Constitutions allow forms of 'slavery,' Dems say, in U.S., Ohio, Ind., Ky.

COLUMBUS - The Ohio Constitution – along with constitutions for Kentucky, Indiana and the United States – has an "exception" to its provision outlawing slavery, Ohio Democrats say.

Ohio's constitution outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude, "unless for the punishment of crime." Constitutions in surrounding states, along with the U.S. Constitution, have similar language. Democratic state lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a resolution to repeal the reference to involuntary servitude as criminal punishment.

"No one in the state of Ohio should be treated like a slave," even if they're serving time in jail or prison for a crime, said Rep. Alicia Reece, D-Roselawn, president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus. "I don't think anybody in Ohio would vote against something that would remove slavery from the Ohio constitution."

The resolution would need approval by three-fifths of the members of both the Ohio House and Senate – including a number of Republicans – before it could go on the ballot for Ohio voters to weigh the change. But even if Ohioans were to vote to eliminate the language in the state's governing document, the federal Constitution would still include it. Some advocates for inmates' rights have called for taking the provision out of the U.S. Constitution.

The exception for criminal punishment is used in some states to justify inmates' working for less than minimum wage to fill swaths of jobs at for-profit corporations while they are in state prisons, said Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron. The situation disproportionately affects people of color, who make up a large percentage of incarcerated Americans, lawmakers said.

"There is an incentive for more people to be imprisoned, because then private corporations can subsidize their workforce with prison labor," Sykes said. Sometimes it's beneficial for inmates to gain work experience during their prison terms, Sykes said, but she questioned the benefit if corporations were banking profits off the inmates' low-cost labor.

She said she wasn't sure whether Ohio employers were abusing inmate work programs.

In Ohio, inmates can receive work assignments within the prison system or with private employers. Their pay can range from nothing to a maximum of $24 a month, not including overtime, according to Ohio law.

The work helps inmates prepare to re-enter the community after their prison terms, said JoEllen Smith, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, in an email.

Lawmakers need to find out whether any Ohio corporations are relying too much on prison labor before they push a constitutional change, said Rep. Jonathan Dever, R-Madeira.

"I don't know how much of it is real or how much of it is politics," Dever said. "And, quite frankly, I don't like the politicization of using something that was a blight in our history as a tool for political gaming." He cautioned against associating inmates' work with slavery when human trafficking is a real former of enslavement.

Still, Reece said, any exception to slavery in the Ohio Constitution represents a blemish on the state, especially as it tries to stamp out human trafficking.

"We should have a clear message in Ohio: that slavery is not allowed," Reece said.