Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, August 3: TOE TAG PAROLE: TO LIVE AND DIE ON YARD A
Alan Raymond and Susan Raymond’s exploration of life in prison without the hope of parole makes its world premiere on the acclaimed cable network.
Set in the maximum-security California State Prison in the Mojave Desert, the film focuses on its Progressive Programming Facility, also referred to as Yard A or the Honor Yard, a program specifically geared to inmates sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. For this population of 600, Yard A provides a refuge from the culture of violence that plagues most prisons: Beyond offering opportunities to focus on spirituality, art, and music, a pre-requisite of participating in the program is the eschewal of longstanding prison mores like drugs, gang activity, and self-imposed racial segregation. The filmmakers profile several of the inmates, identifying their crimes, and showcasing the programs they’re engaged in, from painting murals to anger management. While some interviewees cling to their claims of innocence, others own up to their crimes, reconciled to the reality that, barring a legislative change, they will die in prison, since, as one inmate notes, life without parole is essentially just another kind of death sentence. Coming at a time when prison reform has entered the national dialogue, the Raymonds’ candid film also draw attention to the nation’s often excessive sentencing laws, which finds nonviolent and violent offenders alike caught in the prison-industrial complex, including juvenile offenders deprived of any hope of release no matter whether they are rehabilitated or not.
what (not) to doc 