Just Cause

Just Cause is a crime thriller set largely in Florida, where a young Black man, Bobby Earl Ferguson, sits on death row awaiting execution for the murder of a girl. A Harvard law professor and outspoken opponent of capital punishment, Paul Armstrong, is drawn back to courtroom work after many years when Ferguson and his grandmother ask him to take up the case. Armstrong becomes convinced that evidence was fabricated and that a wrongful conviction has taken place, but his investigation leads him through a tangle of racism and intrigue toward a truth far worse than his initial assumptions.

The film was directed by Arne Glimcher, with a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Peter Stone, and adapted from John Katzenbach's novel. Sean Connery, who also produced, plays Paul Armstrong, alongside Laurence Fishburne as Sheriff Tanny Brown, Blair Underwood as Bobby Earl Ferguson, Kate Capshaw, Ruby Dee, and a young Scarlett Johansson as Armstrong's daughter Kate. Released in February 1995, the film took about 37 million dollars worldwide, a modest return. Its critical reception was weak, with reviews averaging 4.8 out of 10, while audiences were noticeably warmer: on IMDb it holds 6.4 from roughly 33,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.3 from a much smaller base of voters.