What a fascinating story and incredible to learn that the inmates system accounted for three-quarters of the Alabama's state revenue! Corrupt? Of course! But did John know how to work the system himself, you bet he did, looking forward to part 3 Lori
Thanks, Paul. I was shocked by that number, as well. The history of convict lease systems is truly fascinating and beyond the scope of this story, but definitely worth learning more about. Touches on so many social issues, many of which we continue to struggle with today.
Wow, in the 1880s inmate leasing accounted for three-quarters of the Alabama's state revenue! That definitely would create an incentive to imprison as many people as possible. I can understand the outrage. I'm very interested in learning more about this. My grandmother's family (the one she told everyone she didn't have) lived right in that area, near Virginia Mine, just south of Wegra.
And yeah...John knew how to work it, didn't he? To be fair, two years of hard labor in a mine for an 84-year-old seems pretty harsh for violating a liquor law. I wonder if sentences became more severe across the board for all offenses during the time of high profiting from convicts.
It’s a fascinating and disturbing topic and one that goes deep into all the darkness of the past - slavery, reconstruction, the KKK, Jim Crow laws. I came across so many just horrific accounts of what life was like for the convicts, 90+ percent of whom were poor Blacks, often sent to the mines for minor crimes like vagrancy, and then kept there due to the exaggerated court fees they were required to repay. And greed. Don’t forget greed, which was equally to blame, in so many ways.
This is incredible, Lori. You need to get this published into a wider circulation. Just amazing.
Thanks, Barbara. I’m accepting any suggestions 😉
Hit up the New Yorker. 🥰
Wonderful detail and storytelling. I love the title of this series.
Thanks, @Neil! Once I’d finished the research incorrigible was really the only word that came to mind 😉
What a fascinating story and incredible to learn that the inmates system accounted for three-quarters of the Alabama's state revenue! Corrupt? Of course! But did John know how to work the system himself, you bet he did, looking forward to part 3 Lori
Thanks, Paul. I was shocked by that number, as well. The history of convict lease systems is truly fascinating and beyond the scope of this story, but definitely worth learning more about. Touches on so many social issues, many of which we continue to struggle with today.
Yes I thought that, many of the same issues are very much still the same sadly today
Wow, in the 1880s inmate leasing accounted for three-quarters of the Alabama's state revenue! That definitely would create an incentive to imprison as many people as possible. I can understand the outrage. I'm very interested in learning more about this. My grandmother's family (the one she told everyone she didn't have) lived right in that area, near Virginia Mine, just south of Wegra.
And yeah...John knew how to work it, didn't he? To be fair, two years of hard labor in a mine for an 84-year-old seems pretty harsh for violating a liquor law. I wonder if sentences became more severe across the board for all offenses during the time of high profiting from convicts.
It’s a fascinating and disturbing topic and one that goes deep into all the darkness of the past - slavery, reconstruction, the KKK, Jim Crow laws. I came across so many just horrific accounts of what life was like for the convicts, 90+ percent of whom were poor Blacks, often sent to the mines for minor crimes like vagrancy, and then kept there due to the exaggerated court fees they were required to repay. And greed. Don’t forget greed, which was equally to blame, in so many ways.
And I so wanted to believe everything he said!
When I read he had served under Nathan Bedford Forrest in the Civil War, I began to squirm. Incorrigible is a great adjective to describe John George!