Nashville's criminal justice system is stepping out from behind the music, taking center stage in a gritty new six-part docuseries on HBO Max titled "Justice, USA." Offering a raw and detailed exploration of the lives of defendants within the system, the series allows viewers to witness the machinery of justice far from the glitter of the music scene for which the city is famous.
According to an interview with News 2, Davidson County's Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway, the show promises an unprecedented level of transparency. "It's probably one of the first communities that has ever let cameras come in and just view everything, from when people get arrested, to when they get incarcerated, to the times they go to court, and even follows some of them after court to see what happens to them," she explained.
In what is touted as a raw depiction of Nashville's legal proceedings, "Justice, USA" has been granted full access to various facets of the justice system, including the men’s, women’s, and juvenile jails. The docuseries, produced by MAX and filmed during a seven-month window, pledges to show the viewer everything from the arrest process to court proceedings and beyond.
With no narrators or so-called experts leading the narrative, the series relies heavily on those individuals who inhabit the system day-to-day—lawyers, deputies, administrators, and inmates. "This is really an opportunity for everybody to be transparent about this is what happens," Judge Calloway continued speaking to News 2 in her interview. They bring the relevance of real people's experiences over a narration that could be perceived as potentially biased or sanitized.
Within the documentary, offenders like Diamond Lewis share their stories. Lewis, who is currently serving 25 years for the murder of Nashville musician Kyle Yorlets, represents the human side of criminal proceedings often left untold. "I see blurbs and stuff that say Judge Calloway is just giving people cookies and milk and sending them on their way when they don't understand exactly what we can do as the law and what we should do," Judge Calloway remarked in an interview with NewsChannel 5.
Executive producer Marshall Goldberg described the series as a "powerful, unflinching, real-life version of 'Law & Order.'" The show seeks to put audiences in the shoes of indigent defendants, providing a 360-degree view of the criminal justice system, as outlined on the official website. "Justice, USA" is available for streaming this spring, putting a spotlight on Nashville's criminal justice system in a manner that has rarely been done before, according to a post on DNJ.com.
