Augustana’s Prison Education Program (APEP) sponsored a showing of “The Alabama Solution” in Olin Auditorium on Wednesday, May 6. The showing was meant to educate students, staff and community members about the treatment incarcerated people face. Specifically, faculty who have participated in APEP were encouraged to attend.

APEP was founded by Augustana professor Sharon Varallo and officially began in 2017 with a few non-credit humanities classes. Since 2021, incarcerated people have had the opportunity to earn their bachelor’s degree from inside East Moline Correctional Center (EMCC). 

 “It is full-on Augustana College in the prison, and that is what I can do. As a part of what’s happening nationally with our carceral system, there are things I cannot change, but I’m a professor, and I’m an administrator, and I can do that, and so that’s why now we’re in there,” Varallo said.

The film is made up of hidden phone camera footage taken from within Alabama state prisons to expose the abuse that inmates face from correctional officers. 

The documentary follows two men, Melvin Ray and Robert Earl Council, who started the Free Alabama Movement (FAM), calling for better treatment of inmates, following the death of inmate Steven Davis. Davis’ mother is also followed in the film as she seeks answers to the cause of her son’s death. 

After the viewing, the audience engaged in a discussion about the film, led by Varallo and guest speakers. 

Two guests from Alabama joined the discussion, one of whom was Clara Brooks, Ray’s sister, who joined the group via phone call and spoke about her and her brother’s experiences regarding the FAM movement and answered questions about the film’s reach and impact. 

The other guest from Alabama was Rochelle, IL native Chris Combs, who traveled to the Quad Cities for the Augustana and May 3 showing at The Last Picture House of “The Alabama Solution”. He spoke briefly about his son John, who was killed in an Alabama prison. 

Members of APEP’s first graduating class, Ty Brown and David Staples, also spoke. The pair shared some of their own experiences from inside prison.

“There’s not very many opportunities inside, and so when APEP came and I went through this strenuous process of actually applying and was accepted, I saw it as an opportunity,” Staples said. 

They also read letters written from inside EMCC to the audience of current inmates to make the audience aware that these abusive conditions were also happening in Illinois.

Jane Simonsen, a professor in APEP who teaches the introduction and senior capstone classes in American Studies for the program, also attended the showing. 

Simonsen said a part of the reason she wanted to be a part of the APEP program was her belief that everyone should have the opportunity for education.

“I think a lot of public discussion about prison education is about rehabilitating … [but] you shouldn’t necessarily measure the value of an education by ‘did the person get out? Did they get a job? Did they not come back?’ Those are all good things …But if you’re in prison for life, you should still have access to education,” Simonsen said. 

The discussion ended with the speakers urging attendees to elevate the stories of incarcerated people, whether through calling government representatives or joining organizations that support those inside.