An Intimate Profile of Prisoners Who Receive Their College Degrees Behind Bars
This June, as thoughts turn to mortarboards and college graduations, public media takes viewers inside a maximum security prison for an intimate profile of a unique college behind bars.
The expression, “sent up the river” was originally coined by convicts who were sent up the Hudson River to do their time at the infamous Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York.
"First Degree" finds hope in this seemingly hopeless place by investigating a unique prison education program that is successfully preventing inmates there from being sent back up the river after their release.
Nationwide, over half of released inmates return to prison within five years, but for the past 14 years, less than 1 percent of the inmates that received a college degree at Sing Sing returned to prison.
The film introduces viewers to some unforgettable Sing Sing inmates:
SEAN PICA
We first meet Sean Pica, who was 16 years old when he went to prison in 1986. Sean’s high school friend, Cheryl Pierson, told Sean that her father was sexually molesting her, so Sean helped plan and carry out his murder.
After receiving a 24-year sentence, Sean thought his life was over until a prison education program called Hudson Link gave Sean an opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree.
After serving 16 years, Sean was released, but he couldn’t stay away from Sing Sing. Unlike most of the paroled prisoners that Sean met at Sing Sing who reoffended and quickly returned to prison, Sean came back to Sing Sing to run their college program.
He takes us through his early days in prison as a hopeless 120-pound, 16-year-old inmate to his discovery that college could open up an entirely new world of opportunity and possibility.
JERMAINE ARCHER
Next, viewers meet Jermaine Archer, a former drug dealer who was sentenced to 22 years to life for murder.
Jermaine talks about how his prison reputation changed from being a feared gang leader from the streets of Flatbush, Brooklyn to being a role model for college students at the prison.
We attend Jermaine’s college graduation ceremony and watch as he, for the first time in his life, brings tears of joy to his mother’s eyes.
CLARENCE MACLIN
Lastly, viewers meet Clarence Maclin, who received his college degree along with Jermaine. Shortly after graduation, we catch up with Clarence, who is on parole and participating in Hudson Link’s re-entry program.
We watch as the staff and volunteers at Hudson Link help Clarence acquire work-appropriate clothing, write a resume, search for jobs, and train for interviews.
Ultimately, Clarence is hired by a nearby residential treatment program to work as a counselor with juvenile offenders. He relishes the opportunity to help the young people he mentors avoid some of the costly mistakes he made as a teenager.
AWARDS AND REVIEWS:
"First Degree" has been screened at 13 film festivals and won four top awards.
David Rothenberg, the Founder of The Fortune Society said, "'First Degree' is a dramatic and emotional powerhouse...exactly what an independent documentary film should be."
And Tony Marx, the president of the New York Public Library, said, "This enlightening film brings much needed awareness to the issues surrounding incarceration, the U.S. justice system, and prison education programs across the country."
CREDITS:
Hosted and narrated by John Fugelsang. The film is produced and directed by Roger Weisberg, whose 32 previous documentaries have won over a 150 awards including Emmy, duPont-Columbia, and Peabody awards, as well as two Academy Award nominations. "First Degree" builds on Weisberg’s extensive body of work and represents the culmination of almost four decades of documenting the struggles, aspirations, and achievements of disadvantaged Americans.
A production of Public Policy Productions in association with THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET. Producer/Director is Roger Weisberg. Writers are John Fugelsang and Roger Weisberg. Executive-in-Charge for WNET is Stephen Segaller. Post-production Supervisor for WNET is Cara Cosentino-Marino.
