THE PENALTY
US, 2018, 90 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Will Francome, Mark Pizzey.
The directors of this film also wrote the screenplay and acted as cinematographers, following a number of stories for some years.
The Penalty is an American documentary focusing on three cases, examining the issues of the death penalty and some of its repercussions. It takes stances against the death penalty, considering the prevalence in the United States in the past and those states still retain the death penalty, with a particular focus on Ohio and Florida.
While the film is documentary, it tells three stories in quite a dramatic way, eliciting audience interest and sympathy.
The first case concerns the murder of a young woman during a hold-up in a store. The young man was apprehended and interrogated. Dramatically, his black, not well educated, with a low IQ. He is shown in various scenes, interrogated, in the court room.
However, the story is about the murdered girl’s mother, her grief, her having to come to terms with her daughter’s death and facing the killer. She also has another daughter and, at the time of the death, a 16-year-old son. The story takes place over several years, her having to testify at various times, the toll that takes on her, the upset to her children, the daughter having to cope, the boy growing up and taking a very hostile attitude towards the killer.
The situation would have been settled had the Florida attorney general agreed to a plea bargain, that the killer would admit to guilt and accept a life sentence. However, the attorney general was of his campaign for the death penalty and, for years, would not accept the plea of the deal. The film shows, in interviews, in her campaigning and becoming more vocal over the years, the mother’s acceptance of the plea and her hoping that that would be the end of court appearances and of the family could begin a new life.
The Atty Gen is interviewed, reaffirming her strong stances, criticising the mother as a publicity seeker and that there were many others in the same situation who did not make such a fuss. Then it was time for re-election and a more moderate and considered candidate nominated for the position and, with scenes from the campaign and various speeches, she won over the previous incumbent. She then allowed the plea, the court scene is shown and the matter is legally settled.
A second story concerns a young man condemned to death but held in prison for over 15 years, much of the time sitting his cell for 23 hours a day, seeing the sky only spasmodically, somehow rather surviving, even with his sanity.
He had been arrested, interrogated for a long time with great intensity, pressured by the police and eventually confessing to the killing. Eventually, DNA evidence proved that he was not guilty and he was released. There are pictures of him as a very young adult and the audience sees him emerging from prison at age 38.
The film follows his story, seeing him emerge from prison, reunited with his mother, finding a girlfriend by correspondence and eventually going to California to be with her. He is various jobs, is a truck driver. Although rather an educated, he is quite articulate and eventually goes on a tour, speaking to audiences around the country about his situation and issues of prison injustice.
The third story is set in Ohio, the state still retaining the death penalty. The focus is on a murderer who is to be executed but the state has difficulties in procuring drugs appropriate for lethal injection. The murder is execution is delayed but, eventually, he is subjected to the death penalty with an experimental mix of drugs, struggling to die for 23 minutes. While there is no sympathy for the criminal and his crime, his son another family appeal against the barbarity of his being used and is an experiment for testing drugs.
In the meantime, the film also focuses on the man responsibility for executions and injections. There is also a focus on a lawyer campaigning against Ohio’s legislation. The audience sees the executioner, his family, interviews with his wife, the pressure on being present for the executions and his hope that these will be lessened and that he will have a more normal life. There are various speeches of campaigns and discussions of the pros and cons of capital punishment.
While the film is only 90 minutes, it contains a great deal of information, inviting the audience to participate in stories and offers the stories as a basis for rational considerations of the death penalty.
