Shocking Trailer For HBO Documentary THE ALABAMA SOLUTION Takes a Look at the Treatment of American Prisoners
HBO has released a compelling trailer for the documentary The Alabama Solution, from The Jinx and The Jinx: Part Two director Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman, producer of The Jinx: Part Two. The doc features shocking footage, recorded on smuggled cell phones, in the Alabama State Primson system.
It shows guards allegedly subjecting inmates to terrible beatings and abuse, and brutal treatment that allegedly cost at least one prisoner – Steven Davis — his life.
The synopsis reads, “In 2019, filmmakers visit an Alabama prison to film a revival meeting. Off camera, incarcerated men whisper a message: terrible things are going on here and being kept secret. This sparks an immersive six-year investigation to discover the reality behind the walls of one of the nation’s deadliest prison systems.
Through unprecedented direct access and video shot on contraband cell phones, the filmmakers learn from the men inside about a suspicious and violent death. The story unfolds in real time, revealing it isn’t an isolated incident and that the official version appears far from the truth.
What follows is a shocking story of brutality, corruption, and a system in collapse. As the men fight for their own survival, they embark on a campaign of resistance, against all odds.”
The Alabama Solution premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
“The prisons have been allowed to run essentially unmonitored,” Jarecki told Deadline at Sundance. “There is no control over the behavior of guards or over the ability to provide any kind of basic level of humane treatment for people who are mentally ill or people who are troubled or just people who are vulnerable because it’s an environment where resources are so scarce.”
This looks like a hard watch, but compelling and important as well. The film premieres on HBO Max on Friday, October 10. Check out the trailer below: