Just perfect...

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

After watching this documentary twice on Amazon Prime, I just was overwhelmed by the injustice done to Ms. Peagler. As a lawyer with over 40 years of experience as a federal prosecutor and defense attorney, I cannot adequately express in words the admiration I have for these two pro bono attorneys, Ms. Costa and Mr. Safran, and their courage to fight for her to right the wrong, their passion in diving into an area of the law that neither of them had experience in, their intelligence in figuring out the various avenues for challenging the unconstitutionality of her conviction, their compassion in hearing and understanding Ms. Peagler, and their fearlessness and tenacity in fighting the corrupt L. A. DA's Office, which suppressed material evidence favorable to Ms. Peagler's defense bearing on her innocence of the crime charged. The documentary filmmaker, Mr. Potash, did an incredible job too in putting the documentary together in such a polished manner, synopsizing years of legal wrangling into an hour and a half documentary, it was just riveting to watch. It's clearly one of the finest documentaries I have ever seen. These lawyers are true heroes and exemplify the highest standards of professionalism as lawyers, and the filmmaker deserves high praise for an uncompromising examination of injustice done to a victim of severe domestic violence whose abuser's death she really took no part in yet received a life sentence due to the corruption of the criminal justice system in California. I cannot recommend this film too highly, it's that good!

This is simply a riveting and intensely moving documentary on an important subject. It was shot over a period of years, and the true story takes unexpected turns; I was reminded of Hoop Dreams. Perhaps I'm biased because I've had first-hand experience with out horribly flawed justice system*, so let's just say that if you are interested in the subject, you *have* to see this. I saw 17 documentaries that were released in 2011, and it was a great year for them. I'm a ferociously tough grader; an 8 is an A- grade. Pina earned a 10 (A+) for its use of 3D, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead earned a 9 (A) for being life-changing, and this led the 8's ahead of Bill Cunningham New York, If a Tree Falls, and We Were Here. The 7's (equivalent to a B+ grade) were Project Nim, The Interrupters, Into The Abyss, and Senna. If you see a lot of docs, that should give you an idea of just how good I thought this was. See it!* My roommate was convicted of a crime after my exonerating testimony was thrown out by a judge's egregious error. The verdict was overturned unanimously on appeal, but not until he'd spent nearly two years in prison.

I can't understand the low IMDb rating. Since there are no bad reviews posted here as of April '12, I can't speculate as to why I see a 5.7 rating. Irregardless of the political or legal viewpoint one might develop of the particular case in question, this is a well made film. Though I can't imagine anyone would question the fact that this film documents an INCREDIBLE miscarriage of justice.Although come to think of it, I can imagine a scenario in which the L.A. District Attorney's office sent a super-secret memo to its staff demanding that all employees log on to IMDb and give it one star...If you are a fan of compelling legal documentaries à la "Murder on a Sunday Morning", "Paradise Lost". "The Trials of Darryl Hunt" or "The Thin Blue Line", you will absolutely love this one. All the elements are here: DA misconduct, Interesting plot turns, recanting witnesses, dedicated and interesting attorneys... you name it.This is great drama.

The Hurricane (1999 with Denzel Washington) ain't got nothing on this. I've never seen a score so out of line with reality. 5.6 is way to low for this gem. The young male viewership buried the score for the usual reason, lack of action. Women rated it a 9.6 overall a much better barometer. A riveting story, a compelling theme, and a truly remarkable lead. I just don't get it. I saw it in Hollywood and the tough crowd loved it erupting in cheers at the end. As I told the male attorney who was in the cast this film is a no brainer for a feature length drama. It has everything any producer could want. Not only is the story arc filled with roller coaster hairpins and drops with great editing but even the natural timing of what happened to Debbie defies description. I can understand the youth not having the patience for all the set up that was artfully done but the payoff is there in the end and is overwhelming. I am convinced someday this story will get its just rewards.