The crime documentary series was a wonderfully surprise! I was expecting each case to be covered with typical topics such as profiling the victims and criminals in the case, investigation leading to the arrest, etc. What sets this series apart from others is its credible interviews and thoughtful presentation to help audience appreciate many aspects of the case:
(1) each episode starts with a brief introduction about the social and historical backdrop about the town where the crime took place, often reaching out to local residents to gain a genuine perspective of how the community was affected by the criminal case. Also, there are many experiments to demonstrate how the crime was committed, and how the case was solved. The show spent equal amounts of time on crime solving, criminal profiling, as well as victims' profile, so that they were not nameless "victim #1-2-3".
(2) introduction about the early 20th century legal system, its merits and limits, explained by legal and forensic experts, to demonstrate how the verdict might have been different if the trial was held now, given the changing social values and available forensic technologgy and investigation techniques. In some episodes, people have been wrongfully accused, leading to the eventual abolition of death penalty; and in some episodes, murderers were acquitted or released from prison due to jury's bias that minors and women were not capable of heinous crimes, and the episodes were presented in a factual (not sensational or graphic) manner that engage me as a viewer, to empathize and become more aware of how killers could have been caught earlier before they strike again and to prevent an innocent person from being framed for the crime.
