NOTE: I had the link wrong--sorry. It's right now.
I heard today about a movie that turned my stomach, set my heart quivering, and made my eyes wide with horror. It’s a documentary called Witchhunt which is airing on MSNBC on Sunday. Go here for a review and excerpt.
Witchhunt is about a group of families, the parents of which were accused and convicted of sexual assault on their children. After 12 years of prison time, the convictions were overturned, parents were declared innocent after all, and released.
Stop and think about that, and tell me your guts don’t churn, too. From any angle, it’s horrifying. What kind of agony did those children experience, testifying against their parents, bearing the responsibility for their incarceration, suffering the absence of their guidance while growing up in foster care? What torture to sit in prison while someone else raises your children? What is wrong with the world when overzealous people cause such harm in their efforts to protect, and how could the truth be masked for so long?
What motivated them to lie? The review and accompanying clip insinuate that police and social welfare workers put so much pressure on the kids that they made this stuff up under the mistaken impression that they were helping their parents and peers. How can that be?? The skeptic in me wants to believe that the children told the truth after all, that our justice system is not so broken that “mistakes” like this could happen, but what an awful thing to hope for. I keep thinking there must be more to the story. How much has this made-for-TV documentary slanted the facts to tug on our heartstrings?
I think I’ve convinced myself I need to watch Witchhunt in its entirety, in search of some reassurance that this nightmare won’t happen again and to look for signs of redemption. Can something good come from this evil?
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As you know,I always judge someone innocent unless there seems to be really good proof that it is otherwise. I have found, though, that the justice system assumes that one is guilty unless there is enough evidence to prove otherwise.
ReplyDeleteYes, these type of witch hunts scare me, and makes me wish I didn't have to report signs of child abuse. But I remember that there are lots of good social workers out there, and probably even some good prosecuting attorneys!
Children's memories are so easily implanted. I had a friend who reported child sexual abuse with her granddaughter. I agree that it should be reported. The investigator let her mother stay with her for questioning and said the grandmom was incorrect. It broke the family for awhile, so that took guts. But I do wonder what the little girl would have said or shown without mom present. Praise God, nothing continued to show up.