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The Marshall Project and FRONTLINE Present ‘Two Strikes’ and ‘Tutwiler’

A special broadcast of two short documentaries gives a rare insight into life behind bars.

Two Strikes

“Two Strikes” tells the story of Mark Jones, a 37-year-old former West Point cadet suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism. He is sentenced to life in prison in Florida after an unsuccessful carjacking — because of a statute that increases prison time for repeat offenders. Jones’ earlier arrests had been for minor crimes, and he spent a year in prison for stealing a $400 tool set from a Home Depot. But the “two-strikes” law allows the maximum punishment for people who commit a felony within three years of leaving prison, even for a failed carjacking attempt in which no one was physically injured.

“My sentence is life without the possibility of parole,” Jones says. “So I’m in here till I die.”

Mark’s story is part of a Marshall Project investigative series by Cary Aspinwall into the reasons behind the steep national increase in the use of life-without-parole sentences. She and data reporter Weihua Li found that Florida has far more people serving life without parole than any other state — almost a quarter of the total nationwide in 2021 — in part because of its punitive “two strikes” law.

Directed by FRONTLINE/Firelight Media Filmmaker Fellow Ursula Liang, producer Tessa Travis, and co-produced and reported by Aspinwall, “Two Strikes” is an intimate portrait of what it means to sentence someone to die in prison, and the real life consequences of harsh sentencing laws.

In addition to FRONTLINE (PBS), “Two Strikes” is produced in association with Firelight Media. It premiered at the Florida Film Festival in April 2023.

Tutwiler

“Tutwiler” tells the story of expectant mothers behind bars at Alabama’s Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. Working with a group of doulas from the Alabama Prison Birth Project, the women attend parenting classes, dream up names for their babies, and plan for life after prison.

But nothing can fully prepare them for what they will endure: Once they’re taken to a nearby hospital to give birth, they typically get 24 hours with their newborn before being sent back to prison.

As one woman says, “When you were locked up your whole pregnancy and it was just you and that baby, and then to walk away from the person that’s been there with you, it makes the strongest person break.”

“Tutwiler,” a documentary short from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon (Heroin(e), Recovery Boys, King Coal) and reported by The Marshall Project’s Alysia Santo, offers a rare and powerful look into the reality of pregnancy and parenthood behind bars.

Produced in association with World’s America ReFramed, “Tutwiler” won the audience award at the 2019 New Orleans Film Festival, had its world premiere at Hot Springs Film Festival in October 2019, and screened at the 2020 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. The film originally broadcast on World on May 19, 2020.

TWO STRIKES

Produced and Directed by
Ursula Liang

PRODUCED BY
Tessa Travis

EDITED BY
Eugene Yi

CO-PRODUCED & REPORTED BY
Cary Apsinwall

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Isaac Mead-Long

SENIOR PRODUCERS
Carla Borrás
Monika Navarro

ORIGINAL MUSIC
Andrew Orkin

ASSISTANT EDITOR
John Beder

GRAPHICS AND MOTION DESIGN
Miles Alvord

ARCHIVAL PRODUCER
Alethea Pace

OFFICE PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
James Valdez

RESEARCHER
Maurice Possley

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Hilmari Gaines

SOUND RECORDIST
Mike Garofalo

ONLINE EDITOR/COLORIST
Jim Ferguson

SOUND MIX
Jim Sullivan

VOICE OF EUNICE HOPKINS
Patricia Alvarado Núñez

ARCHIVAL MATERIAL
Shutterstock
Florida Department of Corrections Press Office
Wolfson Archive - Miami Dade College
The Jones family

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
The Florida Channel
ABC Action News 9
Spectrum News 9
Florida State Legislature
State Archives of Florida
WPMI

SPECIAL THANKS
Suejean Ahn
Diane Garthwaite
Matthew H. Liang
Bibiana Murillo
Brett Story
Robert Jones
Heather Gatheridge
June Morgan
Hailey Lingebach
Tiffany Evans
Eustesia McCree
Dexter McCree
Deborah Brennan
Ren Ying Wu
Abigail Ahn Yi
William Still III
Heather Gatheridge

FOR THE MARSHALL PROJECT

REPORTER
Cary Aspinwall

ADDITIONAL REPORTING
Weihua Li
Dan Sullivan

SENIOR EDITOR, STORYTELLING
Raghuram Vadarevu

SENIOR EDITOR
Leslie Eaton

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Ruth Baldwin

MANAGING EDITOR
Geraldine Sealey

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Susan Chira

FOR FIRELIGHT MEDIA

FILM MENTOR
David Teague

LEGAL COUNSEL
Fernando Ramirez

SPECIAL INITIATIVES PRODUCER
Nicole Docta

SUPERVISING PRODUCER
Julia Pontecorvo

SENIOR DIRECTOR ARTIST PROGRAMS
Monika Navarro

PRESIDENT
Marcia Smith

A FRONTLINE Production with Noncompliant Films in association with Firelight Media & The Marshall Project

Copyright: 2023
WGBH Educational Foundation, Firelight Media, Inc. & Noncompliant Films LLC
All Rights Reserved.

TUTWILER

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY
Elaine McMillion Sheldon

PRODUCED & REPORTED BY
Alysia Santo

EDITED BY
Chad Ervin
Elaine McMillion Sheldon

PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Elaine McMillion Sheldon

ORIGINAL MUSIC
Francois-Paul Aiche

SENIOR PRODUCER
Carla Borrás

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Molly Born

ADDITIONAL EDITING
Iva Radivojevic
Molly Born

ADDITIONAL CAMERA
Lily Keber
Nisa East

ONLINE EDITOR/COLORIST
Jim Ferguson

SOUND MIX
Christopher D. Anderson, C.A.S.
Jim Sullivan

SPECIAL THANKS
Penelope Falk
Leslie Simmer
Curren Sheldon
Kristen Nutile
Sarah Ginsburg

FOR THE MARSHALL PROJECT

REPORTER
Alysia Santo

MANAGING EDITOR
Geraldine Sealey

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Ruth Baldwin

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Susan Chira

A Requisite Media Film for FRONTLINE and The Marshall Project in association with WORLD Channel America ReFramed.
Copyright: 2020, 2023
WGBH Educational Foundation and The Marshall Project
All Rights Reserved

FOR FRONTLINE

DIRECTOR OF POST PRODUCTION
Megan McGough Christian

SENIOR EDITOR
Barry Clegg

EDITOR
Brenna Verre

EDITOR
Joey Mullin

EDITOR & POST PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Tim Meagher

ASSISTANT EDITORS
Christine Giordano
Alex LaGore

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Stevie Jones

FOR GBH OUTPOST

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY
Tim Mangini

INTERNS
Ruby Goodman
Jade Kwitkiwski
Joseph Lingad
Ziyi Xu

SERIES MUSIC
Mason Daring
Martin Brody

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Ellen O’Neill

OPERATIONS SPECIALIST
Will Farrell

DIRECTOR OF IMPACT AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Erika Howard

SENIOR DIGITAL WRITER
Patrice Taddonio

PUBLICITY & AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR
Julia Heffernan

DIGITAL PRODUCER / EDITOR
Tessa Maguire

MANAGER, PUBLIC RELATIONS & COMMUNICATIONS
Anne Husted

PODCAST PRODUCER
Emily Pisacreta

ARCHIVES & RIGHTS MANAGER
John Campopiano

BUSINESS ASSOCIATE
Sean Gigliotti

FOR GBH LEGAL

Eric Brass
Suzy Carrington
Jay Fialkov

SENIOR CONTRACTS MANAGER
Gianna DeGiulio

BUSINESS MANAGER
Sue Tufts

BUSINESS DIRECTOR
Mary Sullivan

SENIOR DEVELOPER
Anthony DeLorenzo

LEAD DESIGNER FOR DIGITAL
Dan Nolan

FRONTLINE/COLUMBIA JOURNALISM SCHOOL FELLOWSHIPS
TOW JOURNALISM FELLOW
Kaela Malig

FRONTLINE/NEWMARK JOURNALISM SCHOOL AT CUNY FELLOWSHIP
TOW JOURNALISM FELLOW
James O’Donnell

FRONTLINE/MISSOURI SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIP
MURRAY JOURNALISM FELLOW
Kelsey Rightnowar

FRONTLINE/FIRELIGHT INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM FELLOWS
Kevin Shaw
Débora Souza Silva

ARCHIVAL PRODUCER
Coral C. Salomón Bartolomei

EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS
Lauren Prestileo
Callie T. Wiser

SENIOR DIGITAL PRODUCER / EDITOR
Miles Alvord

SENIOR DOCUMENTARY EDITOR & PRODUCER
Michelle Mizner

DIGITAL EDITOR
Priyanka Boghani

STORY EDITOR & COORDINATING PRODUCER
Katherine Griwert

POST COORDINATING PRODUCER
Robin Parmelee

SENIOR EDITOR AT LARGE
Louis Wiley Jr.

FOUNDER
David Fanning

SPECIAL COUNSEL
Dale Cohen

DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
Maria Diokno

SENIOR PRODUCERS
Dan Edge
Frank Koughan

SENIOR PRODUCER, SPECIAL PROJECTS & INNOVATION
Carla Borrás

SENIOR EDITOR & DIRECTOR, LOCAL JOURNALISM
Erin Texeira

SENIOR SERIES PRODUCER
Nina Chaudry

SENIOR EDITOR, INVESTIGATIONS
Lauren Ezell Kinlaw

MANAGING DIRECTOR
Janice Hui

MANAGING EDITOR
Andrew Metz

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Raney Aronson-Rath

Tags: Life Without Parole Alabama Florida Pregnant Prisoners Julia Tutwiler Women's Prison Three-Strike Law