Summary

Holding 6,000 prisoners and processing more than 100,000 people a year, Miami’s mega jail is a transitory place for those not yet sentenced and those awaiting trial and charges; a twilight between court and prison.

Mega jails are a new phenomenon in America as the country struggles to process its growing criminal class. Conditions are tough, dark and uncompromising. There are 25 prisoners to each cage. Some are just drunk and disorderly, others are fresh from a murder. Depending on the nature of their crime, some are in and out in hours and others might be there for years.

From the men on death row awaiting their appeals to those waiting for their first sight of a court room, Louis meets a collection of people thrown together – some innocent, some guilty and none proven yet, either way.