Colorado prisons forced inmates to work or face isolation, judge rules

Judge says prisons broke the constitution

A Denver judge ruled on Feb. 13 that Colorado’s prison system forced inmates to work under threat of punishment, violating the state constitution.

District Court Judge Sarah Wallace found the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) built a system where refusing to work triggered escalating penalties that ended in physical isolation.

The 61-page ruling also names Gov. Jared Polis and CDOC Director Moses Stancil as defendants. The decision comes nearly eight years after voters banned involuntary servitude in the state.

Two inmates filed the lawsuit in 2022

The case started with Harold Mortis and Richard Lilgerose, two inmates who filed a class-action lawsuit in February 2022.

Mortis, serving a 40-year sentence at Sterling Correctional Facility, said officials ordered him to work eight-hour kitchen shifts while he was sick with COVID-19.

When he asked for lower-risk work, they said no and warned he would lose privileges. Both men lost earned time, which pushed their parole dates further back.

The nonprofit law firm Towards Justice and Maxted Law represent them.

Refusing work triggered harsh punishments

Inmates who turned down work assignments faced serious consequences. CDOC could place them in solitary confinement for more than 22 hours a day.

A single “failure to work” violation could strip up to 30 days of earned time, meaning inmates stayed locked up longer.

CDOC also used a practice called “double charging,” which stacked multiple infractions for the same refusal to pile on harsher penalties.

Inmates lost access to incentive programs and got moved to more restrictive housing units.

Voters banned forced prison labor in 2018

In November 2018, more than 66% of Colorado voters approved Amendment A. The measure removed language from the state constitution that had allowed slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime.

Colorado became the first state in modern U.S. history to close that loophole.

The constitution now reads simply: “There shall never be in this state either slavery or involuntary servitude.” A similar measure in 2016 had failed by less than 1%, mostly because of confusing ballot language.

Prisons kept the old rules anyway

Despite what voters decided in 2018, CDOC left its work requirements in place.

A 2023 news investigation found at least 727 documented cases of inmates punished for refusing to work since the amendment passed. Inmates faced the same penalties they had before voters changed the constitution.

That gap between what voters approved and what actually happened inside Colorado prisons is what drove Mortis and Lilgerose to file their lawsuit in 2022.

Judge orders CDOC to stop key practices

Wallace ordered CDOC to stop using solitary confinement lasting longer than three days to punish inmates who refuse work. She also banned the double-charging policy.

The ruling bars CDOC from using segregation, isolation, or housing restrictions as consequences for declining a work assignment. The order takes effect in 28 days, giving state officials time to appeal.

Whether Colorado will challenge the ruling remains unclear.

State officials say they are reviewing

CDOC spokesperson Alondra Gonzalez-Garcia said the department is looking at the ruling. CDOC said it agrees slavery and forced labor are wrong but does not believe it engaged in either.

Gov. Polis released a statement saying he agrees slavery and forced servitude are wrong and illegal. His office said it is reviewing the judge’s order to figure out next steps.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Phil Weiser also said that office is reviewing the decision.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers call it a victory

Lead trial counsel David Maxted said the ruling “vindicates the struggle of incarcerated people who demanded an end to involuntary servitude.”

Towards Justice litigation director Juno Turner called CDOC’s practices a system-wide violation of people’s rights. Towards Justice is led by David Seligman, who is running for Colorado attorney general in 2026.

End Slavery Colorado, the coalition that led the campaign for Amendment A in 2018, supported the case throughout.

The trial lasted through fall 2025

The case went to trial in October 2025 in Denver District Court. Judge Wallace heard testimony from 11 witnesses, including inmates and prison officials.

She also toured Fremont Correctional Facility in Canon City during the proceedings.

State attorneys argued inmates could choose not to work and that the consequences did not rise to the level of coercion.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers pushed back, arguing the punishment system left inmates with no real choice at all.

Inmates earn pennies for their work

Prison jobs in Colorado include food prep, laundry, janitorial work, and manufacturing.

Inmates earn between about 33 cents and $1.61 per hour for non-industry jobs, according to a 2022 report from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Colorado Correctional Industries runs 16 businesses across eight prisons.

Minimum wage laws and basic workplace safety rules do not apply to incarcerated workers in the state. How the ruling will affect prison services that depend on inmate labor remains an open question.

Other states passed similar amendments

Since Colorado’s 2018 vote, six other states have passed their own constitutional amendments banning forced prison labor: Utah, Nebraska, Vermont, Oregon, Alabama, and Tennessee.

The U.S. Constitution’s 13th Amendment still allows involuntary servitude as punishment for crime at the federal level. Advocates in other states continue to push for similar ballot measures.

The Colorado ruling is believed to be the first time a court has enforced one of these newer state amendments.

Colorado has 28 days to decide

The state has 28 days from Feb. 13 to appeal or start making changes.

If the ruling stands, CDOC will need to redesign how it manages inmate work programs across the system. The case could shape how other states with similar amendments enforce them going forward.

For now, how Colorado prisons will operate without compelled labor has no clear answer. The ruling affirms that constitutional rights, as the court stated, do not stop at prison gates.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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