In Dadeville, Alabama, a storm was approaching as an inmate serving a 20-year sentence for armed robbery was tasked with transporting other prisoners to their jobs at private manufacturers supplying goods to companies like Home Depot and Wayfair. Despite his history of escape and failed drug tests, the inmate, Jake Jones, was unsupervised and in charge during the transport. While driving back to the work release center with six other incarcerated workers, amid heavy rain, Jones was reportedly speeding along a country road with music blaring in his earbuds. The van hit a dip on the wet road, swerved, and crashed into a tree, resulting in the deaths of two men and critical injuries to Jones.
Questions arose among the survivors about why the Alabama Department of Corrections would trust Jones with their lives, knowing his past issues with drinking. Alabama has a long history of contracting prisoners out to private companies, dating back over 150 years to the convict leasing era following slavery. This system has allowed over 500 businesses, including Best Western, Bama Budweiser, and Burger King, to utilize incarcerated workers, generating over $250 million for the state since 2000.
While most prison jobs are within facilities, involving hard labor without pay, over 10,000 inmates have worked over 17 million hours outside prison walls for various entities since 2018. These workers, predominantly Black, can earn some money but face consequences if they refuse work, such as being denied family visits or transferred to more dangerous prisons. The state deducts 40% of their wages, along with other fees, impacting their ability to save or support themselves.
Turning down work can impact chances of early release in a state where only 8% of eligible prisoners were granted parole last year, a rate among the lowest nationwide. The situation has prompted calls for criminal justice reform from individuals like Alabama lawmaker Chris England, who describes the system as fundamentally flawed. Many prisoners work long hours outside prison facilities, facing challenges and limitations on their earnings and freedoms.
Weekend passes are given to prisoners, allowing them to return home without supervision or electronic monitoring. However, when prisoners are deemed too dangerous for permanent release, critics argue that this system creates a cheap labor force that is easily exploited. Arthur Ptomey, a former KFC employee, was denied parole after voicing concerns about his low wages. He, along with nine other current and former prisoners, filed a class-action federal lawsuit against state officials and businesses like McDonald’s and Wendy’s, alleging a form of forced labor akin to modern-day slavery that prevents the best workers from being released.
Ptomey now works at Progressive Finishes, a major contractor of prison labor, supplying automotive companies like Honda and General Motors. Despite the opportunity to work outside prison, some prisoners feel they are being treated as slaves. The corrections department defends the work programs as crucial for inmate rehabilitation, but critics argue that even those serving life without parole are eligible for work release jobs.
Alabama’s prisons are frequently understaffed, leading to prisoners working outside facilities with minimal oversight, sometimes resulting in escapes. The selection process for inmates to work without monitoring is based on individual behavior records rather than the nature of their crimes. While some companies have denied direct involvement in these programs, others are investigating their ties to suppliers using prison labor.
McDonald’s stated that it does not allow prison labor in its supply chain and encourages ethical employment practices. The fast-food chain expects its franchisees to uphold human rights standards.
Best Western clarified that it does not involve itself in personnel matters at its independently owned and operated hotels. Hyundai acknowledged that some of its suppliers hired inmates for jobs, but stated that it was not involved in the decision-making process. Honda claimed to have no knowledge of any business relationship with Progressive Finishes, a common occurrence with companies and third-party suppliers.
The Associated Press conducted an investigation that involved analyzing 24 years of monthly statistical reports from the Alabama corrections department to determine the revenue generated through contracts with private companies and deductions from prisoners’ paychecks. Additionally, information from over 83,000 pages of data obtained through a public records request was examined, including details of inmates participating in Alabama’s work programs. These inmates were not only working for public entities but were also leased out to approximately 500 private businesses between 2018 and mid-March 2024. This information was cross-referenced with an online state database containing information on crimes, sentences, time served, race, and credits earned and revoked by inmates.
While some prisoner advocates believe that outside jobs can provide relief from violence within state institutions, they argue that incarcerated workers should receive fair wages, have the choice to work without fear of punishment, and be granted workplace rights and protections like any other American worker. Prisoners across the country lack the ability to organize, protest, or strike for better conditions and are not typically recognized as employees, whether working within correctional facilities or for external businesses through prison contracts or work release programs. It is also extremely difficult for incarcerated workers to seek legal recourse in cases of injury or death unless they can prove “willful negligence.”
The investigation revealed instances where prisoners died while working outside prison facilities. For example, one man was killed in a machine accident at a plant operated by Koch Foods, while others died from being struck by vehicles while performing tasks like trash collection or road maintenance on busy highways. The AP traced the events leading to a fatal van accident involving an inmate named Jake Jones, who had just completed his shift at a Quality Inn before driving fellow prisoners to their job sites. Witnesses claimed that Jones had been drinking before the accident and that staff were aware of this.
Tyrone Heard, a passenger in the van, reported that Jones admitted to being drunk during the trip and drove recklessly, ultimately leading to the fatal crash.
Traveling at a speed of 90 mph, the van crashed into a tree about two hours later. Tragically, Heard’s uncle, Willie Crayton, was killed instantly, while Bruce Clements succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital. The accident report indicated that the van was traveling at 67 mph upon impact, exceeding the speed limit by over 20 mph. Authorities conducted blood tests to check for drugs or alcohol in the driver’s system, but the results have not been disclosed. Police, volunteer firefighters, and emergency responders declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation. Jones, the inmate driver, had passed his screening test two days prior to the crash, despite failing drug and alcohol tests in previous years.
Although some of the individuals involved in the crash have been released from prison, others continue to work outside. A simple cross marking the crash site with Willie Crayton’s hat placed on top serves as a somber reminder of the tragedy.
Forced prison labor, permitted under the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, has been a contentious issue. Several states, including Alabama in 2022, have removed the clause allowing such practices. However, Governor Kay Ivey issued an executive order empowering the corrections department to revoke good-time credits for prisoners who refuse to work, hindering their chances of early release. This move has faced criticism from advocates like Robert Earl Council, who argue that it perpetuates a system motivated by profit rather than rehabilitation. The history of prison labor in Alabama, notably convict leasing after the Civil War, underscores the monetary incentives that have driven such practices, often at the expense of incarcerated individuals’ well-being.
In the past, incarcerated workers in Alabama were subjected to harsh conditions and mistreatment. They were seen as disposable, with a mindset captured in the quote: “One dies, get another.” As industries modernized and mechanized, the state adapted its approach, moving away from convict leasing. Douglas Blackmon, author of “Slavery by Another Name,” highlighted the profitable nature of these practices for government officials and industries, leading to the perpetuation of the system.
By the 1970s, the dire conditions in Alabama prisons prompted federal intervention, with a judge taking control of the entire system. The Department of Corrections then shifted its focus to classifying inmates based on their behavior in prison rather than solely on their criminal history, aiming to address overcrowding. This new system allowed eligible participants to earn money from outside jobs and have their sentences reduced for each day worked.
Despite objections, this program expanded, although many long-term inmates remained ineligible for sentence reduction. The prison population continued to grow due to harsh sentencing laws, including life terms for nonviolent offenders, resulting in an expanding workforce.
Today, Alabama operates various programs for inmate labor, including work centers and work release programs at the county level. While some view these programs as exploitative, others see them as beneficial in teaching valuable skills and providing opportunities for rehabilitation.
Inmates working in these programs often face significant deductions from their earnings, leading to minimal take-home pay. However, private companies benefit from hiring incarcerated workers by receiving tax credits and having access to a reliable workforce for additional shifts and holidays. Despite the risks to incarcerated workers, such as injuries or death on the job, companies are generally not held accountable.
The use of prison labor extends beyond Alabama, with major companies like Trader Joe’s, Cargill, and McDonald’s incorporating incarcerated workers into their supply chains. This practice is widespread nationwide, impacting various industries and even international trade.
Earlier this year, companies responded to the report by cutting ties with correctional departments or third-party suppliers, or indicating that they were in the process of doing so. In Alabama, a wide range of companies hire inmates. Over the past five years, more than 500 prisoners have worked at various fast-food restaurants such as Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Applebee’s. In addition to working at restaurants, inmates have been involved in tasks like cleaning hotels, manufacturing kitchen cabinets, producing yarn for carpets, constructing doors for home stores like Lowe’s, and building trailers for semi trucks. They have contributed to keeping cities functioning, worked at public country clubs, and even assisted at the Supreme Court.
Alabama collected over $13 million in work release fees in fiscal year 2024. However, a prisoner lawsuit filed in federal court last year, supported by the AFL-CIO federation of unions, estimates that the corrections department benefits by about $450 million annually from prison labor. This takes into account the savings from not hiring civilians to maintain the prison system or work for government agencies. The lawsuit also claims that prisoners with good behavior records in work programs have been disproportionately affected by a decline in parole rates, particularly impacting Black workers.
About a decade ago, nearly half of prisoners eligible for parole were released with no significant racial disparity. However, in recent years, the parole board began denying early releases to those who met the criteria, including those with good behavior and perceived low risk to society. In fiscal year 2023, out of 3,583 parole hearings, 3,286 were denied, including one involving a deceased individual.
The Alabama attorney general’s office did not respond to a request for comment. In a similar state lawsuit filed by inmates last year, the office successfully moved for dismissal by stating that there is no slavery or involuntary servitude in the state’s prison system. They emphasized that participation in work release programs is voluntary.
For the public, it can be challenging to differentiate between incarcerated employees and civilian workers, especially as they often wear similar attire. Even those visibly identified as prisoners, such as those working on road projects, often go unnoticed by motorists. This was the case for Braxton Moon, who shared his fears with his mother about the dangers he faced while working on the roads. Despite the risks and low pay, he preferred working over being confined all day.
Tragically, two weeks later, in August 2015, Braxton Moon’s mother received the devastating news that he had been killed in a hit-and-run incident while working on the side of Interstate 65. The news first appeared on social media and in the news before any official confirmation from the state, leaving his family in shock and disbelief.
The tragic loss of a young life at the age of 21 struck instantly, leaving a void in the hearts of those who knew him. The heart-wrenching news was reported by Associated Press data journalists Arushi Gupta and Larry Fenn, who played a crucial role in bringing this story to light. The Associated Press is grateful for the support received from the Public Welfare Foundation, enabling in-depth reporting on matters pertaining to criminal justice. Additionally, this narrative was made possible through the backing of Columbia University’s Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights in collaboration with Arnold Ventures. It is important to note that the AP holds full responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of all content presented.
For further inquiries or to share any information, please reach out to the AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or visit https://www.ap.org/tips/. It is always our priority to investigate and report on stories that matter for the betterment of society.
As a point of correction, this story has been updated to reflect the accurate spelling as “Kinetik” instead of the previously mentioned “Kinetic.” Accuracy and precision are fundamental in our commitment to delivering reliable news and information to our readers.
