Utah still has slavery on the books!?

[RubinHighlander]

http://www.kuer.org/post/utahs-sole-bla ... n#stream/0

The Utah state constitution was ratified in 1895, nearly three decades after slavery was abolished following the Civil War. Yet state lawmakers at the time allowed for one glaring exception to that law — permitting slavery or indentured servitude as punishment for certain crimes.

Hopefully the current quorum of church broke legislators will get that one off the UT constitution. They will also be looking prohibit abortions after 15 weeks; ban gender changes on birth certificates and outlaw conversion therapy for minors. Which, ya know, are much more troublesome problems than over the counter drug abuse/opiate addiction and the worst teen suicide rate in the nation. But hey, that new .05% alcohol level restriction is probably making up for all the deaths from those other problems.

[Hagoth]

...permitting slavery or indentured servitude as punishment for certain crimes.

I wonder what crimes they had in mind. Maybe the mixing of races? That was illegal in Utah until the 1960s.

[moksha]

In Alabama, they had the practice of requiring some African heritage prisoners to spend their sentences as servants in mansion houses. I remember reading about how a number of prisoners worked for Governor George Wallace tidying up and serving mint juleps to his friends and family on the veranda.

[2bizE]

Sounds like they left it on the books to cover the church in case cleaning toilets at the church one day is considered slavery.