by John Zenoni
‘Who Killed Garrett Phillips?’ is an excellent documentary that looks into the murder of young Garrett Phillips and it leaves you frustrated, sad, angry and disappointed on so many levels in that his murder is never solved and the arrest and continual harassment of a suspect leaves a life completely changed, never to be the same.
On Oct. 24, 2011, 12-year-old Garrett Phillips was found murdered in his home in Potsdam, a small town in upstate New York. The primary suspect became the soccer coach at Clarkson University, Oral Nick Hillary, who just happened to be a Jamaican man in a mostly white community and was the ex-boyfriend of Garrett’s mother, Tandy.
The documentary chronicles the years following the murder, including the interrogation, arrest and trial for second-degree murder of Hillary. He would go on to opt to be tried by a judge and was eventually acquitted. But what Hillary went through was absolutely so appalling and infuriating that I wanted to scream at the television. So many wrongs took place - Hillary was initially asked to come down to the station just to identify some students but he was then questioned and put on the spot almost immediately and then not allowed to leave. He was then strip-searched and photographed nude, which was never done in that police station before. They did call in Tandy’s other ex-boyfriend, who just happened to be the sheriff, to be searched, but only with his arms and hands exposed by pulling up his shirt and his legs by pulling his pants up. This gentleman also was in the room with the investigators while Tandy was being questioned, even though he had a former relationship with her. Finally, in the course of the trial, it was revealed that public state prosecutor, Mary E. Rain, withheld evidence from the defense.
An intriguing documentary indeed, but very emotional for sure!
No comments:
Post a Comment