Abstract
In relatively specific constitutional language that courts and scholars have long neglected, the Thirteenth Amendment authorizes slavery as a punishment for crime. This Article shows that the original public meaning of the slavery-as-punishment clause leads to abhorrent outcomes, including the emasculation of many modern protections grounded on the Eighth Amendment. This conclusion challenges those who assert that steadfast originalism will not produce grossly objectionable results. It also challenges the view that steadfast originalism finds justification as an effort to preserve a core of legitimacy-enhancing features in the Constitution. The Article thus reminds us why the original meaning, even when clear, is not conclusive in constructing the modern meaning of the Constitution.
How to Cite
51 Ariz. L. Rev. 983 (2009)
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