A Late Endorsement for Festival Doc CRIME AFTER CRIME - In Theaters Now

When California passed legislation almost a decade ago to recognize the plight of battered women convicted of violent crimes against their attackers, a whole slew of cases were expected to flood the courts promising freedom for unjustly imprisoned victims. The reality has been something considerably less overwhelming. One such miscarriage of justice was carried out against Deborah Peagler, a woman pressured into pleading guilty to murdering her abusive pimp/boyfriend by an overzealous LA District Attorney's office threatening the death penalty. Over 20 years after her imprisonment, a team of pro-bono attorneys took on Peagler's case. What follows is an incredible seven year odyssey and the subject of Yoav Potash's engaging and heart-wrenching documentary.

Finding an excellent balance between emotion and education, Potash shows a remarkable amount of restraint by waiting until the story has run its course before releasing his doc. The media's interest in the case forms an important subplot in the film and one can only imagine Potash's desire to play a role in that influence himself. While there are certainly times you want to get out your phone and call your legislators, by letting the full plot play out, Potash allows the audience to leave the theater with sense of calm -- before then picking up that phone to try to make a difference.

Crime After Crime made its premiere at this year's Sundance festival before winning awards at multiple fests including San Francisco and Washington DC. It is well worth checking out for anyone interested in issues of domestic justice or fans of well crafted documentaries. The film is currently playing in New York and LA and opens this weekend in DC. See the official site for a full schedule of where the film rolls out to next.