Ronnie Carrasquillo appears destined to die in prison. 47 years after he killed a plainclothes police officer, his life is in the hands of a parole board whose decision-making is swayed by shifting political sands and an ever-present police union. As Ronnie's family and attorneys fight for his freedom, they keep coming back to the same question: "is this any way to decide a man's fate?" The documentary IN THEIR HANDS tells Ronnie's story and sheds light on parole boards and the elected officials who appoint parole board members. In a surprising third act, the film also explores the reverberations of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that, in light of modern brain science, ruled that a mandatory life sentence for a juvenile constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. More broadly, it is a story about how the modern politics of crime and punishment can force levelheaded Americans to abandon their beliefs about redemption and personal transformation.

Ronnie Carrasquillo appears destined to die in prison. 47 years after he killed a plainclothes police officer, his life is in the hands of a parole board whose decision-making is swayed by shifting political sands and an ever-present police union. As Ronnie's family and attorneys fight for his freedom, they keep coming back to the same question: "is this any way to decide a man's fate?" The documentary IN THEIR HANDS tells Ronnie's story and sheds light on parole boards and the elected officials who appoint parole board members. In a surprising third act, the film also explores the reverberations of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that, in light of modern brain science, ruled that a mandatory life sentence for a juvenile constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. More broadly, it is a story about how the modern politics of crime and punishment can force levelheaded Americans to abandon their beliefs about redemption and personal transformation.

Ronnie Carrasquillo appears destined to die in prison. 47 years after he killed a plainclothes police officer, his life is in the hands of a parole board whose decision-making is swayed by shifting political sands and an ever-present police union. As Ronnie's family and attorneys fight for his freedom, they keep coming back to the same question: "is this any way to decide a man's fate?" The documentary IN THEIR HANDS tells Ronnie's story and sheds light on parole boards and the elected officials who appoint parole board members. In a surprising third act, the film also explores the reverberations of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that, in light of modern brain science, ruled that a mandatory life sentence for a juvenile constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. More broadly, it is a story about how the modern politics of crime and punishment can force levelheaded Americans to abandon their beliefs about redemption and personal transformation.