Deadline

What would you do if you discovered that 13 people slated for execution had been found innocent? That was exactly the question that Illinois Governor George Ryan faced in his final days in office. Deadline is a compelling look insider America’s prisons, highlighting one man's unlikely and historic actions against the system.

With astounding access to hearings, Death Row prisoners, exonerated men and Governor Ryan himself, Deadline, brings us directly into the emotional and legal storm surrounding Ryan’s impending decision. Viewers are pulled into the story as families exchange pleas for forgiveness or revenge; as an exonerated man in Florida tries to pull the pieces of his shattered life back together; and as a man reflects on his crime and the consequences. The filmmakers also shed light on the United States’ complicated relationship with the death penalty, using archival flashbacks to the landmark decisions and capital punishment policies implemented in the 1970’s that brought the U.S.—and Governor Ryan—to where they are today.

Reviews

"Deadline is...calm, factual and unsensational...It makes an irrefutable argument: Our criminal justice system is so flawed...that we cannot be sure of the guilt of many of those we put to death." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

"...Deadline, an excellent documentary...chronicling the astonishingly flawed criminal justice system in Illinois." - Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

"The film is an example of social activism at its best; it's not only enlightening, but it's an engrossing story that a smart television audience should embrace." - T.R. Jones, The Chicago Reader

"Potent docu...offering an inspiring portrait of one politico who actually seem guided foremost by conscience...package is crisply assembled. - Dennis Harvey, Variety

"It gives you a chance to ruminate on some crucial questions of human error, justice and life-and-death." - Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

Screenings

2004 Sundance Film Festival
2004 Silverdocs Film Festival
2004 Stockholm Film Festival
2004 Amnesty International USA Film Festival
2004 The Independent Film Festival of Boston
2004 The Gene Siskel Film Center
2004 The Newport International Film Festival