Prison Gangs and Racism Behind Bars

Prison Gangs and Racism Behind Bars (2002)

DVD, 40 minutes

Personal notes

Originally broadcast on ABC News Nightline

Plot outline

In part one of this program, ABC News anchor Ted Koppel talks with prisoners doomed to solitary confinement due to their gang affiliations. They discuss the dangers that drove them to join and that keep them looking over their shoulders even in the so-called protective environment of a supermax prison. In part two, Mr. Koppel spends a night in solitary confinement to observe firsthand the effects of supermax on inmates and to document the type of ex-convict that will one day be returned to society: racially intolerant, unrehabilitated, and psychologically and emotionally broken.

Cast

  • Ted Koppel