Deadline (2004)

A documentary on Illinois Governor George Ryan, who, with 60 days left in office, makes a decision on the fate of death row prisoners.

Directors:

Katy Chevigny, Kirsten Johnson

Writer:

Charles Olivier

Stars:

Anthony Amsterdam, Jeanne Bishop, Stephen Bright

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Anthony Amsterdam	...	Himself - Defense Attorney, Furman v. Georgia
Jeanne Bishop	...	Herself - Opposes Death Penalty
Stephen Bright	...	Himself - Southern Center for Human Rights
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Donald Cabana	...	Himself - Former Warden, Parchman Prison
John Chancellor	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tom Cross	...	Himself - Illinois House Republican Leader
Robert Curley	...	Himself - Opposes Death Penalty
Renny Cushing	...	Himself - Executive Director, Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation
Gary Gauger	...	Himself - Exonerated Death Row Inmate
Cornelia Grumman	...	Herself - Chicago Tribune
Lawrence Hayes	...	Himself - Convicted of Murder, 1972
Bill Jenkins	...	Himself - Opposes Death Penalty
Grayland Johnson	...	Himself - Convicted of Murder, 1988
Elaine Jones	...	Herself - NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund

Storyline

A documentary on Illinois Governor George Ryan, who, with 60 days left in office, makes a decision on the fate of death row prisoners.

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Plot Keywords:

title co directed by female | one word title | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Big Mouth Productions

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Life After Death Row

Filming Locations:

Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arts Engine, Big Mouth Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Exceptional. Actually changed my opinion!

Very strong documentary about Illinois Governor George Ryan, who was faced with the decision of whether to commute all of the sentences of capital punishment in his state to sentences of life in prison. I'm a liberal Democrat who actually supported the death penalty, and Deadline is a rare film that challenged my views and made me rethink my opinion, and, in only 90 minutes, almost entirely changed my mind. Not that I haven't heard most of the arguments in the film before, but the film presented it in a way that made me consider the issue on a deeper level. It hasn't convinced me 100% that the death penalty should be abolished, but I do see how arbitrary the practice can be, and how poorly our system works at times. In that way, I am almost at the point where I think that the system perhaps should be abolished completely, because there is no way to perfect it. There will always be flaws. It's hardly a perfect film, and, at 90 minutes, it isn't nearly long enough to explore all the issues. But it is amazing how much it does in an hour and a half. One of the best movies of 2004 so far. 9/10.