The 13th Amendment in 1865 may have banned slavery, but the fine print in the amendment still allows forced labor “as a punishment for crime” to this day.
Basically, Americans are free, unless we mess up.
Fast forward to modern-day Los Angeles, where District Attorney George Gascón swept into office, promising a more compassionate approach to prison reform with leaner sentences, lowered bail, counseling, rehabilitation, and drug intervention. and thanks to those policies, George Gascón was swept out of office just as fast.
Metro crimes, street takeovers, smash and grabs, car thefts, assaults, and unsolved murders. As Downtown Los Angeles crime statistics continue to mirror parts of South Central, many residents were left questioning if compassion was too high a price to pay for chaos in the streets.
In the end, the majority of LA county voters made their voices heard loud and clear, electing a new Attorney General, Nathan Hochman, to replace Gascón by a landslide on November 5.
Another failed attempt to loosen the chains was shot down in opposition to Proposition 6, which took aim at abolishing forced prison labor in California. Regardless, the props backing from labor unions, civil rights groups, and celebrities, despite inmates earning as little as 74 cents an hour to do jobs like fighting wildfires and making furniture, many Californians weren’t ready to let go of the punishment approach. The proposition failed, leaving prison labor intact and the lowest-paying jobs in the country for incarcerated criminals.
Why choose rehab when you can have retribution?
The orange on top! The newly re-elected president, Donald Trump, has proposed giving police officers sweeping immunity and is now publicly advocating for the return of stop and frisk and the death penalty for drug and human traffickers.
Considering the number of votes awarded to the reinstated commander-in-chief, the lack of support for prop 6, and the size of the boot used to kick out the former LA County District Attorney, it seems a lot of people are ready to go all-out in pursuit of a crime-free America, even if that means sacrificing prisoners’ or even an alleged criminal’s rights.
