(Image via HBO Max)
When it comes to teenage offenders who have been convicted of violent crimes, how much punishment is enough? Are we a society that believes in second chances, or would we rather condemn the guilty to a lifetime spent behind bars, one parole denial at a time?
In “Nature of the Crime,” a powerful new documentary that premiered on HBO this week, directors Ricki Stern and Jesse Sweet challenge viewers with the difficult task of observing the complexities of the American system of crime and punishment and assessing whether our approach to parole actually acknowledges whether rehabilitation is possible.
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When, in the eyes of the parole board, does the nature of the human being who is pleading their case become more meaningful than the nature of the crime that occurred so many years ago?
The story is told through the lens of Chad Campbell, Carlos Rebollo, and Todd Scott — three boys who became men while living behind bars — who committed heinous crimes when they were 14, 15, and 19, respectively, as they prepare for their upcoming parole interviews. Campbell was sentenced to two consecutive prison terms of nine years to life for two counts of second-degree murder after he killed a classmate and the toddler she was babysitting. Rebollo was sentenced to 45 years in prison after he was convicted of arson and attempted murder. Scott was sentenced to 25 years to life after he was convicted of second-degree murder for his involvement in the death of a New York police officer. Collectively, they’ve served 85 years behind bars, and only one of them has been paroled.
“There’s so little attention paid to how are people being released, what’s determining who’s getting released,” Sweet told Above the Law in an interview. “And that’s just as impactful on hundreds of thousands of people in terms of how long they’re going to be in prison and the nature of their sentences. As we got deeper and deeper, we realized how short the parole system falls from what it’s set out to do.”
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Stern echoed Sweet’s thoughts, explaining that while it wasn’t their goal for the film to be “an advocacy piece on its face,” they wanted the audience to wrestle with how to determine whether an offender should be released from prison. “You spent the film sort of understanding who these people are and witnessing how they have changed despite being in prison for more than half their lives,” she said. “They essentially grew up in a place that doesn’t foster change or growth.”
“It’s almost like we wanted to put the audience in the seat of the parole commissioners. How do they demonstrate remorse? What does rehabilitation look like? Have they served enough time for this crime? Who gets to decide that?”
Throughout the documentary, we watch as Campbell, Rebello, and Scott take steps to prepare for interviews with the parole board members who will decide their fates, witnessing their yearning to be free after years spent attempting to change themselves for the better. Though their attorneys’ work is powerful and purposeful not just for their clients, but also for the common good, we ultimately witness Campbell and Scott’s intense disappointment, while Rebello is finally able to leave his life behind bars thanks to a unique parole reform program in Connecticut.
Rochelle Swartz, a senior associate at Orrick who serves as Campbell’s attorney, shared a rather striking quote during the movie, saying, “Do we want to live in a country where a child commits a crime that’s terrible and horrific and they spend their lives in prison no matter who they become, or what they turn into as they grow and mature, or do we want to do better than that?”
“The fastest asked and simplest way to improve or reform parole in New York would be for the judges to actually exercise judicial review and to stop the board from overstepping its authority,” Swartz said in an interview with Above the Law.
Swartz, who refers to her pro bono work with Campbell as “far and away the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my professional career,” recognizes that she’ll be working with her client for quite some time due to the challenging nature of parole board decisions. “I think this is a long-term case for me. I think I’m going to spend a large chunk of my career on it,” she said. “I hope I’m wrong. I really hope I’m wrong in that Chad gets out imminently. We’re only six years in, and I think this could be a 15 year fight — but I hope not.”
“Nature of the Crime” succeeds as a thinkpiece on the sum and substance of the parole system, and makes the audience wonder what, if anything, can be done to possibly repair, rebuild, and reinvigorate its legal framework to ensure that those who are ready to be released from prison actually can and will be.
“When is enough is enough? How do you know someone deserves a second chance? I think what we want people to do is honestly ask those questions,” Sweet told us. “We hope people watch it and we hope it sparks a conversation. And even maybe legislative change,” Stern concluded.
“Nature of the Crime” is now streaming on Max.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.