A pair of Colorado prisoners have asked a state judge to grant class certification for their suit alleging the state is illegally using them for slave labor, detailing their experiences of punishment like extensive isolation for refusing to work.
The motion filed Wednesday asks the court to approve a class that includes almost every prisoner in state custody, citing a count of more than 14,000 people as of June.
The prisoners, Richard Lilgerose and Harold Mortis, allege in their suit that the Colorado Department of Corrections has policies requiring all prisoners without medical waivers to work, and punishes prisoners refusing, despite an amendment to the state constitution voters approved in 2018 abolishing involuntary servitude and slavery in all circumstances. That contrasts with the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which has an exception for slavery as a criminal punishment.
"Defendants have ignored the will of Colorado's voters and continue to coerce labor in Colorado's prisons through a policy enforced by subjecting — or threatening to subject — incarcerated people to punitive and coercive sanctions for declining to work," the prisoners said in their motion.
The types of jobs the prisoners are forced to do include food service, janitorial, laundry, housekeeping, maintenance, manual labor, warehouses and agriculture, according to the motion.
Punishment for refusing to work can include being put in "conditions akin to solitary confinement," according to the motion.
One prisoner who said he was confined to his cell for 22 hours a day for more than a month said in a declaration attached to the motion, "I would do anything to avoid this severe isolation again, so I have felt compelled to work against my will to avoid suffering these horrible consequences."
Prisoners are also threatened with having their classification increased and being placed in higher security prisons with more dangerous fellow prisoners.
"They hold this over our head and it is part of how they force people to work," another prisoner said in a declaration. "They know people will work under these threats. People get killed in here … I just saw someone get beat to death at Crowley Correctional Facility."
And prisoners also face sanctions like losing credit for good behavior while served, which can delay their ultimate release, according to the motion.
Lilgerose and Mortis said their suit seeking "a single, system-wide court order redressing violations of a constitutional right" is clearly appropriate for resolution on a class basis, and has been used in disputes between prisoners and the Colorado Department of Corrections before.
The motion also asked the court to have notice of the lawsuit posted in all state prisons where prisoners are required to work, including "an announcement displayed periodically on the informational television screens located in every unit."
Denver District Judge Sarah B. Wallace in April said prison officials seemed to be imposing "draconian" limits on virtual calls between prisoners and their lawyers, telling officials to figure out how to do more for those seeking to join the lawsuit.
"All our clients are demanding is that the state stops forcing people to work, which is consistent with the clear intent of Colorado voters," Valerie Collins of Towards Justice said in a statement. "The state could remedy these constitutional violations today if it wanted to. It is outrageous that this case still needs to be litigated."
A spokesperson for Colorado Gov. Jared Polis declined to comment Friday.
The plaintiffs are represented by David H. Seligman, Valerie L. Collins of Towards Justice and David G. Maxted and Stephanie M. Frisinger of Maxted Law LLC.
Polis and the Colorado Department of Corrections are represented by Philip J. Weiser, Jennifer H. Hunt, Ann Stanton and Nirali Vyas of the Colorado Office of the Attorney General.
The case is Richard Lilgerose et al. v. Jared Polis et al., case number 2022V30421, in the 2nd Judicial District of Colorado.
--Additional reporting by Thy Vo. Editing by Kelly Duncan.
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