9 Movies That Helped Solve Real Life Crimes

Capturing the Friedmans is a 2003 documentary from HBO that focuses on the 1980s investigation of Arnold and Jesse Friedman. The father and son were convicted of child molestation charges, which landed the pair in prison. The film began as a short, but after filmmaker Andrew Jarecki began investigating, it blossomed into a 107-minute documentary.

The film features videos taken by the Friedmans while working on their defense, including family dinners, various conversations, and arguments. The trial focused a great deal of attention on the father, Arnold, who confessed to greater charges to spare his son a harsher sentence.

Following the movie, a federal appeals court urged prosecutors to reopen the Friedman's case, indicating that there was a "reasonable likelihood that Jesse Friedman was wrongfully convicted." The Nassau District Attorney's office launched a three-year investigation, which upheld the conviction, but new details emerged as a result.

Several victims recanted their testimony, indicating they had been coerced to lie by the district attorney's office. Additionally, Jesse Friedman admitted to confessing to avoid a sentence of life in prison. Jesse was released in 2001 after serving 13 years of his six to eighteen-year sentence, and he continues to proclaim his innocence, as does Andrew Jarecki.