Inmate John McAllister dubbed ‘Eastside’ in hit Netflix jail series Unlocked dies aged 29

One of the breakout stars of Netflix‘S hugely controversial Documentary series Unlocked has died at the age of 29, just 30 days before he was due to be released.

John “Eastside” McAllister was found dead in his cage at the Pulaski Correctional Center Arkansas, on Sunday, June 2, officials said. According to his family, the inmate’s cause of death has not yet been determined.

In the premise of Unlocked: A Jail Experiment, prisoners were given a degree of independence and autonomy within the prison. The eight-part series aired in April.

Authorities said McAllister was rushed to Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where he was pronounced dead just before 9 a.m.

Murder and suicide have been ruled out by officials, reports say KATV.

John McAllister, 29, pictured during the filming of Netflix’s Unlocked

In the show, McAllister operated a tattoo parlor outside his prison cell

McAllister served a prison sentence for ten drug-related offences, burglary, theft of property and weapons possession. He pleaded guilty in 2023 and was sentenced to three years of hard labor.

The deceased inmate had a long criminal history dating back to the age of 19. He had done 14 different stretches behind bars.

The show features McAllister running a tattoo parlor in his prison cell.

During one episode, he explained that being on the wrong side of the law gave him an “adrenaline rush” and he spent his life around criminals.

a GoFundMe page was set up for McAllister by his aunt, Melissa Regan. At the time of writing, the page has raised $340 of a $15,000 goal.

The money will be used to pay for McAllister’s funeral and to transport his remains to relatives in Omaha, Nebraska.

“His sudden death has devastated our family. The cause of his death is under investigation,” reads part of the page.

The family says a celebration of life will be held for the public.

In a 2016 Facebook post, his aunt accused McAllister and his girlfriend of stealing a range of electronics from her home, including an XBox and a laptop. His aunt said her cousin was struggling with a meth addiction at the time.

On his Facebook, McAllister said he attended Omaha North Magnet High School in Nebraska and had lived in Vilonia, Arkansas since August 2021, prior to his incarceration.

On a GoFundMe page set up by his family, his aunt said relatives have been left shocked by McAllister’s sudden death

Last month, Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins defended the decision to have the series filmed in the county jail.

The decision has prompted scrutiny from local and state officials, who said they were not aware of the series until shortly before its premiere.

The series focuses on a six-week experiment that gave prisoners in one cell block more freedom by unlocking their cell doors. Higgins said he had not approached Netflix or Lucky 8, the production company that filmed the series, about the series.

“I have taken action to ensure that we have a re-entry program to help those booked into our facility get out and become better individuals,” Higgins told members of the Joint Performance Review Committee.

Republican Sen. Jonathan Dismang said he has no problem with the sheriff’s reentry program or trying something new to address recidivism.

But he said he was concerned about this being the focus of a show, and wondered how it could be considered an experiment if it was filmed.

“I think it is exploitation of your prisoners that you allowed a film crew in,” Dismang said.

Unlocked: A Prison Experiment follows an experiment by Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins that has inmates seemingly walking free in the Pulaski County Jail in Little Rock

Arkansas officials are investigating a $60,000 payment made by producers of Netflix’s controversial Unlocked docuseries

Another Republican lawmaker said he worried about what the show would do to the state’s reputation, compared to a 1994 HBO documentary about gangs in Little Rock.

“For most people who watched this docuseries, this is their first exposure to Pulaski County, or perhaps the state of Arkansas,” said Rep. David Ray.

“I’m concerned about the brand damage our state suffers from this being other people’s first perception of our state.”

Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde — the county’s top elected official — said he was unaware of the series until he saw a trailer before its premiere.

Hyde has said the agreement between the sheriff and the production company was illegal because Hyde did not sign it. The county has since returned a $60,000 check from the production company that filmed the series.

Higgins, a Democrat who was first elected in 2018 and is the county’s first Black sheriff, has received support from some community members.

The Little Rock chapter of the NAACP has supported Higgins’ decision, and supporters of the sheriff filled a committee room for Tuesday’s hearing.

Democratic Sen. Linda Chesterfield said Higgins’ supporters are looking for “someone who can provide humane treatment to people who have been treated inhumanely.”

“We’re looking at this through different lenses, and it’s important that we respect the lenses through which we view it,” Chesterfield said.