Netflix users are calling its new true-crime series Trial 4 “top-tier” and “mind-blowing” but have also described it as “infuriating” television.
The documentary has outraged viewers since its addition to the streaming service on Wednesday (11 November).
It tells the story of Sean K Ellis, an American man who served 22 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing Boston Police detective John Mulligan in 1993.
While evidence suggested that the murder was an assassination, Ellis, who had been buying nappies for his girlfriend’s baby at the Walgreens where Mulligan was shot, was deemed to fit the profile of the “usual suspects” and was arrested.
Considering Mulligan was a very popular police officer, there was a high amount of pressure to quickly name Mulligan’s killer, with Ellis’s lawyers alleging that the 19-year-old was merely being used as a scapegoat.
The official synopsis reads: “Ellis’s story, while devastating, sheds light on timely issues of systemic racism, police corruption and criminal justice reform while offering hope that, ultimately, people have the power to change the system.”
Netflix subscribers have been binging the series and expressing their shock over the “conspiracy” on social media.
"This Trial 4 documentary on Netflix about the wrongfully convicted Sean Ellis is infuriating," one viewer wrote, adding: "Absolutely disgusted at the corruption displayed by the Boston Police Department during this case.
Another stated: “Trial 4 on Netflix is making me so angry. How dare people say systemic racism doesn’t exist.”
One viewer called the show “triggering”, writing: “Could’ve happened to me on a night out in Brooklyn NYC.”
