An Innocent Man

An Innocent Man is an American crime drama about an airplane employee who serves a prison sentence for a crime he didn't commit and exacts revenge on the corrupt law enforcement officials who put him there. Tom Selleck plays Jimmie Rainwood - an average American with a wife, children, house, and a nice job as a mechanic for a major commercial airline. Jimmie's life as he knows it comes to an abrupt halt thanks to police detectives Mike Parnell and Danny Scaliese, played by David Rasche and Richard Young. Mistaking the wrong house as a drug den after Parnell snorts a line of cocaine, the two detectives shoot Jimmie and plant drugs around his house to cover up their error. With this, plus a gun found in Jimmie's hand that was also planted by the detectives, he is sent to prison. Jimmie isn't ready for life in prison, and nearly gets beaten to death by a gang who take interest in harassing him. It's only after the help of Virgil Cane, portrayed by F. Murray Abraham, that he's able to take care of himself, kill the leader of the gang that beat him, and become a sensation in prison. This newfound confidence to take care of himself leads Jimmie to be paroled after three years and solidifies his determination to seek revenge for the detectives that put him in jail in the first place. Pairing up with his wife Kate (Laila Robins) and former convict Malcolm (M.C. Gainey), Jimmie begins his assault, but not before Parnell and Scaliese escalate as well to avoid being caught. An Innocent Man was written by Larry Brothers, with production by Ted Field and Robert W. Cort, and direction by Peter Yates. The movie was distributed by Buena Vista Pictures and premiered in October of 1989.