Unlocked: A Jail Experiment

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. ;) ..

Unlocked: A Jail Experiment is a mini series that follows the inmates of a cell block in Little Rock Arkansas as they navigate and negotiate life in jail environment, but without guards and without locks on their cell doors. At face value, this sounds like an impossible concept to film given the immense risks involved with allotting such freedom to some of societies most unruly men, but here it is for your curiosity to consume. I was at first turned off by the overly dramatized style of the documentary, but the high stakes of the experiment and the personalities of the inmates drew me in. I found the episodes to be raw and emotional, making the human spirit the main character. I've never seen any show quite like this one simply for the natural unfolding of almost Shakespearean drama. The pain and shame of the individuals involved sets a silent overtone despite their overly masculine facades. The American prison system can truly be cruel and dehumanizing and it is only in its context that these men could possibly have taken this experiment as seriously as they did, desperate to maintain their suddenly acquired freedom. The line that will stick with me, in response to the added privilege of free phone calls for all inmates, was "this is paradise". This series can be truly heart wrenching, and it will show a side of humanity that we all can relate to, in the least likely of places.

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.

What a series.. The changes in some of the inmates was palatable in some cases.. Really a great series if you can see the benifit of people taking their own responsibility for not only themselves but for the community! The sheriff is a strong kind man with great foresight in the ability of people taking the right steps to change! By giving privaliges & recognising their actual strengths...

I loved it from beginning to end I watched it in one night because I couldn't bare to leave it...

I hope that many more prisons will recognise the benefits of such a program..

I also hope that some of those inmates have learnt a load from the experience & change for the good...

More of this please! My first review on this website because this was so excellent... What an ending!

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.