Ever heard of the West Memphis 3? The Robin Hood Murders? Well, if you haven't, don't feel too bad... I had no idea about this story until my husband put the first two movies on our Netflix queue. I was instantly interested when I read the description on the back of the DVD, especially because I studied the kind of effect the media has on our society while I was in college. This is a prime example of the media's power in this country. In this situation, the media not only created stereotypes that aided in the wrongful conviction of three kids, but also created a documentary that commanded attention and created a following that helped to "free" the three now men.
IMDb has this concise description of the films: "A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence."
I encourage you to Google or Wikipedia the story to find out more (well, when the SOPA black-out protest is over). You will either be interested in this or not at all, so that is up to you.
We watched the first two films a few months ago and recently watched the last one since it was just released. The films are a bit repetitive, but that's because they are reminding the viewers of what had previously transpired. It is fascinating to watch all the "characters" in these films change over time. For instance, Mark Byers is the stepfather of one of the murdered children. In the first film, he is out for blood and curses the three boys on trial. In the second film, he continues to blame the convicts, but the table turns and new evidence is revealed that makes Byers a possible suspect. In the last film, he completely changes his tune due to new evidence and joins the fight to free the three convicts.
I love documentaries that really make you think and these ones certainly do. Whether you agree with the convictions or not, these are definitely films worth viewing to keep American citizens on their toes and try to keep our justice system and the people who uphold it in check.
I give all three movies a four star review - ★★★★
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