HEMOTOXIC
03-17-2009, 10:10 AM
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6314641.html
Hearne drug case documented in indy movie
Sharón Steinmann Chronicle
Regina Kelly was caught in a drug bust in 2000 in Hearne. She says she was not guilty of the charges. A movie based on the bust was made.
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Four-hundred-fifty chairs will be set up at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Hearne Tuesday so visitors can attend a free screening of the new independent movie American Violet.
But the unofficial host of the evening, the Rev. Robert Herald, wonders if anybody will come.
The film billed as fiction is creating very real friction in this small Texas town 120 miles northwest of Houston.
The story line is straight-forward: A working-class black woman in a made-up town called “Melody” gets swept up in a drug bust conducted by a rogue task force. The officers target low-income African-Americans, and the authorities rely on the word of one drug-addled informant to make their cases. But the heroine prevails. With the help of civil-liberties lawyers, she takes on the authorities and wins.
The inspiration for the drama, Regina Kelly, says fact and fiction are very close to the same in her case. She was one of 28 residents swept up in a Hearne drug bust in 2000. Most of those criminal charges were dropped but Kelly and the American Civil Liberties Union thought the racial profiling and the use of single informants had to stop.
In 2002 they filed a civil-rights lawsuit against a long list of Robertson County authorities, and the case was settled in 2005. Neither Kelly nor ACLU attorney Graham Boyd are allowed to share the conditions of the settlement, but both say they are satisfied. Today, the drug task forces are history — drug busting is handled by the Texas Department of Public Safety — and there’s a state law against the use of single informants.
Nevertheless, judging from the tension in Hearne, neither side has forgiven or forgotten.
Last week Herald, a Catholic priest better known as Father Bob, circulated through downtown and asked about a dozen shopkeepers to tack up movie posters advertising the 6 p.m. screening. He had watched the film twice, and he thought it instructive and wholesome.
Posters removed
By the next day, he said, most of the posters were in the garbage. Shop owners told Herald that they had been visited by a uniformed investigator from the Robertson County District Attorney’s Office who suggested the movie was full of lies and anti-law enforcement and that their businesses might suffer unless the posters were removed.
“They felt intimidated,” Herald said.
Of the investigator, whom he refused to name, Herald said, “In the 22 months I’ve been in Hearne, I’ve never seen him wear a uniform. ”
Herald called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for advice. And yes, he says, he does fear retaliation from Robertson County officials.
Kelly recently moved to Houston in search of better opportunities for her family, but plans to attend tonight’s screening in Hearne. When it’s over, she’ll participate in a question-and-answer session along with her attorney, Boyd.
Kelly hopes District Attorney John Paschall will participate, too.
What Kelly really wants is an apology.
That’s doubtful. While Paschall did not return Chronicle calls, he did have some pithy statements for the Dallas Morning News:
“The only way I’d watch (the movie), I’d have to be handcuffed, tied to a chair and you’d have to tape my eyes open.”
Some charges dropped
In 2002, Paschall spoke to the Associated Press after charges against 17 of the 28 defendants were dropped. “They will likely re-offend,” he said. “We won’t worry about it too much.”
Kelly acknowledges that she had minor scrapes with the law before the drug bust.
Kelly acknowledges that she had minor scrapes with the law before the drug bust.
The drug bust occurred just as Kelly felt she was gaining control of her life.
She had gotten her GED and enrolled in Blinn College. She also was working in a restaurant when police came and took her away.
“I was so embarrassed,” she remembers. “I was so ashamed.”
Kelly, who is busy promoting the movie but soon will start job hunting, says she regrets that she didn’t get her day in court. But she is excited about the movie.
“Millions of Americans never get their voices heard, and I’m grateful I’ve got this opportunity.”
Hearne drug case documented in indy movie
Sharón Steinmann Chronicle
Regina Kelly was caught in a drug bust in 2000 in Hearne. She says she was not guilty of the charges. A movie based on the bust was made.
Share
Print Email Del.icio.usDiggTechnoratiYahoo! BuzzFacebook
Resources
Four-hundred-fifty chairs will be set up at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Hearne Tuesday so visitors can attend a free screening of the new independent movie American Violet.
But the unofficial host of the evening, the Rev. Robert Herald, wonders if anybody will come.
The film billed as fiction is creating very real friction in this small Texas town 120 miles northwest of Houston.
The story line is straight-forward: A working-class black woman in a made-up town called “Melody” gets swept up in a drug bust conducted by a rogue task force. The officers target low-income African-Americans, and the authorities rely on the word of one drug-addled informant to make their cases. But the heroine prevails. With the help of civil-liberties lawyers, she takes on the authorities and wins.
The inspiration for the drama, Regina Kelly, says fact and fiction are very close to the same in her case. She was one of 28 residents swept up in a Hearne drug bust in 2000. Most of those criminal charges were dropped but Kelly and the American Civil Liberties Union thought the racial profiling and the use of single informants had to stop.
In 2002 they filed a civil-rights lawsuit against a long list of Robertson County authorities, and the case was settled in 2005. Neither Kelly nor ACLU attorney Graham Boyd are allowed to share the conditions of the settlement, but both say they are satisfied. Today, the drug task forces are history — drug busting is handled by the Texas Department of Public Safety — and there’s a state law against the use of single informants.
Nevertheless, judging from the tension in Hearne, neither side has forgiven or forgotten.
Last week Herald, a Catholic priest better known as Father Bob, circulated through downtown and asked about a dozen shopkeepers to tack up movie posters advertising the 6 p.m. screening. He had watched the film twice, and he thought it instructive and wholesome.
Posters removed
By the next day, he said, most of the posters were in the garbage. Shop owners told Herald that they had been visited by a uniformed investigator from the Robertson County District Attorney’s Office who suggested the movie was full of lies and anti-law enforcement and that their businesses might suffer unless the posters were removed.
“They felt intimidated,” Herald said.
Of the investigator, whom he refused to name, Herald said, “In the 22 months I’ve been in Hearne, I’ve never seen him wear a uniform. ”
Herald called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for advice. And yes, he says, he does fear retaliation from Robertson County officials.
Kelly recently moved to Houston in search of better opportunities for her family, but plans to attend tonight’s screening in Hearne. When it’s over, she’ll participate in a question-and-answer session along with her attorney, Boyd.
Kelly hopes District Attorney John Paschall will participate, too.
What Kelly really wants is an apology.
That’s doubtful. While Paschall did not return Chronicle calls, he did have some pithy statements for the Dallas Morning News:
“The only way I’d watch (the movie), I’d have to be handcuffed, tied to a chair and you’d have to tape my eyes open.”
Some charges dropped
In 2002, Paschall spoke to the Associated Press after charges against 17 of the 28 defendants were dropped. “They will likely re-offend,” he said. “We won’t worry about it too much.”
Kelly acknowledges that she had minor scrapes with the law before the drug bust.
Kelly acknowledges that she had minor scrapes with the law before the drug bust.
The drug bust occurred just as Kelly felt she was gaining control of her life.
She had gotten her GED and enrolled in Blinn College. She also was working in a restaurant when police came and took her away.
“I was so embarrassed,” she remembers. “I was so ashamed.”
Kelly, who is busy promoting the movie but soon will start job hunting, says she regrets that she didn’t get her day in court. But she is excited about the movie.
“Millions of Americans never get their voices heard, and I’m grateful I’ve got this opportunity.”