Kitty & Tysheem
A Feature Documentary
Most wrongful conviction documentaries follow the attorney.
Kitty & Tysheem follows the investigator.
For decades, post-conviction investigator Kitty Hailey has gone where few others will: digging through old court files, tracking down witnesses, and visiting people in prison in search of the truth.
At 81, she continues that work with her latest investigation: Tysheem Crocker, a man serving life for a crime he didn't commit.
ABOUT THE FILM
Kitty Hailey doesn't collect stories. She collects facts. For more than two decades, she's worked as a post-conviction investigator, uncovering the overlooked details that can mean the difference between life in prison and freedom.
Since 1999, Tysheem Crocker has been serving a life sentence for a crime he didn't commit. Convicted after a three-day trial based solely on the testimony of an incentivized witness, his case sat untouched for more than two decades.
Until Kitty.
Kitty starts where she always starts: with the file. She reads for weeks, takes copious notes, and builds what she calls a “cast of characters.” Then she goes looking for them. Twenty years after Tysheem's conviction, Kitty and her team return to York to reconstruct what happened.
Kitty's approach to investigation was shaped over decades. After teaching in Camden during the Black Panther era, she built a career in private investigation and became known as an ethics guru in the field.
Kitty & Tysheem is an investigation into one man's conviction, but ultimately, it is a portrait of a woman who has spent her life following the evidence wherever it leads.
The Woman Behind the Investigation
Why This Story Matters
Every person deserves someone who believes they're worth fighting for.
For Tysheem Crocker, that person is Kitty Hailey.
But Kitty doesn't start with a conclusion and work backward to prove it. She starts with questions: What was done right? What was done wrong? What still needs to be done? Then she follows the evidence wherever it leads.
Kitty has been part of teams responsible for helping more than 20 men leave death row, either gaining their freedom or returning to general population after wrongful incarceration. She spent eight years with the Federal Defender Capital Habeas Unit investigating cases involving people facing execution, and has conducted more than 40 civil rights investigations.
She is also a recognized authority on investigative ethics. Her book Code of Professional Conduct: Standards and Ethics for the Investigative Profession has been used as the basis for advanced certification, and her work has educated investigators across the country and internationally. She was honored on the Forbes 50 Over 50 list.
But the film isn't a retrospective of Kitty's career. It's an intimate portrait of Kitty as she puts decades of experience to work on Tysheem's case.
The question is not whether Kitty will keep looking. It's what she will find.
In Development & Fundraising
Kitty & Tysheem is a feature documentary currently raising production funds, and we have already begun capturing Kitty’s investigation into Tysheem Crocker’s case.
Support the Film
Help us bring Kitty & Tysheem to the screen.
Kitty & Tysheem is fiscally sponsored by From the Heart Productions, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your contribution helps support the continued development and production of the film, including filming Kitty's investigation and bringing this story to completion.
Your support helps us keep the camera with Kitty as she follows the evidence, asks the next question, and sees where it leads.
Stay Connected
Follow Kitty's investigative work on TikTok.