Name: A&E documentary premiering Tuesday follows trial of Iowa farmer accused of killing his mother
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A&E documentary premiering Tuesday follows trial of Iowa farmer accused of killing his mother

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Des Moines RegisterView CommentsThe show opens with an overhead shot of snow-covered Iowa farm fields and a frantic 911 call:"I need an ambulance fast."My mom's laying here on the floor."There's blood everywhere."She's dead, and I don't know what happened."So begins a&nbsp;two-part documentary exploring one of the most high-profile homicides in recent Iowa history: The killing of Shirley Carter, who was&nbsp;shot to death on June 19, 2015, in her rural Marion County home.Her son, Jason Carter,&nbsp;was identified as a suspect early in the police investigation, but two years later, after no charges had been filed, widower&nbsp;Bill Carter&nbsp;sued his son in civil court, drawing national media attention.A civil jury found Jason Carter responsible for his mother's death in 2017;&nbsp;he was ordered to&nbsp;.Two days later, he&nbsp;was charged&nbsp;with first-degree murder. He&nbsp;pleaded not guilty.► SPOILER:The documentary is the latest segment of A&amp;E's new series&nbsp;"Accused: Guilty Or Innocent?" which offers viewers&nbsp;a behind-the-scenes look at&nbsp;people facing trial for serious crimes and the attorneys preparing their defense.The first of two hour-long shows premiers at 9 p.m. Tuesday on A&amp;E. The second segment airs on June 2.The documentary is told entirely from the perspective of Jason Carter, his legal team and family members.&nbsp;Viewers sit in with Carter's lawyers as they review evidence and prepare his defense. They go inside the courtroom during the 2019 criminal trial to listen to testimony. And they're there when the verdict is read.► MORE SPOILERS:Series creator Malcolm Brinkworth, executive producer&nbsp;of Brinkworth Productions, says the show is breaking new ground in true-crime documentary, which typically focuses on the point of view of police and prosecutors.“Why would we want to make a series about people who are accused of a serious crime?" Brinkworth said.&nbsp;"I think the question comes down to a simple thought: What does it really feel like to be accused of a serious crime?"We hope what the series is doing is allowing the viewers to share in that experience and to understand what it feels like when you have that shadow of jail time hanging over you."Brinkworth, who created a similar series for British TV in 2017, and his team shadowed dozens of criminal cases across the U.S. before settling on six trials to follow for the A&amp;E series.“What we were looking for inside that casting process was this element of doubt," executive producer Xander Brinkworth said. "We wanted cases where reasonable people could be on both sides, depending on what part of the episode you were in.”The producers worked for months with Jason Carter's defense team and spent two months filming&nbsp;in Iowa.Alison Kanne, one of Jason Carter's&nbsp;attorneys, said allowing the film crew to document their preparation for the trial was a way to combat what she sees as negative publicity surrounding&nbsp;the civil trial. The case has"Given all of that prejudicial publicity that we had before, this seemed like an excellent opportunity to really get Jason’s story out there," she said.Malcolm Brinkworth said that while the program focuses on the defense, it&nbsp;does not make a judgment about the accused's guilt or innocence. It leaves that&nbsp;for the jury and the viewer to decide.“We take no sides either way," he said. "We just follow what happens.”This ultimately leads the film crew to its final scene inside a Pottawatomie County courtroom, where, on&nbsp;March 21, 2019, .Charles Flesher is a reporter for the Register. He can be reached by email at or by phone at 515-284-8481. Follow him on Twitter View Comments

Des Moines RegisterView CommentsThe show opens with an overhead shot of snow-covered Iowa farm fields and a frantic 911 call:"I need an ambulance fast."My mom's laying here on the floor."There's blood everywhere."She's dead, and I don't know what happened."So begins a&nbsp;two-part documentary exploring one of the most high-profile homicides in recent Iowa history: The killing of Shirley Carter, who was&nbsp;shot to death on June 19, 2015, in her rural Marion County home.Her son, Jason Carter,&nbsp;was identified as a suspect early in the police investigation, but two years later, after no...

A&E documentary premiering Tuesday follows trial of Iowa farmer accused of killing his mother

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