[The Final Dakar]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.e6de62e587c7

Steve Prator, the sheriff of Caddo Parish, which includes the city of Shreveport and some surrounding areas, described state prisoners as a “necessary evil to keep the doors open” at the jail his office runs.

Among those are “the ones that you can work, that’s the ones that can pick up trash, the work release programs,” Prator said.

“In addition to the bad ones, and I call these bad, in addition to them, they’re releasing some good ones that we use every day to wash cars, to change oil in our cars, to cook in the kitchens, to do all that where we save money,” he said.

https://www.revealnews.org/article/t...hicken-plants/

There wasn’t much substance abuse treatment at CAAIR. It was mostly factory work for one of America’s top poultry companies. If McGahey got hurt or worked too slowly, his bosses threatened him with prison.

And he worked for free. CAAIR pocketed the pay.

Perhaps no rehab better exemplifies this allegiance to big business than CAAIR. It was started in 2007 by chicken company executives struggling to find workers. By forming a Christian rehab, they could supply plants with a cheap and captive labor force while helping men overcome their addictions.

Former employees said work takes priority over everything. If counseling or classes interfered with the job, the decision was clear. “It’s work,” said Aaron Snyder, who participated in the program and later worked as a dorm manager. “You’re going to work.”

The men also perform free labor for CAAIR’s founders, family and friends. A group of men said they helped remodel the Wilkersons’ master bedroom. Another said he helped one of their daughters pack boxes and move. Still others worked on an egg farm owned by the Wilkersons’ other daughter. The program told the courts that it was community service, according to employees.

Men who were injured while at CAAIR rarely receive long-term help for their injuries. That’s because the program requires all men to sign a form stating that they are clients, not employees, and therefore have no right to workers’ comp. Reveal found that when men got hurt, CAAIR filed workers’ comp claims and kept the payouts. Injured men and their families never saw a dime.

No one cares because they're 'criminals'.

[subego]

But they can look forward to getting fairly compensated for work when they get out. Oh, wait...

At least once they get out they can vote for people sympathetic to the problem. Oh, wait...

[OAW]

This Netflix documentary delves into this topic quite extensively. It's a must see.

13th - Netflix

OAW

[The Final Dakar]

Thanks, I'll look into it.

[OreoCookie]

When I heard this on the Reveal podcast, my jaw also dropped. The scheme is so transparent but yet it works — for the owner of the chicken processing plant. To connect this to Christianity and substance abuse is just sinister.

[reader50]

Originally Posted by OAW 

This Netflix documentary delves into this topic quite extensively. It's a must see.

13th - Netflix

OAW

Another recommendation.

I've only watched half of it - it's a bit slow. But interesting, and so far as I can tell, factual. The writer did her research.

[The Final Dakar]

For a dollar an hour and credit toward early parole, more than 1,700 convicted felons fought on the front lines of the destructive wildfires that raged across Northern California this October.

[reader50]

Not much credit towards parole - each day served takes an extra day off sentence.

Serve a day in jail = 1 day of sentence completed.
Serve a day in fire program = 2 days of sentence completed.

The obvious solution is to offer a higher multiplier. The legislature hasn't approved wages above $1 per hour, but inmates might be more interested at 3-5 days subtracted per day of service.

I'm critical of our criminalization of everything, but this part can be viewed as a form of community service. Considering the risk to lives and the property saved - the state should offer fair compensation. An extra day served plus a dollar isn't compelling.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by reader50 

I'm critical of our criminalization of everything, but this part can be viewed as a form of community service. Considering the risk to lives and the property saved - the state should offer fair compensation. An extra day served plus a dollar isn't compelling.

Although I should add that risking your wellbeing or your life is different than picking up trash from American highways or some such. Like you wrote, the compensation (both, monetary and in terms of time served) should reflect that.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by reader50 

Not much credit towards parole - each day served takes an extra day off sentence.

Serve a day in jail = 1 day of sentence completed.
Serve a day in fire program = 2 days of sentence completed.

The obvious solution is to offer a higher multiplier. The legislature hasn't approved wages above $1 per hour, but inmates might be more interested at 3-5 days subtracted per day of service.

I'm critical of our criminalization of everything, but this part can be viewed as a form of community service. Considering the risk to lives and the property saved - the state should offer fair compensation. An extra day served plus a dollar isn't compelling.

As far as I'm concerned they should be compensated fairly. Subtracting sentence duration is nice, but the government getting free labor is a bad incentive for the government.

they also save state taxpayers an estimated $100 million each year—money that would otherwise be spent on civilian firefighters.

The irony is these people can't get a job doing what they're doing as prisoners on the outside because of their status.

The obvious solution is to offer a higher multiplier.

I think you're missing the big picture. They're running out of candidates because their prisons pop is getting smaller.