Customer Reviews

Murder on Sunday Morning [VHS]

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I live in Illinois, a state that a couple of years back put a moratorium on capital punishment because too many people on death row were found to be not guilty thanks to DNA evidence or whose trials proved to have had very many serious flaws. You would not
believe - or, if this movie appeals to you, you probably would believe - how vitriolic the letters to the editor got in my very conservative hometown paper. The bottom line was virtually always " he was proven guilty in a court of law" blah blah blah. Nothing was said about actual guilt or innocence. Nothing was said about the very real fact that out of all the people involved in capturing, investigating, defending, prosecuting, and judging a person's crime there might be a mistake or two, a deliberate lie or two, a bad apple or two, someone with their own particular agenda
that could be detrimental to discovering the truth. No. A horrendous crime has taken place. Someone has to pay. If that someone happens to be guilty so much the better but it is not an absolute requirement. We all need closure. We all need revenge.

There are so many things that jurors should be made aware of ahead of time before judging a case. From this documentary it would be 1) not all police are honest; 2) some police are ruthless; 3) not all signed confessions are the truth (forced extractions are just one of several reasons why); 4) not all murder investigations are thorough; 5) and eye-witness accounts and identifications are not always accurate.

At the end of the trial when the lawyer for the prosecution was summing up, she said (and I paraphrase) "We have an eye-witness that says this young man did it. That is the only proof you need of his guilt." That woman was lying and she should have been called on the carpet right then and there for it. First of all the witness could have been lying (but I don't think he was, in this particular case) and second he could have been wrong. Time and time again eye witness testimony has been proven to be wrong even though the witness is not actively lying. I have to believe every officer of the law and every officer of the court knows this. Why was she allowed to say that and get by with it? In this case, it is a comfort to know that she didn't get by with it.

Thank God for this particular Public Defender and his crew who not only believed their client was innocent, but were intelligent and savvy enough to find the flaws in the State's case.

Thank God for the jury. Not all juries would have been so smart or unbiased.

Thank God for director de Lestrade and his crew for being at the right place at the right time. We as a nation need to be made aware of the underbelly of law enforcement. Night after night on channel after tv channel we are told about all the criminals out there and their dastardly crimes. We are all becoming paranoid which could make us even more eager to put away every unsavory and unsavory-looking person out there.

Thank God for the defendants' family who were whole (in so many
ways) and who stood by him every step of the way.

We need to be careful, vigilant, and demanding of excellence in all things that we do, not the least of which is in seeing that justice is done. In the Old Testament of the Bible , the single most prevalent concept is Justice. We need to remember that punishment is not any part of Justice, if there is no Truth.

I was a little put off when i first started watching this documentary by the seeming low-budget quality. It was filmed for HBO and looks like it was shot on video. The movie is basically a document of a court case and takes you slowly through the process: the evidence, the crime, the witness, the accused, etc. It doesn't stray too far away from the courtroom.

However, what you witness - a young black man being tried for a crime he may not have committed (the murder of a white woman) unearths some institutional racism of the highest order. The astonishing thing is how clear the film makes it. The fact that all of this happened just a few years ago (and not in the 1950s somehwere in the deep south)is very, very troubling.

I cannot, in fact, think of another movie about botched police work that is quite so frightening. If you watch this movie all the way through till the end, I promise you, the last five minutes will make your jaw drop to the floor.

Very heartbreaking.

An excellent, illuminating film.

For the bulk of the movie, you see the flaws in our judicial system. The cops. the pressures. But, the verdict demonstrates that there is justice . . . sometimes. The heros are the two public defenders. Smart, tough and ready to rumble . . . they never flinch or take the easy way out, but fight for the obvious truth in this case. It exposes the flaws in eye-witness testimony. Under the stress of having a gun thrust in your face, of your wife being killed, is such observation reliable? Finally, the detectives come off as low-life scum . . . giving a bad name to all honest cops. I doubt that a million dollar dream team of lawyers could have done a better job than the two public defenders. How can we have a death penalty? Dirty cops, eye-witness testimony, a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time. Doesn't take much does it?

Murder on a Sunday Morning

Clearly, the best documentary movie I have ever seen. As a criminal defense attorney for over 33 years, this movie brings home the message about the damage done by cops who lie to hastily prosecute a controversial and publicity-driven case. The quick accusation of this young man was convenient, but very little true investigation went into the arrest and indictment. Corrupt police officers are far more damaging to the Constitution than any single criminal in America, regardless of his or her crimes.

William C. Head

Attorney at Law

Atlanta, GA

[...]

I bought this DVD based on the reviews on the pitch page. I had no expectations, and some concern that it might be a bit 'worthy', so the box sat on the shelf for a while. When I got round to viewing, however, I was blown away, like a feather out a magnum. This film will make you mad as hell ,and you should be. BUT it is also HUGELY inspirational - it seems that in a world where lies are common currency, truth can still break a buck, with a little help from decent people. It's a month after I viewed this DVD and it is still in my head. Despite the tragic subject matter, it's FANTASTICALLY gripping, edge of the seat stuff, and the final few minutes will, frankly, make your day. There are some heroes left in the world.

I am a Nineteen year old college student who was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. I was looking for a different documentary when i stumbled across this one, the title alone is what compelled me to click on the preview being as i am a criminal justice major. When i saw that this was in Jacksonville my jaw dropped to the floor literally. I was blown away i am not too much younger than the defendent and i dont remember this case specifically as i was only 10 when it was happening. I have experienced similar situations like this before where the cops are dirty but everyone takes their word because they are supposed to uphold the law. This was the best documentary ever i highly recomommend it to anyone.

Maybe it's because Florida is so protective of its tourists. Whatever the reason, this documentary shines a light on the reality of injustice in the justice system. Not so much a situation of mismanagement of police procedure, but of the mismanagement of the justice system throughout the country. In a society where we are so afraid of criminals we can accept situations of "the ends justify the means" we must accept the fact that the innocent do get put behind bars. This documentary is a eye opening look at the way we as American citizens decide the integrity of the American justice system. It is important for us to realize that the justice system operates under political ambitions and that only us, the jury, can ensure the courts keep their integrity.

This is truly a portrait of American justice at its worst......and best, as shown through the story of a young black kid; wrongly identified by an eyewitness standing less than a foot away from the crime; mistreated, abused and ultimately railroaded by the police; foolishly and ineptly prosecuted by the state; defended by two public defenders who are true American heroes and judged by a jury that thankfully saw through the scam.

It's also the story of a tragedy that visited a wonderful American family.

The icing on the cake for this story is the fact that the jury's decision ultimately proved to be correct, beyond any and all doubt, so there are not even any loose ends to this story; what you see is what you get.

It's one of the most compelling documentaries I have ever seen, not only for it's content, but also because it was perfectly filmed and edited too.

Personally, I was so moved by this drama that I did something I've never done before or since. I picked up my phone and called the Jacksonville Public Defender's and was fortunate enough to speak with Patrick McGuiness to thank him for what he and his colleague, Ann Finnell, did, not only for their client, Brenton Butler and his family, but really for what they did for American justice.

This Documentary was flawlessly done. The deleted scenes on the DVD are also a must see.

Absolutely riviting. Next time you think of bashing a lawyer, think about these two public defenders. Next time you profile some less fortunate human in your mind watch this movie. Nothing is as compelling as reality. This film is tightly edited and lets itself be carried by the strength of the actual participants. Documentary at it's very best along with much fascinating supplemental material.