
On June 3, 1973, a man was murdered in a busy intersection of San Francisco’s Chinatown as part of an ongoing gang war. Chol Soo Lee, a 20-year-old Korean immigrant who had previous run-ins with the law, was arrested and convicted based on flimsy evidence and the eyewitness accounts of white tourists who couldn’t distinguish between Asian features. Sentenced to life in prison, Chol Soo Lee would spend years fighting to survive behind bars before journalist K.W. Lee took an interest in his case. The intrepid reporter’s investigation would galvanize a first-of-its-kind pan-Asian American grassroots movement to fight for Chol Soo Lee’s freedom, ultimately inspiring a new generation of social justice activists.

Chol Soo Lee
Self (archive footage)

Sebastian Yoon
Narrator (voice)

Ranko Yamada
Self - Friend; Defense Committee


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August 12, 2022
1h 23m
7.3
Julie Ha
N/A
14


XTR
US

ITVS
US

Center for Asian American Media (CAAM)
US

K.W. Lee
Self - Investigative Reporter

Jeff Adachi
Self - Activist

David Kakishiba
Self - Activist

Jay Kun Yoo
Self - Chair, Defense Committee

Grace Kim
Self - Vice-chair, Defense Committee

Warren Furutani
Self - L.A. Defense Committee

Leonard Weinglass
Self - Defense Attorney (archive footage)
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