Ronnie Carrasquillo served nearly 47 years in prison before being released.

In 1977 as an 18-year-old, he was convicted of killing an off-duty Chicago police officer and given a 200- to 600-year prison sentence.

A new documentary, “In Their Hands,” highlights his journey while raising questions about mass incarceration, the parole system and the meaning of getting a second chance. 

Dan Protess, filmmaker of the documentary, was approached by Carrasquillo’s lawyer two and a half years ago to make the film. Protess’ initial hesitancy quickly diminished after attending one of Carrasquillo’s parole hearings with his family. Bearing witness to the actual hearing was enough to persuade him.

“It was filming the parole hearing itself, and I had never been to a Prisoner Review Board meeting, and I found it to be somewhat unusual, maybe verging on bizarre,” said Protess. 

Protess described the makeup of the room as extremely divided. One side was made up of police officers, while the other side held supporters of Carrasquillo. 

“The parole board was fixated on a crime, on a series of actions in 1976 that an 18-year-old committed,” Protess said. “And Ronnie’s attorneys and his family were focused on who he is as a 65-year-old.”

While in prison Carrasquillo turned his life around. He, and a few other prisoners, started a program called the Hispanic Culture Exchange Committee.

“It allowed us to come and sit at the table together,” said Carrasquillo, subject of the documentary. “These guys are people that they’ve killed each other’s brothers, and here you’re sitting here now, planning how to have a picnic or planning how to do a baseball game or a basketball tournament.”

Carrasquillo said committee members were focused on educating one another and returning home to their families and communities as better men. He also earned his bachelor’s degree in theology.

Rather than take his growth and achievements into consideration, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board still questioned the man he was, saying they weren’t sure if these were things he did to turn his life around or just to seem as if he turned his life around.

The film’s deep dive into the political components playing behind the scenes carefully poses the question of whether Illinois parole practices are a fair and just process.

“One of the things that I wanted to show through the film is that there are a million different factors that are going into these parole decisions that have absolutely nothing to do with how fit for parole an individual is,” said Protess. 

Aside from the politics, Protess found Carrasquillo’s family to be an extremely compelling component to the storyline. The support they showed him for over four decades never wavered but in fact only grew. After being denied more than 30 times they continued to stand by his side advocating for his freedom.

Carrasquillo said his power and strength to keep moving forward and never give up came from his family. 

“Watching them struggle through the denials and holding it together you just have to hope,” Carrasquillo said. “We just have to hold each other to go through it. That’s where your power factor comes from. Just point blank, it’s called love, period.”

Carrasquillo was released in October 2023 after an appellate court ruled his 200- to 600-year sentence was excessive and his continuous denied parole applications unfair.

“In Their Hands” airs 9 p.m. Friday on WTTW and will stream on PBS.org through the end of January.

To further promote the film, Protess and Carrasquillo will embark on a tour across the state stopping at various universities and correctional facilities to generate conversation about Carrasquillo’s story and what it means to Illinois and society.

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