the chutry experiment

interesting. i've taught the film a few times and i interviewed errol morris about it for cineaste but i don't seem to feel much special sympathy for harris...that is, not any more than i'd feel for anyone facing the death penalty. the fact that he almost let randall adams die, and would indeed have let him if morris hadn't gotten involved, prevents any exceptional sympathies from forming, i guess.

That's something I discussed with my students this time around. In a sense, because I don't support the death penalty, I feel sympathy for anyone in that situation. And part of my response probably grows out of the fact that I happened to be teaching the film earlier in the day that I learned this news.

I've been thinking about this entry a lot, and why I felt that sympathy for Harris. I am very much disturbed by the fact that he was willing to testify against Adams. I'm deeply troubled by the crimes Harris committed. Maybe it's the fact that I've spent several hours watching Harris speak, essentially putting a human face on what is usually a statistic (I believe Harris is the 10th person to be executed in Texas this year).

BTW, interviewing Morris must have been fascinating. I'll try to track down that copy of Cineaste when I get the opportunity.

here's an enormous .pdf of it

I think I'd noticed that link a few days ago when I found your blog. But my modem is so slow that I hadn't taken the time to read the interview (here's the link).

Thanks again.

ha--i meant to include that link! oops

No problem--I'll be back on campus tomorrow (Tuesday) and I'll take a look at the interview then.

Hello:
I'm writing about David Ray Harris who was executed on June 30, 2004, who was in the movie you were talking about , "The Thin Blue Line", by Errol Morris. I was a close friend of David Ray Harris. I am a retired Police Officer, in California, who came to know David very well. In fact, years ago, I urged him to tell the truth about Randall Dale Adams, in order to free an obvious innocent man. Unfortunately, David was executed by the State of Texas on June 30th, and never received any type of help or assistance from the state, even though he was a documented alcholic at the mere age of 12 years young, as he attempted to hide in a shell (of alcohol and drugs) from an abusive family and others. David NEVER had a chance to make it in life. He was actually a good man, respected others and beleived in God and he left this world as a proud man. I, in turn am extremely proud of David Ray Harris, and proud that he considered me hi friend. I am ashamed of our so-called justice system who should have helped him many years ago. David called me a week before he was executed because he was a dear and close friend and we needed to talk. David will not be forgotten, for sure, as I assist others who have received the death penalty in our great nation. You see, I was framed for murder many years ago, was freed after the press and several tv journalist and others found out of my personal injustice and now I work to assist criminal defense attorneys in their cases. I served 14 years in prison before I proved myself and was freed. David Harris knew I was framed and he told me that he decided then, to assist Randall Dale Adams gain his freedom as well.
Had David Harris received help years ago, he would not have committed other crimes, as he needed and begged for proper guidance. David Harris was cheated by our system of justice! May he Rest In Peace.

Billy Mc
Freedom9125@cs.com
P.O. Box 7724
La Verne, CA 91750

Hello all,
I've found the previous posts on this thread very interesting. I am 29 years old, and ever since watching "The Thin Blue Line" for the first time in 1989, I have been haunted by it. To this day, I cannot get over the fact that Randall Adams lost 12 years of his life because of a combination of 1) David Harris' lies; 2) the moral bankruptcy and evil of the Dallas district attorney's office, the judge, the fake "witnesses" of Officer Wood's murder, and the psychiatrist Dr. Grigson; and 3) the sheer incompetence of the Dallas police department and Adams' attorneys.

To Billy (the last post): I just read that David Harris had been executed, and I am genuinely sorry for the loss of your friend. After having seen the film many times and having learned about David's troubled childhood, I certainly have empathy for him, even though I deplore his actions. I can tell from listening to him and watching him being interviewed that he had the capacity to be a kind person. At the same time, I cannot forget the fact that, for many years, he was willing to let Adams be executed for David's crime (until much later when he eventually took responsibility). Truthfully, I am very conflicted about what has happened. I don't like to see anyone killed, and I regret that he did not receive more help and support along the way. Once again, I am sorry for your loss. It sounds like you knew him in a way that few others did.

One correction to a previous post: by the time Morris conducted these interviews in the mid-1980s, Adams was no longer on death row for the murder of Officer Woods. Recall that his sentence had been commuted to life imprisonment in 1980.

Once again, very interesting posts.

Dan and Billy: I appreciate the depth and thoughtfulness of both of your comments. I struggled with David's decision to testify against Adams initially, but TBL conveyed Harris's humanity to me, making his eventual execution more tragic.

Billy, I'm sorry I didn't comment before (and I'm not sure you'll be stopping by anytime soon), but I appreciate the work you're doing in fighting the death penalty.

The first time I watched The Thin Blue Line I was immediately struck by the familiarity of David Ray Harris. I couldn't pin it down, but something about his behavior, mannerisms, etc. spoke to me. I reasoned that since his childhood experience echoed that of my half-brother, who was rejected by both parents at a very young age and spent his youth doing drugs, alcohol, theft, burglary, robbery, that this had to be the niggling familiar something.

Then I happened to look up the information on David Harris on the Texas corrections page. He was born on the exact same day as my sister 10/19/1960 who took a gun and shot herself in early 1986, the same year David's shooting and murder occurred. This set my head spinning.

I agree with the poster who opined that someone should have tried to help David Harris a long time ago. When he lied about Randall Adams he was only doing what came naturally to his sixteen year old self: he was defending himself and attempting to deflect blame. The fact that he ever said anything and got Adams off death row should have mitigated his own circumstances.

Thanks for relating your personal connection to this story. I'd agree with you that David Harris seemed to be a "lost soul" who cleary needed help and support from a very young age.

I think it's time to stop feeling sympathy for criminals in this society and start feeling it for the victims and families whose lives they ruin.

Feeling sympathy for one person does not prevent me from feeling sympathy for others. Nor does my sympathy for Harris preclude me from thinking his crimes were wrong, that they hurt many people, including Officer Robert Wood's family and friends.

I watched the Thin Blue Line for the first time about two weeks ago. It has been playing a lot on the independent film network. The strangest thing ever is that I too was struck with sympathy for David Harris after watching him speak of his childhood, his life and his crimes. I could not believe that this seemingly "likable" man could commit such an awful crime. It is sad that people sink to such levels. Then just out of curiosity I went on the internet to see what had become of David Harris after all these years and I was saddened to learn that he was executed by the state of Texas. I was actually "sad" when I learned of this. He and the film must have had a strong effect on me even though I do not know how to explain it. I too have deep deep sympathy for the victims of his crimes. They should never be forgotten EVER, but I just do not believe in executing human beings (even before watching the film)

I grew up in vidor tx. and while i didnt personally know david harris i did know of his "local legend". everytime something came up missing or something strange happened he was one of the first to be looked at. there were lots of thugs in those days because of a lack of punishment for crime. if you were caught with a sack of grass the cops would just dump it out and tell you not to get caught again. in 76 when i was 15 i could buy beer in south vidor and never a check of any kind and again the cops would just pour it out and tell you to go home. this is NOT an attack on the cops but just a viewpoint that says they were helpless to do much because of a real lax in justice at that time and people like david harris would have no limitations if it were not for the death penalty. so i stand in agreement with it.

I too have seen the Thin Blue Line, and have personal experience with Doug Mulder as a Criminal Defense Atty. He is the prosecutor that put Randall Adams away to begin with. Justice in Texas is questionable, much different than anywhere is the US from the research I have done. It's as if Texas deplores the Constitution, because it makes them accountable. I have to say though, I felt no sympathy for David Harris though. Yes the crimes he committed were heinous, preying on people as they sleep, etc... Even more heinous is the robbery of 12 years of Randall Adams life. That is why I have no sympathy for him and think his execution was good. Even Dante places "false accusers" at a low level in his masterpiece inferno. They sit just above Brutus, Cassius, and Judas Iscariot, and they are eternally devoured by Lucifer. Just a thought...

i wrote to dave harris after viewing "the thin blue line"... he responded immediately. we had a corrospondence for many yrs. i found him to be an intellegent and loving person with remorse for his previous crimes. he clung to the outside and his family and friends who showed him support. i felt his pain and shared his passion that he had deep inside. i will will keep all the words he shared with me in his heart. although i distroyed the 180 letters he had written to me, they will remain in my heart. the last letter he wrote to me... was full of hope that he could perhaps show that he was not a monster... but a loving person... and this was felt deeply by me.

I have seen "The Thin Blue Line," many times by Errol Morris. Each time it is shown on IFC, I watch it. It haunts me each time, and after each viewing I find myself finding things in the movie that I missed the time before I viewed it. Do I feel sorry for David Harris? No. Where is the sympathy for Randall Adams who did absolutely nothing but try to befriend another human being? I am against the death penalty, but I find it very difficult to feel compassion for someone who did such malice against Randall Adams.

I'm so sick and tired of the excuse that the justice system "failed" someone. People that make this statement are stupid as hell. Just because you grew up with shitty parents and poor gives you no right to rob and murder. David Harris was just an evil bastard who is (I hope)burning in hell. If growing up with alcoholic parents and poor cuased you to murder we would have a million murders a year in the US. I wish these bleeding heart dumb ass amature shrinks would get off their murderer ass kissing and worshiping fetish and write a few letters to the victims families. The basatard Harris should of been executed within days of admitting his perjury of Adams and guilt for killing the cop.

Give me a break! The justice system "failed" him. I'm crying a river for this murdering, evil bastard. I hope he is enjoying the warm weather. You dumb ass murdering worship fetish fools who spent time writing to this evil bastard are sick! How much time have you spent writing to his victims families? Yhea, I thought so! One last thought for you amature shrinks. If growing up in an alcoholic family and poor caused you to murder wouldn't we have a million murders a year in this country? I'm sure David Harris was the ONLY kid from Vidor Tx that grew up in this environment. You guys are brilliant!

Wyatt, just wanted to let you know that your comments were recorded and published. My blog has a few glitches right now, so new comments don't appear right away. I've said a number of times that my sympathies don't stop with David Harris, and his murders were undeniably wrong and dserved punishment. But my belief that murder is immoral also prevents me from condoning the death penalty, and that would be the case no matter the punished person's identity.

I too am a retired law enforcement officer. I met and arrested David Harris one night in california when he attempted to kill me. luckily he didn't get it done this time and was sentenced to prison prior to returning to texas to resume his killing ways. I think that each of the bleeding hearts that talk about what a wonderful person david was, should have been in court when I testified at his trial in beaumont texas. This guy was an animal that deserved to die. It sickens me to have a retired police officer such as yourself speak on behalf of harris and not be thinking of the police officer that he killed.You of all people should know that these guys have a way of getting religion when they are locked up, and then play upon the sympathies of those who are willing to listen to their lies.

The world was a better place the instant David Harris left it. This man was a poster child for support of the Death Penalty.

David Harris and I corrosponded for years... the love he showed me i will never be able to explain to anyone.. i knew the dave that he longed to be... the dave that was kind and loving...he thought of us getting toether at the age of 17 and how his life might have been had he met someone who believed in him... then all the past would have taken a different direction... a past he grieved over... his last words to me... were "we could have made beautiful music together"/ i believe dave and i could have changed his course.. together.. lovingly

marianne, do you think you could love an alligator into not having you for lunch? the death penalty was induced because of people just like david harris. no conscience, no heart, and they would be willing to do anything (including love letters to anyone sympathetic) to keep themselves from being executed. they arent sorry for what they did but sorry that they got caught. i don't say that they cant know remorse BUT they cannot be given a second chance to do that again. i even feel that rape and child abuse should be a capital offense.

Marianne,
I think it's interesting that he wishes he had met you at 17, because, well, didn't he kill the police officer at 16?
I don't believe in the death penalty, but I also don't feel any sympathy for David Harris. It's easy to feel sorry for something when you've been caught and you're going to be punished.

i do understand all of your thoughts and have thought them through... and am glad that you have reponded... dave would be the first to admit his crimes were something that he never could undue.. and lived with this hurt that he did to others. he often said " if there is a god, he will judge me, but he will never take away the pain i inflicted on others"... he longed to turn back the hands of time... which we all know is impossible... he went from a troubled teen.. to a full blown theif, and murderer. and he lived with the pain he inflicted... and i am a loving person and christian who embrassed his sorrow... he never asked me to send him $ or tried to con me... he was always honest and up front... and for this i will always remain his friend...

I am not really sure. About anything... I also watched thin blue line, and there seem to be so many loose ends... I feel there is something going on that is beyond all that is discussed. Since justice was so perverted, who reaally knows the truth. What happened between Adams and Harris, what did they want from eachother... why did his brother not speak? at all, not in court, not in the documentary? Could the other murder have been self defense? what is the real story? I crave for a follow up... because i am sure by now there must be more to tell... There is a sense with me that even Harris might have taken up guilt for which he has none... I don't know why... some sort of gut feeling... I believe we haven't seen the end of this story... We need a disc 2 as is capturing the friedmans...

yolanda......can you live with divorcing a man that married you, trusting you to love him till the end of time?? yes, he did some horridous things, but you knew this when you vowed to be his wife.......but due to your becoming an attorney....you thought this would hamper your career????????? please.......... you flip flopped from a loving person.....to "all about me"........ and you hurt david to the core......

it has been over a year since dave was ececuted... by the state of tx... hopefully his victoms have peace now... i sooooo miss the dave i knew... not the murderer....or the theif...but a man who had remorse for the crimes he committed for sooooo long. a man who educated himself, a man who was in dis belief that the crimes committed were by him... if there is such a thing as remorse....... my david felt this every day... i am not a bleeding heart....but someone who took him into my heart... and if you can believe it or not, he had a wonderful loving heart.. he wrote to me 3 days before his execution..... wishing he could turn back the hands of time.. to undo the hurt he caused soooo many. and to wish that we could have had time togeher........thinking a loving heart might have been able to help him in his times of distruction... so if anyone feels like hurting another.....think of my dave, and the path he chose.. you will loose in the end.......be the looser....hurting others......and leaving someone who loved you.......haunted......hurt.........
marianne

I've watched "Thin Blue Line" many times. It is a powerful documentary. The lighting, the music, the editing -- all of these are very well crafted. Of course, I felt sympathy for Randall Adams, but I also liked David Harris. He was a liar and a murderer, but there was something so likeable about him. I could easily see a 16-year-old kid lying to save himself. And poor Randall Adams who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But something else bothered me about the film: after watching it several times, I've concluded that there is more to this story than has been told and I'm not certain Randall Adams is completely innocent. I believe Randall Adams was in the car when David Harris killed the officer.

10/19

Thinking of you on your birthday Dave... and yes, i will look for a bright star tonight, thinking of this as your smile... as we talked of..........

Marianne

As an Australian I feel fortunate to live a long way from Dallas or the U.S. for that matter. I feel sickened though that my country is trying to emulate your policing and "justice" systems. When you have a president that validates large scale killing of innocents in his oil wars (and the irony is not lost on me that he himself presided over 152 executions as governor of Texas)is it any wonder that so many of you have lost your souls. If you weren't all so brainwashed with your gunslinging T.V. propaganda for the gun-lobby maybe you could start to reflect on the misery that your country is spreading throughout the world. I would be ashamed to be an American.

hey australian peter, i would never disgrace your country by saying that i would be ashamed to be an australian. i can only guess that it must really tough on you to see that we poor old brainwashed americans have to live in this horrible land of ours, i mean imagine, our founding fathers actaully engaging in a fight to gain independance and having morals to boot. i guess i should use your logic though...... let's see how's this? everyone in australia really doesn't really drink beer by the gallon have belching contest's and go out after a crocodile with a *bowie knife? no? oh ok guess i shouldn't just lump everybody together. it must be so wonderful to live in a country that doesn't have any murder. wait? ? ? don't i remember that australia was originally a place to banish criminals when they were too brutal to stay in england? oh well happy utopianism!!! have a great day peter. by the way i do believe that the death penalty is the only way to deter murder and really don't feel ashamed in any way and like president bush no matter what anybody who is as misinformed as you about the *oil wars think

Don't forget, David was executed for killing ANOTHER human, not the police officer. And he was attempting to kidnap the guys girlfriend. I don't think he was gonna take her to dinner and a movie.
In addition, the boyfriend was killed in front of the girlfriend. I'm sure that's a picture she will never forget.
David might have been a nice guy to some, but to those who didn't have the "pleasure" of knowing him, he will always be a kidnapper, thief, liar and multiple murderer.

For all of you out there who think there is "more to the story"... Read "Adams vs Texas". There is nothing more. Adams met Harris that day, they spent the day together and Adams was home, in bed, when David the murderer killed the police officer.
Adams brother disappeared before the trial and hasn't been scene since. Perhaps Doug Mulder knows something about that.
Randall Adams was as innocent of the murder as you and I. He was/is a nice guy who tried to help a "good ol' boy" by getting him a ob. That was his crime.

I just found out David Harris was executed today.
Yesterday, I decided, irrevocably, I don't agree with the death penalty. Still, I have no sympathy for Harris. He didn't tell the truth to save Randall Dale Adams, he admitted it because there was no place else to go. They let a monster loose to kill again. Marrianne, dear, if you see a side of him that's not a thief or a murderer, aren't you ignoring what's really there? Harris was a victim as well as a villain, but he had the chance to do right. How come he didn't do so until it was far too late?

While 'The Thin Blue Line' is a wonderful film, it does choose to ignore the fact that Adams clearly had a homosexual interest in Harris. Carefully watch Adams irritated demeanor when he tells of their "date" at the drive-in. He resented the boy getting excited over the hetero cheerleader movie because he wanted Harris's sexual attention. He demanded they leave because his heart was broken.

I saw the "Thin Blue Line" when it was released and later saw Randall Dale Adams on the talk show circuit. Even today, as many have stated, stays with me in a haunting manner. What I took from viewing it again last evening was the title. If a police officer is killed in the line of duty, someone is going to die as well. David Harris was too young, at the time, to get the death penalty. I remember that when the motion was brought before a judge for a retrail, the Dallas County assistant district attorney had to be dismissed. Winfield Scott (the ADA who I read had spent 21 years in that office) openly and forcefully attacked the objectivity of Judge Baraka in a 1989 pre-trial hearing. Again years later, Dallas County seemingly still feared they would not have "their" man to kill for this thin blue line crime. Myraid other reasons have been addressed in posts regarding the botched first trial but it did not stop there.

I watched the Thin Blue Line lastnight. I was captivated by it and am also haunted now as many other people are. I also think there may have been something going on to do with child sexual abuse. It was said that one of them was found to be only wearing their underpants? Unfortunately, I was very tired watching it and missed a few bits. I need to see it again to be better informed. Even though, it does leave me with a feeling that child sexual abuse may have been taking place. Maybe that's why Harris didn't admit to it for so long. Maybe he wanted Adams to suffer.

The "underpants" bit is new to me, and I've watched the film ten times. There were hints that Adams was depicted as homosexual during the trial, but much of that was ignored during the documentary itself.

I do think Harris wanted Adams to suffer, but possibly for different reasons--including the fact that Adams didn't let Harris spend the night in his hotel room. Linda Williams argues that Harris may also have seen Adams as a "substitute" father and that Harris' punishment of Adams may have been related to that.

I was wondering why I got so many hits for this entry today--I take it they showed it on Australian TV?

What everyone seems to be missing here is this.
Everyone lies to save their ass when they're backed into a corner. That's not the problem.
The problem is how readily a so called "justice system" believed Harris's lies with no corroborating evidence to back them up other than the highly dubious "witnesses " that they had arranged to do so.
The fault lies entirely with the investigating police officers and the prosecuting attorney, who were all willingly blind to the much more plausible alternatives.
That's what their job is supposed to be. Find out who's lying and who's telling the truth, and that is the job they totally failed to do.
It's not as if the evidence was not there at the time. They simply failed to follow up on it because it conflicted with the outcome they wanted to achieve.
It seems the only evidence they had was the say so of a 16 year old known delinquent, and they chose to take what he said as the gospel truth.
They then "produced" a handful of equally unbelievable witnesses to back up what they had already decided was the truth. Unfortunately as it turns out, it wasn't.
It say's an awful lot about Texas justice.
The sad part is, the same texan logic has now taken the whole country to war in Iraq on the very same basis. i.e. A preconceived idea is backed up by selectively screening and doctoring the evidence until it produces the outcome that they want, regardless of the truth.

I agree, Peter, the critique of the Texas legal system is a crucial point of the documentary, and while Harris is no saint, the degree to which the prosecutors manipulated evidence in order to convict Adams is troubling.

I don't know if it's "Texan logic" that got us into the war in Iraq, but it's clear that BushCo manipulated evidence. Of course, it was clear to me back in 2003, but that's another story.

G'Day Chuck.
Yes. It was screened on West Australian TV, Tuesday 8th May, on SBS, so you might get a few replies. We have only just discovered the electric light globe down here so although the documentary is obviously quite old, it's all new to me. Interesting blog with some crackpot views. But then that's what's good about these sites. You get to hear what the average idiot thinks. (not that I'm average. I've had lessons.!)

Hmm...weird, the original version of this comment disappeared, but what I tried to say was that TBL was apparently somewhat hard to find until a recent DVD re-release (my video store had a number of copies but only because our university taught the film to several hundred students a year).

I'm always fascinated by which of my blog entries pick up a lot of traffic and crackpot comments (the two typically coincide), but this film certainly "inspires" conversation. Some strange ideas out there...