Als James Allen ten onrechte veroordeeld wordt voor diefstal, wordt hij naar een wrede gevangenis in het zuiden van de Verenigde Staten gebracht, waar hij, terwijl zijn voeten vastgeketend zijn, dwangarbeid moet verrichten onder slechte omstandigheden. Hij ontsnapt en vlucht naar Chicago, waar hij Marie Woods ontmoet. Als haar ter ore komt dat hij voortvluchtig is, dreigt ze hem aan te geven als hij niet met haar trouwt, wat problematisch is aangezien hij verliefd is op Helen.
In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.
After a love affair ending in an abortion, a young prison reformer submerges herself in her work. She then falls for a controversial and married judge and scandal looms again.
Tom Connors zit voor enkele jaren vast. Hij wordt gesteund door de New Yorkse Finn, een lokale politicus. Fay, de trouwe vriendin van Connors, wil zich inlaten met Finn om haar geliefde op die manier vrij te krijgen.
Robert is found beside the highway with a head injury and amnesia. His amnesia motivates him to become a Physician and the country's leading criminal psychologist.
Survivors of violent crimes and prisoners incarcerated for murder connect to undergo astonishing transformations, liberating themselves from the debilitating constraints of trauma, and shattering preconceptions of "us and them."
A reporter and a lawyer investigate a women's prison and help an inmate who does not belong there.
Documentaire over de gevangenisopstand in Attica en rechtszaken om schadevergoeding te krijgen voor de slachtoffers van deze gebeurtenissen.
Ervin, an ex con man, is released from prison to find his old pal Micky waiting for him. The 75 year olds seem to hit it off as they drive around town, with a few pit stops along the way, but the cracks in their friendship begin to show after 15 years of neglect.
In America, the prison system has become a place of retribution, not restoration. Inmates are often treated as sub-human, and often find themselves feeling hopeless. But a small midwest college decides to give inmates an opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree. Experience the journey of the resilient inmates as they fight incredible odds to change their lives – and change the system.
A short 1983 documentary about an alternative to prison.
A young pickpocket is taken in by an attorney who attempts to 'civilize' her.