Witch Hunt on Netflix this month
John Stoll was taken from his bed by police and accused of child molestation. It was on the front page of all the newspapers, and at first he wasn’t worried. Stoll declared his innocence, so why would he worry?
Twenty years later, Stoll was finally released from prison. Five of the six children, now adults, whose testimonies had convicted him, came forward and recanted everything. They said they were coached by prosecutors and police, and interrogated for so many hours they just wanted to go home.
Who the sixth child is I’ll leave to the story, but suffice it to say, many other lives were ruined as well.
Witch Hunt is a documentary available for instant streaming on Netflix, and is definitely worth watching. Narrated by Sean Penn, it not only tells the story of Stoll, but of 33 other people who were swept up in a spree of prosecutions in the 1980’s. All prosecutions were eventually overturned, unfortunately not before many of the accused went through lengthy prison terms.
The movie is hard to watch because it shows what can happen when prosecutors are over zealous, and when it seems like no one is routing for the little guy. It takes place in right here in the United States, not in some banana republic, meaning it could happen to anyone, anywhere.
It’s a heart felt look at how lives are ruined, children grow up without their parents, and how those people are trying to piece together a life for themselves today.
This movie is a must watch. Don’t miss it.
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