Unlocked: A Jail Experiment

A Sheriff at an Arkansas Prison sets an experiment in motion at The Facility, he plans to open the doors and increase privileges, but both come with problems, that threaten to end the program.

I binge watched the whole lot over a single weekend, it's a fascinating documentary series, so interesting.

It's like a real life Oz, with Big Brother cameras watching, it's definitely a look at Prison life, but more so it's a study on human nature, the laws of the jungle as it were, a fascinating social experiment.

It's interesting the whole way through, you really do get to see how the program influences and changes people. Easy to write them all off as bad eggs, but there are signs of change, Randy and Crooks seem like really cool guys.

I chuckled to myself, who's the worst person to be locked down with, definitely Miller, wow that guy was so irritating.

Biggest nuisance - Miller Best tattoos - Crooks Most likely to cause a riot - Eastside Most level headed - Randy Worst person to play dominos - Weekley.

I urge you to watch it.

8/10.

Watching this series brought out some glaring truths to me: both punishment and rehabilitation are what prison needs to be.

The hardest part of watching was seeing some of the men trying their best to become better men but not having the mental health support that they so desperately need. I'm sure the prison provides what it can, but without real change in the real world where mental health support should be available to everyone, then this will be an endless cycle. And the people holding the purse strings in Arkansas aren't willing to make changes at the prison for the better. This facility is only a county jail- yet it is being used to house inmates who are serving life sentences and have zero f's to give. Mixing a first time prisoner in with repeat offenders and those who will love their entire lives in jail is less than ideal.

As an Arkansan, I see firsthand how wide the disparities are between those who have and those who do not. Generational poverty, violence, drug abuse and more are running rampant everywhere. And do not fool yourself that everyone is getting an equal education.

If this look into a prison brought out any empathy, then please urge your lawmakers to support this sheriff and his staff as they try to balance punishment and rehabilitation in a novel way.

Wow, hope this system can b used and implemented in all the prisons. What a fantastic change that was made by these men in real time/life. To see them get to change their ways by their own decisions was an epic change for prisons. Men coming away from prison with many new abilities that will help them survive on the "outside" and ability to handle conflicts and life. They come out with skills and some pride in themselves. What a fantastic idea, this comes from a mom of an offender who would have loved to see him come home with a skill and a decent personality, and the ability to make good decisions and get along with people.

Congratulations to Arkansas facility and hope they can get started to implement this system.

If I hear 'you know what I'm sayin' one more time.. jee.sus! They need to add speech therapy to the curriculum. Such a bad habit.

It was nice to watch them grow throughout the program just as it was frustrating to watch them fail.

Kudos to the sheriff and his backers. This should be started at juvie tho. Nip it in the bud early.

The series showed just enough plot, good feels, says and a bit of eye-rolling periods but that's what fast firward/skip 10s is for ;)

I was hesitant to watch 'another jail reality show' but this one's promise for a good outcome for the inmates keeps you watching. ;) ..

I just finished watching this show, and it's incredibly interesting on many levels.

It's amusing to see the transformation from initial skepticism- inmates believing "this isn't going to work"-to eventually taking responsibility, teaching others how to act, behave, and shape their identities.

Additionally, I have immense respect for everyone involved in making this documentary. The camera crew members were physically surrounded by inmates, risking their lives, yet the inmates showed respect and let them do their job.

The sheriff is a very good person. Often, people overlook the importance of empathy when dealing with inmates. Although inmates are incarcerated due to their actions, many are there because they lacked role models or were never taught the basic rules of society, leading them to commit crimes without considering the consequences.