Errol Morris spent 2-1/2 years tracking down the various players in the Randall Adams case and convincing them to appear in the film.
Was rejected by the Oscars for Best Documentary category in 1989 because it was considered to be a fictional film due to its scripted content.
When Errol Morris first attempted to film Randall Adams, he was suspicious and nervous and stopped talking several times. Morris urged him to continue, saying, "Look, I really believe you're innocent; this is your only chance." According to Morris' account, "So then the cameraman take me aside and tells me I'm debased, and that this is the most disgusting thing he's ever seen in his entire life, and that he will not be a party to it anymore. That I make him sick. And I tell him if I want a moral philosopher, I would hire Emmanuel Kant."
This film was released the very same year the National Film Registry was first established. The film was selected to be preserved at the Registry 13 years later, making it the first film to be preserved that is as old as the Registry itself.
Dr. James Grigson (also known as "Dr. Death") lost his license and he was expelled from both the American Psychiatric Association and the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians for unethical conduct shortly after this documentary was released.