Big Mouth Prods.
PARK CITY -- In January 2002, Illinois' Republican Gov. George Ryan dramatically reversed himself and commuted the death sentence of 167 people waiting to be executed. How and why he came to that decision is the compelling and important story told by Katy Chevigny and Kirsten Johnson's documentary "Deadline". The film is an example of social activism at its best; it's not only enlightening, but it's an engrossing story that a smart television audience should embrace.
A small-town pharmacist by trade, Ryan had built his political career on a tough-on-crime stance. But shortly after becoming governor, a group of Northwestern University journalism students proved the innocence of a convicted killer for the third time. Fearing that innocent people may be executed, Ryan grappled with the moral and legal issues right up until the last days of his administration.
While awaiting Ryan's decision, the filmmakers present a context for capital punishment cases in Illinois and nationally. Furman v. Georgia was the landmark case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1972 that the death penalty was unconstitutional. Anthony Amsterdam, the attorney who argued the case successfully before the high court, is interviewed as well as one of the 600 people on death row whose sentence was commuted.
But the Supreme Court's decision was challenged and reversed only five years later in Gregg v. Georgia, and Gary Gilmore was the first man executed under the new ruling. The filmmakers have rounded up a cross section of men who were convicted and give them a chance to tell their moving stories. Some of them have never been the same after their stay on death row.
Other lawyers, journalists and experts, including attorney-author Scott Turow, testify to the fallibility and discriminatory nature of capital punishment. On the eve of Ryan's decision, 39 exonerated prisoners march one at a time 39 miles to deliver a letter to the governor asking for him to put an end to executions.
Few issues in American life are as deeply conflicted as capital punishment. "Deadline" does not pretend to be unbiased but makes a powerful case for leniency. Along with Ryan, the docu argues that as long as there is any chance of error, the death penalty is unconscionable in a democracy.
PARK CITY -- In January 2002, Illinois' Republican Gov. George Ryan dramatically reversed himself and commuted the death sentence of 167 people waiting to be executed. How and why he came to that decision is the compelling and important story told by Katy Chevigny and Kirsten Johnson's documentary "Deadline". The film is an example of social activism at its best; it's not only enlightening, but it's an engrossing story that a smart television audience should embrace.
A small-town pharmacist by trade, Ryan had built his political career on a tough-on-crime stance. But shortly after becoming governor, a group of Northwestern University journalism students proved the innocence of a convicted killer for the third time. Fearing that innocent people may be executed, Ryan grappled with the moral and legal issues right up until the last days of his administration.
While awaiting Ryan's decision, the filmmakers present a context for capital punishment cases in Illinois and nationally. Furman v. Georgia was the landmark case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1972 that the death penalty was unconstitutional. Anthony Amsterdam, the attorney who argued the case successfully before the high court, is interviewed as well as one of the 600 people on death row whose sentence was commuted.
But the Supreme Court's decision was challenged and reversed only five years later in Gregg v. Georgia, and Gary Gilmore was the first man executed under the new ruling. The filmmakers have rounded up a cross section of men who were convicted and give them a chance to tell their moving stories. Some of them have never been the same after their stay on death row.
Other lawyers, journalists and experts, including attorney-author Scott Turow, testify to the fallibility and discriminatory nature of capital punishment. On the eve of Ryan's decision, 39 exonerated prisoners march one at a time 39 miles to deliver a letter to the governor asking for him to put an end to executions.
Few issues in American life are as deeply conflicted as capital punishment. "Deadline" does not pretend to be unbiased but makes a powerful case for leniency. Along with Ryan, the docu argues that as long as there is any chance of error, the death penalty is unconscionable in a democracy.
Big Mouth Prods.
PARK CITY -- In January 2002, Illinois' Republican Gov. George Ryan dramatically reversed himself and commuted the death sentence of 167 people waiting to be executed. How and why he came to that decision is the compelling and important story told by Katy Chevigny and Kirsten Johnson's documentary "Deadline". The film is an example of social activism at its best; it's not only enlightening, but it's an engrossing story that a smart television audience should embrace.
A small-town pharmacist by trade, Ryan had built his political career on a tough-on-crime stance. But shortly after becoming governor, a group of Northwestern University journalism students proved the innocence of a convicted killer for the third time. Fearing that innocent people may be executed, Ryan grappled with the moral and legal issues right up until the last days of his administration.
While awaiting Ryan's decision, the filmmakers present a context for capital punishment cases in Illinois and nationally. Furman v. Georgia was the landmark case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1972 that the death penalty was unconstitutional. Anthony Amsterdam, the attorney who argued the case successfully before the high court, is interviewed as well as one of the 600 people on death row whose sentence was commuted.
But the Supreme Court's decision was challenged and reversed only five years later in Gregg v. Georgia, and Gary Gilmore was the first man executed under the new ruling. The filmmakers have rounded up a cross section of men who were convicted and give them a chance to tell their moving stories. Some of them have never been the same after their stay on death row.
Other lawyers, journalists and experts, including attorney-author Scott Turow, testify to the fallibility and discriminatory nature of capital punishment. On the eve of Ryan's decision, 39 exonerated prisoners march one at a time 39 miles to deliver a letter to the governor asking for him to put an end to executions.
Few issues in American life are as deeply conflicted as capital punishment. "Deadline" does not pretend to be unbiased but makes a powerful case for leniency. Along with Ryan, the docu argues that as long as there is any chance of error, the death penalty is unconscionable in a democracy.
PARK CITY -- In January 2002, Illinois' Republican Gov. George Ryan dramatically reversed himself and commuted the death sentence of 167 people waiting to be executed. How and why he came to that decision is the compelling and important story told by Katy Chevigny and Kirsten Johnson's documentary "Deadline". The film is an example of social activism at its best; it's not only enlightening, but it's an engrossing story that a smart television audience should embrace.
A small-town pharmacist by trade, Ryan had built his political career on a tough-on-crime stance. But shortly after becoming governor, a group of Northwestern University journalism students proved the innocence of a convicted killer for the third time. Fearing that innocent people may be executed, Ryan grappled with the moral and legal issues right up until the last days of his administration.
While awaiting Ryan's decision, the filmmakers present a context for capital punishment cases in Illinois and nationally. Furman v. Georgia was the landmark case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1972 that the death penalty was unconstitutional. Anthony Amsterdam, the attorney who argued the case successfully before the high court, is interviewed as well as one of the 600 people on death row whose sentence was commuted.
But the Supreme Court's decision was challenged and reversed only five years later in Gregg v. Georgia, and Gary Gilmore was the first man executed under the new ruling. The filmmakers have rounded up a cross section of men who were convicted and give them a chance to tell their moving stories. Some of them have never been the same after their stay on death row.
Other lawyers, journalists and experts, including attorney-author Scott Turow, testify to the fallibility and discriminatory nature of capital punishment. On the eve of Ryan's decision, 39 exonerated prisoners march one at a time 39 miles to deliver a letter to the governor asking for him to put an end to executions.
Few issues in American life are as deeply conflicted as capital punishment. "Deadline" does not pretend to be unbiased but makes a powerful case for leniency. Along with Ryan, the docu argues that as long as there is any chance of error, the death penalty is unconscionable in a democracy.
- 1/28/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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