Survivors Guide to Prison

In 1974 I began working for the CA Dept Corrections at Soledad. Ensuing years found me as Probation & Parole Officer. If I learned one thing from those many years of correctional law enforcement, it is the system does not work. The worst development I have witnessed in last 20-30 yrs is "private prisons"! Greasing the palms of sleasy politicians to keep inmates in slavery!! Very good film. (Nobody who can influence correctional policy will care in least...)

Great documentary on a flawed judicial system that no one wants to talk about

Very few tips on how to survive prison. Movie attempts to blame the USA for its occupants committing crime, getting arrested for it, and subsequently being incarcerated. Having been a cop I know of zero cops that *want* to arrest people. Most are paycheck collectors trying to get by. Has an accurate take on prosecutors prosecuting, but that is a politcally motivated cause not a front line law enforcement cause. To satiate some the movie portends that racial minorities are more likely to get caught up in the system even though non-minorities make up the vast majority of the incarcerated. Disturbing anecdotes of folks wrongly imprisoned are not balanced with those properly punished and imprisoned; again which vastly outnumber the innocent caught up in the system.

About time we get this broke down for all to see. Can’t wait for the next one - keep moving forward!!

First of all, the name is not accurate. This is not a guide on how to deal with prison. At one point, they state to stay with your race and join a gang. Then they move on. How can you say that and not explain it? Their point is that you are forced into that for safety, but it isn't explained and they do not give advice on how to deal with it. I agree with ending the war on drugs and private prisons, but this is so one sided it just comes off as fake.

I obtained my criminal justice degree six years ago and it was then that I realized how dirty and corrupt or criminal justice system really is. This film is spot on, it’s so sad that people in the Justice System are disgusting and it’s disturbing how money is the reason for this in the first place.

The folks associated with this movie have their own agenda. Not necessarily a bad thing, however, by featuring quotes such as RZA's: "If you have a serious mental illness, the United States of America is probably the worst place you want to be", well, you have just lost me. This statement is so far from accurate, it automatically brings into question the veracity of the rest of the film. Mr. Lisker's saga is a terrible one, and I'm thrilled he has been released. But was his relationship with his mother really as he depicts it? Perhaps.

America is in NO WAY a free country. Most of our so-called liberties are long gone. What we now call "freedom" is nothing more than the liberty we can enjoy on any given day that we don't encounter a rouge cop. Among the many important things this movie points out, to be a cop, all you need is a high school diploma or sometimes just a G.E.D. to wield a gun and get access to the vast surveillance power of our computerized state. In America, it is normal for penalties to be WILDLY out of proportion to the crimes commited. Many of those "crimes" involving drug posession should not be crimes at all.

Just two innocent guys? If you listen to them, they are all innocent. Our justice system is the best in the world. You actually get a judge, jury and a professional looking room to be found innocent or guilty unlike many other nations where you get beaten or tortured by police on the streets or in prison.

An important, insightful film about the American justice system - who it benefits and how it disproportionately impacts people of color, low income individuals and others. For those concerned with victim rights, it is even more important to understand how the system spends resources keeping innocent people jailed while those who are guilty may never face consequences, due to a system more concerned with profits than justice.