One of the things that was abhorrent to learn was that the 13th Amendment in the US, which bans slavery, explicitly allows slavery or forced labor of criminals.
We are still a country that explicitly allows slavery. Sadly, very rarely do I encounter people who understand (or seem to care) that this is the case.
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
Did you just decide to ignore that whole "nor involuntary servitude" clause? Slavery is specifically a system in which people are property that can be bought and sold.
Either way, what it's called is irrelevant. I see nothing wrong with mandatory labor being part of a criminal sentence. It is part of repaying your debt to society.
Constitution says involuntary servitude AND slavery are both are allowed if someone is convicted, though. I actually wasn't aware of this and find it quite shocking that it explicitly allows slavery in that instance.
What it's called helps contextualize the history behind our laws, how they came to be.
We are still a country that explicitly allows slavery. Sadly, very rarely do I encounter people who understand (or seem to care) that this is the case.