Just Ask My Children

"Just Ask My Children" is based on the true story of a modern-day witch-hunt in which a couple is falsely accused and jailed for molesting their own children.

When Brenda (Virginia Madsen) and Scott Kniffen (Jeffrey Nordling) are asked to testify at a custody hearing on behalf of their friends, they and their two sons, Brandon and Brian, are sucked into a nightmare. Their friends' hysterical relative has accused both sets of parents of molestation and peddling child pornography - and the local D.A.'s office is intent on appearing tough on child abusers. They badger Brian and Brandon into testifying against their mom and dad, with tragic results. For 12 horrible years, Brenda and Scott languish behind bars, separated from the sons they love and fighting to prove their own innocence.

Odd now in these days of such professional police investigation to see the portrayal of the dark days of the 80s when the art was just in its' infancy. The story really falls down on whether we believe the children and can they lie about this? If the kids are telling the truth then the parents deserve everything they get but if they are lying...?

In one scene the mother (the ever gorgeous Virginia Madsen) asks can the police just come into your home and take your kids away? And the answer of course is that if they have reason to believe you're abusing them then of course they can. But this was at a time when it was considered that children couldn't lie about such things and people didn't realise how they could be easily lead and influenced during interviews. It's also a good example of the importance of independence in the judicial system, the prosecutors desperate to please public opinion by getting convictions and then reconsidering when public opinion shifts in the opposite direction. Perhaps the scariest thing is when the prosecutor receives the court order to give the defence access to the boys and he just chooses to ignore it? Surely the judge should order HIM to be arrested for that?

Another film I'd recommend in the same vein is Indictment which is excellent.

Just saw this movie on T.V. for the first time today. I can personally tell you that this 90 minutes barely scratches the surface of the stories of ALL of the families involved. Someone should do a followup story on the children involved and how they were mentally affected by what they were exposed to during those years. My family in California did not contact us to let us know this movie was out . . . . but we don't talk much about it anymore - too painful.

One key subject here is something most people don't realize. Your children ARE NOT required to have an attorney present when they are questioned by the police. Therefore, a child can be denied sleep and food. Questioning techniques that are used by the military were used on these children. Some of them were also told that if they would just admit to the charges that they could go home to their parents. I know - if I were not related to two of the children involved - I wouldn't believe this happened in the United States in this century.

I can not believe that this could happen to anyone. I feel very sorry for the family's that had to endure this. To spend 14 years in jail because some whino woman wanted custody of SOMEONE elses kids is not right.

Whatever happened to this Mary person that did this to these poor people.

She ruined a family life , took good parents away from their children and ruined these kids lives. Made these poor kids die inside and not feel any remorse.

I wish there was something I could do for this family that had to go through all of this and I hope that the people who decided to ignore the facts and prosecute because of allegations was purely wrong and i hope they rot for what they did.

This is the kind of movie that will put you in a position where you are mad and heart broken at the same time.The real bad part about the movie is it's a true story and and that all of that really did happen!! When watching this movie, keep kleenex nearby.