How Do We Know When Justice Is Served?

just (adj): fair, impartial; according to justice; due; deserved; righteous. [The Chambers Dictionary, 2005]

Justice is a concept that fascinates me, mostly because I find it to be nebulous and applied arbitrarily. I write the Cass Elliot crime series and in those books, the bad are not always immediately caught and punished. Which is the way I think life works many times, fairly or unfairly.
 

I've been thinking more about justice lately due to a recent bit of news that hit my slice of redneck heaven (more on that in a minute), and this blog post on why we need books about justice by fellow author Stephen Woodfin, where he said:

The law is nothing but a reflection of the customs and morals a society approves at a snapshot in its history. What the law favors in one decade, it may abhor in the next.

He gives slavery as an example. At one time, it was an acceptable practice under the law. In hindsight, we see slavery for the heinous institution that it is and the law has changed accordingly. To explain why we need books about justice, Stephen says:

...they nudge us toward a higher good. By approaching our society sideways, they demonstrate our blind spots and motivate us to reconsider where we are and where we are going.

Interesting. And true.

Now for the recent bit of news...

The little town nearest our spot of redneck paradise is suddenly struggling with the notion of justice. Seems its most famous killer, Bernie Tiede, might be set free despite receiving a life sentence for murder.

  

In case you aren't familiar with Bernie's famous crime, you can watch the 2012 movie BERNIE starring Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, and Shirley MacLaine; you can read my blog post about the accuracy of that movie; or if you're short on time, you can read the brief synopsis below:



*Spoiler alert* A rich old man dies, an assistant funeral director (Bernie Tiede) befriends the mean ol' wealthy widow (Marjorie Nugent), she gives him power of attorney over her assets, he spends on her behalf, she drives him crazy, he shoots her in the back four times, stuffs her in the freezer, and then continues spending her money and pretending that she's alive but unavailable. When her body is found about nine months later, Bernie gives a tearful confession, but nobody (except the District Attorney) wants Bernie to go to jail. *Spoiler over*

Bernie was beloved in the community when the murder happened in 1996. Lots of little old ladies were grief-stricken over his confession (not over Mrs. Nugent's murder, mind you, just over the thought that Bernie might go to prison for it). They tried to post bail for Bernie and when that didn't work out, brought treats for him to the county jail.

Bernie has served almost sixteen years of his life sentence for murder, a first degree felony. Why is his case being reexamined? Bernie has opened up about the sexual abuse he suffered at the hand of a relative and how Mrs. Nugent's controlling behavior cracked the protective mental walls he'd built around that trauma. Due to her mental abuse, he snapped and shot her.

A new lawyer believes these factors combined to make Bernie's shooting of Mrs. Nugent a crime of passion rather than premeditated murder. The difference? A crime of passion is a second degree felony with a sentence ranging from two to twenty years. If the court decides that a jury would've convicted Bernie of a second degree felony rather than murder, it is conceivable that he could be released in the near future for time served.

(In his favor, it's hard to find people who speak positively about Mrs. Nugent. By most accounts, she was downright ornery. But does being mean justify murder?)

Regardless of whether Bernie snapped when he shot Mrs. Nugent in the back four times, he cleaned up the crime scene and hid her body in her own freezer. He then continued to spend her money and lie about where she was until her body was found. Some say this is exactly what a child would do when he realizes he's done wrong. But Bernie was 36 when he killed Mrs. Nugent, not a child, and he carried on this charade for nine months. I cannot imagine the pain he experienced as a victim of sexual abuse, but to his credit, Bernie went to college, held a responsible job, and was a respected member of this East Texas community for a long time. In other words, he was a functioning adult.

And here we are back to the notion of justice, what it is and how it applies in this case.

What should happen to Bernie? In a statistically insignificant survey I conducted, 80% of five people questioned thought Bernie should serve his life sentence. One thought he should go free. Back in 1997 when Mrs. Nugent's body was found, most people supported Bernie. Now, rumor has it that most of the town thinks he should stay in jail. (This probably means that most of the little old ladies who so fiercely defended Bernie back in 1997 have died.)

What will happen to Bernie? Only time and the courts will tell. Will justice be served? Perhaps it depends on which crime we're looking at.

I don't think there's any amount of 'time served' that can provide justice for Marjorie Nugent.

Was justice ever served for the sexual abuse Bernie endured as a child? Not to my knowledge.
 
Is it just or fair to try and compensate for the abuse he suffered by shortening his sentence for Mrs. Nugent's murder?

This, to me, is one of those times when justice becomes nebulous and arbitrary. I'll be curious to see what our legal system thinks about it all.

What do you think about justice?

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Haunted House for Sale. Any Takers?

Would you live in a haunted house? It's a relevant question, and not just because we're in October, the month of all things spooky and ghoulish. The question is relevant because the house where one of the most famous murders in East Texas took place went up for sale recently.

Built in 1989, the house is almost six thousand square feet and sits on on twelve acres of land. Four bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a garage that weighs in at over one thousand square feet. (A big garage is handy for parking and storage. And in this case, it plays an important role in the story.)

Nice digs, all in all. In a prime location just outside of Carthage, which was voted the "nicest town in Texas" not all that long ago. And yours for a mere $699,000.

Ghost included.

Or maybe not. 

You decide.

The murder in question is that of Marjorie Nugent. You might've heard of her, or perhaps of her killer, Bernie Tiede. Or maybe you've seen the 2012 movie BERNIE that starred Jack Black as Bernie and Shirley MacLaine as Mrs. Nugent. Matthew McConaughey played Danny Buck Davidson, our local District attorney. A good flick. But just in case you didn't see the movie or hear about the murder, I'll give you a quick rundown.

By all accounts, Marjorie Nugent was an unpleasant woman who had few friends and whose relationships with her family were strained. Kind, gentle Bernie Tiede (who has a beautiful singing voice and is beloved by many in the community) befriended her after her wealthy husband passed on.

To make a long story short, Bernie quit his job at a local funeral home and became Mrs. Nugent's companion; she gave him power of attorney over her assets and he spent freely, but mostly on other people; her idiosyncrasies and rudeness annoyed him mightily and one day he shot her in the back out in that great big garage.

There you have it. A good old murder out in the garage where the blood can be washed away, as if nothing ever happened. But after the murder, the plot thickens. You see, Bernie had access to a small airplane and knew how to fly it. He could've taken her body up in the plane and dumped it over an isolated forest for the hogs, or even dropped it into a lake where chances were slim that it would be found. But instead, Bernie stuffed Mrs. Nugent's body in her spare freezer (kept in the garage) and there it remained. While Bernie continued to spend and lie about why Mrs. Nugent never answered the phone.

For nine months.

Until Nugent's financial planner convinced the local authorities that something bad might've happened to her.

Seems it did.

They loaded the freezer onto a flatbed truck, plugged it into a generator, and took her to Dallas to be thawed and autopsied. Which wasn't really necessary because Bernie confessed. To the shooting and to keeping her in the freezer. Many of the locals wanted Bernie to go free and even offered to post bail for him, but Danny Buck Davidson got a jury down in San Augustine to convict Bernie, and he's spending time in the state penitentiary.

Now for the question of haunting. What exactly makes a house haunted? Houses have lives, they have character. But do they have memories? I think they do, perhaps only as an echo of the lives lived, and perhaps lost, there. If a violent act that results in death is a prerequisite to haunting, the Nugent house surely qualifies. If the 'mean old woman' syndrome is necessary, Mrs. Nugent ticks that box. Someone lives in the house now and I'm not sure why they're selling. Could it be because Marjorie Nugent's unhappy spirit still roams the place, opening a door here, bringing a chill breeze there?


If you had the $699,000 price tag, would you live in a house where someone was murdered? Where their body remained for almost a year after they were killed? Or would you pass on by, leaving the house and its memories (and perhaps its ghost), for someone else to deal with?

(For more on the movie BERNIE, see this earlier blog post.)

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BERNIE the Movie: A Lesson in the Value of Reality

It really is a nice town

Have you seen the movie Bernie yet? It's about the cold-blooded murder in Carthage, Texas of a little old lady that lots of folks despised, by a man lots of folks still love.
 
It shocked East Texas, not only for the crime itself, but for the number of people who wanted Bernie to go free. The director tells you smack dab at the beginning of the movie that this is

A True Story. 

Not 'based on a true story', not 'inspired by true events', but

A True Story. 

Did the writers, producers, directors, and actors get it right?

This is my neck of the woods. And although I wasn't here when all the badness went down, I can tell you that folks around here say 'yes'. Absolutely. And brilliantly, eerily so.

The movie stars some big names.

Jack Black plays gentle soul Bernie Tiede, a successful mortician who sings in the Methodist choir, volunteers with the college theater group, and befriends the meanest widow in town, Marjorie Nugent. (Bernie has a beautiful voice (he really does), and Jack Black did a fabulous job of singing in the movie.)

Based on comments from those that knew Nugent, Shirley MacLaine nails her emotionally distant attitudes and behaviors.

Matthew McConaughey plays Danny Buck Davidson, Panola County's District Attorney, then and now. The only criticism I've heard about McConaughey's portrayal is that he's too good looking to be a fair representation of Danny Buck. (Sorry Mr. Davidson, but it is what it is.)

*Spoiler alert* The plot is simple: rich old man dies, Bernie befriends wealthy widow, she gives him power of attorney over her assets, he spends on her behalf, she drives him crazy, he kills her and stuffs her body in the freezer under the Marie Callender pot pies, and then continues spending her money and pretending that she's alive but unavailable. Her body is found about nine months later, Bernie gives a tearful confession, but nobody (except Danny Buck) wants Bernie to go to jail. *Spoiler over*

Definitely watch the movie for the story - it's good entertainment. But more importantly, watch it for the people.

The best bar-b-q around

There's a zoo-like quality to Bernie, as if you're standing outside a cage, bag of snacks in hand, goggling the foreign beasts within and wondering if it's safe to toss them a nut. Rightly so. Because these are real Texans. Not the fake kind like those on "Dallas" or "Dynasty". Real live Texans, in their natural habitat.

This is where I went to high school, where my family is from, and where I live now. These are my people, I love them, and they're the basis for the characters in my crime novels. So, to answer a few questions you may have after watching Bernie:

• Yes, we really talk like that.

• Yes, we really look like that. (Well, I can't speak for the folks on the jury in San Augustine, but I've heard the movie portrays them accurately.)

• Our hair is really that big and yes, some of us wear that much make-up.

• Yes, Bernie's trial was moved to San Augustine because Danny Buck worried that people in Panola County liked Bernie too much to convict him.

• Yes, church is that important.

• Funerals are also that important.

• East Texas kind of looks like that, but some of the movie was filmed in the Hill Country, down near Austin.

• Yes, some local people wanted Bernie to get away with killing Marjorie Nugent, and were vocal about it. And yes, some dear little old ladies marched down to the jail and demanded to post bail for Bernie.

• Quite a few locals would still like to see Bernie released from prison. (He's eligible for parole in 2027, when he's 69 years old.)

For viewers, this movie is great entertainment. For authors, it's solid gold. Body language? Attitudes? Speech patterns? Appearances? Fantastic plot? It's all here. 



I love writing, letting imaginary people make stuff up and have their way with a plot. But in the case of Bernie Tiede, Marjorie Nugent, and the good folks of Carthage, TX, truth really is stranger than fiction. Bernie is a reminder that as weird as you think you can create it, reality can only be weirder.

So, have you seen Bernie? What did you think? 

(For more on the Bernie situation, see this post:
How Do We Know When Justice is Served?)