# What This Constitutional Amendment Would Do

This is a proposal to change the U.S. Constitution to completely ban slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crimes. Right now, the 13th Amendment already abolished slavery nationwide, but it includes one important exception: it allows forced labor as a punishment for people convicted of crimes. This amendment would close that loophole by removing that exception entirely.

To understand why this matters, you need to know that currently, when someone is convicted of a crime and sent to prison, they can be required to work—sometimes for little or no pay. This practice has roots going back to the end of slavery, when Southern states used convict labor systems to essentially recreate slavery through the criminal justice system. Today, incarcerated people in many prisons and jails are required to work on prison farms, in kitchens, on maintenance crews, and in other jobs, often earning nothing or just a few cents per hour. Some people refuse to work and face punishment like solitary confinement or loss of privileges.

If this amendment passes, it would mean that no one—not even people convicted of crimes—could be forced to work as punishment. Prisons would have to fundamentally change how they operate. They couldn't require inmates to do prison jobs; any work would have to be truly voluntary. This could affect everything from who cleans the facilities to who works in prison industries. States and the federal government would need to figure out new ways to manage prisons and handle the work that currently gets done by incarcerated people.

The amendment would require approval from two-thirds of both the House and Senate, and then ratification by three-fourths of the states. It's a significant change that reflects ongoing debates about criminal justice, prisoners' rights, and whether forced labor—even as punishment—is compatible with modern values about human dignity.

A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to prohibit the use of slavery and involuntary servitude as a punishment for a crime.

Merkley, Jeff

 <p>This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude as a criminal punishment.</p>