We are a coalition of faith groups in Central NJ who are deeply concerned about an exception that was written into the 13^th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (in 1865) that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except for those convicted of a crime.  We view this exception as morally wrong. It perpetuates the legacy of slavery itself in the form of demeaning involuntary servitude in our prisons.  In the long term, it is socially destructive, since the formerly incarcerated are returned to society impoverished and demoralized rather than rehabilitated.