Deadline review
Movie:
Deadline is a very effective, communicative and at time intense documentary that focuses on the problems with the rightful system specifically with regards to the passing penalty.
In 1997 a bunch of journalism students at Northwestern University took up the task of investigating a death penalty case. In the process of recreating the crime they discovered that the accused man could not have committed the crime. Shortly after this the real killer confessed. The original convicted killer was released. Subsequently more work by the investigative journalist students of the Center for Wrongful Conviction helped exonerate 13 out of 25 death row inmates.
Clearly there was a problem with the court and legal system in Illinois. Due to this the then governor of the state, George Ryan, took it upon himself to announce a moratorium on all 167 death row inmates and planned for the judicial system to hold clemency trials. At the end of these trails Ryan would determine if he would commute (permanently postpone) the death sentences of all the inmates.
The documentary by Katy Chevigny and Kirsten Johnson combines interviews with scholars, journalists and students along with footage of the clemency trials as well as more interviews with inmates and law officials. Some of the trials are very affecting as people plead with the judges to not take the inmates off death row showing once and for all that when it comes to people’s emotions the death penalty is acceptable by most Americans.
The filmmakers do a good job of presenting interviews with wrongfully accused criminals who have been released but have a tough time adjusting to life. But then they counter that with some inmates serving time some of whom are very guilty. It is only then are we able to see how difficult it is for someone to give clemency.
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Finally the documentary builds tension toward Governor Ryan’s decision to either commute everyone on death row or not. Overall, a very good documentary that covers a lot of ground and no doubt one that could have been longer.