Jay Z's prison reform docuseries sets premiere

Jay Z’s upcoming docuseries, which centers on Kalief Browder’s unlawful incarceration and eventual suicide, has a release date.

Spike TV announced that TIME: The Kalief Browder Story will debut the first of six parts on Wednesday, March 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The project hones in on the issues of police brutality and prison reform in the story of Browder, who was arrested at the age of 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack. He spent three years on Rikers Island — two of which were in solitary confinement — though he was never convicted.

Browder took his own life after his release on June 6, 2015.

The Kalief Browder Story chronicles the subject through archival footage, cinematic recreations, and interviews with family, friends, politicians, and social reformers.

“Kalief Browder is a modern-day prophet; his story a failure of the judicial process,” Jay Z, who produced the docuseries with The Weinstein Co.’s Harvey Weinstein, said in a statement. “A young man, and I emphasize young man, who lost his life because of a broken system. His tragedy has brought atrocities to light, and now we must confront the issues and events that occurred so other young men can have a chance at justice.”

“The story on the evening news created a lot of attention and action around Kalief Browder, but it wasn’t the whole story,” director Jenner Furst explained. “If Kalief Browder’s life matters, then his whole life matters, and that’s how we have been approaching this project.”

Jay Z spoke about the project back in October during a press conference, in which he addressed police brutality.

“When you have compassion for what someone’s going through and their plight, my personal belief, having the camera on someone creates more distrust,” he said at the time. “When we have an exchange and it has to be recorded, something’s wrong there, something’s broken. A camera can’t fix a relationship between a person that’s hired to protect and serve and society. There has to be a relationship. There has to be respect on both sides.”