PULASKI COUNTY, Ark. — On Tuesday, Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins faced some tough questions from lawmakers surrounding how a Netflix show was able to be filmed inside the county jail without much oversight from state officials.
The docuseries titled Unlocked: A Jail Experiment first premiered on Netflix on April 10, 2024, and has been one of the most watched on Netflix, garnering over five million views.
The eight-episode series features a group of inmates that Higgins allowed to have unlocked cell doors and minimized direct supervision from deputies.
"I want to humanize people," Higgins said. "I want to empower people to have an impact on their culture, environment and community. If you can do that on a micro level, in jail with people you don't care about or didn't initially care about, and if you take that with you when you go to the broader community, then maybe you realize that you are empowered, you can have a positive impact on your neighborhood, on your family."
During Tuesday's Joint Performance Review Committee meeting, several lawmakers asked how and why Higgins agreed to allow cameras inside the jail.
“I took action to ensure that we have a reentry program to help those who are booked into our facility to come out and be better individuals,” Higgins told members of the Joint Performance Review Committee.
Republican Sen. Jonathan Dismang said he doesn't have a problem with the sheriff's reentry program or trying something new to address recidivism. But he said he was concerned that it would be the focus of a show and questioned how it could be considered an experiment if it was being filmed.
“I think it's an exploitation of your prisoners that you allowed a film crew to come in,” Dismang said.
Many asked for details surrounding the contracts that county employees signed, and the money that was received from the production company.
Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde was also questioned in Tuesday's meeting. He recently returned a $60,000 check from the production company after stating that the county never signed a contract.
Hyde sent a letter to Lucky 8, the series' production company. In that letter, Hyde wrote that the money was "reimbursement" for the company filming at the jail.
He explained how the county did not authorize the money, and there was no contract with the company. Now, the money is considered a donation, and it's being refused.
The county's attorney is also awaiting more answers from Sheriff Higgins about the docuseries.