Stories like Debbie Peagler’s are not often heard outside of prison walls, and certainly not with the kind of detail revealed in CRIME AFTER CRIME. Filming in and out of prison for over five years, filmmaker Yoav Potash and his crew obtained unprecedented access to document the story of Debbie Peagler and her pro bono legal team.
The filmmaker worked with The California Department of Corrections to document programs that the agency was willing to promote and publicize. These included the prison gospel choir led by Debbie Peagler, the electronics manufacturing plant where Debbie supervised other inmates, and the education programs through which she earned two college degrees.
Meanwhile, Debbie Peagler’s attorneys felt that it was in their client’s legal interest to ensure that her story would be documented. By working closely with the Peagler legal team, Potash was able to film attorney-client meetings, legal team strategy sessions, and the personal lives of the attorneys, witnesses, and family members involved.