Nebraska measure would ban slavery as criminal punishment

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker wants to close a 143-year-old loophole in the state constitution that allows people to be enslaved as punishment for a crime.
Sen. Justin Wayne, of Omaha, says he will introduce a ballot proposal to amend the Nebraska Constitution during the legislative session that begins Wednesday.
The state constitution has banned slavery and involuntary servitude since 1875, except as punishment for a crime. Wayne says the loophole was used to force former slave