Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I have watched many jail shows and documentaries and I am walking away from this thinking this might actually be the best.It shows various viewpoints of people who when they were young committed a murder. Some seem to feel a lot of guilt, some don't seem to. It shows the way they think about it, what they tried to do, how they tried to get away with it.It raises questions about whether or not young people really understand consequences to their actions and if life without parole is actually right for them.It also might just make people upset and mad. It depends what you take away from this. But to me it is an interesting psychological study.

This film focuses on youth offenders, who were given life sentences for the crimes they committed. The question is, should a persons entire life be determined by one act they committed as a teenager? Several of these people are interviewed and the overwhelming opinion is that most of them don't deserve to remain where they are, despite what they've done. In fact a new law is going to allow for lifers, convicted as teenagers, to have their case re-examined after a specific amount of time, based on the nature of the crime. Given the people interviewed in this film, it's easy to say they deserve a second chance. Who doesn't feel for a kid, who was with a crazy friend at the wrong time, and convicted of felony murder, just for being there? Who doesn't feel that a fifteen year old, who killed his sexual abusive parents, twenty years ago, shouldn't be released? It's easy to feel this way when presented with these types of offenders, but what about the people they didn't interview? The kids who brutally kill, just to see what it feels like or the kid who goes into school and shoots a dozen people because he's been bullied, do they deserve a second chance at freedom? I don't argue with the fact that a persons development isn't fully complete by the time they are a teenagers. I also don't argue that this lack of maturity leads to their stupid decisions. In some rare cases, these cases should be re-examined. However, when someone is so broken, that they kill for fun and without remorse, even at a young age, they are broken, and until we knows for certain how to fix them, they belong behind bars. What does everyone else think?

The documentary was pretty standard. If you have common sense and watch the killers in each story, it's fairly obvious who was the "brains" or psychopath, and who actually has remorse. I know remorse doesn't matter to all, but it does to me. I'll let you draw your own conclusions, but it's there, and it's blatant. In one story (if you bother to look) one of the killers committed suicide in prison, while the other (the one who actually caused the deaths and is in the documentary) blatantly said he felt no remorse. Honestly, t can't feel much sympathy for many people who decide to take another life, regardless of age. There are a couple in this film, though, that I believe deserve a second chance...they also happen to be the ones not pandering for it.

I'm really not sure how to review this one.It's hard- I'm not sure what the intent of the movie was. It certainly gave some insight into the history of many notable cases and gave some somewhat chilling insight into those locked up for their wrong doings. Did it make me think that mandatory life sentences should be scrapped?No! If anything, it makes me glad it's in place.This was hard to watch in that some of the detail was graphic- and I'm sure there's always two sides to every story, but in this instance they've been found guilty of their crimes. It's also hard to watch one inmate in particular as he sits there with his parents and they talk about how he is innocent and was led astray by the other offender. Really? The video that they both made pre and post the murder seemed pretty clear cut to me!It's definitely a thought provoking documentary. But is chilling at the same time. I wonder what the victims family think of it?