Robert E. Burns, a medic during World War I, returned from the war suffering from PTSD and unable to reintegrate into his previous life. After drifting from place to place, he ended up in Atlanta in 1921, where he was tricked into participating in a robbery and sentenced to 6–10 years on a Georgia chain gang. As part of the state's convict leasing system, Robert endured inhumane conditions, including grueling labor, inadequate shelter, and abuse. He eventually escaped with the help of another inmate and fled to Chicago, where he became the editor of Greater Chicago Magazine. There, he published articles about his horrific experiences in the chain gang and later married Emily Del Pino Pacheco. However, after a divorce, Robert was apprehended and extradited back to Georgia in 1929.

Once back in Georgia, Robert continued to suffer harsh conditions before escaping again in 1930. He later moved to New Jersey, where he struggled during the Great Depression while writing his autobiography, I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang. In 1932, the book was adapted into a successful movie, sparking public outrage against the chain gang system. Despite his re-arrest in 1932, New Jersey's governor refused to extradite him. In 1945, after years of public advocacy, Robert was granted a pardon by Georgia Governor Ellis Arnall. Robert lived out his remaining years as a free man and died in 1955 from cancer. His autobiography and the film adaptation contributed significantly to the eventual abolition of chain gangs in the South.