This documentary is about life at Riker's Island, which acts as the local jail for New York City. It consisted of conversations with several former inmates of Riker's Island as they recounted the time they spent there - often years - awaiting trial because they did not have bail money.
The things they had to say about other inmates I did not find too surprising - show no weakness, attempts at friendship are probably just attempts to ferret out weakness, show any weakness and other inmates will steal all of your stuff including your food, don't be a deep sleeper and if you don't have a home-made weapon at your ready you are in trouble, always stand up for yourself. One inmate said he joined a prison gang just to survive on the inside.
The institution itself was a bit of an education, at least for middle class me. The inmates said the guards were no better than the inmates. They would loose two prisoners who hated each other and take bets on who won the inevitable fight. Guards would let fights in progress finish before they intervened, again betting on the outcome, and if you tried to get a guard in trouble they would put you in solitary. There you are in dim drab surroundings, you get no visits, and you don't get enough food to sustain yourself so you have to save food so when you are really hungry you have something to eat. Apparently these people are not just whining because several multi million dollar settlements have been paid out by NYC on behalf of the treatment of prisoners at Riker's, and all have agreed that Riker's should be divided into five smaller jails dispersed throughout the city.
One interesting thing - the inmates who were interviewed were eloquent and insightful, about themselves and the institution, but they all "fit the narrative" you might say of people you would expect to get in trouble with the law. They came from broken homes or drug addicted parents, they came from poverty, had little education, and one girl spent three years there because she could not make bail only in the end to be acquitted of all charges. I would say, all fit the narrative but one - There was one woman who was raised middle class, was white, had a bachelor's degree, had a husband and three children, and had a good job with a law firm only to one day decide to help herself to 300,000 dollars from a trust fund. I was interested in her story so I googled her just to see what happened.
In 2009 she was working at ANOTHER law firm, this time in Pennsylvania, and AGAIN stole money - this time 100K - partially to pay restitution to the law firm in New York City! Maybe "ban the box" is not such a good idea after all! At any rate, this is a very good documentary that largely lets the inmates - and some hidden cameras - speak for themselves. Just don't be expecting an uplifting experience.
