Criminal. Imprisoned. Released.

Criminal. Imprisoned. Released.

Around 50 thousand prisoners are serving time in Germany's prisons.
We accompany 4 of them from the moment of their release on their way back into society - according to the law, resocialization is an essential part of the penal system, but the reality often looks different:

At 30, a drug cook already has 13 years of prison experience - he celebrates his freedom with hard drugs in Frankfurt and returns home completely burnt out, where events come to a head.

A 70-something bank robber has spent half his life behind bars and doesn't want to die in jail - so he stays right in the place where he is released from prison. But there are banks in the province, too.

An ex-junkie from Munich has served a total of 7 years and drugs are more important to him than his family. Can he break out of his old behavior patterns and find honest work, or will he end up back at the bottom?

And a 30-year-old from North Rhine-Westphalia gets out of a maximum-security prison after 2 years and depends on the help of his friends, because he is without a job and without an apartment. And he fights for the custody of his daughter, who was taken away from him by the youth welfare office because of his conviction.

All 4 of them have to give up old habits, some of them have to go through drug withdrawal, they have police contact and above all they have big existential worries. One of them is even arrested again during our filming - just like every third person released from prison within the first three years. What is the state of resocialization in Germany and what hurdles and prejudices do those with criminal records have to overcome?

-

Source:
https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/75829/umfrage/strafgefangene-nach-vollzugsdauer-in-deutschland/#professional