Fourteen Days in May is a documentary film directed by Paul Harman. The show chronicled the final days before the execution of Edward Earl Johnson, an American prisoner convicted of rape and murder. Johnson maintained his innocence and claimed he pleaded guilty under duress. On May 20, 1987, he was executed in the Mississippi gas chambers.
The documentary film crew, which had access to jailers, guards and priests, as well as Johnson and his family, filmed the final days of Johnson’s life in detail. The documentary speaks out against the death penalty, arguing that it is disproportionately applied to African-Americans convicted of crimes against whites. The show features attorney Clive Stafford Smith, a prominent anti-death penalty advocate.
Fourteen Days in May won the BAFTA Grierson Award and the Popular Film Festival Grand Prix. It screened in many countries, but only in the United States on HBO in abbreviated form. Harman denied the abridged version.
In direct response to the documentary, Lifeline was formed to organize pen pals for prisoners on death row.
