In their 1992 documentary film, “Brother’s Keeper,” directors
and documentarians Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky portray the small town
story of two brothers and the community that surrounds them. Delbert and
William Ward were two farmers in a very small town in the state of New York. William
was sick for a long time, and one night he passed away in his sleep.
When the ambulance was called the next morning, they
declared him dead. The emergency personnel gave Delbert, his caring and
compassionate brother, their condolences and left assuming that he had died in
his sleep and of natural causes. When the autopsy is finished, it is concluded
that he was suffocated to death, and the police pick up the rest of the almost
illiterate family for questioning. After several hours, they are able to get a
confession out of Delbert.
The story is about his fight for freedom and the impact that
the Ward family had on the surrounding community (who got together ten thousand
dollars for bail the day after Delbert was arrested). The film is inspiring,
splitting us between what we think is right, what is lawful, and what is
ethical. As we follow the life and struggle of Delbert, we grow such compassion
for the entire community, all of whom are uneducated, supportive of one
another, and most of all, just trying to get by.
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