Search Results for "state penitentiary"

A man wrongly accused of a crime must decide between getting involved in a prison break, or remaining in jail until his wife can prove his innocence.

Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary was built in the 1820s, inspired by Enlightenment ideas and Quaker belief in solitary reflection and penitence. This documentary, illustrated with period lithographs, engravings, and photographs, gives a detailed history of the prison from its initial practice of total solitary confinement through its transformation into an overcrowded "Big House" to its replacement with a modern facility in 1970.

This gritty documentary takes you inside the legendary Oso Blanco, the most feared prison of Puerto Rico and one of the most notorious in the Caribbean. It is the birthplace of two of the most dangerous Latino gangs: "Ñeta" and "Los 27" (aka "Los Insectos") and the scene of hundreds of murders.

In 1932, a cop is killed and Frank Wiecek sentenced to life. Eleven years later, a newspaper ad by Frank's mother leads Chicago reporter P.J. O'Neal to look into the case. For some time, O'Neal continues to believe Frank guilty. But when he starts to change his mind, he meets increased resistance from authorities unwilling to be proved wrong.

In the sweltering heat of a Texas summer in 1974, Jim Estelle, head of the Texas Department of Corrections, plays a deadly game against the ruthless Federico Carrasco, a convicted heroin dealer who has taken over the Huntsville Penitentiary and holding dozens hostage after his pre-planned escape has gone awry. Lines between captor and captive, justice and survival, begin to blur as the siege spirals for eleven endless, terrifying days.

Documentary depicting day to day life in Angola Prison mostly from an inmate's perspective. Interviews are with several inmates including one with a life sentence who is about to die.

SERVING LIFE documents an extraordinary hospice program where hardened criminals care for dying fellow inmates. Narrated and executive produced by Academy Award®-winner Forest Whitaker, the film takes viewers inside Louisiana's maximum security prison at Angola, where the average sentence is more than 90 years.

A story depicting the life of executed murderer and gang leader, Marciál "Baby" Ama. Ama, who became a gang leader with his prison mob while serving a sentence for lesser charges, was executed for murder at the age of 16 via electric chair on 4 October 1961.

What have a young English girl and a Black Panther convicted of murder got to say to each other?

In 1995, Jerry Brown, 18, was sentenced to life without parole for murder at Angola (Louisiana), America's most infamous maximum-security prison. He is now the star of the Angola Prison Rodeo. Each Sunday in October, inmates battle bulls without training for a few seconds of fame and some money. For Angola's warden, the proceeds of the rodeo fund the religious education of his inmates. "Razor Wire Rodeo" tells the unflinching story of lives defined by violence and crushed by the pitiless corrections practices in Louisiana. Jerry Brown believes his fame will help him to get out of Angola. But in a state, that hardly ever grants clemencies, his battle against the bull is symbolic of a fight for freedom lost a long time ago.

The gripping story of Robert King Wilkerson, Herman Wallace, and Albert Woodfox, men who endured solitary confinement longer than any known living prisoner in the United States. Politicized through contact with the Black Panther Party while inside Louisiana's prisons, they formed one of the only prison Panther chapters in history and worked to organize other prisoners.

Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices from a Plantation Prison tells the story of playwright Liza Jessie Peterson's 2020 performance of her acclaimed play The Peculiar Patriot at Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary, America’s largest prison.

The Wildest Show in the South: The Angola Prison Rodeo is a 1999 American short documentary film directed by Simeon Soffer. It focuses primarily on the inmates experiences in the rodeo. For a lot of those prisoners, the rodeo seems to be the only thing they have to look forward to. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

Three black man collectively have wrongly served 100 years in solitary confinement.

This documentary depicts the life inside the walls of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. See what life is like inside Angola, a self-sustaining agricultural community that boasts five new churches and its own inmate-run TV and radio station.