Series Premiere:
Mind Over Murder

Matt Roush says...
Even those (like me) who are typically resistant to most true-crime TV are likely to get sucked into this bizarre six-part docuseries about an outrageous miscarriage of justice in the small town of Beatrice (Bee-ATT-riss), Nebraska. Who done it is only part of the mystery. The puzzle that most fascinates filmmaker Nanfu Wang in her delicate, deep investigation is why five of the six people wrongfully convicted (later exonerated) for the 1985 murder of 68-year-old Helen Wilson actually confessed to the crime. One of the “Beatrice Six” still seems to believe she was there even though she knows she wasn’t. Flawed and coercive interrogations, and the fragile mental state of some of the accused, help explain the inexplicable. But not until a local community theater (urged on by Wang) stages a play based on court and legal records can the community, and the victim’s long-grieving family, come to grips with the sordid, incredible truth.