Best Death Penalty Movie? You Decide

paradise lost 3It’s Oscar season.  And that’s great, because I like movies.  I’m not a buff or anything, which is why I wrote “movies” and not “film” or “cinema”.  But I enjoy a good flick.  As someone who campaigns for death penalty abolition, I’m especially interested this year because there is a death penalty film, Paradise Lost 3, nominated for Best Documentary.

Movies can be a powerful tool for raising awareness about an issue, or even inspiring people to take action.  In our death penalty abolition work, we have tried to promote movies we think will do that.

But what do we know?

That’s where you come in.  Please go to our Abolish the Death Penalty Facebook page and give us your pick for the best death penalty movie of all time (definition: a movie about capital punishment, or featuring it in some significant way).  Some of our favorites include The Green Mile, Dead Man WalkingIn Cold BloodThe Exonerated, and of course the 1957 classic 12 Angry Men.

Unlike the Oscars, we won’t arbitrarily segregate documentaries and works of fiction.  And we don’t care about released in theaters versus made for TV.  Just tell us whatever you think is the best.

AIUSA welcomes a lively and courteous discussion that follow our Community Guidelines. Comments are not pre-screened before they post but AIUSA reserves the right to remove any comments violating our guidelines.

44 thoughts on “Best Death Penalty Movie? You Decide

  1. Green Mile. Followed a very close second by Pierrepoint.

    And then Scorcesse's Last Temptation of Christ (admittedly, it's not really a film about the death penalty per se, but it does end with the execution of the main character by the state on the basis of a trumped-up charge, so it is pretty much the driving force of the plot, in one sense), 12 Angry Men and The Thin Blue Line. Also, Spartacus deserves an honourable mention.

  2. Green Mile. Followed a very close second by Pierrepoint.

    And then Scorcesse’s Last Temptation of Christ (admittedly, it’s not really a film about the death penalty per se, but it does end with the execution of the main character by the state on the basis of a trumped-up charge, so it is pretty much the driving force of the plot, in one sense), 12 Angry Men and The Thin Blue Line. Also, Spartacus deserves an honourable mention.

  3. I like "Dead Man Walking", but I also like "Jesus Christ Superstar", especially when Act II comes around and directly involves the Passion and execution of our Lord Jesus Christ.

  4. Monster's Ball. Halle Berry won an Oscar for her performance. It shows the devastating effect working in a culture of death has on all participants.

  5. I like “Dead Man Walking”, but I also like “Jesus Christ Superstar”, especially when Act II comes around and directly involves the Passion and execution of our Lord Jesus Christ.

  6. Monster’s Ball. Halle Berry won an Oscar for her performance. It shows the devastating effect working in a culture of death has on all participants.

  7. french movie “deux hommes dans la ville(1973. two men in town)”
    Alan Delong, Jean Gabin

  8. "Not on your Life" (1963). A Spanish black comedy film, directed by Luis García Berlanga. Its original Spanish title is "El Verdugo", which means "The Executioner".
    A masterpiece, no doubt about it.

  9. “Not on your Life” (1963). A Spanish black comedy film, directed by Luis García Berlanga. Its original Spanish title is “El Verdugo”, which means “The Executioner”.
    A masterpiece, no doubt about it.

  10. As a young child, I watched "Twelve Angry Men", "I Want to Live" and To Kill a Mockingbird", The films left a lasting impression on me. Today, documentaries and non- fictional movies.

  11. As a young child, I watched “Twelve Angry Men”, “I Want to Live” and To Kill a Mockingbird”, The films left a lasting impression on me. Today, documentaries and non- fictional movies.

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