| Other author/creator | Mason, Susanne, producer, director. |
| Other author/creator | Gilb, Dagoberto, 1950- adapter. |
| Other author/creator | Borrego, Jesse, 1962- actor. |
| Other author/creator | Lewis, Deborah Eve, cinematographer. |
| Other author/creator | Rhodes, Gabe, composer. |
| Other author/creator | Guzman, Joel, composer. |
| Other author/creator | Turner, William Bennett. |
| Other author/creator | Passage Productions. |
| Other author/creator | Independent Television Service. |
| Other author/creator | Latino Public Broadcasting (Firm) |
| Other author/creator | New Day Films. |
| Variant title |
Subtitle on container: One man's journey for justice |
| Contents |
Convicted -- Agitator -- Portia -- Trial -- Appeal -- Credits. |
| Abstract |
In 1960, Fred Arispe Cruz, a young man from San Antonio, Texas was arrested for robbery, convicted and sent to a state prison farm to pick cotton. Inspired by the civil rights movement, Cruz, a Mexican American with only an 8th grade education, became jailhouse lawyer-- writ writer in prison parlance-- and the catalyst of prison reform in Texas. Because he helped other prisoners with lawsuits, the Texas Department of Corrections classified Cruz as an agitator, transferred him to the Ellis Unit "the Alcatraz of Texas," and subjected him to long periods in solitary confinement. Cruz filed a case against George Beto, director of the TDC, which Cruz won in the Supreme Court. This led directly to the 1974 class action suit that found the TDC system unconstitutional. As told by wardens, convicts, and former prisoners who knew him, the film weaves contemporary and archival film footage to evoke the fascinating transformation of Fred Cruz from prisoner to activist, and a prison system still haunted by its past. |
| General note | Originally produced as an American documentary in 2007. |
| Credits | Cinematography, Deborah Eve Lewis ; editing, Karen Skloss ... [et al.] ; original music, Gabe Rhodes and Joel Guzman ; consultant, John V. Martinez ; research, Susanne Mason, Robin Carter. |
| Performer |
Voice of Fred Cruz, Jesse Borrego; commentators, John V. Martinez, Erasmo Mercado, Rudy Portillo, Paul Lucko, Benny Clewis, William Bennett Turner, Carl Robins, Floyd Patterson, Al Slayton, Carlos Alva, Billy Wayne McCarter, C.L. 'Beartracks' McAdams, Robert Barber, Steve Martin, Jacquie Jalet Gordon, Vanessa Jalet Stanescu, Robert Cousins. |
| Audience |
MPAA rating: Not rated. |
| Technical details | DVD. |
| Terms of use | Public performance rights included in purchase. |
| Language | Closed-captioned. |
| Genre/form | Documentary films. |
| Genre/form | Nonfiction films. |
| Genre/form | Feature films. |
| Genre/form | Feature films United States. |
| Genre/form | Video recordings for the hearing impaired. |
| ISBN | 9781574482331 |
| ISBN | 1574482335 |
| UPC |
884501039949 |
