Nature of the Crime
with filmmakers Ricki Stern '87 and Jesse Sweet '98 in personThis unprecedented look at our country's parole process explores how we as a society might seek justice in a humane way and what it means to deserve a second chance.
DFS 75th Alumni Fest (Nov 7-10)While this is a quintessential New York story, the ramifications of locking up youthful offenders for long sentences is felt in prisons and communities across the country. Having served 35 years in prison, Todd Scott, involved in a gang hit on NYPD officer Edward Byrne, and Chad Campbell, who went to prison at 14 for a gruesome murder, prepare to go before the parole board. This small committee will decide their fate.
Filmmakers Ricki Stern '87 and Jesse Sweet '98 worked closely with Todd, Chad and their network of loved ones to capture their often ignored perspective, while also acknowledging the severity of their crimes. Filmed over the course of four years, they used small crews and a naturalistic style to capture the rawness of their work coming to terms with the past.
As the men wrestle with the pain they have caused and struggle to express their deep remorse, they encounter hard questions: how do you pay your debt for a violent crime? What does it mean to truly deserve a second chance? How do you convince a stranger that you are a better person?
D: Ricki Stern '87 and Jesse Sweet '98, US, 2024, 1h30m
Co-sponsored by the Leslie Center for the Humanities, the Department of Film & Media Studies, the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship and the Center for Professional Development.
Ricki Stern '87is an award-winning documentary film director, producer and writer. Most recently, she co-directed and co-produced with Jesse Sweet '98 the HBO documentary Nature of the Crime . Her many directing credits include the five-part series UFOs Investigating the Unknown (2023), the six-part series Surviving Death (2021) and the Emmy-nominated Joan Rivers - A Piece of Work , (Sundance Film Festival award winner 2010). She has been to the Hop many times with her film partner Annie Sundberg '90, with whom she co-directed and co-produced My So-Called High School Rank (2022), the Emmy-nominated Reversing Roe (Telluride Film Festival, 2018), Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing (2016), In My Father's House (2015), Knuckleball! (2012), Burma Soldier (2011); Emmy-nominated The Devil Came on Horseback (Sundance Film Festival, 2007); the Emmy-nominated The Trials of Darryl Hunt , (Sundance, 2006). Her first film was the Emmy-nominated Neglect Not the Children (1992).
Jesse Sweet '98is an Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker. He recently directed Killer Robots (Netflix), exploring artificial intelligence in the military, The Murders Before The Marathon (ABC News/Hulu), investigating whether Tamerlan Tsarnaev committed a triple homicide 18-months before he bombed the Boston Marathon, and City of Joel , following a small-town political battle between a Hasidic sect and their secular neighbors. Previous works include Surviving Death (Netflix), Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain (CNN), Business of Drugs (Netflix), Years of Living Dangerously (Showtime), Enhanced (ESPN), Death Row Stories (CNN) and Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
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