I glance from my left to right. Sitting on either side of me are others who have found themselves in the same predicament. I know because we are chained together by our ankles. We are dressed the same, old-fashioned black and white stripes, orange flip flops. I know because we are in the same court, presided by the same judge. I know because until a a few weeks ago, I was a law student.

In recent years, really it's been happening for a long time, our prison system has grown overcrowded, overworked. Legislation was passed, also just a few weeks ago to remedy that though. Slavery, reserved for non-violent offenders, was reintrdouced to the United States, and somehow, I was amongst the first batch of these new slaves.

I say somehow, actually I know perfectly well how this has come to pass, and I really ahve no one to blame but myself. I was out celebrating another successful round of exams. Drink a beer. Life was good. Drink a beer. I was on my way to garduation. Drink a beer. And joining my father's firm. Drink two more. Try to drive home. No, I didn't kill an elderly couple, or a mother and her children. I didn't run my BMW through the window of a store. I just ran a red light, and failed by breathalizer. Now, here I am, about to receive one of the first slavery sentences handed out since the new laws were enacted.

I glance behind be. The courtroom is full. It's closed to the families of teh convicted, but full of people looking to buy, well, slaves. Some of them are representatives of comapnies, Nike, Ford, you name it, looking for cheap labor. Others are private individuals looking for maids or something more sinister.

What the hell is going to happen to me?