You see them guys that
you saw in the block?Yeah.
Are they your boys, or are you..?
Yeah. Those are all my shorties.
Yeah.But I don't trust nobody
as far as I can throw them.
You don't trust your own g*ng?
Hell, no.
They'll k*ll me first.
I got to look at my MUM sideways,
sometimes.
Your mum?Yeah.
LAUGHING: Why are you gonna
look at your mum sideways?
You never know.
THEY LAUGH
You never f*cking know.
What drives someone to join
extreme groups and subcultures?
THEY RAP
And what do their leaders promise?
I'm immersing myself in
fringe groups to understand
the real motivations
behind their beliefs.
Cobras, Maniacs, SDs
we all hang out.
It's on who WE want to rock with.
I'm in Chicago to explore
a dramatic new era
for its infamous g*ng underworld.
We sh**ting this gangland sh*t.
The g*ng leaders of old
have been put in prison
Hands behind your back!
..and it's thrown the streets
into chaos of warring cliques.
Stop, stop! Do not move!
COMMOTION
With violence and incarceration
at all time highs
Hs the lack of leadership
made the streets more violent?
Of course.
Now they k*ll you and your kid.
..in a city without g*ng leaders,
where g*ng law is no longer
offered protection
It ain't like that, how the old
gangs used to be back in the day.
Everybody just run
just run around, chaos.
..can new role models
offer a different path?
I'm not gonna lie,
cos I need structure.
I've chosen to give up the lot,
to walk in my truth.
Or are Chicago's disenfranchised
men destined for death on the streets
or a life behind bars?
Do you feel like there
is an alternative?
Honestly, I have no idea.
Jamali.Sergeant Cutts.
Sergeant Cutts.
Pleasure to meet you.It says here,
"Has the prisoner been searched?"
What have you found?
Oh, I've found drugs,
um, heroin in their mouths.
I found, one time, one person had
a marijuana packet in his shoe.
Wow.Officer never caught it.
He was trying to enjoy his evening.
Not on your watch.
So it happens.Yeah.
Now go ahead and step up there.
Looks pricey.Yep.
I'm entering DuPage County
Correctional Facility,
which houses inmates
awaiting trial and sentencing.
Be ready.Be ready for what?
For whatever you see.
Some of its 700-odd detainees
have been here
for as long as six years.
The majority of them
are g*ng members.
My guides are Sergeant Cutts
and the g*ng Classification Unit
..which identifies g*ng members
on arrival,
and prevents violence on the inside.
I gonna bring him in if it's OK,
if y'all are willing to talk.
This is Jamali.
Can I ask you about your tattoos?
Yeah I'm from the Surenos.
Is there a lot of that g*ng
in the jail?
No, I'm the only one.
Because you're a different
g*ng to him?Yeah, I'm different.
I'm a Latin Count.
See, I got it right here.
You're an AB?
Yeah, I'm from Florida, though
So is there a lot of Aryan
Brotherhoods here?
No.
No, not really.
It's more spiritual now.
We follow Norse mythology.
What do you guys think of people
leaving the gangs?
This is for life.
We mark for life.
Yeah.
So there's no way to
..to get away.
Everywhere you go,
they're gonna follow you.
The jail clearly has committed
g*ng members
who don't see any alternative.
SPEECH UNCLEAR
The g*ng Classification Unit
has to work around the clock.
So they need to investigate
the situation.
Investigate the situation?
Yes.What's happened?
Somebody got word that somebody
in the pod was trying to stab him.
Is it over g*ng stuff,
do you think, or..?
Well, that's what he's saying.
That's what's on his report.
Mr Sutton, how are you?
I'm all right.Good.
Sutton is a gangster disciple,
or a GD,
and he's allegedly under threat
from a member of his own g*ng.
The unit will now review the incident
for safety and security.
Um, you want to talk about
what happened yesterday?
Two individuals had moved
over there from
..the neighbourhood I'm from.
I don't know his real name,
but Meech,
word got back to me that he supposed
to be going to shank me.
So you're both GDs,
but you don't like each other?Yep.
Put it like that.
I could be a GD,
but I could be an insane GD,
or MGD
It ain't like that, how the old
gangs used to be back in the day.
Like, we can be cool, but that don't
mean you won't do something
behind my back to have somebody else
try to do something to me.
Yeah. That sounds like
it'd be quite
..it's quite paranoid-inducing.Yeah.
You can't really trust
no-one in here.
Can't trust nobody in the world,
neither.
Soyou can't trust nobody,
nowhere you go.
We're gonna move you
in a little bit.
Sergeant Weiner
will find you a new home.
It must be hard to police.
Yeah.You know what I'm saying?
Because I guess, before,
it used to be just,
"The Latin Kings have beef with
these guys. All right. Cool."
But now, it's just like you got to
Yeah.You got GDs fighting GDs.
It's hard to
And it could change, you know,
at the drop of a hat.
Yeah.
Is it normal that all the knives
are attached to metal here?
Locked to the table.
Does it feel weird being an adult
but not being trusted with a knife?
Yeah.
The g*ng Classification Unit
now needs to meet the man
who's accused of threatening Sutton.
Mr Grant.
But I'm surprised to find out
that Grant is just 20 years old
I'm Jamali, brother.
How you doing, buddy?
Are you good, yeah?Good to meet you.
..and has been in jail for a month.
All right, Mr Grant.
So what happened,
uh, was it Friday,
that you, uh, you're on this report?
What?Mm-hm.
You don't know nothing about it?
Nah.Come on, man.
I don't know nothing.
You got put on report, man.
Some people were causing
issues over there,
or what's the deal?
Nah, nothing be going on.
Everybody just be chilling.
Everybody be having fun
with each other.
Nobody messing with individuals?
No, nothing be going on.
You know, when you came in, we
spoke about your tattoos and stuff.
Yeah, um
What tattoos do you have?
I got BDK on one side
What does BDK mean?
Uh, stands for
Black Disciple k*ller.
Grant has enemies
both within his own g*ng
and with long-established rival
gangs, like the Black Disciples.
Do Black Disciples
not see your tattoo
and have a problem with it in here?
They see it and nobody said
nothing so far about it.
Is this your first time in jail?
Yeah, this is my first time.
What's the charge?I got g*n charges.
OK.I've been through a lot of stuff.
I've been shot at before.
I've been stabbed right here.
Oh, right in the centre of the chest?
Yeah, they stabbed me with a knife.
How long do you think
you could be here for?
Probably a year or three.
Three years?Yeah.
That's a long time.
Yeah. That's what comes with it,
with being a g*ng member
and trying to make sure
that you're protected at all times.
But you're already on separation
from somebody, I can tell.
And you ain't been here that long.
Well, I ain't even know
So something happened.
I ain't even know who
I'm on separation from.
Ooh
They ain't even telling me who.
I'm still trying to find out
who I'm on separation from.
Well, you already know, man.
I already told you.
Don't get in no problems no more,
man.
It's only been a month
you've been in jail.
I ain't even know what I got
the yellow wristband for.
You got a yellow wristband.
Is that what you thought
would happen?
Yeah. He wasn't gonna say much.
He knows what it is.
Yeah, he knows who you talking about?
Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
He has to know.
Grant doesn't feel
like a k*ller to me,
but he's definitely an active GD in
a pod filled with other gangsters.
I like that everyone
Everyone did g*ng signs,
and then one guy
just went like this
One guy just went, "You all right?"
HE LAUGHS
As a young first timer, I wonder
whether he has to make wild threats
as a defence mechanism,
especially in the presence
of people from his set.
If their peoples are in here
and it's like,
follow the Follow the leader.
This guy's been here longer
than I have,
so I'm just gonnago and do
exactly what he's doing,
because that's my boy,
so I got to do what he does.
Historically, inmates sought
the protection of gangs
and their leaders in jail.
With the collapse of
traditional g*ng structures,
some detainees in DuPage have
opted for a new protection strategy.
This is not a zoo.
This is a facility where we
learn and create opportunities.
Enter the JUST programme
and renounce your g*ng ties.
Sheriff Mendrick has fought for this
progressive programme to exist
in the grey of the American
jail system.
It's gonna teach you a life skill
that you're going to be able to
take out of here
and be very successful.
This is a class that I myself
would like to take.
Hey, what's going on?
I'm Jamali.Nicholas.Nice to
meet you. How are you doing, bro?
And for hardened criminals like Nick,
it's also a way to
reduce your sentence.
How long have you been here?
Going on two years.
Nick is 32 and staring down
the barrel of a 35-year stint.
And what's the charge?
Armed Habitual Criminal.
Armed violence.
What g*ng you in?
I'm a Spanish Gangster Disciple.
They won't let me go upstairs
to the programme.
Oh, they won't let you
go to the programme?No,
because of my g*ng affiliation.
But isn't the programme for gangs?
Yeah, but a lot of them
guys up there
have been out of the gangs
for a while.
I was still participating in a lot
of this sh*t when I was out there.
Are you still in the g*ng now,
would you say?
Now? I mean, I am.
Mike Beary.
Your turn to go.
OFFICER CHUCKLES
How you been?
I'm doing good. How about yourself?
Pretty good.
All of the JUST candidates
must first be vetted by the director
of the programme, Mike.
Mike only has room for 30,
so new places are rare.
OK. All these stories about you.
Some people, they don't like you.
Mike, I haven't been in trouble
since I've been in here,
so I don't know
You ain't got no tickets?
I got once
Two tickets for wristband.
I've never been in no
I don't know where they
keep getting this from.
You were saying that a lot of people
don't want him on the course?
They don't. His reputation is
is a bit of a problem.
AndHow would you describe
what his reputation !sis like?
Well, I'm told that he's still
actively being into life.
Mm.
But he's going to classes
all the time.
The guys that are in there
with him, they vouch for him.
So do you not want to be a GD?
I don't.
Everything that I've been doing
has obviously been wrong.
So I have to try a different route.
Yeah.
You got to be sick and tired
of this.I am.
I feel like it's going to be prison
for the rest of my life,
and I can'tand I can't keep
..I can't do that.
I can't do that.
If I put you on there, uh,
a couple people are sticking
their necks out for you.
Yeah.So any g*ng activity
and, uh, I'll put you out.
100%.You got me?I got you.
100%.All right.
I'll, uh, I'll push for you
to get you in.
Unless somebody comes up with
something I don't know about.
I appreciate it, thank you.
I'll talk to you.All right.
I'll let Cutts know.All right.
And, um, we'll go from there.
Good?There you go. Yeah.
Happy with that?Yeah. Yes, sir.
Are you gonna let him
on the programme?
Sergeant Cutts has to do
a deep background,
make sure that everything
he's told me is true.
Do you think he'll benefit off it?
Hugely.
He's somebody that can be
moulded by his environment
that he goes into.
I manage the pod using
social control by the other men.
So you've kind of got to use
structure of the gangs.
Exactly. You got it.
If he doesn't change his life, what
do you think will happen to him?
He'll catch another charge
and then he'll get 30-plus years
and he'll die an old man.
Mike seems to be offering a genuine
way out of Chicago's violence.
Perfect. All right.See you
tomorrow.All right.Thank you.
See you later, guys. See you later.
See you later.
But while Nick has had enough,
the much younger Grant remains
in the grip of deadly g*ng politics.
I've come to the streets
of Chicago to see how it all got
so chaotic and dangerous.
MEN RAP IN UNISON
On the south side of Chicago,
DD, 30, and his crew of teenagers
are sh**ting the music video
for their next song.
RAPPING CONTINUES
How did that go?
That good?Yeah.Yeah.
How old are they?
How old are you?15.
Cheeto, how old are you?14.
The reality on the street now
is that 14-year-olds
have what appear to be
handguns with extended clips.
Let me get your number.
How have we got here?
DOG BARKS
That dog ain't having
none of it, bro. f*cking hell.
DD and 30 belong to a clique
they call 15 hundred.
They're young, innit? Why they
got so many straps in the video?
Yeah, you got to.You got to.
It ain't easy It ain't easy
to be on, like, no menace.
It's, like, to protect yourself?
Yeah.This is our everyday life.
Yeah.Everybody just run around,
chaos. You see what I'm saying?
Is it chaos right now?
Yeah. It's chaos.
Yeah.Yeah.
It ain't no real leadership.
There ain't nobody, no chief,
nonone of that.
Ain't no ambassadors.
There ain't no control.
What happened to the leader?
They said they locked him up.
Do you feel dangerous
as being outside?
This right out here, yeah. This
right here, right now, is dangerous.
Going to restaurants,
that's dangerous.
Going to laundrettes, dangerous.
Going to funerals, dangerous.
We move like the military.
We move
We don't do no loose sh*t.
We really move like the military,
type sh*t.
You don't ever worry about jail?
Nah, we ain't worried about no jail.
I'd rather be in the field
than dead.
Arresting all the g*ng leaders
may have backfired
INDISTINC
..creating a power vacuum
that has only bred more violence.
Thank you, man. Appreciate it.
These kids see jail as an inevitable,
and perhaps even safer
than on the outside.
He's a big homie.
If anything go down, he's a leader.
But if the streets are so deadly,
with no leaders to inspire,
what keeps the youth
in the g*ng life?
Across town,
I'm meeting older g*ng members
further along in their journey.
RAP MUSIC
C-Money Is a 25-year-old rapper
from the west Side of Chicago.
C-Money.C-Money?
How you doing?Good.
How about yourself?
I'm all right, bro.
Thanks for asking, man.
# That's what I call myself
# Young n*gga
Go out, jump in the crowd #
He's already been shot twice,
with the second incident causing
partial paralysis
from the waist down.
Oh, yeah, that's hard.That's hard?
He's now going through physio
to try and walk properly again.
Oh, that m*therf*cker right there,
boy
I'm interested to see what still
draws C-Money to the streets
despite his brush with death.
So he's agreed to take us on a tour
of his clique's neighbourhood.
Where we're headed right now
is one of my guys neighbourhoods.
Yeah, yeah.
It's reckless, though.
They real Hispanics.
Do you work now?
Do I work?Yeah.
How do you sustain
How do you pay for your life?
Like, how do you
look after yourself?
Would you rather not say?
I mean, I make money the same way
any other street m*therf*cker
out here make money.
All right.So, like
JAMALI LAUGHS
Crypto investment!There's so many
so many ways to make money,
you knowWeb-designing.
You do the math.
This specific street right here
This m*therf*cker right here
is so hot.
We getting out right here?
Welcome to Chicago.
Is this is your neighbourhood?
This is my neighbourhood.
Welcome to gangland, b*tch.
The Spanish Cobras neighbourhood.
C's friend is from an opposing
g*ng, but has joined C's clique
Money g*ng Mafia.
How's it going, bro?
In many ways, they are the embodiment
of the new g*ng reality
on the streets,
hanging in a crew made up
of g*ng members
who are supposed to be enemies.
He a King, Cobras, maniacs,
SDs and we all hang out.
It's on who we want to rock with.
Even when the police pull us over,
they're like, what the f*ck?
Why are y'all together?
Y'all in all different type
of gangs?
What the f*ck? Don't make no sense.
That's just how we roll.
I don't know if
Have you been in jail?
Yeah, I just got out.
I'm on house arrest right now.
Oh, they got you on the tag.
I'm on the house arrest band
right now.
Oh, sh*t.Yeah.
Yeah.Has the lack of leadership
made the streets more violent?
Of course, because if
there was structure,
the kids wouldn't be k*lling kids.
You know what I mean?
What was the rules
when there was leaders?
You can't f*ck with nobody's kids.
If the dude's with his family,
leave him alone.
Now, m*therf*ckers will k*ll
you and your kid.
Apparently, even ten minutes
outside in this area was dangerous,
so we move on.
You see them guys that
you saw on the block?
Yeah.Are they your boys?Yeah.
Those are Those are my shorties.
Yeah.But I don't trust nobody
as far as I can throw them.
You don't trust your own g*ng?
Hell, no.
They'll k*ll me first.
I got to look at my mum sideways,
sometimes.Your mum?
Yeah.Why are you gonna
look at your mum sideways?
You never know.
THEY LAUGH
You never f*cking know.
Yeah, man.She can wake up
No, she can
So it's like, you gotta be careful.
Now you gonna make me paranoid
about my mum.
I'm like, Mum, what are you plotting?
You know, what are you
What are you plotting on, Mum?
This is Humboldt Park right here.
This is where I grew up,
right here. This little area.
This is near where you got shot?
Yeah.Whereabouts..?
I got shot on the other side,
a couple blocks that way.
Couple blocks this way?Yeah.
Man, it f*cked me up.
I thought he was going to die.
I ain't gonna lie to you.
sh*t, I thought I was gonna die.
If he didn't get shot, that b*llet
would have hit me
in the back of the head.
How does that make you feel?
That's why I love him.
I love him 100%. That's my brother.
You know what I mean?
He took a b*llet for me.
You've seen the bad side.
This is the good side.
This is where you can
live life and chill
and don't have to worry
about the gangs.
When you come out here now,
you look at the sea,
what does it say to you?
What do you think about?
I love my city.Yeah?
It sounds like your city has caused
a lot of hassle for you, though.
Being the same age as you,
it sounds like stress
I wouldn't want to deal with
at my age.
Do you know what I'm saying, though?
I grew up too fast.
Yeah. I raised myself
since a shorty.
My mum was doing drugs.
My pops wasn't around.
That's why I turned to the streets,
because I ain't had that love
or that guidance that I wanted.
I thought the n*gg*s that I was
hanging out with, they loved me,
you know what I mean?
I grew up to realise
they backstabbed us too.
Who do you think the young
people look up to now?
m*therf*ckers just
getting the most money.
Oh, yeah, I feel like that's who
That's definitely who all
the younger guys follow.
They want the nice cars.
They want the girls.
They want all of it.
That's just how it is over here.
Everybody trying
to be in competition
when they really don't
have to be like that.
Money, instead of
leadership or protection,
now seems to be the main motivator
to join a g*ng.
Thank you for your time. Well done.
You look after yourself.
Appreciate that.
I hope you recover well, man.
Appreciate you, man.
Thank you.
This is an inevitable and
important grab for young men
growing up in the forgotten
projects of Chicago.
Hey, buddy. Bank road and drug
code. That's what we do.
Bank road and drug code.
Both of the gangs I met
on the outside
seem to agree on one thing
Are you ready, C?Yeah. Let's ride.
..that they never had an alternative.
When I first arrived at DuPage,
Grant seemed to be
just as resigned to his fate
as the young men on the street.
But given the opportunity,
would he ever consider
leaving the g*ng life behind?
How you been?I've been good.
How about you, man?
I'm all right.
Did you have any more issues?
No. My separation from somebody
cos he just wanted
to leave the pod.
He said he felt threatened by me.
Oh, you think he just wanted
to get out of the pod?
Yeah.
Would you say, right now,
you're an active g*ng member?
I still am.
Do you think you'll ever stop?
Probably not.
Because, you know they've
got, like, a programme here
called JUST programme, where
they get people out of gangs?
You wouldn't do that programme?
If it's more easier for me to get
out of class or get out of here,
I have to. I have to do what
I have to do to get out.
But you would still g*ng-bang when
you went on the streets, you think?
Probably.
It seems like Grant would
only enter the JUST programme
as a means to shorten his sentence.
See you later.
It makes me wonder if it's true,
if some inmates are playing dumb
about their g*ng ties
for a chance to enter the programme.
Can you hear me?Yeah.
Gangs in Chicago is what this film
is about.
No, gangs.
Gangs, gangs.
Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Oh, he's f*cking with me.
I really thought I really thought
he couldn't hear me.
When I met Nick Turberville,
I thought he was sincere
about wanting to change.
But during Sergeant Cutts"
security investigation,
something's come up.
INDISTINCT AUDIO ON VIDEO
So this is Turberville, talking
to somebody else outside.
Now he's going to hand the phone
over to Jaime Carrillo.
INDISTINC
Go back just one step right there.
I got you.What did he say?
INDISTINC
He's gonna drop the C.
Yeah. He's dropping the Latin Count.
But hehe is a Latin Count,
though.
He is a Latin Count.
And he's throwing it down again.
What does "throw down" mean?
When you're in a gangYeah.
..whatever the g*ng signs are,
you throw them up.
Yeah.When you're dissing a g*ng,
you throw them down.
So he basically recruited him.
I mean, if you're trying to change,
you wouldn't be facilitating
moves for people
inside the jail, right?
I meanI would think.
Where is he at? 3T? 3U?
Hey, it's Colossa. How are you?
I need Turberville out of 3U pod.
How are you?I'm good.
How about yourself?Good, man.
All right, so
I'm gonna throw you a lifeline.
OK? So hear me clear.Yes, sir.
Everything that you're about to say
has to be truth and honesty,
because I can't play witness.
So I want to ask you
a few questions.
Tell me about something
you think I probably seen
that I probably wouldn't like.
For the past two weeks,
any phone calls?
Anybody that you connected
with on
For the past two weeks? No.
For the past two weeks?No.
OK.You've never tried to be a big
brother to anybody on your pod,
trying to maybeto recruit him,
you know?
No.Not at all?No.
This is your chance to talk
with the truth,
if there's anything
that you remember?
No video chat with nobody?
Not in the pastNothing?
No.Not in the past two weeks,
you said that.
But what about the past month?
Yeah.All right.
I had good intentions behind it.
It wasn't It wasn't just to
try to recruit him.
I felt bad for the kid.
He was 18 years old. First case
Got a daughter, he started crying.
He kept getting bullied.
So I said, "I got youI got you."
That's not your problem.
That's our problem.
Your job is to worry about yourself.
KidsIt doesn't matter.
You got to give it up.
The way you were doing it
isn't working.Nope.
That programme offers
the right environment.
As long as I get in the door,
I'm good.
That's all I need.
We'll still be making the decision
at some point in time.
We still have things that we have
to finish talking and figuring out.
It's weird because there's something
quite sad about it all, innit?
You know what I mean? Something
quite disappointing about it,
and I'm not saying it's right,
but it's that
He has a whole culture of stuff
where what he's doing
is right within that culture.
Like, the guy's getting bullied,
I'm gonna make him
throw down the g*ng sign.
In his culture it's right,
and in his culture,
he is doing a good thing.
All right.
welcome to Poems From The Pen.
Every day that I come here
to the DuPage County Jail,
every time I have snuck
a weapon past the guards.
Oh, it's true.
You guys didn't find it.
It was here with me
the WHOLE time
..and I snuck it in today, too.
Every time we hold
the Poems From The Pen session,
we break out of here.
We leave the DuPage County Jail
..and we do it with our minds.
It's all about healing,
growing, connecting,
and learning through
the power of the words.
I feel angry,
I feel sad,
I feel joyful,
I feel bad.
This is a pod that we converted.
It used to be a housing.
We converted it to
a hydroponics lab.
Mike's finally taking me
on a tour of the oasis upstairs,
the JUST programme.
This guy's just reading
a nice book and that.
Exactly, because I give them
a whole library.
This is the easiest place
in the jail to work by far,
because we don't have problems.
Ahlike a greenhouse.
Marquel Williams.
Can you re-enact that speech
you did for the graduation?
Um Lettuce.
Lettuce don't like a lot of sun,
or else it'll wilt.
Tomato plants like the sun.
And they grow tall, so they provide
a shadefor the lettuce.
The Creator, he has a way
of planting us
in environments where we're
planted around the right people,
right place, right time.
So what does this tattoo mean
that you're getting covered up?
What are you covering it with?
Why are you getting a lion's head?
How many kids you got?
I got eight total.
You got eight kids?
How do you spend so much
time in prison
but then have time
to have eight kids, bruv?
Every time Every time I get out
of prison, I have a new kid.
Yeah, bro.
Gilbert, you want to give him
a tour?
JAMALI LAUGHS
This is what I plan on having,
a nice car.
You know, that comes with
everything will fall in line.
In the vision boards, they need to
reprogramme themselves,
as far as, what does the life
look like that they want?
That's, part of, like, the rules of
the programme,
you have to do a vision board?
Yes.Yeah.
And this, what does
the whale represent?
The whale is just
You want to see a whale?
That would be nice Just,
like, freedom. Just, likeOK.
Travelling.Yeah.Going somewhere.
Have a jet ski.
We work with their deep,
subconscious beliefs
about who they are.
And I know once I leave here,
as well, I have Mike Beary.
I have the staff, that
they provide jobs.
They provide
It doesn't stop here.
They help you when you get out.
When are you expecting to get out?
By the grace of God,
the end of this month.
When I go to trial. Beat it.
Is there a chance that
none of that could work
and he could end up in the Feds,
max security?
Possible, yeah.
I mean, the systems will eat you up.
They're very inhuman,
and that is a horrible place to go,
if you're in maximum security.
Hope for the best,
pray for the worst.
Exactly. And prepare him for both.
Ready for your decision?
I feel like
SPEECH INDISTINC
So you think it's a no?
Well, you're going to talk
to Sergeant Cutts and Jamali.
Nice to see you, man.
What's up, man?
Listen, your situation
was a hard situation,
so I'm not going to tell
you no story.
I had to push this one up.
You want me to read it to you?
Yeah, go on.
All right.
The listed inmate has been
authorised to participate
in the JUST assistance programme.
OK?Cool.This is it.
How you feel?I really don't
want to say too much because
..that's what people are expecting,
you know?
So you really got to just show 'em.
So we're going to go back
in your pod.
We're gonna pack your stuff.
OK? They're gonna film it.
Can I go and do the floor first?
UhWhat do you mean?
Like, we're all walking in there
together right now?
You're going to walk together,
yeah.Yeah.
All right. They just probably
want to mic you up,
so he can probably talk to you
while you're in there.
I got a lot of stuff.I know.
Like, everything?
You want to leave
some stuff in the cells?No,
I'm saying, like you're gonna
film me packing EVERYTHING?
I don't know ifOnce I get up to
his cell, then you could start.
I'm still curious
about Nick's motives.
TOILET FLUSHES
Do you mind if I step in, bro?
Uh, yeah.
You sure?
Yeah, my cell a little dirty.
That's all right, bro.
TOILET FLUSHES
PRODUCER:
He doesn't seem very happy.
No?
Nick, are you happy about this?
Yeah.You don't seem happy.
No.
No, yeahThis is like
It came as a surprise because
we just had a talk this morning.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
So I didn't
But normally, you know when people
are surprised, they're still happy.
No, I'm happy.
It was, like, a surprise for you
sort of is, like,
still, kind of, not happy.
HE EXHALES
INMATES CHEER
HECKLING
I know how you live.
Why Why does he not seem happy?
I'll be honest.
He almost made ME nervous.
He was very cautious
about his things.
It's like that sometimes.
I'm gonna be on his tail.
I'm not playing.
Yeah, I can tell.
Don't worry about that.
We all know that.
No, no No questioning
Yeahif Sergeant Cutts
is playing games.
I'm gonna go help him.
Now that he has the leadership
he craves,
I wonder whether he will
really change
..or if he'll be tempted back
to the only life he's ever known.
It's my final day at the DuPage
County Correctional Facility.
I want to meet Grant one last time
away from his pod
to see if he will speak more openly.
What's up, buddy? How are you doing?
Good. Yeah, I'm doing good.
What you been up to?
Just barely started waking up.
Do you wake up for breakfast?
I got to wake up for breakfast
cos I get meds at that time.
I got PTSD,
then I deal with anti-depress
I deal with a little bit
of depression.
Yeah?Yeah.
What's it like being in jail?
Yeah, I got used to it
within three weeks.
And does it bother you
being here, now?
No.No.
Do you think that is ever
gonna be a time
where it's gonna be too late, though?
Cos I've been doing this,
like, in the jail,
and like, all of the guys
who are, like, 30s,
like, 40s, like, they left it
and they like, you know,
they say it ruined their life.
Don't you ever worry that's
what's going to happen to you?
I don't really think about it
like that.
I don't really look
towards the future.
I just look towards the present
on what I got to do.
Are you happy with your life?
I wouldn't say I'm happy
with my life.
I could have done way more stuff
than just g*ng-bang sh*t.
I ain't even finished high school
and I ain't even have
a full high-school life.
Everybody said that
I missed out on prom,
I missed out on homecoming.
Everybody that I was g*ng-banging
with either flipped on me
or they don't even talk
to me no more.
It's just confusing to why
you still do it then,
or why you still go hard with it
if they don't care about you.
I guess I'll never understand.
I'll never understand, either.
I don'tI don't understand myself
why I still do it.
I'm just tired of doing this sh*t.
I just want to move to
the countryside in Kentucky.
I got family out there, so
When you imagine that house
in Kentucky, what do you do?
Probably just ride
a dirt bike around,
just havehave a whole lot of fun.
That's what I want to do,
is just have fun.
Sounds half like you want to be
..you want a g*ng bang,
and then half of it sounds like
you don't want to.
And they're two
very different things.
I don't think you can be the same.
Do you feel like there is
an alternative?
Honestly I have no idea.
Blue line.
Blue line, blue line.
Damn, you even have ME
on the blue line.
I was like
THEY LAUGHS
..let me jump off this blue line,
bro.
LAUGHTER CONTINUES
This particular morning is a huge
day for Gilbert, Marquel,
Andre and Alex. They've been
taken outside for gardening.
It's always a good feeling
to go outside.
Can you make it in? Squeeze it in.
Only JUST participants are
permitted to go outside in DuPage,
and even then, it's a rare event.
Man, that feels so good.
Whoo! Man
In London,
I believe they call it coriander.
Yeah.Yeah, it's strong.
It's especially a good day
for Gilbert.
He's just received some news.
I got called to court on Thursday,
and certain evidence that they had
had fallen through.
They cannot use it, so that
enhanced my chances
of going home even more.
How does that feel?
It just feels amazing.
It feels amazing, man.
Mike was telling me that you was,
like, one of the big reasons
that Nick got on to the course.
That's correct.How come?
Why did you want Nick to get in?
He's one foot in, one foot out.
And so I could relate to him.
And I felt like I could be a good
mentor to him
and hopefully pull him out
and show him that,
you know, there's hope.
I'm using my leadership
in a good way now, man,
because I've misled a lot of people.
You've been putting people
in the g*ng and that?
Yeah, just
..acting like the stuff I was doing
was cool andit wasn't.
Do you think the young people
understand that?
No, I think they
It's something they need to
go through.
Yeah. I feel like there's a lot of,
um, confused young men.
You know what I mean?
I appreciate you, man.
Appreciate you, Jamali.
Thank you, man. God bless.
Good luck on the outside, man.
Thank you. Soon.
You start it right here,
and then as it goes down,
you open this
Gilbert may be getting out soon,
and if Mike's plan is successful,
he will serve as a new source
of inspiration in the community
to show another path to the young.
But even Gilbert himself has
a fatal belief that young people
can only learn through
their own tragic experiences.
Hey, bro.How you doing?
Nice to see you, bro.Yeah.
Since I met him
at the recording studio,
15-year-old DD has been
put under house arrest.
I see you got a little bit extra
jewellery on, now.Yeah.
Look. Some gear.Some extra gear?
Yeah.
Before I leave Chicago, I want
to see if he's really resigned
to a life of incarceration,
or whether he will learn
from the mistakes
of the generation above him.
Can I ask what happened?
Oh, something about driving.
I don't really want to
get into too much detail.
They say you stole a car.
Something like that.Yeah.
Yeah, something like that.
Being in jail for
the rest of your life -
which is possible -
is it worth it?
I just want to go through
these experiences
You want to?..for myself. Yeah.
You want to experience
what it's like in jail and
No, not even like that.
It just, it's like I'm still
stuck in my old ways.
What do you think
the future could be,
if you was to sort of, like,
carry on what you're doing?
Jail time.
Mm.
Grey yards.
But I don't want to just
be in the streets. Like a year ago.
I probably wouldn't know
about stuff like this
What, documentaries and that?
Yeah.
How do you think about
my interview skills?
Mm. It's pretty decent.
Pretty decent.I like it.
JAMALI LAUGHS
You like to make people
laugh and stuff, right?
Sometimes, yeah.Yeah.
I see that. That's That's funny.
Yeah?Yeah.You don't
You're not
You're not easy to make
laugh, you know that?
Yeah. It's a It's a laugh,
then get back to business.
But if it's something funny,
yeah
Cos you're quite You're quite
serious for a young person,
you know that?Yeah.
It was like my middle school days.
That's when it was like
my kid stages.
I started learning two months
for my age.
It was just like, I'm 21,
but I'm 15.
Do you think the life
that you've lived
and the stuff you've seen
and stuff you've experienced,
did it k*ll the kid inside you?
Yeah, mostmost definitely.
That's kind of sad, no?
Yeah.
During my time spent in Chicago
with these young men,
there's an overwhelming sense
of despair and sadness,
seeing men trapped in a cycle
of violence and poverty.
Heavy with the burden of
the blame of society's woes,
who can often at times
feel destined to fall prey
to the privatised prison system
already designed to exploit
their failings.
I think the system is really
looking at this all wrong.
They dump all the resources
into the kids
and a lot of these kids
are not ready.
We put money into
some of these older guys
that have the life experience,
helped them get on their feet,
get successful.
They, in turn, will go back
and get the kids out,
cos the kids will listen to them.
What I've seen Mike do
in the JUST programme
feels like a glimmer of hope
amongst the rubble.
He sees humanity in people
who are too often judged
as cardboard cut-out villains,
unworthy of forgiveness.
I'm all right. How are you doing?
Yeah. Good, man.
The new generation of leaders
I've met on the inside
are showing a different path
out of the system
for those who are willing to take it.
Everybody say, "Hope and purpose."
Ready? Three, two, one
Oh, what up, dude?!
Nice to see you, bro!
Welcome home, dude!
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01x04 - Gangs of Chicago
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The comedian and documentary maker spends time with leaders and key figures in growing communities on the fringes of the mainstream to find out just why they inspire such devotion among followers.
The comedian and documentary maker spends time with leaders and key figures in growing communities on the fringes of the mainstream to find out just why they inspire such devotion among followers.