http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzNWqX8qMw8&feature=player_detailpage

On July 15th, Yvette Louisell (#0805144)  will be going in front of the parole board for her first commutation hearing.

In your letters, please emphasize that Yvette was 17 at the time of her crime, that she is remorseful for the terrible consequences of her actions, that both her judge and prosecutor support her release, and that she has worked very hard throughout her incarceration to grow, learn, and become a better person.

If you would like to send a letter in support of Yvette’s commutation, you can send letters to the following address:

The filmmakers are working to raise funds in order to complete and release the documentary by Spring 2012 and distribute it to film festivals and liberal-arts colleges, hoping to inspire others to create similar educational programs in prisons around the country. The money you donate will be used to complete post-production on the film, which is currently being edited in Los Angeles, CA.

The Grey Area is a not-for-profit documentary and all donations are tax-deductible. All donations are greatly appreciate.

In sponsoring The Grey Area, you will not only help the completion of the film, but you will also help women affected by domestic violence in the State of Iowa. Once production expenses are paid in full, we will donate 100% of the film’s remaining proceeds to non-profit women’s advocacy groups.

Barely recharged from the day before, we woke up early, packed our gear, and got back on I-80.  Ten minutes later, we were driving through the streets of Mitchellville and were soon greeted by the wire fences surrounding the Iowa Correctional Institute for Women.  Once inside, we were greeted by our caretaker for the day, who led us to our first room, where we were allowed to set up our gear and prep for our first interviews.  Our first interviews were with Correctional Officers at the prison.  Both shared with us stories about working at the prison and thoughts about the institution.

We were then finally able to start meeting with women from the Feminism course.  It was incredibly emotional to see these women again and hear their stories.  While teaching in the prison, it is common practice to not look up or know anything about why these women are in prison. Some shared their sentence length or part of their story in class, but other than that, we knew nothing about these women.  During the interviews, the women were very open about their lives, crime, and their lives in prison.  All their stories definitely fit into the “grey area.”

During the mid-day head count, we were taken to the dining hall for lunch.  We were served what the women ate that day: turkey with mayonnaise, seasoned (salty!) fried potatoes, a roll, coleslaw, and canned fruit.  The women are allowed one glass of milk–we had water.  While we ate, the kitchen staff were out in dining hall for the head count.  During the first run-through, one of the women was missing and the Correctional Officer leading the headcount was not very happy about having to run through the count once again once the missing woman joined the group.  The way he expressed his frustrations did not seem at all helpful in a prison environment.

After lunch, we were taken for a tour of the dormitories (without the camera, of course).  Women sleep 2 to 4 in a small, cramped room.  There is a toilet near the entrance with a sink–out in the open with no privacy.  It looked a lot like a very tiny college dorm room.  Most women had TVs in their room.  The way the women so happily greeted us and shared with us their photos and anything else they had in their rooms, it was easy to forget that these women are in prison.   When head count was over, we were allowed to start the interviews once again.

During the course of the three days in Iowa, we conducted 23 interviews and have an additional 20 hours of footage to add to the already daunting 70 hours already filmed.

Day two of our trip could not have been more amazing. We had 9 interviews today, which were all emotional and eye-opening. Our first interview was with a lawyer at the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Then quickly drove over to the the Iowa Department of Corrections, where we learned about support groups in prison, the parole board, and overall crime statistics in Iowa. Afterwards, we met Felicia, a former inmate at ICIW, who was in the feminism course featured in the documentary. We were able to spend several hours with her–seeing her house, picking up her son, and meeting her mother. We then finished the night with 4 members of the Homicide Survivors Support Group at the Polk County Crisis and Advocacy Services Center. No matter what background or story these people had to tell, they all came to the same conclusion that the “grey area” exists.