John Hayes (Peter Gallagher) is the governor's chief of staff. He gets his disgraced black sheep brother Rick Hayes (Rob Morrow) a job. Sam Burns (Randy Quaid) gives him a meaningless job to write a report on the possibility of clemency for death row inmate Cindy Liggett (Sharon Stone) but the governor never gives clemency. Liggett committed a double murder including the son of a wealthy supporter of the governor. As Rick investigates, he gets thrown off the case. A black prisoner is given clemency for political reasons while Liggett faces death.
This movie suffers badly from the comparison to 'Dead Man Walking'. Sharon Stone's performance is not horrible. This is more of a mystery about a case. The film simply doesn't do a good job with the emotional roller coaster of death row. It goes from stale to overacting. Rob Morrow is actually the lead of this film. He's not a compelling lead slipping in and out of a southern accent. The whole last act is done badly with a romantic sequence tacked on.
This movie suffers badly from the comparison to 'Dead Man Walking'. Sharon Stone's performance is not horrible. This is more of a mystery about a case. The film simply doesn't do a good job with the emotional roller coaster of death row. It goes from stale to overacting. Rob Morrow is actually the lead of this film. He's not a compelling lead slipping in and out of a southern accent. The whole last act is done badly with a romantic sequence tacked on.