Second Chance Kids
Monday's Four Corners story "Second Chance Kids" is produced by PBS Frontline and looks at US teen criminals sentenced to life in jail.
"How much punishment is enough?" Lawyer
Being tough on crime has become a popular mantra for political parties. Law and order debates are frequently fuelled by tabloid headlines calling for a crackdown on crime. The result is often harsher sentencing. In the United States it's led to thousands of prisoners facing mandatory life sentences for crimes they committed as teenagers.
"A super-predator is a young juvenile criminal who is so impulsive, so remorseless that he can kill, rape, maim without giving it a second thought." Forensic psychologist
Now there's debate over whether these prisoners should be given a second chance at life.
"To say to any child of 13 that you're only fit to die in prison is cruel." US Lawyer
In this compelling documentary, the film makers follow the cases of two of these now adult prisoners who expected to spend their entire lives behind bars."I was a bad kid. I was an angry kid. But I don't think I was so to the point where OK now you're going to be a kid that dies in prison." Prisoner
With exclusive access, the film closely documents their legal bid for freedom following a landmark court case.
"I've changed and I'm not the same individual. But I feel ashamed of what I did." Prisoner
We witness the confrontation between the perpetrators, guilty of murder, and the families of their victims in emotionally charged parole hearings.
"He was my only son and I'll never forgive him, ever!" Victim's mother
As juvenile offenders across the US await their potential re-sentencing, Second Chance Kids asks tough questions about crime and punishment.
"There are some people who should never be released…there are some crimes, in my opinion, that are so deleterious to our community that individuals deserve to go to jail for life." Prosecutor
For the two prisoners, their chance of a new life presents them with the challenge of how to live after decades behind bars.
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
The Real Murders of Atlanta
The Real Murders of Atlanta portrays the horrifying cases that highlight the boundaries between gentrified Southern dynasties, hip-hop hustlers and the flashy nouveau riche of this metropolitan mecca of music, entertainment and tech. Told by the investigators, witnesses, reporters and loved ones who have direct connections to the cases, each hourlong story brings Atlanta's hustle and deadly decadence into sharp focus. It's the dark side of the New South, where deadly battles for status and affluence emerge between those who are willing to kill for the good life and those willing to kill to keep it.
The Rookie: North
In The Rookie: North Alex Holland believed his mid-life wasn't worthy of a crisis. But after a violent home invasion ignites a dormant purpose, Alex battles a lifetime of failed commitments by joining the Pierce County Police Department as its oldest rookie. Policing from the urban coast to the rural forest where backup isn't just 5-minutes away, Alex must prove to his skeptical training officer, his fellow rookies, and himself, that he's finally found something worthy of the fight.
Lioness
Lioness, inspired by an actual U.S. Military program, follows the life of Joe while she attempts to balance her personal and professional life as the tip of the CIA's spear in the war on terror. The Lioness Program, overseen by Kaitlyn Meade and Donald Westfield, enlists an aggressive Marine Raider named Cruz to operate undercover alongside Joe among the power brokers of State terrorism in the CIA's efforts to thwart the next 9/11.
The Pitt
The Pitt is a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today's America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Each episode follows an hour of Dr. Robby's 15-hour shift as the chief attendant in Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital's emergency room.
Maigret
In Maigret, Chief Inspector Maigret and his team of maverick but loyal detectives, Les Maigrets, solve a series of complex crimes in Paris. Maigret's unconventional methods and unique sense of justice put him at odds with his superiors and the judicial system he is supposed to represent. Maigret must outwit some of Paris's most cunning and violent criminals, while dealing with his own troubled past.