WITCH HUNT

Directed By: Don Hardy & Dana Nachman

Review By: Kim Jindra

If you think the hysteria of the Spanish Inquisition or the Salem Witch trials can't happen today - guess again.  WITCH HUNT chronicles one of the worst if not the worst miscarriage of justice in California today.   In fact, if I lived in Bakersfield, every case the district attorney tried would be suspect.  Yes, as unbelievable as it seems, the perpetrators of this crime are still holding public office.

Directors Don Hardy and Dana Nachman seamlessly piece together the story of nine working class parents who were wrongly accused and ultimately convicted of child molestation in the 1980s.   All of the parents served time (from 6 to 20 years) in some of Californa's most notorious prisons.

 This film made me angry that our justice system could be so wreckless with people's lives.  And not just the lives of the incarcerated, but the lives of the accusers as well.

Small children were coerced and even brain washed into testifying against their parents and neighbors.  Those same children are adults today and they are still trying to cope with the consequences of their falsehoods.  In effect one over zealous court system harmed four generations for political greed and personal gain.  So many were hurt, first the victims themselves, lower to middle class moms and dads who loved their children; the parents of the  victims  who stood by their children and even went to their graves  without seeing their kids exonerated; the children who were stripped from their parents and manipulated by  social workers; and finally their children.  Many of the accusers talked about being fearful today to be around their own small children especially at bath time, changing time etc...

You can not watch this documentary without being moved.  I cried buckets of tears and still have a hard time talking about this film without getting upset.  Some of the tenderest moments were the couple who wrote each other daily from their respective prison cells.  Theirs is a love story.  Fortunately, they've now reconnected with their children.  Another moving story was the bond formed between two of the victims.  When one was released from prison he would not let the other be forgotten.   All of the stories are equally meaningful, heartbreaking and yet, hopeful.

This is truly a cautionary lesson of political ambition run amuck.  It is a documentary every one should see and one I won't forget.