On September 26, 1993, Boston police officer, John J. Mulligan was shot five times in his head, while he slept in his car, which was parked directly in front of the Walgreens in Roslindale. On September 29, three days later, the two, female cousins of 19-year-old, African-American, Sean K. Ellis were killed not that far away. When Ellis went to the police to talk about his cousins' deaths, he revealed that he was at the Walgreens in Roslindale, getting diapers, on the night of September 26. At that point, he was arrested and charged with the murder of Mulligan. Why Ellis would implicate himself in a cop killing made no sense. All other evidence was circumstantial. Nothing tied him directly to the crime. Yet, the cops and prosecutors pursued Ellis with almost reckless abandon. Ellis went to court in January 1995. That trial ended in a hung jury, meaning the jury couldn't come to an unanimous decision. He had a second trial in March 1995. That trial also ended in a hung jury. A third trial in September 1995 finally ended with Ellis being convicted of felony murder, which basically meant that he didn't commit the murder but he was there, so he goes to prison for life.
After being locked up for over 20 years, Ellis gets released. He appealed his case to the Massachusetts Supreme Court and they granted him a fourth trial in 2016. This documentary series follows Ellis and his lawyer, Rosemary Scapicchio, as they prepare for that fourth trial. Mainly, we follow Scapicchio as her investigation reveals information about corruption within the Boston Police Department, which suggest that not only did they taint the case but Ellis might have also been framed. Ellis was only a teenage boy when his life was torn apart. He might be suffering from a bit of arrested development. He was nicknamed "stutter" due to his speech impediment. He's not a stupid guy, but there was a lot he didn't know going into this process. Coming out of it though, he doesn't seem bitter or angry or cynical about life or the criminal justice system, even though he would have every right to be.
Scapicchio is one of the true draws of this series, as she turns out to be a whipsmart, strong and fierce defense attorney. She clearly and boldly walks us all through her case, explaining in a lot of common sense what happened and why things didn't and don't add up for Ellis to be the perpetrator of this crime. This isn't a commercial for Scapicchio, but it might as well be. If you're a person in Boston who needs a lawyer to be your advocate and true defender, Scapicchio is the woman you need.
The series goes all the way up to the present day. We get to see the September primary election in 2018 for District Attorney in that area. Because of Ellis' case, as well as countless other Black Lives Matter cases, the issue of criminal justice reform is on the ballot. It's also particularly important in this series because the election of the next District Attorney will have a direct effect on Ellis' case. Ellis' fourth trial would then become under the purview of the next District Attorney. One of the candidates, Rachel Rollins, expresses that she might go against the current D.A., so seeing if she wins or not becomes vitally important to Scapicchio.
Yes, there are a lot of true-crime documentaries on TV and streaming platforms, especially Netflix, but, this one is one of which to take note. It's an extraordinary story with amazing people.
Rated TV-MA.
Running Time: 1 hr. / 8 eps.
Available on Netflix.
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