An Innocent Man is a 1989 crime drama thriller starring Tom Selleck. Selleck plays Jimmie Rainwood, an airport maintenance worker and model citizen. In an attempt to bust a drug deal, a pair of corrupt police officers mistakenly break into Jimmie’s home. After realizing that they have the wrong home and wrong person, they plant drugs in Jimmie’s home to cover up their mistake. Sentenced to six years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Jimmie swears revenge on the cops responsible for putting him behind bars.

Watch the official trailer below:

“An Innocent Man” by YouTube Movies

The film’s script was written by Larry Brothers, who actually spent some time in jail himself (source). Part of the movie was based on his own observations behind bars.

Nevada Filming Location

The exterior prison scenes from An Innocent Man were filmed at the now closed Nevada State Prison in Carson City, NV. Actual prison inmates were used as extras in the movie, and the film crew had to wear fluorescent orange vests so that prison guards would know who not to shoot in case a dangerous situation erupted.

In a Los Angeles Times article, Selleck said that “the guys we were working with were probably 70% murderers and the rest were armed robbers and rapists” (source).

One of the oldest prisons in the United States, Nevada State Prison originally opened in 1862 when Abraham Lincoln was president, and it closed in 2012 due to budgetary reasons. The prison carried out the first death sentence by lethal gas in the U.S. in 1924, and even after the prison was closed, it was still the designated site of executions for the State of Nevada until Ely State Prison opened an execution chamber in 2016 (source).

The Nevada State Prison Preservation Society (NSPPS) was created to preserve Nevada’s oldest prison as a museum. Its mission is “to preserve and maintain the decommissioned Nevada State Prison for the education of present and future generations as to the history and use of the prison.”

Nevada State Prison also served as the backdrop for the 1950 film State Penitentiary. Two other television shows filmed at the prison recently as well, “Ghost Adventures” (watch online or see schedule for next airing) and “48 Hours” (see details on upcoming air time).

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