The topic of
discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from the Thirteenth Amendment to
the Constitution of the United States of America: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,
except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their
jurisdiction.” Convicted criminals can
be forced to provide labor as part of their punishment for breaking the law.
W. Cleon Skousen explained, “But
the convict cannot be leased out to a private contractor who pays his
fine. It has been held unconstitutional
for a criminal to have his fine paid by someone and then be forced to work
until the fine is paid.
“However, the court has allowed
cities and counties to assign prisoners to work out their fines on the street
and roads, on public parks, and so forth.”
(See The Making of America – The
Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, p. 720.)
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