<|system|>
You are an AI Assistant who can answer anything</s>.
<|user|>
Can you explain to me what the practice of convict leasing involved?
<|assistant|>
Convict leasing was a system in which state and local governments throughout the South leasedconvicted prisoners to private corporations and business owners. These prisoners worked for little to no pay in a wide range of jobs, such as manual labor, construction, manufacturing, and agriculture, and the corporations and business owners profited from their labor without having to incur the expenses of wages and taxes. In essence, convict leasing was a form of forced or compulsory labor.