Zachary Crockett

This isn't just any sign plant. It's located inside Franklin Correctional Center, a medium security prison in Bunn, North Carolina. And Barnes is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder. He's one of around 800,000 incarcerated people with jobs in America's prison system.

This isn't just any sign plant. It's located inside Franklin Correctional Center, a medium security prison in Bunn, North Carolina. And Barnes is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder. He's one of around 800,000 incarcerated people with jobs in America's prison system.

This isn't just any sign plant. It's located inside Franklin Correctional Center, a medium security prison in Bunn, North Carolina. And Barnes is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder. He's one of around 800,000 incarcerated people with jobs in America's prison system.

They grow crops, repair roads, fight wildfires, and manufacture a surprising number of the products we encounter in daily life, from office furniture to reading glasses. It's estimated that more than $11 billion worth of goods and services every year can be traced back to workers who are mostly paid pennies per hour for their labor, or even nothing at all.

They grow crops, repair roads, fight wildfires, and manufacture a surprising number of the products we encounter in daily life, from office furniture to reading glasses. It's estimated that more than $11 billion worth of goods and services every year can be traced back to workers who are mostly paid pennies per hour for their labor, or even nothing at all.

They grow crops, repair roads, fight wildfires, and manufacture a surprising number of the products we encounter in daily life, from office furniture to reading glasses. It's estimated that more than $11 billion worth of goods and services every year can be traced back to workers who are mostly paid pennies per hour for their labor, or even nothing at all.

We wanted to learn more about how prison labor became a central part of the economy. And we found out that the story goes back to the founding of our country. Around the world, work has long been used as a form of punishment. The U.S. colonies under British rule were no exception. Britain shipped over criminals and sold them to farms in Virginia and Maryland.

We wanted to learn more about how prison labor became a central part of the economy. And we found out that the story goes back to the founding of our country. Around the world, work has long been used as a form of punishment. The U.S. colonies under British rule were no exception. Britain shipped over criminals and sold them to farms in Virginia and Maryland.

We wanted to learn more about how prison labor became a central part of the economy. And we found out that the story goes back to the founding of our country. Around the world, work has long been used as a form of punishment. The U.S. colonies under British rule were no exception. Britain shipped over criminals and sold them to farms in Virginia and Maryland.

They worked in the fields alongside enslaved people. And together, their labor sustained our early agrarian economy. As America's justice system evolved, we began to send convicts to prisons.

They worked in the fields alongside enslaved people. And together, their labor sustained our early agrarian economy. As America's justice system evolved, we began to send convicts to prisons.

They worked in the fields alongside enslaved people. And together, their labor sustained our early agrarian economy. As America's justice system evolved, we began to send convicts to prisons.

Laura Appelman is a professor of law at Willamette University in Oregon. She's researched the history and economics of prison labor.

Laura Appelman is a professor of law at Willamette University in Oregon. She's researched the history and economics of prison labor.

Laura Appelman is a professor of law at Willamette University in Oregon. She's researched the history and economics of prison labor.

When the 13th Amendment was passed after the Civil War, banning slavery and other forms of unpaid labor, a notable exception was carved out.

When the 13th Amendment was passed after the Civil War, banning slavery and other forms of unpaid labor, a notable exception was carved out.

When the 13th Amendment was passed after the Civil War, banning slavery and other forms of unpaid labor, a notable exception was carved out.

Across the South, thousands of emancipated slaves were locked up for petty offenses. They were forced to grow crops on penal farms. Later, they were shackled together in chain gangs that built roads for government contractors. These practices persisted for many decades, and eventually, they morphed into a larger and more institutional system.

Across the South, thousands of emancipated slaves were locked up for petty offenses. They were forced to grow crops on penal farms. Later, they were shackled together in chain gangs that built roads for government contractors. These practices persisted for many decades, and eventually, they morphed into a larger and more institutional system.