To the Honorable Members of the Virginia General Assembly, 

We, the undersigned residents and citizens of Virginia, are writing to urge you to take immediate action to amend the state constitution to fully abolish all forms of slavery and indentured servitude, including as punishment for a crime.

As you may be aware, when the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified in 1865 to abolish chattel slavery in the United States, the language of the amendment left a gaping loophole, commonly referred to as the ‘exception clause,’ that allows slavery and involuntary servitude "as a punishment for crime." 

"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."

The end of slavery left Southern plantation owners and other businesses that depended on the labor of enslaved people in desperate need of workers, and because of the Thirteenth Amendment's exception permitting enslavement as punishment for crime, the criminal justice system became one of the primary means of continuing the legalized involuntary servitude of African Americans.

Southern states, such as Virginia, immediately implemented discriminatory laws to arrest and imprison large numbers of black people, then leased prisoners to private individuals and corporations in a system of convict leasing that resulted in dangerous conditions, abuse, and death. While states profited, prisoners earned no pay and faced inhumane, hazardous, and often deadly work conditions. Thousands of people were forced into a brutal system that historians have called “worse than slavery.” By the middle of the 20th century, states abandoned convict leasing due to industrialization and political pressure and extended slavery through chain gangs and prison farms. 

Today, the United States has the world’s highest incarceration rate and 70 percent of the more than two million people incarcerated in America are non-white. Allowing any person to be enslaved in this country for any reason cannot be reconciled with fundamental American values, and our values as Virginians. In recent years, there have been numerous reports of prisoners in Virginia being forced to work for little or no pay, between 27 and 80 cents an hour,  often in dangerous and degrading conditions. The continued use of prisoners for forced labor in Virginia not only violates the basic human rights of the individuals involved, but perpetuates a system of racial and economic inequality that has marred the state's history for far too long.

Just in November of last year, four more states, Tennessee, Alabama, Oregon, and Vermont, passed ballot measures that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, including as a form of punishment for a crime, joining Colorado, Nebraska, Utah and Rhode Island. In addition, at least 14 other states, including California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas, are currently active in efforts to have similar bills passed, demonstrating a growing momentum to end this practice across the country.

We believe that Virginia has a unique opportunity to take a leadership role in this movement by joining these states and amending its state constitution to fully abolish all forms of slavery and indentured servitude. This would not only be a significant step towards justice and equality, but it would also serve as an inspiration for other states to follow suit.

 

We therefore urge you to take swift action to amend the state constitution to fully abolish all forms of slavery and indentured servitude, including as punishment for a crime. This would send a clear message that Virginia is committed to upholding the fundamental principles of justice, fairness, and human dignity.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,