Drug addiction and the love of street life result in Ronald (Eric Lane) committing a murder shortly before his first child is born. He is convicted and sentenced to die. About 12 years later, when it's time for the victims and the state to exact their justice, the man on death row wants to meet his son for the first time. That's his "final request."

His son Ronny (Kuwvan Allen) is acting out in school because he's never met his father, and with the execution date near, his fellow students talk about him behind his back. His mother Sarah (Pam Mack) is marginally okay with the boy meeting his father in jail, just before the execution, but Ronny's stepfather is adamantly against it. He feels it will threaten his position in the household and he thinks it's a bad idea.

Many important issues are raised here, such as paying one's debt to society, drug use, rehabilitation, the role of stepparents, and how young children, African-American boys in particular, relate to fathers who are in jail. If there is an overriding message it's that drugs are a plague in all communities. Since some people like to use drugs, and we have proven for almost a century that money and law enforcement does not stem the tide, possibly it's time to change the approach and make some drugs legal or decriminalize them. Addiction will always be a problem, but other than the drug user, fewer innocent people will likely be harmed in the process. And since the government always needs revenue, they will have found a source that is equal to or better than the lottery. If government changes the laws, it could help untold thousands to save themselves.

The true message in the film is that of self-determination. Will poor people wait for the government to act? If so, our large city ghettos will be as forgotten as Native American reservations. I'm not sure what it will take for a true wake-up call to alert the residents of the inner cities as to what they need to do. I can suggest two good places to start however¾vote and make a decision to do something today that will improve your life tomorrow.

Director: Raymond A. Thomas	Ronald: Eric Lane
Ronny: Kuwvan Allen	Sarah: Pam Mack