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3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 What you don't know can hurt you! Aug 31, 2008
This is a gut-wrenching and thought provoking movie about the criminal justice system in the United States. The directors do an excellent job of demonstrating how emotional factors play into the prosecution of suspected murderers and how the more heinous the crime, the more likely an unjust verdict will be reached. Since it is the poor, the uneducated and the minorities who are the least protected in our society, they, of course, bear the brunt of the failure of our criminal justice system to protect the innocent. Deadline makes a very good point that as long as we focus on the outrage of the crime and ignore how capital murder cases are being prosecuted, we will be doomed to an unjust system.
I have just read two excellent compilations describing each and every case for those recently executed entitled, Death Penalty USA: 2003 - 2004 and Death Penalty USA: 2005 - 2006 by Michelangelo Delfino and Mary E. Day who also do an excellent job and I highly recommend these books if you really want to really know how the ultimate penalty is being imposed in the U.S.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Must see if you believe in justice Jan 08, 2006
I watched this video as I am an actor presently performing in "The Exonerated," an award-winning play on the same topic. Before learning more about the topic, I was very naive in understanding how arbitrarily the death penalty is imposed in our country. Everyone who believes in justice and humanity should see this video and then decide for yourself what a citizen should do about the situation. It reveals what is wrong with our system and gives the real stories of those who are at work in our society to improve the criminal justice system.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Eye-opening. Nov 29, 2005
The United States prides itself in democratic ideals, but at the same time, it is also very hypocritical because of the actions it undertakes and its treatment of minorities and its policies in foreign countries. This documentary exposes the corrupt and unjust law system within the state of Illinois. It shows how the history of the death penalty in that state has been carried out in an unlawful and inhumane manner. In the end though, all the prisoners held on death row in that state are taken off death row.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Great documentary Sep 17, 2005
Deadline is a great documentary about Gov Ryan's (R-IL) role when it took 160 inmates off death rows. The film goes into the death penalty's history and tries to show how it's flawed. Deadline will make you think about how reliable our justice system is.
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
An extremely well-crafted and thought provoking documentary Jan 29, 2005
Deadline is a remarkably good documentary. It is thought provoking and emotionally wrenching. Early on, I found myself drawn in, torn, going back and forth with each new argument for or against the death penalty. That's the mark of a well constructed doc. It shakes you up, makes you think, and ultimately re-examine what it is that you believe. As we age and change, we can outgrow some of our values without fully realizing it. Works like Deadline stimulate introspection and the clarification of one's deepest values by asking questions like, "What is the function of the State? The Courts? The Legal System as a whole? As a community, how do we define such things as mercy, compassion, forgiveness? What is Justice? And what is the value we give to human life?"
There seems to be a resurgence in documentaries in the last few years and Deadline shows just how powerful this genre of film making can be. Thanks for keeping the bar set so high. Enjoy.
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