Man Alive

A Night in Jail, a Day in Court (1972x15)

Air date: Apr 12, 1972

Justice in the United States is different. At least, there it can be filmed. In this programme, specially presented by Man Alive, a CBS reporter and a film team waited in a mid-western town, Indianapolis, for the results of a night of patrolling and arrests by the police. They followed two cases. A black man accused of a small robbery at a service station, and a white man also accused of robbery - in a bar. Through the process of arrest, bail-bonding, trial and eventually, sentence, the cameras followed. The result is a fascinating anatomy of two cases of small-town law and justice.