Hilary Ann Swank is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series Camp Wilder and made her film debut with a minor role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). She then had her breakthrough for starring as Julie Pierce in The Next Karate Kid (1994), the fourth installment of The Karate Kid franchise, and as Carly Reynolds on the eighth season of Beverly Hills, 90210 (1997–98).
Brandon Teena was an American transgender man who was raped and later, along with Phillip DeVine and Lisa Lambert, murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska, by John Lotter and Tom Nissen. His life and death are the subject of the films The Brandon Teena Story and Boys Don't Cry. Teena's murder, along with that of Matthew Shepard nearly five years later, led to increased lobbying for hate crime laws in the United States.
Innocence Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal organization that works to exonerate the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and other forms of post-conviction relief, as well as advocate for criminal justice reform to prevent future injustice. The group cites various studies estimating that in the United States between 1% and 10% of all prisoners are innocent. The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld who gained national attention in the mid-1990s as part of the "Dream Team" of lawyers who formed part of the defense in the O. J. Simpson murder case.
Capturing the Friedmans is a 2003 HBO documentary film directed by Andrew Jarecki. It focuses on the 1980s investigation of Arnold and Jesse Friedman for child molestation. The film premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival where it received critical acclaim as well as the Grand Jury Prize: Documentary. The film went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Gerald A. "Tooky" Amirault is an American convicted in 1986 of child sexual abuse of eight children at the Fells Acres Day School in Malden, Massachusetts, run by his family. He and his family deny the charges, which supporters regard as a conspicuous example of day-care sex-abuse hysteria. Amirault was released from prison on parole on April 30, 2004.
Louise Woodward, born in 1978 (age 45–46), is a British former au pair, who at the age of 18 was charged with murder, but was subsequently convicted of involuntary manslaughter of eight-month-old baby Matthew Eappen, in Newton, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Barry Charles Scheck is an American attorney and legal scholar. He received national media attention while serving on O. J. Simpson's defense team, collectively dubbed the "Dream Team", helping to win an acquittal in the highly publicized murder case. Scheck is the director of the Innocence Project and a professor at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City.
The Fells Acres day care sexual abuse trial took place in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts following charges initially lodged in the mid-1980s against family members who operated a day care center, Fells Acres Day School, in Malden, Massachusetts. The facility had been opened in 1966 by Violet Amirault (1923–1997). She and her two children—son Gerald Amirault and daughter Cheryl Amirault LeFave —were tried for sexually abusing children at their facility. Gerald was tried in 1986 while his sister and mother were tried in 1987. All three were convicted and sentenced to prison. The Amiraults deny the charges, which supporters regard as a conspicuous example of day-care sex-abuse hysteria.
After Innocence is a 2005 American documentary film about men who were exonerated from death row by DNA evidence. Directed by Jessica Sanders, the film won the Special Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.
Martha Mary Coakley is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and former politician who served as Attorney General of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. Prior to serving as Attorney General, she was District Attorney of Middlesex County from 1999 to 2007.
Conviction is a finding that a defendant is guilty of committing a crime.
Sidetrack Bar and Grill is a restaurant on the east end of Depot Town in Ypsilanti, Michigan, at 56 East Cross Street. It is just down the road from Eastern Michigan University and is a popular hangout for students and faculty. Linda French, who has owned the restaurant since 1980, named it after “its unique location alongside the main railroad line from Detroit to Chicago.” The location has served as a restaurant, under different names, as far back as 1850. It has a large beer selection as well as liquor and wine and has won awards for its food.
The 2010 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was a special election held on January 19, 2010, in order to fill the Massachusetts Class I United States Senate seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2013. It was won by Republican candidate Scott Brown.
Ayer is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Originally part of Groton, it was incorporated February 14, 1871, and became a major commercial railroad junction. The town was home to Camp Stevens, a training camp for Massachusetts volunteers during the American Civil War. Later, Fort Devens was established by the federal government to train New England soldiers for World War I. Fort Devens is a major influence on the area, although it is considerably smaller than when it was first closed in the mid-1990s. The town's population was 8,479 at the 2020 census.
Ypsilanti, commonly shortened to Ypsi is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and east by Ypsilanti Township. Ypsilanti is a part of the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti metropolitan area, the Huron River Valley, the Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor combined statistical area, and the Great Lakes megalopolis. The city is also the home of Eastern Michigan University (EMU).
Mary and Martha is a 2013 British-American television film starring Hilary Swank and Brenda Blethyn, and directed by Phillip Noyce. Based on a screenplay by Richard Curtis, it was produced by Working Title Television, in association with the BBC and NBCUniversal. The film had its UK premiere on 1 March 2013 on BBC One and premiered in the US on HBO on 20 April 2013. The film is based on a true story. The film centers around two mothers, one British, one American, who share only one thing in common: the loss of their sons to malaria. After the deaths of their sons, the mothers decide to travel to Africa to help with malaria prevention. The film was nominated for the Humanitas Prize.
The Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, or "MassINC," is registered as a non-profit 501(c) organization that functions as a nonpartisan, evidence-based think tank. Its mission is to develop a public agenda for Massachusetts that promotes the growth and vitality of the middle class. Its governing philosophy is rooted in the ideals embodied in the American Dream: equality of opportunity, personal responsibility, and a strong commonwealth. Their mission is to promote a public agenda for the middle class and to help all citizens achieve the American dream.
Pamela Gray is an American screenwriter.
Fatale is a 2020 American psychological thriller film directed by Deon Taylor, from a screenplay by David Loughery. The film stars Hilary Swank, Michael Ealy, Mike Colter, and Danny Pino.
The Martha Washington Theatre is a former movie theater in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The Martha Washington was built and initially operated by Florence W. Signor of Ypsilanti, the only woman theatre operator in Michigan at the time. Signor sold the Martha Washington to W. S. Butterfield Theatres in 1925, which operated it as a first-run cinema until the 1970s.
