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Ryan Allen Carolyn Holloway English 2010 Aug 2, 2013 Review Hermans House
How Herman ended up where he is In 1967, at the age of 25, Herman Wallace was convicted of armed bank robbery. Starving, no job, no money, and feeling like a burden to his family. Herman and a friend decided their best and only option was to rob a bank. If they were caught, at least they would be fed in jail, and if they were not caught, they would have the cash. They were caught almost immediately, convicted, and sentenced to serve hard time at Angola Prison in Louisiana. After a few years Herman accepted prison life and settled into his punishment and quietly serving his time waiting for the day he could get out and on with life. Then a Prison guard was attacked and murdered while on shift. The guard was stabbed 32 times, which is a very personal way to end some ones life. During the investigation, a knife was found in the same area Herman he was housed in, but not anywhere near his cell. Being 1972, the US justice System, have yet to discover finger printing nor DNA testing to support evidences in any investigations or court of law. But the warden at the prison convinced the murdered guards widow and grieving family that there was only 2 men responsible for the death of the officer. Herman Wallace was one of those two men thought to be responsible. Herman stood trial for the murdered of officer and with hardly any evidence, he was convicted, mostly off the word of the warden of the prison at that time. Just like that, Herman was sentenced to Life in prison. The family of the officer demanded the maximum, to which Herman was thrown into Solitary Confinement and locked away. That was 1972; Herman is still sitting in that same prison cell in Solitary Confinement. For one hour a day, Herman leaves his cell to shower, then returned to his cell, for the remaining 23 hours of the day. Same routine 7 days a week, day in, day out, with the same officer now for the last 36 years.

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Herman meets Jackie Through a friend in solitary confinement, Herman met Jackie. At first, they started out as pen pals, writing to each other. Herman describes the first letter Jackie sent to him with a bunch of photos. The photos were pictures of the oddest things and did not have any meaning to Herman. There was a picture of a keyboard and laptop, then one of feet at the hanging off the edge of a rocking chair. Another had a wall with half an oil painting in the photo, an art project half done in another, the top of Jackies mothers head, a hand holding a piece of PVC pipe, and then a photo of a landscape with big barn right as the was sun setting in the back ground. Herman, deemed the pictures all trash and useless for a man in his position. Then as he began to read Jackies letter, she had sent with the Photo, all of it make perfect sense. Herman looked around at his 6x 8 cage of three cement walls and the steel door rarely opened. This was his normal, this is all he had seen for 36 years, and he was uses to living so small and caged. Jackies weird photos, Herman first thought of trash, turned out to be a huge treasure to Herman. Every hour on the hour, Jackie had taken a picture of whatever it was she was looking at that exact moment. Jackie was showing Herman a completely new world, through her eyes on the pictures. She was being his eyes on the outside and showing him that life still exists, outside that 6x8 prison cell. She had returned a sense of life back to a soul hide away, nearly forgotten. Then ending that first letter just as confusing as the letter and photos started she asked Herman, What would your Dream house look like. What kind of home would you want to live in, if you were to be released and return to society? Once again, Herman thought, is this girl crazy or what, whats she talking about, what kind of home would I live in. Designing & Building Hermans House At first, Jackie really was just asking to make conversation and to get to know Herman. Then the more they talked about the house, the more it seemed to open Herman up to exploring new things he found a spark for life again. Jackie started sending Herman stacks of photos of all the different houses,

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all difference designs many with odd angles and shapes. Herman would go through each photo, picking out small details he liked of this house and others from difference photos. Even designing the outside landscape with a beautiful flower garden, for his guest to enjoy as they walked the entrance of his dream house. The dream house was a beautiful two level, spacious house. Each room was designed with plenty of space in every room. The master bath was designed for shower/bathtub area 6x9 that is one foot longer than his prison cell. The blue prints of the house were later analyzed by architects who design prisons who said with the oversize rooms/hallways and as square perfect patterns; it resembled the layout of a prison with the smaller rooms on the outer edge and a huge common area in the middle.

Hermans House in Cad design

AN IDEA GROWS Jackie being an artist got a wild idea for an art piece. She started building a big square box 6x8. With the measurements Herman gave her, she recreated Hermans Solitary Confinement Prison Cell with all his furnishings, his bed, table, and toilet. After displaying, the prison cell in a few art shows, and being awareness of just how real, and small Hermans world is. She decided to raise awareness

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about solitary confinement be expand her art to a huge Art Expo, making Hermans art prison cell the centerpiece. She expanding one whole level of an office complex and built Hermans House around Hermans cell as rest of the Art Expo. The expo when from New York to London and has now been seen in 12 galleries in 5 difference countries. Raising awareness of Solitary Confinement and Hermans 36 years there.

Expanding Hermans House After the art expo, Herman asked Jackie to build an actual Hermans house as a youth community center in New Orleans, Louisiana. The major reason for in creating the house itself, is to create an environment, conducive for kids that are being pushed aside, kids that are being placed into prisons, and taken out of homes and placed into detention centers. Herman States it is incumbent upon us, who have been there before to put an end to it. Hermans its just the right thing to do good deeds even in solitary confinement Michael Musser was sentenced to 12 years at Angola, and was placed in this maximum mens prison when at the age of 15, he robbing someone with a BB gun. Nobody was hurt during the robbery, he grab the persons money and ran off. Still a child and he received the maximum punishment and was charged and convicted as an adult. Michael says, There are some people that really do deserve to be in prison, but then there are some actual really good people in there as well. Goes on to say Solitary Confinement is exactly like

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when you go to the pound and when the door opens and the dogs get to barking, excited to see a human being and then some that growl at you, there is there its too small of a space for that many people. You truly go crazy down there and attacking someone is what you look forward to, just to be able to do something, its the only place in your mind you go. Herman Took Michael under his wing, saving and changing his life, by teaching Michael new things, like how to calm your mind whenever thing around you is in chaos. Michaels mother saw the change in Michael immediately after he met Herman. She says his writing improved, his vocabulary improved, his mood was a complete 180 and was actually became a human being again. Ends by saying, I thank god every day for Herman coming into Michaels life, and if he can help and make that kind of change in a place like that, just think we he could do out here.

Helping someone on the outside Whom did Herman help on the outside? Herman contacted a lawyer who was representing a client on trial for the murder of a young woman, and told this lawyer his client was completely innocent. The man laughed and said how would an inmate in solitary confinement know about and have evidence to free a man facing a murder conviction? Herman says, I had a visitor that came and confessed the whole ugly truth of the murder of this young woman, shortly after it happened. Herman had the lawyers attention, then when he asked who? Herman replied My nephew, and the lawyer was convinced. Nevertheless, the lawyer asked, Why would you testify against his own nephew and risk losing a sister over it. Herman stated it the right thing to do, nobody needs to be in this place for something he didnt do. That same lawyer was so impressed by Herman and his good deed, that 4 years later, he jumped at the chance when asked to represent Herman on his Appeal for the murder conviction and the death of the prison guard.

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The lawyer was outraged when he learned how long Herman had been in solitary confinement. Saying, This is Crazy, they basically have caged an animal and that is where they intend for him to live his life? as he was reviewing Hermans case, he realized that the Review Board at the Prison met every 90 day to decide whether to keep someone in solitary confinement or return them back to general population, then sign and date a form. On everyone one of Hermans review forms is says the exact same thing, Denied, for the crime committed. Every 90 day for 36 years, they just left Herman down there for the crime committed and only looking at that fact. The Lawyer was very angry now and stated, THATS NOT A REVIEW, THATS PASSING a MANS LIFE OVER FOR 36 YEARS. Life for a brief moment After 35 years 11month and 7 days Herman was put in shackles and cuffs an lead outside the prison wall. His lawyer did not get his appeal overturned yet, but he did get Herman a into a dormitory style prison. Neither cement walls nor bars separating anyone, he was around other regular inmates and had a lot of unfamiliar noises and sound to get use too. The air he said even tasted different and burns his lungs a life at first cause it was so fresh, but it was a good burn. However, it was short lived; a guard said Herman was caught breaking a rule of the dormitories. So after 8 months Herman said good-bye to everyone and everything and was sent back to Solitary Confinement. 2013, marks Hermans 41st year in solitary confinement. This documentary was so life like and real for all viewers, for the fact that not one time do you see Herman. He is only recorded interview over the telephone in his part of making this film. The Prison would not even grant the film crew as visitors or guests to interview Herman that is how confined he is, and keep him.

Conclusion
This brings me to my conclusion of last thought about our US Justice System/Criminal Justice. This country is a little ass back words, if the bad guys are the ones making up lies, just to get a prosecution against better man

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who is throw in a hole and expected to life there. All for what to save a little face of our Criminal Justice system and its many flows. That is not equal to the life they have let just waste to nothing and it is downright inhumane abuse to leave a man in solitary confinement for that long. Even the widow of the murdered officer from 1972, has been second guessing the guilt of Herman and believes if he didnt do it he should have been released long ago. Before I started watching the film and writing about the film I wrote a few thing that I hope I would get out of the film. So I wanted an Intriguing subject, and could hold my attention, learned something new that I never knew before, got all them in this film. BUT I had two thing I got the complete opposite out for and that is the outcome is how it should be and best for everyone, and that there are good guys and bad guys. And the good guys always win in the end. I do not feel either of these statements would hold up in this film. Genres: Review or Documentary Official Sites: PBS [United States] Filming Locations: Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola, Louisiana, USA Written and Directed By Angad SingnBhalla Productive support provided by Independent Feature Project, SVT isweden, Tribeca All Access

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Ryan Allen Carolyn Holloway English 2010 Aug 2, 2013 WORK CITED VIDEO.PBS.ORG/VIDEO/236502750 PBS.ORG/HERMANSHOUSE
http://www.motherjones.com/media/2013/07/herman-wallace-house-angola-jackie-sumell