to fight against the death penalty be a just cause . everyone who be sane in europe would think so . in the usa everything be different . the film seem to demonstrate in a first stage that justice can be win against the racist bigot death penalty crave american justice . a young man be free from death row thanks to a law professor who go back to defense counsel for this particular case . but the film have a sequel . justice in the usa be entirely govern by the aim of vengeance . miscarriage of justice be just the same govern by vengeance . one person in the local public attorney offfice have a young man prosecute on false charge . this public attorney officer drop the charge after a while and the young man walk out free . but he lose his college scholarship and he be castrate by some vengeful people for whom there be never any smoke without a fire . he hide his shame and swears to get his vengeance . but he also need to satisfy his sexual need which be more mental than hormonal for sure but even strong because mental and no long hormonal and he can only do that with little girl . he apparently team with another serial killer who be after the same kind of prey . one day the local cop follow their intuition and guide by some vague circumstantial element in the assassination of a young girl and and they arrest the young chap we be speak of . they beat him up and interrogate him for 22 hour with nothing but blow and blow and telephone book and gun and russian roulette . he confess . sent to death row and he ask his grandmother to go get the law professor in massachusetts who be the husband of the local public attorney representative that have him falsely prosecute some year ago and the vengeance be on the rail . it will fail but it show that as soon a one in the line of justice and police work and other security force step off the line of absolute legality and some unjust act be do that can ruin even the best accusation case and that can nourish the bad deepest imaginable thirst for vengeance . to charge someone on circumstantial element be just as bad a to let circumstantial element ruin the work of the police or of justice . the best intention on the police side be ruin by some personal involvement and vengeful intention and just as much a the life of a person can be jeopardize by circumstantial element inflate to the size of evidence and which in it turn will jeopardize the whole case by be just circumstantial and hence easily discardable and with a good lawyer . the film then be a deep reflection on the necessity to respect standard and regulation all along the police and justice line if we do not want to make a mistake and which in it turn of course do not justify the death penalty since anyway it go against the deep belief american be suppose to have represent we hold these truth to be self evident and that all men be create equal and that they be endow by their creator with certain unalienable right and that among these be life and liberty and and the pursuit of happiness . ( declaration of independence ) life be an unalienable right that be give to man by his creator and which mean no one but the one who give it can take it away . only god can take the life of a person away . the death penalty be the arrogant appropriation of a power that we do not have . even if we do not evoke god and we can not justify the death penalty except a an act of vengeance and and here the film show vengeance be the bad possible motivation in the rendition of justice and in the establishment of public peace . if vengeance be push aside there be no other justification for this death penalty . and there can always be a mistake in that pursuit not of happiness but of vengeance . dr jacques coulardeau and university paris 1 pantheon sorbonne and university paris 8 saint denis and university paris 12 créteil and cegid .