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Mic check, one, two, three.

One, two, three.
Mic check, one, two, three.

Well, today, they, um,
they're here doing a revival...

and everybody's just joyful.

We're gonna have fun
and food and everything.

Everything's gonna be a good day
at Easterling Prison.

It's a day that you really
don't get in prison...

because there's not a lot of hope
inside an institution.

And it has to be brought in.

I want to pray for Alabama.

- I want to pray for our system.
- Yeah.

Amen.

- Yes, sir.
- Amen.

And we walked through
them hoods, man.

And we made a difference.

- I am my brother's keeper.
- I am my brother's keeper.

- I am my brother's keeper.
- I am my brother's keeper.

It's not a coincidence
that y'all came in here today.

Why do you say that?

Because they don't show you
the meat that we get.

It's not nothing like this.

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.

This ain't fit for human society.

Hey, what's going on
with that camera?

Y'all see him?

Heat only bring animosity.

So you just imagine
what we go through in there.

Come on inside the dorms, man.

Show the dorms.

We in lockdown 24/7, man.

We locked down in the hot air.
Let us go.

Hot, hot, hot.
We can't go outside, man.

A lot of things
that are going on in here

people in society
don't really know about.

They beat me so bad

I literally

defecated on myself.

Last Friday, Saturday,
Sunday, and Monday,

there was a stabbing every day
that have not been reported.

Swept under the rug.

There's something being covered up.

Who's covering it up?

The Department of Corrections.

I ain't scared to talk to nobody.

But when you come in here
with these cameras

and put these folks up here,

they want us to sound
like 'good old boys.'

But I ain't trying to hear that shit.

That's why everybody's
going up there,

going to eat, and coming back in.

Why they won't let us out?

We're finished.
We're finished. We're finished.

What are we finished with?

Filming. Filming.

Why?

We gonna lock it down.
We gonna lock them out.

There's no officer with you all.

This is a prison.
And you're walking up by yourself,

talking to the inmates
by yourself up there.

We're finished, we're finished.
I mean,

our filming is over.

Raoul?

- Hey.
- Hey, how are you?

I'm good. How are you?

I'm okay.

Do you mind
if I record our conversation?

No, I don't mind you recording,
I don't mind at all.

They'll warn me
before officers get close to me.

I'll know they're on the floor.

I'm gonna be careful.

They tell us all the time,

you know, I'm in prison

and it's because I did
something wrong.

And I agree with that, you know.

I shouldn't have did
some of the things that I did.

But the end result is that

whatever going on is not working.

It need to stop.

This is where we live at.

Showing y'all how it is.

Water...

flood...

It's pitiful, how we live.

It take about two football fields
to get to Robert Earl.

He's in solitary right now.

They try and cut him
from all communication with people.

They move him from lockup to lockup.

But guess what?

That's probably the best reason
to talk to him

is because they don't want y'all to.

Hey, Robert Earl.

Hey.

We need help down here.

Everybody's life is in danger.

How's it going?

- Good.
- Ah.

Thanks for talking with us.

Sure, sure. I'm glad to.

You know, I made a vow
to myself years ago,

that I would never harm
another brother

and allow anyone to harm
a brother around me.

So, you know,

it makes no sense to me
to be quiet, to sit down,

and just accept things
as if they were okay

because they're not okay.

Bibb County Correctional Facility.

Look at this guy living
under a table.

There go another guy
on the floor, sleeping.

The Alabama Department
of Corrections --

- - the ADOC --

they don't want the public to see

the conditions in here.

They don't want you to see

the slave labor
that's going on inside.

How long you been here?

- How long you been here?
- Thirty.

30 years, man.

I been working every day.

How much they been paying you?

- How much they been paying you?
- Nothing.

30 years, working every day for free.

They cover up all

the drug addiction.

Man needs help, for real for real.

Addiction is real.

And the atrocities
and the corruption.

Look at this.

The riot team,

they just beat some folks.

See that?

Man, that man bloody.

Damn, man.

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.

We don't know if he dead or not.

We have record numbers of people

leaving out of here in body bags.

Coroner came and got him.

We're at a humanitarian crisis level.

There's a man dead on that bed.

He is not alive.

As long as the ADOC
has control of the narrative

then society will never understand
or believe

what's really going on on the inside.

And me and Melvin, we've lived this
for the last 20 years.

Okay.

- Melvin?
- Can you hear me?

Yeah.

Hold on a minute.

- Police in here.
- Oh. Okay.

It's okay, they're gone now.

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.

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 war zone,

but can't go into a prison
in the United States of America?

Like, I can witness a murder--

we could be all sitting here
and witness a murder--

and the media can't even come
on the state property.

Head warden leaving

after this bad stabbing
just occurred.

Uh oh.

There goes another code.

Because the media can't come
into the prisons,

more and more people
are taking videos...

and if we don't have
these cell phones,

we don't have a way
to capture these incidents.

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.

They seen a dude with a phone

and the lieutenant called a code.

Even though these officers
are bringing these phones in,

selling them, you know,
black market in prison...

they are still illegal.

Contraband continues
to be a deadly problem

that plagues Alabama's prisons.

We're talking about cell phones.

They focus more on the phones...

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.

They have been trying over the years

to block the reception and signal.

So we know that

having access to phones
can end any day.

And we have been taking

life-and-death risks

to get this information out --

while we still can.

In Alabama,

they're denying reality.

All these dead bodies,
all these people that got killed.

I mean, they're just denying reality.

The reality is, Alabama doesn't have
an incarceration problem.

We have a criminal
and a crime problem.

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.

We're looking for Steven Davis.

We think he's in the ICU.

Go up to the ninth floor.

It's a body bag.

- It's a what?
- It's a body bag.

That person is not...

Not alive.

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.

- Okay, sure.
- Thanks.

We should find his family.

I sat and held his hand all night.

Even though you couldn't tell
it was him.

I feel like I'm in a dream, you know?

I know.

We're here for you.

Don't...

He didn't deserve this.

You've got to take care of yourself.

You're gonna wind up in the hospital.

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.

Who's gonna call me and bug me?

I always said, he's in prison
and he called more than

the other kids.

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,
you know, could monitor

who come in, come out.

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.

That proves right there,
they were hiding something.

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.

Why did you take a photo?

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?

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. He was 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.

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.

I would just like to know, how.

I would like to know, why.

- Hello?
- Hey.

No, I ain't got
Birmingham news. What?

They said that Little Steven,

they opened his cell
and he rushed out,

attacked the guards.

Really? They had to subdue him

and beat him to death?

Somebody pull it up.

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.

Why are you finding this out
on the news

after everyone else?

Because I called the warden,

and she has not called me back.

They thought it was better
for the news to know than you?

They're disconnecting theirself,
I guess, from it, by saying that--

They can't just do it that easy.

They can do what they want.
Y'all don't understand.

They can actually do what they want.

I'm so sorry.

Hello? I'm sorry.

I'm on oxygen, so I had
to take a minute there.

Okay. Well, I understand.

Who's this?

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.

That was a murder.

You know, they sweep stuff
underneath the rug

all the time about this.

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.

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.

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.

Hello?

Can you hear me now?

Can you hear me?

Hold on.

If you hear me say, 'I hear some
keys,' you gotta mute your phone.

Okay. Alright.

Okay.

So um...

the media is reporting
what the prison system says.

They're saying that he came
out of the cell,

he had two knives

and the officers felt threatened
so they used the

force that they deemed necessary
to disarm him.

But are they even asking,

'How many other people in
the living area saw what happened?'

I want to see what the inmates say.

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 kill somebody?

After the incident,
about three hours later,

I & I [Investigative Unit]
came up there

and started putting down

numbers, yellow numbers,

like a crime scene,

next to some spots of blood
on the floor

and took pictures.

By that time, the crime scene
is already compromised.

The officers had inmates come in
and clean the floor up

before I & I got there.

Then they called the whole dorm out
one at a time

and asked us,
'Who all seen something?'

They were really trying to offer us
things like transfers

if we didn't see anything.

And they actually said those words?

They said, 'Well, you know
if you didn't see anything,

transfer would be nice
on your part...'

Things like that.

'If you do this,

we can do this.'

Hold on one minute.

It's just crazy to me.

How can we even trust them

if we know you will kill one of us

and then cover it up?

It's still wrong for that man's mama

not to know what happened to him.

And they lying?

That's just not right.

It's not, you know,

I'm sorry for being emotional.

In here, we can't show this.

I'm sorry.

Amen.

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.

Hold on one second.

Sometimes it be like this.

In here, I strive to stay sane.

Can you see them?
My reading material.

'The Critique of European Thought.'

That's the one I'm reading now.

'Metu Neter' --
that's my spirituality.

'Mumia,' a jailhouse lawyer.

And my 'Investing 101.'

Just something to keep
my mind occupied.

You know I've been in 30 years.

I came to prison young.

I was hustling in the streets
being a crack dealer.

And somebody who's high
on crack cocaine

was driving reckless.

He had already
almost ran over two people

and I'm directly in the trajectory

of his oncoming car.

As a last resort

I shot the gun I had.

It was self-defense.

But, tragically, he lost his life.

I was sentenced
to life without parole.

I turned 21 in lockup.

I was petrified.

I was really just trying

to fit in,

trying not to get killed,

trying to get money for my family.

And other inmates realized that --
'You can get some drugs?'

So I was like, 'Yeah,
I can get plenty of drugs,

what you talkin' about?'

So I participated in that in prison.

You know, I was able to

send my daughter's mother money
to help her out.

I was able to pay for my daughter's

birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese...

But,

I was lost.

My fortune was that an organized,
structured way

to learn about life

was presented to me.

Halifax County.

Halifax County
was a self-help program

that was created by inmates,
for inmates.

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.

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.

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.

Halifax County
brought a spark of hope,

a spark of life.

We all we got, but we all we need.

I'm inside the law library.

Through our knowledge of the law

we were able to see more clearly

things going on around us
that were not right.

You know, what happened
with Steven's death?

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.

Free Alabama Movement,

inside Alabama's Department
of Corrections.

This is the movement, y'all.

The movement is official.

We are addressing the issues
of mass incarceration.

I could never have created

Free Alabama Movement

without Kinetik.

It took both of us.

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.

My background is dealing
with street dudes,

so I began organizing.

And I told the brothers,
I said, 'Hey,

they love to see us divided
and fighting one another.

And their biggest fear is to see us
come together on one accord.'

We have to come together
and make a stand

that our life is worth something.

Our labor is what funds this system.

We gotta take our power back.

And it wasn't just me and Kinetik.

Guys throughout the prison
were posting...

And we started organizing
our family members.

They were all at the state capitol

or at the Governor's Mansion.

They couldn't get us out of the news.

A movement is growing

from inside prison walls
here in Alabama.

We were working to

make sure that
the Department of Justice

was aware of our ongoing situation.

You know, we were a force
against the administration.

So what did they do?

They attacked us for it.

Cuff up.

Cuff up!

Y'all can see the

damage to my head on both sides.

That's where they were pounding
on my head at.

Because we were encouraging

people to demand
their human rights...

they charged me and Melvin with

the disruption of

orderly operations,

which is a security threat.

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.

We did about five years each
in solitary confinement.

Because we had
the thought to be free,

they punished us for it.

ADOC tried to hold us incommunicado.

But it was too late.

We got through
to the federal government.

Right now, the U.S. Justice
Department is launching

an investigation into conditions
within Alabama's prison system.

In 2016, when the Department
of Justice decided

to actually conduct
an official investigation,

this was the breaking of the shell.

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?"

At this point,

everyone has a boatload
of information

because of what we've been able
to put out there.

We know that the DOJ has the power

to step in and take control
of the prisons.

Our hope is that the government,
the United States government

will come down here
and hold Alabama accountable.

At the tone,
please record your message.

When you--

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.

Sandy came to me
after her son Steven was killed.

What she wanted most of all

was for the folks that killed her son

to be held criminally responsible,

which is what happens
when you murder people.

The DOC hasn't shared
the information with Sandy.

It's a black box.

So I've set up lawyer calls
with inmates

so they can speak freely

about what happened.

Hello?

Hello. My name is Hank Sherrod.

I represent the mother
of Steven Davis.

I'd rather not get into that, sir.

I didn't see anything,
because the cell I was in,

I couldn't see that, sir.

Right, but--

That's why I said
I would rather not even...

Is there-- Is a--

Are you by yourself?

No sir, uh, uh, I got an officer
standing right here.

So this is supposed
to be an attorney call--

I can end this call at anytime?

There wasn't supposed
to be an officer in there.

Can I end this call at any time?

Nobody can make you talk to me...

Okay.

Let me ask you this.

I don't really want to speak on it.

I really don't want to do no talking
for real about

nothing going on up here.

If this motherfucker beat
a motherfucker to death

then how would you feel
about testifying against him?

You don't feel like your life
would be in danger?

Excuse me, there's an officer
peeping in here.

They cracking the door.

Listen, I came to prison in 1985

and I know what these folks will do.

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.

The only reason I'm coming forward
with this is because

I feel like it will happen to me.

They didn't have to beat him.
They didn't have to kill him.

You know, what had happened,

this inmate was telling people

that Steven was, uh, gay, and...

Steven had the right
to protect himself, right?

God dang every inmate here now

got to have a weapon on him.

When the officer told him
to get down on the floor

he got down on the floor.

He laid his weapon
about 15 feet away from him.

He did the exact thing
he's supposed to have did.

Are you comfortable
saying who killed him?

Three officers was involved
in the death, but

Officer Gadson was the one
that killed him.

Hit him with his metal stick
in the head,

picked him up, throwed him down.

He stomped the dude
with his size 15 boot.

Stomped the guy's head on the floor

and the guy's head bounced
like a basketball.

Everybody was gathered around looking

while the officers unmercifully beat
that guy to death.

That's crazy.

I'm hoping his people get justice.

Thank you so much.

Okay, thanks a lot.

Take care.

Yes, sir.

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.

The officers tell the man
to put the knife down.

He throwed the knife on the floor
and laid on the floor.

Then you had inmates
screaming, saying,

'What y'all gonna do,
y'all gonna kill him?'

So Big G [Gadson] said,
'Fuck it, I'll kill him.'

Big G [Gadson] came in and started

picking him up and dropping him.

Saying, 'Stay down, quit resisting.'

There wasn't no resistance at all
from him.

It's messed with me real bad,
you know, mentally.

If it happened to him,
it could have happened to any of us.

In prison, shit rolls downhill.

The officers oppress us,
so we turn around

and oppress someone
who we feel like is weaker than us.

So in regards to Steven, you know,

if someone calls you gay,

and you're not gay,

if you don't straighten that up

he may be beat, may be raped,
may be tied up.

He probably decided

to try to defend himself and...

officers took this as a license

to beat and kill him.

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.

Officers told Steven Davis
to let go of the weapons,

but the demeanor
towards the officers was threatening.

His demeanor?

Yeah.

'Cause the weapons as they were,
were tied to his hands.

He couldn't let them go anyway
if he wanted to.

They were tied to his hands?

Yes, sir.

With what?

Uh...

like a sheet... like sheet string.

What was Gadson doing
during the incident?

He tried to render aid and assistance
to his, um, co-worker.

To subdue Steven Davis.

He provided aid and assistance.

Yeah.

What do you mean by that?

Um,

I guess whatever it means, man.

According to their procedures

they dealt with it the way
they were supposed to.

Do you know the procedure
of when an inmate has a knife?

I don't.

When an inmate has a knife
and an officer is involved

the officer is,
right then, at that moment,

able to use lethal force
with a baton.

And what lethal force is,
is strikes to the head.

Where'd you learn about that?

208.

208 is -- administrative
regulation number 208 --

Employee Standard
of Conduct and Discipline.

Well, let me ask you this.

Look, we can go around
and around about this

in a circle.

I go home in February.

Yeah, that's not too far away--

I don't need the problems
that this is bringing.

You understand?

You've got a lot at stake, don't you?

Me speaking with you today
can cause me to get harmed.

I & I pulled me out a total of

six times about this situation.

Every time, I put myself on the line.

So you've been pulled out
by I & I six times?

Yes.

I told the I & I woman that
I was told by Captain [redacted],

whatever I do for his officers,
he's gonna do for me.

Meaning, if I sink one of them,
they're gonna sink my ass.

I feel for his mama,

but if she expects me

to put my life in jeopardy

to vindicate her son...

then she's sadly mistaken
'cause I'm not going to do it.

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--

Look, if his mother wants to talk
to me I'll tell her when...

So once you get out of prison,

you would talk to Steven's mother?

I will not lie to that woman
in her face.

But I can't do nothing for her
in prison.

This is their world, bro.

I've heard what you said today,

and I will share with his mother

your willingness to speak to her.

- Alright.
- You take care and be safe.

Yeah.

Wow.

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.

We live in constant fear

not knowing

if the officers are going
to shake us down, beat us up,

or kill us...

Officer Gadson,

he's a member of the 'Wrecking Crew,'
they're called.

They're like a gang. They really are.

They've broke
some of these dudes' arms,

they've stomped their teeth out.

They got a green light
to jump on guys

and they got addicted
to physical brutality.

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 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.

Every day I thought
I shouldn't be participating in this.

There's just so much stuff
happening in there.

So now there's a lot
of officers leaving.

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.

Look at this man in the cube, asleep.

That's the cube.

Ain't no police in the cube. None.

Ain't no police in the dorm.

Nowhere in the dorm.

How do we get help?

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.

They were that kid picked on
through school and

they stamp that ol' badge
on their shirt

and now,

they're that bully.

They're that bully.

All the officers,
they told me straight up,

'Anything these inmates do,
you got the green light.'

'They kick on the door,
beat their ass.'

'They talk crazy to you,
beat their ass.'

'Anything they do out of line,
beat their ass.'

And that's what they did.
Beat their ass.

This is supposed
to be rehabilitation.

What you rehabilitating?

You can't rehabilitate a man
by beating the hell out of him.

It's not just a couple of bad apples.

This is a norm.

It goes on in every prison.

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.

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.

But because there is no regard
for our lives

there is no consequences
for their actions.

Twenty lawsuits filed against you.

Pro se lawsuits.

It's like a pattern there.
You see that?

I see what they're alleging.

Do you recognize that document?

No, I don't.

Can you read that?

"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."

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.

You never used excessive force?

No, sir.

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.

"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...

So you're a victim
of frivolous lawsuits?

Hey.

If that's what you call it.

When an officer has
a lawsuit pending on them

a lot of them look at it as if

'Aw man, I got my cherry popped.'
You know what I'm saying?

If you wrote your statement
and you did your interview with I & I

and they cleared you of it,

once you get to court
that's an open and shut case.

Every lawsuit
that I've been involved in,

an inmate ain't never won.

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.

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.

- How so?
- You know.

That's why you're defending them.

Somebody's defending you too, right?

Right.

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.

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 murder and rape.

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.

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.

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.

The only thing I'm worried about is

you already saw what

the Attorney General Marshall said,

'Feds don't tell us what to do,

they're not going to run Alabama.'

It's already a fight.

The evidence in the lawsuit
is overwhelming.

How can you defend this?

Say you didn't know, Steve.

To learn that

I represent a state
that this is going on

and my position is,

'I'm going to use all the resources
at my disposal

to defend this...'

then it speaks volumes about

the state of Alabama.

You have to remember

this is the heart of Dixie.

This is where the capital
of the Confederacy was at.

Everything that Alabama
has done in regards

to justice and equality,

they were forced to do it
by the federal government.

From the Civil War,
to ending chattel slavery,

to stopping segregation.

They don't believe in letting
nobody outside dictate

how they deal with their people.

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.

Hey.

Hold on one second.

So, uh, how I feel about Alabama
right now ain't very good.

Because the DOJ investigated

and they ain't doing nothing
about it.

And now

ain't nobody making parole.

Records show
the number of paroles granted

in Alabama has plummeted
to a new low.

In just three years,

parole rates have fallen

by a staggering 72%.

Alabama's parole rate is so low,

it doesn't offer any hope
to prisoners.

I've been locked up since I was 16

and I've been here 33 years.

I've been up for parole three times.

So what kind of state of mind
am I supposed to be in?

Am I just supposed to just sit here
and say, 'Well,

they might let me out after I do 50'?

But I'm not gonna act
like I don't understand

the other side of the crime.

Some victims
have really been through hell.

And I can't soften that none.

But you mean to tell me that

none of these dudes deserve
a second chance?

It hurts when I think about it.

I've been on drugs, I've been...

I've been through the whole cycle.

It's, it's just a coping thing.

It don't help nothing.

We try and block out the things
that cause us pain...

the pain of never getting out.

And I ain't gonna lie.

I haven't been a model prisoner.

I sold drugs,

shit that wasn't good, you know...

But

the officers,
they play a big part in it.

The volume of drugs that come in
comes from the officers.

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.

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?

This dorm I'm in

is supposed to be
a rehabilitation treatment center.

And when dudes come in here

most of them want help.

It's a federally funded program
since '99.

The money -- it ain't coming to us,
that's for damn sure.

There's no program to help you
with drug treatment,

there's no relapse prevention...

Nobody in here helping us with shit.

What happened was, our counselor,

he had been working here
for nine years.

He turned in a resignation.

Before he left, he pretty much

told me how to do everything.

And right now I'm in charge
of the treatment.

I facilitate the classes.

I'm making a list
of the pre-treatment,

the active treatment,
the aftercare...

Helping a brother get in here, man.

Here we go.

I mean, I can tell a dude,

you know, what I did
to rehabilitate, but

I'm pretty sure that there's
more ways than I know

that are available to people

that want to try and, you know,
kick this habit.

Especially one that's killing people
at an all-time rate.

I mean... it's just

constant.

This morning a dude just OD'ed.

We found him on the toilet.

He OD'ing,
there ain't a police in here.

- Hey!
- Hey!

Hey, hold him up. Hold him up.

I don't want to watch people die.

You gotta get it out of him, man.

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.

You keep seeing people die,

seeing people OD,

I only know so much,
you know what I'm saying, uh...

It's kind of hard
because you get to know them.

You know, they're regular people
just with a problem.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I've asked Commissioner Dunn
to build three new prisons

that will transition our facilities

from warehousing inmates
to rehabilitating people.

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 killed?

And the best you can say is,
"We got new prisons coming."

This won't address

the state's overcrowding problem.

There'll be the same issue
since there will be the same number

of beds
in the Department of Corrections.

Is that correct?

Pretty much.

The governor estimates the cost

for the new prisons
would be around $900 million.

- $900 million.
- $900 million.

Building new prisons has nothing
to do with the DOJ mandate.

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.

No one around here understands.

He was beat to death
in prison by a guard.

By a guard?

Well, what did he do
to go to prison Sandy?

He was with a couple and the guy
that was with him shot someone.

So Steven was with him,

so he got charged with murder too.

Has your boy ever been, uh,

on dope or alcohol?

At a time,
they've all done it, you know?

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 deserve to be kept safe.

It's a little more tense and
a little more stressful than usual.

The administration believes that

I brought the DOJ here.

They feel like I'm trying
to get them fired.

They feel like it's
in their best interest

for Free Alabama Movement
to get snuffed out.

With us buried in a cell
or something like that.

I try to keep two, three people
with me at all times and

try not to get caught up
in an isolated spot.

Shit, all the goddamn mace
and shit, man.

Look at this shit.

They just jumped on Robert Earl, man.

The police just did this shit, man...

Look at this shit.

Turn the light on.

Look at all this blood, man.

They drug him out of here.

Lord have mercy.

They keep saying,
'Robert Earl won't move.'

He hit him with the stick
across the face, he's on the ground.

He hit him again.
When he was already down.

I'm standing in the door.

I watched them drag him out
by his feet...

with his face on the ground,

just leaving a trail of blood
all the way out the door.

His cellmate called me.

The guards,

they thought they had killed him.

They dragged him face down

by his feet

to the shift office.

When they were trying
to clean up the blood

some kinda chemical spilled.

That's what woke him up.

And that's what made them realize

that he was still alive.

They're really keeping it
on the hush up.

Everybody's just being like,
'It never happened.'

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?

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.

- Alabama legislators!
- Enough is enough!

- DOC!
- Enough is enough!

- DOC!
- Enough is enough!

My dad was locked up
since I was a baby.

But he's been the most impactful
person in my life.

Prisoners are humans too.

My dad is a human.

He's a great human.

And he deserves better treatment.

All the prisoners
deserve better treatment.

Enough is enough!

- Enough is enough!
- Enough is enough!

Protesters calling out
what they describe

as the prison system's
inhumane treatment of inmates.

While the demand for action
is happening outside

of the statehouse, a meeting
to address those concerns

was happening inside.

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.

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.

A dog wouldn't be treated this way.

I hope you will do justice
and give me answers.

Somehow or another.

Please take your seats.

We have a limited amount of time
to deal with this.

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 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 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.

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 killed too?

I would be, if I was next door
and they beat my buddy to death.

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 kill him
and begging to be transferred.

He was scheduled for release
less than a month away.

The day shift found him.

Sales was stiff as a board
and white as a sheet.

It's common for guards
to pass guys cigarettes and candy

to keep them from banging
on the door, to keep them calm,

stuff like that.

The runner back there
told us specifically,

'Man, officers told me
to give this to Sales,

I can't sell y'all this,
this go to Sales.'

I don't know what all
was on that cigarette.

Who knows what they put in there.

In prison, inmates call that
a 'hot shot.'

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 fucked up,

how totally fucked up this system is.

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 murdered
right in front of him.

He told me one time that

he wouldn't mind talking
to Steven's mom,

but he didn't know if any
of the number of officers

who works in that unit

would come back to get him.

I told him, just hold what you know
until you get out.

Most of the coincidences I run into

don't turn out to be coincidences.

I've been here 11 months.

In segregation.

Unjustly.

I believe
the Alabama Department of Corrections

attempted to assassinate me.

I had no weapon,
presented no threat...

when three officers carrying batons

assaulted and attempted to kill me
and left me locked in a cell

for several minutes
face down in a pool of blood.

I've already lost sight
in my left eye as a result.

Now they're attempting to hold me
in solitary confinement

indefinitely.

I keep my food in a laundry bag
hanging from the bars.

Then they write me disciplinaries
for hanging things from the bars.

But if I put it on the floor,

they'll get it.

Rats.

Eleven caught in one night.

Then you look in my toilet,
you see them swimming.

This is like psychological torture

on top of the assault
that I'm dealing with.

It's getting to the point now where

I'm getting tired of doing lawsuits.

No matter what I do, they continue to

abuse their authority
without any consequence.

So in these situations
when I, you know,

get sprayed, get jumped on,
get locked up,

my initial thought is

to be violent.

You know, you always revert back
to what you

were conditioned to.

In my younger years,
we spoke in a language of violence.

Not too many people
bring nonsense to you when they

know that there's gonna be
a swift, violent reaction.

Maybe I'm going about things
all wrong.

Maybe it's going to take
a whole lot of bloodshed

for people to say,
'Hold on, this gotta stop,'

and really intervene.

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 killed Stevie.

I want to hear how
they can explain stomping him.

How that's not murder.

How he deserved that. You know?

Tell me how he deserved
being stomped to death.

It's the cruelty of it all.

They all met with me.

They said they're not filing charges.

Point blank. It's over.
He said they're not filing charges.

He did explain to me how they...

Hang on...

How they, uh...

How they...

I need air.

How they...

How they investigated.

They told me the story,
from their view,

with their investigators.

They told me why he died.

Stevie was attacking them
to kill them,

so they had to kill him.

There's a law

that if someone's trying to kill you

and you kill them back,
you kill 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.

I'm still having surgeries
and procedures on my eye.

It look good though, cosmetically.

But it's blurred where it ripped,
bunch of scar tissue over it.

It's been humbling...

I've read and wrote

for almost 30 years.
That's been all I've done.

Now I have to learn to

do all that with one eye.

It was one of the biggest struggles
of my life

to maintain my sanity and

peace of mind and my outlook on life

without taking a detour and going

a completely different route

with my anger and frustration.

But I got my mind right.

I'm on the phone with brothers
at every institution.

Because

there are still more body bags
leaving out of the ADOC

than people on parole,

a lot of brothers
are starting to say,

'Well what are we gonna do about it?'

There are 11 participants

in the conference.

It's Kinetik. It's Robert Earl.

Robert Earl,
good morning Robert Earl.

Can I say something?

If you search through history,
there has been

no group of people
that have won true freedom

without bloodshed.

Once they become violent,
then you have a right

to defend your life.

Yeah, I know that's the most common

position we should take...

that we should stand up
and defend ourselves at all costs.

But I don't think
that it helps our cause.

Yeah.

I think we should make sure
that things are

done in an intellectual way and not

a emotional way.

Okay.

Y'all really think that
a peaceful protest

will change all the laws

without there being
no type of violence?

When you look at the options --

violent, non-violent,
work strikes, boycott --

what's the absolute best way

to hit the system
where it's gonna hurt the most?

You hit them in the pocket,
that hurt way more than

hitting them in the mouth.

Correct.

The only thing
that's gonna work for us

is to stop the machine from running.

To stop producing goods.

Stop giving services.

We got a official copy of

everybody who actually works
in the prison.

All three shifts.

To get them on board.

We've always understood
that our labor

is what this is all about.

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.

I work
for the Department of Sanitation

every day in the communities.

And I only get paid $2 a day.

Downtown Montgomery,

they have inmates working there.

Even the Governor's Mansion,
where Kay Ivey's at.

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.

I have a clear record

and every time I go up for parole

they deny my parole.

They trust me to work
in the community,

but they don't trust me
to grant me parole

to get out and go home to my family.

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.

People in here are starting to see

that we have been thrown
into a slave camp

where we're being told,
'You're gonna work for us for free

until you die.'

If they insist on running
an unconstitutional prison

then they can run it themselves.

I wrote a couple things

to get people prepared,

letting them know what
the shutdown is all about,

how to conduct yourself.

We're on this phone
all day and night, you know,

talking to brothers at Fountain,
at Ventress,

at Easterling, Staton,
Donaldson, death row...

This is what it's about.

Right.

We can beat you
not working for your ass.

We can beat you like that.

We can't get violent or get stupid,

so we just trying to show
what's going on by striking.

We have
a beautiful opportunity right here

to bring
over 20,000 prisoners together

for a statewide shutdown.

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.

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.

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.

We have officially shut down.

The impossible, as they say.

What's up family?

Let me show you the energy
up in this block.

Unity.

Real unity.

Black, white, Mexican, everybody.

We together up in here.

It's an undescribable peace.

People united behind a common cause.

And we praying...

I got Jesus on my mind

In truth, yeah, we praying

I got Jesus on my mind

It's a stone-cold groove right now.

It's a stone-cold groove.

Fourteen prisons go down,

that's never happened before.

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.

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 kill somebody."

It was just, "Here are some things

that we'd like you to look at.

And we're protesting
because of that."

The governor of Alabama has

not responded to

over 100 some people being murdered,

suicides, drug overdoses,

in the last year alone.

But the Governor had to respond to us
on Day One.

It gets people to understand,

you know, their own power.

We know the injustices
and the corruption

that's going on
in the Department of Corrections.

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.

They beat up Robert Earl Council.

They locked up Melvin Ray.

But the Free Alabama Movement
is what pushed this.

Listen man,
everybody listen to me man.

The momentum is on our side.

The media on our side.

Everybody watching everything.

No violence, no threats, no harm...

We just got to stay the course.
Keep it steady.

We stand in solidarity
for this strike

and this shutdown.

ADOC officials scrambling

to come up with a plan
to manage operations

if inmates refuse to work.

Your conference
will begin momentarily.

Robert Earl!

You know what they fed them
for dinner?

One pack of chocolate cream cookies.

No lunch at Fountain, man.
Repeat, no lunch at Fountain.

Was that all they gave?

That's all they gave for us?

All they gave us, bro.

They've started 'birdfeeding'

in order to try to starve us
into submission.

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.

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.

These are all elderly people.

People that been in prison 20 years.

- I did 37.
37 years.

He did 26 years.

Older guys...
so we do the best we can.

We're going to feed
the whole community up in here.

The superior Black man,

as well as the white man,
is being fed.

Look at them brothers
down there serving.

Everybody lined up to eat.

We gotta come together and unify.

Gotta look out for each other.

It's the only way we win.

Day three no chow.

Day Four!

Day Four, yeah it is Day Four.

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.

They came to my cell,

I submitted to their strip search.

I said, 'Can y'all run this prison
with the staff y'all got?'

He said, 'Man, you know we can't.'

I said, 'Why don't y'all tell
the truth?'

'Why y'all keep pretending
'cause they give y'all a check?'

Day five of the Alabama Department
of Corrections protest continues.

Special response team

is actually inside Limestone

right now doing a major search.

The team is traveling
to each of the prisons.

They're doing what any

counter-intelligence agency would do.

Man, as we speak, they
locking dudes up everywhere.

Let me explain something to y'all.

Alabama is the most arrogant people
on the planet.

And they're gonna whip us,

'cause they refuse to let
some prisoners

make them do anything.

But I promise you

that the money that they're losing
every motherfucking day

is way more than
what Kay Ivey's let on.

They just locked Robert Earl up.

They say the riot team
choked him out.

Let everybody know what's going on.

We're starting to lose a bit of faith

because we feel like
the voice that represented

a majority of us on the inside
has been separated from us.

That's the oldest trick and tactic
known to man...

divide and conquer.

But now is not a time
that we can give up.

Now is not a time
that we can say, 'I quit.'

Live and local, Talk 99.5.

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.
- Yeah.

You're not in any position

to make any demands.
You're in prison.

Continue to serve the meals,
continue to do the laundry.

Look down at your legs.

Are there shackles?
Not really in a position

to do anything about it.
Sorry about that.

It's now week two
of the Alabama state prison

inmate work strike.

Everything's still operational.

There's no disruption
in essential services.

They starving us out.

We dead hungry and it's for real.

A hungry man is a dangerous man.

And it makes you dangerous.

Because it makes us desperate.

They know what they're doing.

They turning us against each other.

Everybody attitude on the edge.

We in here nasty,
dudes trying to wash their clothes

like a Third World country.

And then they got
mental health outpatients

out here in the population
with the regular inmates.

And they don't understand nothing.

They don't want to hear nothing
about no shutting down.

So we got to be careful with them

and make sure that
they don't get hurt or hurt somebody.

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.

Hold on for a minute.

See this...

You know,

ever since Robert Earl
is out of contact,

we ain't been organizing
as a unit for real.

He know how to inspire people
to have us all working as a group.

Calling all the prisons,

connecting different people together
that can make it happen.

No, I have no clue where he went.

I just called Fountain and

dudes' gonna tell me,
'I'm tired of this shit.'

What you mean you tired of this shit?

You should be tired
of getting mistreated.

You get hungry? So fucking what.

The object of this Movement
is sacrifice.

Somewhere between 20 and 30 people

broke the picket line.

I swear to God,
that shit's so embarrassing

for dudes to fold up like that.

I apologize and I'll never fold.

Work stoppage is slowing down,

with inmates
at only a handful of prisons

continuing their protest.

If we don't go through with this,

then five, ten years from now,

we'll still have the same foot
up our ass.

I don't want us to give up.

I want us to do
whatever we need to do.

Work stoppage by inmates

at Alabama prisons is fading.

There are now
just five lockups affected.

Man, these dudes folded.

They went back to work.

Laundry workers, kitchen workers...

State prison officials say

only two facilities

are now experiencing stoppages.

I want people to understand,
I got something to say.

That y'all got something to say.

Quit playing with all these
little urges and cravings.

You can't go a day
without a full meal,

but you can go 20 years
without your family?

They break every rule,
they lock anybody up,

targeting people,

whatever, just 'Get them back
on the plantation.'

An entire state

has disregarded the well-being
and the health and the safety

of thousands of people.

There is no accountability.

But everybody around here
waiting on --

'When y'all gonna go back to work?'

Prison operations are back to normal

after a three-week-long
inmate protest.

Inmates had hoped their protest

would spur some action
by lawmakers and ADOC leaders.

But that didn't really happen.

You are a prisoner.

You did commit a crime.

You're in prison. It's prison.

It's supposed to suck.

Shipshape. Let's go. Chop, chop.

You sure showed the man.

Well done.

We've seen it on the news.
We've seen the national coverage.

Where the people of Alabama at?

They ain't outraged by this?

It's Inauguration Day in Alabama.

Steve Marshall
with his family there with him.

Gov. Kay Ivey will officially
be sworn into office.

A landslide victory for Kay Ivey,

galvanizing her two terms here

as governor in the state of Alabama.

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.

I was really, really optimistic
during the strike.

Maybe naive thinking that

it would force the DOJ to

take over the prison system.

And start the process
of trying to rectify

some of these things that were wrong.

It's easy to justify doing
a lot of bad things

if the money right.

The state of Alabama
continue to thrive on the bodies of

Black, brown, and poor white people.

The institution of slavery is real.

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.

Everyone who is here is standing

with the family members
that we have lost

in Alabama's prisons.

These inhumanities...

they're not just in Alabama.

Since the strike,

we've been hearing from brothers

from states all across the country.

This is E.M.C.F.,
correctional facility.

The Louisiana State Prison in Angola.

What's up, man.
We need y'all's help, man.

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.

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."

We all ask you guys to help us

push for prison reform.

They might try to put
me in 'the hole'

but share this shit,

spread this shit.

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.

And because of that

you're able to see

the truth about a reality

that they're gonna tell you
doesn't exist.

I've had enough experiences

throughout this struggle to know

it's going to take
a lot of soul-searching

to change the mentalities of

300 and something million people.

A person does the same thing
over and over

expecting different results,

it's insanity.

But

I believe in what we're doing, so

maybe I'm insane.

Let's just see
what it look like out there.

The light coming through
like the light of truth.

Come here, kitty.

Do you know who this is?

No.

No, I don't.

I don't. No.

Hey.

How are you?

Hey, I'm alive, shit,
I guess that counts.

Hey, Papa Smooth.

This is Papa Smooth.

Papa Smooth, you don't want
to be on no video, do you?

Now that's Papa Smooth,
he really, really grouchy.

- Hold on.
- Okay.

Hold on one second.
Don't talk. Don't talk.

The cost of a new Alabama prison

is up to one billion dollars.

At this rate, the price of all three

of the new prisons could triple
the original estimate.

Governor Kay Ivey is suggesting

state lawmakers use money
from the education budget.

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.