State Campaign Committee for the Abolishment of the Convict Contract System (Birmingham, Ala.).

The convict lease system was utilized in Alabama in various forms after the Civil War. The system consisted of leasing out convicts to private contractors who were then responsible for their welfare. Many convicts died from lack of care and overwork on farms, lumber camps and in mines.

In the 1910s and 1920s there began to be widespread public opposition to what was considered to be inhumane treatment. The State Campaign Committee for the Abolishment of the Convict Contract System was an organized effort to force state government and the governor to end the system after a series of tragedies.

The convict lease system was finally abolished during the Graves administration (1927-1931) and all convicts were returned to penitentiaries under direct state supervision.

From the description of Records, 1913-1926. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122388683