What happens when a struggling rural town tries to revive its economy by inviting a prison in? Prison Town, USA weaves the absorbing tales of a laid-off mill worker turned guard, a tenacious dairy owner figthing 'Prison Industries' and a transplanted inmate family over the course of two years. With these engrossing narratives and a background chorus of vivid voices, from lifer inmates to local ranchers who say they were duped, prison-boosting politicians to teenagers looking for a way out of town, Prison Town, USA reveals the untold story of the legacy of America's prison building frenzy on hundreds of rural prison towns that once invited them in. The film will air nationally on P.O.V. in 2007.
What happens when a struggling rural town tries to revive its economy by inviting a prison in? Prison Town, USA weaves the absorbing tales of a laid-off mill worker turned guard, a tenacious dairy owner figthing 'Prison Industries' and a transplanted inmate family over the course of two years. With these engrossing narratives and a background chorus of vivid voices, from lifer inmates to local ranchers who say they were duped, prison-boosting politicians to teenagers looking for a way out of town, Prison Town, USA reveals the untold story of the legacy of America's prison building frenzy on hundreds of rural prison towns that once invited them in. The film will air nationally on P.O.V. in 2007.