The Farm: 10 Down

The Angola Prison in the state of Louisiana is the oldest and biggest prison in the U.S. Ninety-five percent of the 1,500 prisoners will never be released. In 1997, director Jonathan Stack spent a year at the prison, making \i The Farm: Angola, USA\i0 . Ten years later, he has returned. The film gradually reveals the impact of a life sentence on a human being. Stack follows several prisoners, including Vincent Simmons, who was sentenced to 100 years in 1977 for raping white twins Karen and Sharon. "I don't wanna think about time," he says. There does not seem to be any real hard evidence against him, but because he didn't have an alibi, his case is not being reopened. Footage from the 1999 documentary shows a meeting between Vincent and the two victims. They want to forgive him in order to move on with their lives, whereas all Vincent wants is to make it clear that he did not rape them. As the voice-over puts it, "Innocence and guilt, truth and lies, freedom and the ultimate nightmare: these extremes define the world inside the Angola Prison."