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Based on the 2024 podcast of the same name, Prime Video’s new docuseries “Murder 101” is a crime show that looks beyond the transgressions, facts and clues to give a real voice to victims and survivors. The series also
highlights the importance of fostering autonomy and determination in young people on the cusp of major life changes. An intriguing and revelatory show about the power of investigation and alternative education, “Murder 101” shows how much power we hold as members of a collective society if we only become tenacious enough to ask the right questions.
“Murder 101” opens at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year at Elizabethton High School in rural Tennessee. The sun hasn’t even risen, but as usual, Alex Campbell, a beloved sociology teacher, is the first to arrive on campus. The audience learns that Mr. Campbell had his sociology class investigate a cold-case murder in 2018, using old newspaper articles from the 1980s. What they uncovered was not just a potential suspect, but numerous victims, culminating in what the national media would later call the Redhead Murders.
Now, nearly a decade later, Mr. Campbell and a new crop of students begin expanding their investigation, hoping to identify additional victims while connecting their deaths to Jerry Leon Johns, the man convicted of attempting to murder the sole living victim, Linda Schocee. Over the course of the school year, Mr. Campbell walks his class through a tonnage of evidence, including old interviews, autopsies, court documents and crime scene photos. He also gets them to hone in on the misogyny surrounding the investigations — particularly because several of the women were sex workers and addicts, which allowed the victims to remain nameless for so long, and for the case to be shoved in the background for four decades. Mr. Campbell also pushes the high schoolers to come up with out-of-the-box ideas to gather more information and tips to address their unanswered questions. It is especially compelling to watch students shift their perspectives when new evidence no longer aligns with the theories and opinions they previously held. It’s truly a masterclass in critical thinking, a major life skill many adults struggle to grasp.
Though the three-part series certainly has its compelling moments, “Murder 101” would likely have packed an even bigger punch had it been edited down to a two-hour film or expanded into additional episodes. Instead, in the second and third episodes, it felt as though director Stacey Lee and her team were trying to fill in space. The audience gets glimpses of the students’ personal lives. Crimson Lashorne is a foster kid who is finally getting a sense of normalcy. Hannah Metcalf, who took Mr. Campbell’s class the previous year, has a meticulous work ethic and determination that rival those of a real-life detective. Finally, there is Lacey Campbell, still trying to find her own place in the world, while grappling with the many lingering questions about her own mother’s 2018 death.
Throughout the school year, the students make some incredible progress identifying more potential victims, understanding the scope of the crimes and learning why serial killers were able to be so prolific in the 1980s. Yet “Murder 101” could have benefited from an additional year or two. The crime element of the series is certainly interesting. However, what stands out most here is Mr. Campbell’s passion for teaching and his ability to truly engage with his Gen Z pupils. The agency and confidence he instills in them is particularly showcased when Lacey begins tracking down the investigators assigned to her mother’s case. After being left in the dark for years, Lacy begins to piece together what exactly happened the night her mom fell to her death.
There is so much discussion about the demise of literacy and the crumbling of the American education system. Yet “Murder 101” proves that you need only one dedicated educator who is willing to be innovative in teaching real-life lessons and instilling in young folks a sense of community and responsibility for others. Moreover, the series shows how things can change when people are willing to push through the never-ending red tape and bureaucracy that often accompany public services.
In the end, “Murder 101” doesn’t provide all of the answers, but the revelations Mr. Campbell and his students unearth are no less worthwhile. The series shows that the public school system still has much to offer despite dwindling resources, and why the most powerful lessons are sometimes learned when you give voice to the voiceless.
“Murder 101” is now streaming on Prime Video.
