[squeaking]
[volunteer]
Mic check, one, two, three.
One, two, three.
Mic check, one, two, three.
[drum beat playing]
[indistinct chatter]
Well, today, they, um,
they're here doing a revival...
and everybody's just joyful.
[woman singing indistinctly]
[man] We're gonna have fun
and food and everything.
Everything's gonna be a good day
at Easterling Prison.
[pleasant music playing]
It's a day that you really
don't get in prison...
[woman talking indistinctly]
[man] ...because there's not
a lot of hope
inside an institution.
And it has to be brought in.
[laughing]
[chaplain] I want to pray
for Alabama.
- I want to pray for our system.
- [man] Yeah.
[men] Amen.
- [man] Yes, sir.
- Amen.
And we walked through
them hoods, man.
And we made a difference.
- I am my brother's keeper.
- [men] I am my brother's keeper.
- I am my brother's keeper.
- [men] I am my brother's keeper.
[man]
[producer] Why do you say that?
Because they don't show you
the meat that we get.
It's not nothing like this.
[volunteer speaking
indistinctly]
They should let y'all go
inside the dorms.
You think it's hot out here?
Right now just imagine
sleeping in a tin building
with 120-some other people.
[man 2]
Y'all see him?
[dramatic music playing]
[man 3]
[man 1]
[man 2]
[man 3]
[man 4]
[man 5]
[producer]
[man 5]
[indistinct radio chatter]
[man]
[prison official]
[producer]
What are we finished with?
[prison official]
[producer] Why?
[tense music playing]
[correctional officer]
[prison official]
[dramatic music plays]
[cicadas chirping]
[phone line ringing]
[ringing continues]
[answers phone]
[producer] Raoul?
- [producer] Hey.
- Hey, how are you?
[producer] I'm good.
How are you?
I'm okay.
[producer] Do you mind
if I record our conversation?
[dramatic music plays]
[inmate yelling indistinctly]
[producer] Good.
Ah.
[producer]
Thanks for talking with us.
[tense music playing]
[man]
[Robert Earl]
[man]
[Robert Earl]
[man]
And the atrocities
and the corruption.
[man]
[indistinct yelling]
[Robert Earl] When you hear
"Department of Corrections,"
you think about an institution
where people
are going to classes,
people are getting treatment,
people are doing things
towards correction.
But that's nothing close
to what's going on behind
the walls of the ADOC.
[man]
[Robert Earl]
[man]
We're at
a humanitarian crisis level.
[dramatic music playing]
[man]
[Melvin] Okay.
- [producer] Melvin?
- [Melvin] Can you hear me?
- [producer] Yeah.
- [prisoners yelling]
Hold on a minute.
- Police in here.
- [producer] Oh. Okay.
[indistinct yelling]
[Melvin]
[producer] Would a regular
phone call be better?
No, because it does not allow us
to just be ourselves.
You know,
when we present our stories,
we want to present our
whole self, not just our voice.
[light music plays]
We're in these walled-off
secret societies.
These are state institutions.
But it's one of the only
state institutions
that the public or the media
has no access to.
How can a journalist
go into a w*r zone,
but can't go into a prison
in the United States of America?
[tense music playing]
Like, I can witness a m*rder--
we could be all sitting here
and witness a m*rder--
and the media can't even come
on the state property.
[man]
[alarm blaring]
[Melvin]
...and if we don't have
these cell phones,
we don't have a way
to capture these incidents.
[siren blaring]
[Robert Earl] The public
is already conditioned
not to believe a person
who is incarcerated.
I'm in prison.
I'm supposed to lie.
I'm supposed to make up excuses.
I'm supposed to exaggerate.
That's why the administration
hate the recording.
[Melvin]
[foreboding music playing]
Contraband continues
to be a deadly problem
that plagues Alabama's prisons.
We're talking
about cell phones.
[Robert Earl]
...instead of the incident that
was recorded with the phone.
It is a fight every day.
And we continue
to struggle with it.
But there's a lot of work still
to be done to defeat cell phones
inside the prison system.
[Robert Earl]
[birds twittering]
The reality is, Alabama doesn't
have an incarceration problem.
We have a criminal
and a crime problem.
[siren blaring]
[Melvin] It's a continuous cycle
of violence,
a lack of accountability.
And without us being able
to inform society
about what's happening,
these incidents
are not even reported.
[cicadas chirping]
[dings]
[suspenseful music playing]
[producer 1] We're looking
for Steven Davis.
We think he's in the ICU.
[clerk]
Go up to the ninth floor.
[elevator rings]
[tense music plays]
[producer 2 whispers]
[producer 1]
[producer 2]
[producer 1]
[producer 2]
[nurse] If you could...
If you could go out
to the wait room,
or I can help you by calling,
but I'd prefer you not stand
in front of the room.
- [producer 2] Okay, sure.
- [nurse] Thanks.
[producer 2]
- [ambient traffic noises]
- [birds twittering]
[wind chimes gently tinkling]
[man on TV speaking
indistinctly]
[Sandy's friend] I know.
We're here for you.
- [sobs]
- Don't...
He didn't deserve this.
[Sandy sobs and sniffles]
[Sandy's friend] You've got
to take care of yourself.
You're gonna wind up
in the hospital.
[Sandy] He's telling me, "Mama,
I'm gonna get out of here.
I'm going to get out.
I'm going to get out."
Hey, Stevie.
Well, when I got the phone call,
I didn't know
what really happened.
And the first thing
that went through my mind is,
Steven done got stabbed,
he done got beat up.
That's the only two things
it really can be.
I mean, you're in jail.
You're in prison.
You walk back in the ICU,
and they had him in
the very, very back of the ICU,
in a different part
that had a room
so the security guards could,
you know, could monitor
who come in, come out.
[Sandy] That one guard asked me,
"Do you know what happened?"
I said no.
I said, "Do you know anything?"
"Nope." He knew something.
I could tell, he was a liar.
He knew something.
People could come in,
but only two at a time,
and we were not
to bring any phones
or anything like that.
[Sandy] Oh yeah.
When we seen him,
we knew what they were hiding.
Him.
They didn't want a picture
of him to be out there.
[producer]
Because I didn't know
if we'd get the body or not.
You're talking
about me taking a photo in ICU
when you wasn't supposed to have
your phones in there?
But I took it in there when
the cops were out back sleeping?
- [laughs]
- [producer] Mm-hmm.
Because I didn't know
if we'd get the body back.
I didn't know how the rules
and stuff was, you know, with...
'Cause Steven was the state's
responsibility. Incarcerated.
I didn't know if we'd get the
body and have a proper funeral.
So I wanted to take a photo
for evidence.
- [objects clattering]
- [somber music playing]
[grunts]
[Sandy] Every last breath,
I'll never get that picture
out of my face of my son.
As many pictures as I hang...
of him being happy,
laughing and stuff...
that picture of what they done
to him overrides all the good.
[Brandon]
I would just like to know, how.
I would like to know, why.
[somber music swelling]
[silence]
[wind chimes gently tinkling]
[phone ringing]
- [Sandy] Hello?
- [man] Hey.
[Sandy] No, I ain't got
Birmingham news. What?
[Steven's father]
They said that Little Steven,
they opened his cell
and he rushed out,
attacked the guards.
[Sandy] Really?
They had to subdue him
and beat him to death?
Somebody pull it up.
[reporter] Inmate dead
after trying to attack
a corrections officer
with shivs.
Steven Davis died after
attacking corrections officers
at the William Donaldson
Correctional Facility.
Investigators say
they tried several times
to get him
to put his weapons down
before resorting
to deadly force.
[somber music playing]
[Sandy] Because--
[Sandy]
Because I called the warden,
and she has not called me back.
[family member]
They're disconnecting theirself,
I guess, from it,
- by saying that--
- [family member]
They can do what they want.
Y'all don't understand.
They can actually do
what they want.
[Sandy's friend] I'm so sorry.
[cicadas chirping]
[cell phone ringing]
[Sandy] Hello? I'm sorry.
I'm-I'm on oxygen, so I had
to take a minute there.
[official] Okay.
Well, I understand. Uh...
[Sandy] Who's this?
[official]
Don't, you know, I'm just...
I know you're grieving
and mourning, and I...
but I just...
I wanted to tell you that
your son was beaten to death
by an officer.
- [tense music playing]
- That was a m*rder.
You know, they sweep stuff
underneath the rug
all the time about this.
[Sandy] I called the warden
this afternoon.
An hour later, there was
a statement on the news
that he rushed out of his cell
with two homemade weapons
and attacked them.
[official] A plastic knife.
They always come up
with something to justify
the excess brutality
and use of force.
- Right.
- You can't beat a man to death.
Those guys have pepper spray.
And if somebody rushed at you,
then you could have sprayed
that person.
Yeah, they broke every bone
in his face.
[official] I'm not going to say
that everybody in there
is a Sunday school choirboy,
but the very fact
in all of it is,
is nobody deserves
to be beaten to death.
You got to get an attorney
to look into this thing.
I appreciate you so much.
Thank you.
[cicadas chirping]
[birds twittering]
[producer]
[producer]
[producer]
[Melvin] Okay.
That day, I had went
to a service out in the chapel.
And the dudes were saying
that the officers
had whupped somebody.
Later on,
everybody go to hearing
that this guy's dead.
You know, but a lot of them
are really scared
to really say something.
I mean, you know...
to watch them k*ll somebody?
[somber music playing]
[producer] And they actually
said those words?
[Terry] Amen.
[cicadas chirping]
[vehicle approaching]
[Robert Earl] It's clear
that a bunch of crimes
are being committed
and covered up
by the Alabama Department
of Corrections.
When you're dealing
with all these inequalities,
it's easy to get caught up
in the vindictiveness,
the vengefulness,
and lose sight
of who you truly are.
- [indistinct yelling]
- Hold on one second.
- [yelling continues]
- [banging]
[yelling and banging stops]
[indistinct yelling]
[somber music playing]
I came to prison young.
I was hustling in the streets
being a crack dealer.
[tense music plays]
[gentle music playing]
[music fades out]
[contemplative music playing]
Halifax County
was a self-help program
that was created by inmates,
for inmates.
[Melvin]
These were incarcerated men
who were students of the law
and teaching the law.
They were part of a legacy
of jailhouse lawyers.
You know, there was a lot
of brothers amongst us
who had lived throughout
the '60s and '70s
and had been imprisoned
for their activism in that era.
And, you know, we didn't know
that you were sleeping next
to a guy who was at Selma
on Bloody Sunday.
[dramatic music playing]
Training up under those men,
you know, people say
it's a law class,
it was so much more
than a law class.
It was like a rites of passage
of coming into manhood.
From boys to men.
A lot of us didn't even know
how to balance a checkbook.
We didn't know
how to buy groceries.
Some of us didn't even have
social skills, etiquette.
[Robert Earl]
We just was blessed
to be surrounded
by some older brothers
who wanted to prepare us
to be Black men
who could defend themselves
intellectually,
and not just physically.
You are given seven days
to learn
the Constitutional amendments,
and recite them.
That's your introduction to
being a part of Halifax County.
We had to learn the Alabama
Rules of Criminal Procedure,
the Alabama Rules
of Appellate Procedure,
the Alabama Rules of Evidence.
This is how I met Robert Earl.
This is how we became friends,
this is how we became brothers.
[Robert Earl] Halifax County
brought a spark of hope,
a spark of life.
We all we got,
but we all we need.
[Robert Earl]
This ain't nothing new,
that they're using
excessive violence against us,
you know, excessive force.
As they saw us filing grievances
and filing lawsuits
when our rights were violated,
then it became,
"Oh, the library's closed today.
Y'all can't go in there today."
I mean, the Department
of Corrections was opposed
to Halifax County
in every way possible.
There came a point where we had
enough and we had to do more.
We had to take our cases
to the court of public opinion.
[keyboard clacking]
Free Alabama Movement,
inside Alabama's Department
of Corrections.
Uh...
This is the movement, y'all.
The movement is official.
We are addressing the issues
of mass incarceration.
[dramatic music plays]
[Melvin]
I could never have created
Free Alabama Movement
without Kinetik.
It took both of us.
[Robert Earl]
The combination of both of us
is like a perfect algorithm.
The same thing
you can say in two sentences,
Melvin can turn
into a five-page report.
Very thorough, very analytical.
Kinetik, he's the guy
that you need
to deal with
the prison environment.
In a sense. [chuckles]
My background is dealing
with street dudes,
so I began organizing.
We have to come together
and make a stand
that our life
is worth something.
We gotta take our power back.
[inspiring music plays]
[Melvin]
[crowd cheering]
They couldn't get us
out of the news.
A movement is growing
from inside prison walls
here in Alabama.
[crowd cheering]
[Robert Earl]
You know, we were a force
against the administration.
[music stops abruptly]
[Melvin] So what did they do?
- [foreboding music plays]
- They attacked us for it.
[correctional officer] Cuff up.
Cuff up!
[officer yells]
[tense music plays]
[dramatic music plays]
And then they put Melvin
in my file as my enemy.
We can't be around each other
in the same institution.
One of us
had to be transferred.
[Melvin] We did about five years
each in solitary confinement.
Because we had
the thought to be free,
they punished us for it.
[Robert Earl] ADOC tried
to hold us incommunicado.
But it was too late.
We got through
to the federal government.
[suspenseful music playing]
Right now, the U.S. Justice
Department is launching
an investigation into conditions
within Alabama's prison system.
[Robert Earl]
[Melvin] When they showed up
in the prison system,
we didn't look at them
like knights in shining armor.
We was looking at them like,
"Okay, what y'all gonna do?"
[Robert Earl]
Our hope is that the government,
the United States government
will come down here
and hold Alabama accountable.
- [clapping hands]
- [indistinct chatter]
[line ringing]
[voicemail] At the tone,
please record your message.
- When you--
- [phone clicks]
[Sandy] The frustration's
just overwhelming.
It's just been walls.
I called
the Department of Corrections.
They don't answer.
So I keep calling.
I called I & I,
got disconnected.
Or hung up on, probably.
They're the ones who are
supposed to be investigating
what happened with Stevie.
But then I realized how
it was all put together.
I & I,
Department of Corrections,
they're all within...
they're within
the same building.
I mean, they're all together.
You've got to have someone
totally independent
investigating.
I mean, it's corrupt.
That's all you can say.
[birds chirping]
[traffic passing]
[Hank] Sandy came to me after
her son Steven was k*lled.
What she wanted most of all
was for the folks
that k*lled her son
to be held
criminally responsible,
which is what happens
when you m*rder people.
The DOC hasn't shared
the information with Sandy.
It's a black box.
So I've set up lawyer calls
with inmates...
- [phone line ringing]
- ...so they can speak freely
about what happened.
[ringing continues]
- [witness 1]
- Hello. My name is Hank Sherrod.
I represent the mother
of Steven Davis.
[witness 1]
Right, but--
Is there-- Is a--
Are you by yourself?
[witness 1]
So this is supposed
to be an attorney call--
There wasn't supposed
to be an officer in there.
[tense music playing]
Nobody can make
you talk to me...
- Let me ask you this.
- [hangs up]
[line disconnects]
[witness 2]
[witness 3]
[witness 4]
I can totally understand
why somebody
wouldn't want to get involved.
I mean, there's no
benefit to them.
But hopefully
somebody will speak.
[phone beeps]
[witness 5]
[ominous music playing]
[Hank] Are you comfortable
saying who k*lled him?
[witness 5]
[tense music plays]
That's crazy.
Thank you so much.
Take care.
Bye-bye.
He seems credible to me.
Um... He seemed to really care.
I mean, I didn't hear anything
that set off any alarm bells,
you know,
regarding what happened.
Now, if there are seven
or eight people
who pretty much say
the same thing,
I think it's the Department
of Corrections
that's going to have
to answer some questions
from Sandy Ray about
what happened to Steven Davis.
[witness 6]
[witness 7]
[witness 7 scoffs]
[witness 8]
[cicadas chirping]
[Robert Earl] In prison,
sh*t rolls downhill.
The officers oppress us,
so we turn around
and oppress someone who we feel
like is weaker than us.
[indistinct yelling]
...officers took this
as a license
to beat and k*ll him.
[indistinct chatter]
[Hank]
I spoke to many witnesses.
The gist
of what everybody said
is that Steven was wanting
to put on a show of aggression.
But when corrections officers
told him to stop,
he got on the ground,
and then the beating commenced.
That's the gist
of what everybody said,
except for Mr. Sales.
[foreboding music plays]
[Sales]
His demeanor?
They were tied to his hands?
With what?
[Hank] What was Gadson doing
during the incident?
[Sales]
He provided aid and assistance.
Uh...
What-what do you mean by that?
[Hank] I don't.
[Sales]
Where...
where'd you learn about that?
[Hank]
Well, let me ask you this.
[Sales]
[Hank]
Yeah, that's not too far away--
[Sales]
[Hank] You got... you've got
a lot at stake, don't you?
- [Hank] So you've been--
- [Sales]
So you've been pulled out
by I & I six times?
Listen, I can't imagine looking
at having freedom
and being asked
to jeopardize that.
And nobody should be put
in a position
where they have
to choose between--
[Hank]
So once you get out of prison,
you would talk
to Steven's mother?
[Hank]
I've heard what you said today,
and I will share with his mother
your willingness
to speak to her.
- [Sales] Alright.
- You take care and be safe.
Yeah.
Wow. Um...
So clearly he's being fed the...
the officers' narrative.
They just need one inmate
backing up their story
to keep this from ever
going to court.
[somber music plays and stops]
[cicadas chirping]
[Terry]
They're like a g*ng.
They really are.
They've broke
some of these dudes' arms,
they've stomped their teeth out.
[solemn music playing]
[Quante] I worked at Alabama
Department of Corrections
for eight years,
and I feel like no person
should go through the situation
that's going on in the prison
right now,
as-as we speak.
Correctional officers should be
the most reliable, trustworthy.
You really want people
that will do the right thing
when nobody's watching.
But in Alabama,
you don't have that.
[Stacy] Sometimes, we have one
officer for 200, 300 inmates.
With the low staffing,
and the mandatory overtime,
you've got officers
that look like zombies.
[man]
[man]
[Stacy] Because they're
so desperate for officers,
they just hire anybody
that's going to do this job.
So there's a lot of people
that seek these jobs.
They're wanting to be
controlling and dominating.
[Quante]
[indistinct yelling]
[indistinct yelling
and clamoring]
[Quante]
And that's what they did.
Beat their a*s.
[clamoring]
This is supposed
to be rehabilitation.
What you rehabilitating?
You can't rehabilitate a man
by beating the hell out of him.
[indistinct radio chatter]
It's not just
a couple of bad apples.
This is a norm.
It goes on in every prison.
[dramatic music playing]
[Melvin]
There is an extensive history
of pro se lawsuits
we filed for decades
against the same officers.
The "pro se" means "for self."
We're filing it ourselves,
without assistance
from attorneys.
They're not taking up
this litigation. We are.
That's what we were taught
at Halifax County.
[Melvin] There is
enough paperwork done
for people to understand
just how wide
of a scale this is.
All you have to do
is go to the federal courts
and look for
the pro se litigation.
[music fades out]
[attorney] Twenty lawsuits
filed against you.
Pro se lawsuits.
It's like a pattern there.
You see that?
I see what they're alleging.
[attorney] Do you recognize
that document?
No, I don't.
[attorney] Can you read that?
[Gadson] "These officers then
used open hands, closed hands,
feet, sticks,
and a shield to beat me.
Stomping, kicking,
punching, slapping,
and hitting me with a stick,
and shield.
I stated several more times
that I was not resisting.
Once again,
my pleas were ignored."
[attorney] That doesn't ring
any bells for you?
Doesn't help you
recollect anything?
No, it don't.
I ain't finna tell you
that I ain't never used force
'cause I'd be lying to you.
I ain't never used
excessive force.
[attorney]
You never used excessive force?
No, sir.
[attorney] Another man was put
into a medically induced coma
based on the beating that you
and your squad gave him.
You're saying
that's necessary force.
You can be placed
in a medically induced coma
if they're doing surgery on you.
I'm just ask-- I'm just saying.
[attorney] "Officer Gadson
grabbed me, picked me up,
and slammed me
into the concrete floor
while in handcuffs."
That doesn't mean
anything to you?
I mean, what...
That's all them alleg--
It's allegations. I mean...
[attorney] So you're a victim
of frivolous lawsuits?
[scoffs]
Hey.
If that's what you call it.
[somber music playing]
[Quante]
Every lawsuit
that I've been involved in,
an inmate ain't never won.
[attorney] But you settled some
of those lawsuits, haven't you?
- Who, I have?
- Or your attorney on your behalf
has settled those lawsuits.
I don't know
which ones they settle.
Have you ever personally
had to pay a settlement
because of one
of these lawsuits?
I haven't.
[Melvin] The state pays
their legal bills.
If they lose,
the state pays the settlement.
It's a whole state apparatus
that we're litigating against.
It's not just the COs,
or the sergeants,
or the lieutenants.
It's the captains,
it's the wardens,
the Commissioner's office,
and the Attorney
General's Office.
Understanding that the state
is settling one lawsuit
after another.
Beating someone,
beating someone,
beating someone.
And these people
did not get fired.
They did not get suspended.
An inmate got more rights
than I got.
- [attorney] How so?
- You know.
That's why
you're defending them.
[attorney] Somebody's
defending you too, right?
Right.
[ambient traffic noises]
[radio host] Welcome back
to The Jeff Poor Show
on FM Talk 1065.
I want to kick it off
with the prison problem.
The Department of Justice,
kind of keeping an eye on them,
watching it very close.
Here's how it works, guys.
Federal government could say,
"You can't get
this problem solved.
We'll solve it for you."
What if that happens here?
New tonight, the Justice
Department files a lawsuit
for conditions in state prisons.
[reporter 1] A Justice
Department investigation
found conditions throughout the
entire Alabama prison system
are unconstitutional.
Alarming new report
from the Justice Department
details horrifying conditions
and regular occurrences
of m*rder and r*pe.
[reporter 2]
According to the DOJ,
an excessive amount
of violence, sexual abuse,
and prisoner deaths
occur on a regular basis.
ADOC appears unable to prevent
drugs in its prisons.
And unlawful uses of force
are common.
During a beating,
nurses heard an officer yell,
"I am the reaper of death,
now say my name."
This comes more than four years
after the DOJ
opened investigation
into the state's prison system.
State officials
are pushing back.
[reporter 3] Alabama Attorney
General Steve Marshall.
Let's leave no doubt behind.
What the Department of Justice
wants to do
is to be able to take over
the Alabama Department
of Corrections.
That's not the remedy
that we believe is appropriate.
We're going to defend
Alabama's interests.
[cicadas chirping]
[phone line breaking up]
Hey there.
We're celebrating the fact
that the DOJ filed that lawsuit.
Like, this is what's
actually happening.
This ain't our version,
this is a third party,
independent investigation.
[Robert Earl]
[intriguing music playing]
[birds chirping]
Everything that Alabama
has done in regards
to justice and equality,
they were forced to do it
by the federal government.
From the Civil w*r,
to ending chattel sl*very,
to stopping segregation.
You know what I'm saying, "We
gonna have an Alabama solution."
It's got to be
an Alabama solution.
We cannot tolerate
the alternative,
which is having the DOJ
take it over, turn folks loose.
It's our problem,
we got to own it,
we got to fix it.
[cicadas chirping]
[Raoul] Hey.
[somber music playing]
[reporter 1] Records show
the number of paroles granted
in Alabama has plummeted
to a new low.
[reporter 2]
In just three years,
parole rates have fallen
by a staggering 72%.
[reporter 3] Alabama's
parole rate is so low,
it doesn't offer any hope
to prisoners.
- [thunder rolling]
- [rain falls]
If you're an officer
that's willing to bring it in,
you know, it's not like
a free market enterprise.
It's more like a monopoly.
[producer] So you could
bring in drugs.
Oh, easy. Very easy.
There's no checkpoints
out at the front.
There's no dogs anymore.
So they're not even going
to be paying attention.
I just wonder if they're afraid
they'll catch somebody too
and have to fire them,
because we're so shorthanded.
So which is worse,
somebody bringing in drugs?
Or that person
not being there anymore?
[indistinct chatter]
[slow dramatic music playing]
[man 1]
- [man 2] Hey!
- [man 1] Hey!
[man 3] Hey, hold him up.
Hold him up.
[Raoul]
[man]
[Raoul] We got a laundry cart,
we'll run them
to the infirmary.
We'll be the ambulance.
And some of them make it
and some of them don't.
[chokes up]
[cicadas chirping]
[string trimmer buzzing]
[producer]
So is there anything we can say
about the nature
of criminal behavior?
I think there are evil people
in the world,
and I think there
are individuals
that have absolutely
no regard for human life.
[producer] Is the prison system
close to working?
Does it require
a massive overhaul?
I think we have a strategic plan
in place.
There's an argument that there
is some systemic problem
within all of our facilities,
and I wholeheartedly
disagree with that.
"We dare defend our rights."
That is a motto of this state
that I think matters.
We have the opportunity
to push back against
what we think is an overreach
of the Department of Justice.
We don't necessarily embrace
the fact that Washington, D.C.,
has all the answers.
We want to be able to do it
ourselves in ways
that we think make sense
for Alabama.
And in fact, the governor's plan
demonstrates that.
Her Excellency, Kay Ellen Ivey.
[applause]
[reporter] A lot to tackle.
Lawmakers are under an edict
from the federal government
to solve ongoing issues
in the state prison system.
Here now, the governor,
live from Montgomery.
[applause peters out]
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
Please be seated.
You heard me say this before,
and I'll say it again.
This is an Alabama problem
that must have
an Alabama solution.
I look forward to working
with each of you to solve it.
[applause]
[applause peters out]
I've asked Commissioner Dunn
to build three new prisons
that will transition
our facilities
from warehousing inmates
to rehabilitating people.
[intriguing music playing]
[reporter]
The governor's plan calls
for replacing 11 major prisons
with three regional
mega-prisons.
That's the best you can do
in the state of Alabama
and people are dying?
People are being k*lled?
And the best you can say is,
"We got new prisons coming."
[reporter] This won't address
the state's
overcrowding problem.
[legislator]
There'll be the same issue
since there will be
the same number
of beds in
the Department of Corrections.
Is that correct?
Uh... Pretty much.
[applause]
[reporter 1]
The governor estimates the cost
for the new prisons
would be around $900 million.
- [reporter 2] $900 million.
- [reporter 3] $900 million.
[tense music plays]
It's strictly about
issuing out contracts
to people to build
these new prisons.
There's a lot of people
with their hands in the pot.
So the building
of three mega-prisons
is a big, big,
big money scheme.
We're gonna build those prisons
because we need those prisons.
[music fades out]
[stream whooshing]
[birds squawking]
[Sandy] No one around here
understands.
He was beat to death
in prison by a guard.
- [indistinct chatter]
- By a guard?
He was with a couple and the guy
that was with him shot someone.
So Steven was with him,
so he got charged
with m*rder too.
Yeah, it's--
At a time,
they've all done it, you know?
[Sandy]
A lot of people are cold.
They say "They deserve it.
They're in prison.
What do you expect?"
They don't care
how they're treated.
But, you know, I never thought
I would be in this situation,
that I would have to care how
someone was treated in prison.
I'm just waiting
for Stevie's roommate,
James Sales, to get out
so we can talk.
Because right now
he's just too afraid,
which I can understand.
Steven's not the only one
that's been beaten.
He's not the only one
that's gonna be beaten.
They-they deserve
to be kept safe.
[cicadas chirping]
[man talking indistinctly]
[cicadas chirping]
- [indistinct yelling]
- [clamoring]
[tense music plays]
- [man coughs]
- [music stops]
[man]
[coughs]
- [somber music playing]
- [man coughing]
[sighs]
[sniffles] He hit him
with the stick
across the face,
he's on the ground.
He hit him again.
When he was already down.
[sniffles]
I'm standing in the door.
I watched them drag him out
by his feet...
[chokes up] ...with his face
on the ground,
just leaving a trail of blood
all the way out the door.
[exhales]
- [rumbling]
- [kid screaming]
[man]
[woman talking indistinctly]
[voicemail] Sorry.
There is no operator available
at this hour.
Record your message
at the tone.
They won't let you know
how your kid's doing.
You've got to go to bed
and sit there
and just wonder,
"How is he doing?"
They wouldn't tell nobody
nothing.
I want to know what's going on.
I want to know how
can we stick together
and help and give him
the justice that he deserves?
[somber music playing]
And if anybody ever cared
about Robert Earl,
this is the time for them
to stand up.
This is the time for them
to protest for justice,
for the injustice system.
There's nothing right
about this.
[protesters chanting
indistinctly]
- Alabama legislators!
- [protesters] Enough is enough!
- DOC!
- [protesters] Enough is enough!
- DOC!
- [protesters] Enough is enough!
[Ciara] My dad was locked up
since I was a baby.
But he's been the most impactful
person in my life.
[sobs] Prisoners are humans too.
And he deserves
better treatment.
All the prisoners
deserve better treatment.
- [applause]
- [protesters] Enough is enough!
- Enough is enough!
- Enough is enough!
[reporter 1] Protesters
calling out what they describe
as the prison system's
inhumane treatment of inmates.
[reporter 2] While the demand
for action is happening outside
of the statehouse, a meeting
to address those concerns
was happening inside.
[reporter 3] Governor Kay Ivey
created a study group
to examine the issues.
That group met today.
Now that we've outlined
the rules of this meeting,
let's begin.
Now, of course,
the way to assure absolute
and total protection
of the public
upon conviction of crime
would be execution of all
who are convicted.
However, conscience
and the limits
of the U.S. Constitution
do not tolerate
such extreme consequence
of wrongdoing.
So we live with the reality
that most of those
who are convicted of crime
will someday again
walk the streets.
With that, it's time to get
the program underway.
Corrections Commissioner
Jeff Dunn is here.
[people murmuring]
[tense music playing]
[Sandy] That's my son,
Steven Davis.
I have still yet to hear
from the prison system
to find out what happened
to my son.
All I've heard is what
they have released in the press,
that he was beat by officers.
I hope you will do justice
and give me answers.
Somehow or another.
[applause]
[Champ Lyons]
Please take your seats.
We have a limited amount of time
to deal with this.
[Dunn]
I can't speak to specifics.
It's an ongoing investigation,
- and I pledge to you that--
- It's still going on?
It is still going on.
And we are going to pursue it,
based on the facts,
to the fullest extent
that-that we're allowed.
You told me
I can call the DA's office?
- Yes, ma'am.
- And find out?
Yes, ma'am. That's correct.
They said they didn't have
Stevie's name.
Well, I can't respond to
what-what they may tell you,
but that's the actions
that we took.
- It's good to see you. Okay.
- Good to see you.
Nothing. Nothing.
[indistinct chattering]
[Sandy] You know, they don't
want that picture to be seen.
I know they don't.
But I want to show the world
what they've done,
why I'm out here screaming
and hollering.
And you know the prisoners
are scared.
They're seeing all this
go down and nothing,
no justice being done.
Don't you know they're scared
they're liable to be k*lled too?
Hmm.
I would be, if I was next door
and they beat my buddy to death.
[foreboding music plays]
[birds chirping]
[phone ringing]
[source] They just found inmate
James Sales dead in his cell.
I was told by nursing staff
he was bleeding from his
rectum, mouth, and nose.
He was Steven Davis' cellmate
when Steven was beaten
to death by officers.
Since then, he was convinced
that the Department
of Corrections
was trying to k*ll him
and begging to be transferred.
He was scheduled for release
less than a month away.
[ambient traffic noises]
[printer whirring]
[Hank]
This is James Sales' autopsy.
Young guy. No drugs.
No injuries.
Cause of death: undetermined.
Somebody this close to release,
this young,
no other health problems
just suddenly drops dead,
just doesn't sit right with me.
He's like a poster child
for how f*cked up,
how totally f*cked up
this system is.
[somber music playing]
Mr. Sales committed
a minor crime,
breaking into
an unoccupied building.
Didn't hurt anybody,
doesn't even appear he
necessarily even took anything.
And then he gets 15 years?
And then he's put
in the highest security prison
in the state of Alabama?
This guy needed rehabilitation.
He didn't need
to be put in the worst hellhole
in the Department
of Corrections system.
And then he had to witness
Steven Davis get m*rder*d
right in front of him.
[man]
Most of the coincidences
I run into
don't turn out
to be coincidences.
[ominous music playing]
[ambient traffic noises]
[tractor rumbling]
[inmates chatting]
[Robert Earl]
[slow dramatic music playing]
[music fades out]
[Sandy] It's been almost
three years since Stevie died.
We finally have a meeting
with the Attorney General
Steve Marshall's office
to let us know if they're going
to press charges
against the people
that k*lled Stevie.
I want to hear how
they can explain stomping him.
How that's not m*rder.
How he deserved that. You know?
Tell me how he deserved
being stomped to death.
It's the cruelty of it all.
He did explain to me how they...
[inhales]
Hang on... [coughs]
How they, uh... [coughs]
How they...
[exhales] I need air.
How they... [inhales]
[choking up]
How they investigated.
They told me the story,
from their view,
with their investigators.
They told me why he died.
[somber music playing]
Stevie was attacking them
to k*ll them,
so they had to k*ll him.
There's a law
that if someone's trying
to k*ll you
and you k*ll them back,
you k*ll them,
it's a Stand Your Ground law.
He says Alabama has
a Stand Your Ground law
that we adopted from Florida.
They told me
the whole horrible story.
What they say happened.
[music fades out]
[contemplative music playing]
[cicadas chirping]
[Robert Earl]
- [music stops]
- [phone vibrating]
[vibrating continues]
- [indistinct chatter]
- [phone beeping]
[automated voice]
There are 11 participants
in the conference.
[phone beeps]
[contemplative music playing]
- [caller] Yeah.
- [Robert Earl]
[caller] Okay.
[caller] Correct.
We've always understood
that our labor
is what this is all about.
[Robert Earl]
They give you a job.
It doesn't matter if the job
is dangerous.
It doesn't matter
if you're sick.
You can be written
a disciplinary
for refusing to work
and placed
in solitary confinement.
And it's not just prison jobs.
A lot of prisoners
are being leased out
to corporations.
Or to do state work.
[man]
[string trimmer buzzing]
[Robert Earl] Kay Ivey being
so afraid of prisoners
being so dangerous,
and all the murderers
and rapists, you don't want them
in your community.
Well, you got a group of them
that's walking around
your mansion every day.
[somber music playing]
[man]
[ducks quacking]
[producer] In your mind,
can people be
genuinely rehabilitated?
I don't know that I can speak
to that specifically.
I mean, look, I think anybody
can have a change of heart.
I'll say that.
I think God can invade somebody.
I believe in the concept
of grace.
But grace itself doesn't mean
release from prison.
Grace means that you're relieved
from the burden of your sin.
[meditative music playing]
[Robert Earl]
[tense music playing]
[Robert Earl]
[caller]
- Right.
- [caller]
Mm-hmm.
[Robert Earl]
[phone dinging]
This is to force Alabama
to address this
humanitarian crisis right now.
Not when a judge rules
on a lawsuit. Right now.
We dying right now.
[birds chirping]
[Trey] Any work done
by any incarcerated individual
is prohibited
from this day forward.
Alabama inmates are on strike.
It is affecting every major
prison facility in the state.
[reporter 1]
The unprecedented system-wide
worker stoppage sending
a message to lawmakers.
Some are saying this protest
has been a long time coming
after the U.S. Department
of Justice's lawsuit
against Alabama
over its prison conditions.
Inmates have refused to show up
for work in the kitchen,
doing laundry, or anything else.
[phone dinging]
[Robert Earl]
[indistinct chatter]
And we praying...
[in unison]
I got Jesus on my mind
In truth, yeah, we praying
[in unison]
I got Jesus on my mind
[Robert Earl]
[chuckles]
[Melvin]
[reporter 1] Inmates in Alabama
are demanding
the U.S. Justice
Department intervene
and put an immediate stop to,
quote, Alabama's
systematic denial
of human and dignity rights.
[reporter 2] The Governor's
Office said that the demands
are, quote, unreasonable.
As far as the demands,
they were reasonable.
It wasn't, "Let me go
or I'm gonna k*ll somebody."
It was just,
"Here are some things
that we'd like you to look at.
And we're protesting
because of that."
[Melvin]
[fast-paced music playing]
We know the injustices
and the corruption
that's going on in
the Department of Corrections.
[reporter] Today in Montgomery,
family members rallied
on behalf of inmates,
saying they won't be working
until the Alabama Department
of Corrections
makes changes and improvements.
[music intensifies]
[man]
[phone dinging]
[reporter]
ADOC officials scrambling
to come up with a plan
to manage operations
if inmates refuse to work.
[music stops]
[phone dialer beeping]
[automated voice] Conference
will begin momentarily.
[beeps]
[caller]
[Robert Earl]
[phone dings]
[Raoul]
[Robert Earl]
[reporter] ADOC says the changes
are logistical,
but a correctional officer
who spoke with us off camera,
fearing retaliation,
believes that administrators
are intentionally dragging out
the feeding schedules
so at times, inmates are waiting
up to 14 hours between meals,
as a way to break
this strike here.
[man] We've been saving up food
for the folks
that might need some food.
So that folks know
that they're not in this alone,
we're all in this together.
[man 1]
[man 2]
[man 1]
[man]
- [music fades out]
- [cicadas chirping]
[man]
[Raoul]
[reporter] Weekend visitations
at prisons
all across Alabama
are canceled.
The administrators are trying
to put the pressure
on some of the inmates
to make them go back to work.
[phone dings]
[reporter 1] Day five
of the Alabama Department
of Corrections protest
continues.
[reporter 2]
Special response team
is actually inside Limestone
right now doing a major search.
[clamoring]
The team is traveling
to each of the prisons.
[man]
- [indistinct yelling]
- [banging]
[man]
[phone dings]
[phone dings]
[cicadas chirping]
[radio announcer]
Live and local, Talk 99.5.
[radio host 1] Alabama prisoners
are refusing to work.
Eventually, they'll get tired
of the food
that is being prepared
by the handful of employees,
- and they'll get back to work.
- [radio host 2] Yeah.
You're not in any position
to make any demands.
You're in prison. [laughs]
Continue to serve the meals,
continue to do the laundry.
[radio host 1]
Look down at your legs.
Are there shackles?
Not really in a position
to do anything about it.
Sorry about that.
[foreboding music playing]
[reporter] It's now week two
of the Alabama state prison
inmate work strike.
Everything's still operational.
There's no disruption
in essential services.
[reporter] I'm told
by current staff members
things have stayed
pretty nonviolent
inside these prison walls.
But they say that this
just cannot keep going
the way it is right now.
There's just too much stress
on this system
without the inmates helping out
and doing those jobs.
[grim music playing]
- [indistinct yelling]
- [Raoul]
[sighs]
[somber music playing]
- [phone dings]
- [Omar]
[dings]
[man 1]
[man 2]
[reporter] Work stoppage
is slowing down,
with inmates
at only a handful of prisons
continuing their protest.
[Martin]
[dings]
[reporter] Work stoppage
by inmates
at Alabama prisons is fading.
There are now
just five lockups affected.
[Miles]
[reporter]
State prison officials say
only two facilities
are now
experiencing stoppages.
[wind whooshing]
[slow dramatic music playing]
[Robert Earl]
[music fades out]
- [birds twittering]
- [slow music playing]
[reporter 1] Prison operations
are back to normal
after a three-week-long
inmate protest.
[reporter 2]
Inmates had hoped their protest
would spur some action
by lawmakers and ADOC leaders.
But that didn't really happen.
[radio host 2]
You are a prisoner.
You did commit a crime.
[radio host 1] You're in prison.
It's prison.
It's supposed to suck.
[radio host 2] Shipshape.
Let's go. Chop, chop.
[radio host 1]
You sure showed the man.
Well done.
[music fades out]
[marching band playing]
[reporter 1] It's Inauguration
Day in Alabama.
Steve Marshall
with his family there with him.
Gov. Kay Ivey will officially
be sworn into office.
[reporter 2] A landslide victory
for Kay Ivey,
galvanizing her two terms here
as governor
in the state of Alabama.
[Ivey] The primary function
of all levels of government
is to keep our citizens safe.
Just last week, I signed
an executive order
to ensure violent criminals
remain off the streets.
[cheers and applause]
You can change the name of it
but the undergirdings of it
are the same.
Exploitation.
And they're getting rich
all the way to the bank.
And they're laughing at us
who are talking
about truth and justice.
[somber music playing]
[vigil speaker] Everyone
who is here is standing
with the family members
that we have lost
in Alabama's prisons.
[Robert Earl]
[man] This is E.M.C.F.,
correctional facility.
The Louisiana
State Prison in Angola.
[man 2] What's up, man.
We need y'all's help, man.
[Robert Earl] Let me be clear
when I tell you
that the things that you see
taking place in Alabama
and worse
are taking place in your state,
and in your name.
[blow lands]
- [indistinct yelling]
- [banging]
[taser fires, zapping]
[grunting]
[Robert Earl]
It's not beneficial to anyone.
Not to the jailer,
not to the people
who were harmed,
not to society.
No one benefits
from this version
of what they call "justice."
[man 1]
[man 2]
Whatever your opinion is
about this film,
it would not have been possible
if we didn't violate the rules
to get the story out.
[Robert Earl]
[indistinct yelling]
- [somber music playing]
- [Sandy] Come here, kitty.
[attorney]
Do you know who this is?
No.
No, I don't.
I don't. No.
Hey.
[producer] How are you?
Hey, Papa Smooth.
This is Papa Smooth.
Papa Smooth, you don't want
to be on no video, do you?
- [talking indistinctly]
- [laughs]
Now that's Papa Smooth,
he really, really grouchy.
[laughs]
- Hold on.
- [producer] Okay.
Hold on one second.
Don't talk. Don't talk.
[birds twittering]
[reporter 1] The cost
of a new Alabama prison
is up to one billion dollars.
[reporter 2] At this rate,
the price of all three
of the new prisons could triple
the original estimate.
[reporter 3]
Governor Kay Ivey is suggesting
state lawmakers use money
from the education budget.
[interviewee] You're literally
robbing our children
to pay for these new prisons.
And are you still supporting
the $100 million
going to the prisons
from the Education Fund?
Sure.
[melancholy music playing]
[music fades out]
[fast-paced music playing]
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Alabama Solution, The (2025)
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