Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 10

FEATURE
The Dollars & Sense
Behind Ending
Involuntary Servitude
By Jeremy Conrad
''
In the federal system, when I first got
there, it was mandatory to work, " says
Robert Lindsey, who spent 30 years
incarcerated. For a significant portion of that time,
Lindsey worked nearly every available job in prison
at one point or another - in kitchens, laundry
facilities, and maintenance.
" I was paid $16-$18 a month. I had to work from 7 [or] 8 a.m. until 3.
Either you work, or you get thrown in the hole, " he says. The best jobs
available would earn an incarcerated person only 35-45 cents an hour.
The money Lindsey earned barely covered basic hygiene necessities.
" You have to buy soap, deodorant ... hygiene would cost more than $16
a month, " Lindsey says. " They feed you three meals, but the food isn't
that good, so you need to buy things from the commissary to sustain
yourself. "
Prison labor is legal under the law, given that the 13th Amendment's
elimination of slavery and involuntary servitude remains incomplete. The
amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude " except as a
punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. "
The exceptions clause, as it is known, has resulted in the continuation of
unpaid, underpaid, and involuntary labor in prisons across the country,
10 WASHINGTON LAWYER
* MARCH/APRIL 2025
An inmate firefighter battles the Park Fire as it burns in August 2024 in Mill
Creek, California. Ethan Swope/Getty Images
although a growing number of jurisdictions have proposed or passed
legislation that rejects slavery and involuntary servitude definitively.
In numerous sessions of Congress since 2020, Democratic lawmakers
have introduced the bicameral " Abolition Amendment, " a resolution that
would strike the exceptions clause from the 13th Amendment. The bill
has not passed, but even if it does, the result may not greatly impact
working conditions for the incarcerated.
In 2023 Georgia Representative Nikema Williams, one of the bill's coauthors,
noted that the resolution would not force a change in the level of
payment for prison workers, reasoning that " they're not being forced into
these programs. " Regardless, closing the exception to the elimination of

Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025

Digital Extras
From Our President
Calendar
Practice Management
Involuntary Servitude feature
ISDEAA at 50 feature
Rainmaking feature
Multigenerational Law Firms feature
Women Rising in White_Collar Defense feature
True Grit feature
DC Bar ACAB special section
Member Spotlight - Janene Jackson
Newly Minted
Worth Reading
Attorney Briefs
Speaking of Ethics
Disciplinary Summaries
Pro Bono Effect
A Slice of Wry
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Cover1
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Cover2
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 1
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 2
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 3
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Digital Extras
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 5
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - From Our President
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Calendar
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Practice Management
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 9
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Involuntary Servitude feature
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 11
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 12
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 13
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - ISDEAA at 50 feature
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 15
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Rainmaking feature
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 17
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Multigenerational Law Firms feature
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 19
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 20
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 21
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Women Rising in White_Collar Defense feature
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 23
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 24
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 25
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - True Grit feature
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 27
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 28
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 29
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - DC Bar ACAB special section
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 31
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Member Spotlight - Janene Jackson
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 33
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 34
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 35
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Newly Minted
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Worth Reading
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 38
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Attorney Briefs
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Speaking of Ethics
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 41
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Disciplinary Summaries
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 43
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Pro Bono Effect
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 45
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 46
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 47
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - A Slice of Wry
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Cover3
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - Cover4
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