California Tells Court It Can't Release Inmates Early Because It Would Lose Cheap Prison Labor

California Tells Court It Can't Release Inmates Early Because It Would Lose Cheap Prison Labor | ThinkProgress:
"....In recent filings, lawyers for the state have resisted court orders that they expand parole programs, reasoning not that releasing inmates early is logistically impossible or would threaten public safety, but instead that prisons won’t have enough minimum security inmates left to perform inmate jobs.
.....But California’s objections raise troubling questions about whether prison labor creates perverse incentives to keep inmates in prison even when they don’t need to be there.
The debate centers around an expansive state program to have inmates fight wildfires.
California is one of several states that employs prison labor to fight wildfires.
And it has the largest such program, as the state’s wildfire problem rapidly expands arguably because of climate change.
By employing prison inmates who are paid less than $2 per day, the state saves some $1 billion.....