February 17, 2007 (2 articles)
After Innocence: DVD Documents Plight of the Guilty till Proven Innocent
by Kam Williams, Insight News
This revealing documentary is essentially ten different stories, each a
tragic case of mistaken identity and a rush to judgment. For all of the men
profiled here can thank their lucky stars that evidence was preserved,
otherwise they'd still be in jail.
For example, Herman Atkins had been sentenced to 45 years for rape and
robbery despite having an alibi and no previous criminal record. In the
film, his father, a cop, admits that he now regrets never visiting his son
even once during his 11-year incarceration, explaining that, as an officer
of the law, he had believed in the justice system.
Another of the unfortunate subjects, Scott Hornoff, was a police officer
when he found himself arrested for murder. Although he sat on Death Row for
over six years till his conviction was overturned, the State of Rhode Island
still refuses to pay him any damages or back pay. A common theme running
through each of the frightening tales told here is that none of the victims
have been compensated for the ordeals they had to endure.
Without money to get back on their feet, they presently find themselves
ill-equipped to cope in a world which has moved on without them. We also see
the toll that the time in jail has exacted on their families, from wives
having to work and to raise children alone to kids feeling alienated to
relatives not living long enough to see a son's name cleared before they
passed on.
One mother wonders why the jury had so callously dismissed her passionate
testimony, under oath, that her son had been with her at the time that the
crime had been committed. Meanwhile, one false accuser contritely tries to
explain away her regrettable mistake of identifying the wrong man as her
rapist.
By shining a scientific spotlight on the criminal justice system's dirty
little secret, After Innocence leaves no doubt that thousands of other
wrongly-imprisoned persons must currently be rotting away behind bars, with
only the ability to afford a Dream Team of DNA experts standing between them
and their freedom.
Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 95 minutes
Distributor: New Yorker Video
DVD Extras: Deleted scenes, bonus footage, updates, interviews, Pearl Jam
performance, media coverage, footage from the Sundance and theatrical
premieres, MTV and Larry King Live coverage, website and contact info, and a
theatrical trailer.
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Source : Insight News
http://www.insightn
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