Imprisoned at Hard Labour?

Growing up in Jamaica I have frequently heard of persons, having found guilty of a crime, being sentenced to a term in prison at "Hard Labour". But what does this "Hard Labour" really entails? And, is it still actually being used in the Jamaican Correctional Service?

First, let me say, I am no Attorney neither am I an expert on the subject of prisons, rehabilitation or sentencing. I mere have been harboring an idea for the "productive" use of the man-power that seems to be wasting away in Jamaica's aging penal system [link].

So, not really knowing much about the topic, I consulted the web...Wikipedia to be exact. This is what it had to say "Penal labour is a generic term for various kinds of unfree labour which prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included involuntary servitude,penal servitude and imprisonment with hard labour. The term may refer to several related scenarios: labour as a form of punishment, the prison system used as a means to secure labour, and labour as providing occupation for convicts." One wonders if this definition applies to Jamaica?

Now, the term "unfree labour" has a very negative connotation and would be a significance in the Jamaican context. Wikipedia sights it as "a generic or collective term for those work relations, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will by the threat of destitution, detention, violence (including death), lawful compulsion, or other extreme hardship to themselves or to members of their families". To frown on its use in modern Jamaica is quite understandable.

But, what if the inmates were to be compensated for their service? What if the compensation was at the market rate for the work to be undertaken? What if a part on the monies earned was to be used to cover the food and accommodations during their imprisonment? What if part of the monies went towards restitution for the victims of their crimes? What if part of the monies went to their families...particularly children? What if part of the monies were kept to be handed over on their release from prison? What if the work to be done included such things as cleaning and maintenance of Government Buildings and Public Spaces?

Just something to think on...