"Especially heinous" convicted criminals could be sentenced to hard labor in New Hampshire if a bill that's making its way through the state Legislature becomes law.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 179 to 159 to pass the bill that would allow for hard labor as a sentencing option for those convicted of capital murder and serious sexual assaults on children.

The bill says that if nine out of 12 jurors agree, "the defendant shall perform hard labor for the duration of their natural life, subject only to medical exemptions."

The bill defines hard labor as "physically intensive manual labor " including fieldwork, construction, waste management, manufacturing work and other tasks "that demand prolonged physical effort." It would have to be performed no less than eight hours a day for five days a week, and paid at a "prison wage rate" that is not higher than than what it would be for other inmate jobs. 

Republican Rep. Terry Roy of Deerfield said he supports "punishing people that do the most evil crimes," and argued that the current system is too lenient on the worst criminals.

"The person sentenced to jail is going to work on getting himself a degree on taxpayer dollars. He's going to use his iPad. He's going to enjoy his time," Roy said.

Opponents say there's no evidence that hard labor deters violent crime, and it could create problems in prisons.

"This proposal creates labor camps that are expensive and dangerous," Democratic. Rep. Linda Harriott-Gathright of Nashua said. "They raise serious public safety risk, constitutional concerns, and major fiscal consequences that this body should not ignore."

The bill still needs to pass the state Senate. WBZ-TV has reached out to Gov. Kelly Ayotte's office for comment.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire called the bill "harsh, cruel, and archaic."

"Forced labor has caused millions of incarcerated people across the country to be exploited, underpaid, and excluded from workplace safety protection laws – and it has enabled human rights abuses and systemic racism for centuries," the ACLU said in a statement.