How one man ruined many lives.

Just, Melvin. Just, Evil is a self-produced documentary presented at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival by James Ronald Whitney. The documentary is a blunt look into how one man can destroy generations. Melvin Just is Whitney’s grandfather who molested, raped, and abused his biological and stepchildren. He also raped and murdered Josephine Spegal, the social worker who was trying to protect 8 of the children.

James Ronald Whitney is a wall street broker who was compelled to investigate and expose the skeletons in his family’s closet. He had a pretty tumultuous childhood; his parents having divorced when he was nine and then his mother’s many suicide attempts. He candidly admits that as a child he thought her depressive episodes were because of the divorce, but it would later be revealed that it was due to her childhood PTSD. With his maternal grandmother on her deathbed, James set out to unravel the truths of his family’s generational trauma.

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