Hammerle on… “26.2 to Life” and revisiting “Golda”

“26.2 to Life”

While I don’t want to confine this review to them, this is a must-see film for all lawyers. It focuses on prisoners of the San Quentin State Prison in California, many of them doing life sentences, as they train for a marathon inside the yard.

Directed by Christine Yoo, who spoke at the Heartland Film Festival presentation that I attended, the film follows three men doing life sentences for murder. You watch them train for a marathon run where they seek redemption. As one inmate said, “Everyone’s a different man than they were 20 years ago.”

The three men, Markelle “The Gazelle” Taylor, Rahsaan “New York” Thomas and Tommy Lee Wickerd, demonstrate that it is possible to lead productive lives while incarcerated. For example, Wickerd begins a class in American Sign Language while Thomas is a journalist for the San Quentin News.

In addition, Yoo trains her camera on several inmates’ past lives before they were incarcerated. Many in the audience applauded as we watched Wickerd’s young son visit his father for the first time without a glass screen. You watch him assert, “I have a right to be mad at my dad.” Seconds later, in tears, he says, “I better see tears in his eyes, too, or I’m gonna make some.”

While not denying that justice must be served to address violence, how can we continue to remain silent as violent crime increases in our country despite the fact that we lead the world in the number of citizens incarcerated? What are we gaining while paying nearly $80,000 a year in tax dollars to house every inmate?

This film asks one question as you watch inmates train within the walls of San Quentin to join the 1000 Miles Club: How does society benefit by incarcerating young men for long prison sentences only to have them die as old men in prison?

As shown in “26.2 to Life,” many inmates transform when they are able to engage in successful activities. Society will benefit, including victims and their families, if we change our mindset and eliminate the prison philosophy controlling our country, “Lock them up and throw away the key.”

Revisiting “Golda”

As I write this, Israel stands on the brink of a military invasion of Gaza. By any definition, Hamas seems to have found a way to bring Nazi Germany back from the grave. You expect their idol to be Adolf Hitler.

Yet while it is clear that Israel must strike back, they face the possibility of killing a large number of civilians in the attempt to destroy Hamas. Though that leaves many of us in emotional turmoil, look at the thousands of German citizens the U.S. and our allies had to kill to eliminate Hitler and his Nazi supporters. And let’s not forget the atomic bombs that killed over 200,000 Japanese citizens in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

So there you have it, human agony dominating a large part of the world. If you are like me, any news show brings me close to tears. While Hamas has a price to pay for the killing of Israeli and American women and children, what has happened to the human race?

Though the pre-Halloween release of average horror films keeps me from finding comfort in the theater, one movie has relevance to this Middle East slaughter. I refer to “Golda.” This film centers on the forced resignation of Prime Minister Golda Meir the year after the war ended.

In 1973, when a coalition of Arab States attacked Israel in what is known as the Yom Kippur War, Israel’s lack of preparation led to the deaths of nearly 2,700 soldiers, and Meir was held responsible.

Ironically, the same thing is happening now.

The Israeli leadership under Benjamin Netanyahu failed to prepare and anticipate the attack by Hamas, and the unpopular prime minister must be held accountable. Expect his resignation when this war concludes.

So do yourself a favor and hunt down “Golda” at home. See if you don’t join me in concluding that history is repeating itself.•

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Robert Hammerle practices criminal law in Indianapolis. When he is not in the courtroom or the office, Bob can likely be found at one of his favorite movie theaters preparing to review the latest films. To read more of his reviews, visit www.bigmouthbobs.com. Opinions expressed are those of the author.