An End to All Slavery: HJR1002

NEWS.

The 2025 legislative session continues, and this article deals with a proposed constitutional amendment.

The coalition of democrats in the legislature have proposed an amendment to the constitution that abolishes all forms of slavery.  According to Article 2, § 27 of the Arkansas Constitution, “[t]here shall be no slavery in this state, nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime.” The proposed amendment would strike this language from the Constitution. 

Replacing it would be language that requires inmates in the Arkansas Department of Corrections to be compensated for their labor with either money or “good time” reductions of their sentence.

There are only democrat sponsors to the resolution.

ANALYSIS.

Who would like to volunteer to clean up the dead skunk from the roadway?  Anybody? 

That’s about how likely you are to see this resolution make it to the ballot. 

First off, when you commit a crime, you can lose your freedom.  That’s the point of being locked in a prison—you are not free to go about your life.  Instead, you are subject to “the man” and his rules about how you are going to live your life.  This is a consequence for breaking the societal norms and values that we have codified into law.

It is expensive to house a prisoner.  According to the Vera Institute, it costs $20,915 annually to house an inmate.  The Arkansas Advocate reports that there are approximately 17,000 inmates in the ADC.  Oh, and if you have not heard, they are building a new prison in Franklin County, Arkansas, to house even more of them.

Now, you want me to not only pay to house them, but pay them for the work they do? 

No.  Not even maybe.

Clinton W. Lancaster

Attorney. America First. Sued Hunter Biden for child support. Represented President Trump in the 2020 Wisconsin election challenge. Former attorney for the Wisconsin Special Counsel. An official “Tough Cookie” per President Trump.