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The Trials of Darryl Hunt

Play trailer Poster for The Trials of Darryl Hunt PG-13 Released Jun 15, 2007 1h 46m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
This documentary details the conviction and eventual exoneration of Darryl Hunt. Hunt, an African-American, was convicted in 1984 of the rape and murder of Deborah Sykes, a white newspaper editor in North Carolina. Maintaining his innocence throughout, Hunt is convicted due in large part to false testimony by a witness who was later found to have ties to the Ku Klux Klan. Even though DNA evidence in 1994 proved his innocence, the North Carolina legal system didn't release Hunt until 2004.
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The Trials of Darryl Hunt

Critics Reviews

View All (11) Critics Reviews
Andrea Gronvall Time Out Rated: 4/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review Moira MacDonald Seattle Times Throughout the film, Hunt emerges as a likable man with a deep religious faith and an astonishing ability to reject anger and bitterness. Rated: 3.5/4 Jul 27, 2007 Full Review Justin Chang Variety Powerful and unsettling. Jan 25, 2006 Full Review Dorothy Woodend The Tyee (British Columbia) Hunt spent the next 20 years of his life trying to prove his innocence, and documentary filmmakers Annie Sunberg and Ricki Stern captured more than a decade of his struggle. If you've never seen a lawyer cry before, this is the film to catch. Aug 23, 2017 Full Review Bill White Seattle Post-Intelligencer ... a complicated tale that exposes how a credible case can be built upon perjuries and fabrications. Rated: B Jul 26, 2007 Full Review Richard Mowe Boxoffice Magazine A scathing indictment of a system in disarray and provides a heartfelt portrait of the resilience of the human spirit, struggling in the face of injustice and genuinely overwhelming odds. Rated: 3/5 Jun 15, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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jorge g Sometimes we wonder why there is scepticism when it comes to the justice system, especially back in the days when forensic science was limited to non-existent. This powerful film proves that this scepticism is valid, and it proves it with a thud, as justice came 19 years too late for Darryl Hunt. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Justice delayed is justice denied. Excellent documentary about what happens when the justice system runs off the rails, like it is very prone to do. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member After watching the film I got to meet Darryl Hunt in person and ask him questions about the emotional side of the trials. The film and the conversation were deeply inspiring affecting my ideals of morality and justice. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member A moving record of a series of unforgivable travesties. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member This is such a compelling story! Darryl Hunt is a North Carolina man who was finally exonerated after serving 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. I recommend it to anyone interested in criminal and social justice. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review flixster f As the title quite clearly specifies, the movie is about the trials of Darryl Hunt. The movie focuses on the proceedings of the case since Darryl's arrest till his exoneration. What I found favorable was: - It was not all things Darryl Hunt, just telling his life story unnecessarily dragging it to his childhood memories. - That it didn't pan the police & legal system heavily (regardless of it being due at times). - That it put the story of around 20 years in a nutshell effectively enough. The unfavorable elements may be: - At times, though not often, it tends to get repetitive. - While it sums up the case in around 2 hours appropriately, it doesn't give a wholesome picture of the case. It rushes on with the real culprit's part. As if it were going to turn the movie about him than Darryl Hunt. It's given incredibly less footage. The film fares well enough to depict majority of the case. It works in bits & parts more than less, but isn't equally effective on the whole. As for Darryl Hunt himself, it's probably yet another case of miscarriage of justice. But I couldn't help wondering if he'd have been serving time for some other crime had he not been in prison for Sykes' murder. Of course, it's not fair to judge one on the basis of their colleagues/group. One can't help much when instincts come up with some hypothetical scenario, though. Having said what I needed to, I finally realize that this is not an appropriate place for such discussions, and that I should better limit my comments related to the movie in question. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Trials of Darryl Hunt

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Movie Info

Synopsis This documentary details the conviction and eventual exoneration of Darryl Hunt. Hunt, an African-American, was convicted in 1984 of the rape and murder of Deborah Sykes, a white newspaper editor in North Carolina. Maintaining his innocence throughout, Hunt is convicted due in large part to false testimony by a witness who was later found to have ties to the Ku Klux Klan. Even though DNA evidence in 1994 proved his innocence, the North Carolina legal system didn't release Hunt until 2004.
Director
Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg
Distributor
ThinkFilm
Production Co
Break Thru Films
Rating
PG-13 (Violent Images|Brief Strong Language|Violent Descriptions|Thematic Material)
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 15, 2007, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 23, 2017
Runtime
1h 46m
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