26.2 to Life
A fascinating film centering on the collapse of our criminal justice system.
While I don’t want to confine this review to them, this is a must-see film for all lawyers. It focuses on prisoners of San Quentin Prison in California, many of them doing life sentences, as they train for a marathon inside the yard.
Directed by Christine Yoo, who spoke at the Heartland Film presentation that I attended, the film follows three men doing life sentences for murder. You watch them train for a marathon run where they seek redemption. As one inmate said, “Everyone’s a different man than they were 20 years ago.”
The three men, Markelle “The Gazelle” Taylor, Rahsaan “New York” Thomas and Tommy Lee Wickerd, demonstrate that it is possible to lead productive lives while incarcerated. For example, Wickerd began a class in American Sign Language while Thomas is a journalist for the San Quentin News.
In addition, Ms. Yoo trains her camera on several inmates’ past lives before they were incarcerated. Many in the audience applauded as we watched Wickerd’s young son visit his father for the first time without a glass screen. You watch him assert, “I have a right to be mad at my dad.” Seconds later, in tears, he says, “I better see tears in his eyes too, or I’m gonna make some.”
While not denying that justice must be served to address violence, how can we continue to remain silent as violent crime increases in our country despite the fact that we lead the world in the number of citizens incarcerated. What are we gaining while paying nearly $80,000 a year in tax dollars to house every inmate.
This film asks one question as you watch inmates train within the walls of San Quentin to join the 1000 Miles Club. How does society benefit by incarcerating young men for long prison sentences only to have them die as old men in prison?
As shown in 26.2 to Life, many inmates transform when they are able to engage in successful activities. Society will benefit, including victims and their families, if we change our mindset and eliminate the prison philosophy controlling our country, “Lock them up and throw away the key”.
