Life Changing

Documentaries can be powerful. Sometimes the phrase "life-changing" is used to describe the power of a documentary that packs a punch that lasts just a little longer than a large tub of theater popcorn. But for the West Memphis Three "life-changing" may be precisely the words best used to describe an HBO documentary series by directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. This week's release of the West Memphis Three from prison--and in one case from death-row--is being hailed as a triumph for justice and credit is being given to the HBO documentaries for shedding light on the case. In addition to the documentaries, attention from Hollywood celebrities and rock stars such as Johnny Depp, Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder and Dixie Chick Natalie Maines is also being credited for the sustained media attention that has kept the story front and center.

I have no idea if the West Memphis Three are guilty as charged. Teenagers at the time, Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley were convicted and sentenced to prison for the horrific murders of three Boy Scouts in 1993. But shortly thereafter the 1996 Emmy-winning documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills brought new attention to the trial and questioned the legitimacy of the prosecution's case.  In 2000 the directors followed with Paradise Lost 2: Revelations. The third installment, Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, will be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival and air on HBO. The final film in the series is being edited and the new ending will reflect the release of the three.

This is not the first time that a documentary has led to a judicial reversal. The Thin Blue Line, a 1988 "non-fiction" film by Errol Morris, had a similar effect on the life of Randall Adams. Adam has been convicted and sentenced to die for the murder of a Dallas police officer in  1976. One year after the film's release the conviction was overturned and Adams was released.

Life-changing documentary stories are not always this dramatic. Some documentaries change many lives in very small ways, but the cumulative effect may be even more impressive though not as visible. But in the end every documentary should act as a change agent on some level. Anything less would be a waste of precious time and resources.