sons. This has created severe problems of corruption in some prisons. page 6 A new way that some states are trying to save tax dollars is to charge for all court costs. In Virginia if someone loses a jury trial, he or she must pay for the whole trial. (Paventi 26) A man named Kenneth Stewart owes $57,756.20 for his trial. (Paventi 27) He needs some teeth pulled too, which he must also pay for. (Paventi 26) This proves that inmates have to work. Since the inmates are not protected by most laws they can be paid extremely low wages. The amount of money inmates are paid is much lower than minimum-wage. At the Minnesota correctional facility, entry-level workers take home about forty cents per hour. (Cohen 76) With such low pay prisoners have to work long hours to be able to afford the expensive items that they need to live. The biggest concern with convict labor is whether or not it takes average citizens jobs. Many people worry that convict labor will take jobs, but many of the tasks prisoners do, will not affect American jobs. People worry about a few million prisoners getting jobs while over twenty-seven million people on welfare are being forced to find jobs and nobody seems to worry about them. (Paventi 27) Most people do not realize unemployment is low at this time. Some benefits for allowing prisoners to work include: enhanced mental health, reduced violence, more family support, preserved marriages, and increased restitution to the victims of crime. (Let the Prisoners Work 14) Another good fact is that only 6.6 percent of convicts who worked in prisons had their parole revoked or were charged with a crime during their first year of release. (M. O. Reynolds 58) This is lower than the 10.1 percent of rearrest of prisoners who did not work in prison. (M. O. Reynolds 58) Alabamas commisioner for prisons believes the prison industries has made a life of luxury for the inmates. She thinks a prison should be more harsh so it will deter fut...
