Shaheed Ansari

Major: Criminal Law

America in 2021 is the largest slave-owning nation in the world. The 13th Amendment states that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.” By definition, slavery is the punishment for a convicted felon. The United States has only 9% of the world’s population but 25% of the world’s prison population. This disproportion is simply another example of the disenfranchisement that this country was built upon, and until we have competent advocates within the criminal justice system, marginalized citizens will continue to be victims. Change must be sudden, purposeful, and calculated to address the 400 years of discrimination until we are all free.