Released earlier this week, Trial 4 is an infuriating and appalling eight-part documentary following the case of Sean K. Ellis, a man who was wrongfully convicted at age 19 in 1993 and proceeded to serve 22 years in prison. The series follows Ellis from the night of the “execution-style killing” of John Mulligan, to Ellis’ release from prison in 2015 and his continued fight for equality in the justice system. Trial 4 is a crucial watch, especially in light of recent social movements, such as Black Lives Matter, catching the public’s eye. 

Recently, I’ve had trouble discerning whether every courtroom style documentary I watch is becoming more and more relevant or if I just wasn’t paying attention before. This movie gave a definite answer to that question, which is that I was simply blind to the injustices in the world around me. The story begins in 1993 where Sean Ellis is charged with the murder of Boston police officer John Mulligan on the basis of sketchy evidence and questionable at best witness statements. The rage that came with every new piece of information left me dizzy. Just when I would start to believe that I could separate my emotions from this trial, another inequity would be revealed and leave me absolutely floored. 

Although I wish I could fit every element of this docuseries into this review, the sheer amount of detail in each and every episode could fill an entire novel. However, there is one specific component that I wanted to mention. In the first episode, it is revealed to the viewers that Ellis actually went to the police about the murder of his two cousins, who were found dead three days after the death of John Mulligan. Ellis was first accused of killing his cousins and then Mulligan after it is disclosed that Ellis went to the place of Mulligan’s death that same night. Ellis was denied a lawyer throughout this entire ordeal. When I think about the fact that Ellis was already traumatized by the murder of his family members and now he was being accused of a crime on very little actual basis. This is just one out of a staggering number of similar moments in the series. 

Despite how aggravating it was to watch, I highly recommend that anyone who has the time to watch this documentary do so. It’s quite lengthy, but if you possess even a shred of empathy it will almost definitely leave you speechless. I know that we’ve all grown used to hearing about injustice in courtrooms, but something about this case, in particular, leaves its mark on a person.