Wynn Howell, Colorado state director for the Working Families Party, speaks at a rally in support of a lawsuit over coerced prison labor outside the Denver City and County Building on Oct. 7, 2025. (Photo by Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline)
A Denver judge last week ruled the Colorado Department of Corrections violated the state’s ban on involuntary servitude following a class action lawsuit from people incarcerated in Colorado.
Judge Sarah B. Wallace said in her ruling that the department cannot threaten or impose isolation for more than two days and cannot charge people with offenses under the prison disciplinary code for refusing to work. Current department policies allowing punishment for refusing to work violate the Colorado Constitution…