Unlocked: A Jail Experiment

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.

Watching this series brought out some glaring truths to me: both punishment and rehabilitation are what prison needs to be.

The hardest part of watching was seeing some of the men trying their best to become better men but not having the mental health support that they so desperately need. I'm sure the prison provides what it can, but without real change in the real world where mental health support should be available to everyone, then this will be an endless cycle. And the people holding the purse strings in Arkansas aren't willing to make changes at the prison for the better. This facility is only a county jail- yet it is being used to house inmates who are serving life sentences and have zero f's to give. Mixing a first time prisoner in with repeat offenders and those who will love their entire lives in jail is less than ideal.

As an Arkansan, I see firsthand how wide the disparities are between those who have and those who do not. Generational poverty, violence, drug abuse and more are running rampant everywhere. And do not fool yourself that everyone is getting an equal education.

If this look into a prison brought out any empathy, then please urge your lawmakers to support this sheriff and his staff as they try to balance punishment and rehabilitation in a novel way.

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!

The prisons in the US are bad! Finally some of the people running them has started to understand that how you treat people inside the walls will mirror how they will act when they get out.

To let the prisoners get responsibility and some freedom is the only way to educate them for the life after prison, and that is what the sherif in Arkansas that is head of the prison will make an experiment about.

Seeing how the inmates get into groups that wants to and don't wan to follow the rules is very interesting. Seeing how the prisoners change already from the first hours and all the way to the end of the show gave me tears in my eyes.

This is a documentary that I would recommend for everyone, and especially those who like prison movies or that has served time or even those that are going to serve time.

There is almost always hope if you just have the right mindset!

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.