Film Screening 5:30 P.M Friday, November 20, McLane 121

Witch Hunt (2009). Producer Sean Penn presents a gripping indictment of the United States justice system. It's the story of middle class, hard working families in Bakersfield, California, who were arrested and tried for an unspeakable crime they did not commit. Many of them would spend the better part of twenty years behind bars, trying to clear their names. The film chronicles a miscarriage of justice which destroyed innocent lives and tore families apart. It illustrates a universal point; when power is allowed to exist without oversight from the press, the community or law enforcement, the rights of everyday citizens can be lost for decades. National film critic Marshall Fine says, "This is a chilling story about American law-enforcement run amok and untethered. It's particularly timely in the wake of revelations about the way the Bush administration has trampled American civil rights. A movie that can't help but move you - to tears and to action." 91 min.

 

Discussants: Dana Nachman (filmmaker), Jorge Gonzalez (Innocence Project lawyer),

Jack & Jackie Cummings & Brenda & Scott Kniffen (families featured in the film that went to prison & were exonerated)

 

http://witchhuntmovie.com/