Debbie Peagler’s case became a cause celebre when her lawyers, Joshua Safran and Nadia Costa, worked tirelessly and pro bono to have her retried under a new provision of the law that allowed for a battered woman defense. Peagler had been convictied of second-degree murder of her boyfriend, a man who had abused her and forced her into prostitution. Yoav Potash’s film follows them all as they discover a justice system where justice is hardly a consideration. When I talked with them on July 25, 2011,the film was screening as part of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, and the strength Safran drew from this orthodox faith and practice was one of the topics we covered. The conversation also turned to the emotions that the trio went through during the making of CRIME AFTER CRIME, when and why they realized that the case was about more than just Peagler, as well as the lawyers’ frank assessment of the crimnal justice system against which they struggled, one rife with petty inter-office politics and an obsession with its public image.
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