123. Web-series Reviews – 9

Some more documentary reviews….

Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez – As a gifted young football athlete from Bristol, Connecticut, Aaron Hernandez had capitalized rapidly on his promise, playing for a top tier college program before being drafted into the National Football League at the age of 20. But in 2013, fresh off of a newly inked five-year, $40 million contract with the New England Patriots, Hernandez would become a household name for the most infamous murder case involving an American athlete since OJ Simpson. Hernandez's trials for the brutal killing of Odin Lloyd and two Boston-area men yielded a Pandora's box of secrets: a tumultuous and often abusive upbringing, a growing fascination with gang life, and other discoveries that painted a maelstrom of motivations behind his violent behavior. A three-part documentary series featuring exclusive courtroom footage, Hernandez's phone calls from prison, and interviews with those who knew Hernandez and Lloyd, Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez meticulously examines the perfect storm of factors leading to the trial, conviction, and death of an athlete who seemingly had it all. Watched it at a stretch.

The Confession Tapes – A critical look into some true crime cases where American law enforcement made up for lack of actual physical evidence by using devious psychological tactics during interrogation in order to extract confessions from naive suspects.  I saw the Season 1 which had 6 stories in 7 episodes.  Each episode shows how the interrogators made the suspects confess even though there were glaring proofs that the suspect had not committed the crime.  In all the cases, the original perpetrator of the crime was left alone and the suspects had to spend their entire youth in jail, just because they had been forced to confess.  Almost all the episodes have recorded instances of the interrogations as it happened.  In all the cases you can see clearly as to when the suspect broke down and confessed to the guilt as they were told that they did not have any other option but to confess.  A series that really makes you wonder if justice is really that blind.  Watched the entire series at a stretch.

The Innocent Man – The Innocent Man is an American true crime documentary television series based on John Grisham's 2006 book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town. Like Grisham's nonfiction book, the series follows two murder cases in Ada, Oklahoma, between 1982 and 1984. The cases examine the potential false confessions of Ron Williamson, Dennis Fritz, Tommy Ward, and Karl Fontenot.  All of them spent their entire youth in jail for a crime that they did not commit.  I had read the book long back.  The series just made it more riveting.  I am not giving out any spoilers and you have to watch it to see what happens!  Saw this over a period of two days.  John Grisham is also one of the producers of this series and also appears in the series, almost in all the episodes.  During this year, the final chapter is to be decided.  I leave it to you to decide what this means, as more info would turn this into a spoiler😊!! 

Making a Murderer – Making a Murderer is an American true crime documentary web television series written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. 

The show tells the story of Steven Avery, a man from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who served 18 years in prison for the wrongful conviction of sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen. He was later charged in 2005, and convicted in 2007, for the murder of Teresa Halbach. The connected story is that of Brendan Dassey, accused and convicted as an accessory in the murder. 

The first season mainly chronicles the period between 1985 and 2007, portraying Avery's 1985 arrest and conviction, his subsequent exoneration and release in 2003, the civil lawsuit Avery filed against Manitowoc County, his 2005 arrest, and his ensuing trial and conviction in 2007. It also depicts the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, focusing on the accusations of coercion and attorney ineptitude. 

It was filmed over the course of 10 years, with the filmmakers moving back and forth from New York City to Wisconsin during filming.

Absolutely the best documentary series that I have watched so far.  I saw the first season consisting of 10 episodes of approximately 1 hour each.  The documentary shows that if you take on the system, the system will ensure that your entire life is spent behind the bars.  Just because the person is of dubious character, is never a reason to ensure that he is kept in the jail by any means. A definitive watch and hope that it does not happen to anybody.

Today’s Observation

A book becomes a classic when people who haven’t read it begin to say they have😊