Serving Time For Being Innocent
60 Days In is a relatively new show featured on A&E. One season has already aired, and they have just begun airing the second season. The premise is built around a jail in Indiana that has spiraled out of control into a world of drugs and corruption.
The inmates are uncontrollable and the corrections officers are enabling the massive drug problem. The sheriff of this small town, Sheriff Jamey Noel and Capt. Scotty Maples created a secret program to reform the jail. These two men are the only ones who know of the secret program: the corrections officers and inmates are completely unaware. The camera crew for the documentary is posing as a documentary crew who is filming a show about first-time inmates.
Seven innocent civilians volunteer to live in the jail for 60 days to gain intel and report to the sheriff and captain in an effort to find solutions to the many issues of the jail system. Each of the seven participants acts like a real criminal and has adopted a cover story in an attempt to blend in with the other inmates. Without giving too much away, this documentary goes beyond the bars to capture what the jail system is really like.
60 Days In provides a glimpse into the inmates’ lives and their stories of hardship and misdirection. However, I am well aware that it is first and foremost a TV show, and ratings are the lifeblood of the series. Perhaps it is scripted, or the inmates could be prompted to say certain things and act a certain way to some extent, but nonetheless, watching the show ignited a few thoughts.
Everyone is faced with making hundreds of decisions, large and minuscule, every day. When people make a chain of bad decisions, one after the other, their everyday life becomes a negative spiral that can seem impossible to escape. Nevertheless, people who are making these bad decisions are still human beings. They love others and they have others who love them. 60 Days In provides an opportunity for the innocent civilians to see under the hard mask of the criminals and be reminded that some people make mistakes and are trying to escape a perpetual cycle of crime and destitution.
Please do not misunderstand me. I know there are criminals who perform unspeakable criminal acts and I have absolutely no sympathy for them (the majority of criminals on the show are not this caliber). I am an advocate for the guilty serving their time and paying the price for their crimes. However, this is just a Tuesday morning to be understanding, gentle and kind to others no matter their walk of life.
You never know what they have been going through to get where they are now.
