Into the Abyss
Marshy Morris
Thesis
In the documentary "Into the Abyss" the film focuses on the crime, family members of the victims and Michael Perry's perspective while being on death row.
Purpose
The purpose of the documentary "Into the Abyss" is to inform the audience about life going into the death row from many different points of views and perspectives. The film is about two men convicted of a triple homicide one being convicted to the death sentence and the other serving 15 years in prison. It also focuses on the lives of the victims family stories about what happened how they felt about the whole situation.
The Crime
Micheal Perry's (suspect) journey to death row began at a house in Conroe Texas in October of 2001. A body was found floating in a nearby lake a day after the actual crime and when the house was investigated the lights had been left on overnight with the television that had not been touched. The day of the crime scene Perry and three other acquaintances of his said initially the plan was to sneak in and steal the keys to the red Camero parked in the garage. Perry tricked the Mrs. Stoler (victim) into allowing him inside her house by saying he needed to use her phone for an emergency where he snuck into the laundry room. While in the laundry room he knocked on the garage door which made her walk over to answer it and as she did that he stepped out behind her and shot her.
Family, Friends and Others of victims and the suspect
Second Victim: Adam Stoler
Lisa Stoler the sister of Adam Stoler was falsely informed that her brother had been shot and was at the nearby hospital but when she went to see her brother the nurse informed her it wasn't him. It was Micheal Perry. That's when she knew her brother was killed.
Third Victim: Jermey Richardson
Charles Richardson is Jeremy Richardson oldest brother. He was all the way in Georgia when Jeremy was murdered. He thought maybe his brother died from a car accident but soon discovered it was from being shot while driving. The shooter was Micheal Perry.
Suspect: Jason Burkett
Jason Burkett was another suspect included with the murder of Jeremy Richardson. The story he told during the documentary was he and Perry had gotten drunk that night and slept in a car, which was stolen because they couldn't afford a room at the motel. He was suddenly woken up from being shot in the arm. He also stated that when he looked around the car Micheal Perry was in the back while a random guy was in the driver seat. When he finally realized the shooting going on around him he decided to run. That was a big mistake on his behalf. Life in the penitentiary from the age of 15.
Suspect
In the documentary for "Into the Abyss" Micheal Perry knows he's not innocent but still plays the victim in the situation. He tells the interviewer "being in the wrong situation at the wrong time can lead you to the Texas penitentiary on death row" (Perry 39:57). Since he was interviewed 8 days before his execution date he had been diagnosed with clinical depression which is said to be a normal diagnosage for many going on death row.
Conclusion
The documentary had a big impact on my view about the death penalty. The reason I say this is because I personally already supported the death penalty. I believe if someone had the ability to kill another person without feeling any guilt then they should have their life taken also but the impact this documentary had on me was a more supporting aspect. Seeing victims and even the suspects speak about their experiences and the feeling of being on death row only encouraged my opinion on the subject because it put capital punishment into a modern day perspective since there are not many sentenced to the death penalty being it has become banned in many states throughout the United States.
With that being said I do NOT encourage the death penalty for anyone who is remorseful or has not proven to have killed another person but if a human being can flaunt that they have killed many people and will continue if they had the chance I do believe they should be put to rest. Like Micheal Perry said during his interview during the documentary, "I'm either going home or home. Home being to my family or home to God" (Perry 8:48). These are words from a person who doesn't feel remorse for any of his victims he killed. Therefore I believe the death penalty is very effective when it comes to punishing murders such as Micheal Perry.
Into the Abyss Trailer
Into the Abyss - Trailer