Andrew Jarecki

you know, had a crime happen in their family and they go to every parole hearing and they don't know the people.

They get a little card before they go there.

We sort of embedded with them and maybe should make a film about them.

And they go to a parole hearing where you have a guy who's been locked up for 25 years.

He's an ordained minister.

He's taken every conceivable class.

He's like mentored 500 young men that have been in there.

And this woman will get up and say, you know, I'm here to protest the parole of Kevin Johnson.

And, you know, he committed a crime in 1973.

They have no idea what it is.

They just know he committed a crime and he should not be paroled.

And then they stand in front of the parole board and they say to the three members of the parole board, if you let this man out and he reoffends,

It will be on your neck, and everyone will know that you did that.

And, you know, that's one of the things that drove Alabama's parole rate to 8%.

Yeah, it was at that time.

It's improved a little bit, and I think it's improved in part, you know, because of the...

work in and around the film because you know among other things it was a lawsuit that was sparked by the film this this uh class action lawsuit in which kinetic justice robert earl counsel is the lead plaintiff that really calls out alabama for having a system of convict leasing and and you know because a lot of people don't realize a that alabama and many states like it

benefit from, let's say, just in the case of Alabama, $450 million a year in unpaid labor.

And the men inside are forced to provide this labor.

And by forced,