Must-See Films and TV Episodes on Wrongful Convictions
06.21.11
Watch the trailers and click the links below for ten of the best feature films, documentaries and TV episodes based on true stories of wrongful accusation and conviction. And
visit our index
for more episodes and movies about the Innocence Project and wrongful conviction.
1. After Innocence
This documentary, produced by a former Innocence Project clinic student, focuses on the DNA exonerations of seven wrongfully convicted men. It received the 2005 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize.
Visit the film
website
, watch it instantly
on Netflix
, buy it
on Amazon
.
2. Conviction
Directed by Tony Goldwyn and starring Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell, ‘Conviction’ (2010) tells the true story of a woman’s fight to prove her brother’s innocence.
Watch instantly
on Netflix
, buy a DVD or watch instantly
on Amazon
.
Watch the story behind the film in this three-minute Innocence Project video.
3. The Trials of Darryl Hunt
Break Thru Films’ 2006 documentary about Darryl Hunt’s decades-long fight for justice after being wrongfully convicted of rape and murder.
Visit the film website
, Watch instantly
on Netflix
, Buy a DVD
on Amazon
.
4.Frontline: “Death by Fire”
This 2010 episode of PBS’ Frontline examines the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in Texas in 2004 for allegedly setting a fire that killed his three young daughters 13 years earlier. He always claimed his innocence, and the arson investigation used to convict him was questioned by leading experts before Willingham was executed. Since 2004, further evidence in the case has led to the inescapable conclusion that Willingham did not set the fire for which he was executed.
Watch the full episode on PBS’ website
.
Watch other “Frontline” episodes on wrongful conviction issues:
•
“The Child Cases”
(2011) – An investigation by
NPR
,
ProPublica
and
“Frontline”
into more than 20 wrongful conviction cases involving faulty forensics in accidental child deaths.
•
“The Confessions”
(2010) – An award-winning documentary on the case of the “Norfolk Four” – Navy sailors convicted of a murder they didn’t commit after giving false confessions under pressure.
•
“Burden of Innocence”
(2003) – This look into the lives of five men who served years in prison for crimes they did not commit reveals the social, economic, and psychological challenges that people face post-exoneration.
•
“Requiem for Frank Lee Smith”
(2002) – An investigation by Ofra Bikel into Frank Lee Smith’s wrongful conviction of the rape and murder of a young girl.
•
“What Jennifer Saw”
(1997) – An examination of flaws in eyewitness identifications as evidence, through the lens of the case of Ronald Cotton, who served 12 years in North Carolina prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
•
“Innocence Lost”
(1991) – Ofra Bikel’s three-part documentary raised serious questions about evidence in a notorious North Carolina day care abuse case.
5.The Exonerated
Court-TV’s 2005 film version of the award-winning Off-Broadway play features the stories of six people who were exonerated after being sentenced to death. The cast includes Susan Sarandon, Danny Glover and Aidan Quinn.
Watch instantly
on Netflix
, Buy a DVD
on Amazon
.
6. 60 Minutes: ‘Eyewitness: How Accurate is Visual Memory?’
CBS News’ “60 Minutes” reports on the case of Ronald Cotton, who was wrongfully incarcerated for over ten years for a brutal rape and burglary he did not commit.
Watch Part 2 of the episode
and read the
“60 Minutes” report
on the accuracy of eyewitness identification.
7. The Wronged Man
Lifetime Movie Network’s 2010 original movie about Calvin Willis, who was released from Louisiana State Penitentiary after more than 21 years of wrongful incarceration. The film focuses on Willis’ relationship with his longtime advocate, Janet Gregory, a single mom and paralegal, and her critical role in his exoneration.
Visit the film
website
, Watch instantly
on Netflix
, Buy a DVD on
Amazon
.
8. The Thin Blue Line
Errol Morris’ award-winning 1988 documentary presents compelling evidence that Randall Adams was wrongfully convicted of killing a police officer in Dallas, Texas.
Watch instantly
at Netflix
, buy a DVD or watch now
at Amazon.com
.
9. An Unreal Dream
In 1986 Michael Morton’s wife Christine is brutally murdered in front of their only child, and Michael is convicted of the crime. Locked away in Texas prisons for a quarter century, he has years to ponder questions of justice and innocence, truth and fate. Though he is virtually invisible to society, a team of dedicated attorneys spends years fighting for the right to test DNA evidence found at the murder scene. Their discoveries ultimately reveal that the price of a wrongful conviction goes well beyond one man’s loss of freedom.
Buy the DVD or watch on Netflix or iTunes
.
10. The Central Park Five
In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers were arrested and charged with brutally attacking and raping a white female jogger in Central Park. News media swarmed the case, calling them a “wolfpack.” The five would spend years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit before the truth about what really happened became clear.
Watch instantly on
Netflix
or
iTunes
or
purchase the DVD or Blue-Ray at Shop PBS
.
11. Scenes of a Crime
“Scenes of a Crime” explores a nearly 10-hour interrogation that culminates in a disputed confession, and an intense, high-profile child murder trial in New York state.
Watch instantly on
iTunes, Vimeo or Distrify
. DVD copies are also available for
educators, libraries and legal practitioners
.
12. The Hurricane
The story of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.
Watch now or buy a DVD on Amazon.com
.
13. In the Name of the Father
This Oscar-nominated film tells the true story of a Gerry Conlon’s coerced confession to an IRA bombing he didn’t do; and a British lawyer’s fight to free Conlon and his father. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Pete Postlethwaite.
Watch instantly or buy the DVD
at Amazon
.
MORE: View
an index of additional films and TV shows
on wrongful conviction issues.
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May 16, 2016 at 11:02 pm
All doc that are listed as being on Netflix….are not on netflix