''Time Simply Passes'' is a 2015 US documentary film chronicling the life and wrongful conviction of

James Joseph Richardson James Joseph Richardson (born December 26, 1935) is an African-American man who was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death in 1968 for the October 1967 mass murder of his seven children. They died after eating a poisoned breakfast containin ...

. It details the circumstances leading to his 1967 arrest for the poisoning deaths of his seven children in

Arcadia, Florida Arcadia is a city and county seat of DeSoto County, Florida, United States. Its population was 7,637 as of the 2010 census, with an estimated population of 7,722 in 2014. Arcadia's Historic District is listed on the National Register of Histor ...

, his twenty-one years spent in prison, his miraculous release in 1989 upon the discovery of hidden evidence, and the twenty-five years he spent following his release attempting to obtain compensation from the

State of Florida Florida is a U.S. state, state located in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia (U.S. state), Geo ...

. It features exclusive interviews with

Barry Scheck Barry Charles Scheck (born September 19, 1949) is an American lawyer. He received national media attention while serving on O. J. Simpson's defense team, collectively dubbed the "Dream Team", helping to win an acquittal in the highly publicize ...

Don Horn Donald Glenn Horn (born March 9, 1945) is a former American football player, a quarterback in the National Football League for eight seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns, and San Diego Chargers. Early years Born i ...

, Peter Gallagher,

Geraldine Thompson Geraldine Fortenberry Thompson (born November 18, 1948) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party, who currently serves as a member of the Florida State Senate from the 15th district. She served as a member of the Florida Hous ...

, Tim Edman, and

. The film is directed and produced by Ty Flowers, who worked with his father, Charles Flowers, a journalist who helped free James through his work on the case in the 1980s. It was acquired by

Indie Rights Indie Rights, Inc. is an American distributor of independent films, based in Los Angeles, California. Indie Rights is a subsidiary of Nelson Madison Films and was incorporated in 2007 to act as distributor for other independent filmmakers. The co ...

and released on digital platforms in January 2018.

Synopsis

On October 25, 1967, the seven Richardson children, ranging in age from two to eight, consumed food poisoned with parathion in

. The night before, Annie Mae Richardson, James' wife, had prepared a lunch of beans, rice, and grits for the children. The meal was placed in a locked refrigerator overnight. In the morning the Richardsons left to work at the orange groves 16 miles away. A neighbor, Betsy Reece, was delegated to take care of the children while their parents were at work. James was tried and convicted of the murder on May 27, 1968 and sentenced to death. In 1988 Reese, suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

and in a nursing home in Arcadia, had reportedly confessed to the murders more than 100 times, but her confessions were not taken seriously because of her condition. Also, the last surviving witness to Richardson’s alleged jail-cell confession recanted his testimony to state legislators, saying that he had been offered a lighter sentence in return for the testimony. James was released from prison on October 25, 1989 after a new hearing was held. James fought the State of Florida in court for compensation until a new bill was passed to award him $1.2 million in 2014.

Awards

*2015: Full Bloom Film Festival, Official Selection. Award for Best Feature Documentary. *2015: Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, Official Selection *2015: Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival, Award for Best Feature Documentary *2016:

Thessaloniki Documentary Festival The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (TDF) is an international documentary festival held every March in Thessaloniki, Greece. TDF, founded in 1999, features competition sections and ranks among the world's leading documentary festivals. Since 20 ...

, Official Selection *2016:

Tallgrass Film Festival The Tallgrass Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Wichita, Kansas, specializing in independent films. It was founded in 2003 by Timothy Gruver. Gruver was raised in Wichita. He studied filmmaking at Brigham Young University. After c ...

, Official Selection. Audience Award for Best Documentary Film *2016: Black Harvest Film Festival, Official Selection *2017:

Jaipur International Film Festival The Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF) is held annually in Jaipur, India, since 2009. The festival is conducted by the Jaipur International Film Festival Trust. The Jaipur International Film Festival started in 2009 under Hanu Roj. The ...

Golden Camel Award for Best Director. *2016: Verzio International Human Rights Film Festival, Official Selection *2016: Docuwest Film Festival, Award for Best Mid-Length Film

Release

Following a festival run with screenings and awards around the world, the film was acquired by

and distributed digitally in 2018 via Amazon and other platforms. In February 2018 the film was shown several times in

Arcadia, FL Arcadia is a city and county seat of DeSoto County, Florida, United States. Its population was 7,637 as of the 2010 census, with an estimated population of 7,722 in 2014. Arcadia's Historic District is listed on the National Register of Histor ...

as part of a 50th anniversary remembrance ceremony honoring the victims of the poisoning that led to the imprisonment of James Richardson, and was received warmly by the town.

Critical reception

The film received positive reviews. "Sometimes a documentary can tell such compelling story that from the first minute you can’t help but jump onboard and root for the underdog... It's a lesson we shouldn’t forget, and one whose timing couldn’t be better. 9/10" -Paul Percellin, ''

Filmthreat ''Film Threat'' is an online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. It first ...

'' "The few glimmers of hope here come from those who have aided him over the years, but in the end we're left with the image of an 80-year-old man in failing health whose life was ruined for no good reason." -

Dmitry Samarov Dmitri (russian: Дми́трий); Church Slavic form: Dimitry or Dimitri (); ancient Russian forms: D'mitriy or Dmitr ( or ) is a male given name common in Orthodox Christian culture, the Russian version of Greek Demetrios (Δημήτριος ...

, ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...

'' "And through its own history, the American legal system is revealed in all its weakness. An exciting story that has not yet reached its finale, even though we probably know how it will end. The way has not been found institutionally, but even the effort has not begun." - Leda Galanou, ''

flix Flix () is a town in the ''Comarques of Catalonia, comarca'' of Ribera d'Ebre, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on a promontory by the Ebro river, the town occupied an important strategic position. Situated on the Madrid–Barcelona railway line, ...

References

External links