This short New York Times review flags a new documentary premeiring on Max tonight that seem worth checking out. Here is the start of the NYT review:
Peering into the heart of the beast we call the justice system, the directors Ricki Stern and Jesse Sweet zero in on parole, a part of the process that usually unfolds behind closed doors. “Nature of the Crime” offers rare glimpses of the make-or-break interviews that, in more cases than not, deny petitioners their longed-for second chance. As it traces, over a four-year period, the cycles of hope and despair for two incarcerated men — both in New York prisons for crimes committed in the state — this quiet and affecting documentary is at once an argument for reform and a soul-searching question: Should the guiding principle of criminal justice be retribution or rehabilitation?
The men at the center of the film have been behind bars for more than 30 years. Todd Scott was 19 when he was charged, alongside three others, with the killing of a rookie police officer in Queens. Chad Campbell was charged at 14 with committing a horrific double murder in his upstate hometown. Speaking to the filmmakers, and in conversations with their devoted pro bono attorneys, they are thoughtful and sincere. When they also recall the abuse they suffered as children, they provide context, not excuses.