True/False Crime

A MURDER IN THE PARK (B) - This crude but effective documentary unravels the fascinating tangled tale of a shooting in Chicago that became embroiled in controversy when the suspect on death row was exonerated, only to have a second man falsely accused of the same crime.

Created by Christopher Rech and Brandon Kimber (the men behind the TV series "Crime Stoppers Case Files"), "A Murder in the Park" is a sure-handed exploration into not only the world of cops and robbers and prosecutors, but also the unique added layer of a crusading journalism professor and his students who mucked up the proceedings.

Indebted to the book by retired Chicago Tribune reporter William Crawford, "Murder" starts out with the heart-warming rescue of Anthony Porter from death row, just hours before his scheduled execution for a 1982 double murder. Northwester Professor David Protess was convinced that Porter, who served 15 years, was innocent, so he and his team of students did their own legwork, leading to Porter's eventual pardon. Combined with the reporting of the Tribune, Porter's cause celebre helped lead to the abolition of the death penalty in Illinois.

The problem is, Protess did sloppy work, seemed to have an agenda, and employed a shady private investigator, Paul Ciolino, who is accused of skewing the evidence. They got one witness to apparently recant his story, and they had a hand in another man copping to the shootings -- Alstory Simon, who was feeling the heat for another crime and was duped into making a videotaped confession.

Rech and Kimber know their way around the pulpy world of rough neighborhoods, prisons and courthouses. They assemble members of the much-maligned Chicago PD, the original investigators who insist (with rich super-fan Chicago accents) that they nabbed the right guy from the start. The directors take subtle digs at the Chicago media, who fell head over heels for the irresistible news peg of a falsely accused inmate and the scrappy underdogs who battled for justice and saved his life.

Visually, the film is overcooked and needlessly salacious. Numerous dramatic re-creations distract from a compelling narrative that doesn't need those bells and whistles. It's often a riveting tale. Rech and Kimber have a great story to tell, and it would be tough to screw it up.