Unlocked: A Jail Experiment (2024) s01e04 Episode Script

1
[clock ticking]
[tense music playing]
-[Freeman] Miller!
-[Miller] Yeah?
Grab all your stuff. You're moving out.
-Can you tell me where I'm going?
-We'll let you know when you get there.
[narrator] After getting caught on camera
making a shank,
David Miller is being removed
from the pod.
[Miller] I'm gonna be honest with you.
What's going on here,
I'm gonna file a report.
Because it's wrong.
I'm here being harassed.
[K3] You steady
drawing attention on yourself
for the whole unit to get shut down.
You only care about your damn self.
Hey, where you going?
[Ty] You talking about Miller?
[K3] Where you going?
This could possibly be the end
of the actual program.
So it's pretty much
left up to the sheriff at this point.
[tense music building]
[theme music playing]
[door slams]
[ambient music playing]
[narrator] After taking the time
to review the footage,
the sheriff has come
to a decision about the program.
[Higgins] So we had an individual
with a shank.
And so he needed to be removed.
But we felt this was a situation
where it was an isolated incident.
It's one person.
We're still looking. We're still observing
and trying to evaluate their behavior,
but they've made some progress.
And we want to try
to continue that progress.
And I didn't wanna shut the whole unit
and put them all on lockdown.
I didn't see that
this was necessary at this point.
[indistinct chatter on TV]
[Randy] David Miller.
I I'm glad he gone.
There's still a lot
that we gotta accomplish
to get it together
to become the community.
And I know it's coming.
Yep. Just set it in there.
Get two of 'em. Fill it up with water.
[narrator] Realizing that
the problems with Miller
have created a turning point for the unit,
Randy wants to bring
the generations together
while things seem to be under control.
[Randy] We just want the chili warm
for the sauce.
That's all we need. Fill up this end.
Everybody put their pride to the side
and coming together to work together.
Feel it.
[indistinct chatter]
[Randy] Bring the community together.
All the oldheads. Me and the youngsters.
That's what I got to do.
The tough man role.
We don't need that here
when the role that we need here
is helping each other.
Building each other up
instead of breaking each other down.
That's what we working on.
Look, I'm making the crust for the pizza.
Wait till you see it.
[indistinct chatter]
[Randy] Have to go get the chili now.
The chili and bring me some water.
[Tiny] You finna working on that.
I ain't never seen that,
and I been doing time
for a goddamn minute, shit!
[Randy] You never seen it?
No.
[Randy] Pay attention.
Thug Life Pizza.
[inmate] That nigga
made a pizza out of noodles.
Hey. What they give us is what we got.
Ramen noodles,
refried beans, Summit Sauce,
Jack Mack chips, chili with beans.
[indistinct chatter]
Man, that shit looked fucking horrible,
man, but I ain't never seen it.
I seen him pour a bag of meat on there.
You know what that was?
Man, it was fucking liver.
That shit looked like blood, man.
That shit don't look
You don't want none of that shit. Hell no.
Mm-mm.
[Randy] Get your spoon and then dig in.
We're just gonna sit here and eat.
There's gonna always be chaos in jail.
We gonna always wanna fight each other.
But sometimes
you gotta put your differences aside.
[Mayham] Domino's ain't got shit on Randy.
Hey!
Do anybody want some of this,
they can come and try it.
I consider myself being a role model,
'cause when I was in their predicament
back in the day,
there wasn't nobody doing stuff
like I'm doing for them,
the youngsters in here. No one.
I wanted to step up
because no one else will.
[indistinct chatter]
[Randy] Hey! Y'all eat up!
Randall, he been through this
way longer than us.
This unit is working the way
it's supposed to because of him.
[inmate 2] You say, "Everybody eat."
And when you say,
"Everybody eat," everybody eats.
[upbeat music playing]
[loud chatter]
[inmate] Play ball!
You want some of this, you bitch.
Get your old ass up!
[narrator] It's the end of week two,
and despite the turmoil caused by Miller,
the inmates have managed to stay on course
and are finding their stride.
Dang. Y'all lift what?
Ninety now? Eighty-five?
[narrator] They're working out.
[all] Forgive us our trespasses
[narrator] They're participating
in Bible studies
[inmates praying]
Amen.
and they're working on themselves
through addiction classes.
We admit to ourselves
we are powerless over chemical substance,
that our lives have become unmanageable.
[Willie] It's a relief
he died down and kind of
getting a get a hold of itself.
The Beast has tamed itself.
[Mayham] Everything running smooth to me.
Everything working here
how it's supposed to be.
[D2] I think so too.
[Mayham] Everybody know right from right
and wrong from wrong now.
Everybody acting mature in here.
[inmate speaking indistinctly]
Doing the things I'm doing,
when you think about it, it's just me.
It's not a big deal.
-[inmate 2] Right.
-But it is because we hurt everybody.
[inmate 3] We're here to change that, man.
Hear me.
[upbeat music playing]
[music fades]
[narrator] Even though the unit
is making real progress
[funky guitar music playing]
significant sources of tension remain.
[busy signal]
I don't know how the fuck this shit work!
Dealing with phones in here,
you really be going crazy.
That's a real thing. Like, you gonna go
You gonna lose some sanity.
The sky is falling down ♪
This shit ain't on there yet.
How much money you got on there?
Four dollars.
[inmate] $1.88. Do what you can.
It's good. [clicks tongue]
Put a dollar on the phone,
that'd be like three minutes.
Ten months, man. Hear me?
That's the last time my people sent money.
I haven't had no funds to make phone calls
because you need money on your books
to talk to our family
and handle real business.
All my friends, all my homegirls,
they fell off the map. You hear me?
-That's fucked up.
-Yeah.
I don't have a lot of funds
for the, uh, for the phones.
So I can't afford to contact my son,
you know, like I really want to.
'Cause the sky is falling down ♪
His answering machine picked up.
I'm trying to contact my parole officer.
They won't answer my phone calls.
Nah. I got money on my phone,
so I'm finna see
Try to use a phone at a certain time,
and somebody just hogging the phone.
Ain't gonna be able to call nobody.
Hey.
And then once you get on the phone,
it be almost time to shut it all down.
The good thing is I got the phone,
and I think
[operator] You have three minutes
remaining on this call.
You have three minutes remaining.
Then it's over.
Now you got no more money on the phone.
You know I love y'all. Good night.
The phones?
It's like fucking torture in there.
It's like fucking on some Alcatraz shit.
Can I call you back?
[woman on phone] Yes, five minutes.
The sky is falling down ♪
Ugh.
[purposeful country music playing]
[Higgins] It's been two weeks
since I went in and unlocked the doors,
but they've made some progress.
We want to try to continue that progress.
-Chief. LT.
-[Freeman] What's going on, Sheriff?
Hey, Sheriff. How's it going?
And if you're following all the rules
and doing what needs to be done,
we'll introduce more privileges.
[music ends]
I'm thinking I want
to introduce something.
What are you thinking about, sir?
Free phones.
[ambient music playing]
Interesting.
[Higgins] In jail, calls aren't free.
The detainees have to have
money on their books
to be able to use the phones.
I hear detainees talk about, you know,
one of their frustrations is,
"Nobody's put anything on my books."
So if your family doesn't have the money,
you're isolated from them.
So I've decided to make phone calls free.
We've opened the doors.
So this is a natural step.
It can positively impact the unit.
We know it's important for them
to have contact with their family members,
with people who care about them.
Research shows those contacts
help not only the detainee,
but it helps the environment.
[music ends]
Um, probably need to set
some parameters on it.
What's your concerns?
I see four phones and 48 inmates.
-That can be a problem.
-Mm-hmm.
[Hendricks] That's simply
what it boils down to in my mind.
-There's gonna be the strong individuals
-[Higgins] Mm-hmm.
that might want to go ahead
and hoard the phones.
[percussive music playing]
And if that happens,
what do you think the result's gonna be?
It could possibly be
some altercation may go on.
If they want as much time
on those phones as possible, so, uh
As far as giving them that access,
if they can't figure it out,
it could turn for the worse.
Another downside of it is,
"Who are you contacting out there?"
Is there someone who is gonna keep them
in a negative environment?
Is there some beef going on
outside that comes into the facility?
Without the deputy in there,
and I know there's risk involved,
but this program is about risk.
So we're hoping that they can
work through those relationships.
Each phase of this is proving
that you can do this.
I think it's so important
we move in this next step.
Okay.
I appreciate the concerns, but I think
if you're no incidents at this point,
I think we're ready to go ahead
and give them the phones.
It's gonna be a challenge,
and if they don't do it right,
we could have some problems.
But, you know,
opening the doors is one thing.
For the program to be successful,
you gotta do more
than just open the doors.
So let's make it happen.
-We'll see how things go.
-[Freeman] Copy that.
[music fades]
[slow percussive music playing]
[background chatter]
[inmate] Here comes Miss Owens.
[indistinct chatter]
[Ty] Hey.
Miss Atwood, I got
Oh, that's not Miss Atwood.
Miss Owens, bro.
Do you not hear me?
Hey! Hey!
Miss Owens comes up,
and I'm fucking with her, you know.
I'm like, "Hey, Miss Owens,"
and she's, like, ignoring me.
I'm like, "Hey! Hey!"
So she puts this thing on the wall.
What?!
Bro, hell no. Free?
[inmates laughing]
Yo!
[excited yelling]
[inmate] What you talking 'bout?
It's free calls, nigga!
[indistinct]
Free calls! [indistinct]
Free calls! What you mean?
I'm hearing it's about to go down ♪
It's about to go down ♪
It's about to go down ♪
[Ty] She puts this thing on the wall,
and it's like, "Free calls,"
which is lit. Know what I'm saying?
That's lit, brother.
-We're about to
-Blow the fuck off.
[Willie] Haven't had no funds
to make phone calls,
and now all of a sudden,
a blessing came
where I had free phone calls.
[inmate 2] Work together as a community
to share these phones.
No unit, no other unit
is doing what this unit's doing.
No other unit.
No.
-It's paradise.
-[excited chatter]
-[inmate] It starts immediately!
-[Big Mel] Say what?
[Ty] Get to the phones!
[excited chatter]
[funky music playing]
There's only a select few phones
in the barracks
so that's where the problem comes.
A person don't want to get off the phone?
They can sit there riding it.
[inmate 3] Hello? Hey.
[Randy] Some people ain't wanna get off.
-[inmate 4] You gotta share that phone!
-That's the problem.
[inmate 4] Don't share that phone,
you're dead wrong!
[excited chatter]
Hey.
It's getting hectic. It's getting hectic.
-Free calls! What?!
-Like everybody waiting on the phones.
I got some money on the phone.
Watch. You're gonna have a fight.
[inmate 5] Y'all went wrong,
grown fucking baby.
Tell me something good,
y'all wanna listen. [indistinct]
[Mayham] Shit annoying as fuck.
Everybody rushing
to be in the line on the phone.
Everybody that don't get on the phone
want to be on the phone
or be mad about being on the phone
when they been on the phone.
Man, it's just crazy
'cause free shit just drives folks crazy.
I ain't got a beef stain on it.
Bop in the tech column, ho!
[Squirrel] Hey, man, for real.
There's gonna be a fight
in there, y'all! [laughs]
Perfect, weirdo. Punch the zero.
[Willie] No, man.
You can do that after mine.
I'm on the phone next.
You finna get the phone.
I ain't finna use the phone.
-Everybody good? What you doing?
-Yeah.
Somebody care 'cause
I was supposed to be on the phone.
[inmate 6] You can't hang it up
right there.
[Willie] I was trying to call
outside lawyers before the firm closes,
but when I went to grab the phone,
a boy jumped up.
He just wanted to brag about nothing.
[inmate 6] Blood, that shit say 12.
Nobody give a fuck.
-[inmate 6] Shut your punk ass up.
-Shut your punk ass up, fat boy.
Don't nobody care.
I'm trying to handle some business.
Get the fuck away
from the phones, dumbass.
Fuck you, stupid ass.
Fuck you, stupid.
I'mma press the button on you.
I would smack your ass.
You wouldn't smack shit!
Come smack me now then, boy!
I'mma knock your fat ass out.
-I'll put you on your fat ass.
-[inmate 6] Don't wanna hear none of that.
-[Willie] You ain't got to hear it.
-[inmate 6] I don't wanna hear it.
I was trying to control my anger.
But in my head, I'm like,
"I'mma beat you silly up in
right here with this phone."
"I'mma snatch that receiver out the wall
and hurt you with it."
-Your shit wasn't even important.
-I didn't know when they'd call again.
-They were talking to me.
-So you get some understanding, bro.
[Randy] Man, these free calls are serious.
Free phone calls made a whole
changed the folks' whole personality.
These niggas ain't used to
using the phone.
Niggas is just rude and stupid.
[Randy] We were just calming
all the way down now.
You see how quick that changed?
Zero to 60, quick up in here.
You was not at the phone
when I grabbed it.
I was already in front of the phone.
Why are you still talking to me?
-I didn't know that though!
-All right, I was telling you though!
You trying to prove a point,
and your shit is null and void.
We gonna see
who gonna get smacked or knocked out.
And I doubt it's gonna be me.
[Randy] If we can't figure out something,
we gonna self-destruct in here.
We're gonna have to come together,
'cause if we don't,
it's gonna be a whole total mess up.
And everything gonna go back
to like we was.
They're gonna be visiting us
behind the doors.
[Willie] Do that later on your time.
All right. Fuck that phone.
Ain't gonna call
When there's danger in the streets ♪
Will you call?
When you gonna call? ♪
Giving them the phones allows them
an opportunity to reach out,
hopefully for some positive things.
That ain't your phone,
you just got off it.
They can't come together
on a simple thing like that?
What make them think they come together
and make this change for the better?
But that's gonna create
some stresses in the unit.
We're not putting extra phones in.
They have to operate like a community.
Y'all took it! It's took!
-Shit!
-[Randy] Come on, man.
They've gotta work that out.
[Randy] What's wrong?
[narrator] After several hours
of the inmates
trying and failing
to establish order on the phones,
Randy finally comes up with a solution.
[Randy] Best thing to do?
One fifteen-minute call.
Have a phone list.
-Get free phone calls.
-No, have a phone list.
And that'll solve all these problems.
I'm gonna start a phone list.
I knew the phone was going to be chaos,
but me?
I tell 'em, "Make a phone list."
The only thing going through my mind.
Try to make a phone list.
Whoever wants the phone after me,
just write it down.
'Cause if not if not if not,
there's finna be a problem.
-'Cause they just come
-[inmate] And is this phone 2?
-That's phone 2.
-Okay, this is phone 1?
This is phone 1.
Here, give me this.
Let me put this on the wall.
[inmate] All right.
[indistinct chatter]
I come together with the young
and the new about this.
So we got a phone list.
See all these? Cox used it. I used it.
After they get through using their 15,
we mark off our name.
Then whoever else wanna use it,
they come and write their name on there,
instead of just
cutting in front of somebody,
to keep chaos down.
But as long as we got ourselves
situated on it, we're gonna be cool.
[loud, indistinct chatter]
Hey, come on there,
we supposed to be up there.
Am I next? Or who?
Yeah, I'm next, man.
That's you.
I got you.
[inmate 2] Yeah, we make lists around here
any time we do things, you hear me.
We gotta get things in order, man.
If we're not getting order,
we're gonna get chaos.
And we don't need it.
[Randy] I didn't come up for me
or the older ones,
I come up for the younger ones.
This is the best solution.
Now it's up to them if they wanna go about
this solution right here,
but I think this is the best solution
on this.
And the older guys,
we have to be the role models.
[indistinct chatter]
[Randy speaks indistinctly]
Yo! Let's go. I love this jail!
Not really.
-[inmate 3] I just got my hair done.
-[inmate 4] Gonna make a call to my girl.
[Ty] I know you don't, man.
Stay safe out there, man.
-Let me tell you something.
-What?
[narrator] In an effort
to further reduce tensions,
Randy attempts to get Sykes
to talk to Willie and squash their beef.
[Randy] I'm in the middle of
some bullshit.
I don't even know
what they're arguing about.
But I'm trying
to hold them back to stop them
before it became a war.
It's easy.
[Sykes] Easy.
[Willie] I'm a private person, man.
He got me out of my whole character.
I don't stand there and argue with you
or go back and forth
about something like that.
So I went back in my cell.
Make sure that I can cope with
these idiots in the zoo.
[ambient music playing]
[Sykes] Man, you know my fault, bro.
[Willie] You can't do that, man.
I don't like asking
a nigga for shit out here, bro.
Hey. And I definitely
don't wanna get into it with you, man,
'cause we better than that, bro.
I know you was going through something.
My fault, man.
Nah, I'm not tripping, man.
Know what I'm saying?
I already know what you're going through.
-[Willie] No
-[Sykes] Definitely my fault.
-It's all good, bro.
-Yeah.
I'm stressed, though.
I'm stressed the fuck out.
-[Sykes] We should be better than that.
-Yeah, yeah.
It turned out better after he apologized,
but I still stayed in my cell
soon as he apologized.
I still don't want to deal with nobody.
It felt like, "Hey,
I finally get to call my lawyers,
and I don't understand
how good things turn into problems."
But here they can.
When I'm be about to explode,
I gotta come back and check myself
because I was just
this close to going away.
And then I threw away
everything good that's right here.
It's a blessing using the phone,
and at the same time,
it almost turned bad.
People gonna wanna
just test you and push you,
and you can only be so humble so much.
But I'm all right.
I'm gonna make sure I'm all right
'cause I'mma gather myself.
With the free calls,
we still gotta watch ourselves, man,
but this program has helped me mentally
maybe feel a little bit more freer
in in captivity.
["Turn Up a Lil' Bit" by ADGRMS
and Dexx! Turner playing]
Turn up a lil' bit ♪
Turn up a lil' bit ♪
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Show, show that you're into it ♪
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Turn, turn up a lil' bit ♪
Hey, hey, hey
Turn, turn up a lil' bit ♪
[music fades]
[narrator] The unit has
successfully navigated
a number of different challenges,
but seeing that
David Miller's bad behavior
could've caused the sheriff
to shut everything down
Now that shit lame as fuck!
That shit lame as fuck.
Randy turns his attention
towards other individuals
who might pose similar risks.
-This shit lame as fuck!
-[Rashaad] You don't wanna fight.
[Randy] One person that's been on my mind
for the last two, three days
-Huh?
-[Randy] Chauncey been on my mind, man.
Look, I know some are growing
You be catching attitude with everybody.
You think I care? You grown men.
You still standing here
listening for what?
He look like he fresh as hell.
-Been in what? About a month on him?
-I think so.
[Randy] He's fresh in here.
He's stressing over
some horseshit he can't even feel.
I wish there was somebody
that really can break it down to his level
about what's really going on.
That might be the only thing
that can fucking help him.
These doors open,
and now we on free range of the phone.
I'm grateful for this right here.
When we come together
as one in this pod we're in,
we can make anything happen.
So we see one of us mess up,
we're gonna go to 'em and talk to 'em.
What's wrong with you?
I know something's wrong with you.
[Chauncey] I just be I be thinking.
I'm facing a life sentence.
I don't got time to play.
That's why I'll be walking around y'all
thinking to myself
I know how it is when reality kicking in
especially when you're young.
Mama and sister and all them,
they gonna tell you
everything going to be all right.
They ain't sitting here
facing a hundred years.
They ain't sitting here
facing a life sentence.
They can tell you
it's going to be all right all they want.
They don't know.
["War Ready" playing]
'Cause you ready, 'cause you ready ♪
'Cause we ready, 'cause we ready ♪
To get heavy, to get heavy ♪
'Cause war ready ♪
My name's Chauncey Young.
I'm from Little Rock, Arkansas.
I've been in here for a month.
Um, I got a list of charges.
Actually, I got, like, six charges.
I'm fighting aggravated robbery,
theft of property, first degree battery,
possession of controlled substance
with intent to deliver,
and the rest I don't know
off the back of my hand.
But, um, I want to be a technical engineer
and dealing with computers
and technology and stuff.
That's what I like.
Gaming and YouTube and stuff like that.
I really
I'm really not supposed to be here.
Mom, I'm ready to get up out of here.
That's all right.
It's gonna all come together
just the way it needs to.
And ain't nobody gonna
have to worry about nothin'.
[Chauncey] Ain't nothing I can do
about it, I'm sitting in jail!
[Chauncey's mom] I know that.
I know that, baby.
I know that.
[Chauncey] I can't accept my fate.
As long as I still got breath in my body,
I still got a chance.
You know what I'm saying?
It's stressful for me.
But I know it's stressful
for my mom and my sisters as well.
I know they don't want to see me in here,
but they can't do nothing right now
to help me get out.
I came here by myself.
I'mma leave by myself.
That's what mindset I keep.
I'mma be I'mma keep gangster with you.
One thing. Don't snap.
I did that before. Didn't get me nowhere.
Got more trouble, more charges, more time.
We facing life sentences,
20 years-plus, 40 years-plus.
Who don't want to fight? Who not angry?
I'm 20 years old.
The time they offering me?
I'll barely live that much time.
Forty, sixty years?
Check this out.
Be careful what you doing, man.
'Cause you live with these other people
who could get mad.
I don't care what none of these people do.
I'm not worried about it.
Dude, the older dudes,
30 and 40 years old?
They too full of theyselves.
Talking to them ain't going to help you.
'Cause all they tell you
is what to do and what not to do.
But everybody here for they own reasons.
Listen. Check this out.
This word's been going through my mind
ever since I was locked up.
We're all one.
I don't I don't think that's good.
Everybody don't think alike.
No, agree on how this should be, not read,
but how we can operate this
to try coming together.
Do you ever think about that?
It's easy to tell a motherfucker that,
but it's not. It's hard.
I wanna
[Chauncey] I honestly don't care
about nothin' in this jail.
Ain't nobody gonna come to no agreement.
Somebody gonna have a problem.
Nah. It ain't gonna go right.
I promise you.
It ain't gonna go right.
We all gotta work together in here.
If we don't work together in here,
how we going to build something
by tearing it down?
Ain't nobody thinking about that. I am.
I'm sick of this shit.
I'm ready to go every day.
Please believe me.
[laughs]
[percussive music playing]
[Crooks] Hello? Hey, what are you doing?
Oh, yeah. I feel that shit.
I just all our phone calls are free now.
[Higgins] I've chosen to
make the phones free
because that's so important
that these individuals have contact
with their loved ones outside
'cause the dangers of feeling alone
can lead to depression,
and it could cause them to lose hope.
They say she got my nose and eyes.
She got my nose, though.
I think that outside contact
will help them endure,
so to speak, being locked up.
[indistinct]
Family first,
it's way more than you think important
to be in contact with them.
We got some people facing life in prison.
Life-plus or the death penalty.
So, yeah, it's way It help a lot.
[indistinct chatter]
[Ty] Realistically,
everybody in here is hurting, you know?
It's just like when you out of sight
and out of mind, they think that, um,
"It's okay. He's all right."
The whole time he's hurting,
but now that we get to talk to them
and be like, "Hey, you know."
"I need you to call me
so I can see your face."
"I need you to come see me, you know.
That would mean a lot to me."
Shit like that, you know,
that makes a difference in here.
[indistinct chatter]
[Finch] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
I'm calling to [indistinct]. Yeah.
Yeah, we got the houses
Thirty-six years old, I ain't never had
no free fucking phone calls
being locked up. This my first time
ever experiencing something like this.
So my phone time is precious to me
because this shit is a privilege.
I don't call making bullshit-ass calls.
[Finch] Is what?
[busy signal]
[Finch] Yeah.
Okay.
Whenever I do, hell, man, I got my boy.
That makes me feel good.
That's what I got to live
and keeps me ticking in this motherfucker.
-[indistinct chatter]
-[busy signal]
[Finch] Three, five, six. Yeah.
[busy signal]
The number busy, man.
Hey, your shit be doing that?
Been seeing that busy all the time?
-Sometimes. Yeah.
-What the fuck a motherfucker gotta do?
I don't know what the hell be going,
you know.
But I know he's busy as hell.
I know he's busy through these good times.
The scheduling's tough.
Like I said, he playing sports.
He's studying a lot.
[Finch] They be doing that shit.
[Tiny] What the fuck? No way they're home.
My son is 14 years old.
Just trying to get back out there to him,
but I haven't talked to my kid
in a long time now.
I really miss him. You know?
I was hoping, hoping to talk to him.
[poignant music playing]
Unlocking the doors and having phones,
you can think, "Okay, that's great."
But that could create tension.
The flip side of it is it increases
the chance of them receiving bad news.
[exclaiming]
[Higgins] Or they may reach out and not
have the opportunity to talk to someone,
so that's stress in and of itself.
I tried to call and shit. I was like,
"This shit gonna fuck me up."
[Higgins] You react in a negative way,
and that's when the fight starts.
Then it just starts rising,
and it spreads in the unit.
That's the danger of this.
At least you tried on your end, so.
Just keep on doing your job,
what you been doing,
and stuff gon' play out for you.
-It's gonna be all right. Yeah.
-Thank you.
You know, I mean,
I know it's just a call for my kid, man,
you know, but even as a gangster,
that shit can hurt.
[music fades]
[indistinct chatter]
[funky music playing]
[narrator] Life in the jail goes on,
but the emotional stress caused
by the free phones
continues to linger for Tiny.
Hold on ♪
Hold on ♪
Keep your head up
Hold on ♪
[Tiny] I got I only got this much.
[Randy] So, let's see.
Count the trays.
She calls exactly how many trays.
It's up to the guards
how many trays it is.
If it's extra trays,
whoever serving them, get them.
But you ain't obligated
to get extra trays all the time.
Y'all serving.
Tell her it's two servings short.
Come on, let's go.
You usually get two or three
for passing out the trays or cleanup.
You get extra amount
of calories of food and shit.
[Randy] We've not been given extra trays.
I know, but they sent me exactly the same
amount of trays as inmates that we have.
And I can't call for extras,
see what I'm saying?
Unless people are going to trial.
So we got 40 people
Fuck that shit.
I'm not doing that shit for free.
Sometimes we get extras.
Sometimes we don't.
I don't do that shit for free!
Uh, the tray situation just
started to get Oh my God.
[Tiny] She need to come
and get these motherfuckers then.
Ain't nobody supposed
to be working for that shit.
In that case, they can bring their
trusties down here or that bitch in here!
[Randy] She did that
Because that's how that shit go.
I know how that shit go!
They ain't supposed to have you work
for none of that shit!
-[Randy] She did that.
-I don't work no more for free!
She did that!
She called exactly how many trays it was.
Folks think that I'm
I don't know what they got going on.
Only thing I'm supposed to do
is make sure everybody eat.
I asked Tiny for help serving,
but they didn't put me over to say
how many trays is gonna be left over
for them to get.
I don't work that department.
[Tiny] You go tell her
that shit ain't right!
What about them trays?
That shit ain't right!
That shit ain't cool, bro!
-You be running that shit, huh?
-[Randy] You talked to her yourself!
-[Tiny] But you owe me shit!
-[Randy] I ain't owe you shit!
[Tiny] That shit ain't right!
Be a man! You know you owe me that shit!
[indistinct arguing]
[Randy] Aye, come on, nigga!
The fuck is wrong with you?
[Tiny] Hey, don't do that!
[arguing continues]
[Randy] I ain't got nothing
to do with that.
But first of all, you were down there.
She told you herself, nigga.
She told you that, nigga.
[Tiny] You owe me shit!
You owe me shit, though!
Man, nigga, fuck you.
[Tiny continues yelling]
[dramatic music playing]
[Tiny] Get your bitch ass out of here!
Nobody else was trying to break it up,
so I was just kinda like, "Shit."
You know, I had my turn to step up.
I went ahead and broke the shit up.
[Tiny] Let that bitch go!
Bitch, get out of here!
In the end, it was petty
what they were arguing over anyway.
The moment was just like, "Damn,
they're finna fuck it up for everybody."
Man, y'all, y'all niggas crazy.
Over trays, man.
That whole thing is ridiculous.
[indistinct chatter]
[Chauncey] They don't know how to act.
It's just simple as I can put it.
They don't know how to act.
His job is to make sure
every motherfucker gets fed in here.
That's his job. That extra shit?
That's you know what I'm saying?
That's on them.
[Mayham] Folks pissed.
Folks can't talk to their folks.
They get irritated.
But they thought in this unit
that the young folks was going to be
the ones to be the riley, riled-up ones.
But look who's it been lately.
That ain't something people
even got upset about. Real nigga shit.
Brother, hell,
I'm just telling you that shit.
[yells]
[Ty] And, like, Randy, he'll be like,
"All y'all need to do this.
Y'all need to do that!"
And he do the same shit.
You know what I'm saying?
-[Randy] Old school versus younger school.
-Hell, no!
Hey. Take the ball now.
I feel like it's up to us to change it,
and I feel like we gotta
step up to the plate and change it.
I'm not finna let him say
the young niggas fucked it up.
No, we ain't did shit, hell.
So far the old niggas fucking it up.
[indistinct chatter]
So what do you think about
the system I got going on?
Man, you running shit.
Not like, you know what I'm talking about.
-[Randy] I just organize.
-Yeah, you organize.
I'm not a pod boss.
I just organize things the right way.
We don't got no pod boss.
Ain't nobody over nobody.
[Big Mel] Randy, he my roommate.
He from my hood and he a OG.
He a good dude, man,
but he's the type
that he want to run the show.
Everybody's their own man
and their own boss.
We can't tell nobody what to do,
but we can ask somebody,
"Hey, could you stop doing this?"
[Big Mel] He act like a guard.
He policing.
"Get in your cell. Get you in your cell."
"Man, get up and put your shirt on."
Man, I hate this.
I hate people like that, bro.
And at the same time, man,
Randy's causing problems.
Talk about the conversation earlier.
See, I do my thing, bro.
That's one thing you gotta stop doing.
-Worry about yourself in here. Everybody
-No.
I'm just saying
worry about yourself in here.
These motherfuckers
give a fuck about none of that.
They worry about their self.
That why I say mind your business
when it come to these niggas.
I worry about me, myself, and I.
I don't care about this place.
Worry about yourself. They don't
give a fuck about what y'all doing.
I do that in the street.
I be in everybody's business.
I'm saying, you ain't supposed to.
You know better!
So I'm supposed to let
one of these youngsters fall?
Yeah! You know what they call you?
They call you Pod Daddy.
[ambient music playing]
-Pod Daddy.
-[Randy] What's that?
[Big Mel] I mean, you raise everybody.
You birth and raise everybody.
You're a Pod Daddy.
'Cause God told me to be a caretaker?
-Don't be God in here.
-But that's why I'm doing it.
I would say,
just stay out of their business.
I'm not gonna let nobody fall,
like I fell when I first came.
They gonna fall.
-You in everybody's business.
-Whose business am I in?
Everybody talk about this!
You think I don't get tired
of hearing that shit?
You in everybody's You is!
-Who said that?
-[Big Mel] Everybody.
Everybody will tell you
Everybody who's saying
you're still in their business.
-That's whose business you're in.
-Ain't nobody told me nothing.
[Big Mel] I know. They talk
behind your back. I just told you.
I'm getting a headache.
I think you just need to sit there
and commit yourself.
Stay out of people's business.
That's all I'm asking.
I don't be in folks' business.
I just be myself.
They don't love you.
They talk about you every day.
I'm why these folks are here.
[Big Mel] Randy, you on some bullshit.
I don't wanna hear it.
I don't respect shit
that don't respect me.
I don't like him, fuck him.
You know what I'm saying?
I'm here to do my time.
Fuck him. I'mma do mine. That's all.
Do you see the problem?
That's the problem.
"You need to stay out
of people's business." Like
That's what
I'm still trying to figure out.
Why do they say that?
And I don't be
I don't be nowhere around them.
Or is this just
certain people saying this?
You say something about me before?
You haven't said anything about me?
-About what?
-About me.
-By you?
-About me.
About what?
Have you? No? Okay.
[indistinct chatter]
[dramatic music playing]
Have you been saying
I be in folks' business?
Have you ever said
that I be in folks' business?
-I'm just asking a question.
-No.
Thank y'all.
Have you ever said
that I be in folks' business?
-No, why would I say that?
-Thank you.
Off the record.
Have you ever said
that I be in folks' business?
-Have you ever said that?
-No.
[loud, indistinct chatter]
That shit right there just took me
to a whole 'nother level.
["Prisoner" by Raphael Lake, Aaron Levy,
and Daniel Ryan Murphy playing]
I'm over the edge
I yell and I scream ♪
Come get me
Set me free ♪
So
I do this every morning
for the last couple mornings.
Take my mind
I'm trying to hear words of encouragement.
Not words of defeat.
[breathing heavily]
Say something to build me up,
not break me down.
I don't like things disturbing me
when I got things on my mind
that's bigger than
bigger than I can handle.
Keeping this unit,
keeping this community together,
that's way bigger than I can handle.
[song ends]
[narrator] As H Unit continues
through the third week
of the sheriff's six-week experiment,
Randy remains troubled that the youngsters
don't appreciate his leadership.
[Chauncey] We watching cartoons, man!
-[Randy] You had your time last night.
-We ain't get to watch nothin'.
[Randy] Y'all was up all night,
true story.
I seen all of it.
He needs to control shit.
All right, you can have it!
[Randy] I ain't controlling shit,
but you ain't neither.
-You can have it!
-[Randy] True story.
You think you know everything.
[Chauncey] Piggity-pig-pig-pig!
[Randy] Get your fat ass in there, nigga.
[Chauncey] Huh?
[Randy] Get your fat ass in there.
Piggity-pig-pig-pig!
You better get your big funky ass in there
before I come and kick you in your head.
Quit playin' with me.
When I feel like folks,
instead of just bothering me,
I'll go and run
and get that clarity into my mind.
Then that calms me down,
but I can get really, really
I can get really pissed quick.
Piggity-pig-pig-pig, pig-pig!
-You playing with me?
-Pig!
[dramatic music playing]
Get your fat ass in there.
[music builds]
Come on, Unc.
[Randy] You can get in here
and sit your ass down. Just for a minute.
[struggling]
[Randy] I'm a gorilla.
-[Chauncey] Hey, man, chill out, man.
-[Randy] Who you talking to?
I fuck with you, man,
but don't go trying to think
that you're tougher than me.
[Chauncey] Come on, man. Y'all trippin'.
Y'all trippin, Unc.
[Randy] You get too serious.
We fuck around. We play with each other.
[Chauncey] No,
I don't want to play with you like that.
[Eastside] I'm just trying to get coffee.
He just popped out of fucking nowhere.
-Grabbed him and put him in the room.
-Fucking Batman.
He said, "You need
to sit your fat ass in the room."
We were just sitting in the room like,
"What the fuck is going on?"
[Chauncey] You woke up
on the wrong side of the bed.
-[Randy] No, I was playing with you.
-[Chauncey] You're 50 years old playing.
-Fifty years old playing.
-You hear what I said.
[Chauncey] Watch out. Quit playing, nigga.
-Your grown ass. Get the fuck out the way.
-You hear what I said.
He a hypocrite.
He the main one causing problems.
Then he want to tell everybody
what not to do.
But he's looking at people crazy.
You're like, "Dang, you doing this?
Look at yourself, you doing stuff too."
Words don't give you a reason
to put your hands on nobody.
-Grown-ass man.
-What's up?
I'm not worried about you.
I was changing the TV this morning.
He got mad.
-I ain't get mad about nothing.
-What we watch every morning? Good Times?
Thank you.
Randy Randall, he's fucking amped up.
Yeah, he don't even give a fuck.
He don't even practice
what he preaches anymore.
You talking about me to someone.
And I sat up.
Like they said. And you started going on.
So, so that's the problem right there.
True story.
I'm out here to tell you that bullshit.
It don't work like that, bro.
You start some shit
It don't work like that.
[Ty] He just I feel like he gets mad
at people for no reason.
It's literally not a day that goes by
that he's not yelling at somebody
or, like, into it with somebody.
The youngsters are not
fucking with him no more.
Every day.
Every day, bro.
Every day.
He be a certain motherfucker every day.
[Randy] We done talking here.
From this point on,
we ain't got nothing to say to each other.
We say something else,
it just is what it is. We done talking.
I been told you.
-Well, you came downstairs
-I been told you I'm straight on you.
Leave it alone then, right now.
Just leave it alone.
-Don't say nothing to me. That's one.
-I'm not even talking to you.
-That's one. Okay.
-I can speak whatever's on my mind.
Grown-ass man.
Fifty years old.
[Randy] It's over with.
You my grandma's age.
You my grandpa's age.
Everybody, leave me alone.
I'mma say this one more time.
Please leave me alone.
Please don't say nothing else to me.
[whistles] Huh.
I done seen a lot of folks' mouth
get them in trouble.
It either can make you have a long life
or it can make you have a short life.
[tense music playing]
Look around you up in here.
What do you see?
Juvenile.
[music fades]
[funky music playing]
The commissary,
it's gonna take forever for us to get our
-[alarm trilling]
-Every time.
-Fired up.
-[imitating alarm]
[alarm continues trilling]
[trilling stops]
Trying to be on lunch break.
[indistinct chatter]
[busy signal]
[ambient music playing]
[narrator] Despite numerous attempts,
Tiny still hasn't been able
to actually reach his son.
[line ringing]
[line clicks]
Hello?
-[boy on phone] Hey.
-Hey, what's up?
What's up, my boy?
[boy] What up?
How you doing?
Have you been doing all right?
[boy] Yes, sir.
Well, you sound like a big boy.
How much you weigh now?
[boy] About 140.
-140? How much you bench press?
-[alarm trilling]
[boy] Uh, 190.
190? Almost 200 pounds?
That's a lot.
That's what I'm talking about.
I'm proud of you, man. You read me?
[boy] Thank you, man.
I'm proud of you, man.
I love you so much, man.
[boy] I love you too.
Where are you now?
Aren't you supposed to be at school?
-You on a lunch break or something?
-[boy] It's spring break.
-Ah. It's spring break already?
-[boy] Yeah.
So what your grades
looking like at school?
[boy] I don't know my grades.
Should be good.
-You keep studying. You hear me?
-[alarm trilling]
[boy] Yes, sir.
I love you, man.
[boy] I love you too.
You seeing your cousin?
You seeing your cousin Josh?
[boy] I've seen Uncle Lunney.
I went hunting with him a couple times.
Oh, you have? What you do, bow hunt?
[boy] Uh No, we, uh, rifle.
I'd do some fishing
but I ain't messing with no guns.
I'm scared of them guns, man.
I'd do some bow hunting and fishing.
We'll do that.
[boy] You should've seen my mama's face.
[both laughing]
[loud chatter in background]
[ambient music playing]
[Tiny] I feel good, man.
So
Yeah, I was kind of nervous a little bit.
It's been a minute.
I'mma call you later on.
You hear me?
[boy] Yes, sir.
All right. I love you, man.
[boy] I love you too.
All right, son.
[boy] Bye. Love you.
Love you too.
[ambient music playing]
[Randy] The only thing
I'm responsible here to do.
Make sure the trays is passed out.
Make sure the laundry is done.
I'm the one who had to take care of
all the problems and fix things.
But then when I get myself
in these little fender benders like this,
it's like no one's there.
[music fades]
A lot of folks don't want
to lead this program.
I didn't consider myself a leader.
I just wanted to be helpful.
But if they look at me with side cocking,
that mean they hate me.
Some people say you talk a lot,
but I feel like, you know what I mean.
-You do your best you can to motivate
-What do I talk about a lot?
Be honest.
I don't know.
Just sometimes
you can get pushed to a point
that anything can happen,
0 to 60, like I been saying.
But what if I don't want
to take that responsibility
and then what'll happen?
No, it ain't me. It's us.
It's all of us, not just me.
I always stick my nose
in their business to stop them.
And then they go behind me. "You need
to stay out of people's business."
And so that's why
the mishaps come along around here.
'Cause everybody think
that you trying to boss them.
There ain't no pod boss here.
See, it really takes humility.
You gotta be humble about shit like that.
You know what I'm saying?
Once you be humble,
then people will really fuck with you.
You know what I'm saying?
Seem like every time something happened,
I'm the one taking the rap for this shit.
Why do y'all need me in here?
Guess what?
They do it their own self,
their damn time.
So I told you, y'all can do
whatever you want to. I'm done.
[music builds, fades]
["Take Your Shot" by King Marino playing]
-You say you want my spot ♪
-Come and get it ♪
-Wanna take your shot ♪
-Come and get it ♪
-Think you're looking real hot ♪
-Come and get it ♪
Come and get it ♪
I'm the GOAT, you're not
Come and get it ♪
You can be my mascot ♪
Come and get it ♪
Show me what you're made of
Come and get it ♪
What you made of
Come and get it ♪
Show what you made of
Come and get it ♪
What you made of
Come and get it ♪
[music fades]