The Second Execution of Romell Broom

The Second Execution of Romell Broom

"The Second Execution of Romell Broom" focuses on the case of Romell Broom, who was sentenced to death in 1985 for the kidnap, rape and murder of 14-year old Tryna Middleton from Cleveland, Ohio. On September 15th, 2009, Mr. Broom was scheduled to die by lethal injection and his execution failed. Since then the State of Ohio has been litigating in the courts for its right to attempt to execute Romell Broom a second time. Romell Broom's lawyers argue that this would violate the U.S. Constitution. Reexamining the Tryna Middleton murder case in 1984 and the subsequent indictment and trial of Romell Broom our film puts into serious question that the State's sentence of death for Mr. Broom was legitimate and fair in the first place. In stark contrast to Ohio's flawed justice system with its insistence on a second execution for Romell Broom, we meet Yvonne Pointer, a remarkable woman with a very different view of justice.  The mother of a murdered daughter, Yvonne Pointer is pleading for love and forgiveness for the perpetrators and thereby challenging the death penalty and its underlying archaic notions of revenge and retribution.

also available: 52 min version