The Innocence Project’s Top Recommended Films and Series of 2020

From u0022The Innocence Filesu0022 to u0022The Trial of the Chicago Seven,u0022 these films and series shine a spotlight on injustice.

12.24.20 By Innocence Staff

Thomas Haynesworth after his release, as seen in

Thomas Haynesworth after his release, as seen in "The Innocence Files." (Image: Courtesy of Netflix)

As the year comes to an end we’re looking back at the best documentaries, series, and movies of 2020. You might think you’ve seen every true crime show out there, but we’ve got a few new recommendations we bet you’ll love — and a few older ones that flew under the radar.

We’ll start with the latest — these are eight films, documentaries, and series we recommend that were released this year.

1. The Innocence Files

This powerful nine-part docuseries, tells the stories of eight clients of the Innocence Project and members of the Innocence Network. We were so honored to be featured and to see our clients’ journeys to justice in the spotlight. If you want to learn more about how official misconduct, the use of bite mark evidence (a debunked forensic method), and eyewitness misidentification contribute to wrongful conviction, we highly recommend this series. Available to stream on Netflix here.

2. Who Killed Malcolm X

Innocence Project clients were featured not just once, but twice in documentary series this year. “Who Killed Malcolm X” is a six-part series that seeks to address the many unanswered questions around the assassination of Malcolm X, including whether or not innocent people were convicted for his death. Our client, Muhammad A. Aziz, was one of three men arrested and convicted for the death of Malcolm X, but he has always maintained his innocence. Learn more about his case here and watch the series, which is available to stream on Netflix here.

3. How to Fix a Drug Scandal

This riveting docuseries details the misconduct of two drug lab technicians in Massachusetts, Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan, and the resulting fallout. Ms. Farak and Ms. Dookhan worked at two different state labs, and though their cases were not related to one another, both were found to have falsified forensic evidence and tampered with drug evidence. The series also highlights the officials’ failure to appropriately handle the scandals and restore freedom to people who were potentially wrongly convicted. So far, at least 61,000 drug charges across more than 37,000 cases whose evidence they handled have been dismissed. Available to stream on Netflix here.