Just Melvin, Just Evil
Just Melvin, Just Evil is the most disturbing documentary you'll ever see. It is a very hard to find documentary about the tormented family of Melvin Just, a man almost too evil to be believed.
In it, they detail their experiences of abuse over decades, at his hands, even admitting to knowing of a murder he committed to keep his crimes quiet.
Four generations of sexual abuse, substance abuse, terrible secrets, neglect, and violence are explored in Just Melvin, Just Evil. In a large American family ravaged by alcohol and suppressed trauma, it seems that only one member "made it out."
This man is James Ronald Whitney, who was brave enough to use this documentary as an outlet to explore his family's history, searching for answers (and closure) to the horror suffered by himself and his relatives.
Warning: Contains scenes which some viewers may find disturbing.
I am so disgusted by the mentality many have regarding family. I no longer speak to my brother. If he beat me as an adult the way he beat me as a child when he was well into his teens, he'd serve time for aggravated assault. When people hear that I'm estranged from him, they often say "but he's your family - family means everything". This is the ignorant mentality that leads SOME victims to remain in contact with their abusers. Can you imagine telling one if these children "but Melvin is your Dad! - blah blah blah." Society needs to stop putting family on a pedestal. Children should be taught and adults encouraged to develop and value strong, meaningful, positive friendships. They can be with family members or non-family members. Good friends you can count on is everything.
What is not mentioned here is the need for research to find out WHY / how people like Melvin develop into the perpetrators they are. Pedophilia is a taboo subject. No one really knows why (mostly/only men) develop this sexual deviance. I would like to know why this hasn't been more explored in our society. Both my wife and I have fathers that were pedophiles. Neither were ever prosecuted and the damage done was similar to that displayed in this documentary. I think the extent to which this situation exists in our society is vastly understated.... probably unknown. Why is American society unable to deal with this abnormality? It is so destructive and in primitive societies they are immediately killed. Why don't we want to find out WHY????
Phillip Wong,
Um, just because there are other evil people in the world who you personally think are "more evil" than Melvin doesn't make the fact that Melvin was evil any less true. But you dont even think he IS/WAS evil. Astounding.
This doc is thorough and made well but the content is very disturbing. Watch at your own risk.
I was impressed at the daughters' ability to still have moments of joy and happiness in spite of the hell that was their reality. I hope with that monster's death they can all continue their recovery. The behaviors at the grave were shocking but understandable. It's disgusting the State of California took so long to finally "get enough evidence " and would choose finances over making him stand trial. The entire sordid affair is disgusting.
Wow how very sad, the generations of lost souls, toruted, & never able to regain their lost innocence. I cant believe this man never paid for the lives he destroyed & was allowed to continue his reign of terror. He should have never been out of jail. You play beautifully. Continue to use music as your outlet & healer. God bless
Dude...I wanted to shove him in that wheelchair right off that dock. That sorry, horrible piece of work. Those girls (and there brother) are all so messed up, it's unbelievable. All thanks to this guy and his wives who both knew full well and did nothing. Bless those girls hearts. I am so sorry this happened to them.
Wow, it is a world I can not even comprehend. It must have been so hard to film and have to hear from you own family.
This family reminds me of my mother's family. While they were not sexually abused they were physically & mentally abused by their father. But, their devotion to him was sickening. As a child I thought it was normal to see how he talked to my grandmother, mother & relatives. Everyone just laughed it off as he's crazy. As I grew older & had kids of my own I saw what a tyrant he was & how they all jumped for him, walked on egg shells around him. Hated him one minute but wanted his approval the next. Everything revolved around making him happy. He spoke to them like trash, worse than dirt at times. But all it would take was a little attention & they ate it up. This film minus the sexual abuse reminded me of them & him to a T.
He's the worst kind of pedophile there is on earth. Glad he's gone to hades. Bless the children and future generations.
This is one of the most devastating cases of injustice. This man melvin just has completely destroyed the lives of these girls. They have no idea what normal is. This is why some of them have a love-hate relationship with him. They weren't raised like most of us, in loving, nurturing, and safe families. He destroyed their sense of trust, and he violated their entire being. My heart aches for them. His two wives are just as guilty as he is for allowing this to happen. He and his wives deserve nothing less than to be pulled, screaming, to the depths of hell by the most evil demons. I can only hope that after he died, that the girls were finally able to move forward with their lives in some way. Although, it's very likely that his actions will haunt them until they die. I'm truly sorry that the adults in their lives did nothing to protect them. Shameful.
Does anyone know what happened to the family since this was made?
This could be me being ignorant and if so I apologize. But I can't fathom how you could love a person like that. I got it; we all make mistakes and do things we aren't proud of but how does being a sexual predator fall in that category? "He was a murderer and a child molester but he was cool.." How does that even make sense? Making excuses like that is what causes complete failure in this subject across society. If that was my family, He would have died alone in a cell. I don't care if they were related by blood or marriage. Anyone with that kind of mental illness is no family member of mine.
I'm severely disturbed by this film. It was very interesting, but devastating to watch and to hear about how all of them had their lives destroyed by one man, and the cycle of abuse continuing. I'm furious though that the family continued to bring children around this man knowing full well what he is capable of.
I'm so glad I was blessed not to have been born in this sort of family.
Thank you so much for this. I recognize myself, my sister, my father, my mother, and my grandfather in this film. These experiences are terrifyingly common, and permanently mutilating.
After watching this all I want to Do is kick the director in the balls for not at least punching that piece of **** at least once for his aunts and mother. I will never watch this again but i will never forget this ;(
Men are the cruelest and most forceful sexual predators living.
Quoting the bible. In proverbs when it says to "listen to the instruction of your father" should be ignored when your father asks you to do something immoral. And the bible records incest but it does not approve of incest. The bible records all kinds of evil, but that does not mean that that evil that the bible records is okay to do. We will all face judgement someday and then justice will happen.
Brutal film but if it can put a stop to the chain of shame it is worth it.
I am not surprised at all that the women did not go into attack mode on their Dad. The dysfunction runs too deep. They spent years thinking this horror happened to everyone. Their own mothers aided and abetted the acts. It is much easier, in their minds, to keep the peace with him than to face the evil he inflicted on them.
So instead you numb the pain with drugs, alcohola or whatever is handy. That's how they survived it and still do.
Glad the sicko is dead but james must have some balls to tell such a shamefull history so openly
As a mom who was blessed to have had a great childhood with two loving parents, I cannot wrap my brain around this. My dad worked 2 full time jobs to make sure we could go on vacations and to have great Christmases. I will never understand this kind of behavior.
A very powerful, honest and emotive documentary. The devastation and repercussions of abuse are shocking to witness in the portrayal of these families’ lives. Another very upsetting observation is the mixed feelings of hatred and love towards this man from the abused. To love ones parents is so natural that you can see these damaged children struggling to assimilate these feelings with the way they have been treated. Melvin made me feel there could be something worse than evil, that could be an indifferent world where good and evil only exist in the context of our existence. If this is the case then real justice will never be served on this man. Thank you for sharing your experiences and to your family for opening up themselves to us.
Quite possibly one of the most disturbing and powerful documentries I have viewed in a long time. The depravity that vile man stooped to was just unbelievable and worse yet his wives let him get away with it. The whole families sense of morality is completley skewed (the girls in particular), this is very evident from the scene in the hospital when they visit him. Perhaps the most powerful and chilling part for me was at the funeral where one daughter says how awesome her dad was and he was just flawed like the rest of us. The fact she views his abuse as almost normal and just 'a flaw' sums up perfectly the msg and horror of this piece. Unsettling but bravo.
In a way, this makes you proud of yourself, your family and friends. You always think of your faults but seeing this daemon makes you realize how many dimensions above you are from some creatures that are classified as the same specie. The amount of negativity he produced is an example of how much effect each of us makes. If your effect is positive imagine how influential your life has been by now, and how much influence did others good will have in yours.
These horrors could have happened to me or you, those women didn't pick to be born in that situation and they didn't deserve it. We should take our role in the society far more serious. We should go back to some old habits; get to know our neighbors and chat with the postman. Caring shouldn't necessarily mean sticking your nose into other peoples business! Lets face it, the most horrifying fact about this is that it went on even after a few reports! What kind of civilization is that? Far from the court far from the eyes??
I thank Jim for sharing this side of his life, and I find his acceptance of the damaged family very inspiring. All of you who accuse him of narcissism are only jealous of what he made of himself in the given circumstances. Even if you are right, why not overlook his faults for this gross taboo-breaking story he shared with the world despite its connection to himself.
I haven't watched this yet but by the comments made I can see that as always this subject has touched a few hearts...I never survived sexual abuse I lived with sexual abuse,you survive a car crash this **** you just live with,it becomes normal in a twisted reality..All I can say is let go....forgive the person and not the action,sick people do sick things,I fell pregnate to my grandfather at 16 and had a abortion sad yes but a part of my life.i don't use it as a reason to blame,
I've seen it few months ago, devastating for so many people in the family. You can see how the ripples of abuse ruined generations of lives.
He is a horrible horrible man...