Profile Of Filmmaker Errol Morris Essay, Research Paper

Dallas police officer, Robert Wood, was shot five times and murdered after

pulling over a vehicle for a minor traffic violation. Randall Dale Adams was

arrested, convicted and sentenced to death for the crime. Adams plead "not

guilty" to the charges. He claimed 16 year old David Harris, whom he had

spent several hours with on the day of the crime, was the true killer. In Mark

Singer’s "Profile of Filmmaker Errol Morris," Singer describes Randall

Adams case as it was portrayed in the movie The Thin Blue Line. Singer argues

that Morris made the film to prove Adams innocence and illustrate "that

Adams had received anything but a fair trial." Singer, an author for The

New Yorker Magazine, took personal interest in the case because he, as well as

Morris, believed Adams was innocent and deserved a new and fair trial. The

prosecution won the case against Adams for three major reasons: David Harris’

testimony, Prosecutor Douglas Mulder’s prominence, determination, and the

prosecutions three key eyewitnesses, Emily Miller, Robert Miller, and Michael

Randell. After the conclusion of the trial Adams maintained his innocence and

filmmaker, Errol Morris met with David Harris and began to have doubts about

Adams guilt. Morris investigated the case further and discovered it was

"unfair" on constitutional grounds and Adams was in fact innocent.

Morris made a movie entitled The Thin Blue Line, which was a description of the

actual events in the Adams homicide case. Morris intended to illustrate thirteen

points of unwarranted prosecution. There were four blatant acts of perjury or

outright unfairness in Adams first trial. Judge Metcalf would not permit the use

David Harris’ extensive previous criminal record, including pending charges in

another county as evidence. This left Adams in the "guilty chair" even

before the trial began. Prosecutor Mulder demanded a guilty verdict with a death

penalty sentence for this trial and he was willing to go to any length to

achieve that. He found three witnesses to the crime scene after offering a

$20,000 reward and an all expense paid stay at Dallas motel during the trial.

The first witness, Emily Miller, had a daughter who was facing robbery charges

in another county and Mulder agreed to drop the charges in exchange for Emily’s

testimony. Emily testified to witnessing Adams in the driver’s seat of the car,

at the time of the shooting, and she positively identified Adams in a police

line-up. Morris conducted interview with the three witnesses, Emily Miller,

Robert Miller and Michael Randell. Emily Miller admitted to being directed to

pick Adams in the line-up after she chose the wrong man. Robert Miller was

quoted as saying; "I didn’t see anything." Randell admitted to being

drunk "out of his mind" when he passed the scene. The fourth major

point of perjury in Morris’ defense for Adams was Teresa Turko’s, Robert Woods’

partner, original description of the killer. She described him as "Mexican

or light-skinned black" which varied greatly from Adams Caucasian skin. Her

original description was not used and had evolved to match Adams description by

the time of the trial. The Thin Blue Line was effective in getting Adams a writ

hearing and the chance for a new trial. The judge ruled on six grounds of

constitutional unfairness deeming it an unjust trial. It was apparent that

Singer was on the side of the defense for several reasons. Singer said,

"Dennis White (Adams attorney) was simply no match for Doug Mulder, who is

said to have once boasted, "Anybody can convict a guilty man. It takes

talent to convict an innocent man." He includes this quote to demonstrate

Mulder’s determination to win even if he is prosecuting the wrong man. A quote

such as that evokes the sentiment of a reader who is in favor upholding justice.

Throughout the excerpt Singer uses words like, "unfortunately" to

depict actions Adams’ lawyers did not take, and "ensconced" to

describe the so-called witnesses stay at the Alamo Plaza motel. Singer

recognized Adams bad luck and referred to it as "consistent." These

words and phrases are influential in expressing his opinion because they have

negative connotations and portray the prosecution in a bad light. Singer’s

distaste for "witness" Emily Miller is very clear. He describes her as

a "bleached blonde" and says one of her childhood ambitions was to be

the "?wife of a detective." A woman who is willing to settle for the

position of wife to her goals, is not a beneficial member to society. Singer

makes it a point to quote Emily’s interview with Morris because it shows her

ignorance. She did not use proper English and stumbled over her words in brief

and barely coherent sentences. Singer concludes his passage by detailing the

writ judges predictions. The judge predicted a new trial for Adams during which

he would be freed and pardoned of all homicide charges. "Profile of

Filmmaker Errol Morris" is effective in displaying the actual events in the

Adams homicide case. Mark Singer summarizes the movie The Thin Blue Line and

includes his opinion about the verdict. The movie was intended to prove Adams

innocence by displaying the perjury committed during the trial. Singer included

his beliefs in Adams innocence by using negative words towards the prosecution

and bad-mouthing the witnesses.