With leaked footage from the inside, Sundance doc shows horrifying conditions in Alabama prisons
Incarcerated men in the Alabama prison system risked their safety to feed shocking footage of their horrifying living conditions to a pair of documentary filmmakers. The result is 'The Alabama Solution,' which premiered this week at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Filmmakers Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman became interested in Alabama prisons in 2019. Jarecki, the filmmaker behind 'The Jinx' and 'Capturing the Friedmans,' and Kaufman first gained access to the restricted grounds through a visit with a chaplain during a revival meeting held in the prison yards. There men pulled them aside and whispered shocking stories about the reality of life inside: forced labor, drugs, violence, intimidation, retaliation and the undisclosed truths behind many prisoner deaths.
This process eventually led them to incarcerated activists Melvin Ray and Robert Earl Council (also known as 'Kinetik Justice') who had for years been trying to expose the horrifying conditions and deep- seated corruption across the system. They helped feed dispatches to the filmmakers with contraband cellphones.
'We're deeply concerned for their safety, and we have been since the first time we met them,' said Kaufman. 'They've been doing this work for decades and as you see in the film, they've been retaliated against in very extreme ways. But there are lawyers who are ready to do wellness checks and visit them and respond to any sort of retaliation that may come.'
On Tuesday at the first showing of the film, she had Council on the phone listening in. They put the microphone up to the cellphone so that Council could speak.
'We thank you all for listening, for being interested,' Council said. 'On behalf of the brothers of Alabama, I thank you all.'
Several family members of their incarcerated subjects were also in the audience, including Sandy Ray, the mother of Steven Davis, who died in 2019 at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility, his face beaten beyond recognition. Prison officials said Davis was killed in self-defense because he didn't put down his weapons. The prisoners tell a vastly different story.
Alelur 'Alex' Duran, who spent 12 years in prison in New York, also helped produce the film. Jarecki said they wouldn't have taken on the subject without the expertise of someone who had been incarcerated.
'What you're seeing in this film is going on all over the nation,' Duran said.
Also embedded in the story is Alabama's long history of contracting prisoners to do work at private companies from Burger King to Best Western, an issue that The Associated Press investigated for over two years. The cheap, reliable labor force has generated more than $250 million for the state since 2000 — money garnished from prisoners' paychecks, the AP wrote in December. Parole numbers have also plummeted in recent years.
'We want to show viewers the truth about a system that has been cloaked in secrecy,' Jarecki said. 'We hope the film sparks an effort to allow access for journalists and others so the public can have transparency into how incarcerated citizens are treated and how our tax dollars are being spent. We hope to inspire Alabama's leadership to acknowledge the crisis and to overhaul its prison system and its use of forced labor.'
The film will have a theatrical release before it debuts on HBO sometime this year, but the specific dates and details are still being worked out. And while it is in its early days, the impact, Jarecki said, has already been seen, including in a class action labor lawsuit.
___
For more coverage of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/sundance-film-festival
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
13 hours ago
- BBC News
Edinburgh council 'inadequacies' found in handling of Cammy Day complaint
There were "inadequacies" in the way City of Edinburgh Council handled a complaint made against former leader Cammy Day, an independent investigation has Day became leader of the council in 2022 but stepped down in December 2024 after allegations he had sent inappropriate messages to Ukrainian April, a police investigation concluded that there was "no evidence of criminality."An independent review found that the complaint was handled well but found "inadequacies" in the way a previous complaint was dealt with. Edinburgh council tasked the former Information Commissioner Kevin Dunion with reviewing how complaints made against Day were newly-published report found no evidence of a potential complaint made in 2006 - before Day was a he concluded there were inadequacies with the way the then-council leader, Adam Nols-McVey, handled a complaint in 2018 when Day was the deputy leader of the seriousness of an allegation that a "senior Labour councillor" had "groomed" a 15-year-old boy meant Nols-McVey should have shared it with other senior officials, the report relating to the complaint were lost, with police later advising the fact the complaint was anonymous meant it couldn't be taken any Dunion said the loss of related emails was an "unintended and unexpected consequence" of the information not being broadly, the report says the council still lacks sufficient safeguards to prevent this type alleged behaviour in future. The report concluded that recent complaints about Councillor Day's alleged behaviour towards Ukrainian refugees in 2023 were handled properly and in line with the council's said, overall, complaints were for the most part handled properly and that the policies and procedures in place are broadly Day denies all the claims that have been made against him, telling a newspaper he is the victim of a co-ordinated political April, Police Scotland said that no criminality had been established during its investigation into Cammy Day that focused on the 2023 Adam Nols-McVey said the report acknowledges that the 2018 complaint was dealt with in a "sensitive manner prioritising the protection of the complainant while raising it with the police, senior council officers and, most importantly, giving the individual concerned advice and directing them to support available".He added "unless alleged victims choose to make an official complaint and go through the process, there are restrictions on what action authorities can take".It raised concerns about "egregious" leaking of information for political motives and alcohol-fuelled behaviour at social functions in the City will consider the report next Thursday.
The Herald Scotland
15 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Cammy Day complaints raises safe-guarding council issues, report says
The investigation focused on how the Council handled any allegations made, the policy and procedures in place to deal with similar types of allegations and what improvements could be made to safeguard against any inappropriate behaviour in future. The report makes a series of recommendations around the council's complaints procedures and whistleblowing policy with a focus on the safeguarding of victims. It comes after former City of Edinburgh Council leader resigned at the end of last year after two Ukrainian refugees who had settled in the city told a newspaper he repeatedly sent them inappropriate messages on a dating app. Since then, other complaints about Mr Day were revealed by the press. However, the former council leader has since been cleared of criminality in a separate Police Scotland investigation and has claimed he has been subject to a political plot against him. The inquiry published today by the council, however, found there is "no doubt" there is a "significant perceived power imbalance" around the complaints being made to Edinburgh City Council about the "alleged unwanted behaviour" of the former council leader. READ MORE: Cammy Day's conspiracy claims 'really wrong' says ex-Labour colleague Cammy Day probe widened to include all historic complaints The inquiry involved a detailed review of council policies, reports and other documents, webcasts of council meetings and 35 structured interviews. In his report, the author, Mr Dunion, who was appointed to the task in February, writes: "There which have apparently been reported up the management chain, such as alleged unwanted advances being made to junior staff but being treated as gossip, or concerns about a social relationship with a young member of staff being formed, but a procedural response taken, based around the narrow legal requirement for safeguarding." As part of its remit, his report considered whether the safeguards in the Council are sufficient to prevent behaviour such as that alleged in relation to Councillor Day occurring. Mr Dunion states: "The question has been posed in my remit as to whether the safeguards in the Council are sufficient to prevent behaviour such as that alleged in relation to Councillor Day occurring. "In short, the answer is no." Kevin Dunion (Image: supplied) He recommends further consideration of councillors' conduct, their interactions with staff and the appropriateness of some social events in the City Chambers. His comments come as in his review, he notes: "Several councillors and staff interviewed have commented adversely on this prevalent culture of hospitality, which can be taken to excess and have suggested that this practice cease completely." The report also includes a review of a 2018 complaint which involved a 15 year-old boy who was alleged to have been groomed online via email by the council leader and invited to his flat with "sexual intent" in 2010. Even in 2018, the complainant said he remained "fearful" of retaliation if the councillor concerned was made aware he was the complainant, according to the report. As is stated in the report, the complaint was not shared with the Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer. Commenting on the council's handling of this, Mr Dunion states: "There are some inadequacies in the handling of this complaint. "The seriousness of the claim of potentially criminal behaviour by a councillor, who might be the Deputy Leader, is such that the emails should have been shared by the Council Leader with the Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer. "They would then have been in a position to decide whether to contact the police or been able to respond to enquiries from them, had the complainant contacted the police as advised by the Business Manager." Mr Dunion also goes on to point out that the email containing the complaint mentioned the 15-year-old had previously suffered sexual abuse. The investigator states: "This was information which should have been provided to the Council, to decide whether to conduct its own enquiries." He adds: "An unintended and unexpected consequence of not sharing the complaints with the Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer, and retaining the email exchanges only in the individual mailboxes of the recipient, meant that they became vulnerable to loss, and thus significantly diminished the quality of evidence once a report was made to the police." Later on in his recommendations, Mr Dunion highlights the need to properly record complaints. Mr Dunion does, however, find that a complaint made to the Chief Executive in relation to Councillor Day in December 2023 regarding a Ukrainian refugee was "properly considered and investigated in line with the Council's policies and procedures." He also notes that the handling of the two whistleblowing disclosures made in 2023 were "well-handled and properly considered in line with the Council's policies". Recommended measures to improve the complaint system include improved awareness by councillors and staff of what constitutes bullying and harassment and a need for clear routes of the complaint, with expectations as to line management response. Mr Dunion also recommends greater emphasis on providing HR support for staff experiencing poor behaviour from councillors and better record keeping of complaints, informal as well as formal, so that patterns of poor behaviour may be recognised. He also suggests there should be a review of the whistleblowing policy and role of Whistleblowing Sub- Committee. Responding to the review, Chief Executive Paul Lawrence said: 'I want to thank Kevin Dunion for leading this sensitive review and for his report, not least given the complexity of the brief and tight timescales. 'I know this must have been challenging and a difficult experience for many people and I particularly want to thank those who came forward to be interviewed or provided information to the review. Your input is very much appreciated." Subject to approval by councillors next Thursday, the council is expected to bring a further report in August outlining their "proposed actions" in response to Mr Dunion's recommendations Mr Day led the city council's minority administration from 2022 and was deputy council leader for the five-year term preceding that. Concerns surrounding his behaviour had been raised twice through the council's external whistleblowing service, and directly with his former senior coalition partner, the SNP's Adam Nols-McVey. Following this, councillors unanimously agreed to commission a review of how all complaints were handled. Police also opened an investigation into an allegation of inappropriate behaviour against the 50-year-old. However, the police have since said their enquiries uncovered no criminality. Following the allegations, Mr Day claimed to have been the victim of a 'political attack' co-ordinated by his opponents in the City Chambers. Asked if she shared Mr Day's view the allegations that led to his resignation were part of a political plot, Council leader Jane Meagher told The Herald she was unable to comment, however, she did say there were people who want to "undermine" others. Ms Meagher said: 'I don't feel I've got enough information about that. 'I think that inevitably in politics there are people who work away to undermine, but I don't want to make any comment about that. What I want to say is that I am really looking forward to having the former council leader back in the party. 'He's been cleared by the police. I am so looking forward to welcoming him back because he's a very experienced and committed councillor." Pressed on whether she had concerns about the behaviour alleged in various press reports, the Scottish Labour council leader said she "prefer[s] to go with facts rather than allegations.'
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Telegraph
It's time meddling councils were put in their place
The days when a law-abiding Englishman could go through his life barely interacting with the state beyond the policeman and the postman are long gone. Even so, it is dispiriting to see the eagerness with which minor government apparatchiks seize every opportunity to infringe on personal freedoms and impose inconveniences on the population. Labour-controlled Hammersmith and Fulham Council's decision to fine a resident £1,000 for putting out his bins a few hours early before travelling away from home is a perfect example of the type of small-minded bureaucracy that permeates life in modern Britain. It fits all too neatly into a schema containing the proliferation of anti-driver Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and 20mph zones imposed against the wishes of residents, the excessive taxation of those who dare to own a second home, and the impression that local officials are all too willing to interfere and meddle in the daily lives of their residents with little sense of self-restraint. Hammersmith and Fulham has taken this logic further than most, with uniformed enforcement teams patrolling the borough and issuing fines 'day and night, seven days a week', without providing the safety and security of police officers. But establishing a specialist unit of jobsworths is merely a logical continuation of a broader trend across the country as a whole. A stranger arriving in Britain for the first time could be forgiven for believing that the primary role of local government is to restrict choice and wage war on convenience. It is hard to otherwise explain the sheer extent to which councils delight in imposing their whims on residents, and the sheer number of rules weighing down daily interactions with the public sector. Rather than viewing their role as providing services to the taxpayers who fund them, however, it seems to be that councils see their job as ensuring adherence to the most rigid interpretation of the rules possible, enforcing ideological conformity with ambitions such as net zero or biodiversity improvement, and – potentially – levying fines to help balance the books. The result is an unending war on convenience, and ever greater state intrusions into daily life that should rapidly be reined in.
