Sheriff Karl Leonard’s law enforcement career in Chesterfield, VA has spanned four decades, with the last as sheriff with oversight to the county’s two jails. After learning that a staggering 80% of the men and women who enter his prisons are heroin addicts, Leonard made the bold move to step out of bounds and create a first of its kind recovery program so the deadly cycle of arrests, time served with no treatment, release and repeat could end. JAILHOUSE REDEMPTION premieres Thursday, May 12 on discovery+, the definitive non-fiction, real life subscription streaming service, and documents the program Leonard created, Heroin Addiction Recovery Program (HARP), and his team who forge a path to recovery for addicts while running the day to day operations of HARP at the Chesterfield County Jail.

With unprecedented access, JAILHOUSE REDEMPTION intimately follows a group of heroin addicts on their paths to recovery offering audiences insight into the destructive power of addiction. Through this four-part docuseries, discovery+ audiences will witness what one person can do to change a broken system and create a road to redemption for those with very few options left in life.

In the premiere episode, we meet Steve, a Chesterfield County inmate and mentor who takes a chance on a dope sick inmate, while multiple inmates must make tough decisions about their face tattoos as they prepare to re-enter society. Audiences will also be introduced to returning HARP inmate Amber, who receives an emotional welcome from Leonard and his team, only to later face dire consequences for her actions. Upcoming stories include the inmate population being rocked by the on-site death of a fellow inmate; inmates struggling with multiple decisions that have life and death consequences; court verdicts that will separate families for many years; inmates who must deal with decades of bad blood between them; and the overwhelming fears, anxieties, and painful emotions new inmates must face as they head to the recovery house.

Can Sheriff Leonard and his team help the HARP participants earn their way to recovery and a life of hope and promise, or will they forever be caught in a destructive cycle centered around active addiction, overdoses, homelessness, rehabs and relapses, dead friends, and ruined lives? Follow @discoveryplus and #JailhouseRedemption on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok for additional show content and updates.

JAILHOUSE REDEMPTION is produced for discovery+ by Magilla Entertainment where Matthew Ostrom, Laura Palumbo Johnson and Jason Fox serve as executive producers. Beth Wichterich is executive producer for Evangeline Media. For discovery+, Bill Howard is executive producer with Paola Espinosa as coordinating producer.

About discovery+

discovery+ is the definitive non-fiction, real life subscription streaming service. discovery+ features a landmark partnership with Verizon that gives their customers with select plans up to 6 months of discovery+ on Verizon. discovery+ has the largest-ever content offering of any new streaming service at launch, featuring a wide range of exclusive, original series across popular, passion verticals in which Warner Bros. Discovery brands have a strong leadership position, including lifestyle and relationships; home and food; true crime; paranormal; adventure and natural history; as well as science, tech and the environment, and a slate of high-quality documentaries. For more, visit discoveryplus.com or find it on avariety of platforms and devices, including ones from Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Roku and Samsung.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

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