On Death Row: Conversation with Linda Carty (2012)
*** (out of 4)
The second episode in Werner Herzog's group of interviews with people on death row isn't quite as good as the first episode and it's really far off from the film INTO THE ABYSS. This documentary takes a look at Linda Carty, a woman who is on death row but claims that she's innocent. Carty was convicted of murdering a woman so that she could steal her 2-day-old baby. Herzog makes his point very early that he isn't a fan of the death penalty but I must admit that he never gives us a reason to agree with him. The brutality and senselessness of the crime on display here is going to make most people say Carty should die so trying to defend her as being a human really doesn't work when one considers the crime she did. I think the weakness in this film compared to the first entry is the fact that there's really no good argument made on Carty's behalf. She claims she's innocent but then again so do countless other criminals and there's really no evidence shows that will make us believe her. There's also an interview with the man who helped commit the crime and Herzog also discusses the crime with the D.A.. While this doesn't live up to the director's best works, it's still entertaining just to hear the story and see what questions Herzog asks.