Unshackling Our Future: My Fight Against Involuntary Servitude In Prisons.
Good afternoon, everyone. My name is C-Note. I am a California state prisoner. For nearly 40 years, I have lived behind the prison walls of California, and during this time, I’ve seen firsthand the harsh and dehumanizing reality of forced prison labor. This isn’t a historical remnant of an outdated system. It’s happening now in our state. It’s what we call involuntary servitude, and it’s time to finally abolish this form of modern state slavery through Proposition 6.
How did we get here? Let’s go back to 1865, when the 13th Amendment was ratified, it abolished slavery, yes, but with a dangerous loophole, slavery could still exist as punishment for a crime. This loophole was quickly exploited, especially in the South, to re-enslave Black Americans through the criminal justice system; what we see today in California’s prisons is a continuation of that exploitation.
Let me share what it’s like: Every day, inmates are compelled to work long, grueling hours for pennies an hour, or in many cases, no pay at all. We maintain the prison grounds, cook for thousands, and perform physical, dangerous tasks. For example, I have seen fellow inmates suffer severe burns in the prison kitchen. But this isn’t just about low wages. It’s about stripping people of their dignity. There’s no choice, no fair compensation, and no protections. The work itself is grueling, but the psychological toll, the constant fear of punishment is just as oppressive, and it doesn’t end there. The labor system in prison doesn’t prepare us for a successful reentry into society, while others in the free world earn certifications, build skills and are rewarded fairly, prisoners leave with nothing to show for their hard work. Instead of rehabilitation, we are commodified and used for profit, perpetrating a system that breeds inequality and keeps marginalized communities trapped in a cycle of poverty and imprisonment.
This is why Proposition 6 matters. By closing the loophole that allows involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime, we take a major step toward justice and equality. Ending this system means focusing on true rehabilitation, providing education, job training and mental health support, so that when inmates are released, they are equipped to reintegrate into society. It’s a shift from punishment to progress. This issue affects all of us, not just those behind bars. Taxpayers fund a system that prioritizes punishment over rehabilitation, leading to higher recidivism rates and long term costs. When inmates leave prisons without the tools for success, they’re more likely to re-offend, costing our state millions in re-incarceration expenses.
Proposition 6 offers a practical solution by focusing on meaningful rehabilitation that saves taxpayer dollars and builds a safer, more just society. So today, I ask you to stand with me in this fight to unshackle our future. By supporting Proposition 6, we are choosing to dismantle a system rooted in exploitation and inequality. We are choosing to uphold human dignity, to focus on rehabilitation and to create a fairer, more compassionate California for all.
Thank you.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.