Program Description
Event Details
This event will be held in a hybrid format with both in-person and virtual options.
Is Rehabilitation a Right? Stateville Calling is an Emmy-nominated documentary exploring parole reform and the struggle of aging incarcerated people in Illinois. The documentary follows Bill Ryan, an advocate who has spent decades fighting for the rights of people in prison, and the relationships with incarcerated people that fuels his work. The hour-long film illustrates the forces that created our system, and surveys the competing arguments and data points at play to equip viewers to decide for themselves what should be done about criminal justice in Illinois.
The work highlighted in the film has continued on to the present day. Renaldo Hudson, one of the key stories featured in the documentary, has become the Director of Education at the Illinois Prison Project (IPP) since his release in late 2020 after 37 years of incarceration. In a panel discussion following the screening, Renaldo and a team of IPP Ambassadors-- formerly incarcerated people engaged in transforming the criminal legal system in Illinois-- will share their experiences with incarceration and the modern realities/challenges of criminal legal reform in Illinois.