Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

In Arkansas in 1993 three eight year old boys were killed and three teenagers were arrested. The case rested largely on this: the young men wore black, listened to metal, and were considered strange in the town. One was sentenced to death and two to life. This is the third and last film of the documentary series; the first two covered the trial and the early appeals. This one gives the results of DNA testing, new witness statements and the irregularities that emerged about the jury. Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky direct. The films themselves became part of the case. After the first two were released a support movement formed worldwide; legal costs were raised and the file was reopened. In 2011 the three were released under an agreement with the court. Its terms were strange: they pleaded guilty while at the same time being able to maintain their innocence, and the state did not vacate the convictions. The documentary records that agreement and what followed. It was nominated for the Academy Award for documentary feature. Because it brings new information it can be followed by someone who has not seen the earlier films, though the context is thin. Who it is for: viewers who follow documentaries about miscarriages of justice and long term investigations. Who it is not for: the subject is heavy, the crime scene material is distressing, and the case is still not formally resolved.