BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama appeals court last week upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit by incarcerated workers who alleged the state punishes them for refusing forced labor, dealing a setback to efforts to enforce a 2022 constitutional amendment banning slavery and involuntary servitude in all forms.
The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruled Dec. 19 that the plaintiffs failed to state a valid claim under the amended Alabama Constitution, Section 32, which voters approved to remove exceptions for criminal punishment. The three-judge panel said penalties outlined in Gov. Kay Ivey’s Executive Order 725 and Alabama Department of Corrections Administrative Regulation 403 — including extra work assignments, loss of phone and visitation privileges — do not amount to involuntary servitude because they lack coercion through physical restraint, injury or legal compulsion to labor.
The plaintiffs, including Traveka Stanley, Reginald Burrell, Charlie Gray, Melvin Pringle and Ranquel Smith, participate in voluntary work-release programs paying them for tasks like cleaning cells and cafeteria duties but claimed discipline for tardiness, unsafe conditions or refusal violated the constitution. The Montgomery County Circuit Court dismissed the case in August 2024 on sovereign immunity and standing grounds, a decision the appeals court affirmed without reaching the merits of the constitutional question.
C.J. Sandley, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights representing the plaintiffs, said the ruling overlooked how penalizing refusals to work contravenes the voter-approved ban. The decision echoes earlier rejections in the case and leaves Alabama’s prison labor practices — which generate revenue through contracts with private employers deducting up to 40% of inmates’ earnings — largely intact amid ongoing federal litigation like Council v. Ivey challenging convict leasing.
Advocates say the outcome underscores Alabama’s overcrowded, violence-plagued prisons, where majority-Black inmates face coerced work despite the 2022 reforms spurred by a statewide strike. The Center for Constitutional Rights indicated incarcerated workers will explore further legal options as the fight against what they call modern slavery continues