HBO Documentary “Nature of the Crime” Explores the Parole System Through Orrick Pro Bono Case

• A new HBO documentary, “Nature of the Crime,” explores the parole system’s handling of inmates serving potential life sentences. The film examines the stories of three inmates seeking parole, including two men convicted of murder in New York when they were teens. 
• One of the men featured, Chad Campbell, is represented by Orrick associate Rochelle Swartz and a team that includes Pro Bono Counsel Rene Kathawala, partner Chris Cariello and associate Zachary Hennessee. Rochelle has been leading an effort before New York’s parole officials and the courts to argue for parole for Campbell, who was sentenced to 18 years to life and has been incarcerated for more than 30 years.
• The documentary focuses on what filmmakers Ricki Stern and Jesse Sweet describe as “an aspect of the U.S. criminal justice system with little oversight that is often shielded from public scrutiny, mired in political considerations and little understood.” It considers Campbell’s reflections on his crimes and rehabilitation and related ethical and systemic questions, including Rochelle’s insights into his case and the system.
• DOC NYC, which hosted the world premiere of the film, observed: “These difficult stories take us into an under-examined aspect of the prison system, begging the question: Is true rehabilitation possible?”

This is the second recent documentary to highlight Orrick’s pro bono work. “The Accidental Spy,” released last month, tells the extraordinary story of Blerim Skoro, who served as an undercover operative for the CIA, and for whom Rene obtained asylum.