The Edmond Sun

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May 27, 2011

Edmond soldier’s documentary to debut at festival

deadCENTER to show ‘Purple Hearts: A Requiem for Mad Dog 5’

Mark Schlachtenhaufen The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — It’s a provocative title: “Purple Hearts: Requiem for Mad Dog 5.”

It’s a provocative subject: The wrongful conviction of an Edmond soldier as told through the lens of an award-winning filmmaker and the rich, haunting voice of British Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons.

It’s hoped a full house and good reviews will entice a mainstream network or cable channel to pick up the hour-long documentary so the entire country will be aware of the injustice, said Vicki Behenna, the local mother fighting for her son’s freedom.

Created by Michael Wilkerson, an attorney, author, member of the OSBI Commission and CEO of Tulsa-based Orion Systems, “Purple Hearts: Requiem for Mad Dog 5,” will debut at 1 p.m. June 11 in the Kerr Auditorium, 123 Robert S. Kerr Ave. (Sandridge Energy Building) during the 2011 deadCENTER Film Festival.

Wilkerson’s filmography includes “The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story,” released on Cinemax in 2000. More than 300 African Americans died and more than 1,200 homes were destroyed, and government officials tried to suppress news coverage, according to the Brown Foundation. Bill Cosby and Edward Asner were among the narrators.

“Purple Hearts: Requiem for Mad Dog 5” tells the story of U.S. Army platoon Mad Dog 5, which suffered casualties when an improvised explosive device in Iraq exploded, and of platoon leader Michael Behenna of Edmond, an all-American guy who joined the Army to fight for freedom and ended up in Leavenworth for killing a purported terrorist.

Behenna testified that he acted in self-defense when he shot the Iraqi national. A prosecution forensic expert who agreed with Behenna’s account was not allowed to testify.

After learning about Behenna’s story from OSBI forensic artist Harvey Pratt and reading about it on a Web site created by Behenna’s family, Wilkerson contacted Behenna’s parents.

Wilkerson said after the research phase, which included reading court transcripts, he concluded that the verdict should have been a slam dunk in Behenna’s favor.

“It just seemed like a terrible injustice,” Wilkerson said.

Getting Irons was quite a coup, he said. He sent the film to the actor’s agent. Irons liked the writing and the story, Wilkerson said.

Vicki Behenna said for the last two years many people have worked tirelessly to obtain a new trial for her son.

Even though numerous judicial and prosecutorial errors committed in his first trial have been on appeal since December 2009, the case remains mired in the military appellate system with no decision, said Vicki Behenna, a federal prosecutor.

On March 20, 2009, Michael Behenna was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The sentence was reduced twice, to 15 years. Without parole or a new trial, Behenna will get out of prison for shooting an al Qaeda terrorist in self-defense when he is 40 years old, supporters say.

It is hoped those who see “Purple Hearts: Requiem for Mad Dog 5” will be inspired to act, Wilkerson said. Information about how people can help is available at defendmichael.com.

For more information about the deadCENTER Film Festival, including ticket information, visit www.deadcenterfilm.org.



marks@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 108

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