Stephen Davis's withdrawn faces a terrifying story of circumstances inside Alabama's state prisons – his eyes swollen, his deep purple flesh.
“They hit him very badly, his head was distorted,” said his mother, Sandy Rai at the time. “It looked like a foreigner.”
“They”, which they referred to are the prison guards at the William facility. Donaldson Correctional in Jefferson Province, Al. The guards claimed that Davis came to them with temporary weapons, but this account is a large question in the documentary film Alabama solutionIt is directed by Andrew Gariki, winner of the Emmy Prize (Genix Parts 1 and 2, Friedman's arrestCharlotte Kaufman (Genix Part 2). The film, which is expected to be broadcast on HBO later this year, was shown at the Sandans Film Festival.
“Prisons have been maintained mainly,” Jarici says for the deadline. You have a prison camp where there may be 1400 [inmates] Live, the prison may already be 180 or 200 percent from the ability, so it is madly heavy. Then the fact that there is little censorship means that men always fear their misuse. ”
Jarecki continues, “There is no control over the behavior of the guards or the ability to provide any basic level of human treatment for people with mental illness or disturbed people or just weak people because it is an environment where the resources where the resources are very rare.”
Alex Duran, director Charlotte Kaufman, director Andrew Jariki on the 2025 final studio, the Sandans Film Festival
Michael Bakinner for the deadline
The documentary project started by inviting filmmakers to attend the open air meeting and held annually in some of Alabama's prisons, including the reformist facility on Easter in Cleo. These festive events, which are allowed to attend, show the prison system in a positive light, but in Easter lands, Jarecki and Kaufman began listening to a differently different reality behind the prison walls.
“In the context of photographing this revival meeting, men began to take us aside and transfer from giving us a secret window in what was already happening in prisons, which was very shocking to us,” Jarici recounts. “We knew that the prisons in Alabama were turbulent, but we had no idea how dangerous the situation was that these men began to communicate with us.”
Prisoners went beyond communication – they also submitted hidden videos on smuggled mobile phones (it is irony that the reasoning is that prisoners get phones from the guards who run the black market trade in them).
“The phenomena of these mobile phones have opened their arrival and an opportunity not only for us to see inKaufman notes, “But for them to communicate outside In a very purposeful and historical way. “
The Melvin Rai Council and Robert Earl are “Kennetic Justice” among the imprisoned men who presented videos to document the living conditions in Alabama prisons. Their shots showed many prisoners in what appears to be the astonishment of the drug host, the floods in the corridors, and the men who sleep on floors or in the conditions of the barracks, and strike guards routinely run it.
“People may assume,” well, a lot of prisons in the country, they may not be like Hilton Hotels … but there must be a basic level of human therapy. “[But] When you feed on it further and discover that a system like Alabama is far from any level of human therapy, it is very horrific. Nothing works. The system is really in free autumn. “
“When you think that this is one of the best things [Alabama] “They put their money towards it, then compare it in exchange for how to run the facilities and the condition in which they are, asks some questions,” says Kaufman.
In December 2020, the Trump administration filed a lawsuit against Alabama and the Ministry of Reforms in Alabama, claiming that “the circumstances in the prison prisons in Alabama for men violate the constitution because Alabama failed to provide sufficient protection from prisoners' violence on prisoners and the prisoner -in sexual assault on prison, fails In providing safe and healthy conditions, prisoner themes for excessive force at the hands of prison staff.
Film makers conducted an interview with Alabama Prosecutor Steve Marshall, and their documentary includes several clips from Republican Governor Kai Ivy speaking to the federal lawsuit. Marshall or Evi appeared ready to recognize the problems of the state's prison system.
There is no doubt that Alabama's position was a challenge since the beginning [Department of Justice] Looking at the prison system, “Jariki comments.” They said basically either that the Ministry of Justice did not need to do so, they had under control, and that the information of the Ministry of Justice was anecdotal … they still believe they did not want or need any External help in solving the problem looking for or implementing a “solution”, which is a local solution. So, I think this is the question that this title [of the film] to lift. Is there a real solution in the future? “
HBO was home to well -known Jarecki projects, Friedman's arrest (2023) and Genix (The first season was broadcast in 2015; the second season was broadcast last year). Garry expects Alabama solution To the first show at some time in 2025.
“I think they are trying to develop this plan now, but it will be later this year,” says Garry about HBO. “I think they understand the urgency of making the message.”
