Willie Francis Must Die Again won Best Documentary (over 1800 competing submissions) at the 2006 Memphis International Film Festival, one of the largest film festivals in the South, and won best Social Justice Documentary at the 2006 New York International Independent Film and Video Festival.
Danny Glover narrates the unique story of Willie Francis, who survived execution in the Louisiana electric chair in 1946. After the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to allow a second execution, Felix Frankfurther — the Justice who cast the deciding fifth vote — then went to work behind the scenes to try to get the sentence commuted to life in prison.
Winner, Best Documentary, 2007 Santa Monica Film Festival
Winner, Best Documentary, 2006 Memphis International Film Festival
Winner, Best Documentary, 2006 Charlotte Film Festival
Winner, Social Justice Documentary, 2006 New York Independent Film & Video Festival
A 16-old African American who has never previously been in trouble is arrested for the murder of a Southern sheriff’s brother. After a one-day trial, Willie Francis is sentenced to death. He goes to the electric chair in 1946.
Willie Francis went to the electric chair AGAIN in 1948. His first electrocution didn’t kill him. In the intervening two years the shy son of a share cropper became a national cause celebre, forcing a war-weary nation to re-examine its beliefs about crime and punishment, and nearly tearing apart the U.S. Supreme Court, where judicial giants like Felix Frankfurter and Hugo Black wrestled with their consciences and each other.
This true-life drama is filled with heroes and villains. Willie Francis Must Die Again brings them to life with the poignant, on-camera testimony of Willie’s childhood friend, while Supreme Court scholars unravel the maze of behind-the-scenes maneuvering that is worthy of fiction — except that it all really happened. Meanwhile, appearances by Sister Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking) show how the Willie Francis case still informs the debate over capital punishment today.
Produced by Glen Pitre and Allan Durand and co-produced by Michelle Benoit. Written & directed by Allan Durand. 52 minutes, Beta-SP.
Download: PressInfo-WillieFrancisMustDieAgain.pdf