The Franchise

The New York State prison system is a financial ecosystem that encompasses small rural towns and major forces of industry. The Franchise follows Alejo Rodriguez, a 56-year-old of Afro-Puerto Rican and Cuban descent who returns from prison after 32 years. As he contemplates his present and his past life, Alejo begins piecing together connections between the prisons and enterprises in the South Bronx and Orange County.

While incarcerated, Alejo was treated for a digestive ailment at a local hospital in 2015. Unbeknownst to him, Alejo’s urethra was clipped during the procedure, resulting in kidney loss. He later learns that the hospital billed Medicaid approximately $500,000 for the surgery. After his 2017 release, Alejo returns home to a South Bronx struggling with heavy police surveillance and increasing gentrification. In neighborhoods still besieged by poverty, high imprisonment rates, and food deserts, he advocates for the formerly incarcerated and their families. He observes the correlation between the poor health of inmates and the food manufacturing companies that service prisons.

When Alejo begins teaching at Columbia Law School in 2022, he works with students on community engagement strategies for incarcerated populations. With journalistic zeal, he delves into the supply and demand dynamics of incarceration, unearthing a lucrative economic marketplace. Nutrition and health industries in the region are enmeshed with state prisons and international businesses, all dependent on a steadily increasing prison population in the South Bronx.