Prison Reform

Nevada Voters Have Banned Slavery. Why Hasn’t California?

Natalia Mesa / High Country News Nov 26, 2024 A tale of two states and the future of “involuntary servitude” in the West. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Prison Reform

Solidarity from Solitary

Michelle Pitcher / Texas Observer Sep 24, 2024 From cell blocks to Congress, the fight to give incarcerated workers basic labor rights gains steam. Dig deeper ( 16 Min. Read )

TD Original

Discipline and Profit: The Origins of the Private Prison

Paul Von Blum / Truthdig Jul 19, 2024 A Harvard historian explores the roots of the for-profit carceral state through the tragic tale of a 19th-century African American teenager. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Prison Reform

Prison Labor Is Slave Labor and the Constitution Says That’s Fine

Tana Ganeva / Truthdig Sep 3, 2023 Incarcerated people work for cents on the dollar or for free to make goods you use. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Bloomberg Campaign Exposed for Exploiting Prison Labor

Ilana Novick / Truthdig Dec 24, 2019 A spokesperson tells The Intercept that they've ended the practice. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

The New Slave Revolt

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Oct 10, 2016 The work stoppages and hunger strikes being carried out in prisons across the country show that many of those locked in cages have a political consciousness we must begin to emulate. Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

Cast Your Vote: Which Corporation Most Deserves a Boycott?

Emma Niles / Truthdig Sep 27, 2016 Truthdig readers zeroed in on the negative effects of capitalism this week, as demonstrations against racial inequality flared up across the United States. We want to hear from you: Which corporation do you want to target for contributing to neoliberal disasters? Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Prisoners Gear Up for Mass Strike to Protest State-Sponsored ‘Slavery,’ Racism

Staff / Truthdig Sep 7, 2016 The national and international action is scheduled to begin Friday—the 45th anniversary of the infamous Attica prison uprising. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

2015 in Review: The Best Ear to the Ground Posts of the Year

Staff / Truthdig Dec 31, 2015 As the countdown to the new year begins, we take a look at 2015's most popular stories. As the countdown to the new year begins, we take a look at 2015's most popular stories. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Self-Described Prison Slave Said to Hide Plea for Help in Upscale Shopping Bag

Peter Z. Scheer / Truthdig May 1, 2014 After picking up a pair of boots at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York, a young woman reportedly made an unsettling discovery. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Locking Down an American Workforce

By Steve Fraser and Joshua B. Freeman, TomDispatch Apr 20, 2012 Prisoners, whose ranks increasingly consist of those for whom the legitimate economy has found no use, make up a virtual brigade within the reserve army of the unemployed whose ranks have ballooned along with the U.S. incarceration rate. Dig deeper ( 15 Min. Read )

Criminal Justice: ‘Normalizing’ Exploitation

Staff / Truthdig Jul 25, 2011 After Georgia's new immigration law chased away many of its farm laborers, the state launched a dubious plan to fill the void with probationers, who lack the experience needed to do harvesting work, especially in the current heat wave. (more) Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )