A Modern Witch Hunt: The Dale Akiki Story

Documentary about the struggles of Dale Akiki, a man who was wrongfully accused and tried for crimes that were never committed all because of his appearance and the prejudices of others.

Directed by: Adam Lee

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• sdaff
• reel
• voices
• student
• filmmaking
• documentary
• modern
• witch
• hunt
• dale
• akiki
• adam
• lee
• film
• festival
• vc
• nyaaif
• los
• angeles
• film
• festival

[Mephistophilese]

@jennycluff

Yeah, I guess you were there when he sacrificed an elephant and a giraffe too.

[FemBone]

Thank you for doing this for Mr. Akiki. This case still makes me ill. I can still remember sitting in my car awaiting the verdict and crying when he was found innocent. How these people sleep with themselves at night I do not know. Best wishes to Dale, his wife, and his entire family for a peaceful future.

[jennamars80]

I am now an atheist and its hard for me to understand how people can be so blind to the facts. But I guess it's not so different than denying the fact of evolution because of your beliefs. My mother still claims there was satanic abuse going on and claims that the "liberal media" and "evil defense lawyers" were doing "Satan's work". Please.

[jennamars80]

The sad thing is that most of the parents of the accusers still refuse to admit his innocence to this day. Even when faced with the total lack of evidence. I grew up in Faith Chapel and was around 9 at the time of the accusations and I remember overhearing so much stuff that to me as a 9 year old didn't make any sense. My own mother would make excuses trying to stretch the facts to make the accusations fit. She said, "Well there is a room where there are animal props for plays."

[fauxmercials]

Thank you for putting this up. I'll be using it in the class I teach at OSU to show how The Crucible is not an outdated play; witch hunts are still in effect in different forms.

[flatpat]

The only commandment that Jesus spoke about was his hatred for those who bared false witness. Church members told their children to lie about what happened.

So let's review: Jesus hates false witness,good christian church used their children to bare false witness against a handicapped man. There isn't a worse violation of christianity than that. I'm sure this church has forgotten and forgiven themselves of this and moved onto hating gays and poor women getting abortions. Christians=evil.

[jennycluff]

Present and accounted for. Obviously they weren't real. They were stuffed animals. But when a grown man tells a 6 year old this is what he's going to do to your parents if you tell them what happened.......YEAH, a little frightening and damaging to a child. Compile that with the sexual abuse. 

[roundskatewheels]

Adam, did you just mention you are the son of Dale's lawyer? Why's your last name different?

[TheLogicJunkie]

And who singlehandedly orchestrated the entire campaign against Dale Akiki, which the district attorney went right along with?

...Why, none other than the good old Aryan Christian couple, Jack and Mary Goodall, who are the CEO owners of the Jack in the Box fast food restaurant chain!

You wanna really make them pay for what they did to Dale Akiki? Organize an international boycott against their Jack in the Box company!

[NICKATOMIC666]

I remember riding the same early morning bus that Dale Akiki rode to his job in downtown San Diego, and whenever he got on, EVERYBODY would get up and offer their seat to him. He would sheepishly sit down and make small talk like a regular Joe, while the entire bus seemed to bask in the glow of this disfigured little man who went through a harrowing ordeal without uttering a word of anger.