Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025 - 12

FEATURE
concluding that mandating fair wages for prisoners would produce a net
benefit, not just for prisoners but for society as a whole.
Bronars acknowledges that while it will cost government and taxpayers
$8.5-$14.5 billion each year to pay prisoners fair wages, the expected net
annual benefit to incarcerated workers and their families, crime victims,
and governments is $18.3-$20.3 billion. Bronars estimates that for each
dollar paid to incarcerated workers, the potential benefit for society as
a whole is $2.40-$3.16 because of increased tax payments and greater
financial contributions to their families.
The return on investment resulting from fair wage payment to incarcerated
workers would not be immediate. " This is an investment that would
take time to pay off, " says Bronars, who regularly serves as an expert witness
in matters involving complex datasets
and economic issues, testifying about
class certification, liability, and economic
damages. " However, if you can reduce,
even modestly, the rate of recidivism and
the degree to which people are engaging
in criminal behavior, there is a potential
that it could pay incredible dividends. "
It is worth noting that with the U.S. government
spending more than $80.7 billion
annually on public prisons and jails, making
even a 1 percent reduction in recidivism
could be financially significant.
sentence, Respass earned certifications in carpentry, welding, and
plumbing. When he was returned to federal prison, Respass hoped to
continue to advance but was frustrated by the lack of opportunity there.
" It doesn't matter what skill set you have, " he says. " They're going to
place you where they want to place you. They're going to pay you what
they want to pay you, which is little to nothing. " Respass says he was
paid $4 a month for facilities work during his federal detention.
Lack of appropriate training and opportunities presents challenges to
the formerly incarcerated upon release. " That was hard, " Respass says.
" Not to know how to be able to set up an email account after all that
time? They don't give you any of that information. They don't give you
anything to come home to. "
With the U.S. government
spending more than $80.7
billion annually on public
prisons and jails, making
A 2022 analysis by the Wisconsin Department
of Corrections supports this assumption.
Its vocational program showed a 9
percent reduction in recidivism by its graduates
three years after release from 2010 to 2018, as compared to a control
group that did not participate. According to Bronars, even this modest
goal could save taxpayers billions of dollars on the estimated $1.2
trillion spent on the criminal justice system by state and federal governments.
" Crime costs society much more than the cost of paying [incarcerated
workers] a fair wage during their incarceration, " Bronars concludes.
" It wasn't something that I was really aware of, and the sheer
magnitude of numbers [is] something you don't get a sense of until you
dig into the data. "
even a 1 percent reduction
in recidivism could be
financially significant.
There are success stories that illustrate how
even slightly better working opportunities,
conditions, and pay can impact outcomes
for people when they leave prison. James
Robinson received training as a barber
while incarcerated in Virginia, and he leveraged
that skill into a position cutting hair
while in federal detention. Earning about
$60 a month as a grade 1 barber, Robinson
was able to save a small amount of money,
particularly during the last five years of his
17-year sentence.
" I came home with a little bit of money, "
Robinson says. " With that money I was
able to buy my vehicle, so I could move
around to get jobs. I had savings, so I
wasn't so compelled to rush and go because
the jobs weren't coming. So, I was able to become employed, and
I did well. "
LIFE AFTER PRISON
Most of the incarcerated people surveyed by the ACLU for its 2022 report
said they wanted to work, Olaizola Rosenblat says. " They were hoping to
get meaningful work with vocational training, with some programming
that then would prepare them to integrate into the workplace after they
left, but the situation just wasn't built up to prepare them that way. It
was almost preparing them to fail in society because of the way they
were treated, " she adds.
D.C. resident Lee Respass was a teenager when he was sent to prison. He
sought opportunities to advance himself during his 18 years locked up,
but the federal facilities where he spent much of his sentence had few
programs to offer. While incarcerated in Maryland for five years of his
Within three years after his release, Robinson had opened his own barbershop
and purchased a home. " Everyone doesn't have that opportunity.
It's a small percentage of people in prison who can save money, " Robinson
says.
" It's on the individual ... what he wants to do and how he wants to map
his incarceration out to make him a better citizen, " he adds. " But if they
give everyone these trades and then teach us the business, people could
come out and start a business for themselves. "
But prisons don't do that, Robinson says. " They teach you to go to work
for someone else. Every trade has a business aspect, and I think if you
teach that, more returning citizens will start businesses, which will then
create more employment opportunities for returning citizens, " he argues.
Ending the exception to the abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude
won't solve all the problems present in our current carceral system,
but as a practical matter, experts find that it makes dollars and sense.
Reach D.C. Bar staff writer Jeremy Conrad at jconrad@dcbar.org.
12 WASHINGTON LAWYER
* MARCH/APRIL 2025
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2025

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