END PLANTATION PRISONS
Slavery never ended in Louisiana.
Every day, the State forces thousands of mostly Black incarcerated people to work. This labor is often extracted in unsafe and humiliating conditions, under threat of further punishment and harm. It often serves no legitimate penological purpose, and is instead designed to shame and control incarcerated people.
The End Plantation Prisons Project seeks to expose the harsh conditions of forced labor across Louisiana by amplifying the voices of those directly impacted by these shameful practices. We envision a system that recognizes the dignity of labor and the humanity of all incarcerated people.
“Angola is still a slave plantation.
People should know. Slavery never ended for us.”
— Terrance Winn
LITIGATION
PJI & RBB Challenge Unconstitutional Conditions of Forced Labor at Angola
VOTE, et al. v. LeBlanc, et al., 3:23-cv-1204-BAJ-EWD (M.D. La).
On Saturday, September 16, the Promise of Justice Initiative and Rights Behind Bars filed a lawsuit against the Louisiana Department of Corrections and Prison Enterprises challenging the harsh and unconstitutional conditions of forced agricultural labor at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, or Angola
“Louisiana’s evolution from mass enslavement to mass incarceration is undeniable,” said Lydia Wright, PJI Associate Director of Civil Litigation. “Angola’s fields were once cultivated by enslaved people. Today, the State forces incarcerated men—primarily Black men—to plant and pick plantation crops by hand, without safety equipment and in extreme heat and humidity. The State extracts this labor by threatening incarcerated men with serious harm, including disciplinary confinement, if they protest the unsafe work conditions or fail to meet arbitrary efficiency quotas. This is cruel and unusual.”
Punitive by Design
2023 REPORT
THE FARM LINE AT THE LOUISIANA STATE PENITENTIARY
VIDEO TESTIMONY
Forced Labor in the Bayou State
LISTEN TO THE STORIES OF DIRECTLY IMPACTED PEOPLE
Photo credit to Jackson Hill.
Plantations and Prisons: a History of Forced Labor in Louisiana
VIDEO TESTIMONY
Photo and video credit to Jackson Hill.
Request for the Department of Justice to Investigate the Farm Line
INVESTIGATING THE FARM LINE
PJI and RBB have asked the U.S. Department of Justice investigate the DOC’s operation of the Farm Line in a manner that discriminates against people with disabilities. This includes the DOC’s practice of forcing people with serious disabilities and health conditions to work the Farm Line in extreme heat and humidity.
TAKE ACTION
The Farm Line at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) is a cruel and degrading relic of Louisiana’s shameful past. It subjects every person incarcerated there to a substantial risk of serious physical and psychological harm. Tell the State to end forced plantation labor, once and for all.