Dead Wrong - The John Evans Story

• NCJ Number: 93446
• Author(s): E A Kean
• Date Published: 1984
• Length: 0 pages
• Corporate Author: Hickox/Daniels Production
• Sale Source: American Educational Films; Not Available Through National Institute of Justice/NCJRS Document Loan Program
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. Available 16mm film and video cassette, running time 45 minutes, color. Rental is also available from sales source.

Annotation

In an interview on death row 4 days before his execution, convicted murderer John Evans describes the attitudes that led to his involvement in criminal activities. The intent of the analysis and its dramatization is to warn juveniles of the possible consequences of certain thought and behavior patterns and to discourage them from taking the first steps toward crime.

Abstract

The portrayal of Evans' criminal career extends from his first experience with shoplifting in June 1963 to his murder of a pawnshop owner during a robbery in January 1977. Evans was the oldest son in a large, loving, well-situated middle-class family with traditional values. Evans answers the question of how a child from a nurturing, supportive environment could go wrong in his comments on each stage. His initial involvement in petty theft was the result of succumbing to peer pressure: he took the dare of wild friends already engaging in minor offenses. Shoplifting and joyriding escalated to armed robbery. His family's angry, bewildered reactions to his inexplicable behavior only antagonized him further. Bored with school, he dropped out despite his parents' efforts to help; in his own words, he 'threw away his childhood.' When his family reached the breaking point after his repeated arrests and refused him aid, placing responsibility on him for his own behavior, he set out to 'show' his family and fell in with a criminal companion in search of notoriety. Throughout his criminal career, he was self-centered, arrogant, and convinced that he was too smart to get caught. In seeking attention or lashing out in anger, he did not consider the consequences of what he was doing. Not until he had taken a life did he realize the destructive implications of his own behavior for others. It was this insight that ultimately prompted him to make a public statement to juveniles shortly before his execution. Not only does the film address the critical issue of psychological causes of crime, but through its portrayal of the penitent attitude and social concern of the subject it raises questions about the suitability of the death penalty in such cases.