Through the Wire

In 1986 a controversial maximum-security unit began operation on the subterranean level of Lexington Prison in the US state of Kentucky. The unit’s three female inmates are serving the longest sentences ever imposed in the United States for nonviolent political crimes. Two years of underground solitary confinement, video surveillance and daily strip-searches have taken their toll: the women have suffered drastic weight loss, hallucinations, impaired vision and coronary problems; one has developed a rare form of cancer. (DOK.fest München)