A Question of Guilt, Innocence

The wheels of justice turn slowly, and occasionally they can run right over you. Tonight’s edition of “Frontline” focuses on a man it claims bears the tread marks to prove it.

Terence Garner sits in a North Carolina prison cell today facing at least 30 more years of confinement for a 1997 robbery and shooting that many familiar with the case say he did not commit. Now, that being said, most people are aware that prisons have no shortage of inmates who make the same claim. But “An Ordinary Crime” (KCET, 9 p.m.) presents compelling evidence that Garner may be guilty of nothing more than having the wrong first name.

The documentary, produced by Ofra Bikel, suggests that Garner, then only 16, was the victim of a plethora of damning factors that included mistaken identity, racism and officials eager to cover their missteps and keep their elected positions.

Yet the shooting victim, a secretary who survived the three bullets allegedly fired by Garner but lost an eye, remains “120%” convinced that the right man is behind bars. The presiding judge likewise has no doubts about the verdict.

The program’s meticulously assembled story unfolds with an almost dramatic flair, but it might have been even stronger if it had been trimmed to an hour from its 90-minute length.