For decades, California law has forced many prison inmates to work for little or no money. Now, Proposition 6 aims to change that.
If passed, incarcerated individuals would not get in trouble for refusing a work assignment.
“Forced prison labor undermines rehabilitation,” said John Vasquez, former inmate.
Vasquez was in prison for 25 years and says he saw people being forced to work against their will.
“I remember the first time I saw a grown man cry was in prison. It was when his mother passed away. He wasn't able to attend her funeral and have that closure. She passed away when he was in prison and after that, he needed time to grieve, but he was forced to go to work,” Vasquez said.
Vasquez was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Years into his sentence, he wanted to change but says he had a hard time getting resources and help because he was forced to work.
“I believe in work. I think work is super important, but I think when it comes to rehabilitation and education and the person wants to do that it should trump work. When people go to prison, there are core issues that brought them there and if those issues aren't addressed, it doesn't matter how much they work, they're going to go right back to prison,” Vasquez said.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says it has increased the wages of incarcerated workers and all unpaid work assignments have been eliminated.
Johnathan Richardson got out of prison after three years for robbery.
He is against the proposition.
“It can feel like a vacation where you don't have any responsibilities, so having a certain amount of responsibilities is needed in life to grow,” Richardson said.
He says being forced to work is necessary for growth.
“Whether it is homeless or on drugs, their life was unmanageable and they did things to lead to that path and a lot of people do need to be reformed to normal lifestyles like working and going to school,” Richardson said.
Read more about Proposition 6 on the California Secretary of State's website.
