Slavery is still legal in Kentucky.
Situation: Section 25 of the KY Constitution states that "Slavery and involuntary servitude in this state are prohibited except as punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted."
This exception clause is the foundation for mass incarceration.
For more information about how that can be, see https://www.abolishslaveryky.org/one-step-forward-one-step-back.html. For more information about similarities between experiences of of pre-Civil War slaves and Ky prisoners see https://www.abolishslaveryky.org/slavery-then-and-now.html and https://www.abolishslaveryky.org/cost-of-slavery-in-ky.html Words matter. It is important to remove the exception clause because we cannot address inhumane conditions in our carceral system as long as the clause is there.
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2024 Legislative Response to strike the exception clause:
Senate Bill 117 co-sponsored by: Senator Gerald Neal, Senator David Givens, Senator Amanda Mays Bledsoe, Senator Reginald Thomas. Senate Bill 231 sponsored by Whitney Westerfield House Bill 295 co-sponsored by: Representative George Brown Representative Beverly Chester-Burton Representative Josie Raymond |
What you can do:
What you can do:
- We will need new bills to be filed in the House and the Senate in 2025.
- Urge your Senator and Representative to sponsor or co-sponsor a bill to remove the exception clause.
- Share your concerns about legal slavery with friends and family.
- Alert Abolish Slavery KY of possibilities to educate Kentuckians through tabling, presentations, and/or discussions.
- Sign up for updates
What you might say to explain your position:
- If you are constituent, it would be good to say so.
- Slavery is a crime against humanity. It should not be legal in KY. KY could take a leadership position in aligning KY language and practices with UN standards.
- It is not necessary or even useful to commit a crime against humanity as we work to keep our communities safe and removing that exception clause will only make our justice system better.
- Kentuckians should have an opportunity to decide whether it is OK to have legal slavery in Kentucky.
- Enslavement and involuntary servitude arguably damage the economy and health of Kentuckians and moral standards across time have claimed that enslavement is harmful. These practices should be eliminated from our Constitution.