Academy Awards, USA 2001
| Nominated Oscar | Best Documentary, Features Barak Goodman Daniel Anker |
PBS
Directed by Barak Goodman and Daniel Anker
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, PBS)
Thorough account of the arrest and conviction of 9 black teenagers in Alabama for the rape of two white women in the racially charged atmosphere of the Depression Era. Convicted by an all-white jury with only the victim's account as evidence and an inexperienced lawyer to defend them, the verdict is overruled. National exposure leads to the involvement of the Communist Party in New York City, who sends its own lawyer to defend them in the second trial. However, they are found guilty again, mainly due to southern resentment towards the involvement of northerners they see as outsiders. However, the verdict is overturned again, this time by the Supreme Court, who rule the all-white jury did not provide a fair trial. Alabama finally begins to see the light by the time of the third trial, but by that time the accused have already spent nearly a decade in jail. It was not until the 1970s that they were all pardoned and the state admitted they were innocent. Obvious parallels still exist today, I was reminded of the Trayvon Martin case in Florida, which is a sad commentary on how little progress has been made.
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