LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Pulaski County Quorum Court met Tuesday night before the premiere of Netflix's new series Unlocked: A Jail Experiment.
It was regularly scheduled business, but they did not mention the show or Sheriff Eric Higgins' responses to their newly passed ordinance.
Two weeks ago, the court passed an ordinance requiring the sheriff to respond to 40 questions about the show's legality since neither they nor the county judge knew about the filming.
Higgins had five days to respond, and we obtained those answers.
Here are some of the sheriff's responses:
- The show was filmed between January 22, 2023, and April 22, 2023.
- Lucky 8, the production company, sent Pulaski County a check for $60,000 for filming. The check went to the county's finance director.
- There were times when the sheriff's deputies used force against inmates during filming. Most were minor injuries, but one was cited as a "critical incident" and was redacted due to confidential inmate information.
- Higgins said all detention policies remained in effect while filming, even though Netflix marketed the docuseries as "no locks and no officers." The sheriff said officers were stationed near the open cells and watched security cameras.
The judge was not at the quorum court meeting but sent a statement saying the sheriff's responses should help the court tighten procedures.
The court chair said he will meet with the sheriff later this week to obtain additional information about the filming process.
Unlocked: A Jail Experiment will begin streaming on Netflix on Wednesday at 2 a.m. Central.