Alabama Convict Leasing to Coal Mines: Documented Deaths and Brutality

By the 1890s, Alabama's convict leasing system was supplying thousands of Black men annually to coal mining companies including Tennessee Coal and Iron (later acquired by US Steel) and Pratt Mines. State investigations documented that convicts worked in underground mines in chains, were whipped for failing to meet quotas, received no medical care, and died from mining accidents, disease, and violence at rates several times higher than free miners. A state report from 1889 documented 25% annual mortality in some camps. Company profits were substantial: the state received $9–$18 per convict per month while companies extracted labor worth many times that amount. The system continued until 1928.