The Fence on AllMovie

This drama quietly comments upon urban American life while depicting the sad life of a young man gone astray who tries to reclaim his life and fails. Terry Griff has just been released from prison after serving 13 years for stabbing his abusive father in self-defense and subsequently stabbing a guard while he was in his teens. He is determined to stay clean, but it isn't easy. Living in Chicago, he calls up the sister-in-law of his best friend who died in prison. He then gets a job. He really tries. But when his parole officer rips him off, Terry tries to strangle him. He escapes into a life of crime and gets involved in a robbery with a street hustler.