Documentary Accompanying the TV Event

In an on-screen experiment, a group of parents, police officers, and legal experts is invited to a movie theatre in Munich to watch two films entitled “Enemies.” The presentation starts with “Against Time,” told from the perspective of the investigator, followed by “The Confession” from the perspective of the public defender. Afterwards, the theatre audience votes on a single question: Was the acquittal just? It is exciting to follow along as the various groups make their decisions. Bestselling author Ferdinand von Schirach and Elisa Hoven, a criminal law professor at the University of Leipzig, guide viewers through the documentary.
 
Actual kidnapping cases are referenced to show that the question of justice is not just abstract, but plays a dramatic role in real life. The two films are based on the case of Jakob von Metzler, the son of a Frankfurt banker, who was kidnapped and killed as a child. In 1976, Richard Oetker became a victim as well: His kidnapper held him in a box and tortured him with electric shocks. As a result, Oetker, now a businessman, has been suffering from mobility problems. He tells about the ordeal and explains his views concerning the just treatment of the perpetrator. Next, the Riße family recounts having to rely on an expedited police investigation in 2015 when their 17-year-old daughter Anneli-Marie was kidnapped and killed shortly thereafter. Those affected by the crime express opinions about the methods used by the lead investigator: In an effort to rescue the girl, he disregarded the law and used waterboarding as a method of torture.
 
The documentary aims to initiate discussions and poses the existential question: Is an acquittal a just verdict in such a case?