“Hard Time” is a 40 minute documentary about the personal evolution of a man, from a life of poverty in rural Louisiana, through the state corrections system, to becoming a political activist who has devoted his life to the plight of political prisoners in the United States. In 1970, a jury convicted Robert King of a crime he did not commit and he was sentenced him to 35 years in prison. He became a member of the Black Panther Party while in Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, successfully organizing prisoners to improve conditions. In return, prison authorities beat him, starved him, and gave him life without parole after framing him for a second crime. He was thrown into solitary confinement, where he remained in a six by nine foot cell for 29 years as one of the Angola 3. In 2001, after years of legal battles, he was set free. King’s story is one that makes people everywhere think about what how the justice system works and what happens to men and women who are incarcerated. King’s is a story of inspiration and courage, and the triumph of the human spirit. “Hard Time” is his story told in his own words.
