Paradise Lost changed my life a little when I watched it in high school. What does it really mean, to be judged by our peers? And what if one’s life is on the line? How are we okay with our government ordering individuals’ deaths, often on impatient whims, often without evidence? After almost 18 years, the West Memphis 3 were released from prison in August of 2011, but are still not “free”. This documentary series is as much a semi-biography of Damian Echols, Jessie Miskelly and Jason Baldwin as it is a hard observation of our justice system.
Catch the premiere of Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011), dir. by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky tonight on HBO, and/or read Ebert’s advance review of it by clicking above.