We are all familiar with Hollywood representations of the wrongfully imprisoned, such as The Shawshank Redemption. However, we often overlook the true stories of these individuals. Perhaps the idea that anyone could serve time for something they didn’t do while the real perpetrator remains free is just too much to stomach. An estimated 10,000 Americans are wrongfully convicted each year. Police and prosecutorial misconduct are among the lead causes of this number. So how can millennials cut into this amount when our public officials fail us? Well frankly, it starts with jury duty. Too often do we put off our civic obligation for other, less important matters. The juries that are eventually chosen are usually made up of people who are uneducated or who have ulterior motives (as you will see in these documentaries). Young people may also participate in the judicial process through witness testimony. The best witnesses are truthful and only recount events that they can be certain actually happened. Finally, it is essential to learn about cases that went horribly wrong to prevent the same mistakes from being made in the future. Possibly the most effective and convenient way of doing this is by delving into a very specific genre of filmmaking.
Over the past three decades, documentary filmmakers have been the unsung heroes of our justice system. When done properly, crime documentaries provide a window to the “behind the scenes” of a case that the jury did not see and that the public was not made aware of. Through this window, we often see justice being equated to a conviction, rather than to truth. Here are three powerful documentaries about wrongful convictions. Being outraged has never been so much fun!
1.
"The Thin Blue Line"- Errol Morris (1988)
A masterpiece and a template for modern crime documentaries. It’s shot like a boring movie you’d watch in high school with a substitute teacher, but it is successful in achieving in its end. A Dallas man who was wrongfully sentenced to death for the murder of a police officer was later exonerated based on evidence presented in the film.
2.
"Paradise Lost" - Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (1996)
A coerced confession of a mentally handicapped teenager led to his conviction, and the conviction of two other West Memphis, Arkansas teenagers for the murder of three children. Persuasive evidence such as “he wears black and stuff” kept Damien Echols and his two friends in prison for 17 years. The documentary ignited tremendous nationwide support for the three teenagers.
3. 
"Making a Murderer" - Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi (2015)
Steven Avery served 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Now, he is being charged again by the same county; this time for murder. Regardless of his guilt or innocence, this 10 episode series exposes flaws in our justice system that while only seen here on the micro level, should be addressed nationally. There are some abhorrently shady public officials in this one. Notice Len Kachinsky’s resemblance to William H Macy’s character from Fargo and Ken Kratz’s resemblance to your creepy Uncle.
You can stream " The Thin Blue Line" and "Making a Murderer" on Netflix. The "Paradise Lost" trilogy can be found on Amazon Prime.
