Hard labor refers to physically demanding work often imposed as
punishment, mostly in penal systems and military settings.
In the New Hampshire Constitution, under the Bill of Rights is Article 33: No Magistrate, or Court of Law, shall demand excessive bail or sureties, impose excessive fines, or inflict cruel or unusual punishments. June 2, 1784
In the United States Constitution, under the Bill of Rights, the Eighth Amendment reads: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. December 19, 1791
This past January, SB 15 was passed in the State Senate and then went to the House of Representatives. Put forth by six Republican Senators and five Republican Reps., the proposed legislation was to “establish a mandatory minimum sentence for the crime of distribution of a controlled drug with death resulting.” After spending time in the House Criminal Justice and Safety Committee, the bill went nowhere but was retained in the committee.
Until now.
On Oct. 15, eight Reps., seven of whom are either Free Staters and/or Liberty Alliance members, added a “non-germane” amendment to this bill. Non-germane is something irrelevant, or in this case, has nothing to do with the bill. The amendment is to change the original title of the bill to read: “AN ACT relative to incorporating hard labor as a sentencing option for certain offenses; establishing medical exemptions and penalties for abuse thereof; providing alternative punitive measures for legitimate medical exemptions; and establishing a sentencing appeals panel for prosecution appeals related to hard labor sentences.” (emphasis added)
Yeah, you read that right! They want to bring back hard labor.
Fun fact: NH has the second lowest violent crime rate in the region and second lowest violent crime rate in the country.
“(a) As used in this paragraph, “hard labor” means the mandatory performance of physically intensive manual labor tasks assigned by the commissioner of corrections, designed to serve as punishment, deterrence, and, where appropriate, rehabilitation for convicted offenders.”
“Refusal to participate without valid exemption may result in disciplinary measures, including loss of good time credits under RSA 651-A:22 or extended confinement.”
The entire amendment can be read here.
Who are the seven proponents of hard labor as punishment?
Terry Roy – Deerfield
Jennifer Rhodes – Winchester
Bob Lynn – Windham (voter suppression bills)
Ricky Devoid – Boscawen
Dennis Mannion – Salem
Kathleen Paquette – Manchester
Matt Sabourin dit Choinière – Seabrook
You can contact any one of these representatives by clicking here, scrolling down to “who’s my legislator” and clicking on the name.
So, other than free (forced?) labor for the state, why is the majority party looking to continue in its backward march?




