My husband and I are avid watchers of true crime documentaries. Blaine likes them slightly more than I do; he will quite literally put on a serial killer special right before bed to fall asleep. I’m not entirely sure if I should be concerned about his preferences, but so far I haven’t noticed any red flags, so I think we are in the clear.
Yes, I am joking. But not about Blaine falling asleep to these sorts of shows – that is true.
While not necessarily a true crime documentary in typical fashion, we started watching a series on Netflix titled ‘Unlocked: A Jail Experiment.’ It looked interesting, so while we weren’t certain what exactly it was about, we agreed to begin watching.
I certainly did not anticipate being so intrigued by this series.
Featuring a jail in Arkansas and a very progressive sheriff, this show depicts an experiment that was conducted with the male prisoners in this facility. The sheriff’s idea was to grant inmates more freedom in hopes of alleviating some of the severe stress U.S. prison systems are currently experiencing; jails are overcrowded and understaffed, so many resort to having their prisoners locked in their cells for most of the day, with this particular prison formerly abiding by a 23-1 schedule – 23 hours in their cells, and one hour in the common area. The confinement of prisoners is resulting in more and more violence amongst them, as well as staff, so the sheriff’s concept was to quite literally unlock all of the cell doors to grant the prisoners absolute freedom while simultaneously removing the guard.
It sounds like a recipe for disaster, I know, but the prisoners can be watched on cameras for the most part, and staff will intervene if and when necessary.
This show is brilliant. It’s educational, thought-provoking, and truly fascinating, and I absolutely recommend it to anyone, whether or not you’re a fan of true crime.
Photo by Grant Durr on Unsplash
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