In the convict lease system, counties and states leased thousands of mostly black prisoners to private individuals and companies to work and die in cotton fields, mines, and forests of the Deep South.

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The convict lease system was a practice where predominantly African American prisoners were leased out to private contractors, companies, and plantations, where they were often subjected to harsh and deadly working conditions, particularly in the agricultural and industrial sectors of the South.

In the Convict Lease System, Counties and States Leased Thousands