The Thin Blue Line

In 1976, a Texas man named Randall Dale Adams was travelling along a road near Dallas when his car broke down. Stranded, he accepted a ride from a teenager named David Harris, who, unbeknownst to him, was driving a stolen vehicle. Later that night, the two were pulled over by police officer Robert Wood for a headlight check, and before long the officer was shot and killed.

Adams was blamed for the murder, convicted by a jury, and sentenced to death. However, there were unanswered questions surrounding the case, including the perjured testimony of Harris, conflicting eyewitness accounts of the incident, and allegations of police misconduct in the process that led to the guilty verdict.

The Thin Blue Line, directed by Errol Morris, chronicles the trial and conviction of Adams, who maintains his innocence throughout the film, which was made during his incarceration. The documentary is widely credited with playing a key role in Adams’s exoneration the following year, as the evidence it brought to light prompted a reinvestigation of the case and ultimately led to his conviction being overturned.