Crime after crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Crime after crime - Essay Example 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 Fes tivals, 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 p unishments 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 â€Å"sex, race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, class, age and ability†