In 1991, Nick Broomfield made Aileen Wournos: The Selling of a Serial Killer. Aileen’s lawyer, her mother and the Florida state police had all been involved in trying to sell her story, that of America’s first female serial killer, to the highest bidder. Aileen herself, who was convicted of murdering seven men, ironically emerged as the most honest person. In 2002 Broomfield was served a subpoena to appear at her final state appeal before execution. It was at this point that he and longtime collaborator Joan Churchill, then still working on Biggie and Tupac, decided to make a second film about Aileen. Aileen: Life & Death of a Serial Killer looks at Aileen’s violent, tortured childhood in troy, Michigan and her subsequent years on the road as a hitch-hiking prostitute. In her last interview, conducted by Broomfield at Aileen’s request, she said she believed her mind was being controlled by radio waves. On October 9th 2002 she was executed in Florida. Together these two films form a powerful statement against the death penalty, raising serious questions about the US legal system and the political impetus behind her execution. Both films were used by charlize Theron as the basis of her Oscar-winning performance as Aileen in Monster.

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