I was bummed that I missed Yoav Potash's documentary Crime after Crime at Sundance this year, but I'm glad I'm getting a chance to watch it tonight. The critically acclaimed film centers on the legal battle to release Debbie Peagler, an African-American woman who was given life imprisonment after she killed her abusive boyfriend in self-defense.  Two decades later, a couple of rookie land-use attorneys step up to take her case and discover the disturbing and infuriating level of corruption involved in keeping Peagler in prison because the DA's office believed the conviction was more important than justice.

I've heard nothing but good things about the film and I'm definitely checking it out when it airs on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) tonight.  Click here to find out if you get OWN in your area, and if so, be sure to tune in tonight at 9/8c to watch Crime after Crime.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer.

Here's the official synopsis for Crime after Crime:

CRIME AFTER CRIME tells the dramatic story of the legal battle to free Debbie Peagler, an incarcerated survivor of domestic violence. Over 26 years in prison could not crush the spirit of this determined African-American woman, despite the wrongs she suffered, first at the hands of a duplicitous boyfriend who beat her and forced her into prostitution, and later by prosecutors who used the threat of the death penalty to corner her into a life behind bars for her connection to the murder of her abuser. Her story takes an unexpected turn two decades later when two rookie land-use attorneys step forward to take her case. Through their perseverance, they bring to light long-lost witnesses, new testimonies from the men who committed the murder, and proof of perjured evidence. Their investigation ultimately attracts global attention to victims of wrongful incarceration and abuse, and becomes a matter of life and death once more.

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