Showtimes & Tickets Enter Zip Code:

DEADLINE
Directed by: Katy Chevigny & Kirsten Johnson.
Produced by: Dallas Brennan & Katy Chevigny.
Director of Photography: Kirsten Johnson.
Edited by: Kate Hirson & Carol Dysinger.
Music by: Dan Marocco, Peter Nashel & Steve Earle.
Released by: Home Vision DVD.
Country of Origin: USA. 90 min. Not Rated.

In 2002, Illinois Governor George Ryan suspended the pending 167 death sentences in his state. Against this development, the filmmakers construct a portrait of capital punishment's history in the United States, from the Supreme Court ruling in Furman v. Georgia that abolished it, to the subsequent rulings that let states reinstate it under new guidelines. They give a sense of the chaotic state of death penalty cases in Illinois. Ryan's career path is also telling - a conservative Republican who always voted in favor of capital punishment, yet now wants it reformed.

And then there are the special hearings where those sentenced to death are given half an hour to ask for clemency. There are powerful images of people pleading for their lives. One particular case is that of a man who only speaks Spanish, who says he was tortured and never knew he had signed a confession. The defense lawyer says the agent interrogating and torturing him was also the translator, the only one who knew what the man was saying and the only one the man could understand. Even the confession papers were in English.

Throughout the film, we hear the pardoned inmates, their families, anti-capital punishment advocacy groups, those who believe death sentences are another form of discrimination, and others who are pro-capital punishment but also for reform. But where is the other side? The prosecutors and the capital punishment advocates are shadowy, appearing briefly. The families of the victims are not interviewed or given special consideration. Nor does the film talk about the victims themselves, even though it acknowledges many of those sentenced to death are guilty.

The documentary is emotional but not melodramatic, making good use of archival and original material, while the background information is clear and helpful. Though engaging, it also inevitably advocates for a cause - abolition of capital punishment - so if one wants to hear a fuller debate, one has to look elsewhere.

Roxana M. Ramirez, Peruvian laywer and journalist, formerly a member of the Peruvian Human Rights and Public Service Ombudsman
October 1, 2004