Unlocked: A Jail Experiment

The sheriff of this prison wanted to make a change and he and all related staff spent months preparing to create a situation where inmates could actually benefit and improve themselves vs staying in a cell for 23/24 hours/day. This hopefully improved quality of life for both staff and inmates, they needed "a better way" to run the prison and that included hopefully making more productive future citizens once the incarcerated folks leave the prison. I highly commend the sheriff and staff's efforts. They discuss the "Older" vs "Juvenile" inmates. Randy, an Older one, had the foresight to try to encourage others to step up and play a role in making their open door and extended freedoms program work. The inmates saw consequences of not conforming and participating positively within their experimental cell block Community. This program allowed the inmates to practice being responsible which is a step toward being responsible in the real world and not resorting to old criminal ways but instead being open to new ways of handling things. I LOVED IT! Honesty if this type of program was available where I live I would volunteer to help it be successful.

I looked it up, at Pulaski prison they spend $18,250 per year to house a felon. That's about $50/day. That probably barely covers meals. In New York, it can cost as much as $162,000 per year. At Pulaski, they have 1-2 staff in the cell block, necessitating 23 of 24 hours/day of lockdown due to lack of staff. I had no idea that prisons had entire cell blocks on lockdown 23/24 hours/day (and I wonder if the 15 minutes per meal counts toward the 1 hour per day of getting to be outside of their cell. ) That would drive anyone insane, not being able to socialize, feel any freedoms or do any activities, or have any hope. This was not only a humane 'experiment', it should be a model for prisons going forward to help these folks who didn't have proper mentors or learning environments, or peers to get it right the first time before going into prison. Some people have a disabilities, if they find themselves in stressful prison settings without any attempt by their peers to better themselves, all will be stagnant or worse when they get out and then explode with the freedom. Freedom in prisons is a good concept when used to encourage proper behavior and adaptive skills that an be used positively in the community (or wherever they end up) going forward. Just sticking people in jails to rot isn't the answer; productive rehabilitative settings where people can learn from their life experience and improve themselves seems to be the way to go.

What a series.. The changes in some of the inmates was palatable in some cases.. Really a great series if you can see the benifit of people taking their own responsibility for not only themselves but for the community! The sheriff is a strong kind man with great foresight in the ability of people taking the right steps to change! By giving privaliges & recognising their actual strengths...

I loved it from beginning to end I watched it in one night because I couldn't bare to leave it...

I hope that many more prisons will recognise the benefits of such a program..

I also hope that some of those inmates have learnt a load from the experience & change for the good...

More of this please! My first review on this website because this was so excellent... What an ending!

A Sheriff at an Arkansas Prison sets an experiment in motion at The Facility, he plans to open the doors and increase privileges, but both come with problems, that threaten to end the program.

I binge watched the whole lot over a single weekend, it's a fascinating documentary series, so interesting.

It's like a real life Oz, with Big Brother cameras watching, it's definitely a look at Prison life, but more so it's a study on human nature, the laws of the jungle as it were, a fascinating social experiment.

It's interesting the whole way through, you really do get to see how the program influences and changes people. Easy to write them all off as bad eggs, but there are signs of change, Randy and Crooks seem like really cool guys.

I chuckled to myself, who's the worst person to be locked down with, definitely Miller, wow that guy was so irritating.

Biggest nuisance - Miller Best tattoos - Crooks Most likely to cause a riot - Eastside Most level headed - Randy Worst person to play dominos - Weekley.

I urge you to watch it.

8/10.

Would have appreciated more background on the characters we are following through 8 full episodes. Multiple characters are shown in all 8 but never named, never explained. We follow them throughout the entire series with no information on their crimes, their time spent incarcerated already, their time left to serve.

Interesting idea but lacking the details. The personal details. The information needed to keep you invested in the people, the point of the series. Much left to be desired at the end as well as far as outcome. Seems a bit scripted in many scenes, definitely dramatized.

Better jail documentaries out there.

I just finished watching this show, and it's incredibly interesting on many levels.

It's amusing to see the transformation from initial skepticism- inmates believing "this isn't going to work"-to eventually taking responsibility, teaching others how to act, behave, and shape their identities.

Additionally, I have immense respect for everyone involved in making this documentary. The camera crew members were physically surrounded by inmates, risking their lives, yet the inmates showed respect and let them do their job.

The sheriff is a very good person. Often, people overlook the importance of empathy when dealing with inmates. Although inmates are incarcerated due to their actions, many are there because they lacked role models or were never taught the basic rules of society, leading them to commit crimes without considering the consequences.