Colorado banned forced prison labor 5 years ago. Prisoners say it's still happening

The U.S. Constitution and 16 state constitutions ban slavery except as punishment for a crime. Prisoner advocates say this allows forced prison labor, but systemic change has been met with resistance. (Charlotte Gomez for NPR)

After a few months working in his prison's hot and crowded kitchen, Richard Lilgerose noticed he was having trouble sleeping.

"I was always anxious about having to go to the kitchen and work under these conditions for hours upon hours and not knowing when I was going to be able to go back to my unit to get some rest," he told NPR in a call from prison.