The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the U.S. with one exception. Slavery is still allowed as punishment for a crime at the federal level. But Kentucky and Arkansas have joined the list of those states considering fully banning slavery at the state level, report Yahoo and Axios. If the measures are voted on and passed, these two states would join seven others who have outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude in their constitutions over recent years. 

Kentucky has never been a state without slavery 

Just like most states, Kentucky’s current constitution, while banning most forms of slavery, still contains the “exception clause.” That’s the clause that allows “slavery and involuntary servitude in this state are forbidden, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” But after spending six and half years incarcerated in a Kentucky prison, Savvy Shabazz wants to change that. He, like many others, feels the exception clause is dehumanizing, perpetuates a painful legacy of oppression and has many negative effects. 

Patricia Gailey with Abolish Slavery Kentucky said:  

“We’ve never been in a state without slavery… without involuntary servitude. From day one, prior to our first Constitution, this state has been a slave state. We need to change that.” 

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