DENVER — Does slavery still exist in Colorado? That's the question a class action lawsuit heading to trial Tuesday is looking to answer.
It's against Governor Jared Polis and the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC), and it's focused specifically on forced labor in prisons.
It goes back to the 13th Amendment which has a clause that states, "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."
That clause has previously allowed forced labor in prisons, but in 2018, Colorado voters amended the state's constitution making slavery, or forced labor, illegal with no exceptions.
Sarah Beaudoin spent 18-and-a-half years in prison and said nothing has changed.
"If you don't go to work today, you will get restricted privileges, loss of privileges, or you will go to the hole. Those are the options," said Beaudoin.
She's not incarcerated anymore, but she's still trying to navigate how to take a sick day.
"If I know I have to be at work, I have to be at work. I have recently started to challenge myself and leave early from work," she said.
That's because she said in prison, being sick never mattered.
Stephanie McGuffie, who has an incarcerated son, agreed. She's frustrated because if he gets punished, the family feels like they do, too.
"I need to put my eyes on my child," McGuffie explained. "Is he thin? Is he frail? Has he eaten? You know, I need to be able to touch him and ask these questions."
When Colorado passed Amendment A, it became the first state in modern history to end the 13th Amendment's exception clause. Rhode Island banned slavery without exception in 1842. At least five other states have made the same ban including Utah, Nebraska, Alabama, Oregon and Vermont.
A class action lawsuit slated for District Court Tuesday, though, said the law in Colorado hasn't been put into effect.
McGuffie blames Governor Polis for that, while Beaudoin blames the state Department of Corrections.
Both officials from the governor's office and the Colorado DOC declined commenting when Denver7 reached out, telling us they can't talk about pending litigation.
However, in a 2022 motion to dismiss the lawsuit, the state claims the loss of privileges do not violate the anti-slavery law.
"Colorado’s inmate work program was created and is administered as part of CDOC’s obligation to rehabilitate offenders," the motion states. "All inmates are required to participate in a rehabilitation and work program in some form under rules and regulations implemented by CDOC."
The state also claimed inmates are not denied basic human rights like food, shelter or medical care if they refuse to work.
Trial begins at 8:30 a.m.
