What Happened to Chain Gangs????

[Booner Sooner]

Headed to Broken Bow, OK today to bury my best friend's Father. Along the way I saw an inmate work crew out cleaning up the bar ditches.



This makes so much sense to me (work their @55es off while they do time.) My question is why don't we see more chain gangs????

(Sorry for the ginormous pic)

[Cajun Blake]

ACLU probably took this type of " cruel treatment " to court and got a favorable decision

[manwitaplan]

I cant see your photo ??????????????

Anyway we still have hoe squads! TDCJ used to at least have hoe squads for planting crops. In Texas I still see them cleaning up in certain areas.

Every inmate at my old unit had a job, even the psych inmates. Cooks, barbers, plumbers, SSI's (clean up), hoe squads, mattress factory, license plate factory, box factory, etc.......

I think it has to do with risk more than anything else. It is very Risky to send a crew of felons out on the town to clean up. And as Blake said I am also sure the ACLU had an issue with free labor vs paid labor.

[Blood Trail]

Cuz it's too much work. Plus, if they was on the chain gang working, they'd be late for class. College trumps punishment....

[westtexducks]

I guess times of changed since the late to mid 90s, my dad used to watch over inmates at the Fort Stockton unit and they would have to pick cotton by hand and all kinds of outside labor.

[trad"Doc"53]

It's against their civil rights to "force" them to work.

[COPPERHEAD]

[meshmover67]

^^^^^ one of the greats

[Chief Big Toe]

I remember in the 70's all around south Texas. you would see them in the fields .. growing what they would grow. I bet it cost us a lot less to feed them back then.... IMO

[ExtremeHunter80]

I don't remember, but have been told stories from my father about the Huntsville rodeo. Lol he told me, my grandma couldn't find a hotel room for him and his brother, so she parked under the tower of the prison. My dad and his brother were freaking out, and my grandma said "heck! This is the safest place to be! That guard up in that tower has a rifle!" Lol love that woman. Also told me stories about the actual events, how they would duck tape a $100 bill to a bulls horns and send it out in the arena with 4 inmates and whoever got the bill off, got to keep it. Stuff like that.

[Brute Killer]

[Chief Big Toe]

ahhh those where the days!!!!!!!!!!!

[KSHogman]

[DorothyNotKeegan]

Blazing saddles....

[Boomerang]

Civil rights...