Better Off Dead

After her boyfriend is shot by a cop they were trying to hustle, Kit Kellner (Mare Winningham) returns fire and kills the officer. Assistant D.A. Cutter Dubuque (Tyra Ferrell) prosecutes the case against the girl, who displays no remorse, and argues that Kit is beyond rehabilitation. The sentence: death by asphyxiation. Seven years later she's still on death row. Cutter, who resigned as District Attorney, comes to realize that she was driven by ambition rather than justice in her prosecution. She takes Kit's appeal, but finds that the plaintiff wants to be executed. Cutter probes Kit's nightmare upbringing and begins to believe she doesn't belong in prison. But Kit is now pregnant from an affair with guard Andy (Peter Lohnes). She wants an abortion, but the state refuses her the right. Cutter petitions the courts and wins--but by that point Kit has decided to marry Andy and keep the baby. A new family and support system changes Kit's outlook on life, but the Supreme Court rejects her appeal, and the governor refuses to hear Cutter's impassioned pleas. Kit is executed.

BETTER OFF DEAD is jam-packed with issues--capital punishment, abortion, racism in the courts, politics versus justice--and amazingly, none of them gets short shrift. Marlane X. Meyer's script is taut and unpredictable, while director Neema Barnette keeps the energy high and elicits strong performances all around. Winningham is sensational as she transforms an initially hateful character into a sympathetic one, endowing Kit with strength and dignity, yet never inviting pity, even when being led to the gas chamber. Ferrell is her equal as the conflicted attorney, and the supporting cast members provide excellent backup. (Violence, adult situations, profanity)