"The Execution of Wanda Jean" is a documentary from HBO films that tries to question the appropriateness of the execution of Wanda, an explosive woman who was described as being on the borderline between mental retardation (though through the course of the interviews, she did not appear to be obviously mentally retarded and a follow-up IQ test had a higher score--still well below normal). They began working on this film before her eventual execution and features not only interviews with her but her family, friends, folks from the criminal justice system and the victim's family.
As far as the murder goes, Wanda Jean's lover, Gloria, was trying to leave her and even went to the police for help. But Gloria gunned her down in the parking lot of the police station in a moment of rage.
While this is a reasonably well made film and makes a decent point about the appropriateness of the death penalty in this specific case, the film does have one HUGE problem...this was NOT a one-time incident. The fact that Wanda Jean had previously murdered another person when she got angry makes this a difficult case to get behind and champion. On the other hand, the recent Oscar-nominated short documentary, "Last Day of Freedom" makes a much better case, as the guy in question had never murdered anyone before and suffered not only from a cognitive impairment but PTSD and, perhaps, schizophrenia. This case was clear....by almost anyone's standards, he should not have been executed. As for Wanda Jean, she did not appear too slow to understand her actions and it makes the film a much more difficult appeal for the repeal of the death penalty. It's a muddier case...but one where I found myself feeling very, very little sympathy for Wanda Jean--especially with so much money and effort being spent on her defense. And, sadly, I think the filmmakers also seemed to feel very little for the many victims Wanda Jean created. An even stronger emphasis on the family and her dead lover would have served the film better.
Well made but a bit unsettling due to its choice of prisoners. I really doubt if this film will change many minds. Would justice have been better served if she had just spent the remainder of her life in prison, probably. But she was a very dangerous woman...and one who hurt so many people. And I also felt showing close-ups of her in the coffin at her funeral seemed a bit gratuitous.
After the movie was over, I was left with the thought that it's amazing that so many folks worked so hard to help Wanda Jean AFTER she was a lost cause (i.e., had two murders behind her). What if these folks had worked with Wanda Jean or people like her BEFORE they got to that point? To me, this all seems a bit misguided.
