Crime after Crime by Deborah Paeglar - Essay Example

?Crime After Crime Deborah Paeglar This paper reviews the film Crime After Crime which is at the same time a documentary, a drama and a movie in the category of special interest. It was released on 1st July, 2011. It was directed, produced and edited by Yoav Potash. The movie shows that the African – American woman, Deborah was not a criminal in the actual sense of the term. The film deals with Black feminist criminology, where domination is judged along with marginalization, racism and victimization- all from the point of view of criminology (Potter, 2006, pp. 106-109). She is just but an ordinary woman who got roped in by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was denied her right to a fair trial, and was put behind bars as a result of flaws within criminal justice system and prosecutions. The film deciphers an intersectional Deborah, with her multiple identities and their disadvantages (Intersectionality: A Tool for Gender and Economic Justice, 2004, pp. 1-2). When she was finally released after her case was reopened, she had already lost precious twenty years of her life, whereas had the legal system been just, she would have had to spend only six years in jail. The misunderstandings and misconceptions that clouded her case finally got public after the release of this documentary feature film. The film had not only invoked protests and discontent all across USA, but has also bagged a number of prestigious awards at Spokane, Milan and Berkshire International Film Festival, National Board of Review, Atlanta and Rochester Film Festivals, and Golden Gate Award. Deborah Paeglar, the protagonist of Yoav Potash’s Crime After Crime, was a regular normal teenager till she met Oliver Wilson. Teenager Debbie bumped into him and instantly got attracted. In spite of being a teenage mother already having a daughter, she entered into a relationship with Oliver and even bore a baby, a daughter again. However, soon things took a different turn. Peace, harmony and love soon ended in her new life with Oliver. She came to know that Oliver was a pimp. When she was asked for the same, she refused. In return she received severe beatings with a bullwhip at a tender age of 15. Year after year Oliver made her work as a prostitute. At the same time she was subjected to fierce domestic violence. Mentally and physically, she became a shattered person. Her tolerance and patience came to an end when Oliver molested her six- year old daughter. She tried to flee with her two daughters but she was unable to do so. She got beatings on a regular basis. Things got even worse when Oliver got involved into a firearm case and had to spend a night in jail. This made Deborah’s mother much worried for her daughter’s safety. She planned to seek help from some local gang members in order to teach Oliver a lesson. Her motif was to reconcile the differences between Deborah and Oliver. But in the brawl, the two gang members ended up murdering Oliver. Due to this Deborah found herself facing a row of criminal charges. In the meantime she had come across a life- insurance policy. This further worsened her strand. Series of trials and prosecutions went on and she was finally convicted in 1983. She fought her legal battle with the help of two pro- bono attorneys, Nadia Costa and Joshua Safran, and was finally set free. Deborah Peaglar, the African- American woman, had to face the pains rewarded by the toughest anticrime legislation, the Californian law. Women, like men, were treated harshly and were given equal punishments as men. They were tied in chains, put in boot camps and had to face all types of physical violence (Aday, 2003, pp. 125-127). They were given little chance to present petitions or appeal for defense. Thus fighting legal battles become more and more difficult for battered women like Deborah. Also, her not being ‘white’ further delayed the legal proceedings. Often the prisoners are identified on basis of their “sex, race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, class, age and ability”, thereby highlighting that America is still unsuccessful in eradicating racial biasness (Adams, Bell & Griffin, 1997, p 28). The documentary film produces an insight into the plight of battered women who are made to spend their life behind bars. According to prisoner- history of California, majority of these women have experienced mental and physical abuse for years in their personal lives (Cionca, Osthoff, & Spector, 1996, pp. 232-236). Continuous abuse and suffering have made them commit heinous crimes. It is not appropriate to decipher these women’s mental and emotional constitution by normal criminal psychology. This is what this documentary- feature film tries to convey. These women are not criminals at heart. Rather they are forced by their abusive partners or circumstances into crime. It is their act of desperation to save themselves and their other family members from violence and abuse. Thousands of female inmates like Deborah go though the hellish experience of criminal justice system of USA. It is a matter of concern that legal systems do not impart unbiased justice. Biasness often arises from the fact that prisoners are judged according to prior record. For instance, as in case of Deborah, she was charged with ‘strangulation by ligature’ for ‘Murder- 187 P.C. / Robbery- 211’. When a woman fails to perform her social duty, it is assumed that they must be subjected to male violence. Neither the Judicial District Court Division: 30, nor her attorneys tried to probe into her condition as a victim of domestic violence, a life she was leading at the hands of her abusive partner, Oliver Wilson (Belknap, 2007, pp. 240- 244). Merely freeing Deborah does not end the story. What this movie offers seriously is the test of validity and legitimacy of legal jurisdiction systems. Appeal processes within Federal Bureau of Prisons, The Federal Parole Commission, U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, and the one which she experienced at L.A. District Attorney’s Office clearly expose the flaws of legal system (Whitehead, Jones & Braswell, 2010, pp. 280- 281). It also puts a question in the minds of those rational citizens who have absolute trust in the legal systems of their country. The fact that Deborah had to face abuse, harassment, inequality and biasness is definitely a problem to be concerned about, but with equal seriousness the movie pops up the question - why will the legal system not have a solution to nip the problem in its bud? That is to say, it would have saved a lot of hassle if California had legal provisions to handle incidents of domestic violence. Also, regulation and penal codes must be made to deal with different degrees of domestic violence. In the film, one can also find declining health of Deborah. Inmates in prison should have better health facilities. Deborah was a woman with exceptional mental and moral strength to undergo an intrapersonal change. She had faith in god and so regularly attended the church choirs and also taught her fellow inmates. But everybody might not possess the same strength. Often prisoners experience cognitive dissonance due to isolation and depression. So state prisons’ administrations need to be more aware to ensure that the prisoners do not get into depression (Adam, 2000, p. 54). Above all, California’s legal system should take more active steps to investigate such cases related to battered women and domestic violence. The number of prisoners has almost doubled in last 25 years, and it is high time that the State revises its penal laws and discharges some of its prisoners who are not ‘so-guilty’ of murder and other crimes. Conclusion Crime After Crime is a superb work of creation and one of its kind. On the whole it unveils one of those hundreds of stories which are not allowed to come out of the prison walls. As media activities are strictly restricted, these stories go unheard. Of course the act passed by California in 2002, regarding presentation of petition by prisoners of domestic violence, carries some positive messages. It will help to reconsider cases of thousands of Deborahs who are waiting for justice for years. Deborah’s tale is not the confessions of a criminal, but something which any women can share being exposed to severe domestic violence. Though the film centers around one Deborah Peaglar, it voices the plight and cry of several other thousands who are still waiting for attention and justice. References Adam, M. (2000). Readings for diversity and social justice, UK: Routledge Adams, M., Bell, L. A., & Griffin, P. (1997). Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice: A Sourcebook. UK: Routledge Aday, Rr. H.,(2003). Aging Prisoners: Crisis in American Corrections. US: Greenwood Publishing Group. Belknap, J. (2007) The invisible woman: gender, crime, and justice. USA: Thomson/Wadsworth. Cionca, R., Osthoff, S. & Spector, J. (1996). When Battered Women are Charged with Crimes: A Resource Manual for Defense Attorneys and Expert Witnesses. Philadelphia: National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women. Intersectionality: A Tool for Gender and Economic Justice, (2004) Women’s Rights and Economic Change, retrieved on 25th April, 2013 from: Potash, Y. (2012), A Crime after Crime, retrieved on April 26, 2013 from: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/31532788/Crime%20After%20Crime.mp4 Potter, H. (2006) An Argument for Black Feminist Criminology: Understanding African American Women's Experiences With Intimate Partner Abuse Using an Integrated Approach. Feminist Criminology, retrieved on 25th April 2013, from http://fcx.sagepub.com/content/1/2/106 Whitehead, J. T., Jones, M. & Braswell, M.C. (2010). Exploring Corrections in America, Netherlands: Elsevier Read More