Amazing story, well told, of the fight to address a severe injustice imposed on a man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or, not even in the wrong place, just on the wrong path.
It did not surprise me that under pressure to solve a murder, the police arrested the first available suspect and then proceeded to allow tunnel vision and confirmation bias to compound their mistake.
What did suprise me was the ability of the Korean community and others to achieve what seemed to be impossible and eventually right this wrong. The story is told with a few moments of humor that provide much needed relief from this human tragedy.
The producers unearthed an impressive and fascinating collection of archive material, including old TV news coverage of the story as it unfolded. The viewer is also shown bits of letters written from prison by the subject. I would have liked to have heard at least one of those letters read in its entirety.
I was left with questions the film should have answered: Who was Chol Soo Lee's attorney in his first trial and why didn't he do a better job? Why was the trial in Sacramento, where there would be fewer Asians in the jury pool? If the eyewitnesses were so easily discredited in the second trial, why weren't they discredited in the first trial? Why was the conviction for killing another inmate in prison, which resulted in a death sentence, overturned on appeal?
And, what no one ever mentions in these situations: What efforts are being made to find the true killer?
Unfortunately, the tragedy continues after the initial victory. It is difficult to find a happy ending here, but the story should be told nevertheless.
It did not surprise me that under pressure to solve a murder, the police arrested the first available suspect and then proceeded to allow tunnel vision and confirmation bias to compound their mistake.
What did suprise me was the ability of the Korean community and others to achieve what seemed to be impossible and eventually right this wrong. The story is told with a few moments of humor that provide much needed relief from this human tragedy.
The producers unearthed an impressive and fascinating collection of archive material, including old TV news coverage of the story as it unfolded. The viewer is also shown bits of letters written from prison by the subject. I would have liked to have heard at least one of those letters read in its entirety.
I was left with questions the film should have answered: Who was Chol Soo Lee's attorney in his first trial and why didn't he do a better job? Why was the trial in Sacramento, where there would be fewer Asians in the jury pool? If the eyewitnesses were so easily discredited in the second trial, why weren't they discredited in the first trial? Why was the conviction for killing another inmate in prison, which resulted in a death sentence, overturned on appeal?
And, what no one ever mentions in these situations: What efforts are being made to find the true killer?
Unfortunately, the tragedy continues after the initial victory. It is difficult to find a happy ending here, but the story should be told nevertheless.