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Pastor Vitale Reviews "A Death In Canaan"
PASTOR VITALE REVIEWS "A DEATH IN CANAAN"
Article #94 (04/23/2022)
Based in Port Jefferson, New York, Living Epistles Ministries is a teaching ministry that distributes educational resources such as books, audio lectures, and videos. Living Epistles Ministries is led by Pastor Sheila Vitale, an author, teacher, and researcher. Recently, she published a review of the movie, “A Death in Canaan.”
“A Death in Canaan” is based on a true story. In 1973, Barbara Gibbons was murdered in her home in Connecticut while her 18-year-old son Peter Reilly was away playing in a band. When he returned home and found his mother on the floor he called an ambulance, and then the police. The police came and eventually arrested him for the murder.
At the police station, the police officers isolated him, denied him his legal right to representation, and used unsanctioned questioning tactics to force a confession out of him. The 18-year-old was so confused he signed a confession.
A writer, Joan Barthel, who had just moved in to the neighborhood in Connecticut, on hearing the story and learning how the police had denied the boy his legal rights, immediately doubted his guilt. She followed the case closely and helped the young man gain access to a lawyer. Unfortunately, the administrative prejudice against the boy was too strong and he was found guilty at a trial and sentenced.
Mrs. Barthel continued to raise awareness of Peter’s case through her writing and rallied the community behind her cause. After 18 months in jail, Peter was granted a second trial, this time with a new judge. At this trial, the inconsistencies in the witness' testimonies were revealed, while new evidence absolved Peter from the crime. A jury found him innocent and he was freed.
According to Pastor Vitale, the story is evidence of the prejudice and evil that lies in the hearts of men while highlighting the need for salvation to save the soul from sin. She affirms that God is far greater than those who do evil in this world and calls on Christians to do good to others so as to make the world a better place, reap blessings and avoid curses.
