Documentary filmmaker Robe Imbriano is the director of a recent animated musical documentary short film titled “Criminal,” which confronts the injustice of the cash-bail system and overcrowding in the Harris County Jail in Houston, Texas.

“Criminal” uses music and lyrics by the Tony Award-winning artists Stew Stewart and Heidi Rodewald; animation by Thomas Curtis, who was incarcerated for eleven years; testimony from legal advocates; and excerpts of letters written by inmates to create a dire picture of the reality of the criminal-justice system.

In particular, “Criminal” shines a spotlight on the role of the cash-bail system, which forces people charged with a crime to await their trial in jail if they cannot pay, sometimes for months or even years. In footage of actual bail hearings, judges are harsh and dismissive, even as defendants ask about the legal jargon being used to determine their fate. 

From the outside, the Harris County Jail looks like a typical high-end condominium complex found in many American cities. Ask the people incarcerated inside, most of whom are awaiting trial and haven’t yet been convicted of any crime, and they’ll describe harrowing conditions. Around eight thousand individuals are housed in the Harris County Jail on any given day, living in harsh conditions that some argue constitute cruel and unusual punishment. 

The Harris County Jail has been out of compliance with state jail standards since 2022. The consistent issues plaguing the facility, including overcrowding and lack of standard medical care for incarcerated people, came to a head this summer after three in-custody deaths in 48 hours prompted investigations.

You can watch the short documentary “Criminal” here —>>> A Musical Indictment of the Harris County Jail in “Criminal”

Robe Imbriano is the Emmy Award-winning showrunner of the Hulu series, Killing County, which he Executive Produced with Colin Kaepernick.  He co-created the Netflix documentary series Amend, starring Will Smith and featuring Mahershala Ali, Samuel L. Jackson, Sherrilyn Ifill, Bryan Stevenson and a distinguished group of scholars, participants and actors to tell the story of the 14th Amendment and America’s struggle with equality. Imbriano is also the Ira A. Lipman Associate Professor of Journalism and Director of the Ira. A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights at Columbia University Journalism School.