Procedure 769

Running time: N/A

Procedure 769 is a powerful film about the execution of Robert Alton Harris, in 1992, the first person to be executed in California in 25 years. Although this is the story of a specific prisoner it has much broader relevance to the general capital punishment issue. The dispassionate and even-handed approach to the material avoids the usual special pleading associated with such documentaries and therefore makes it more accessible for both supporters and opponents of capital punishment. By interviewing almost everybody associated with the execution including family members, the warden, reporters, and state officials it provides the closest approximation to being, as they were, a witness at the actual event. The stark plain-vanilla exposition is in the tradition of the most powerful and interesting factual exposition films. It is both a moving and enlightening experience. The director, Jaap van Hoewijk is a Dutch film maker who conceived the film and was curious about the approximately 50 witnesses to the execution and their individual reactions. The result is a powerful statement about perspectival truth. --Ed Soohoo