Innocent Until Proven Guilty

Innocent Until Proven Guilty takes a critical look at the US criminal justice system through the eyes of a young black public defender in Washington, DC. James Forman, Jr., the son of civil rights leader James Forman (executive secretary of SNCC, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee), carries on his parents’ tradition of activism on one of the front lines of the contemporary civil rights movement: defending young black men and women who cannot afford legal representation and trying to help them break an ongoing cycle of crime and incarceration. The film follows Forman during the challenging first year of the Maya Angelou Public Charter School, an alternative public high school for juvenile ex-offenders he co-founded. Innocent Until Proven Guilty movingly documents his students’ struggles and successes as they trade the streets for the classroom. The film sheds light on the criminalization of African American juveniles and just how much determination it takes to change.

DVD includes interview with Director Kirsten Johnson and film updates.