In collaboration with The Marshall Project, a two-part documentary special explores a “two-strikes” law in Florida, and the experience of being pregnant in prison in Alabama.
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“Two Strikes,” a film produced as part of FRONTLINE’s fellowship with Firelight Media, tells the story of how Mark Jones, a former West Point cadet struggling with PTSD and alcoholism, got life in prison in Florida after an attempted carjacking — a sentence that even the victim viewed as too harsh.
Through the lens of Jones’ case, the documentary explores how statutes like Florida’s so-called “two-strikes” law, more formally called the Prison Releasee Reoffender law, can result in people getting mandatory maximum sentences, including life in prison, for crimes in which no one is injured. While Florida’s statute is among the strictest, many states have laws that increase prison time for repeat offenses.
Then: What is it like to give birth — and be forced to say goodbye to your baby 24 hours later? FRONTLINE and The Marshall Project go inside Alabama’s Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in the documentary “Tutwiler,” an unforgettable window into the lives of incarcerated pregnant women. Many of these women are survivors of domestic violence or have struggled with substance abuse disorders. Working with a group of doulas, they attend parenting classes, dream up names for their babies, and plan for how they’ll maintain their sobriety once they’ve served their time.
But nothing can fully prepare them for what’s to come. As one incarcerated woman says, “When you were locked up your whole pregnancy and it was just you and that baby, and then to walk away from the person that’s been there with you, it makes the strongest person break.”
“Two Strikes” is a FRONTLINE Production with Noncompliant Films in association with Firelight Media & The Marshall Project. The director and producer is Ursula Liang. The producer is Tessa Travis. The co-producer & reporter is Cary Aspinwall of The Marshall Project. Edited by Eugene Yi. “Tutwiler” is a Requisite Media film for FRONTLINE and The Marshall Project in association with WORLD’s America ReFramed. The director is Elaine McMillion Sheldon. The reporter and producer is Alysia Santo of The Marshall Project. Edited by Chad Ervin and Elaine McMillion Sheldon. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.
Explore additional reporting related to “Two Strikes” and “Tutwiler” on our website:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/two-strikes/
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/tutwiler/
#Documentary #Prison #CriminalJustice #Florida #Alabama #Pregnancy
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FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation; Park Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen. Major support for FRONTLINE and for “Two Strikes” and “Tutwiler” is from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support for “Tutwiler” is from the Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 – Prologue: Two Short Documentaries on the U.S. Criminal Justice System
1:06 – “Two Strikes”: A Carjacking, an Arrest and a Life Sentence
2:50 – Navigating a Life Sentence in a Florida Prison: ‘It’s a Long Time’
5:46 – Mark Jones’ Journey From Military Academy to Life in Prison
11:07 – Prosecutors Invoke Florida’s ‘Two-Strikes’ Law
13:20 – Mark Jones and His Family Navigate His Sentence of Life Without Parole
20:01 – “Tutwiler”: Pregnant in Prison
22:38 – Tutwiler and the Alabama Prison Birth Project (start at OK, I’m gonna start at the end and work my way down)
28:49 – The History of Alabama’s Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women
31:35 – Pumping Breastmilk Behind Bars
33:10 – Incarcerated Mothers Share Their Stories
34:15 – A Baby Shower in Prison (we see “clean & sober” celebration)
36:45 – Navigating Addiction in Prison
38:32 – Birth Classes and Preparing for Parenting in Prison
42:08 – Who Cares for Babies Born to Incarcerated Mothers?
43:19 – Giving Birth and Then Being Separated
52:00 – Credits
How is he a veteran?
Do these things and you have an exponentially higher rate of success than those who don't. Failing to do these things is the greatest indicator that you are going to spend your life in poverty and/or spend time in prison.
(1) Finish/graduate high school
(2) Wait until you are married to have children
(3) Get a job, any job
The answer is simple, really. Don't commit crimes and you won't be in prison. I have no sympathy for repeat offenders that are upset about their fate. A one-time mistake is one thing, but criminals who do not learn from their mistake and do it again. Am I supposed to have sympathy for these repeat offenders? Well, I don't. They try to make it sound like these criminals are victims or that they are good people. No, they have demonstrated repeated criminal behavior and only learned their lesson when the prison term was finally meaningful. You have no one to blame but yourself. Take some personal responsibility.
The woman in the second part is typical. Father was in prison. She is in prison. Her husband is dead, probably from drugs or violence. Her kid is causing trouble in school and she shrugs it off. He is destine to follow her to prison. This is a cultural crisis. People need to take responsibility for their actions and stop pretending to be a victim. Grow up, act like an adult, stop whining and committing crimes.
Poor little criminals. Oh, please…
Thank you, Florida!
Florida DOC is savage. They need to legislate a buffer in the system to separate the violent repetitive criminals from the addict petty thief criminals like mark. This is awful. He’s not a danger to society. The system victimized him & the people who represent the system know this is not justice but they’re like Grady Judd and don’t care & fuel the “ business “ like his kill animal shelters. Not a care for the homeless dogs and cats and not a care for the inmates caught in the switches
What blows my mind is that people who murder have had lighter sentencing. All he did was steal a drill from home depot ? No excuse for car jacking thou. He should have option for parole.
Life got real . you thought it was a joke…..Time for reality …
You put yourself in there. Honestly, if he were out, he'd be doing the same thing. As for the ladies, same with them.
Florida is the shittiest State in the union. Hands down .
He got screwed!!
In case you don’t know … America is the only first world country that has no system to keep infants with mothers in jail. We have failed in every way that really matters.
29:25 🤦♂️🤦♂️ Absolutely unreal.
Make it make sense. We are such a fucking joke in modern times.
Mark Jones should appeal to not only get his sentence reduced to a lesser sentence but also petition to have Florida's "two-strikes" law repealed whilst incarcerated. Not only he should, but he should also get fellow inmates on board to sign that petition to get that law repealed. He should get fellow inmates on board with petition the state of Florida to repeal their "two-strikes" law, whether if they were convicted under that law or not. If it means taking this wrong and unjust law to court, challenging it, and going all the way to the US Supreme Court to get this law repealed, then so be it. Infact, criminal offenders convicted under these minimum mandatory laws and "Three-strike" felony laws in other state should do that same thing, petition their state government to repeal said laws, challenge said laws in court, and if it means taking their cases to the US Supreme Court to get these laws repealed then so be it.
“Your face ain’t pregnant!”
Such sentences are clearly excessive and do not make America much safer.
this kind of injustice makes me so angry. I wish these people who do this were held to account. That woman didn't deserve to be in jail I'm sure at all. I feel for her. A mother who's son got taken from her… Why are these people allowed in these positions of "authority" to hurt people? What kind of monsters do this to people?
Woman who in the prison system get to have babies 🤱 who is making women pregnant with a man.
Love PBS Frontline.
So when you were pregnant, committing crimes, it never crossed your mind to think about the baby and your other twenty children who will be taken away or burden of the family because you couldn't think more of them than yourself? Ok, now you want sympathy? Ok.
There is no such thing as a "one size fits all" justice system.
Its real easy to judge, but everybody is an individual with unique situations, reasons and circumstances surrounding them.
They have a story too and that story needs to be heard and understood.
Some people deserve a lot of time while other may not, even if theyve committed the same offense.
I think everybody knows at this point that the American justice system is two tierd and broken. Corrupt to the core.
This is lazy justice. They didnt take the necessary time to make a proper assessment and conviction. Its just blanketed and sent out the door in batches like automation.
There are some people roaming freely right now who should most definitely be in prison yet arent. And likewise there are some who really shouldn't be in a prison, but treatment, but yet they are serving far too much time.
Its not merely about the "crime", but also about the people involved and their unique circumstances too.
We are a society of a broken justice system and prison system.
cant feel sorry for repeat offenders convicted of armed robberies
Police States of America
Land of the Feeeee
And the home of the Tax Sl@ve.
It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.
Thomas Sowell
This vet needed rehab not prison. AA would have been excellent
Alcoholism is a deadly disease.
3 strikes and 2 strikes you’re out is insane!
USA only caters to the few rich people!
There should be equal wealth worldwide!
And all nations should build only Tower cities connected to maglev Trains.
This is real. I totally understand.
Similar to my husband.
And the moral of the story is:DON'T break the law and go to jail! Trust me I know.Spent a couple few weekends in the slammer and that was enough for me.
He described his pts symptoms…..it is the onset of an anxiety disorder which can hit anyone. It is hella awful If you don't understand it, or how to treat it or how to find someone who understands it. Then to go through the prison system? I can't believe our legal and healthcare system can't catch this. It makes me sad and mad.
Кто такие Ави и Зак
«Они обидели Голда, и он их не тронул. Никто, кто расстраивает Голда, не остаётся в живых. С ними что-то не так, раз Голд их не трогает».
Interesting how "mental illness" is always an excuse for abhorrent behavior. Now, you get to spend the rest of your life in a Florida prison. Good job, "cadet" 😐
I WAS IN TUTWILER and was actually pregnant watching this really gave me flash backs i even knew c.o abott and she was actually the only one that cared about the women there other then that this place was awful the whole time i was there theyre were to many problems and horrible things happening there the wrost part is that some didnt even know what was going on with our babies or even who they were with it just sucks and its horrible
They gave this dude LIFE for stealing a drill WTF?!????
i heard about follege and stuff in the slamner , thru the pipes , onky thd men get tfaf stuff and the women cannot get 1 book without select pages missing, and all fiction romance eeeyuckah pooey. they just want yih to turn gay so they beat (touch) you into confession ( geoege floyded me) a 110lbs single 25yo female & full time job + edu-ed mother that lets the politicians off the hook. while women who had to defend themselves from the criminal the men, wont honor the restraint of tfemselves from women. and rovoke it i know about 10 guilt free teenagers tried as adulra because tgey wee big in stature and supposedly couldnt be intimidated by men. isbuklshit any 14 year old male can overtake any female ANY SIZE for both. its jtst nature by leverage and semitry. quit circumsizing it causes WAR becayse the left over agressive testosterone, well? its a killer, oppressor and a physchopath maker. whrn tge neanderthals wete chasing youand eating you it was a goodvidea but thats ivef the neanderthal is within keep on the skin
Really would like an update video after the women's prison institutes that new program allowing newborn babies to stay with their mothers for a short time.
If the ladies here were struggling with addiction then when they're released & suddenly having to fight that craving while being full time mom with little support just seems like being set up for failure.
Having the other women plus prison personnel at hand to teach, Coach, assist, train & keep you focused is just a portion of the help needed while learning all the necessary skills to be a good mom, resist old habits, take care of all the small things and I'm optimistic for their release.
A friend of my dad has a son and he joined the army. He made it through boot camp and was in school learning his trade. He got in trouble (I’m not sure why he got in trouble) he was put in the military jail on a marine base. He was sexually assaulted multiple times by a group of men, beat up and the military discharged him with and honorable discharge.
After he got back home to live with his parents, he couldn’t handle life after being assaulted and he started drinking a lot and using drugs. He is now a heroin addict. He got a settlement from the military and he gets a monthly payment as well. I’m not sure of all the details but it sounded bad. It’s too bad he didn’t get into therapy and work out his troubles that way instead of turning to drugs and alcohol. But sometimes that’s what people turn to. This guy that I’m talking about has been in and out of jail/prison since he got out of the military.
It’s sad, but if the person does a crime I feel like they need to be punished, but not for life. He didn’t take someone’s life. Sometimes people get 25 yrs for murder.
This is wild, i mean i get why they wanted a 2 strikea law but it isnt working right.
I don't believe crime is at an all time low in Florida, I call B.S…