Beyond CSI: Real justice in TV and film

by Matt Kelley

Published October 05, 2008 @ 10:46AM PT

Courts and prisons are popular topic in Hollywood, but film and TV rarely looks anything like the real world. Here are ten films and TV shows that get it right - at least some of the time. Enjoy.

1. The Thin Blue Line - Errol Morris' classic documentary about the arrest and wrongful conviction of Randall Adams for allegedly killing a police officer. This is a well-made and easy-to-watch documentary with Morris' trademark up-close emotional interviews with major players in the case. The case for Adams' innocence is hard to ignore.
2. Dead Man Walking - In this groundbreaking film directed by Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon plays Sister Helen Prejean, who has become one of America's leading voices in opposition to the death penalty, as she counsels a man on death row and considers the morality of the punishment he is set to suffer. Sarandon won the Oscar for best actress, and Robbins was nominated for best director.

1. The Wire - considered by many to be the best criminal justice television series ever produced. With crackling dialogue and captivating characters, this series takes on issues not normally confronted by prime-time television drama, and changes the paradigm of good guys and bad guys. Completed its fifth and final season in 2008. An entertaining TV drama with a critical and curious eye on our criminal justice system.
2. After Innocence - profiles the lives of eight wrongfully convicted inmates after they served decades for crimes they didn't commit. A shocking and inspiring introduction to the movement to overturn wrongful convictions, and to the difficulties of adjusting to life outside of prison after decades behind bars.
3. Capturing the Friedmans - A documentary portrait of a family in turmoil as the father and two brothers are charged with committing a series of sexual assaults on dozens of local children. With hours of revealing and tender home video footage, this Oscar-nominated documentary explores the charges and convictions and questions whether crimes were actually committed.
4. Frontline - "Juvenile Justice" - This PBS documentary considers the question of whether teenagers charged with committing violent crimes should be tried and sentenced as adults.  Presents profiles of several young people caught in the criminal justice system  - some hopeful for change and others resigned to a life behind bars. The Frontline website features interviews with convicted juveniles, judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers and family members.
5. Shawshank Redemption - A beloved 1990s film based on a Stephen King story, about a wrongfully convicted inmate, a friendship he strikes up in prison, and lengths he will go to for his freedom. An entertaining and moving portrait of life in prison and a friendship that endured the trials of incarceration.
6. The Trials of Darryl Hunt - Profiles North Carolinian Darryl Hunt as he spends nearly 20 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. Filmmakers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg followed Hunt's  tenacious fight for justice for more than a decade, as he learns that DNA testing has proved his innocence but he still won't be freed. Footage and interviews make Hunt's long, slow road excruciatingly real for the viewer.
7. Frontline - "Burden of Innocence" - PBS documentary profiles several wrongful convictions and explores the systemic flaws that sent innocent people to prison. A landmark film in the movement to overturn wrongful convictions, chronicling the emotional stories of six exonerees. The full film is available online here.
8. American Drug War - A new documentary from director Kevin Booth taking a critical eye to America's War on Drugs. Features interviews with diverse voices including Ralph Nader, Ron Paul and notorious Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. A good introduction to the last three decades of "lock ‘em up" policies and the movement to reform American drug laws.