“Prison – business?” The documentary series examines the American criminal justice system

The prisoners themselves and their family members are also interviewed, which reveals more and more new problems that have not been solved for decades.

Much attention is paid to untreated mental illness, the addictions that destroy individuals even behind bars. Prisoners often commit suicide.

The employees want more involvement of psychologists, doctors, but the prisoners want hope even after the conviction, discovering that after the trial they remain in oblivion.

Prisoners try to draw attention to “holes” in the system, court decisions, practically without evidence, but this fails, because a lawyer paid by the state is entitled only for the duration of the trial, most of the prisoners see these lawyers only once in their life – on the day of the trial.

“In the courtroom, I often see victims of criminal acts, victims of family aggression, victims of the system, and I have to judge them for crimes that are not fair,” states the judge in the film, emphasizing that there is a lot of racism and division of people into groups in the court system.

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“Fair trial, USA” investigates whether the saying – you are not guilty until proven guilty in a court of law – really works in America.