US News

Louisiana has one of the highest incarcerations rates in the country (ergo the World by statistical margins) and free prison labor is major staple of their prison industry.

‘You’re a slave’: Inside Louisiana’s forced prison labor and a failed overhaul attempt

Not to mention that private prisons literally have contracts with the State to make sure they provide enough prisoners to fill up their beds at all times or the State MUST PAY THEM A FINE. WTFFFF. Quote from the source below:

" Roughly three-quarters of private prison contracts include minimum occupancy clauses (also known as “bed guarantees”) which “…state that the government contracting with a prison must maintain a specific percentage of occupancy at that prison” (American University Business Law Review). A study of private prison contracts by the Brennan Center for Justice found that “…the majority of these contracts guarantee that the state will supply enough prisoners to keep between 80 and 100 percent of the private prisons’ beds filled. If the state fails to fulfill this ‘bed guarantee’, it must pay a fine to the company running the prisons – in effect, paying for each prison bed regardless of whether it holds a prisoner.” " Source: Prison Contracts: Profits & Politics