News-Record.com

Yeah, I know "Spiderman 3" is out. But the best movie I've seen in recent memory is the "The Trials of Darryl Hunt."

It's hard not to be touched by the now-familiar story of the Winston-Salem's man's wrongful conviction for the gruesome 1984 murder of newspaper copy editor Deborah Sykes.

But what this thorough, richly detailed documentary does even for those who know the beginning, middle and end of Hunt's tale is convey in every excruciating step along the way his seemingly impossible quest to prove his innocence.

The film also shows Hunt's incredible capacity for honor, grace and forgivenness, despite the utter horror of spending 19 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit.

For instance, Hunt might never have spent all that time in prison if he had merely fingered a friend, which police initially pressed him to do.

And he could have agreed to deals that would have reduced his prison time, but kept insisting in his gentle but firm way that could not admit to a crime he had nothing to do with.

I think the film significantly underplays the role the weekly Winston-Salem Chronicle played in early on in asking tough questions about facts in the case that simply didn't add up. Of course, I'm not exactly objective about that. I was editor of the Chronicle at the time.

But it's masterfully done anyway. The film now is heavy rotation this month on HBO. Check it out.