The Following is completely ridiculous - I'm a public defender in Philadelphia, and I've been to death row many times. THIS COULD NEVER HAPPEN. Death Row is very very different from general population. He would be in lock down 23 hours a day. He wouldn't even shower in privacy. And, he certainly wouldn't have internet access. Any letters received, are first read by the prison staff, and any objectionable material is blacked out. All prison phone calls, whether from death row, or from any other inmate, are recorded. And as far as his 8th Amendment hearing - my clients make allegations of abuse all the time - their remedy is to file habeas petitions in federal court - and it takes forever. And, if something were actually handled in the prison, there's usually a chart for damages - like a broken finger would get you $87 on your books, or something like that.
Also, as I said to my husband last night - if any death row client of mine had had my fingers cut off - I would have gone to the police in a heartbeat . . . everything that lawyer has done since she appeared on the show has either been unethical or illegal. And, the FBI knows that - as soon as she delivered that goofy message it was clear that she was helping him. There's no way they wouldn't have had her wired - they would have brought her in, threatened to charge her, and gotten her to cooperate. And, when he got away - please - there is NO WAY. The security I have to go to get back to the row is ridiculous. I can't even go back to see my clients with an underwire bra on. And, it's the same going out - she never would have been able to waltz out of there with him in her trunk. Her car wouldn't have been anywhere near the prison, but out in the heavily monitored parking lot. And when he was in her car - local law enforcement, the FBI, Homeland security - whoever, wouldn't have had the car surrounded as soon as they got the GPS blip on it. That Ryan was the only one chasing the car, the only one to get to the mall? No way
I could go on.
But, sigh, with all of that said, The Following is a guilty pleasure. I love Kevin Bacon, and the pacing of the show is so good, that it almost makes me forget how dumb it is.
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