The Innocent Man [netflix][book]

Boom_Bap · 18-12-2018 2:25pm #1

The Innocent Man was added to Netflix recently and I've started watching it.

It's about 1 murder and 1 suspected murder a few years apart in a small town called Ada.
John Grisham also wrote his only non fiction book about this and he features in the docu-series.

The show gets a little confusing, as there are lots of names of suspects lashed at you quickly and for 2 different cases, so I found myself confused about which case was which, if they were the same case, etc.
But it does sort itself out by adding in timelines.

The first murder looks brutal, lots of writing at the scene along with the murder weapons and an object removed from the deceased.

The second, which is a disappearance as there is no murder scene found, manages to score a conviction for murder.

There are plenty of interviews throughout, one is the mother of the first victim and the roller-coaster she went through was unbelievable.

The focus of the story, like other netflix docuseries, becomes the police department and the DA....the same detectives and DA where involved in both cases.
I'm not sure how this finishes yet, but will keep this updated. So far, it's well worth a watch if there is a Making A Murderer void in your life at the moment.

Mam of 4 · 18-12-2018 6:36pm

I watched this over the weekend , can't spoiler on phone so will refrain from saying anything until others have finished watching it

Boom_Bap · 20-12-2018 11:17am

Finished it last night.
It's a very interesting case(s). It's amazing how many of the poor people they interview say how the poor people are easy pickings for law enforcement.

It's amazing that in a case like that, less than a quarter of the evidence is turned over! I can't get over that....and when they start unraveling the DA's track record, and the other cases overturned by DNA analysis in Ada alone!
For a small place, that's a bunch of people wrongfully imprisoned on DNA analysis.
Some might think that it's like it's the go-to smoking gun for the DA in cases with poor people on trial

Mam of 4 · 20-12-2018 7:56pm

Boom_Bap wrote: »

Finished it last night.
It's a very interesting case(s). It's amazing how many of the poor people they interview say how the poor people are easy pickings for law enforcement.

It's amazing that in a case like that, less than a quarter of the evidence is turned over! I can't get over that....and when they start unraveling the DA's track record, and the other cases overturned by DNA analysis in Ada alone!
For a small place, that's a bunch of people wrongfully imprisoned on DNA analysis.
Some might think that it's like it's the go-to smoking gun for the DA in cases with poor people on trial

Absolutely agree with you B B .
How was so much evidence held back ? It's very strange how after the trials and when the cases are been investigated or looked into again , that all this is uncovered . And the video clips of the interviews , where the suspects have denied committing the murders .
Unbelievable tbh . Such a small place , so many wrongly convicted .

Are there many honest police forces at all ?
A lot just seem to want the case wrapped up , rightly or wrongly . Destroying people's lives in the process .

The amount of innocent people wrongly convicted beggars belief imo , very sad .

Toots · 22-12-2018 12:05am

I just finished watching that series. It was utterly bizarre, but also really scary to think how many people have been wrongfully convicted and spend their lives behind bars when they're innocent.

I just felt so sorry for Debbie Carter's mother, she seemed like such a strong person, but yet so utterly broken by what happened. The part where she said she still wipes her daughter's face clean just really got me.

I wonder how the appeal will play out for the guy still in jail - Tommy?

sReq | uTeK · 27-12-2018 12:11am

Shocking viewing. The amount of people wrongfully convicted in such a small town.
Furthermore it's not even the withholding that is bizarre it's the complete doctoring of evidence that's worse.

For instance eye witnesses saying it was glen gore having an argument with Debbie in the parking lot changed to arguing with someone.

Glen gore ultimately being the person that murdered her.

Ron was.obviously a very troubled man. Also Karl and Tommys backgrounds.....No priors and then there is Charlie Daniels.and the other guy..

Hard viewing. Never get arrested in Ada

GalwayGrrrrrl · 30-12-2018 11:25pm

I didn’t enjoy this series as much as Making a murderer - it seemed similar in content (sadly, for the people involved). The music and style of the documentary were very similar too. Shame as its an interesting story and the info within it could lead to freedom for some of the prisoners. Having the two cases intertwined was confusing at times too. Hope they don’t drag another series out of it.

Kingp35 · 18-01-2019 10:53am

I enjoyed this to a point. he cases were very interesting and clearly there are seriously dodgy goings on in Ada. I felt that the documentary was not detailed enough for me though. They needed to delve a bit more into the evidence in the cases. Also they showed that the lawyer was making a post conviction appeal but didn't tell us what was in it.

I enjoyed it but it really lacked the detail of the likes of Making a Murderer and The Staircase.

demanufactured · 27-01-2019 4:06am

Whatever you do, don't live in small-town America.

The Innocent Man [netflix][book]

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