Coleen Dewhurst was a very fine actress who always brought her talent and class to any role she played. (For you trivia lovers she was the first woman to ever be shown in bed with John Wayne in Mcq) This is one of those good hearted tv films that tries to send out a positive message and the makers of it just end up with egg on their faces. I rate this film up there with I Want To Live because it tries to get you to feel sorry for a despicable criminal who deserves to die for their crimes. Dewhurst plays a psychologist who tries to help a 15 year old boy charged with killing two children on a playground. The movie is based on fact. SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT!!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!At the end of the film, "the Bandito" has his death sentence commuted to life in prison and he is as snotty and unrepentant as ever. He has no conscience and no remorse for his crimes. Even Dewhurst's character tells him "I saved your life, why do you treat me like this". I felt like telling her, wake up and smell the bacon lady this kid is scum who deserved to fry and you saved his worthless ass! The way I see it, if your old enough to do the crime you are old enough to pay the penalty, an eye for an eye. This film was made eighteen years before the 1998 Jonesboro shootings when two children ages 11 and 13 killed four little girls and a pregnant teacher and wounded ten others. We live in a society where we say "Oh they are only children". Shouldn't children have to answer for their crimes as well!
Review of Death Penalty
