You may already know about the loophole in the 13th Amendment that allowed slavery.

But did you know that there's a loophole in that loophole that's still being used today?

And as always, it's used to brutalize and exploit black people the most.

This is two-minute black history.

But you didn't learn in school.

Centuries ago, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery with a few loopholes.

The Constitution made it so enslavement could still be legal through incarceration.

But there was another hidden loophole to that loophole that's still being abused today.

The 13th Amendment allowed slavery for people in prison, specifically after due process.

So southern officials wondered, how do you convict, incarcerate, and exploit more black people

without a fair trial?

Their answer was, the plea bargain, where a prosecutor can offer you less time behind bars

in exchange for you admitting guilt.

Whether you did it or not, another incentive to pleading guilty was financial.

Following through with a trial was expensive for black defendants.

Plea bargaining ensured that more black people could be trapped behind bars, so states made

huge financial gains off of black and prisoned field laborers too.

Today, over 97% of federal felony convictions and 94% state convictions are made because of plea bargaining.

Only 2% of federal prosecutions actually end up going to trial.

There's no such thing as honesty or fairness in this criminal legal system, especially not for black people.

The system incentivizes us not to tell the truth, but to choose between less and more prison,

instead of no prison at all.

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