Review of the Alabama Solution rating *****
Every year I try to see every nominated film for best picture and best documentary. I’ve been able to see all of the Best Picture nominated films. The Alabama Solution is the second of the five nominated documentary films that I’ve seen, with The Perfect Neighbor being the other one. I liked both of them. Both films rely on non-standard cameras to tell their story. In the case of The Perfect Neighbor, much of the film is comprised of bodycam footage. The Alabama Solution relies heavily on inmate cellphone footage.
I have been a longtime advocate of criminal justice reform, everything from cash bails to mandatory sentencing guidelines. We put away more people for longer sentences than any other democratic country in the world. It started with Bill Clinton and then senator Joe Biden with their push for a crime bill that included the three strikes and out legislation, which led to mass incarceration. Both men have subsequently made statements that they regret their participation in the bill and the consequences of it after it passed. But that hasn’t changed anything. In fact, in many states like Alabama and Texas, things have gotten worse.
What this film does particularly well, with the help of the inmates telling their own unfiltered stories, is show a side of the prison system that politicians would rather not have anyone see. In Alabama especially, there is government sponsored slavery. The long prison sentences guarantee free or low-cost labor for the state, which the filmmakers say is over 400 million dollars a year.
The other story uncovered in this film is the inhumane treatment of inmates, the poor conditions of the prisons themselves, and the lack of accountability for prison guards who abuse their position by beating inmates, sometimes resulting in death, and not facing any consequences. According to the film, Alabama has spent over $50 million in recent years on lawsuits involving guards and prison officials — money that could have gone toward rehabilitation, mental‑health care, or simply making the prisons safe enough to meet constitutional standards.
There is the idea first articulated by Sister Helen Prejean the author of Dead Man Walking that “we are not the worst moments of our lives.” No one will argue that people who commit serious crimes deserve to be imprisoned for lengthy periods. But how long is too long? Most European countries impose sentences of between 15 to 25 years for murder with the possibility of parole built in. The United States routinely imposes sentences of 20, 30, and 40 years for non-homicide and non-sexual related offenses.
The prisons in not just Alabama, but across the US, are over-crowed and understaffed. The Alabama Solution forces the viewer to confront the human cost of policies that prioritize punishment over rehabilitation, secrecy over transparency, and labor extraction over basic human dignity.
While the people behind the prison machine reap the rewards of the free labor and manage to keep the truth from the American public, this film does offer a little accountability in the form of exposing the arrogance and indifference of some officials, including Governor Kay Ivey, Attorney General Steve Marshall, and prison guard Roderick Gadson.
And it isn’t just Alabama. Here in Texas former Governor Rick Perry is known to have allowed the execution of a man later proven to be innocent. Our current Governor, Greg Abbot, presides over a system that came within days of executing a man based on what many medical experts now consider discredited science. Robert Roberson was sentenced to death for the 2002 death of his two‑year‑old daughter, Nikki, after doctors diagnosed shaken baby syndrome — a diagnosis that has since been challenged by new evidence showing she had severe pneumonia and may have suffered a fall. It’s a reminder that the problems exposed in The Alabama Solution are not confined to one state; they’re woven into the fabric of American criminal justice.
Lastly, one portion of the film covers a statewide strike by Alabama inmates, who refused to work unless their demands were met. Rather than try to come to a compromise, government and prison officials took the route of punishment by starving the inmates into submission. They also beat and isolated the one inmate who organized the strike – Robert Earl Council.
So which documentary deserves to win. Like I said, I liked both of the films that I’ve seen. I would go as far to say that I liked them more than any of the ten best picture nominated films simply because they are telling stories that matter. But if I had to choose one, I think it would be The Perfect Neighbor.