Why America’s Prison System Keeps Failing | Survivors Guide to Prison

What if the prison system isn’t designed to rehabilitate people at all, but to break them?

In this episode of For the Innocent, host Michael Semanchik speaks with filmmaker ‪@MatthewCookeOfficial‬, writer and director of the documentary Survivors Guide to Prison, about the realities of incarceration, wrongful convictions, and why America’s criminal justice system continues to fail the people caught inside it.

Drawing from years of research and firsthand accounts, Cooke examines how plea bargaining, bail, and solitary confinement have become structural features of injustice. The conversation centers on the stories of Bruce Lisker and Reggie Cole, two men wrongfully convicted who survived the brutality of prison and reveal what it truly takes to endure a system that prioritizes punishment over rehabilitation.

Together, Michael and Matthew explore why recidivism rates exceed 70% in many states, how prison environments often make people more likely to reoffend, and why solitary confinement has been condemned as psychological torture. They also discuss programs that actually work, including restorative justice and rehabilitation models that dramatically reduce repeat incarceration while making communities safer. This conversation challenges how we think about punishment, accountability, and what justice should look like in America.

Watch our episode about Bruce Lisker’s story:    • A Deceitful Detective, Manipulated Evidenc...  

Learn more about Survivors Guide to Prison and Matthew Cooke’s work: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2288785/

Learn more about The Innocence Center: https://theinnocencecenter.org/about-us/

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Chapters:

00:00 Is the prison system designed to fail?
04:49 The war on drugs and mass incarceration
09:47 Why prison doesn’t reduce crime
13:57 How wrongful convictions happen
22:10 Solitary confinement and survival
29:31 Rehabilitation programs that actually work
38:23 Mental health, poverty, and incarceration
46:31 Signs of real criminal justice reform
56:14 Why change is possible

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