“The Alabama Solution,” an HBO original documentary highlighting the injustice faced by prisoners in Alabama correctional facilities, was released Oct. 10. Directed by Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman, the documentary’s title comes from a statement made after a lawsuit was filed alleging poor conditions in Alabama correctional facilities, when Gov. Kay Ivey said that an “Alabama problem deserves an Alabama solution.”
“The Alabama Solution” highlights the failures in Alabama correctional facilities mainly through videos and video calls from prisoners using contraband cellphones. It documents scenes of extreme violence by guards, poor living conditions and the treatment of prisoners during the 2022 prison workers strike.
The film follows two main inmate activists for prison reform, Robert Earl Council and Melvin Ray of the Free Alabama Movement, as they try to make a difference and bring awareness to the systemic issues facing Alabama prisons…