The superintendent also gave a talk to the workers about “off colour remarks” which meant skin colour was an issue on Death Row. Therefore I think he was a victim of racism and received no justice because he was both black and poor.
This also makes me want to look at how the Mississippi legal system works. In my eyes it seems to be working against prisoners like Edward. Money and race should have nothing to do with the legal system and he received no justice. The documentary shows the legal system for what it really is.
This documentary could be said to be a biased version of the facts. After watching the film I can see how. The documentary showed many interviews including Johnson himself. We see him behind bars, where he explains what had happened eight years earlier. He was first dismissed as the man who had tried to rape an elderly woman, as he did not look like the man she saw that night.
A few days later the sheriff took Johnson for a lie detector test. According to Edward he was not taken for a lie detector test but instead to the local woods, where the sheriff and other officers threatened him and his family with violence. Under pressure, he was forced to confess to the shooting of the Marshal.
He then denied he had confessed but no one knew where he was – so he had no alibi and when they threatened to shoot him, he signed the confession. The elderly women then under duress (pressure) changed her story and identified Johnson as the man who had attacked her. Both the confession and the identification were enough to convict him even though there was no forensic evidence of his presence at the crime scene.
In every scene he speaks in a controlled and calm tone. I personally see him as a calm and collective young man.
Three days before his execution he says to the camera men, ‘I want, every man on this Death Row wants, this film made to show others what we have gone through. It’s dawning on me that that they want to kill me.’ Paul Hanmann said it was the first time Edward had expressed his feelings on his death. I have a lot of sympathy for him, as he truly believed the justice would prevail. He analyses his situation, and seems very sincere.
He comes across as a calm gentle man in later scenes. Many of the images shown make him look calm, kind and loving. We see him play chess with other inmates and basketball that show him to be fit as well as clever. With his family he sings and cries. This portrays a gentle and loving instead of the brutal convicted criminals many viewers would expect to see on death row.
His belief in God was extremely important. He was visited by a religious sister form the local church and frequently talked to the Chaplain. He believed that he had not committed a crime, and therefore God would take him to a safe place once he was dead. This again portrays a different image to the one you would expect from a convicted murderer.
Looking at Johnson's stay in the prison he seemed to be treated very well and was highly thought of by black and even white prison guards. We see interviews with his fellow inmates, who all talk about his innocence and describe him as intelligent and thoughtful. They come across as normal gentle people again different to what you would expect on death row.
The death row staff and the head chaplain said, on film, they believed Edward Johnson to be innocent. None of the interviews given claim Johnson was guilty except the superintendent, and was very nervous and unsure according to Paul Hanmann, a cameraman. All of this reinforces his image as an innocent man.
Being a “fly on the wall” documentary, we hear everything around at the time with no voice over. This gives the viewers the feel of the situation and puts them in the same position as Edward Earl Johnson. It is a creative way to make the viewers feel some sympathy for the prisoner as they get a slight idea of how he is must be feeling. It also has a positive affect on the viewer as it made it seem real and that it was not a planned speech or an act, and all the opinions given seemed like facts. Some real facts are those heard from the television and the radio in the background. The interview with the superintendent was short and noisy, which prevented a clear and persuasive interview, like Johnson’s. I did not hear some of the arguments given to why he thought Johnson was guilty. This is probably what the makers of this documentary had wanted.
The opening scenes show a large building in scorching heat with metal fences and barbed wire around the perimeter. Inside we see hundreds of doors separated by metal bars. We then see images of the prisoners all standing reaching out form their cells. We forget that the people in the cells are convicted criminals and automatically feel sorry for them.
We also see the gas chamber being prepared for a test later in the documentary, and it makes us feel for the prisoner. I have a lot of sympathy for Edward at this point as the scenes I have seen before make me believe he is innocent.
There are other scenes that persuade the audience against capital punishment such as the small cell that Johnson must spent the last few days of his short life in and the close up to his calendar with his execution date circled. All of this is deliberately shown to think it is a barbaric action.
Luckily, just two weeks before the execution date was set, the English lawyer Clive Stafford Smith who was horrified at how badly handled Edward’s case had been, took up the case in an attempt to free young Edward and represent him properly. In his interview he mentioned how extremely badly and incompetently the case had been represented. We see the last attempts by Clive, to get a stay of execution. It then becomes obvious that this is not going to happen - it has been reported that amongst Johnson's last words were "I guess the phone isn't going to ring". We also see the final visit from Earl Johnson's family and the love and support given to him by them.
The camera crew then stops filming, and the audience sees them hug and tears well up in their eyes. The camera catches the distress and we can see how close they got, became friends and how they thought he was innocent which influences us to feel the same. He spends his last hour with a religious sister and his lawyer – Clive.
The documentary then ends with the superintendent confirming the prisoner’s death. After a few answered questions Clive Stafford Smith, Johnson’s lawyer said to the press “It’s a sick world.” By this he was implying that capital punishment was wrong. He was trying to say that an innocent man had been put to death and that this could be happening not only in Mississippi, but the whole world. They are thought provoking words.
We finally see some information typed out on to the screen. It reads, a woman was found after the execution. This woman was with Edward the night of the murder. When she had gone to give Edward his alibi a white police officer had told her to go away and mind her own business. She was black. It is a final statement that shows racism was the main reason for this innocent man being sent to death row. This truly makes me believe that it is sick world.
Everything shown on the documentary was a biased version of the facts. Every interview, picture shown and voice heard was planned out to make the viewer think or feel a certain emotion. I thought that the content we viewed throughout this documentary was selective and didn't portray both sides of the story. Through out the documentary a picture is painted that Johnson was a hard done by innocent victim.
Some examples of this would be, the contrast of low sounds and echoes when Johnson is in his cell compared to the bright and chirpy atmosphere created when with his family. It shows that general sound or lighting can change the viewer’s interpretation of certain events.
Another example would be the structure of the documentary, which creates tension. A countdown of days to hours and then to minutes creates a haunting effect. It gives the audience the feeling of awaiting death that Johnson had for the last eight years on death row. It also is a creative way of constantly reminding viewers what will eventually happen to the young innocent man. They are both ways in which the audience is manipulated into feeling a certain emotion.
I think the alternative view of the same case would be the complete contrast. It would have interviews with victim’s family and the elderly woman instead of prisoners and some of the evidence against him. It wouldn’t be a ‘fly on the wall’ documentary and would have persuasive narration and background music, to make us think Edward was guilty. Edward would be shown to be rough, violent and angry to fit the stereotype of criminals on death row.
This documentary has defiantly reinforced my views on capital punishment. It was cleverly made with a lot of suspense. I have always thought that killing is wrong no matter what the circumstances even as a punishment. I cannot see how a society who frowns upon murder to murder as a punishment. I have always seen the death penalty as an easy way out, we do not know what happens after death and if death truly is the end, with no after life, then the criminal will never have to think about the crime they have committed and ever have really suffered. It has persuaded me to think twice about some of the criminals in prison and whether or not they are innocent. Cases like Edward’s make people more against capital punishment. An innocent man was killed while the criminal is still living. Capital punishment is killing to rid the world of our problems instead of sorting them out. The documentary shows capital punishment to be barbaric and endangers the innocent. Every one should remember that it is not man’s job to control man, when everyone realizes this maybe the world will be a better place.
