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PUBLIC RECORDS REVEAL OPSO IS CONCEALING THE TRUTH BEHIND “JAILBIRDS”
Public Records Request Filed
*View Public Records Request here*
September 16, 2021
On Sept. 16, 2021, Attorney Emily Posner filed a public records request seeking all contracts regarding the show “Jailbirds,” created by 44 Blue Productions and recently aired on Netflix. The request also included all waivers by “detainees/prisoners who participated” and all “payments, contracts. Or promises made to each OPSO staff member,” and more. The request also called for dis-identified mental health diagnoses of the incarcerated people “cast” in the show.
The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office (OPSO) responded with dozens of emails, and an unsigned agreement between the parties. These public records have been posted below. During this period, it appears that the Federal Compliance Director, Darnley Hodge, had little (if any) control over the jail which he was supposed to be maintaining in lieu of Sheriff Gusman. He was the second compliance director under the Federal Consent Decree.
Sheriff Marlin Gusman’s deal with 44 Blue Productions granted him the “right to review,” and object or approve episode rough cuts. Virtually all the correspondence occurs during work hours for jail staff, particularly General Counsel Blake Arcuri and Col. Colvin (who are the most involved, within the disclosed emails).
One of the challenges in Jailbirds’ production comes when, by inference, Federal Court Judge Lance Africk made some adversarial decision. Seemingly, “Plaintiffs” [MacArthur Justice Center?] had issues with the production. In response, 44 Blue executives, including CEO Rasha Drachkovich, implore Blake Arcuri to provide Judge Africk’s contact information so they can plead their case directly to the judge. This dispute was never revealed by plaintiff’s counsel, which makes the public wonder who the plaintiff’s counsel is accountable to.
DEMAND A PUBLIC HEARING!
Read through the emails below
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In the News..
Letters: "Salacious" reality show filmed in Orleans jail should not have been allowed
BY NORRIS HENDERSON, Voters Organized to Educate
SEPTEMBER. 20, 2021
NEW ORLEANS — Netflix recently announced the premiere of “Jailbirds: New Orleans,” a show it label as “salacious” and filmed in the jail that we collectively own. Sheriff Marlin Gusman gave up control of the jail in 2016 so experienced administrators could bring the quarter-billion-dollar facility into compliance with basic jail standards. Gusman regained control a year ago, and the roots of this show remain shrouded in mystery.
Orleans sheriff’s office criticized for allowing ‘gritty reality series’ to film inside jail
by NICHOLAS CHRASTIL, The Lens
SEPTEMBER 16, 2021
Civil rights attorneys representing people incarcerated in the New Orleans jail say that they were misled by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office regarding a Netflix reality show that was filmed at the facility and is set to air later this month.
The attorneys, who are part of a longstanding federal consent decree — meant to improve conditions at the jail and bring it into compliance with the U.S. Constitution — claim Sheriff Marlin Gusman’s office twice informed them that the show had been “shut down and terminated” after they raised concerns about it last year.
Netflix's ‘Jailbirds: New Orleans’ touts ‘scandalous’ look at women behind bars; critics dismayed
MATT SLEDGE, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate
SEPTEMBER. 19, 2021
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Eight years ago, video shot inside the New Orleans jail of inmates using drugs, drinking beer and handling a gun prompted outrage and a costly federal consent decree that still hangs over Sheriff Marlin Gusman.
Why are there only 3 episodes of Jailbirds New Orleans on Netflix?
Asa Hawks, Starcasm
October 1, 2021
The filming of Jailbirds at the Orleans Justice Center jail in New Orleans was a controversial topic. The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office signed an agreement with 44 Blue Productions LLC in 2019 “to chronicle the lives and experiences of a group of consented, female inmates within the Orleans Justice Center,” according to a statement issued by the department. The OPSO says that filming took place over four days in early 2020, but they have not provided specific dates when filming took place.