesn?t Pay, But Prison Labor Can Benefit Everyone.?

Christianity Today. (February 9, 1998): 14. Proquest. Online. Internet. 1998

Paventi, Christian. ?Pay Now, Pay Later: States Impose Prison Peonage.? .

The Progressive. (July 1996): 26-30. Proquest. Online. Internet. 1998

Reynolds, Marylee N. ?Back on the Chain Gang.? Corrections Today. (April 1996):

180-184. Proquest. Online. Internet. 1998

Reynolds, Morgan O. ?The Economics of Prison Industries: The Products of Our

Prison.? Vital Speeches of the Day. (November 1, 1996): 58. Proquest. Online.

Internet. 1998

Selke, William L. Prisons in Crisis. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University

Press. 1993.

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