Forced prison labor persists in Colorado despite a measure meant to outlaw it. CSU researchers explain why

Forced prison labor is widespread across the U.S. and a recent investigation by the Associated Press details a large, complex web linking some of the world's largest food companies to work performed by incarcerated people. The two-year investigation featured data from Colorado State University’s Prison Agriculture Lab. "The signal from the prison system is that you don't deserve more than this, that you are simply a labor input to help us save costs and to help us produce profits," said Joshua Sbicca, who directs the lab. "And that has a social psychic toll on people. This is why people refer to what goes on in prison as prison slavery." Sbicca and lab co-director Carrie Chenault sat down with In The NoCo’s Robyn Vincent to discuss prison labor in Colorado and beyond.