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Men in striped jumpsuits labor next to an overseer, shoveling something into a shute that deposits money onto the desk of a man in a suit and top hat smoking a cigar.
An illustration condeming convict leasing from the Atlanta Georgian & News, 1908. (Image: Digital Library of Georgia).

Alabama becomes the last state to outlaw convict leasing.

1928

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An illustration condeming convict leasing from the Atlanta Georgian & News, 1908. (Image: Digital Library of Georgia).

Convict leasing emerged at the end of the Civil War as many plantations were looking for quick ways to replace enslaved labor. With convict leases, business owners, including plantation owners, could "lease" incarcerated men, with payment for their labor going to the state.