''To Live and Die in Alabama'' is a 2021

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

, directed by Matt Kay. It focuses on the circumstances leading to the 2004 arrest and controversial 2020 execution of Nathaniel Woods and the killings for which he was convicted. The film was aired on FX on December 3, 2021, and was made available on

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

shortly after. A month later, it was released on the ''New York Times''' website. The film is a part of ''

the New York Times Presents ''The New York Times Presents'' (previously ''The Weekly'') is an American narrative investigative journalism docuseries produced by ''The New York Times'' for FX and Hulu. The program has aired in two distinct formats. The first format, ''The ...

'' documentary series.

Synopsis

Nathaniel Woods was convicted of

capital murder Capital murder was a statutory offence of aggravated murder in Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, which was later adopted as a legal provision to define certain forms of aggravated murder in the United States. In som ...

in the killings of three police officers in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. Despite never pulling a trigger, Woods was accused by the state of being an accomplice to the shooter, Kerry Spencer. The film features interviews from Woods, Spencer, family members of Woods and the deceased officers, and others involved in the case. Woods's family believes in his innocence, while opinions from family members of the deceased officers are mixed; Kimberly Chisholm Simmons, the sister of deceased officer Harley Chisholm III, defends Woods in the documentary and believes in his innocence, while Andrea Elders, the daughter of deceased officer Carlos Owen, believes Woods was "the whole entire reason" that the murders occurred.

Cast

All star as themselves. △ = Believes Woods is guilty
〇 = Believes Woods is innocent * Nathaniel Woods (archival footage) * Chris McAlpine, juror △ * Christina Bishop, alternate juror 〇 * Michael Blalock, defense counsel for Kerry Spencer 〇 * Rita Briles, defense counsel for Nathaniel Woods 〇 * Tyran "Bubba" Cooper, Woods's cousin 〇 * Curtis Crane, juror △ * Andrea Elders, daughter of deceased officer Carlos Owen △ * Annetta Nunn,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

police chief (2003-2007) △ * Kimberly Chisholm Simmons, sister of deceased officer Harley Chisholm III 〇 * Kerry Spencer, shooter 〇 * Cynthia Umstead, defense counsel for Nathaniel Woods 〇 * Deandrez Walters, son of Nathaniel Woods 〇 * Nathaniel Woods Sr., father of Nathaniel Woods 〇 * Heavenly Woods, sister of Nathaniel Woods 〇 * Pamela Woods, sister of Nathaniel Woods 〇

References

{{reflist American documentary films Hulu original programming 2021 documentary films 2021 films 2020s English-language films 2020s American films