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.

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.

Wow, hope this system can b used and implemented in all the prisons. What a fantastic change that was made by these men in real time/life. To see them get to change their ways by their own decisions was an epic change for prisons. Men coming away from prison with many new abilities that will help them survive on the "outside" and ability to handle conflicts and life. They come out with skills and some pride in themselves. What a fantastic idea, this comes from a mom of an offender who would have loved to see him come home with a skill and a decent personality, and the ability to make good decisions and get along with people.

Congratulations to Arkansas facility and hope they can get started to implement this system.

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.

If I hear 'you know what I'm sayin' one more time.. jee.sus! They need to add speech therapy to the curriculum. Such a bad habit.

It was nice to watch them grow throughout the program just as it was frustrating to watch them fail.

Kudos to the sheriff and his backers. This should be started at juvie tho. Nip it in the bud early.

The series showed just enough plot, good feels, says and a bit of eye-rolling periods but that's what fast firward/skip 10s is for ;)

I was hesitant to watch 'another jail reality show' but this one's promise for a good outcome for the inmates keeps you watching. ;) ..