First and Last

You got to sit up.

So when did this start?

- Just as I pulled... - Just as you pulled through the gate?

I ain't never been to jail!

I don't like this!

Lean your head back.

You can pass out if you want to.

It ain't going to make a difference, she'll still be in jail.

Turn around, put your back on the board.

Look in camera one.

Oh man...

When I first walked through those doors, I was scared.

It seems like you're in some third world shithole.

You know what you get from being in jail? You turn cold. You turn into an animal.

Please let me go home. Please, I want to go to my son.

Bitch, I'm about to get out!

I've been counting down for days now.

Walking out of here,

it's the best feeling in the world.

- Take care of yourself and do good. - I will, baby.

You walk out that front door and you don't turn back.

You just put it behind you.

Never thought this fucking moment would fucking happen!

Being incarcerated, it changes you.

Just have a complete 360. Your whole view of the world changes.

- Alexander, you been here before? - No, ma'am.

Look straight ahead for me. Face the U.

What does it say above your eye?

My mom's name. LaShonda.

Here's your ID until you get a wristband. When they do a count, pull this paper out.

Go around the other side

To your right.

Bullshit! Damn!

What am I going to do?

That's my first thought. What am I going to do?

You know, it's not good no matter even if it's my first offense or what.

Just looks really bad. You got a car full of three black people.

Two weapons, all the drugs, all the everything. Like, it just don't look good.

I was just going to get my hair done and come home.

Dontrell, he picked me up to my house, you know.

I was going to his house, his wife does hair.

I was just going to get my dreads redone, or something.

But he said he had to pick up one of his friends real quick,

the other guy with the small hair.

I wasn't thinking nothing. Got into the car, take me to get a money order.

I live right up the street from the store.

Um, we got pulled over for my tint on the car being too dark.

When they started searching the car thoroughly and they found a bookbag,

and they just start pulling all this... all this shit out.

And they found guns and drugs in the vehicle.

And they charged everybody. I know nothing wasn't mine. So I'm not guilty.

I'm completely innocent.

You've got an innocent man sitting here.

Even though I'm innocent, it's going to be hard.

Yeah, bro, listen.

The only thing we got a chance of now is going to court.

I'm just letting you know what's going on, bro.

Trell, I've been here before.

I already know what goes on in Gwinnett.

You know what I'm saying?

The Gwinnett County Jail is located in Gwinnett County, Georgia.

That's just outside the city limits of Lawrenceville,

which is approximately 30 miles north of the city of Atlanta.

The jail right here is one of the largest in the country.

The size of this facility is roughly just under a million square feet.

You could take 20 full size football fields

and put them inside the square footage of this place.

This facility is classified as a pre-trial detention center.

In the course of a year,

35 to 37,000 inmates come through these doors.

It's a massive operation.

All right, ladies, there's going to be free time at this time.

You have free time at this time, ladies.

Been here 78 days. Tomorrow will be 79.

I've been here six times.

I don't wanna be here no more. That's for sure.

It's hard, but at the same time it actually helped me.

If I was out on the streets, honestly, I'd probably be dead right now.

I don't have a license. Abuses of drugs actually took them from me.

I drove more than once on a suspended license,

and I'm a habitual violator which caused me to be a felony.

I'm really nervous and scared to go home.

Why?

I don't know.

I know I miss my mama.

I haven't been home in so long!

Well, it's new, you know? Actually, I'm going home... this time.

Not on the streets, not homeless. I'm going home.

Home. To a real home.

That'll be great.

Like somebody that actually cares, you know?

Yeah.

Haven't had that in a long time.

I'm happy for you.

I'm trying to figure out how I've lost everything.

My family say I chose men and drugs over them, which is true.

My mama's been clean for 27 years.

I asked if I could come stay with her when I get out.

She said that would be great.

She would like to start over because she's missed all the years in my life.

And now she's trying to make up for it.

I'm going to have the great experience of being able to experience my family again.

And now they're actually trying to help me...

you know, have a normal life again, which is going to be hard.

It's going to be a struggle for real.

Struggle, Struggleville.

I'm nervous. I'm scared to go home.

You know, I'm scared that I'm going to fuck up again.

Mr. Russom, if you'll come out, sir.

Mr. Russom, come on down. Stand in that yellow square.

Why are you messing around with this stuff? You're too young for all this mess.

I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

- Is that what it was? - Yes, ma'am.

I hope that that's the case. You're too young to be in all this mess.

You need to be in school, getting you an education.

Doing good for this world.

- I'm going to college next month. - Are you? Okay!

All right, you've got two felony charges.

Possession with intent to distribute marijuana is one of them.

The other one is possession of a gun. What you got a gun for?

- Wrong place, wrong time. - I know, wrong place, wrong time.

$11,400 is your total bond.

In order to bond out, you can pay cash.

That would be the entire amount.

You can go through a bonding company. Bonding companies charge 12 to 15 percent.

Uh, what would be 12 to 15 percent of this?

$1,710 is 15 percent. So that's the high side.

So, you're looking at about $1,700 or less at a bonding company.

- Okay? Any other questions? - Uh, no, ma'am.

What they do with lil' bro?

They're keeping him separated for some reason, bro.

Somebody's gonna have to take the charge, bro,

when they're charging all three of us for the same shit!

Only thing I'm thinking about right now is my fucking kid, man.

Well, my girl's tired of this shit, bro.

He ain't got none of that going, do he?

I got a lot to fucking lose, bro.

- I'm not going down for no case. - So what you want him to do?

He gotta 'fess up.

On his first fucking charge.

Don't forget you're on the mic.

- What? - Don't forget you're on a mic.

So? He still need to fucking 'fess up to doing shit.

Yes, he does.

Whenever the fuck you see him, you need to talk to him.

- If you see him again, bro. - You too, bro.

Take your fucking charge.

That's what he needs to do. Take your charge.

'Cause me being charged with distribution ain't going to look good.

Yeah, he's gotta take his charge.

At the scene of a crime, if there are multiple, uh, perps,

we are very careful to keep those inmates apart in our facility.

We actually are more likely to get to the facts of the case

if we can keep them separated.

Mom, I need you to bond me out.

- Why, what did you do? - I did nothing!

He was supposed to drop me off this morning and we got pulled over.

And he had all of it on him.

- Please, Mom. - How much is the bail?

- $1500. - Oh, my God.

Please, Mom. I cannot...

I don't have money.

Ask... Ask Grandma.

Grandma doesn't have $1500 laying around!

Mom, I can't stay here, Mom. I'm going to lose it, Mom.

I'm... I'm... This is real jail.

This is real jail and I'm in here for a weapons charge.

I'll ask around, but nobody is going to give me that much.

Please, Mom. You have to get me out, Mom.

I cannot stay here. I will not last, Mom.

Oh my God.

Mom, I'm going to diein here if you don't help me.

I think I've been to jail four times.

This time it's going to be different.

Feels like I've been locked up forever, way more than 45 days.

Woke up from my nap, I was like, "Only got a couple of more hours!"

Yeah, I'm very excited. I can't wait.

My oma, she's here visiting from Germany.

Oma means Grandma in German.

I haven't seen her in, like, six, seven years.

So I'm so excited.

It's going to be so deep. I can't wait.

Your first time getting in trouble?

- You got possession? - Yeah.

I've been locked up 45 days.

Well, I'm here for violation of probation, non-reporting.

Petty shit.

When you going home, tomorrow?

In the morning, one o'clock.

- So excited! - What'll you do when you get home?

- Uh, try not to get high. - I hear you.

Try to leave the methylenes alone.

I guess you could say I've been an addict since I was six.

When I was born, my...

my mom was only 15 and she wasn't really, like, ready to be a parent.

Mom would go to these parties, make me go with her...

and she would be like, "Make me a shot! Make me a drink."

I was like the bartender, and...

every time I made them a drink, I made me a drink.

The first couple of times I was doing it because I was thirsty.