Educational Media Reviews Online

Prison life in Texas in the 1960s was anything but pleasant. The Texas Department of Corrections (TDC) ran a tight ship and established itself as a countrywide model of prison management. Texas prisons were operated on a plantation system where profit was more important than rehabilitation and inmates were aggressively controlled. In 1961 Fred Cruz was sentenced to 50 years in prison for a conviction of robbery. Coming from the barrios Fred had dropped out of school and became a heroin addict. Once in prison and realizing his plight he undertook a course of self-education concerning the law. Though there were many setbacks Cruz never gave up, became a mentor to other “jailhouse lawyers” and gained fame as the “writ writer.” A writ of habeas corpus is the only tool that prisoners have to bring themselves before the court to challenge their imprisonment. This film is about his tenacity.

Through a series of prison journals, letters, legal writings and transcripts we learn how Cruz was thwarted many times but persisted. Interviews of friends and former prisoners who were inmates with Cruz reveal the respect they had for him. Prison officials defended their actions as appropriate. Rehabilitation was not part of the mission at that time. In 1972 the U.S Supreme court in Cruz v. Beto determined that prisoners were entitled to a reasonable opportunity to practice their religion. Prison reform and prisoners rights were upheld in another landmark case Ruiz v. Estelle, a case filed by one of Cruz’s jailhouse lawyers. This interesting film follows Cruz through his prison years and looks at the people and events that influenced his short life. Recommended for human rights studies as well as criminal justice courses.