Summary
In a daring, almost quixotic pursuit of journalistic truth, reporter Will Campbell orchestrates his own incarceration, plunging headfirst into the grim realities of the penal system to unmask the systemic injustices leading to wrongful capital punishment. His self-imposed exile, a macabre social experiment, yields profound insights. Upon his subsequent parole, Campbell attempts to reintegrate into society, finding employment within the staid confines of a bank, aided by the compassionate Minnie O'Reilly. Fate, however, has a crueler twist in store: during an attempted robbery, Campbell, driven by an innate sense of justice, intervenes, pursuing the assailant. This act of heroism is tragically misconstrued, leading to his arrest, a swift, damning conviction for a detective's murder, and the ultimate sentence—death by hanging. The gallows claim him, a horrifying testament to judicial fallibility, mere seconds before a stay of execution, a spectral reprieve, arrives. In a bold defiance of finality, the empathetic warden, aghast at the profound injustice, permits a pioneering physician to administer adrenaline, miraculously coaxing Campbell back from the precipice of oblivion. Resurrected and released, Campbell confronts a world irrevocably altered: his perpetually dissatisfied wife has leveraged his 'death' for divorce, leaving him adrift. Yet, amidst this existential wreckage, a beacon of hope emerges as he finds solace and renewed connection with the steadfast Minnie.
Synopsis
Reporter Will Campbell has himself arrested and imprisoned, where he gathers information to prove his theory that most victims of capital punishment are wrongfully condemned. Following his parole, Will finds work in a bank with the help of Minnie O'Reilly. When a detective is shot during an attempted robbery, Will grabs the gun and pursues the killer. However, Will is arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death for the murder. His innocence is discovered too late and Will is hanged, seconds before the prison warden receives a stay of execution. Hoping to rectify the injustice, the warden allows a doctor to experiment on the body with adrenaline, and Will is brought back to life. After he is released, Will discovers that his nagging wife has divorced him and he reunites with Minnie.
