A Murder in the Park (Showtime Documentary)

self | 3/21/2016 | LS

[LS]

Showtime has been showing a 2014 documentary called "A Murder in the Park," directed by Christopher S. Rech and Brandon Kimber about a 1982 double murder by Anthony Porter that was taken up as a cause celebre by Northwestern University journalism professor David Protess and his students.

The film begins with great celebration by the prof and his team who, less than a day before Porter was scheduled to be executed, provide evidence that gets him off---and not just off, but the case is celebrated as an example of the injustice of the death penalty. Soon, Illinois completely abolishes the death penalty based on this case.

There is one little hitch: Porter was guity, and the process by which Protess and his underhanded private investigator and sloppy students use to get him off throw another innocent man in prison for the murder.

The filmmakers do not hold back in showing how incredibly one-sided Protess and his students were with their "investigation" (ignoring not one, not two, not three, but FOUR other witnesses) and how his detective, Paul Ciolini, used dirty and illegal tactics to force Alstory Simon into a "confession" that landed him in jail for a crime Porter committed.

[LS]

Highly recommended, along the lines of the "30 for 30" story "Fantasitc Lies" about the Duke Lacrosse Team.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Shoot. Not a Vince Foster documentary?

[Patriot Babe]

LOL You beat me to it LOL

[facedown]

bttt

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks LS.

[Rastus]

Sounds like the antithesis of Making a Murderer. I’m surprised Showtime would run it.

[Portcall24]

Ah yes, The Fort Marcy Vortex where blood runs up hill and bullet holes seal themselves to make it look like there was only one bullet hole when there were two.

[LS]

I was too. On top of the “30 for 30: Fantastic Lies-—the Duke Lacrosse Case” it’s amazing.

[pabianice]

"Northwestern let David Protess run amok. They supported him and the work of his students. They backed him until he was caught in a scandal involving another so-called wrongfully convicted man, Anthony McKinney. McKinney was convicted of a brutal murder. Protess and his team tried to get his conviction overturned. In the end Protess left Northwestern under a cloud. McKinney died in prison.

"Chicago's legal community does not want this stain on their reputation. Lawyers on both sides of this case were just as involved as David Protess in perverting justice.

"There is something more at stake. Innocence Projects and the law firm business model built around them. If Protess goes down it would deal a severe blow to this industry. Courts, prosecutors, or even law enforcement may start scrutinizing their methodology. Innocence Projects and the lawyers who feed off of them do not want and cannot afford that kind of scrutiny."

http://www.chicagonow.com/interesting-chicago/2014/11/anthony-porter-and-alstory-simon-do-not-believe-the-narrative/

[pabianice]

David Protess, Northwestern Professor, Removed From Investigative Journalism Class"

Protess is the prototypical Liberal.

[LS]

This movie was really disturbing. We all have it drummed into us about “wrongfully convicting” someone-—but this was a two-fer, letting the real murderer out and wrongfully convicting someone in his place.