The tragedy of Brady Sims

In a small Louisiana town troubled by Jim Crow, reporter Louis Guerin witnesses Brady Sims shoot a young black man convicted of robbery and murder in the courthouse. Guerin heads to the local barbershop to get a human interest story on Sims. Sims is known around the town for disciplining wayward young black residents to keep them out of Angola, the state penitentiary. The barbers and customers reflect on Sims' sad life story and on a poor black community struggling to survive.