Putting his fame and talent to good use, Beyonce's husband and rap star Jay-Z calls for reform in America's prison system with his new production, a six-part series called "TIME: The Kalief Browder Story".
Co-produced with Harvey Weinstein, the series airs in January on Spike TV. The show / documentary tackles what Jay-Z- calls a "broken" system. It centers on how a 16-year old boy, Kalief Browder, was arrested and spent most of his three-year sentence in solitary confinement. Fortune tells us that Jay-Z describes this treatment as "inhumane".
The Kalief Browder Story
"Browder was 16 when he was arrested on suspicion of stealing a backpack and sent to the Rikers Island facility in New York for three years," says NBC 5 Chicago, "Browder was kept in solitary confinement for 800 days and, according to his lawyer, beaten by inmates and guards. He was never tried and was released in 2013. He killed himself last year at age 22."
The Series and America's Law Enforcement
The series is timely, now that America's prisons and law enforcement are currently being watched, with movements against police brutality and inhumane treatment of prisoners. The young Browder was even allegedly beaten by inmates and guards while doing serving his juvenile sentence. This sort of treatment rings a bell with numerous other complaints filed against the police this year.
Jay-Z's emotional connection to Browder
Upon coming across Browder's story on the New Yorker, Jay-Z was touched and decided to meet with the young man.
"I just wanted to give him words of encouragement," Jay Z tells NBC 5 Chicago. He wanted to tell him "I'm proud of him for making it through."
After the emotional introduction, Jay-Z brought the project to Weinstein, who was initially not familiar with the case.
"I'm going to be honest. I didn't even know who Kalief was until Shawn showed us footage and talked to us about the project," Weinstein said. "Now I want to make sure everybody knows."
Watch the press conference on the show's launch, here.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
