As the Internet collectively tries to solve the mystery of whether Steven and his nephew Brendan committed the crime they were convicted of — or, as the documentary implies, they were framed by the police — our sleuthing might get a boost by watching other documentaries that questioned the workings of the justice system, as well as the convictions that followed.
If you're looking for a typical whodunit, forget it: These films are bound to keep you up at night, trawling chatrooms for clues and answers. Making A Murderer capitalized on our culture's growing interest in true crime documentaries with a twist, a la Serial and The Jinx — here, it's up to you to decide whether or a miscarriage of justice occurred.
Paradise Lost (1996)
Three little boys are found naked, murdered and apparently sexually mutilated in a ditch in Arkansas. Three teenagers, dubbed the "West Memphis Three," are accused of the crime, arrested, and convictedParadise Lost documents the mass outrage that followed this horrific crime, stemming from accusations of a Satanic motivation in the killings as well as the nature of the murders themselves.
Much like Making a Murderer, Paradise Lost also centers on suspects who come from a rough economic background — and, in the case of at least one of the suspects, who lack the mental ability to fully understand the workings of the criminal justice system. Like Brendan Dassey, Steven Avery's nephew, one of them confesses to the crime. But does this mean the boys are guilty, or is the truth stranger than fiction?
West of Memphis (2012)
Studying the same case from the Paradise Lost trilogy, West of Memphis re-visits the trial and conviction of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley — bringing to light failures of the justice system that tried them in an atmosphere of hysteria.The Thin Blue Line (1988)
An officer is shot and killed in an apparently random act of violence. Drifter Randall Dale Adams is arrested and charged, primarily on evidence from a teenaged accomplice, David Ray Harris. Adams met Harris when he ran out of fuel on his way home from work — a chance encounter that would irreparably change the course of his life.The Thin Blue Line re-examines the evidence of the trial and interviews both Adams and Harris, attempting to piece together what actually happened on that fateful night. The truth, of course, is more complicated than it seems.
The Central Park Five (2012)
In 1989, Trisha Meili was viciously attacked and raped as she jogged through Central Park. Five boys aged between fifteen and sixteen were arrested and convicted of the vicious crime. Set against a backdrop of '80s New York's civil unrest and uneasy race relations, this is one of the era's most infamous cases. Again, the circumstances of the original confessions are central to this re-examination of the crime, trial and conviction.(Interesting side note: Donald Trump took out a full-page spread in the New York Times calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty following the original conviction.)
Giving Up Tomorrow (2011)
Set in the Philippines, Giving Up Tomorrow follows Paco Larrañaga's fight for freedom after he is sentenced to death for the rape and murder of two missing women. Larrañaga is currently still in prison, having just celebrated his 18th birthday behind bars. But is he guilty of the crime?Giving Up Tomorrow is a scathing look at the Filipino justice system — and sets out to make the case for Larrañaga's release.
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