1
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000
Downloaded from
YTS.MX
2
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000
Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
3
00:00:37,912 --> 00:00:39,706
Mic check, one, two, three.
4
00:00:39,789 --> 00:00:42,292
One, two, three.
Mic check, one, two, three.
5
00:00:54,846 --> 00:00:58,725
Well, today, they, um,
they're here doing a revival...
6
00:00:59,684 --> 00:01:01,478
and everybody's just joyful.
7
00:01:05,023 --> 00:01:08,443
We're gonna have fun
and food and everything.
8
00:01:08,526 --> 00:01:12,864
Everything's gonna be a good day
at Easterling Prison.
9
00:01:23,833 --> 00:01:26,544
It's a day that you really
don't get in prison...
10
00:01:27,879 --> 00:01:32,550
because there's not a lot of hope
inside an institution.
11
00:01:33,301 --> 00:01:34,469
And it has to be brought in.
12
00:01:37,722 --> 00:01:39,390
I want to pray for Alabama.
13
00:01:39,474 --> 00:01:41,559
- I want to pray for our system.
- Yeah.
14
00:01:41,643 --> 00:01:43,186
Amen.
15
00:01:43,269 --> 00:01:44,979
- Yes, sir.
- Amen.
16
00:01:45,063 --> 00:01:46,981
And we walked through
them hoods, man.
17
00:01:47,065 --> 00:01:48,483
And we made a difference.
18
00:01:49,692 --> 00:01:52,153
- I am my brother's keeper.
- I am my brother's keeper.
19
00:01:52,237 --> 00:01:55,573
- I am my brother's keeper.
- I am my brother's keeper.
20
00:01:55,657 --> 00:01:58,076
It's not a coincidence
that y'all came in here today.
21
00:01:59,285 --> 00:02:00,703
Why do you say that?
22
00:02:01,830 --> 00:02:04,415
Because they don't show you
the meat that we get.
23
00:02:04,499 --> 00:02:05,834
It's not nothing like this.
24
00:02:07,710 --> 00:02:10,213
They should let y'all go
inside the dorms.
25
00:02:10,296 --> 00:02:11,923
You think it's hot out here?
26
00:02:12,006 --> 00:02:14,926
Right now just imagine
sleeping in a tin building
27
00:02:15,009 --> 00:02:17,262
with 120-some other people.
28
00:02:19,597 --> 00:02:21,724
This ain't fit for human society.
29
00:02:24,185 --> 00:02:26,271
Hey, what's going on
with that camera?
30
00:02:26,354 --> 00:02:27,939
Y'all see him?
31
00:02:29,232 --> 00:02:30,859
Heat only bring animosity.
32
00:02:31,401 --> 00:02:33,611
So you just imagine
what we go through in there.
33
00:02:35,488 --> 00:02:36,823
Come on inside the dorms, man.
34
00:02:36,906 --> 00:02:38,074
Show the dorms.
35
00:02:39,492 --> 00:02:41,452
We in lockdown 24/7, man.
36
00:02:41,744 --> 00:02:44,664
We locked down in the hot air.
Let us go.
37
00:02:45,874 --> 00:02:48,501
Hot, hot, hot.
We can't go outside, man.
38
00:02:56,676 --> 00:02:58,553
A lot of things
that are going on in here
39
00:02:58,845 --> 00:03:01,181
people in society
don't really know about.
40
00:03:02,557 --> 00:03:04,058
They beat me so bad
41
00:03:04,142 --> 00:03:05,143
I literally
42
00:03:05,768 --> 00:03:07,312
defecated on myself.
43
00:03:08,479 --> 00:03:10,773
Last Friday, Saturday,
Sunday, and Monday,
44
00:03:10,857 --> 00:03:13,651
there was a stabbing every day
that have not been reported.
45
00:03:14,694 --> 00:03:15,987
Swept under the rug.
46
00:03:17,488 --> 00:03:19,365
There's something being covered up.
47
00:03:19,449 --> 00:03:20,533
Who's covering it up?
48
00:03:20,617 --> 00:03:22,035
The Department of Corrections.
49
00:03:24,996 --> 00:03:26,539
I ain't scared to talk to nobody.
50
00:03:27,457 --> 00:03:28,791
But when you come in here
with these cameras
51
00:03:28,875 --> 00:03:30,335
and put these folks up here,
52
00:03:30,418 --> 00:03:32,170
they want us to sound
like 'good old boys.'
53
00:03:32,378 --> 00:03:34,130
But I ain't trying to hear that shit.
54
00:03:34,547 --> 00:03:35,673
That's why everybody's
going up there,
55
00:03:35,757 --> 00:03:36,841
going to eat, and coming back in.
56
00:03:36,925 --> 00:03:38,801
Why they won't let us out?
57
00:03:41,679 --> 00:03:43,181
We're finished.
We're finished. We're finished.
58
00:03:43,264 --> 00:03:44,307
What are we finished with?
59
00:03:44,390 --> 00:03:45,433
Filming. Filming.
60
00:03:45,808 --> 00:03:46,893
Why?
61
00:03:48,269 --> 00:03:50,855
We gonna lock it down.
We gonna lock them out.
62
00:03:50,939 --> 00:03:52,357
There's no officer with you all.
63
00:03:52,857 --> 00:03:55,109
This is a prison.
And you're walking up by yourself,
64
00:03:55,193 --> 00:03:57,153
talking to the inmates
by yourself up there.
65
00:03:58,071 --> 00:03:59,822
We're finished, we're finished.
I mean,
66
00:04:00,031 --> 00:04:01,324
our filming is over.
67
00:04:43,408 --> 00:04:44,492
Raoul?
68
00:04:46,786 --> 00:04:49,163
- Hey.
- Hey, how are you?
69
00:04:49,247 --> 00:04:50,540
I'm good. How are you?
70
00:04:50,623 --> 00:04:52,166
I'm okay.
71
00:04:52,250 --> 00:04:54,877
Do you mind
if I record our conversation?
72
00:04:54,961 --> 00:04:57,422
No, I don't mind you recording,
I don't mind at all.
73
00:04:57,922 --> 00:05:01,092
They'll warn me
before officers get close to me.
74
00:05:01,467 --> 00:05:03,094
I'll know they're on the floor.
75
00:05:03,886 --> 00:05:05,263
I'm gonna be careful.
76
00:05:08,391 --> 00:05:09,642
They tell us all the time,
77
00:05:09,726 --> 00:05:10,977
you know, I'm in prison
78
00:05:11,060 --> 00:05:13,104
and it's because I did
something wrong.
79
00:05:13,771 --> 00:05:16,024
And I agree with that, you know.
80
00:05:16,941 --> 00:05:20,278
I shouldn't have did
some of the things that I did.
81
00:05:20,361 --> 00:05:22,280
But the end result is that
82
00:05:22,613 --> 00:05:24,699
whatever going on is not working.
83
00:05:25,366 --> 00:05:26,367
It need to stop.
84
00:05:29,579 --> 00:05:31,205
This is where we live at.
85
00:05:31,622 --> 00:05:33,124
Showing y'all how it is.
86
00:05:34,292 --> 00:05:35,293
Water...
87
00:05:36,210 --> 00:05:37,211
flood...
88
00:05:39,339 --> 00:05:41,674
It's pitiful, how we live.
89
00:05:45,136 --> 00:05:49,891
It take about two football fields
to get to Robert Earl.
90
00:05:51,184 --> 00:05:53,102
He's in solitary right now.
91
00:05:54,729 --> 00:05:57,690
They try and cut him
from all communication with people.
92
00:05:58,483 --> 00:06:00,568
They move him from lockup to lockup.
93
00:06:02,153 --> 00:06:03,154
But guess what?
94
00:06:03,237 --> 00:06:05,907
That's probably the best reason
to talk to him
95
00:06:06,449 --> 00:06:08,701
is because they don't want y'all to.
96
00:06:10,578 --> 00:06:11,579
Hey, Robert Earl.
97
00:06:13,581 --> 00:06:14,582
Hey.
98
00:06:14,791 --> 00:06:16,376
We need help down here.
99
00:06:17,001 --> 00:06:19,462
Everybody's life is in danger.
100
00:06:30,932 --> 00:06:32,141
How's it going?
101
00:06:32,809 --> 00:06:34,852
- Good.
- Ah.
102
00:06:36,479 --> 00:06:38,272
Thanks for talking with us.
103
00:06:38,773 --> 00:06:40,858
Sure, sure. I'm glad to.
104
00:06:41,442 --> 00:06:44,654
You know, I made a vow
to myself years ago,
105
00:06:44,737 --> 00:06:47,865
that I would never harm
another brother
106
00:06:47,949 --> 00:06:50,535
and allow anyone to harm
a brother around me.
107
00:06:50,910 --> 00:06:51,953
So, you know,
108
00:06:52,453 --> 00:06:55,331
it makes no sense to me
to be quiet, to sit down,
109
00:06:55,581 --> 00:06:59,460
and just accept things
as if they were okay
110
00:06:59,544 --> 00:07:01,045
because they're not okay.
111
00:07:05,049 --> 00:07:07,385
Bibb County Correctional Facility.
112
00:07:08,636 --> 00:07:10,638
Look at this guy living
under a table.
113
00:07:13,558 --> 00:07:15,893
There go another guy
on the floor, sleeping.
114
00:07:18,187 --> 00:07:20,189
The Alabama Department
of Corrections --
115
00:07:20,356 --> 00:07:21,649
- - the ADOC --
116
00:07:22,483 --> 00:07:24,277
they don't want the public to see
117
00:07:26,237 --> 00:07:27,822
the conditions in here.
118
00:07:34,912 --> 00:07:36,247
They don't want you to see
119
00:07:36,456 --> 00:07:38,583
the slave labor
that's going on inside.
120
00:07:39,667 --> 00:07:41,043
How long you been here?
121
00:07:41,127 --> 00:07:42,211
- How long you been here?
- Thirty.
122
00:07:42,295 --> 00:07:43,546
30 years, man.
123
00:07:44,046 --> 00:07:45,715
I been working every day.
124
00:07:45,798 --> 00:07:46,924
How much they been paying you?
125
00:07:47,008 --> 00:07:48,092
- How much they been paying you?
- Nothing.
126
00:07:49,051 --> 00:07:51,471
30 years, working every day for free.
127
00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:54,307
They cover up all
128
00:07:54,765 --> 00:07:56,434
the drug addiction.
129
00:07:57,602 --> 00:07:59,812
Man needs help, for real for real.
130
00:08:00,354 --> 00:08:01,689
Addiction is real.
131
00:08:02,899 --> 00:08:06,277
And the atrocities
and the corruption.
132
00:08:07,028 --> 00:08:08,029
Look at this.
133
00:08:09,071 --> 00:08:10,072
The riot team,
134
00:08:10,698 --> 00:08:11,824
they just beat some folks.
135
00:08:13,159 --> 00:08:14,160
See that?
136
00:08:14,994 --> 00:08:16,245
Man, that man bloody.
137
00:08:16,787 --> 00:08:17,955
Damn, man.
138
00:08:19,749 --> 00:08:22,126
When you hear
"Department of Corrections,"
139
00:08:22,210 --> 00:08:25,463
you think about an institution
where people
140
00:08:25,546 --> 00:08:26,881
are going to classes,
141
00:08:26,964 --> 00:08:28,966
people are getting treatment,
142
00:08:29,050 --> 00:08:32,011
people are doing things
towards correction.
143
00:08:32,094 --> 00:08:33,804
But that's nothing close
144
00:08:33,888 --> 00:08:38,017
to what's going on behind
the walls of the ADOC.
145
00:08:39,227 --> 00:08:41,187
We don't know if he dead or not.
146
00:08:43,189 --> 00:08:45,066
We have record numbers of people
147
00:08:45,149 --> 00:08:46,692
leaving out of here in body bags.
148
00:08:48,361 --> 00:08:49,987
Coroner came and got him.
149
00:08:51,447 --> 00:08:53,783
We're at a humanitarian crisis level.
150
00:09:07,171 --> 00:09:09,715
There's a man dead on that bed.
151
00:09:09,924 --> 00:09:11,175
He is not alive.
152
00:09:12,677 --> 00:09:16,222
As long as the ADOC
has control of the narrative
153
00:09:16,305 --> 00:09:18,891
then society will never understand
or believe
154
00:09:18,975 --> 00:09:20,977
what's really going on on the inside.
155
00:09:25,356 --> 00:09:29,735
And me and Melvin, we've lived this
for the last 20 years.
156
00:09:32,530 --> 00:09:33,948
Okay.
157
00:09:34,031 --> 00:09:36,659
- Melvin?
- Can you hear me?
158
00:09:37,243 --> 00:09:38,244
Yeah.
159
00:09:45,585 --> 00:09:46,752
Hold on a minute.
160
00:09:46,836 --> 00:09:48,796
- Police in here.
- Oh. Okay.
161
00:09:59,473 --> 00:10:01,100
It's okay, they're gone now.
162
00:10:01,601 --> 00:10:03,728
Would a regular phone call be better?
163
00:10:04,437 --> 00:10:08,691
No, because it does not allow us
to just be ourselves.
164
00:10:08,774 --> 00:10:11,277
You know,
when we present our stories,
165
00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:14,864
we want to present
our whole self, not just our voice.
166
00:10:19,994 --> 00:10:23,164
We're in these walled-off
secret societies.
167
00:10:25,708 --> 00:10:28,085
These are state institutions.
168
00:10:30,630 --> 00:10:34,050
But it's one of the only
state institutions
169
00:10:34,133 --> 00:10:38,179
that the public or the media
has no access to.
170
00:10:39,388 --> 00:10:42,600
How can a journalist
go into a war zone,
171
00:10:42,683 --> 00:10:46,354
but can't go into a prison
in the United States of America?
172
00:10:55,613 --> 00:10:57,281
Like, I can witness a murder--
173
00:10:57,365 --> 00:10:59,533
we could be all sitting here
and witness a murder--
174
00:10:59,617 --> 00:11:02,578
and the media can't even come
on the state property.
175
00:11:03,704 --> 00:11:06,165
Head warden leaving
176
00:11:06,707 --> 00:11:09,168
after this bad stabbing
just occurred.
177
00:11:10,336 --> 00:11:11,504
Uh oh.
178
00:11:12,421 --> 00:11:14,256
There goes another code.
179
00:11:16,384 --> 00:11:18,928
Because the media can't come
into the prisons,
180
00:11:19,136 --> 00:11:21,681
more and more people
are taking videos...
181
00:11:21,889 --> 00:11:24,141
and if we don't have
these cell phones,
182
00:11:24,225 --> 00:11:26,936
we don't have a way
to capture these incidents.
183
00:11:33,025 --> 00:11:34,902
The public is already conditioned
184
00:11:34,985 --> 00:11:37,697
not to believe a person
who is incarcerated.
185
00:11:37,780 --> 00:11:39,990
I'm in prison. I'm supposed to lie.
186
00:11:40,074 --> 00:11:43,160
I'm supposed to make up excuses.
I'm supposed to exaggerate.
187
00:11:45,204 --> 00:11:48,708
That's why the administration
hate the recording.
188
00:11:51,669 --> 00:11:53,212
They seen a dude with a phone
189
00:11:54,296 --> 00:11:57,258
and the lieutenant called a code.
190
00:11:58,426 --> 00:12:01,303
Even though these officers
are bringing these phones in,
191
00:12:01,387 --> 00:12:04,223
selling them, you know,
black market in prison...
192
00:12:04,598 --> 00:12:06,100
they are still illegal.
193
00:12:07,226 --> 00:12:10,271
Contraband continues
to be a deadly problem
194
00:12:10,354 --> 00:12:12,606
that plagues Alabama's prisons.
195
00:12:12,690 --> 00:12:14,734
We're talking about cell phones.
196
00:12:15,693 --> 00:12:17,737
They focus more on the phones...
197
00:12:17,945 --> 00:12:21,407
instead of the incident
that was recorded with the phone.
198
00:12:22,658 --> 00:12:24,869
It is a fight every day.
199
00:12:24,952 --> 00:12:27,538
And we continue to struggle with it.
200
00:12:27,621 --> 00:12:30,583
But there's a lot of work still
to be done to defeat cell phones
201
00:12:30,666 --> 00:12:31,876
inside the prison system.
202
00:12:33,544 --> 00:12:35,546
They have been trying over the years
203
00:12:36,464 --> 00:12:38,466
to block the reception and signal.
204
00:12:39,675 --> 00:12:41,177
So we know that
205
00:12:41,594 --> 00:12:44,430
having access to phones
can end any day.
206
00:12:45,681 --> 00:12:47,057
And we have been taking
207
00:12:47,141 --> 00:12:48,684
life-and-death risks
208
00:12:48,768 --> 00:12:50,394
to get this information out --
209
00:12:51,812 --> 00:12:53,522
while we still can.
210
00:12:57,568 --> 00:12:58,569
In Alabama,
211
00:12:59,528 --> 00:13:00,863
they're denying reality.
212
00:13:01,989 --> 00:13:04,617
All these dead bodies,
all these people that got killed.
213
00:13:05,242 --> 00:13:07,703
I mean, they're just denying reality.
214
00:13:08,621 --> 00:13:11,457
The reality is, Alabama doesn't have
an incarceration problem.
215
00:13:11,540 --> 00:13:13,876
We have a criminal
and a crime problem.
216
00:13:15,878 --> 00:13:18,714
It's a continuous cycle of violence,
217
00:13:18,798 --> 00:13:20,841
a lack of accountability.
218
00:13:20,925 --> 00:13:23,803
And without us being able
to inform society
219
00:13:23,886 --> 00:13:25,554
about what's happening,
220
00:13:25,638 --> 00:13:27,932
these incidents
are not even reported.
221
00:14:03,342 --> 00:14:05,344
We're looking for Steven Davis.
222
00:14:05,928 --> 00:14:07,680
We think he's in the ICU.
223
00:14:08,264 --> 00:14:09,890
Go up to the ninth floor.
224
00:14:30,119 --> 00:14:31,370
It's a body bag.
225
00:14:31,453 --> 00:14:33,122
- It's a what?
- It's a body bag.
226
00:14:33,998 --> 00:14:35,207
That person is not...
227
00:14:35,749 --> 00:14:36,959
Not alive.
228
00:14:37,668 --> 00:14:39,003
If you could...
229
00:14:39,086 --> 00:14:40,880
If you could go out to the wait room,
230
00:14:40,963 --> 00:14:42,548
or I can help you by calling,
231
00:14:42,631 --> 00:14:45,342
but I'd prefer you not stand
in front of the room.
232
00:14:45,426 --> 00:14:47,261
- Okay, sure.
- Thanks.
233
00:14:48,345 --> 00:14:50,097
We should find his family.
234
00:15:11,827 --> 00:15:13,913
I sat and held his hand all night.
235
00:15:16,790 --> 00:15:18,667
Even though you couldn't tell
it was him.
236
00:15:24,632 --> 00:15:26,842
I feel like I'm in a dream, you know?
237
00:15:27,176 --> 00:15:28,552
I know.
238
00:15:29,762 --> 00:15:30,846
We're here for you.
239
00:15:32,222 --> 00:15:33,223
Don't...
240
00:15:34,391 --> 00:15:36,852
He didn't deserve this.
241
00:15:40,981 --> 00:15:43,192
You've got to take care of yourself.
242
00:15:43,275 --> 00:15:45,110
You're gonna wind up in the hospital.
243
00:15:47,821 --> 00:15:50,366
He's telling me, "Mama,
I'm gonna get out of here.
244
00:15:50,449 --> 00:15:52,451
I'm going to get out.
I'm going to get out."
245
00:15:52,534 --> 00:15:54,328
Hey, Stevie.
246
00:15:57,998 --> 00:16:00,250
Who's gonna call me and bug me?
247
00:16:01,085 --> 00:16:03,337
I always said, he's in prison
and he called more than
248
00:16:03,420 --> 00:16:04,630
the other kids.
249
00:16:12,846 --> 00:16:14,640
Well, when I got the phone call,
250
00:16:14,723 --> 00:16:18,102
I didn't know what really happened.
251
00:16:18,978 --> 00:16:21,230
And the first thing
that went through my mind is,
252
00:16:21,313 --> 00:16:24,191
Steven done got stabbed,
he done got beat up.
253
00:16:26,068 --> 00:16:27,653
That's the only two things
it really can be.
254
00:16:27,736 --> 00:16:30,197
I mean, you're in jail.
You're in prison.
255
00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:31,615
You walk back in the ICU,
256
00:16:31,699 --> 00:16:34,660
and they had him
in the very, very back of the ICU,
257
00:16:35,577 --> 00:16:39,832
in a different part that had a room
258
00:16:39,915 --> 00:16:41,917
so the security guards,
you know, could monitor
259
00:16:42,001 --> 00:16:43,502
who come in, come out.
260
00:16:44,712 --> 00:16:48,549
That one guard asked me,
"Do you know what happened?"
261
00:16:48,632 --> 00:16:51,343
I said no.
I said, "Do you know anything?"
262
00:16:51,427 --> 00:16:54,138
"Nope." He knew something.
263
00:16:54,221 --> 00:16:56,765
I could tell, he was a liar.
He knew something.
264
00:16:58,559 --> 00:17:00,060
People could come in,
265
00:17:00,144 --> 00:17:01,645
but only two at a time,
and we were not
266
00:17:01,729 --> 00:17:03,939
to bring any phones
or anything like that.
267
00:17:04,148 --> 00:17:06,567
That proves right there,
they were hiding something.
268
00:17:06,650 --> 00:17:08,652
Oh yeah. When we seen him,
269
00:17:08,736 --> 00:17:10,404
we knew what they were hiding.
270
00:17:11,071 --> 00:17:12,114
Him.
271
00:17:13,032 --> 00:17:17,703
They didn't want a picture
of him to be out there.
272
00:17:19,371 --> 00:17:21,165
Why did you take a photo?
273
00:17:22,624 --> 00:17:25,419
Because I didn't know
if we'd get the body or not.
274
00:17:25,502 --> 00:17:27,588
You're talking
about me taking a photo in ICU
275
00:17:27,671 --> 00:17:29,882
when you wasn't supposed to have
your phones in there?
276
00:17:29,965 --> 00:17:32,718
But I took it in there when
the cops were out back sleeping?
277
00:17:34,887 --> 00:17:36,847
Because I didn't know
if we'd get the body back.
278
00:17:36,930 --> 00:17:40,559
I didn't know how the rules
and stuff was, you know, with...
279
00:17:40,642 --> 00:17:43,520
'Cause Steven was the state's
responsibility. He was incarcerated.
280
00:17:43,604 --> 00:17:46,648
I didn't know if we'd get the body
and have a proper funeral.
281
00:17:46,732 --> 00:17:49,276
So I wanted to take a photo
for evidence.
282
00:17:54,031 --> 00:17:56,200
Every last breath,
I'll never get that picture
283
00:17:56,283 --> 00:17:58,243
out of my face of my son.
284
00:17:59,078 --> 00:18:01,205
As many pictures as I hang...
285
00:18:03,624 --> 00:18:05,167
of him being happy,
286
00:18:07,169 --> 00:18:08,879
laughing and stuff...
287
00:18:12,007 --> 00:18:18,263
that picture of what they done
to him overrides all the good.
288
00:18:30,734 --> 00:18:33,403
I would just like to know, how.
289
00:18:34,738 --> 00:18:37,116
I would like to know, why.
290
00:18:46,667 --> 00:18:48,877
- Hello?
- Hey.
291
00:18:48,961 --> 00:18:51,964
No, I ain't got
Birmingham news. What?
292
00:18:52,047 --> 00:18:53,882
They said that Little Steven,
293
00:18:53,966 --> 00:18:56,093
they opened his cell
and he rushed out,
294
00:18:56,176 --> 00:18:57,803
attacked the guards.
295
00:18:57,886 --> 00:19:00,180
Really? They had to subdue him
296
00:19:00,264 --> 00:19:01,807
and beat him to death?
297
00:19:01,890 --> 00:19:03,267
Somebody pull it up.
298
00:19:04,309 --> 00:19:06,228
Inmate dead after trying to attack
299
00:19:06,311 --> 00:19:08,605
a corrections officer with shivs.
300
00:19:08,689 --> 00:19:11,483
Steven Davis died
after attacking corrections officers
301
00:19:11,567 --> 00:19:13,986
at the William Donaldson
Correctional Facility.
302
00:19:14,069 --> 00:19:16,280
Investigators say
they tried several times
303
00:19:16,363 --> 00:19:18,198
to get him to put his weapons down
304
00:19:18,282 --> 00:19:20,701
before resorting to deadly force.
305
00:19:25,038 --> 00:19:27,332
Why are you finding this out
on the news
306
00:19:27,416 --> 00:19:28,750
after everyone else?
307
00:19:29,543 --> 00:19:31,044
Because I called the warden,
308
00:19:31,128 --> 00:19:33,172
and she has not called me back.
309
00:19:34,506 --> 00:19:37,467
They thought it was better
for the news to know than you?
310
00:19:37,801 --> 00:19:41,180
They're disconnecting theirself,
I guess, from it, by saying that--
311
00:19:41,263 --> 00:19:42,973
They can't just do it that easy.
312
00:19:43,056 --> 00:19:45,142
They can do what they want.
Y'all don't understand.
313
00:19:45,225 --> 00:19:47,477
They can actually do what they want.
314
00:19:48,979 --> 00:19:50,439
I'm so sorry.
315
00:20:02,326 --> 00:20:04,077
Hello? I'm sorry.
316
00:20:04,161 --> 00:20:07,289
I'm on oxygen, so I had
to take a minute there.
317
00:20:07,372 --> 00:20:10,042
Okay. Well, I understand.
318
00:20:10,125 --> 00:20:11,835
Who's this?
319
00:20:11,919 --> 00:20:14,004
Don't, you know, I'm just...
320
00:20:14,087 --> 00:20:16,298
I know you're grieving
and mourning, and I...
321
00:20:16,381 --> 00:20:17,716
but I just...
322
00:20:17,799 --> 00:20:19,509
I wanted to tell you that
323
00:20:19,593 --> 00:20:22,471
your son was beaten to death
by an officer.
324
00:20:23,430 --> 00:20:24,973
That was a murder.
325
00:20:25,474 --> 00:20:27,392
You know, they sweep stuff
underneath the rug
326
00:20:27,476 --> 00:20:29,228
all the time about this.
327
00:20:29,811 --> 00:20:32,439
I called the warden this afternoon.
328
00:20:32,522 --> 00:20:34,900
An hour later, there was
a statement on the news
329
00:20:34,983 --> 00:20:36,401
that he rushed out of his cell
330
00:20:36,485 --> 00:20:38,862
with two homemade weapons
and attacked them.
331
00:20:38,946 --> 00:20:40,322
A plastic knife.
332
00:20:41,114 --> 00:20:43,242
They always come up
with something to justify
333
00:20:43,325 --> 00:20:46,245
the excess brutality
and use of force.
334
00:20:46,328 --> 00:20:48,121
- Right.
- You can't beat a man to death.
335
00:20:48,205 --> 00:20:50,082
Those guys have pepper spray.
336
00:20:50,165 --> 00:20:51,708
And if somebody rushed at you,
337
00:20:51,792 --> 00:20:53,377
then you could have sprayed
that person.
338
00:20:54,127 --> 00:20:56,672
Yeah, they broke every bone
in his face.
339
00:20:56,755 --> 00:20:58,715
I'm not going to say
that everybody in there
340
00:20:58,799 --> 00:21:00,550
is a Sunday school choirboy,
341
00:21:00,634 --> 00:21:02,511
but the very fact in all of it is,
342
00:21:02,594 --> 00:21:05,931
is nobody deserves
to be beaten to death.
343
00:21:07,057 --> 00:21:09,768
You got to get an attorney
to look into this thing.
344
00:21:09,851 --> 00:21:12,437
I appreciate you so much. Thank you.
345
00:21:26,785 --> 00:21:27,786
Hello?
346
00:21:27,869 --> 00:21:28,954
Can you hear me now?
347
00:21:29,037 --> 00:21:30,163
Can you hear me?
348
00:21:30,247 --> 00:21:31,248
Hold on.
349
00:21:44,261 --> 00:21:47,848
If you hear me say, 'I hear some
keys,' you gotta mute your phone.
350
00:21:48,515 --> 00:21:49,683
Okay. Alright.
351
00:21:49,766 --> 00:21:50,851
Okay.
352
00:21:50,934 --> 00:21:52,144
So um...
353
00:21:52,686 --> 00:21:56,565
the media is reporting
what the prison system says.
354
00:21:57,441 --> 00:21:59,818
They're saying that he came
out of the cell,
355
00:21:59,901 --> 00:22:01,403
he had two knives
356
00:22:01,862 --> 00:22:04,781
and the officers felt threatened
so they used the
357
00:22:04,865 --> 00:22:07,659
force that they deemed necessary
to disarm him.
358
00:22:09,161 --> 00:22:11,455
But are they even asking,
359
00:22:11,997 --> 00:22:15,167
'How many other people in
the living area saw what happened?'
360
00:22:16,168 --> 00:22:18,670
I want to see what the inmates say.
361
00:22:21,340 --> 00:22:24,801
That day, I had went
to a service out in the chapel.
362
00:22:26,053 --> 00:22:28,847
And the dudes were saying
that the officers
363
00:22:28,930 --> 00:22:30,599
had whupped somebody.
364
00:22:30,682 --> 00:22:32,225
Later on,
365
00:22:32,309 --> 00:22:34,936
everybody go to hearing
that this guy's dead.
366
00:22:35,645 --> 00:22:38,357
You know, but a lot of them
are really scared
367
00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:39,858
to really say something.
368
00:22:39,941 --> 00:22:41,234
I mean, you know...
369
00:22:42,361 --> 00:22:44,821
to watch them kill somebody?
370
00:22:54,373 --> 00:22:57,000
After the incident,
about three hours later,
371
00:22:57,084 --> 00:22:58,835
I & I [Investigative Unit]
came up there
372
00:22:58,919 --> 00:23:00,587
and started putting down
373
00:23:00,670 --> 00:23:02,714
numbers, yellow numbers,
374
00:23:02,798 --> 00:23:04,174
like a crime scene,
375
00:23:04,883 --> 00:23:07,552
next to some spots of blood
on the floor
376
00:23:07,636 --> 00:23:09,554
and took pictures.
377
00:23:09,638 --> 00:23:12,808
By that time, the crime scene
is already compromised.
378
00:23:13,183 --> 00:23:16,770
The officers had inmates come in
and clean the floor up
379
00:23:16,853 --> 00:23:19,189
before I & I got there.
380
00:23:19,523 --> 00:23:21,733
Then they called the whole dorm out
one at a time
381
00:23:21,817 --> 00:23:23,860
and asked us,
'Who all seen something?'
382
00:23:24,319 --> 00:23:29,032
They were really trying to offer us
things like transfers
383
00:23:29,282 --> 00:23:31,701
if we didn't see anything.
384
00:23:32,285 --> 00:23:34,663
And they actually said those words?
385
00:23:34,746 --> 00:23:38,250
They said, 'Well, you know
if you didn't see anything,
386
00:23:38,667 --> 00:23:40,752
transfer would be nice
on your part...'
387
00:23:41,420 --> 00:23:42,671
Things like that.
388
00:23:43,004 --> 00:23:44,381
'If you do this,
389
00:23:44,464 --> 00:23:45,715
we can do this.'
390
00:23:47,634 --> 00:23:48,885
Hold on one minute.
391
00:23:50,178 --> 00:23:51,721
It's just crazy to me.
392
00:23:52,222 --> 00:23:54,057
How can we even trust them
393
00:23:54,474 --> 00:23:56,143
if we know you will kill one of us
394
00:23:56,226 --> 00:23:57,394
and then cover it up?
395
00:23:58,228 --> 00:24:00,147
It's still wrong for that man's mama
396
00:24:00,230 --> 00:24:02,274
not to know what happened to him.
397
00:24:02,858 --> 00:24:04,025
And they lying?
398
00:24:04,276 --> 00:24:05,527
That's just not right.
399
00:24:05,986 --> 00:24:07,112
It's not, you know,
400
00:24:07,195 --> 00:24:08,738
I'm sorry for being emotional.
401
00:24:09,156 --> 00:24:11,032
In here, we can't show this.
402
00:24:11,116 --> 00:24:12,367
I'm sorry.
403
00:24:12,451 --> 00:24:13,743
Amen.
404
00:24:32,220 --> 00:24:35,265
It's clear that a bunch of crimes
405
00:24:35,348 --> 00:24:37,851
are being committed and covered up
406
00:24:37,934 --> 00:24:40,604
by the Alabama Department
of Corrections.
407
00:24:43,398 --> 00:24:46,860
When you're dealing
with all these inequalities,
408
00:24:46,943 --> 00:24:50,071
it's easy to get caught up
in the vindictiveness,
409
00:24:50,155 --> 00:24:51,406
the vengefulness,
410
00:24:51,490 --> 00:24:54,743
and lose sight of who you truly are.
411
00:24:56,453 --> 00:24:58,288
Hold on one second.
412
00:25:03,543 --> 00:25:05,086
Sometimes it be like this.
413
00:25:08,798 --> 00:25:11,843
In here, I strive to stay sane.
414
00:25:14,137 --> 00:25:17,766
Can you see them?
My reading material.
415
00:25:18,517 --> 00:25:20,644
'The Critique of European Thought.'
416
00:25:21,186 --> 00:25:22,896
That's the one I'm reading now.
417
00:25:24,022 --> 00:25:26,525
'Metu Neter' --
that's my spirituality.
418
00:25:27,442 --> 00:25:29,861
'Mumia,' a jailhouse lawyer.
419
00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:32,822
And my 'Investing 101.'
420
00:25:34,115 --> 00:25:36,952
Just something to keep
my mind occupied.
421
00:25:39,621 --> 00:25:41,373
You know I've been in 30 years.
422
00:25:46,086 --> 00:25:48,296
I came to prison young.
423
00:25:50,507 --> 00:25:53,885
I was hustling in the streets
being a crack dealer.
424
00:25:55,387 --> 00:25:57,806
And somebody who's high
on crack cocaine
425
00:25:58,181 --> 00:25:59,558
was driving reckless.
426
00:26:01,685 --> 00:26:04,563
He had already
almost ran over two people
427
00:26:05,647 --> 00:26:07,857
and I'm directly in the trajectory
428
00:26:08,858 --> 00:26:10,485
of his oncoming car.
429
00:26:12,445 --> 00:26:13,905
As a last resort
430
00:26:14,906 --> 00:26:16,616
I shot the gun I had.
431
00:26:18,159 --> 00:26:19,786
It was self-defense.
432
00:26:20,829 --> 00:26:24,082
But, tragically, he lost his life.
433
00:26:27,502 --> 00:26:29,671
I was sentenced
to life without parole.
434
00:26:32,257 --> 00:26:35,176
I turned 21 in lockup.
435
00:26:36,595 --> 00:26:38,346
I was petrified.
436
00:26:40,140 --> 00:26:42,017
I was really just trying
437
00:26:42,100 --> 00:26:43,810
to fit in,
438
00:26:44,853 --> 00:26:46,479
trying not to get killed,
439
00:26:47,772 --> 00:26:50,317
trying to get money for my family.
440
00:26:52,402 --> 00:26:55,697
And other inmates realized that --
'You can get some drugs?'
441
00:26:56,698 --> 00:26:58,742
So I was like, 'Yeah,
I can get plenty of drugs,
442
00:26:58,825 --> 00:27:00,035
what you talkin' about?'
443
00:27:01,620 --> 00:27:04,247
So I participated in that in prison.
444
00:27:05,957 --> 00:27:07,334
You know, I was able to
445
00:27:07,417 --> 00:27:10,128
send my daughter's mother money
to help her out.
446
00:27:12,047 --> 00:27:14,382
I was able to pay for my daughter's
447
00:27:14,466 --> 00:27:16,676
birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese...
448
00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:19,721
But,
449
00:27:20,639 --> 00:27:21,640
I was lost.
450
00:27:23,558 --> 00:27:27,562
My fortune was that an organized,
structured way
451
00:27:27,812 --> 00:27:29,981
to learn about life
452
00:27:30,065 --> 00:27:31,483
was presented to me.
453
00:27:32,317 --> 00:27:33,860
Halifax County.
454
00:27:38,073 --> 00:27:42,327
Halifax County
was a self-help program
455
00:27:42,410 --> 00:27:45,705
that was created by inmates,
for inmates.
456
00:27:46,623 --> 00:27:48,667
These were incarcerated men
457
00:27:48,750 --> 00:27:52,837
who were students of the law
and teaching the law.
458
00:27:52,921 --> 00:27:56,508
They were part of a legacy
of jailhouse lawyers.
459
00:27:56,591 --> 00:27:58,718
You know, there was a lot
of brothers amongst us
460
00:27:58,802 --> 00:28:01,721
who had lived throughout
the '60s and '70s
461
00:28:01,805 --> 00:28:05,850
and had been imprisoned
for their activism in that era.
462
00:28:05,934 --> 00:28:07,435
And, you know, we didn't know
463
00:28:07,519 --> 00:28:11,022
that you were sleeping next
to a guy who was at Selma
464
00:28:11,106 --> 00:28:12,315
on Bloody Sunday.
465
00:28:18,488 --> 00:28:20,115
Training up under those men,
466
00:28:20,907 --> 00:28:23,535
you know, people say
it's a law class,
467
00:28:24,327 --> 00:28:26,913
it was so much more than a law class.
468
00:28:26,996 --> 00:28:30,959
It was like a rites of passage
of coming into manhood.
469
00:28:31,042 --> 00:28:33,044
From boys to men.
470
00:28:33,128 --> 00:28:35,964
A lot of us didn't even know
how to balance a checkbook.
471
00:28:36,047 --> 00:28:37,757
We didn't know how to buy groceries.
472
00:28:38,341 --> 00:28:41,553
Some of us didn't even have
social skills, etiquette.
473
00:28:43,179 --> 00:28:44,514
We just was blessed
474
00:28:44,597 --> 00:28:46,975
to be surrounded
by some older brothers
475
00:28:47,058 --> 00:28:49,728
who wanted to prepare us
to be Black men
476
00:28:49,811 --> 00:28:52,021
who could defend themselves
intellectually,
477
00:28:52,105 --> 00:28:53,565
and not just physically.
478
00:28:55,608 --> 00:28:57,318
You are given seven days
479
00:28:57,402 --> 00:28:59,946
to learn
the Constitutional amendments,
480
00:29:00,029 --> 00:29:01,781
and recite them.
481
00:29:01,865 --> 00:29:06,327
That's your introduction
to being a part of Halifax County.
482
00:29:06,411 --> 00:29:09,456
We had to learn the Alabama Rules
of Criminal Procedure,
483
00:29:09,539 --> 00:29:11,458
the Alabama Rules
of Appellate Procedure,
484
00:29:11,541 --> 00:29:13,334
the Alabama Rules of Evidence.
485
00:29:15,378 --> 00:29:17,338
This is how I met Robert Earl.
486
00:29:19,799 --> 00:29:21,342
This is how we became friends,
487
00:29:21,426 --> 00:29:23,178
this is how we became brothers.
488
00:29:25,221 --> 00:29:27,599
Halifax County
brought a spark of hope,
489
00:29:27,682 --> 00:29:29,184
a spark of life.
490
00:29:29,267 --> 00:29:32,771
We all we got, but we all we need.
491
00:29:37,275 --> 00:29:39,235
I'm inside the law library.
492
00:29:43,156 --> 00:29:44,949
Through our knowledge of the law
493
00:29:45,950 --> 00:29:47,827
we were able to see more clearly
494
00:29:48,661 --> 00:29:51,247
things going on around us
that were not right.
495
00:29:52,957 --> 00:29:55,126
You know, what happened
with Steven's death?
496
00:29:55,210 --> 00:29:56,669
This ain't nothing new,
497
00:29:56,753 --> 00:29:59,339
that they're using
excessive violence against us,
498
00:29:59,422 --> 00:30:01,508
you know, excessive force.
499
00:30:01,591 --> 00:30:05,845
As they saw us filing grievances
and filing lawsuits
500
00:30:05,929 --> 00:30:07,639
when our rights were violated,
501
00:30:07,722 --> 00:30:10,058
then it became,
"Oh, the library's closed today.
502
00:30:10,141 --> 00:30:12,101
Y'all can't go in there today."
503
00:30:12,185 --> 00:30:15,772
I mean, the Department
of Corrections was opposed
504
00:30:15,855 --> 00:30:19,275
to Halifax County
in every way possible.
505
00:30:20,860 --> 00:30:24,531
There came a point where
we had enough and we had to do more.
506
00:30:25,490 --> 00:30:29,494
We had to take our cases
to the court of public opinion.
507
00:30:35,458 --> 00:30:37,085
Free Alabama Movement,
508
00:30:37,168 --> 00:30:39,420
inside Alabama's Department
of Corrections.
509
00:30:40,338 --> 00:30:42,131
This is the movement, y'all.
510
00:30:42,215 --> 00:30:44,008
The movement is official.
511
00:30:44,092 --> 00:30:47,679
We are addressing the issues
of mass incarceration.
512
00:30:49,764 --> 00:30:51,474
I could never have created
513
00:30:51,558 --> 00:30:52,934
Free Alabama Movement
514
00:30:53,017 --> 00:30:54,602
without Kinetik.
515
00:30:54,686 --> 00:30:55,770
It took both of us.
516
00:30:57,230 --> 00:30:58,898
The combination of both of us
517
00:30:58,982 --> 00:31:01,901
is like a perfect algorithm.
518
00:31:01,985 --> 00:31:04,237
The same thing
you can say in two sentences,
519
00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:06,990
Melvin can turn
into a five-page report.
520
00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:11,786
Very thorough, very analytical.
521
00:31:12,912 --> 00:31:16,332
Kinetik, he's the guy that you need
522
00:31:16,416 --> 00:31:19,836
to deal with the prison environment.
523
00:31:19,919 --> 00:31:21,296
In a sense.
524
00:31:21,379 --> 00:31:24,173
My background is dealing
with street dudes,
525
00:31:24,924 --> 00:31:26,843
so I began organizing.
526
00:31:27,886 --> 00:31:29,971
And I told the brothers,
I said, 'Hey,
527
00:31:30,138 --> 00:31:33,057
they love to see us divided
and fighting one another.
528
00:31:33,892 --> 00:31:37,353
And their biggest fear is to see us
come together on one accord.'
529
00:31:38,771 --> 00:31:40,565
We have to come together
and make a stand
530
00:31:40,648 --> 00:31:42,567
that our life is worth something.
531
00:31:43,776 --> 00:31:46,905
Our labor is what funds this system.
532
00:31:48,323 --> 00:31:50,283
We gotta take our power back.
533
00:31:53,828 --> 00:31:56,497
And it wasn't just me and Kinetik.
534
00:31:57,415 --> 00:31:59,542
Guys throughout the prison
were posting...
535
00:32:01,461 --> 00:32:03,671
And we started organizing
our family members.
536
00:32:05,048 --> 00:32:06,716
They were all at the state capitol
537
00:32:07,467 --> 00:32:08,885
or at the Governor's Mansion.
538
00:32:09,761 --> 00:32:11,846
They couldn't get us out of the news.
539
00:32:11,930 --> 00:32:13,348
A movement is growing
540
00:32:13,431 --> 00:32:15,975
from inside prison walls
here in Alabama.
541
00:32:17,435 --> 00:32:18,645
We were working to
542
00:32:19,270 --> 00:32:21,189
make sure that
the Department of Justice
543
00:32:21,940 --> 00:32:24,525
was aware of our ongoing situation.
544
00:32:25,818 --> 00:32:29,405
You know, we were a force
against the administration.
545
00:32:31,282 --> 00:32:32,784
So what did they do?
546
00:32:33,952 --> 00:32:35,078
They attacked us for it.
547
00:32:35,912 --> 00:32:37,497
Cuff up.
548
00:32:37,580 --> 00:32:38,831
Cuff up!
549
00:32:44,295 --> 00:32:46,089
Y'all can see the
550
00:32:46,172 --> 00:32:49,175
damage to my head on both sides.
551
00:32:49,550 --> 00:32:52,178
That's where they were pounding
on my head at.
552
00:32:53,221 --> 00:32:54,722
Because we were encouraging
553
00:32:54,806 --> 00:32:57,058
people to demand
their human rights...
554
00:32:57,433 --> 00:33:00,019
they charged me and Melvin with
555
00:33:00,103 --> 00:33:01,813
the disruption of
556
00:33:01,896 --> 00:33:03,481
orderly operations,
557
00:33:03,815 --> 00:33:05,692
which is a security threat.
558
00:33:10,822 --> 00:33:14,784
And then they put Melvin
in my file as my enemy.
559
00:33:16,619 --> 00:33:19,330
We can't be around each other
in the same institution.
560
00:33:20,665 --> 00:33:22,792
One of us had to be transferred.
561
00:33:25,962 --> 00:33:29,924
We did about five years each
in solitary confinement.
562
00:33:31,134 --> 00:33:34,470
Because we had
the thought to be free,
563
00:33:34,554 --> 00:33:36,639
they punished us for it.
564
00:33:38,141 --> 00:33:41,561
ADOC tried to hold us incommunicado.
565
00:33:42,478 --> 00:33:44,105
But it was too late.
566
00:33:44,188 --> 00:33:46,315
We got through
to the federal government.
567
00:33:49,569 --> 00:33:52,113
Right now, the U.S. Justice
Department is launching
568
00:33:52,196 --> 00:33:55,616
an investigation into conditions
within Alabama's prison system.
569
00:33:58,619 --> 00:34:02,582
In 2016, when the Department
of Justice decided
570
00:34:03,082 --> 00:34:05,710
to actually conduct
an official investigation,
571
00:34:06,878 --> 00:34:09,380
this was the breaking of the shell.
572
00:34:11,382 --> 00:34:13,468
When they showed up
in the prison system,
573
00:34:13,551 --> 00:34:16,429
we didn't look at them
like knights in shining armor.
574
00:34:16,512 --> 00:34:20,475
We was looking at them like,
"Okay, what y'all gonna do?"
575
00:34:21,934 --> 00:34:23,186
At this point,
576
00:34:23,436 --> 00:34:25,772
everyone has a boatload
of information
577
00:34:26,439 --> 00:34:28,524
because of what we've been able
to put out there.
578
00:34:30,276 --> 00:34:32,987
We know that the DOJ has the power
579
00:34:33,237 --> 00:34:36,074
to step in and take control
of the prisons.
580
00:34:36,866 --> 00:34:40,745
Our hope is that the government,
the United States government
581
00:34:40,828 --> 00:34:43,539
will come down here
and hold Alabama accountable.
582
00:35:06,104 --> 00:35:08,064
At the tone,
please record your message.
583
00:35:08,147 --> 00:35:09,148
When you--
584
00:35:11,192 --> 00:35:14,278
The frustration's just overwhelming.
585
00:35:15,154 --> 00:35:17,198
It's just been walls.
586
00:35:18,783 --> 00:35:21,661
I called
the Department of Corrections.
587
00:35:21,744 --> 00:35:23,037
They don't answer.
588
00:35:23,121 --> 00:35:24,997
So I keep calling.
589
00:35:25,081 --> 00:35:27,667
I called I & I, got disconnected.
590
00:35:27,750 --> 00:35:29,252
Or hung up on, probably.
591
00:35:30,503 --> 00:35:32,922
They're the ones who are
supposed to be investigating
592
00:35:33,005 --> 00:35:34,882
what happened with Stevie.
593
00:35:34,966 --> 00:35:38,219
But then I realized how
it was all put together.
594
00:35:38,302 --> 00:35:41,597
I & I, Department of Corrections,
595
00:35:41,681 --> 00:35:42,765
they're all within...
596
00:35:42,849 --> 00:35:44,475
they're within the same building.
597
00:35:46,435 --> 00:35:48,187
I mean, they're all together.
598
00:35:49,272 --> 00:35:52,775
You've got to have someone
totally independent investigating.
599
00:35:53,901 --> 00:35:57,947
I mean, it's corrupt.
That's all you can say.
600
00:36:07,540 --> 00:36:11,002
Sandy came to me
after her son Steven was killed.
601
00:36:11,919 --> 00:36:13,963
What she wanted most of all
602
00:36:14,046 --> 00:36:17,216
was for the folks that killed her son
603
00:36:17,300 --> 00:36:19,135
to be held criminally responsible,
604
00:36:19,218 --> 00:36:21,220
which is what happens
when you murder people.
605
00:36:22,430 --> 00:36:25,641
The DOC hasn't shared
the information with Sandy.
606
00:36:25,725 --> 00:36:27,310
It's a black box.
607
00:36:28,186 --> 00:36:31,105
So I've set up lawyer calls
with inmates
608
00:36:31,189 --> 00:36:32,899
so they can speak freely
609
00:36:32,982 --> 00:36:34,692
about what happened.
610
00:36:38,070 --> 00:36:39,071
Hello?
611
00:36:39,155 --> 00:36:41,073
Hello. My name is Hank Sherrod.
612
00:36:41,157 --> 00:36:45,703
I represent the mother
of Steven Davis.
613
00:36:46,162 --> 00:36:47,955
I'd rather not get into that, sir.
614
00:36:49,123 --> 00:36:51,334
I didn't see anything,
because the cell I was in,
615
00:36:51,417 --> 00:36:52,793
I couldn't see that, sir.
616
00:36:52,877 --> 00:36:54,086
Right, but--
617
00:36:54,170 --> 00:36:55,963
That's why I said
I would rather not even...
618
00:36:58,007 --> 00:36:59,467
Is there-- Is a--
619
00:37:00,551 --> 00:37:01,844
Are you by yourself?
620
00:37:03,304 --> 00:37:05,514
No sir, uh, uh, I got an officer
standing right here.
621
00:37:05,598 --> 00:37:07,141
So this is supposed
to be an attorney call--
622
00:37:07,225 --> 00:37:09,518
I can end this call at anytime?
623
00:37:09,727 --> 00:37:11,687
There wasn't supposed
to be an officer in there.
624
00:37:14,815 --> 00:37:16,776
Can I end this call at any time?
625
00:37:16,859 --> 00:37:19,028
Nobody can make you talk to me...
626
00:37:20,363 --> 00:37:21,530
Okay.
627
00:37:27,578 --> 00:37:29,205
Let me ask you this.
628
00:37:33,876 --> 00:37:35,670
I don't really want to speak on it.
629
00:37:36,212 --> 00:37:38,464
I really don't want to do no talking
for real about
630
00:37:38,547 --> 00:37:40,383
nothing going on up here.
631
00:37:41,092 --> 00:37:43,052
If this motherfucker beat
a motherfucker to death
632
00:37:43,135 --> 00:37:45,263
then how would you feel
about testifying against him?
633
00:37:45,346 --> 00:37:47,640
You don't feel like your life
would be in danger?
634
00:37:48,641 --> 00:37:50,893
Excuse me, there's an officer
peeping in here.
635
00:37:51,477 --> 00:37:52,520
They cracking the door.
636
00:37:54,105 --> 00:37:56,941
Listen, I came to prison in 1985
637
00:37:57,650 --> 00:37:59,151
and I know what these folks will do.
638
00:38:01,195 --> 00:38:03,406
I can totally understand why somebody
639
00:38:03,489 --> 00:38:04,615
wouldn't want to get involved.
640
00:38:04,699 --> 00:38:08,619
I mean, there's no benefit to them.
641
00:38:09,620 --> 00:38:11,455
But hopefully somebody will speak.
642
00:38:13,749 --> 00:38:16,127
The only reason I'm coming forward
with this is because
643
00:38:17,336 --> 00:38:19,130
I feel like it will happen to me.
644
00:38:20,548 --> 00:38:22,675
They didn't have to beat him.
They didn't have to kill him.
645
00:38:25,094 --> 00:38:26,762
You know, what had happened,
646
00:38:27,388 --> 00:38:29,223
this inmate was telling people
647
00:38:29,307 --> 00:38:31,350
that Steven was, uh, gay, and...
648
00:38:32,435 --> 00:38:34,895
Steven had the right
to protect himself, right?
649
00:38:36,022 --> 00:38:38,149
God dang every inmate here now
650
00:38:38,232 --> 00:38:39,692
got to have a weapon on him.
651
00:38:41,110 --> 00:38:43,279
When the officer told him
to get down on the floor
652
00:38:43,362 --> 00:38:44,613
he got down on the floor.
653
00:38:46,115 --> 00:38:49,035
He laid his weapon
about 15 feet away from him.
654
00:38:50,369 --> 00:38:52,913
He did the exact thing
he's supposed to have did.
655
00:38:54,957 --> 00:38:57,752
Are you comfortable
saying who killed him?
656
00:38:59,420 --> 00:39:02,089
Three officers was involved
in the death, but
657
00:39:02,506 --> 00:39:04,800
Officer Gadson was the one
that killed him.
658
00:39:06,010 --> 00:39:08,179
Hit him with his metal stick
in the head,
659
00:39:09,555 --> 00:39:11,390
picked him up, throwed him down.
660
00:39:13,059 --> 00:39:15,895
He stomped the dude
with his size 15 boot.
661
00:39:18,230 --> 00:39:19,774
Stomped the guy's head on the floor
662
00:39:19,857 --> 00:39:22,193
and the guy's head bounced
like a basketball.
663
00:39:24,362 --> 00:39:26,197
Everybody was gathered around looking
664
00:39:26,572 --> 00:39:29,950
while the officers unmercifully beat
that guy to death.
665
00:39:33,621 --> 00:39:34,872
That's crazy.
666
00:39:36,582 --> 00:39:38,751
I'm hoping his people get justice.
667
00:39:40,127 --> 00:39:41,545
Thank you so much.
668
00:39:42,046 --> 00:39:43,381
Okay, thanks a lot.
669
00:39:43,464 --> 00:39:44,465
Take care.
670
00:39:44,548 --> 00:39:45,549
Yes, sir.
671
00:39:45,633 --> 00:39:46,634
Bye-bye.
672
00:39:59,730 --> 00:40:01,357
He seems credible to me.
673
00:40:03,150 --> 00:40:05,194
Um... He seemed to really care.
674
00:40:05,277 --> 00:40:10,783
I mean, I didn't hear anything
that set off any alarm bells,
675
00:40:10,866 --> 00:40:13,160
you know, regarding what happened.
676
00:40:14,203 --> 00:40:15,955
Now, if there are seven
or eight people
677
00:40:16,038 --> 00:40:17,915
who pretty much say the same thing,
678
00:40:18,499 --> 00:40:19,875
I think it's the Department
of Corrections
679
00:40:19,959 --> 00:40:21,502
that's going to have
to answer some questions
680
00:40:21,585 --> 00:40:26,382
from Sandy Ray about
what happened to Steven Davis.
681
00:40:27,925 --> 00:40:30,761
The officers tell the man
to put the knife down.
682
00:40:31,220 --> 00:40:33,973
He throwed the knife on the floor
and laid on the floor.
683
00:40:35,015 --> 00:40:37,393
Then you had inmates
screaming, saying,
684
00:40:37,476 --> 00:40:39,562
'What y'all gonna do,
y'all gonna kill him?'
685
00:40:40,396 --> 00:40:43,149
So Big G [Gadson] said,
'Fuck it, I'll kill him.'
686
00:40:44,233 --> 00:40:45,818
Big G [Gadson] came in and started
687
00:40:45,901 --> 00:40:47,403
picking him up and dropping him.
688
00:40:48,028 --> 00:40:50,114
Saying, 'Stay down, quit resisting.'
689
00:40:50,698 --> 00:40:52,575
There wasn't no resistance at all
from him.
690
00:40:53,742 --> 00:40:56,829
It's messed with me real bad,
you know, mentally.
691
00:40:57,496 --> 00:41:00,249
If it happened to him,
it could have happened to any of us.
692
00:41:08,549 --> 00:41:11,677
In prison, shit rolls downhill.
693
00:41:12,678 --> 00:41:15,598
The officers oppress us,
so we turn around
694
00:41:15,681 --> 00:41:20,102
and oppress someone
who we feel like is weaker than us.
695
00:41:22,146 --> 00:41:24,607
So in regards to Steven, you know,
696
00:41:25,691 --> 00:41:27,109
if someone calls you gay,
697
00:41:27,401 --> 00:41:28,569
and you're not gay,
698
00:41:29,612 --> 00:41:31,405
if you don't straighten that up
699
00:41:31,822 --> 00:41:34,742
he may be beat, may be raped,
may be tied up.
700
00:41:36,076 --> 00:41:37,453
He probably decided
701
00:41:37,536 --> 00:41:39,413
to try to defend himself and...
702
00:41:39,497 --> 00:41:42,082
officers took this as a license
703
00:41:42,166 --> 00:41:43,584
to beat and kill him.
704
00:41:47,796 --> 00:41:49,381
I spoke to many witnesses.
705
00:41:50,508 --> 00:41:52,134
The gist of what everybody said
706
00:41:52,218 --> 00:41:57,765
is that Steven was wanting
to put on a show of aggression.
707
00:41:57,848 --> 00:42:00,893
But when corrections officers
told him to stop,
708
00:42:00,976 --> 00:42:04,980
he got on the ground,
and then the beating commenced.
709
00:42:05,064 --> 00:42:07,733
That's the gist
of what everybody said,
710
00:42:07,816 --> 00:42:10,653
except for Mr. Sales.
711
00:42:14,281 --> 00:42:17,660
Officers told Steven Davis
to let go of the weapons,
712
00:42:18,410 --> 00:42:21,622
but the demeanor
towards the officers was threatening.
713
00:42:22,373 --> 00:42:23,874
His demeanor?
714
00:42:24,250 --> 00:42:25,251
Yeah.
715
00:42:26,043 --> 00:42:29,213
'Cause the weapons as they were,
were tied to his hands.
716
00:42:30,005 --> 00:42:32,758
He couldn't let them go anyway
if he wanted to.
717
00:42:32,841 --> 00:42:35,094
They were tied to his hands?
718
00:42:35,886 --> 00:42:36,887
Yes, sir.
719
00:42:36,971 --> 00:42:38,180
With what?
720
00:42:39,139 --> 00:42:40,140
Uh...
721
00:42:42,935 --> 00:42:45,980
like a sheet... like sheet string.
722
00:42:48,941 --> 00:42:51,819
What was Gadson doing
during the incident?
723
00:42:52,861 --> 00:42:58,993
He tried to render aid and assistance
to his, um, co-worker.
724
00:43:00,035 --> 00:43:01,787
To subdue Steven Davis.
725
00:43:01,870 --> 00:43:04,123
He provided aid and assistance.
726
00:43:04,748 --> 00:43:05,749
Yeah.
727
00:43:05,833 --> 00:43:07,376
What do you mean by that?
728
00:43:08,586 --> 00:43:09,587
Um,
729
00:43:10,170 --> 00:43:12,631
I guess whatever it means, man.
730
00:43:14,300 --> 00:43:15,634
According to their procedures
731
00:43:15,718 --> 00:43:18,304
they dealt with it the way
they were supposed to.
732
00:43:20,055 --> 00:43:23,642
Do you know the procedure
of when an inmate has a knife?
733
00:43:23,726 --> 00:43:24,727
I don't.
734
00:43:25,269 --> 00:43:28,105
When an inmate has a knife
and an officer is involved
735
00:43:28,188 --> 00:43:31,525
the officer is,
right then, at that moment,
736
00:43:31,817 --> 00:43:34,695
able to use lethal force
with a baton.
737
00:43:34,778 --> 00:43:38,240
And what lethal force is,
is strikes to the head.
738
00:43:38,324 --> 00:43:40,409
Where'd you learn about that?
739
00:43:45,873 --> 00:43:46,915
208.
740
00:43:47,958 --> 00:43:52,129
208 is -- administrative
regulation number 208 --
741
00:43:52,212 --> 00:43:55,132
Employee Standard
of Conduct and Discipline.
742
00:43:56,675 --> 00:43:57,926
Well, let me ask you this.
743
00:43:58,010 --> 00:44:00,638
Look, we can go around
and around about this
744
00:44:00,929 --> 00:44:02,097
in a circle.
745
00:44:03,098 --> 00:44:05,851
I go home in February.
746
00:44:06,560 --> 00:44:07,853
Yeah, that's not too far away--
747
00:44:07,936 --> 00:44:10,814
I don't need the problems
that this is bringing.
748
00:44:10,898 --> 00:44:11,982
You understand?
749
00:44:12,066 --> 00:44:14,193
You've got a lot at stake, don't you?
750
00:44:15,194 --> 00:44:18,405
Me speaking with you today
can cause me to get harmed.
751
00:44:19,782 --> 00:44:21,659
I & I pulled me out a total of
752
00:44:21,742 --> 00:44:24,078
six times about this situation.
753
00:44:24,578 --> 00:44:27,998
Every time, I put myself on the line.
754
00:44:28,290 --> 00:44:31,752
So you've been pulled out
by I & I six times?
755
00:44:32,503 --> 00:44:33,504
Yes.
756
00:44:35,172 --> 00:44:40,135
I told the I & I woman that
I was told by Captain [redacted],
757
00:44:40,219 --> 00:44:43,347
whatever I do for his officers,
he's gonna do for me.
758
00:44:43,430 --> 00:44:47,142
Meaning, if I sink one of them,
they're gonna sink my ass.
759
00:44:49,186 --> 00:44:50,813
I feel for his mama,
760
00:44:51,438 --> 00:44:53,607
but if she expects me
761
00:44:53,691 --> 00:44:55,693
to put my life in jeopardy
762
00:44:55,776 --> 00:44:58,028
to vindicate her son...
763
00:44:58,362 --> 00:45:01,323
then she's sadly mistaken
'cause I'm not going to do it.
764
00:45:02,491 --> 00:45:05,494
Listen, I can't imagine looking
at having freedom
765
00:45:05,577 --> 00:45:08,414
and being asked to jeopardize that.
766
00:45:09,832 --> 00:45:12,543
And nobody should be put
in a position
767
00:45:12,626 --> 00:45:14,378
where they have to choose between--
768
00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:18,340
Look, if his mother wants to talk
to me I'll tell her when...
769
00:45:20,175 --> 00:45:22,761
So once you get out of prison,
770
00:45:22,845 --> 00:45:25,013
you would talk to Steven's mother?
771
00:45:25,639 --> 00:45:29,143
I will not lie to that woman
in her face.
772
00:45:30,102 --> 00:45:33,397
But I can't do nothing for her
in prison.
773
00:45:34,857 --> 00:45:36,900
This is their world, bro.
774
00:45:38,318 --> 00:45:40,779
I've heard what you said today,
775
00:45:40,863 --> 00:45:43,031
and I will share with his mother
776
00:45:43,115 --> 00:45:46,285
your willingness to speak to her.
777
00:45:46,368 --> 00:45:48,245
- Alright.
- You take care and be safe.
778
00:45:48,328 --> 00:45:49,830
Yeah.
779
00:45:51,832 --> 00:45:52,833
Wow.
780
00:45:57,421 --> 00:46:01,759
So clearly he's being fed the...
781
00:46:02,718 --> 00:46:04,636
the officers' narrative.
782
00:46:06,472 --> 00:46:09,600
They just need one inmate
backing up their story
783
00:46:09,683 --> 00:46:11,810
to keep this from ever
going to court.
784
00:46:23,822 --> 00:46:25,449
We live in constant fear
785
00:46:25,949 --> 00:46:26,992
not knowing
786
00:46:27,284 --> 00:46:29,536
if the officers are going
to shake us down, beat us up,
787
00:46:29,912 --> 00:46:30,954
or kill us...
788
00:46:32,080 --> 00:46:33,081
Officer Gadson,
789
00:46:33,165 --> 00:46:35,834
he's a member of the 'Wrecking Crew,'
they're called.
790
00:46:36,502 --> 00:46:38,796
They're like a gang. They really are.
791
00:46:38,879 --> 00:46:41,173
They've broke
some of these dudes' arms,
792
00:46:41,256 --> 00:46:43,091
they've stomped their teeth out.
793
00:46:44,635 --> 00:46:46,637
They got a green light
to jump on guys
794
00:46:47,179 --> 00:46:50,516
and they got addicted
to physical brutality.
795
00:46:55,604 --> 00:46:58,398
I worked at Alabama
Department of Corrections
796
00:46:58,482 --> 00:46:59,608
for eight years,
797
00:46:59,691 --> 00:47:01,610
and I feel like no person
798
00:47:01,693 --> 00:47:02,986
should go through the situation
799
00:47:03,070 --> 00:47:04,905
that's going on in the prison
right now,
800
00:47:04,988 --> 00:47:06,406
as we speak.
801
00:47:07,241 --> 00:47:11,411
Correctional officers should be
the most reliable, trustworthy.
802
00:47:12,746 --> 00:47:14,665
You really want people
that will do the right thing
803
00:47:14,748 --> 00:47:16,124
when nobody's watching.
804
00:47:17,626 --> 00:47:19,545
But in Alabama, you don't have that.
805
00:47:21,338 --> 00:47:24,258
Every day I thought
I shouldn't be participating in this.
806
00:47:26,176 --> 00:47:28,887
There's just so much stuff
happening in there.
807
00:47:29,805 --> 00:47:32,224
So now there's a lot
of officers leaving.
808
00:47:33,976 --> 00:47:37,729
Sometimes, we have one officer
for 200, 300 inmates.
809
00:47:38,856 --> 00:47:42,150
With the low staffing,
and the mandatory overtime,
810
00:47:42,234 --> 00:47:45,028
you've got officers
that look like zombies.
811
00:47:46,530 --> 00:47:48,448
Look at this man in the cube, asleep.
812
00:47:54,288 --> 00:47:55,539
That's the cube.
813
00:47:55,622 --> 00:47:58,041
Ain't no police in the cube. None.
814
00:47:58,792 --> 00:48:00,586
Ain't no police in the dorm.
815
00:48:01,295 --> 00:48:02,921
Nowhere in the dorm.
816
00:48:04,006 --> 00:48:05,674
How do we get help?
817
00:48:07,384 --> 00:48:10,053
Because they're
so desperate for officers,
818
00:48:10,137 --> 00:48:12,681
they just hire anybody
that's going to do this job.
819
00:48:13,724 --> 00:48:16,059
So there's a lot of people
that seek these jobs.
820
00:48:16,143 --> 00:48:19,187
They're wanting to be
controlling and dominating.
821
00:48:21,064 --> 00:48:23,901
They were that kid picked on
through school and
822
00:48:23,984 --> 00:48:26,320
they stamp that ol' badge
on their shirt
823
00:48:27,571 --> 00:48:28,572
and now,
824
00:48:29,865 --> 00:48:30,991
they're that bully.
825
00:48:31,700 --> 00:48:32,910
They're that bully.
826
00:48:35,203 --> 00:48:36,997
All the officers,
they told me straight up,
827
00:48:37,998 --> 00:48:40,459
'Anything these inmates do,
you got the green light.'
828
00:48:41,084 --> 00:48:43,086
'They kick on the door,
beat their ass.'
829
00:48:46,465 --> 00:48:48,383
'They talk crazy to you,
beat their ass.'
830
00:48:51,428 --> 00:48:54,181
'Anything they do out of line,
beat their ass.'
831
00:48:55,515 --> 00:48:58,393
And that's what they did.
Beat their ass.
832
00:49:07,277 --> 00:49:09,321
This is supposed
to be rehabilitation.
833
00:49:09,404 --> 00:49:11,031
What you rehabilitating?
834
00:49:11,698 --> 00:49:15,035
You can't rehabilitate a man
by beating the hell out of him.
835
00:49:19,039 --> 00:49:22,084
It's not just a couple of bad apples.
836
00:49:22,167 --> 00:49:23,460
This is a norm.
837
00:49:23,543 --> 00:49:25,295
It goes on in every prison.
838
00:49:28,674 --> 00:49:31,635
There is an extensive history
839
00:49:31,718 --> 00:49:35,555
of pro se lawsuits
we filed for decades
840
00:49:35,639 --> 00:49:38,976
against the same officers.
841
00:49:39,059 --> 00:49:40,936
The "pro se" means "for self."
842
00:49:41,019 --> 00:49:42,604
We're filing it ourselves,
843
00:49:42,688 --> 00:49:44,982
without assistance from attorneys.
844
00:49:45,065 --> 00:49:47,651
They're not taking up
this litigation. We are.
845
00:49:48,568 --> 00:49:50,821
That's what we were taught
at Halifax County.
846
00:49:52,489 --> 00:49:54,574
There is enough paperwork done
847
00:49:54,658 --> 00:49:56,785
for people to understand
848
00:49:56,868 --> 00:49:59,204
just how wide of a scale this is.
849
00:50:02,624 --> 00:50:05,711
All you have to do
is go to the federal courts
850
00:50:05,794 --> 00:50:07,504
and look for the pro se litigation.
851
00:50:11,133 --> 00:50:14,428
But because there is no regard
for our lives
852
00:50:15,262 --> 00:50:18,098
there is no consequences
for their actions.
853
00:50:28,025 --> 00:50:30,110
Twenty lawsuits filed against you.
854
00:50:30,193 --> 00:50:31,737
Pro se lawsuits.
855
00:50:31,820 --> 00:50:34,698
It's like a pattern there.
You see that?
856
00:50:34,781 --> 00:50:36,491
I see what they're alleging.
857
00:50:38,910 --> 00:50:40,787
Do you recognize that document?
858
00:50:40,871 --> 00:50:42,164
No, I don't.
859
00:50:42,998 --> 00:50:44,666
Can you read that?
860
00:50:44,750 --> 00:50:47,294
"These officers then used
open hands, closed hands,
861
00:50:47,377 --> 00:50:50,756
feet, sticks,
and a shield to beat me.
862
00:50:50,839 --> 00:50:52,507
Stomping, kicking,
punching, slapping,
863
00:50:52,591 --> 00:50:54,760
and hitting me with a stick,
and shield.
864
00:50:54,843 --> 00:50:56,094
I stated several more times
865
00:50:56,178 --> 00:50:57,471
that I was not resisting.
866
00:50:57,554 --> 00:51:00,307
Once again, my pleas were ignored."
867
00:51:00,390 --> 00:51:02,017
That doesn't ring any bells for you?
868
00:51:02,100 --> 00:51:03,727
Doesn't help you recollect anything?
869
00:51:03,810 --> 00:51:05,062
No, it don't.
870
00:51:06,188 --> 00:51:08,732
I ain't finna tell you
that I ain't never used force
871
00:51:08,815 --> 00:51:10,108
'cause I'd be lying to you.
872
00:51:10,859 --> 00:51:12,569
I ain't never used excessive force.
873
00:51:13,361 --> 00:51:14,696
You never used excessive force?
874
00:51:14,780 --> 00:51:15,781
No, sir.
875
00:51:17,282 --> 00:51:19,493
Another man was put
into a medically induced coma
876
00:51:19,576 --> 00:51:22,746
based on the beating that you
and your squad gave him.
877
00:51:22,829 --> 00:51:24,331
You're saying that's necessary force.
878
00:51:24,414 --> 00:51:26,249
You can be placed
in a medically induced coma
879
00:51:26,333 --> 00:51:27,959
if they're doing surgery on you.
880
00:51:29,127 --> 00:51:31,129
I'm just ask-- I'm just saying.
881
00:51:32,255 --> 00:51:34,466
"Officer Gadson
grabbed me, picked me up,
882
00:51:34,549 --> 00:51:36,343
and slammed me
into the concrete floor
883
00:51:36,426 --> 00:51:38,178
while in handcuffs."
884
00:51:39,304 --> 00:51:40,806
That doesn't mean anything to you?
885
00:51:40,889 --> 00:51:42,057
I mean, what...
886
00:51:42,140 --> 00:51:43,683
That's all them alleg--
887
00:51:43,767 --> 00:51:45,227
It's allegations. I mean...
888
00:51:46,520 --> 00:51:48,605
So you're a victim
of frivolous lawsuits?
889
00:51:51,983 --> 00:51:53,235
Hey.
890
00:51:53,318 --> 00:51:54,778
If that's what you call it.
891
00:51:57,989 --> 00:52:00,617
When an officer has
a lawsuit pending on them
892
00:52:01,701 --> 00:52:03,662
a lot of them look at it as if
893
00:52:03,745 --> 00:52:06,540
'Aw man, I got my cherry popped.'
You know what I'm saying?
894
00:52:07,582 --> 00:52:11,253
If you wrote your statement
and you did your interview with I & I
895
00:52:12,003 --> 00:52:13,505
and they cleared you of it,
896
00:52:13,588 --> 00:52:16,424
once you get to court
that's an open and shut case.
897
00:52:20,762 --> 00:52:23,348
Every lawsuit
that I've been involved in,
898
00:52:24,391 --> 00:52:26,476
an inmate ain't never won.
899
00:52:26,560 --> 00:52:28,979
But you settled some
of those lawsuits, haven't you?
900
00:52:29,062 --> 00:52:31,523
- Who, I have?
- Or your attorney on your behalf
901
00:52:31,606 --> 00:52:32,774
has settled those lawsuits.
902
00:52:32,858 --> 00:52:34,776
I don't know which ones they settle.
903
00:52:34,860 --> 00:52:36,778
Have you ever personally
had to pay a settlement
904
00:52:36,862 --> 00:52:38,238
because of one of these lawsuits?
905
00:52:38,321 --> 00:52:39,531
I haven't.
906
00:52:40,574 --> 00:52:43,076
The state pays their legal bills.
907
00:52:43,160 --> 00:52:46,121
If they lose,
the state pays the settlement.
908
00:52:54,963 --> 00:52:58,341
It's a whole state apparatus
that we're litigating against.
909
00:52:58,425 --> 00:53:01,511
It's not just the COs,
or the sergeants,
910
00:53:01,595 --> 00:53:02,846
or the lieutenants.
911
00:53:02,929 --> 00:53:04,973
It's the captains, it's the wardens,
912
00:53:05,056 --> 00:53:06,308
the Commissioner's office,
913
00:53:06,391 --> 00:53:08,185
and the Attorney General's Office.
914
00:53:08,268 --> 00:53:10,145
Understanding that the state
915
00:53:10,228 --> 00:53:12,564
is settling one lawsuit
after another.
916
00:53:12,647 --> 00:53:14,274
Beating someone, beating someone,
917
00:53:14,357 --> 00:53:15,525
beating someone.
918
00:53:15,609 --> 00:53:17,694
And these people did not get fired.
919
00:53:17,777 --> 00:53:19,529
They did not get suspended.
920
00:53:20,697 --> 00:53:23,533
An inmate got more rights than I got.
921
00:53:23,617 --> 00:53:25,410
- How so?
- You know.
922
00:53:25,493 --> 00:53:27,162
That's why you're defending them.
923
00:53:28,413 --> 00:53:30,248
Somebody's defending you too, right?
924
00:53:30,332 --> 00:53:31,374
Right.
925
00:53:41,259 --> 00:53:42,969
Welcome back to The Jeff Poor Show
926
00:53:43,053 --> 00:53:45,222
on FM Talk 1065.
927
00:53:45,305 --> 00:53:47,766
I want to kick it off
with the prison problem.
928
00:53:47,849 --> 00:53:50,477
The Department of Justice,
kind of keeping an eye on them,
929
00:53:50,560 --> 00:53:52,103
watching it very close.
930
00:53:52,187 --> 00:53:53,396
Here's how it works, guys.
931
00:53:53,480 --> 00:53:54,856
Federal government could say,
932
00:53:54,940 --> 00:53:56,441
"You can't get this problem solved.
933
00:53:56,524 --> 00:53:58,276
We'll solve it for you."
934
00:53:58,360 --> 00:53:59,778
What if that happens here?
935
00:54:02,614 --> 00:54:04,908
New tonight, the Justice Department
files a lawsuit
936
00:54:04,991 --> 00:54:07,035
for conditions in state prisons.
937
00:54:07,619 --> 00:54:09,454
A Justice Department investigation
938
00:54:09,537 --> 00:54:13,083
found conditions throughout
the entire Alabama prison system
939
00:54:13,166 --> 00:54:15,043
are unconstitutional.
940
00:54:15,126 --> 00:54:17,504
Alarming new report
from the Justice Department
941
00:54:17,587 --> 00:54:18,880
details horrifying conditions
942
00:54:18,964 --> 00:54:22,842
and regular occurrences
of murder and rape.
943
00:54:22,926 --> 00:54:24,970
According to the DOJ,
944
00:54:25,053 --> 00:54:28,056
an excessive amount
of violence, sexual abuse,
945
00:54:28,139 --> 00:54:31,142
and prisoner deaths
occur on a regular basis.
946
00:54:31,226 --> 00:54:35,313
ADOC appears unable to prevent
drugs in its prisons.
947
00:54:35,397 --> 00:54:38,650
And unlawful uses of force
are common.
948
00:54:38,733 --> 00:54:41,736
During a beating,
nurses heard an officer yell,
949
00:54:41,820 --> 00:54:46,116
"I am the reaper of death,
now say my name."
950
00:54:46,199 --> 00:54:47,784
This comes more than four years
951
00:54:47,867 --> 00:54:50,036
after the DOJ opened investigation
952
00:54:50,120 --> 00:54:51,496
into the state's prison system.
953
00:54:52,455 --> 00:54:55,250
State officials are pushing back.
954
00:54:55,333 --> 00:54:58,086
Alabama Attorney General
Steve Marshall.
955
00:54:58,169 --> 00:55:00,171
Let's leave no doubt behind.
956
00:55:00,255 --> 00:55:02,340
What the Department of Justice
wants to do
957
00:55:02,424 --> 00:55:03,633
is to be able to take over
958
00:55:03,717 --> 00:55:05,593
the Alabama Department
of Corrections.
959
00:55:05,677 --> 00:55:08,430
That's not the remedy
that we believe is appropriate.
960
00:55:08,513 --> 00:55:09,931
We're going to defend
Alabama's interests.
961
00:55:19,399 --> 00:55:20,608
Hey there.
962
00:55:21,526 --> 00:55:25,572
We're celebrating the fact
that the DOJ filed that lawsuit.
963
00:55:26,406 --> 00:55:28,575
Like, this is what's
actually happening.
964
00:55:29,492 --> 00:55:31,369
This ain't our version,
965
00:55:31,453 --> 00:55:34,456
this is a third party,
independent investigation.
966
00:55:35,582 --> 00:55:38,001
The only thing I'm worried about is
967
00:55:38,084 --> 00:55:39,210
you already saw what
968
00:55:39,294 --> 00:55:41,588
the Attorney General Marshall said,
969
00:55:41,671 --> 00:55:42,756
'Feds don't tell us what to do,
970
00:55:42,839 --> 00:55:44,257
they're not going to run Alabama.'
971
00:55:44,799 --> 00:55:46,217
It's already a fight.
972
00:55:48,386 --> 00:55:51,014
The evidence in the lawsuit
is overwhelming.
973
00:55:51,931 --> 00:55:54,142
How can you defend this?
974
00:55:54,684 --> 00:55:56,269
Say you didn't know, Steve.
975
00:55:56,353 --> 00:55:58,021
To learn that
976
00:55:58,271 --> 00:56:00,482
I represent a state
that this is going on
977
00:56:00,565 --> 00:56:01,566
and my position is,
978
00:56:01,649 --> 00:56:03,985
'I'm going to use all the resources
at my disposal
979
00:56:04,069 --> 00:56:05,195
to defend this...'
980
00:56:05,278 --> 00:56:07,405
then it speaks volumes about
981
00:56:08,156 --> 00:56:09,699
the state of Alabama.
982
00:56:15,121 --> 00:56:16,122
You have to remember
983
00:56:16,623 --> 00:56:18,166
this is the heart of Dixie.
984
00:56:19,959 --> 00:56:22,545
This is where the capital
of the Confederacy was at.
985
00:56:25,173 --> 00:56:29,052
Everything that Alabama
has done in regards
986
00:56:29,135 --> 00:56:31,554
to justice and equality,
987
00:56:31,638 --> 00:56:34,224
they were forced to do it
by the federal government.
988
00:56:35,433 --> 00:56:39,813
From the Civil War,
to ending chattel slavery,
989
00:56:40,730 --> 00:56:42,816
to stopping segregation.
990
00:56:44,401 --> 00:56:47,237
They don't believe in letting
nobody outside dictate
991
00:56:47,862 --> 00:56:49,864
how they deal with their people.
992
00:56:51,241 --> 00:56:54,369
You know what I'm saying,
"We gonna have an Alabama solution."
993
00:56:54,452 --> 00:56:56,204
It's got to be an Alabama solution.
994
00:56:56,287 --> 00:56:58,498
We cannot tolerate the alternative,
995
00:56:58,581 --> 00:57:02,001
which is having the DOJ
take it over, turn folks loose.
996
00:57:02,085 --> 00:57:04,045
It's our problem, we got to own it,
997
00:57:04,129 --> 00:57:05,171
we got to fix it.
998
00:57:14,722 --> 00:57:15,723
Hey.
999
00:57:16,766 --> 00:57:17,934
Hold on one second.
1000
00:57:20,645 --> 00:57:24,816
So, uh, how I feel about Alabama
right now ain't very good.
1001
00:57:25,817 --> 00:57:28,069
Because the DOJ investigated
1002
00:57:28,820 --> 00:57:30,738
and they ain't doing nothing
about it.
1003
00:57:31,322 --> 00:57:32,323
And now
1004
00:57:33,366 --> 00:57:35,493
ain't nobody making parole.
1005
00:57:38,204 --> 00:57:40,331
Records show
the number of paroles granted
1006
00:57:40,415 --> 00:57:43,585
in Alabama has plummeted
to a new low.
1007
00:57:43,668 --> 00:57:45,462
In just three years,
1008
00:57:45,545 --> 00:57:47,005
parole rates have fallen
1009
00:57:47,088 --> 00:57:49,966
by a staggering 72%.
1010
00:57:51,009 --> 00:57:53,428
Alabama's parole rate is so low,
1011
00:57:53,511 --> 00:57:56,139
it doesn't offer any hope
to prisoners.
1012
00:58:03,271 --> 00:58:05,356
I've been locked up since I was 16
1013
00:58:06,107 --> 00:58:08,318
and I've been here 33 years.
1014
00:58:10,361 --> 00:58:12,322
I've been up for parole three times.
1015
00:58:13,990 --> 00:58:16,618
So what kind of state of mind
am I supposed to be in?
1016
00:58:17,494 --> 00:58:19,245
Am I just supposed to just sit here
and say, 'Well,
1017
00:58:19,579 --> 00:58:21,706
they might let me out after I do 50'?
1018
00:58:25,668 --> 00:58:28,963
But I'm not gonna act
like I don't understand
1019
00:58:29,047 --> 00:58:31,007
the other side of the crime.
1020
00:58:32,383 --> 00:58:35,303
Some victims
have really been through hell.
1021
00:58:36,513 --> 00:58:38,806
And I can't soften that none.
1022
00:58:41,935 --> 00:58:43,728
But you mean to tell me that
1023
00:58:43,811 --> 00:58:46,814
none of these dudes deserve
a second chance?
1024
00:58:49,984 --> 00:58:51,819
It hurts when I think about it.
1025
00:58:54,405 --> 00:58:56,824
I've been on drugs, I've been...
1026
00:58:58,201 --> 00:59:00,537
I've been through the whole cycle.
1027
00:59:01,204 --> 00:59:04,457
It's, it's just a coping thing.
1028
00:59:04,999 --> 00:59:06,584
It don't help nothing.
1029
00:59:09,003 --> 00:59:12,382
We try and block out the things
that cause us pain...
1030
00:59:14,425 --> 00:59:16,386
the pain of never getting out.
1031
00:59:18,638 --> 00:59:19,973
And I ain't gonna lie.
1032
00:59:20,390 --> 00:59:22,267
I haven't been a model prisoner.
1033
00:59:23,977 --> 00:59:25,353
I sold drugs,
1034
00:59:26,521 --> 00:59:28,815
shit that wasn't good, you know...
1035
00:59:31,359 --> 00:59:32,360
But
1036
00:59:32,443 --> 00:59:35,780
the officers,
they play a big part in it.
1037
00:59:37,991 --> 00:59:41,661
The volume of drugs that come in
comes from the officers.
1038
00:59:43,705 --> 00:59:45,915
If you're an officer
that's willing to bring it in,
1039
00:59:45,999 --> 00:59:48,918
you know, it's not like
a free market enterprise.
1040
00:59:49,002 --> 00:59:50,128
It's more like a monopoly.
1041
00:59:50,211 --> 00:59:51,963
So you could bring in drugs.
1042
00:59:52,046 --> 00:59:54,048
Oh, easy. Very easy.
1043
00:59:55,091 --> 00:59:57,218
There's no checkpoints
out at the front.
1044
00:59:57,302 --> 00:59:59,262
There's no dogs anymore.
1045
00:59:59,345 --> 01:00:01,264
So they're not even going
to be paying attention.
1046
01:00:02,265 --> 01:00:04,392
I just wonder if they're afraid
they'll catch somebody too
1047
01:00:04,475 --> 01:00:07,228
and have to fire them,
because we're so shorthanded.
1048
01:00:07,312 --> 01:00:09,689
So which is worse,
somebody bringing in drugs?
1049
01:00:09,772 --> 01:00:11,983
Or that person
not being there anymore?
1050
01:00:16,988 --> 01:00:18,156
This dorm I'm in
1051
01:00:18,239 --> 01:00:21,034
is supposed to be
a rehabilitation treatment center.
1052
01:00:22,118 --> 01:00:23,578
And when dudes come in here
1053
01:00:23,953 --> 01:00:25,246
most of them want help.
1054
01:00:27,206 --> 01:00:30,877
It's a federally funded program
since '99.
1055
01:00:31,753 --> 01:00:34,797
The money -- it ain't coming to us,
that's for damn sure.
1056
01:00:36,049 --> 01:00:39,218
There's no program to help you
with drug treatment,
1057
01:00:39,552 --> 01:00:41,387
there's no relapse prevention...
1058
01:00:43,097 --> 01:00:44,974
Nobody in here helping us with shit.
1059
01:00:46,976 --> 01:00:49,145
What happened was, our counselor,
1060
01:00:49,228 --> 01:00:52,065
he had been working here
for nine years.
1061
01:00:53,274 --> 01:00:54,984
He turned in a resignation.
1062
01:00:56,152 --> 01:00:58,863
Before he left, he pretty much
1063
01:00:58,946 --> 01:01:01,074
told me how to do everything.
1064
01:01:03,409 --> 01:01:06,037
And right now I'm in charge
of the treatment.
1065
01:01:08,081 --> 01:01:10,583
I facilitate the classes.
1066
01:01:12,627 --> 01:01:14,837
I'm making a list
of the pre-treatment,
1067
01:01:14,921 --> 01:01:17,590
the active treatment,
the aftercare...
1068
01:01:20,385 --> 01:01:22,387
Helping a brother get in here, man.
1069
01:01:22,470 --> 01:01:23,471
Here we go.
1070
01:01:25,098 --> 01:01:26,683
I mean, I can tell a dude,
1071
01:01:26,974 --> 01:01:30,228
you know, what I did
to rehabilitate, but
1072
01:01:30,311 --> 01:01:33,314
I'm pretty sure that there's
more ways than I know
1073
01:01:33,398 --> 01:01:35,400
that are available to people
1074
01:01:35,483 --> 01:01:38,736
that want to try and, you know,
kick this habit.
1075
01:01:39,362 --> 01:01:42,490
Especially one that's killing people
at an all-time rate.
1076
01:01:42,865 --> 01:01:44,742
I mean... it's just
1077
01:01:45,159 --> 01:01:46,160
constant.
1078
01:01:48,162 --> 01:01:49,706
This morning a dude just OD'ed.
1079
01:01:50,540 --> 01:01:51,999
We found him on the toilet.
1080
01:01:53,334 --> 01:01:56,295
He OD'ing,
there ain't a police in here.
1081
01:01:57,505 --> 01:01:58,715
- Hey!
- Hey!
1082
01:01:58,798 --> 01:02:00,133
Hey, hold him up. Hold him up.
1083
01:02:01,509 --> 01:02:03,469
I don't want to watch people die.
1084
01:02:05,096 --> 01:02:06,889
You gotta get it out of him, man.
1085
01:02:27,410 --> 01:02:29,579
We got a laundry cart,
1086
01:02:29,662 --> 01:02:32,039
we'll run them to the infirmary.
1087
01:02:33,332 --> 01:02:35,042
We'll be the ambulance.
1088
01:02:37,295 --> 01:02:39,714
And some of them make it
and some of them don't.
1089
01:02:43,676 --> 01:02:45,344
You keep seeing people die,
1090
01:02:45,887 --> 01:02:47,513
seeing people OD,
1091
01:02:48,473 --> 01:02:51,476
I only know so much,
you know what I'm saying, uh...
1092
01:02:53,144 --> 01:02:55,396
It's kind of hard
because you get to know them.
1093
01:02:56,314 --> 01:02:59,525
You know, they're regular people
just with a problem.
1094
01:03:17,168 --> 01:03:19,545
So is there anything we can say
1095
01:03:19,629 --> 01:03:22,590
about the nature
of criminal behavior?
1096
01:03:24,175 --> 01:03:26,135
I think there are evil people
in the world,
1097
01:03:26,219 --> 01:03:28,262
and I think there are individuals
1098
01:03:28,346 --> 01:03:31,682
that have absolutely
no regard for human life.
1099
01:03:32,558 --> 01:03:34,936
Is the prison system
close to working?
1100
01:03:35,019 --> 01:03:38,105
Does it require a massive overhaul?
1101
01:03:38,189 --> 01:03:40,399
I think we have a strategic plan
in place.
1102
01:03:40,483 --> 01:03:43,986
There's an argument that there is
some systemic problem
1103
01:03:44,070 --> 01:03:45,488
within all of our facilities,
1104
01:03:45,571 --> 01:03:47,323
and I wholeheartedly
disagree with that.
1105
01:03:50,159 --> 01:03:51,953
"We dare defend our rights."
1106
01:03:52,036 --> 01:03:54,831
That is a motto of this state
that I think matters.
1107
01:03:55,373 --> 01:03:57,124
We have the opportunity
to push back against
1108
01:03:57,208 --> 01:03:59,836
what we think is an overreach
of the Department of Justice.
1109
01:04:01,629 --> 01:04:05,007
We don't necessarily embrace
the fact that Washington, D.C.,
1110
01:04:05,091 --> 01:04:06,968
has all the answers.
1111
01:04:07,051 --> 01:04:09,136
We want to be able to do it
ourselves in ways
1112
01:04:09,220 --> 01:04:10,888
that we think make sense for Alabama.
1113
01:04:10,972 --> 01:04:14,350
And in fact, the governor's plan
demonstrates that.
1114
01:04:17,937 --> 01:04:20,773
Her Excellency, Kay Ellen Ivey.
1115
01:04:22,149 --> 01:04:23,442
A lot to tackle.
1116
01:04:23,526 --> 01:04:25,194
Lawmakers are under an edict
1117
01:04:25,278 --> 01:04:26,696
from the federal government
1118
01:04:26,779 --> 01:04:30,366
to solve ongoing issues
in the state prison system.
1119
01:04:30,449 --> 01:04:33,035
Here now, the governor,
live from Montgomery.
1120
01:04:35,413 --> 01:04:36,831
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
1121
01:04:36,914 --> 01:04:38,249
Please be seated.
1122
01:04:39,625 --> 01:04:42,211
You heard me say this before,
and I'll say it again.
1123
01:04:42,795 --> 01:04:44,463
This is an Alabama problem
1124
01:04:44,547 --> 01:04:47,008
that must have an Alabama solution.
1125
01:04:47,091 --> 01:04:50,386
I look forward to working
with each of you to solve it.
1126
01:04:56,475 --> 01:04:59,687
I've asked Commissioner Dunn
to build three new prisons
1127
01:04:59,770 --> 01:05:02,023
that will transition our facilities
1128
01:05:02,106 --> 01:05:05,818
from warehousing inmates
to rehabilitating people.
1129
01:05:10,156 --> 01:05:13,701
The governor's plan calls
for replacing 11 major prisons
1130
01:05:13,784 --> 01:05:16,329
with three regional mega-prisons.
1131
01:05:16,412 --> 01:05:18,623
That's the best you can do
in the state of Alabama
1132
01:05:18,706 --> 01:05:20,207
and people are dying?
1133
01:05:20,291 --> 01:05:21,792
People are being killed?
1134
01:05:21,876 --> 01:05:25,838
And the best you can say is,
"We got new prisons coming."
1135
01:05:26,964 --> 01:05:28,132
This won't address
1136
01:05:28,215 --> 01:05:29,967
the state's overcrowding problem.
1137
01:05:30,051 --> 01:05:32,553
There'll be the same issue
since there will be the same number
1138
01:05:32,637 --> 01:05:34,180
of beds
in the Department of Corrections.
1139
01:05:34,263 --> 01:05:35,473
Is that correct?
1140
01:05:37,058 --> 01:05:38,059
Pretty much.
1141
01:05:39,852 --> 01:05:41,479
The governor estimates the cost
1142
01:05:41,562 --> 01:05:44,190
for the new prisons
would be around $900 million.
1143
01:05:44,774 --> 01:05:48,527
- $900 million.
- $900 million.
1144
01:05:49,570 --> 01:05:52,156
Building new prisons has nothing
to do with the DOJ mandate.
1145
01:05:56,243 --> 01:05:59,121
It's strictly about
issuing out contracts
1146
01:05:59,205 --> 01:06:00,957
to people to build these new prisons.
1147
01:06:02,500 --> 01:06:05,753
There's a lot of people
with their hands in the pot.
1148
01:06:05,836 --> 01:06:07,588
So the building of three mega-prisons
1149
01:06:07,672 --> 01:06:10,091
is a big, big, big money scheme.
1150
01:06:11,217 --> 01:06:14,136
We're gonna build those prisons
because we need those prisons.
1151
01:06:36,200 --> 01:06:39,036
No one around here understands.
1152
01:06:41,580 --> 01:06:44,583
He was beat to death
in prison by a guard.
1153
01:06:45,292 --> 01:06:46,919
By a guard?
1154
01:06:49,755 --> 01:06:53,342
Well, what did he do
to go to prison Sandy?
1155
01:06:53,801 --> 01:06:57,388
He was with a couple and the guy
that was with him shot someone.
1156
01:06:58,055 --> 01:06:59,890
So Steven was with him,
1157
01:06:59,974 --> 01:07:02,309
so he got charged with murder too.
1158
01:07:03,561 --> 01:07:05,813
Has your boy ever been, uh,
1159
01:07:05,896 --> 01:07:08,357
on dope or alcohol?
1160
01:07:10,735 --> 01:07:13,362
At a time,
they've all done it, you know?
1161
01:07:18,492 --> 01:07:19,827
A lot of people are cold.
1162
01:07:19,910 --> 01:07:21,537
They say "They deserve it.
They're in prison.
1163
01:07:21,620 --> 01:07:22,997
What do you expect?"
1164
01:07:23,873 --> 01:07:25,624
They don't care how they're treated.
1165
01:07:27,168 --> 01:07:30,838
But, you know, I never thought
I would be in this situation,
1166
01:07:30,921 --> 01:07:34,383
that I would have to care how
someone was treated in prison.
1167
01:07:39,555 --> 01:07:41,640
I'm just waiting
for Stevie's roommate,
1168
01:07:41,724 --> 01:07:44,769
James Sales, to get out
so we can talk.
1169
01:07:44,852 --> 01:07:47,772
Because right now
he's just too afraid,
1170
01:07:47,855 --> 01:07:49,690
which I can understand.
1171
01:07:49,774 --> 01:07:52,485
Steven's not the only one
that's been beaten.
1172
01:07:53,319 --> 01:07:56,113
He's not the only one
that's gonna be beaten.
1173
01:07:56,197 --> 01:07:58,532
They deserve to be kept safe.
1174
01:08:08,959 --> 01:08:12,797
It's a little more tense and
a little more stressful than usual.
1175
01:08:14,632 --> 01:08:16,300
The administration believes that
1176
01:08:16,801 --> 01:08:18,844
I brought the DOJ here.
1177
01:08:19,929 --> 01:08:22,306
They feel like I'm trying
to get them fired.
1178
01:08:24,016 --> 01:08:25,976
They feel like it's
in their best interest
1179
01:08:26,060 --> 01:08:28,938
for Free Alabama Movement
to get snuffed out.
1180
01:08:29,563 --> 01:08:32,024
With us buried in a cell
or something like that.
1181
01:08:34,026 --> 01:08:37,404
I try to keep two, three people
with me at all times and
1182
01:08:37,822 --> 01:08:40,157
try not to get caught up
in an isolated spot.
1183
01:08:58,175 --> 01:09:00,469
Shit, all the goddamn mace
and shit, man.
1184
01:09:00,553 --> 01:09:01,804
Look at this shit.
1185
01:09:03,222 --> 01:09:04,640
They just jumped on Robert Earl, man.
1186
01:09:04,723 --> 01:09:06,559
The police just did this shit, man...
1187
01:09:07,393 --> 01:09:08,435
Look at this shit.
1188
01:09:08,519 --> 01:09:09,520
Turn the light on.
1189
01:09:12,606 --> 01:09:13,732
Look at all this blood, man.
1190
01:09:16,443 --> 01:09:17,987
They drug him out of here.
1191
01:09:23,826 --> 01:09:25,286
Lord have mercy.
1192
01:09:35,671 --> 01:09:39,008
They keep saying,
'Robert Earl won't move.'
1193
01:09:39,717 --> 01:09:44,180
He hit him with the stick
across the face, he's on the ground.
1194
01:09:44,263 --> 01:09:47,683
He hit him again.
When he was already down.
1195
01:09:49,602 --> 01:09:51,478
I'm standing in the door.
1196
01:09:51,562 --> 01:09:53,606
I watched them drag him out
by his feet...
1197
01:09:54,940 --> 01:09:57,109
with his face on the ground,
1198
01:09:57,193 --> 01:10:01,572
just leaving a trail of blood
all the way out the door.
1199
01:10:22,426 --> 01:10:24,470
His cellmate called me.
1200
01:10:25,888 --> 01:10:27,056
The guards,
1201
01:10:28,182 --> 01:10:29,475
they thought they had killed him.
1202
01:10:31,393 --> 01:10:33,103
They dragged him face down
1203
01:10:33,896 --> 01:10:34,897
by his feet
1204
01:10:35,272 --> 01:10:36,774
to the shift office.
1205
01:10:39,068 --> 01:10:40,819
When they were trying
to clean up the blood
1206
01:10:41,403 --> 01:10:43,113
some kinda chemical spilled.
1207
01:10:45,282 --> 01:10:46,617
That's what woke him up.
1208
01:10:47,701 --> 01:10:49,286
And that's what made them realize
1209
01:10:49,745 --> 01:10:51,247
that he was still alive.
1210
01:11:03,217 --> 01:11:05,094
They're really keeping it
on the hush up.
1211
01:11:06,178 --> 01:11:09,139
Everybody's just being like,
'It never happened.'
1212
01:11:11,850 --> 01:11:13,560
Sorry. There is no operator available
1213
01:11:13,644 --> 01:11:14,853
at this hour.
1214
01:11:14,937 --> 01:11:16,313
Record your message at the tone.
1215
01:11:17,273 --> 01:11:19,775
They won't let you know
how your kid's doing.
1216
01:11:19,858 --> 01:11:22,778
You've got to go to bed and sit there
1217
01:11:22,861 --> 01:11:25,864
and just wonder, "How is he doing?"
1218
01:11:25,948 --> 01:11:27,908
They wouldn't tell nobody nothing.
1219
01:11:28,951 --> 01:11:30,369
I want to know what's going on.
1220
01:11:30,452 --> 01:11:32,830
I want to know how
can we stick together
1221
01:11:32,913 --> 01:11:37,167
and help and give him
the justice that he deserves?
1222
01:11:39,211 --> 01:11:42,881
And if anybody ever cared
about Robert Earl,
1223
01:11:42,965 --> 01:11:45,467
this is the time for them
to stand up.
1224
01:11:47,344 --> 01:11:50,889
This is the time for them
to protest for justice,
1225
01:11:50,973 --> 01:11:53,309
for the injustice system.
1226
01:11:53,392 --> 01:11:55,436
There's nothing right about this.
1227
01:11:58,272 --> 01:12:00,774
- Alabama legislators!
- Enough is enough!
1228
01:12:00,858 --> 01:12:03,652
- DOC!
- Enough is enough!
1229
01:12:03,736 --> 01:12:06,530
- DOC!
- Enough is enough!
1230
01:12:06,613 --> 01:12:09,867
My dad was locked up
since I was a baby.
1231
01:12:09,950 --> 01:12:13,912
But he's been the most impactful
person in my life.
1232
01:12:15,539 --> 01:12:17,416
Prisoners are humans too.
1233
01:12:18,375 --> 01:12:20,294
My dad is a human.
1234
01:12:20,377 --> 01:12:22,254
He's a great human.
1235
01:12:23,839 --> 01:12:26,633
And he deserves better treatment.
1236
01:12:27,426 --> 01:12:29,720
All the prisoners
deserve better treatment.
1237
01:12:29,803 --> 01:12:31,180
Enough is enough!
1238
01:12:32,348 --> 01:12:34,725
- Enough is enough!
- Enough is enough!
1239
01:12:34,808 --> 01:12:36,810
Protesters calling out
what they describe
1240
01:12:36,894 --> 01:12:40,064
as the prison system's
inhumane treatment of inmates.
1241
01:12:40,689 --> 01:12:43,192
While the demand for action
is happening outside
1242
01:12:43,275 --> 01:12:46,570
of the statehouse, a meeting
to address those concerns
1243
01:12:46,653 --> 01:12:48,489
was happening inside.
1244
01:12:48,572 --> 01:12:51,283
Governor Kay Ivey
created a study group
1245
01:12:51,367 --> 01:12:54,370
to examine the issues.
That group met today.
1246
01:12:55,788 --> 01:12:58,624
Now that we've outlined
the rules of this meeting,
1247
01:12:58,707 --> 01:13:00,084
let's begin.
1248
01:13:00,876 --> 01:13:03,837
Now, of course,
the way to assure absolute
1249
01:13:03,921 --> 01:13:05,672
and total protection of the public
1250
01:13:05,756 --> 01:13:07,341
upon conviction of crime
1251
01:13:08,092 --> 01:13:11,804
would be execution of all
who are convicted.
1252
01:13:12,930 --> 01:13:15,599
However, conscience
1253
01:13:15,682 --> 01:13:17,601
and the limits
of the U.S. Constitution
1254
01:13:17,684 --> 01:13:20,938
do not tolerate
such extreme consequence
1255
01:13:21,021 --> 01:13:22,689
of wrongdoing.
1256
01:13:22,773 --> 01:13:25,067
So we live with the reality
1257
01:13:25,150 --> 01:13:27,820
that most of those
who are convicted of crime
1258
01:13:27,903 --> 01:13:31,240
will someday again walk the streets.
1259
01:13:31,323 --> 01:13:36,120
With that, it's time to get
the program underway.
1260
01:13:36,203 --> 01:13:39,540
Corrections Commissioner
Jeff Dunn is here.
1261
01:13:49,299 --> 01:13:51,343
That's my son, Steven Davis.
1262
01:13:57,099 --> 01:13:59,518
I have still yet to hear
from the prison system
1263
01:13:59,601 --> 01:14:01,645
to find out what happened to my son.
1264
01:14:04,356 --> 01:14:06,442
All I've heard is what
they have released in the press,
1265
01:14:06,525 --> 01:14:08,777
that he was beat by officers.
1266
01:14:10,654 --> 01:14:13,073
A dog wouldn't be treated this way.
1267
01:14:14,575 --> 01:14:18,245
I hope you will do justice
and give me answers.
1268
01:14:18,829 --> 01:14:20,289
Somehow or another.
1269
01:14:28,338 --> 01:14:30,466
Please take your seats.
1270
01:14:30,549 --> 01:14:33,760
We have a limited amount of time
to deal with this.
1271
01:14:34,803 --> 01:14:36,305
I can't speak to specifics.
1272
01:14:36,388 --> 01:14:37,931
It's an ongoing investigation,
1273
01:14:38,015 --> 01:14:40,726
- and I pledge to you that--
- It's still going on?
1274
01:14:40,809 --> 01:14:42,394
It is still going on.
1275
01:14:42,478 --> 01:14:45,522
And we are going to pursue it,
based on the facts,
1276
01:14:45,606 --> 01:14:49,067
to the fullest extent
that we're allowed.
1277
01:14:49,151 --> 01:14:50,903
You told me
I can call the DA's office?
1278
01:14:50,986 --> 01:14:52,154
- Yes, ma'am.
- And find out?
1279
01:14:52,237 --> 01:14:53,405
Yes, ma'am. That's correct.
1280
01:14:53,489 --> 01:14:55,908
They said they didn't have
Stevie's name.
1281
01:14:57,659 --> 01:15:00,871
Well, I can't respond
to what they may tell you,
1282
01:15:00,954 --> 01:15:02,956
but that's the actions that we took.
1283
01:15:03,707 --> 01:15:06,043
- It's good to see you. Okay.
- Good to see you.
1284
01:15:07,169 --> 01:15:09,254
Nothing. Nothing.
1285
01:15:16,345 --> 01:15:18,931
You know, they don't want
that picture to be seen.
1286
01:15:19,014 --> 01:15:20,182
I know they don't.
1287
01:15:22,392 --> 01:15:25,145
But I want to show the world
what they've done,
1288
01:15:25,229 --> 01:15:28,524
why I'm out here screaming
and hollering.
1289
01:15:36,240 --> 01:15:38,784
And you know the prisoners
are scared.
1290
01:15:38,867 --> 01:15:40,786
They're seeing all this
go down and nothing,
1291
01:15:40,869 --> 01:15:42,579
no justice being done.
1292
01:15:42,663 --> 01:15:45,415
Don't you know they're scared
they're liable to be killed too?
1293
01:15:56,552 --> 01:16:03,559
I would be, if I was next door
and they beat my buddy to death.
1294
01:16:15,612 --> 01:16:21,326
They just found inmate James Sales
dead in his cell.
1295
01:16:22,786 --> 01:16:24,413
I was told by nursing staff
1296
01:16:24,496 --> 01:16:28,333
he was bleeding
from his rectum, mouth, and nose.
1297
01:16:30,377 --> 01:16:32,879
He was Steven Davis' cellmate
1298
01:16:32,963 --> 01:16:35,591
when Steven was beaten
to death by officers.
1299
01:16:36,883 --> 01:16:39,344
Since then, he was convinced
1300
01:16:39,428 --> 01:16:41,054
that the Department of Corrections
1301
01:16:41,138 --> 01:16:45,183
was trying to kill him
and begging to be transferred.
1302
01:16:46,059 --> 01:16:49,896
He was scheduled for release
less than a month away.
1303
01:16:56,570 --> 01:16:58,196
The day shift found him.
1304
01:16:59,114 --> 01:17:02,909
Sales was stiff as a board
and white as a sheet.
1305
01:17:05,037 --> 01:17:08,081
It's common for guards
to pass guys cigarettes and candy
1306
01:17:08,498 --> 01:17:10,417
to keep them from banging
on the door, to keep them calm,
1307
01:17:10,500 --> 01:17:11,668
stuff like that.
1308
01:17:12,628 --> 01:17:14,755
The runner back there
told us specifically,
1309
01:17:14,838 --> 01:17:17,090
'Man, officers told me
to give this to Sales,
1310
01:17:17,174 --> 01:17:19,426
I can't sell y'all this,
this go to Sales.'
1311
01:17:20,552 --> 01:17:23,305
I don't know what all
was on that cigarette.
1312
01:17:23,764 --> 01:17:25,474
Who knows what they put in there.
1313
01:17:26,558 --> 01:17:29,519
In prison, inmates call that
a 'hot shot.'
1314
01:17:42,699 --> 01:17:45,494
This is James Sales' autopsy.
1315
01:17:46,411 --> 01:17:51,333
Young guy. No drugs. No injuries.
1316
01:17:52,125 --> 01:17:54,628
Cause of death: undetermined.
1317
01:17:54,711 --> 01:17:57,339
Somebody this close to release,
this young,
1318
01:17:57,422 --> 01:17:59,841
no other health problems
just suddenly drops dead,
1319
01:17:59,925 --> 01:18:01,968
just doesn't sit right with me.
1320
01:18:02,761 --> 01:18:07,015
He's like a poster child
for how fucked up,
1321
01:18:07,099 --> 01:18:09,726
how totally fucked up this system is.
1322
01:18:11,395 --> 01:18:14,022
Mr. Sales committed a minor crime,
1323
01:18:14,773 --> 01:18:17,484
breaking into an unoccupied building.
1324
01:18:18,902 --> 01:18:20,362
Didn't hurt anybody,
1325
01:18:20,445 --> 01:18:23,448
doesn't even appear
he necessarily even took anything.
1326
01:18:24,032 --> 01:18:26,201
And then he gets 15 years?
1327
01:18:26,952 --> 01:18:30,414
And then he's put
in the highest security prison
1328
01:18:30,497 --> 01:18:31,957
in the state of Alabama?
1329
01:18:33,291 --> 01:18:36,378
This guy needed rehabilitation.
1330
01:18:36,461 --> 01:18:39,631
He didn't need
to be put in the worst hellhole
1331
01:18:39,715 --> 01:18:42,008
in the Department
of Corrections system.
1332
01:18:43,719 --> 01:18:45,220
And then he had to witness
1333
01:18:45,971 --> 01:18:47,973
Steven Davis get murdered
right in front of him.
1334
01:18:52,477 --> 01:18:54,438
He told me one time that
1335
01:18:54,813 --> 01:18:57,107
he wouldn't mind talking
to Steven's mom,
1336
01:18:58,275 --> 01:19:01,278
but he didn't know if any
of the number of officers
1337
01:19:01,945 --> 01:19:03,447
who works in that unit
1338
01:19:03,905 --> 01:19:05,282
would come back to get him.
1339
01:19:06,616 --> 01:19:09,703
I told him, just hold what you know
until you get out.
1340
01:19:12,122 --> 01:19:14,499
Most of the coincidences I run into
1341
01:19:14,583 --> 01:19:16,710
don't turn out to be coincidences.
1342
01:19:54,623 --> 01:19:57,125
I've been here 11 months.
1343
01:19:57,209 --> 01:19:58,627
In segregation.
1344
01:20:00,462 --> 01:20:01,630
Unjustly.
1345
01:20:04,633 --> 01:20:07,552
I believe
the Alabama Department of Corrections
1346
01:20:07,636 --> 01:20:09,679
attempted to assassinate me.
1347
01:20:10,931 --> 01:20:13,350
I had no weapon,
presented no threat...
1348
01:20:13,433 --> 01:20:16,353
when three officers carrying batons
1349
01:20:17,771 --> 01:20:21,441
assaulted and attempted to kill me
and left me locked in a cell
1350
01:20:21,900 --> 01:20:25,362
for several minutes
face down in a pool of blood.
1351
01:20:26,363 --> 01:20:30,158
I've already lost sight
in my left eye as a result.
1352
01:20:32,118 --> 01:20:34,871
Now they're attempting to hold me
in solitary confinement
1353
01:20:34,955 --> 01:20:36,248
indefinitely.
1354
01:20:38,917 --> 01:20:42,212
I keep my food in a laundry bag
hanging from the bars.
1355
01:20:43,129 --> 01:20:46,258
Then they write me disciplinaries
for hanging things from the bars.
1356
01:20:46,341 --> 01:20:48,218
But if I put it on the floor,
1357
01:20:49,010 --> 01:20:50,387
they'll get it.
1358
01:20:50,846 --> 01:20:51,930
Rats.
1359
01:20:53,765 --> 01:20:55,892
Eleven caught in one night.
1360
01:20:57,602 --> 01:21:00,897
Then you look in my toilet,
you see them swimming.
1361
01:21:03,024 --> 01:21:05,026
This is like psychological torture
1362
01:21:05,652 --> 01:21:09,573
on top of the assault
that I'm dealing with.
1363
01:21:14,828 --> 01:21:16,621
It's getting to the point now where
1364
01:21:16,705 --> 01:21:18,874
I'm getting tired of doing lawsuits.
1365
01:21:20,417 --> 01:21:22,669
No matter what I do, they continue to
1366
01:21:22,961 --> 01:21:25,964
abuse their authority
without any consequence.
1367
01:21:27,591 --> 01:21:30,093
So in these situations
when I, you know,
1368
01:21:30,176 --> 01:21:33,221
get sprayed, get jumped on,
get locked up,
1369
01:21:34,139 --> 01:21:36,349
my initial thought is
1370
01:21:36,766 --> 01:21:37,934
to be violent.
1371
01:21:39,853 --> 01:21:42,105
You know, you always revert back
to what you
1372
01:21:42,188 --> 01:21:43,773
were conditioned to.
1373
01:21:45,108 --> 01:21:48,945
In my younger years,
we spoke in a language of violence.
1374
01:21:50,238 --> 01:21:53,158
Not too many people
bring nonsense to you when they
1375
01:21:53,241 --> 01:21:56,369
know that there's gonna be
a swift, violent reaction.
1376
01:21:58,914 --> 01:22:01,291
Maybe I'm going about things
all wrong.
1377
01:22:04,169 --> 01:22:07,964
Maybe it's going to take
a whole lot of bloodshed
1378
01:22:08,048 --> 01:22:10,467
for people to say,
'Hold on, this gotta stop,'
1379
01:22:11,468 --> 01:22:13,136
and really intervene.
1380
01:22:23,855 --> 01:22:26,775
It's been almost three years
since Stevie died.
1381
01:22:28,944 --> 01:22:30,654
We finally have a meeting
1382
01:22:30,737 --> 01:22:32,948
with the Attorney General
Steve Marshall's office
1383
01:22:34,032 --> 01:22:36,242
to let us know if they're going
to press charges
1384
01:22:36,326 --> 01:22:38,620
against the people
that killed Stevie.
1385
01:22:40,664 --> 01:22:43,917
I want to hear how
they can explain stomping him.
1386
01:22:45,585 --> 01:22:47,045
How that's not murder.
1387
01:22:48,505 --> 01:22:52,175
How he deserved that. You know?
1388
01:22:52,717 --> 01:22:56,221
Tell me how he deserved
being stomped to death.
1389
01:22:58,473 --> 01:23:00,809
It's the cruelty of it all.
1390
01:23:13,446 --> 01:23:15,031
They all met with me.
1391
01:23:15,573 --> 01:23:17,575
They said they're not filing charges.
1392
01:23:17,951 --> 01:23:20,620
Point blank. It's over.
He said they're not filing charges.
1393
01:23:20,704 --> 01:23:23,081
He did explain to me how they...
1394
01:23:24,207 --> 01:23:25,333
Hang on...
1395
01:23:26,042 --> 01:23:27,168
How they, uh...
1396
01:23:31,673 --> 01:23:33,425
How they...
1397
01:23:36,344 --> 01:23:37,721
I need air.
1398
01:23:38,638 --> 01:23:39,931
How they...
1399
01:23:42,434 --> 01:23:44,310
How they investigated.
1400
01:23:44,394 --> 01:23:47,856
They told me the story,
from their view,
1401
01:23:48,982 --> 01:23:50,608
with their investigators.
1402
01:23:50,692 --> 01:23:52,610
They told me why he died.
1403
01:23:56,990 --> 01:23:59,117
Stevie was attacking them
to kill them,
1404
01:23:59,200 --> 01:24:00,952
so they had to kill him.
1405
01:24:01,036 --> 01:24:02,454
There's a law
1406
01:24:02,537 --> 01:24:04,289
that if someone's trying to kill you
1407
01:24:04,372 --> 01:24:07,751
and you kill them back,
you kill them,
1408
01:24:07,834 --> 01:24:09,502
it's a Stand Your Ground law.
1409
01:24:09,586 --> 01:24:11,921
He says Alabama has
a Stand Your Ground law
1410
01:24:12,005 --> 01:24:14,632
that we adopted from Florida.
1411
01:24:18,136 --> 01:24:20,180
They told me
the whole horrible story.
1412
01:24:22,307 --> 01:24:24,726
What they say happened.
1413
01:24:54,923 --> 01:24:58,676
I'm still having surgeries
and procedures on my eye.
1414
01:25:01,012 --> 01:25:02,931
It look good though, cosmetically.
1415
01:25:03,014 --> 01:25:06,392
But it's blurred where it ripped,
bunch of scar tissue over it.
1416
01:25:08,853 --> 01:25:10,063
It's been humbling...
1417
01:25:11,856 --> 01:25:13,483
I've read and wrote
1418
01:25:13,983 --> 01:25:16,528
for almost 30 years.
That's been all I've done.
1419
01:25:17,695 --> 01:25:19,531
Now I have to learn to
1420
01:25:20,240 --> 01:25:22,117
do all that with one eye.
1421
01:25:23,618 --> 01:25:25,703
It was one of the biggest struggles
of my life
1422
01:25:26,913 --> 01:25:29,124
to maintain my sanity and
1423
01:25:29,207 --> 01:25:31,167
peace of mind and my outlook on life
1424
01:25:31,876 --> 01:25:33,920
without taking a detour and going
1425
01:25:34,003 --> 01:25:35,505
a completely different route
1426
01:25:36,172 --> 01:25:38,633
with my anger and frustration.
1427
01:25:40,051 --> 01:25:41,886
But I got my mind right.
1428
01:25:46,599 --> 01:25:49,978
I'm on the phone with brothers
at every institution.
1429
01:25:50,728 --> 01:25:51,729
Because
1430
01:25:51,813 --> 01:25:54,899
there are still more body bags
leaving out of the ADOC
1431
01:25:54,983 --> 01:25:56,359
than people on parole,
1432
01:25:57,360 --> 01:25:58,444
a lot of brothers
are starting to say,
1433
01:25:58,528 --> 01:26:00,029
'Well what are we gonna do about it?'
1434
01:26:04,826 --> 01:26:07,203
There are 11 participants
1435
01:26:07,287 --> 01:26:08,663
in the conference.
1436
01:26:09,831 --> 01:26:11,749
It's Kinetik. It's Robert Earl.
1437
01:26:12,167 --> 01:26:14,544
Robert Earl,
good morning Robert Earl.
1438
01:26:14,627 --> 01:26:16,004
Can I say something?
1439
01:26:16,087 --> 01:26:18,506
If you search through history,
there has been
1440
01:26:18,590 --> 01:26:20,967
no group of people
that have won true freedom
1441
01:26:21,050 --> 01:26:22,385
without bloodshed.
1442
01:26:23,219 --> 01:26:25,763
Once they become violent,
then you have a right
1443
01:26:25,847 --> 01:26:27,182
to defend your life.
1444
01:26:28,141 --> 01:26:29,934
Yeah, I know that's the most common
1445
01:26:30,018 --> 01:26:31,603
position we should take...
1446
01:26:31,686 --> 01:26:35,148
that we should stand up
and defend ourselves at all costs.
1447
01:26:35,940 --> 01:26:38,484
But I don't think
that it helps our cause.
1448
01:26:38,568 --> 01:26:39,569
Yeah.
1449
01:26:39,652 --> 01:26:42,488
I think we should make sure
that things are
1450
01:26:42,572 --> 01:26:44,532
done in an intellectual way and not
1451
01:26:44,616 --> 01:26:46,034
a emotional way.
1452
01:26:46,117 --> 01:26:47,285
Okay.
1453
01:26:47,827 --> 01:26:50,163
Y'all really think that
a peaceful protest
1454
01:26:50,246 --> 01:26:51,831
will change all the laws
1455
01:26:51,915 --> 01:26:53,917
without there being
no type of violence?
1456
01:26:55,376 --> 01:26:57,337
When you look at the options --
1457
01:26:57,420 --> 01:27:00,924
violent, non-violent,
work strikes, boycott --
1458
01:27:01,674 --> 01:27:04,010
what's the absolute best way
1459
01:27:04,093 --> 01:27:07,388
to hit the system
where it's gonna hurt the most?
1460
01:27:07,931 --> 01:27:09,974
You hit them in the pocket,
that hurt way more than
1461
01:27:10,058 --> 01:27:11,392
hitting them in the mouth.
1462
01:27:11,476 --> 01:27:12,477
Correct.
1463
01:27:13,353 --> 01:27:14,979
The only thing
that's gonna work for us
1464
01:27:15,271 --> 01:27:17,398
is to stop the machine from running.
1465
01:27:17,482 --> 01:27:19,359
To stop producing goods.
1466
01:27:19,442 --> 01:27:20,860
Stop giving services.
1467
01:27:23,780 --> 01:27:26,783
We got a official copy of
1468
01:27:26,866 --> 01:27:29,327
everybody who actually works
in the prison.
1469
01:27:30,161 --> 01:27:31,537
All three shifts.
1470
01:27:32,038 --> 01:27:33,289
To get them on board.
1471
01:27:34,707 --> 01:27:37,919
We've always understood
that our labor
1472
01:27:38,002 --> 01:27:39,754
is what this is all about.
1473
01:27:47,971 --> 01:27:49,931
They give you a job.
1474
01:27:50,014 --> 01:27:53,101
It doesn't matter if the job
is dangerous.
1475
01:27:53,184 --> 01:27:55,436
It doesn't matter if you're sick.
1476
01:27:55,520 --> 01:27:57,063
You can be written a disciplinary
1477
01:27:57,146 --> 01:27:58,856
for refusing to work
1478
01:27:59,899 --> 01:28:02,110
and placed in solitary confinement.
1479
01:28:03,569 --> 01:28:06,072
And it's not just prison jobs.
1480
01:28:07,031 --> 01:28:08,283
A lot of prisoners
1481
01:28:08,366 --> 01:28:11,911
are being leased out to corporations.
1482
01:28:13,246 --> 01:28:15,123
Or to do state work.
1483
01:28:16,833 --> 01:28:19,210
I work
for the Department of Sanitation
1484
01:28:19,294 --> 01:28:21,129
every day in the communities.
1485
01:28:21,462 --> 01:28:23,339
And I only get paid $2 a day.
1486
01:28:24,716 --> 01:28:25,883
Downtown Montgomery,
1487
01:28:26,426 --> 01:28:27,927
they have inmates working there.
1488
01:28:29,095 --> 01:28:31,681
Even the Governor's Mansion,
where Kay Ivey's at.
1489
01:28:37,395 --> 01:28:39,939
Kay Ivey being so afraid of prisoners
1490
01:28:40,023 --> 01:28:42,817
being so dangerous,
and all the murderers
1491
01:28:42,900 --> 01:28:45,153
and rapists, you don't want them
in your community.
1492
01:28:45,236 --> 01:28:46,446
Well, you got a group of them
1493
01:28:46,529 --> 01:28:49,157
that's walking around
your mansion every day.
1494
01:28:56,164 --> 01:28:57,999
I have a clear record
1495
01:28:58,333 --> 01:29:01,127
and every time I go up for parole
1496
01:29:01,210 --> 01:29:02,587
they deny my parole.
1497
01:29:04,922 --> 01:29:08,051
They trust me to work
in the community,
1498
01:29:08,676 --> 01:29:11,304
but they don't trust me
to grant me parole
1499
01:29:12,096 --> 01:29:13,848
to get out and go home to my family.
1500
01:29:21,147 --> 01:29:22,982
In your mind, can people be
1501
01:29:23,066 --> 01:29:25,026
genuinely rehabilitated?
1502
01:29:26,319 --> 01:29:28,696
I don't know that I can speak
to that specifically.
1503
01:29:28,780 --> 01:29:32,158
I mean, look, I think anybody
can have a change of heart.
1504
01:29:32,241 --> 01:29:35,161
I'll say that.
I think God can invade somebody.
1505
01:29:35,244 --> 01:29:37,789
I believe in the concept of grace.
1506
01:29:37,872 --> 01:29:41,000
But grace itself doesn't mean
release from prison.
1507
01:29:41,084 --> 01:29:44,128
Grace means that you're relieved
from the burden of your sin.
1508
01:29:47,507 --> 01:29:49,884
People in here are starting to see
1509
01:29:50,134 --> 01:29:52,929
that we have been thrown
into a slave camp
1510
01:29:53,262 --> 01:29:56,641
where we're being told,
'You're gonna work for us for free
1511
01:29:56,724 --> 01:29:58,351
until you die.'
1512
01:30:00,311 --> 01:30:03,481
If they insist on running
an unconstitutional prison
1513
01:30:04,649 --> 01:30:06,234
then they can run it themselves.
1514
01:30:09,320 --> 01:30:10,947
I wrote a couple things
1515
01:30:11,030 --> 01:30:12,657
to get people prepared,
1516
01:30:12,740 --> 01:30:15,034
letting them know what
the shutdown is all about,
1517
01:30:15,118 --> 01:30:16,828
how to conduct yourself.
1518
01:30:18,121 --> 01:30:20,581
We're on this phone
all day and night, you know,
1519
01:30:20,915 --> 01:30:23,501
talking to brothers at Fountain,
at Ventress,
1520
01:30:23,584 --> 01:30:26,546
at Easterling, Staton,
Donaldson, death row...
1521
01:30:27,380 --> 01:30:28,423
This is what it's about.
1522
01:30:28,506 --> 01:30:29,507
Right.
1523
01:30:29,590 --> 01:30:31,217
We can beat you
not working for your ass.
1524
01:30:31,300 --> 01:30:32,510
We can beat you like that.
1525
01:30:33,261 --> 01:30:35,680
We can't get violent or get stupid,
1526
01:30:35,763 --> 01:30:38,558
so we just trying to show
what's going on by striking.
1527
01:30:39,934 --> 01:30:42,728
We have
a beautiful opportunity right here
1528
01:30:43,020 --> 01:30:46,315
to bring
over 20,000 prisoners together
1529
01:30:47,150 --> 01:30:48,818
for a statewide shutdown.
1530
01:30:54,073 --> 01:30:55,741
This is to force Alabama
1531
01:30:55,825 --> 01:30:59,120
to address this humanitarian crisis
right now.
1532
01:30:59,203 --> 01:31:03,166
Not when a judge rules
on a lawsuit. Right now.
1533
01:31:03,249 --> 01:31:05,209
We dying right now.
1534
01:31:17,680 --> 01:31:21,559
Any work done
by any incarcerated individual
1535
01:31:21,642 --> 01:31:26,272
is prohibited from this day forward.
1536
01:31:26,355 --> 01:31:28,316
Alabama inmates are on strike.
1537
01:31:28,399 --> 01:31:31,194
It is affecting every major
prison facility in the state.
1538
01:31:31,277 --> 01:31:33,654
The unprecedented system-wide
1539
01:31:33,738 --> 01:31:36,949
worker stoppage sending
a message to lawmakers.
1540
01:31:37,033 --> 01:31:39,744
Some are saying this protest
has been a long time coming
1541
01:31:39,827 --> 01:31:41,621
after the U.S. Department
of Justice's lawsuit
1542
01:31:41,704 --> 01:31:43,789
against Alabama
over its prison conditions.
1543
01:31:43,873 --> 01:31:46,751
Inmates have refused to show up
for work in the kitchen,
1544
01:31:46,834 --> 01:31:48,711
doing laundry, or anything else.
1545
01:31:53,049 --> 01:31:55,426
We have officially shut down.
1546
01:31:55,718 --> 01:31:57,470
The impossible, as they say.
1547
01:31:58,387 --> 01:31:59,388
What's up family?
1548
01:31:59,597 --> 01:32:01,974
Let me show you the energy
up in this block.
1549
01:32:05,978 --> 01:32:07,271
Unity.
1550
01:32:07,563 --> 01:32:08,940
Real unity.
1551
01:32:10,983 --> 01:32:13,194
Black, white, Mexican, everybody.
1552
01:32:14,654 --> 01:32:15,988
We together up in here.
1553
01:32:18,115 --> 01:32:20,326
It's an undescribable peace.
1554
01:32:21,077 --> 01:32:23,788
People united behind a common cause.
1555
01:32:24,121 --> 01:32:25,831
And we praying...
1556
01:32:25,915 --> 01:32:29,335
I got Jesus on my mind
1557
01:32:29,418 --> 01:32:31,587
In truth, yeah, we praying
1558
01:32:31,671 --> 01:32:34,840
I got Jesus on my mind
1559
01:32:35,049 --> 01:32:37,009
It's a stone-cold groove right now.
1560
01:32:37,385 --> 01:32:38,928
It's a stone-cold groove.
1561
01:32:40,846 --> 01:32:42,807
Fourteen prisons go down,
1562
01:32:43,015 --> 01:32:44,725
that's never happened before.
1563
01:32:45,768 --> 01:32:47,853
Inmates in Alabama are demanding
1564
01:32:47,937 --> 01:32:50,231
the U.S. Justice Department intervene
1565
01:32:50,314 --> 01:32:52,149
and put an immediate stop to,
1566
01:32:52,233 --> 01:32:54,610
quote, Alabama's systematic denial
1567
01:32:54,694 --> 01:32:56,195
of human and dignity rights.
1568
01:32:56,779 --> 01:32:58,906
The Governor's Office
said that the demands
1569
01:32:58,990 --> 01:33:00,199
are, quote, unreasonable.
1570
01:33:01,075 --> 01:33:04,996
As far as the demands,
they were reasonable.
1571
01:33:05,079 --> 01:33:08,499
It wasn't, "Let me go
or I'm gonna kill somebody."
1572
01:33:08,583 --> 01:33:10,209
It was just, "Here are some things
1573
01:33:10,293 --> 01:33:11,836
that we'd like you to look at.
1574
01:33:11,919 --> 01:33:13,963
And we're protesting
because of that."
1575
01:33:16,007 --> 01:33:17,717
The governor of Alabama has
1576
01:33:17,800 --> 01:33:19,260
not responded to
1577
01:33:19,343 --> 01:33:21,762
over 100 some people being murdered,
1578
01:33:21,846 --> 01:33:24,390
suicides, drug overdoses,
1579
01:33:24,599 --> 01:33:26,392
in the last year alone.
1580
01:33:26,684 --> 01:33:29,228
But the Governor had to respond to us
on Day One.
1581
01:33:29,729 --> 01:33:30,938
It gets people to understand,
1582
01:33:31,022 --> 01:33:32,732
you know, their own power.
1583
01:33:36,152 --> 01:33:38,279
We know the injustices
and the corruption
1584
01:33:38,362 --> 01:33:40,781
that's going on
in the Department of Corrections.
1585
01:33:40,865 --> 01:33:43,367
Today in Montgomery,
family members rallied
1586
01:33:43,451 --> 01:33:46,037
on behalf of inmates,
saying they won't be working
1587
01:33:46,120 --> 01:33:48,039
until the Alabama Department
of Corrections
1588
01:33:48,122 --> 01:33:50,541
makes changes and improvements.
1589
01:33:50,791 --> 01:33:53,210
They beat up Robert Earl Council.
1590
01:33:53,294 --> 01:33:54,670
They locked up Melvin Ray.
1591
01:33:55,421 --> 01:33:58,924
But the Free Alabama Movement
is what pushed this.
1592
01:34:06,265 --> 01:34:08,184
Listen man,
everybody listen to me man.
1593
01:34:08,351 --> 01:34:10,645
The momentum is on our side.
1594
01:34:10,728 --> 01:34:12,813
The media on our side.
1595
01:34:12,897 --> 01:34:14,940
Everybody watching everything.
1596
01:34:15,024 --> 01:34:17,568
No violence, no threats, no harm...
1597
01:34:17,985 --> 01:34:20,488
We just got to stay the course.
Keep it steady.
1598
01:34:21,739 --> 01:34:23,824
We stand in solidarity
for this strike
1599
01:34:24,033 --> 01:34:25,326
and this shutdown.
1600
01:34:29,246 --> 01:34:31,207
ADOC officials scrambling
1601
01:34:31,290 --> 01:34:33,542
to come up with a plan
to manage operations
1602
01:34:33,626 --> 01:34:35,544
if inmates refuse to work.
1603
01:34:40,216 --> 01:34:43,094
Your conference
will begin momentarily.
1604
01:34:45,763 --> 01:34:47,056
Robert Earl!
1605
01:34:47,431 --> 01:34:49,558
You know what they fed them
for dinner?
1606
01:34:49,975 --> 01:34:52,478
One pack of chocolate cream cookies.
1607
01:34:53,854 --> 01:34:57,108
No lunch at Fountain, man.
Repeat, no lunch at Fountain.
1608
01:34:57,942 --> 01:34:59,360
Was that all they gave?
1609
01:34:59,652 --> 01:35:00,945
That's all they gave for us?
1610
01:35:01,404 --> 01:35:02,780
All they gave us, bro.
1611
01:35:04,073 --> 01:35:05,825
They've started 'birdfeeding'
1612
01:35:05,991 --> 01:35:08,494
in order to try to starve us
into submission.
1613
01:35:09,495 --> 01:35:12,873
ADOC says the changes are logistical,
1614
01:35:12,957 --> 01:35:15,793
but a correctional officer
who spoke with us off camera,
1615
01:35:15,876 --> 01:35:18,713
fearing retaliation,
believes that administrators
1616
01:35:18,796 --> 01:35:21,841
are intentionally dragging out
the feeding schedules
1617
01:35:21,924 --> 01:35:23,718
so at times, inmates are waiting
1618
01:35:23,801 --> 01:35:26,011
up to 14 hours between meals,
1619
01:35:26,095 --> 01:35:27,722
as a way to break this strike here.
1620
01:35:29,432 --> 01:35:30,850
We've been saving up food
1621
01:35:30,933 --> 01:35:32,643
for the folks
that might need some food.
1622
01:35:34,395 --> 01:35:36,439
So that folks know
that they're not in this alone,
1623
01:35:36,522 --> 01:35:37,773
we're all in this together.
1624
01:35:40,276 --> 01:35:41,485
These are all elderly people.
1625
01:35:41,569 --> 01:35:44,363
People that been in prison 20 years.
1626
01:35:44,780 --> 01:35:46,866
- I did 37.
37 years.
1627
01:35:46,949 --> 01:35:48,367
He did 26 years.
1628
01:35:50,119 --> 01:35:54,165
Older guys...
so we do the best we can.
1629
01:35:57,042 --> 01:35:59,253
We're going to feed
the whole community up in here.
1630
01:35:59,670 --> 01:36:01,464
The superior Black man,
1631
01:36:01,547 --> 01:36:03,924
as well as the white man,
is being fed.
1632
01:36:05,760 --> 01:36:07,887
Look at them brothers
down there serving.
1633
01:36:08,512 --> 01:36:10,389
Everybody lined up to eat.
1634
01:36:11,474 --> 01:36:13,017
We gotta come together and unify.
1635
01:36:13,100 --> 01:36:14,602
Gotta look out for each other.
1636
01:36:15,394 --> 01:36:16,979
It's the only way we win.
1637
01:36:24,195 --> 01:36:25,321
Day three no chow.
1638
01:36:25,404 --> 01:36:26,405
Day Four!
1639
01:36:26,489 --> 01:36:28,324
Day Four, yeah it is Day Four.
1640
01:36:30,242 --> 01:36:31,786
Weekend visitations at prisons
1641
01:36:31,869 --> 01:36:34,580
all across Alabama are canceled.
1642
01:36:34,663 --> 01:36:36,791
The administrators are trying
to put the pressure
1643
01:36:36,874 --> 01:36:40,002
on some of the inmates
to make them go back to work.
1644
01:36:41,337 --> 01:36:43,422
They came to my cell,
1645
01:36:44,173 --> 01:36:46,175
I submitted to their strip search.
1646
01:36:47,009 --> 01:36:49,887
I said, 'Can y'all run this prison
with the staff y'all got?'
1647
01:36:49,970 --> 01:36:51,722
He said, 'Man, you know we can't.'
1648
01:36:52,515 --> 01:36:54,850
I said, 'Why don't y'all tell
the truth?'
1649
01:36:55,309 --> 01:36:58,062
'Why y'all keep pretending
'cause they give y'all a check?'
1650
01:37:02,691 --> 01:37:06,821
Day five of the Alabama Department
of Corrections protest continues.
1651
01:37:06,904 --> 01:37:08,322
Special response team
1652
01:37:08,405 --> 01:37:09,865
is actually inside Limestone
1653
01:37:09,949 --> 01:37:11,492
right now doing a major search.
1654
01:37:13,452 --> 01:37:16,497
The team is traveling
to each of the prisons.
1655
01:37:19,208 --> 01:37:20,584
They're doing what any
1656
01:37:20,668 --> 01:37:22,962
counter-intelligence agency would do.
1657
01:37:25,256 --> 01:37:28,300
Man, as we speak, they
locking dudes up everywhere.
1658
01:37:30,469 --> 01:37:32,137
Let me explain something to y'all.
1659
01:37:32,221 --> 01:37:35,641
Alabama is the most arrogant people
on the planet.
1660
01:37:36,016 --> 01:37:37,184
And they're gonna whip us,
1661
01:37:37,268 --> 01:37:39,395
'cause they refuse to let
some prisoners
1662
01:37:39,478 --> 01:37:41,272
make them do anything.
1663
01:37:41,355 --> 01:37:42,565
But I promise you
1664
01:37:42,648 --> 01:37:45,568
that the money that they're losing
every motherfucking day
1665
01:37:45,651 --> 01:37:48,404
is way more than
what Kay Ivey's let on.
1666
01:37:53,534 --> 01:37:55,536
They just locked Robert Earl up.
1667
01:37:55,744 --> 01:37:58,330
They say the riot team
choked him out.
1668
01:37:58,664 --> 01:38:00,624
Let everybody know what's going on.
1669
01:38:12,636 --> 01:38:15,014
We're starting to lose a bit of faith
1670
01:38:15,097 --> 01:38:17,474
because we feel like
the voice that represented
1671
01:38:17,558 --> 01:38:21,228
a majority of us on the inside
has been separated from us.
1672
01:38:21,645 --> 01:38:24,773
That's the oldest trick and tactic
known to man...
1673
01:38:24,940 --> 01:38:26,150
divide and conquer.
1674
01:38:26,567 --> 01:38:28,777
But now is not a time
that we can give up.
1675
01:38:28,861 --> 01:38:31,280
Now is not a time
that we can say, 'I quit.'
1676
01:38:38,037 --> 01:38:40,247
Live and local, Talk 99.5.
1677
01:38:40,331 --> 01:38:42,875
Alabama prisoners
are refusing to work.
1678
01:38:42,958 --> 01:38:44,960
Eventually, they'll get tired
of the food
1679
01:38:45,044 --> 01:38:47,171
that is being prepared
by the handful of employees,
1680
01:38:47,755 --> 01:38:49,924
- and they'll get back to work.
- Yeah.
1681
01:38:50,007 --> 01:38:51,467
You're not in any position
1682
01:38:51,550 --> 01:38:54,219
to make any demands.
You're in prison.
1683
01:38:55,095 --> 01:38:58,057
Continue to serve the meals,
continue to do the laundry.
1684
01:38:58,140 --> 01:38:59,475
Look down at your legs.
1685
01:38:59,558 --> 01:39:01,393
Are there shackles?
Not really in a position
1686
01:39:01,477 --> 01:39:03,312
to do anything about it.
Sorry about that.
1687
01:39:06,023 --> 01:39:08,651
It's now week two
of the Alabama state prison
1688
01:39:08,734 --> 01:39:10,110
inmate work strike.
1689
01:39:10,945 --> 01:39:12,988
Everything's still operational.
1690
01:39:13,072 --> 01:39:15,449
There's no disruption
in essential services.
1691
01:39:19,244 --> 01:39:20,996
They starving us out.
1692
01:39:22,373 --> 01:39:24,041
We dead hungry and it's for real.
1693
01:39:25,793 --> 01:39:28,587
A hungry man is a dangerous man.
1694
01:39:29,213 --> 01:39:30,756
And it makes you dangerous.
1695
01:39:31,465 --> 01:39:33,133
Because it makes us desperate.
1696
01:39:36,261 --> 01:39:37,638
They know what they're doing.
1697
01:39:38,472 --> 01:39:40,265
They turning us against each other.
1698
01:39:41,475 --> 01:39:43,894
Everybody attitude on the edge.
1699
01:39:45,604 --> 01:39:48,732
We in here nasty,
dudes trying to wash their clothes
1700
01:39:48,816 --> 01:39:50,484
like a Third World country.
1701
01:39:52,069 --> 01:39:54,488
And then they got
mental health outpatients
1702
01:39:54,571 --> 01:39:57,491
out here in the population
with the regular inmates.
1703
01:39:58,117 --> 01:39:59,868
And they don't understand nothing.
1704
01:40:00,285 --> 01:40:02,871
They don't want to hear nothing
about no shutting down.
1705
01:40:04,123 --> 01:40:06,250
So we got to be careful with them
1706
01:40:06,333 --> 01:40:09,461
and make sure that
they don't get hurt or hurt somebody.
1707
01:40:10,671 --> 01:40:12,673
I'm told by current staff members
1708
01:40:12,756 --> 01:40:14,299
things have stayed pretty nonviolent
1709
01:40:14,383 --> 01:40:15,843
inside these prison walls.
1710
01:40:15,926 --> 01:40:18,721
But they say that this
just cannot keep going
1711
01:40:18,804 --> 01:40:20,139
the way it is right now.
1712
01:40:20,222 --> 01:40:22,516
There's just too much stress
on this system
1713
01:40:22,599 --> 01:40:25,728
without the inmates helping out
and doing those jobs.
1714
01:40:32,526 --> 01:40:33,861
Hold on for a minute.
1715
01:40:35,904 --> 01:40:37,239
See this...
1716
01:40:40,701 --> 01:40:41,702
You know,
1717
01:40:42,077 --> 01:40:44,455
ever since Robert Earl
is out of contact,
1718
01:40:45,789 --> 01:40:48,584
we ain't been organizing
as a unit for real.
1719
01:40:50,085 --> 01:40:53,505
He know how to inspire people
to have us all working as a group.
1720
01:40:54,965 --> 01:40:56,717
Calling all the prisons,
1721
01:40:56,925 --> 01:40:59,553
connecting different people together
that can make it happen.
1722
01:41:02,014 --> 01:41:03,724
No, I have no clue where he went.
1723
01:41:08,020 --> 01:41:09,229
I just called Fountain and
1724
01:41:09,313 --> 01:41:11,148
dudes' gonna tell me,
'I'm tired of this shit.'
1725
01:41:11,482 --> 01:41:13,484
What you mean you tired of this shit?
1726
01:41:13,567 --> 01:41:15,569
You should be tired
of getting mistreated.
1727
01:41:16,028 --> 01:41:17,946
You get hungry? So fucking what.
1728
01:41:18,030 --> 01:41:21,784
The object of this Movement
is sacrifice.
1729
01:41:25,913 --> 01:41:27,915
Somewhere between 20 and 30 people
1730
01:41:27,998 --> 01:41:29,291
broke the picket line.
1731
01:41:29,875 --> 01:41:31,752
I swear to God,
that shit's so embarrassing
1732
01:41:31,835 --> 01:41:33,712
for dudes to fold up like that.
1733
01:41:33,796 --> 01:41:36,298
I apologize and I'll never fold.
1734
01:41:37,216 --> 01:41:38,801
Work stoppage is slowing down,
1735
01:41:38,884 --> 01:41:40,552
with inmates
at only a handful of prisons
1736
01:41:40,636 --> 01:41:42,221
continuing their protest.
1737
01:41:43,430 --> 01:41:45,516
If we don't go through with this,
1738
01:41:45,599 --> 01:41:46,975
then five, ten years from now,
1739
01:41:47,059 --> 01:41:49,311
we'll still have the same foot
up our ass.
1740
01:41:50,145 --> 01:41:52,314
I don't want us to give up.
1741
01:41:52,397 --> 01:41:54,775
I want us to do
whatever we need to do.
1742
01:42:05,786 --> 01:42:07,621
Work stoppage by inmates
1743
01:42:07,704 --> 01:42:10,124
at Alabama prisons is fading.
1744
01:42:10,207 --> 01:42:12,501
There are now
just five lockups affected.
1745
01:42:13,585 --> 01:42:15,129
Man, these dudes folded.
1746
01:42:15,754 --> 01:42:17,131
They went back to work.
1747
01:42:17,214 --> 01:42:19,174
Laundry workers, kitchen workers...
1748
01:42:21,593 --> 01:42:22,970
State prison officials say
1749
01:42:23,053 --> 01:42:24,221
only two facilities
1750
01:42:24,304 --> 01:42:26,306
are now experiencing stoppages.
1751
01:42:47,077 --> 01:42:49,746
I want people to understand,
I got something to say.
1752
01:42:50,539 --> 01:42:52,332
That y'all got something to say.
1753
01:42:53,041 --> 01:42:55,836
Quit playing with all these
little urges and cravings.
1754
01:42:56,336 --> 01:42:58,422
You can't go a day
without a full meal,
1755
01:42:58,755 --> 01:43:01,049
but you can go 20 years
without your family?
1756
01:43:02,092 --> 01:43:05,012
They break every rule,
they lock anybody up,
1757
01:43:05,095 --> 01:43:06,096
targeting people,
1758
01:43:06,180 --> 01:43:08,682
whatever, just 'Get them back
on the plantation.'
1759
01:43:10,058 --> 01:43:11,351
An entire state
1760
01:43:11,435 --> 01:43:14,980
has disregarded the well-being
and the health and the safety
1761
01:43:15,272 --> 01:43:16,773
of thousands of people.
1762
01:43:17,149 --> 01:43:18,942
There is no accountability.
1763
01:43:19,568 --> 01:43:21,737
But everybody around here
waiting on --
1764
01:43:21,820 --> 01:43:23,488
'When y'all gonna go back to work?'
1765
01:43:33,874 --> 01:43:35,709
Prison operations are back to normal
1766
01:43:35,792 --> 01:43:38,170
after a three-week-long
inmate protest.
1767
01:43:38,754 --> 01:43:41,131
Inmates had hoped their protest
1768
01:43:41,215 --> 01:43:43,884
would spur some action
by lawmakers and ADOC leaders.
1769
01:43:43,967 --> 01:43:45,219
But that didn't really happen.
1770
01:43:46,261 --> 01:43:47,679
You are a prisoner.
1771
01:43:47,763 --> 01:43:49,097
You did commit a crime.
1772
01:43:49,181 --> 01:43:50,849
You're in prison. It's prison.
1773
01:43:50,933 --> 01:43:52,309
It's supposed to suck.
1774
01:43:52,392 --> 01:43:54,144
Shipshape. Let's go. Chop, chop.
1775
01:43:54,228 --> 01:43:56,063
You sure showed the man.
1776
01:43:56,146 --> 01:43:57,439
Well done.
1777
01:43:59,733 --> 01:44:03,528
We've seen it on the news.
We've seen the national coverage.
1778
01:44:05,280 --> 01:44:07,157
Where the people of Alabama at?
1779
01:44:08,492 --> 01:44:10,494
They ain't outraged by this?
1780
01:44:32,766 --> 01:44:35,602
It's Inauguration Day in Alabama.
1781
01:44:35,686 --> 01:44:38,355
Steve Marshall
with his family there with him.
1782
01:44:39,398 --> 01:44:42,985
Gov. Kay Ivey will officially
be sworn into office.
1783
01:44:43,860 --> 01:44:46,113
A landslide victory for Kay Ivey,
1784
01:44:46,196 --> 01:44:48,365
galvanizing her two terms here
1785
01:44:48,448 --> 01:44:50,784
as governor in the state of Alabama.
1786
01:44:52,035 --> 01:44:54,454
The primary function
of all levels of government
1787
01:44:54,538 --> 01:44:56,873
is to keep our citizens safe.
1788
01:44:58,000 --> 01:45:01,086
Just last week, I signed
an executive order
1789
01:45:01,169 --> 01:45:04,548
to ensure violent criminals
remain off the streets.
1790
01:45:08,051 --> 01:45:10,971
I was really, really optimistic
during the strike.
1791
01:45:12,806 --> 01:45:14,391
Maybe naive thinking that
1792
01:45:15,225 --> 01:45:17,102
it would force the DOJ to
1793
01:45:17,686 --> 01:45:19,354
take over the prison system.
1794
01:45:20,605 --> 01:45:23,525
And start the process
of trying to rectify
1795
01:45:23,608 --> 01:45:25,527
some of these things that were wrong.
1796
01:45:27,779 --> 01:45:30,157
It's easy to justify doing
a lot of bad things
1797
01:45:30,240 --> 01:45:31,408
if the money right.
1798
01:45:33,035 --> 01:45:37,080
The state of Alabama
continue to thrive on the bodies of
1799
01:45:37,456 --> 01:45:39,708
Black, brown, and poor white people.
1800
01:45:40,751 --> 01:45:43,295
The institution of slavery is real.
1801
01:45:45,130 --> 01:45:46,965
You can change the name of it
1802
01:45:47,049 --> 01:45:49,885
but the undergirdings of it
are the same.
1803
01:45:50,635 --> 01:45:52,471
Exploitation.
1804
01:45:52,554 --> 01:45:55,182
And they're getting rich
all the way to the bank.
1805
01:45:55,265 --> 01:45:57,309
And they're laughing at us
who are talking
1806
01:45:57,392 --> 01:45:59,436
about truth and justice.
1807
01:46:10,030 --> 01:46:12,574
Everyone who is here is standing
1808
01:46:12,657 --> 01:46:15,911
with the family members
that we have lost
1809
01:46:15,994 --> 01:46:17,454
in Alabama's prisons.
1810
01:46:24,169 --> 01:46:25,754
These inhumanities...
1811
01:46:26,713 --> 01:46:28,173
they're not just in Alabama.
1812
01:46:31,510 --> 01:46:32,803
Since the strike,
1813
01:46:33,303 --> 01:46:34,638
we've been hearing from brothers
1814
01:46:34,721 --> 01:46:36,640
from states all across the country.
1815
01:46:37,766 --> 01:46:41,937
This is E.M.C.F.,
correctional facility.
1816
01:46:42,020 --> 01:46:44,231
The Louisiana State Prison in Angola.
1817
01:46:45,440 --> 01:46:47,901
What's up, man.
We need y'all's help, man.
1818
01:46:48,985 --> 01:46:50,862
Let me be clear when I tell you
1819
01:46:50,946 --> 01:46:54,116
that the things that you see
taking place in Alabama
1820
01:46:54,199 --> 01:46:57,411
and worse
are taking place in your state,
1821
01:46:57,494 --> 01:46:59,121
and in your name.
1822
01:47:08,839 --> 01:47:10,966
It's not beneficial to anyone.
1823
01:47:11,049 --> 01:47:13,301
Not to the jailer,
1824
01:47:13,885 --> 01:47:15,762
not to the people who were harmed,
1825
01:47:16,680 --> 01:47:18,140
not to society.
1826
01:47:20,642 --> 01:47:23,687
No one benefits from this version
1827
01:47:23,770 --> 01:47:25,647
of what they call "justice."
1828
01:47:27,023 --> 01:47:28,984
We all ask you guys to help us
1829
01:47:29,067 --> 01:47:30,318
push for prison reform.
1830
01:47:31,987 --> 01:47:33,738
They might try to put
me in 'the hole'
1831
01:47:33,822 --> 01:47:35,365
but share this shit,
1832
01:47:35,449 --> 01:47:36,992
spread this shit.
1833
01:47:39,661 --> 01:47:42,164
Whatever your opinion is
about this film,
1834
01:47:43,290 --> 01:47:45,667
it would not have been possible
1835
01:47:45,750 --> 01:47:50,839
if we didn't violate the rules
to get the story out.
1836
01:47:52,674 --> 01:47:54,384
And because of that
1837
01:47:54,759 --> 01:47:56,178
you're able to see
1838
01:47:56,470 --> 01:47:58,805
the truth about a reality
1839
01:47:58,889 --> 01:48:00,932
that they're gonna tell you
doesn't exist.
1840
01:48:05,312 --> 01:48:07,731
I've had enough experiences
1841
01:48:07,814 --> 01:48:09,566
throughout this struggle to know
1842
01:48:10,400 --> 01:48:12,569
it's going to take
a lot of soul-searching
1843
01:48:13,236 --> 01:48:15,322
to change the mentalities of
1844
01:48:15,405 --> 01:48:17,532
300 and something million people.
1845
01:48:19,784 --> 01:48:22,120
A person does the same thing
over and over
1846
01:48:22,204 --> 01:48:23,747
expecting different results,
1847
01:48:24,372 --> 01:48:25,499
it's insanity.
1848
01:48:26,583 --> 01:48:27,584
But
1849
01:48:28,126 --> 01:48:31,129
I believe in what we're doing, so
1850
01:48:32,047 --> 01:48:33,548
maybe I'm insane.
1851
01:48:38,136 --> 01:48:40,722
Let's just see
what it look like out there.
1852
01:48:42,682 --> 01:48:45,769
The light coming through
like the light of truth.
1853
01:48:54,736 --> 01:48:55,737
Come here, kitty.
1854
01:49:09,960 --> 01:49:11,670
Do you know who this is?
1855
01:49:12,629 --> 01:49:13,880
No.
1856
01:49:17,217 --> 01:49:18,635
No, I don't.
1857
01:49:22,681 --> 01:49:24,474
I don't. No.
1858
01:49:40,907 --> 01:49:42,242
Hey.
1859
01:49:42,325 --> 01:49:43,952
How are you?
1860
01:49:44,035 --> 01:49:47,080
Hey, I'm alive, shit,
I guess that counts.
1861
01:50:00,385 --> 01:50:02,012
Hey, Papa Smooth.
1862
01:50:02,721 --> 01:50:04,139
This is Papa Smooth.
1863
01:50:04,222 --> 01:50:06,600
Papa Smooth, you don't want
to be on no video, do you?
1864
01:50:09,811 --> 01:50:12,439
Now that's Papa Smooth,
he really, really grouchy.
1865
01:50:28,830 --> 01:50:30,332
- Hold on.
- Okay.
1866
01:50:30,415 --> 01:50:33,835
Hold on one second.
Don't talk. Don't talk.
1867
01:50:47,682 --> 01:50:49,601
The cost of a new Alabama prison
1868
01:50:49,684 --> 01:50:52,312
is up to one billion dollars.
1869
01:50:53,480 --> 01:50:56,232
At this rate, the price of all three
1870
01:50:56,316 --> 01:50:59,527
of the new prisons could triple
the original estimate.
1871
01:51:00,320 --> 01:51:02,572
Governor Kay Ivey is suggesting
1872
01:51:02,656 --> 01:51:05,200
state lawmakers use money
from the education budget.
1873
01:51:06,201 --> 01:51:08,203
You're literally robbing our children
1874
01:51:08,286 --> 01:51:10,205
to pay for these new prisons.
1875
01:51:10,872 --> 01:51:12,916
And are you still supporting
the $100 million
1876
01:51:12,999 --> 01:51:15,043
going to the prisons
from the Education Fund?
1877
01:51:15,126 --> 01:51:16,127
Sure.