5: Accidental Homicide

“I am guilty of the crime, but not as I was charged. I will tell
you what honestly happened.”

In 1981, Phillip Tompkins robbed and kidnapped a woman who he
claimed was accidentally killed during the abduction. He was a
black perpetrator who pleaded innocent when convicted by an
all-white jury. 

True Crime documentary makers, Zoe Hines and Ned Parker discuss
issues of culpability during accidental homicide and themes of
prejudice in the American legal system as detailed in these
Letters From A Killer.