A&E Network has ordered the four-part limited documentary series “Exposing Parchman” following the long efforts to reform the Mississippi correctional system, led by the inmates of Parchman Prison. In December 2019, Parchman began to make national headlines for its large death toll attributable to violence and neglect. In a cry for help, brave and desperate inmates shared prohibited cell phone footage from inside. Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, entrepreneur and philanthropist Yo Gotti, Team Roc (Roc Nation’s philanthropic arm), and a group of lawyers stepped in to spearhead a civil rights lawsuit, filed on behalf of 29 inmates against the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
The new series, from Good Caper Content and Roc Nation, delves into the developing legal case, looks inside the decaying prison, and unpacks Parchman’s shocking and disgraceful history. Documentary series coming soon to A&E.
As the case began to grow, with hundreds of other prisoners joining the complaint, the public began to see what inmates and their families had known for decades – conditions at Parchman are inhumane and the system maintaining this grim status quo is colossal. From plantation to prison, we watch how Parchman was built, how it was filled, and how it became the epitome of the dark history and the bleak present of America’s incarceration practices. “Exposing Parchman” shows the devastating and inequitable impact of the American prison system not only on the incarcerated, but also on their communities and the country.
“Exposing Parchman” is produced by ITV America’s Good Caper Content, Roc Nation and Red Summer for A&E Network. Jordana Hochman and Jeanmarie Condon are the executive producers for Good Caper Content, while Rahman Ali Bugg executive produces for Red Summer. Elaine Frontain Bryant, Shelly Tatro and Brad Abramson serve as executive producers for A&E. A+E Networks holds worldwide distribution rights for “Exposing Parchman.”