(LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas) – Arkansas lawmakers raised questions Tuesday about a sheriff’s decision to allow a Netflix documentary series to be filmed at the county jail, with one critic saying the move exploited inmates.
Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins defended the decision to allow the series “Unlocked: A Jail Experiment” to film at the county jail. The eight-episode series, which premiered last month, highlights a program that gives some inmates more freedom at Little Rock facilities.
The decision drew scrutiny from local and state officials, who said they had no knowledge of the series until shortly before its premiere. The series focuses on a six-week experiment that gave cell block inmates more freedom by unlocking their cell doors. Higgins said she did not approach Netflix or Lucky 8, the production company that filmed it, about the series.
“I have taken steps to ensure that we have a reentry program to help those who are enrolled in our facilities come out and be better individuals,” Higgins told members of the Joint Performance Review Committee.
Republican Sen. Jonathan Dismang said he has no problem with the sheriff’s reentry program or trying something new to address recidivism. But he said he was concerned about it being the focus of a program and questioned how it could be considered an experiment if it was being filmed.
“I think it is an exploitation of your prisoners that you allow a camera crew in,” Dismang said.
Another Republican lawmaker said he was concerned about what the program would do to the state’s reputation, comparing it to a 1994 HBO documentary about gangs in Little Rock.
“For most people who have watched this docuseries, this is the first time they have been exposed to Pulaski County, or perhaps the state of Arkansas,” said Rep. David Ray. The state maintains this is their first awareness from our state to other people.”
Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde — the county’s top elected administrator — said he had no knowledge of the series until he saw a trailer before its premiere. Hyde said the agreement between the sheriff and the production company was illegal because Hyde did not sign it. The county has since returned a check for $60,000 from the production company that filmed the series.
Higgins, a Democrat first elected in 2018 and is the county’s first Black sheriff, had support from some community members. The Little Rock chapter of the NAACP supported Higgins’ decision, and the sheriff’s supporters packed the committee room for Tuesday’s hearing.
Democratic Senator Linda Chesterfield said Higgins’ supporters are looking for “someone who will provide humane treatment to people who have been treated inhumanely.”
“We’re looking at this through a different lens and it’s important that we respect the lens through which we see this,” Chesterfield said.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
