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- Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2012Errol Morris gives a riveting account of how investigators, prosecutors, judges and one journalist perverted the criminal justice system and railroaded Jeffrey MacDonald into prison without for one minute proving beyond a reasonable doubt that MacDonald murdered his family. Morris does not argue for MacDonald's innocence, but he proves beyond a reasonable doubt that MacDonald did not get a fair trial, and the appeals process has simply compounded the original sins. This case should be taught in criminology courses as an example of how not to conduct an investigation and prosecution. The blunders, incompetence, and willful misconduct on the prosecution side pile up one on top of the other: contamination of the crime scene, misuse of the physical evidence, the prosecution withholding evidence, willful blindness toward exculpating evidence, an openly biased judge, intimidation of a defense witness, and the stunning misuse of psychobabble.
It's no accident,in my mind, that one of the original prosecutors ended up in jail for gross professional misconduct not related to the MacDonald case.
I believe that MacDonald is innocent, but that is not the point. The point is that he never remotely received a fair trial. I hope his latest appeal succeeds, but I believe the President should grant him a pardon, now. (He was tried in federal court).
