Hacker Cinema
Witch Hunt
2008 · Film · documentary · 91 min
Directed by Don Hardy Jr., Dana Nachman
Executive Producer Sean Penn presents "Witch Hunt," a gripping indictment of the American justice system told through the lens of one small town. Voters in Bakersfield, California elected a tough on crime district attorney into office for more than 25 years. During his tenure he convicted dozens of innocent working class moms and dads. They went to prison, some for decades, before being exonerated. He remains in office today. This story on a micro level mirrors what the US has experienced over the last eight years. When power is allowed to exist without oversight civil rights are in jeopardy.
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On a sadly similar note, there is a really well made documentary called Witch Hunt (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1196112/) in which during the 1970s in California, multiple children were coerced into accusing their parents of molestation.
And my guess is it happens way more often than you'd guess. I was quite shocked to watch a movie "Witch Hunt" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1196112/ -- multiple people were convicted and spend many years in jail (one guy 20 years) for child molestation charges which were completely bogus (they're all now acquitted). Now you have to ask yourself, for each case where an innocent person is finally freed after 15 or 20 years, how many more just never see that justice even after a long time. What's your best guess about the fraction of people in jail that are innocent? 1%? 10%? And now think that like 1% of the population is incarcerated. How likely does it make any of us to go to jail?