This conversation, the second in the Beyond Punishment Series, will examine the continuing struggle over the “Farm Line” at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola. In May, a federal judge found that prison officials had knowingly exposed incarcerated workers to dangerous conditions, including forced agricultural labor in extreme heat. The lawsuit was brought by Voice of the Experienced (VOTE) and the Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI), drawing upon the combined strength of directly impacted organizers, public-interest lawyers, and academic research.
Together, we will explore what Angola’s prison labor system reveals about the relationship among slavery, incarceration, labor, and state violence. We will also consider what can be learned from organizing inside prisons; how directly impacted leaders, lawyers, and scholars can pursue justice through an imperfect legal system; and how the arguments advanced in this case might support challenges to similar practices elsewhere.
Our panel will include:
Norris Henderson, founder and executive director of VOTE, whose organizing is grounded in the leadership and experiences of formerly and currently incarcerated people.
Samantha Kennedy, executive director of PJI, which represented the plaintiffs challenging conditions on Angola’s Farm Line.
Joshua Sbicca, associate professor of sociology and director of the Prison Agriculture Lab at the University of Colorado, who served as an expert witness in the Farm Line trial.
