Just, Melvin: Just Evil

Plot synopsis:
Whitney, at the time a Wall Street executive, returns to his rural hometown of Carlotta, California, and interviews his family members about his maternal stepgrandfather, Melvin E. Just. Just sexually abused 10 of Whitney's relatives, including his mother, uncle, aunts and step-aunts, some as young as 2 years old. The abuse resulted in dysfunction spanning three generations of the family. Several of the aunts reveal they are sleeping in their vehicles. Whitney's aunts discuss their struggles with alcohol and drug addiction, and bouts of homelessness and prostitution.
Just's first wife, Fay (Whitney's grandmother), and mother of six of Just's children/step-children is interviewed throughout and shows naivete, alternating between whether she knew or believed before charges were brought, when it was happening, or whether she believed it immediately after Just left her for another woman. Whitney's Uncle Jim is caretaker to a feeble, aged Fay and laughingly recalls pulling three of her teeth out. His sisters seem to dislike this arrangement but keep their distance from both as Jim has propositioned two of his half-sisters to live with him "as his wife", while he cares for Fay. Jim states what happens between two consenting adults is fine, then mumbles a tirade about fathers sleeping with their daughters. Both of his half-sisters vehemently turn him down. Whitney then reveals he was molested by his Uncle Jim at the age of 6.
Just's second (and then-current) wife, Venice is mother to four of Just's children/step-children. Venice's interviews recall Just in a loving manner, discussing how difficult it was for her and subsequently Just when he was released to go about their daily business. She states the singular child she and Just had together was "seeking attention all the time", when in reality, this child - Pambi - is actually disabled due to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, being born with one of the more rare forms that includes clubbed feet. Jenise has two children who appear on the camera. Her daughter Clarissa (age 12) reveals she was molested at age 7. Whitney does not press the issue and allows Clarissa to speak freely, so Clarissa never names her molester, though it's implied that it is Just as he asks why she would want to feel close to Just. Showing the cycle of abuse through the generations, Clarissa notes that she feels sad, "but he is family and I love him".
In the film, Whitney confronts Just on camera about the accusations. Just denies all the accusations, although he was convicted in 1979 of 12 counts of child molestation in his family and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He served fewer than nine years. It's further revealed that his aunt, Pambi, was actually severely injured during one of her rapes, where he placed his legs on top of hers to commit the crime. She required multiple surgeries and for over 30 years (at the time of the documentary) had worn leg braces off and on. Her gait is severely affected dating to the hip injuries she sustained.
In addition to the sexual abuse, three of Whitney's aunts say they witnessed Just rape and murder retired nurse Josephine Spegel, who was acting as a social worker. Spegel had arrived to check on the children's welfare only to find Just in bed with his stepdaughter. Just was a suspect in her murder and the documentary interviews Detective Lonnie Lawson. Lawson is convinced of Just's guilt in the murder and notes Just failed his polygraph where a "deceptive" rating is -7, while Just scores a -16 indicating massive deception. Lawson reveals he believes there is more than enough evidence to charge Just with murder, but California declined as Just's doctors in Washington claim he is unfit to stand trial. Just was ultimately never charged in the case, which remains officially unsolved. Towards the end of the film, Whitney asks when the last time he molested one of his children was, Pambi reveals that her stepfather propositioned her just two years before the documentary was filmed. She alleges he took her into the woods, threatened her because she couldn't run - as she had braces on her legs at that time - and paid her for sex, demonstrating that up until Just was confined to a wheelchair, his reign of molestation and terror continued through the adult life of at least one of the children. Whitney's final scene is dedicated to his aunts visiting Just in the nursing home. Several are severely conflicted and cannot face him, while others hug and kiss him. One aunt runs to him and calls him "Daddy" and hugs him. Pambi is seen giving him a hug, but looking rather apprehensive.
The film ends with Whitney revealing just a few months after filming finished, Just "just died", age 71. The credits roll as audio begins to play from Just's funeral. The text credits are interspersed with video, revealing the daughters to struggle between extreme grief and extreme hate, as the clergyman attempts to conduct the ceremony. Several of Whitney's aunts interrupt the clergyman to say how awful Just was, while a few others discuss how much they love him and "we all have our faults".

Tags: murder

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