Voices from Within: Incarcerated Workers on Labor and Liberty
Amber Avila, Caitlynn Blanquera, Cameron Chan, Nhan Doan, Jazmine Finuliar, Anya Kugler, Isabella Pacho, Andrew Rogel, Ryo Tuso, Carrie Lee Walker
Department of Psychology
Faculty Supervisor: Amy Smith
Through an analysis of letters written by incarcerated individuals, this study examines critical variables regarding work, mental and physical health, and systemic injustice. Our team conducted a qualitative analysis of 164 handwritten letters to explore the writers’ attitudes toward the 13th Amendment and prison labor as a form of modern slavery. Using a grounded theory model, we developed a coding scheme to examine key themes, including the writers’ mental and physical health, time served in prison, compensation for labor, regional differences, and the extent to which they experienced and described their work as modern-day slavery. In their unique contribution to current discussions about labor and liberty, these letters break through the concrete and steel to defy the silence imposed by incarceration, revealing the voices of those trapped inside.