Arkansas lawmakers question Pulaski County officials over ‘Unlocked’ Netflix series
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A hit Netflix series put Pulaski County officials in the hot seat Tuesday at the Arkansas State Capitol.
“Unlocked: A Jail Experiment”, which was released on Netflix in April, showed what a unit inside the Pulaski County Detention Center looked like when deputies operating the unit as a direct supervision facility changed to an indirect supervision facility. Inmates’ cells within the unit were open 24/7 as officers watched from cameras or windows outside the room.
Even before people were watching the eight-episode docuseries, it faced controversy. How a Netflix special was filmed inside the Pulaski County Detention Center is the question lawmakers are asking most to Sheriff Eric Higgins.
“Who contacted who?” asked State Rep. Jim Wooten (R-White County).
The sheriff said he did not reach out to Lucky 8 Productions and other companies had approached him for filming reality TV inside the jail, but something made “Unlocked” different.
“My interest was two part,” Higgins said. “Humanizing people who were in jail, and two, showing that people will rise up to our expectations.”
Some lawmakers saw that what the sheriff did as something to be celebrated and shared. More than once the crowd was asked to stop clapping for the Higgins and be respectful. One man in the audience was asked to leave for his conduct.
“Various members of the community view this in very different ways,” State Sen. Linda Chesterfield (D-Pulaski County) said. “They are here because they support what Sheriff Higgins has done.”
Others including State Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-White County) said they were not opposed to what the sheriff was trying to do to better the jail but learning of the series with such late notice stunned them.
“What I want do as a legislator is make sure it can’t happen again,” Dismang said. “I don’t want people that are in prison being exploited so that Lucky 8 Productions can make whatever amount of money they are going to make.”
Higgins said all participants from inmates to enforcers were asked if they wanted to be in the production. He considers the experiment’s outcome, giving inmates more freedom instead of having them spend up to 23 hours a day in a cell, a success.
He also said it and other programs are expanding because the amount of people returning to Pulaski County jails is well below state averages. Specifically, Higgins said the Pulaski County recidivism rate is 35% compared to 46-48% statewide.
“Their behavior changed based on the carrot, so to speak,” Higgins said.
The second witness lawmakers questioned Tuesday has a different concern. Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde stated the contract between the Sheriff’s Office and Lucky 8 should have never been approved.
“It was an illegal document because it wasn’t signed by the county judge,” Hyde said.
Hyde stated a county attorney advised Higgins he had the authority to let anyone in the jail he wanted, but that same attorney rejected the contract based on what was inside. That meant it never got far enough in the process for Hyde to know of it until weeks after the Netflix trailer aired earlier in 2024.
“The contract was intolerable. It held them completely harmless. I gave them complete creative control, and didn’t do anything to protect the county,” Hyde said.
After an hour under oath, Higgins cut the questioning short saying he would answer no more. He gave the reason that he asked lawmakers for questions in advance and received none.
“If you have the questions please submit them, and I will respond to them,” Higgins said.
Pulaski County judge returns $60,000 check to production company behind ‘Unlocked’ Netflix show
The last witness was with the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training. Sterling Penix said after watching the series, he had concerns the commission will be addressing at the end of May. Particularly if hourly cell checks were conducted and if other particular policies were in place.
According to Hyde, the contract dispute has been handed over to a prosecuting attorney for investigation.
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