15 Prison Documentary Shows That Will Shift Your Perspective

Published November 21, 2023

For many people, the idea of prison is unusual. It is a somewhat foreign concept. Yet, for more than two million individuals in the United States alone, incarceration has become an all too familiar lifestyle. It is their reality. 

The gift of the entertainment industry has allowed us people to explore everything about prison life. We can now have access to different perspectives on jails. It provides an understanding of the prison system as a whole. It also hosts an avenue for prisoners to share what they are going through behind bars. 

In this article, we’ll list the best prison documentaries you must watch. Not only will they entertain you, but they will shift your perspective on incarceration. Also, the justice system, the prisoners themselves, and life in general. Let’s start.

Best Prison Documentaries to Watch

1. 13th 

13th hails the top prison documentary to exist. It is said without a doubt. 

13th differs from other documentaries as it doesn’t focus on life behind bars. It takes an approach to unraveling the whole prison system. It discusses the history of it. You will be prepared to know the very depressing racial disparity. One that has come to define it. 

Believe us, your head will be filled with so many new facts. You’re bound to rethink everything you thought you knew about incarceration. 

It is a brilliant and well-thought-out prison documentary. It is a clear must-watch for everyone.

2. Time: The Kalief Browder Story 

Time: The Kalief Browder Story is a genius prison documentary series from Netflix. It provides a terrifying glimpse into one of the United State’s most infamous correctional facilities. It is the Rikers Island. 

It is often described as gut-wrenching. It tells the story of Kalief Browder. He was a 16-year-old boy arrested for stealing a backpack. It is a crime he adamantly denies. 

Despite the lack of evidence and Kalief’s refusal to accept a plea deal, he was imprisoned for over three years. It is without ever being convicted of a crime. 

The prison documentary holds actual footage of Browder’s mistreatment. Such mistreatment are assault, torture, and mental abuse. You’ll think that this kind of injustice exists in the USA.

3. Solitary: Inside Red Onion State Prison 

Solitary: Inside Red Onion State Prison is an impressive HBO prison documentary. It has a unique angle that will completely hook you. It is almost entirely from the perspective of lockups that have spent years in solitary confinement. 

Whatever you believe, it will alter how you think about prison. You will witness firsthand the cells that these men live in. It will show you the impact incarceration has on their mental state. 

4. Louis Theroux: Miami Mega Jail 

Louis Theroux: Miami Mega Jail gives the viewers one of the most in-depth views of what life is like for prisoners. The plot is on one of the US’s largest jail systems. 

Louis Theroux is a fantastic journalist and producer. He carried conversations with the inmates in a way most people can’t. He’s able to release what they’re thinking. Also,  why they had committed what they had done. 

The world of incarceration is nothing like the real world. This particular prison show will prove that.

5. Survivors Guide to Prison 

Survivor’s Guide to Prison takes on a documentary journey of unique, disturbing, eye-opening perspectives on the justice system. It also highlights the people who find themselves victims of it. 

This documentary touches on many prison and justice systems topics. For one, including wrongful convictions. It discussed police abuse of solitary confinement. Also, the length of prison terms. 

It is almost entirely from the inmates’ perspective, too.

6. The Fear of 13 

The Fear of 13 is another impressive prison documentary ever made. It is narrated entirely by Nick Yarris. He was an inmate on death row. 

Yarris’ accounts of his life and what got him into the death row are moving. You’ll find yourself forgetting that he is the only person featured in the documentary. 

It will also make you rethink our justice system. 

7. I Am a Killer 

We all know that Netflix is king for docuseries. Most viewers clear their calendars because they’ve all been home runs. And that is indeed the case with I Am a Killer. 

Each episode profiles a different criminal on death row. Each case is a unique, shocking, and gruesome. It takes a vista into the complexities of capital punishment. 

From teenagers sentenced for demise to jailers requesting their execution. After watching this series, it will shift your thinking about capital punishment. Also, our justice system.

8. Rock and a Hard Place 

Rock and a Hard Place is a particular variety of prison documentary. It does not fixate on crimes and life being locked up. 

Instead, it displays a rehabilitation boot camp in Miami. The booth camp is offered to young and juvenile offenders instead of their potential prison sentence. 

What is so eye-opening is to realize that these young men are adults while simultaneously still children. 

They may have committed armed robberies and assaults. Yet, they are vulnerable and still cry for their moms. 

Prison documentaries don’t often look at second chances and happy endings. Rock and a Hard Place will deliver them. 

9. The World’s Most Luxurious Prison 

What does it take to craft one of the most human prison systems in the world? This prison documentary will take you inside Norway’s luxurious correctional facilities. It will give you a glimpse into their progressive approach to criminal justice. 

It provides a comprehensive discussion of how their prisoners are treated. It also tackles the rehabilitation programs they offer. It is an eye-opening and refreshing perspective on what makes Norwegian jails some of the best globally. 

10. Turned Out: Sexual Assault Behind Bars

Every day in US jails, a culture of violence and sexual assaults traumatizes many men. Turned Out explores what lies beneath the surface of Limestome jail. It is to uncover the long-term consequences of prison rape.

 It is an unsettling documentary. It features five inmates, revealing how sex is used as a currency. Makeshift families are also formed out of fear and love. It also taps into power dynamics. It tackles who sits at the top or bottom of any totem pole.

11. Sir Trevor Mcdonald: Inside Indiana State Maximum Security Prison 

Sir Trevor McDonald, a veteran presenter, will take you on an unforgettable journey of the dark and forbidding world of America’s oldest and most infamous jails. He is granted access to Indiana State Maximum Prison for two weeks.

There, he met inmates living under the shadow of the death penalty. Along his journey, you’ll get insight into what it means to live in such conditions. You will get personal with prisoners who have no idea when they are about to die.

12. Life After Lockup 

Life After Lockup is an eye-opening look at the challenges of prisoners and their families upon their release. It will also shift your perspective as challenges for prisoners do not end in jails. They follow them amidst redemption. 

13. Life In Super Maximum Security Prison and Solitary Confinement 

This documentary covers life in a super-maximum security prison and solitary confinement. You’ll be delighted by interviews with inmates, guards, investigators, and experts. It takes on an examination of the history of solitary confinement in America. It also discusses its psychological effects on prisoners. Finally, its role in recidivism. 

14. Behind Bars 2: The World’s Toughest Prisons, El Hongo, Tecate, Mexico 

El Hongo is a unique, high-tech prison documentary built in the Mexican desert. Fifteen guard towers make sure nothing gets inside and out. The prison is deemed perfectly incorruptible. 

It resides in Mexico. The country is undoubtedly famous for corruption. Inmates here are subject to intense violence and aggression among themselves. It is because of organized crime, cartel bosses, and even corrupt government members.

15. Prison State 

More than two years in craftsmanship, Prison State is a deep, intimate look at incarceration in America. It fixates specifically on Kentucky’s effort to reduce it. The documentary tracks four individuals from custody to freedom as they struggle through their personal lives and the law.