The Life of David Gale (2003)

Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet) finds a second tape of the murder of Constance Harraway (Laura Linney). The first tape showed Harraway struggling on the kitchen floor naked, hand-cuffed, with a plastic bag over her head. The second tape, however, shows that she had actually committed suicide, and that her cowboy hat-wearing associate Dusty was behind the camera. Bloom now has proof that David Gale (Kevin Spacey) is innocent and makes every attempt to get it to the proper authorities in time to stay his execution, but she has car trouble and arrives at the jail on foot just as Gale is pronounced dead. Bloom publicizes the evidence that Harraway's death was a suicide. Dusty leaves the U.S. and in Spain, delivers to Gale's ex-wife the post card that Berlin sent to Gale saying "I'm sorry". Later, Bloom gets a package; it's the stuffed sheep Gale kept as a reminder of his son. Inside of the sheep is a third video tape. She runs to an AV room in the studio and views the tape. It's the final segment of the tape of Harraway's suicide that shows Dusty walking up to Harraway's body, followed by David Gale himself looking down upon her and placing his fingerprints on the plastic bag over her head. All three people involved were zealous anti-death penalty advocates. Gale had lost his job and family after a false rape accusation, Harraway was suffering from leukemia, and both had little to lose and much to gain from a very highly publicized execution of an innocent man.

Nicole Sheldon