Posted November 1, 2012
Letter from Nicholas Bernhard
Hello,
I'm proud to present the press kit for Blackstone's Equation's screening
in Ft. Collins. Blackstone's Equation: A New Documentary on the Tim Masters Case
Blackstone's Equation tells the story of Tim Masters, a Ft. Collins
resident who was wrongfully convicted of murder. Walking through a dirt field
on the way to school, he passed by what he thought was a mannequin. It was later
learned to be the body of Peggy Hettrick, who lived nearby. Masters had never even
heard of Hettrick before then.
This chance happening would cause police to pursue Masters relentlessly,
subjecting him to a 15-hour interrogation, harassing him with anonymous messages,
and turning his classmates against him. Police even resorted, on suggestion from
the FBI, to trying to provoke Masters into committing another crime. Ultimately
Masters left Ft. Collins for a career in the Navy.
Eleven years later, Masters was arrested and charged with Hettrick's murder.
With no physical evidence against him whatsoever, the prosecution's argument was
that because the teenage Masters drew violent pictures as a hobby, he was capable
of the heinous murder. After a mere 6-day trial, he was
convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Over the next 9 1/2 years, Masters got new attorneys, who discovered the
lengths law enforcement went to in pursuing him. Police had withheld evidence of separate footprints in the field, and testimony from a plastic surgeon refuting
that Masters was capable of the crime. Worst of all, evidence of a superior suspect, who was friends with the DA, was destroyed by the police. In 2008, new DNA
testing proved Masters had nothing to do with the murder.
Blackstone's Equation was produced and directed by Nicholas Bernhard, who
also edited and scored the film. It features interviews with several people from the case, including Masters' post-conviction attorneys, a juror from the trial,
the Colorado Innocence Project, and Masters himself. This fast-paced, engrossing
documentary conveys what is certainly the most fascinating story of wrongful
conviction you've ever heard of.
It is a story of the American justice system, in its shortcomings and
triumphs. It is about the pitfalls of criminal profiling, so popular in Hollywood films like Silence of the Lambs, but with scant basis in reality. Lastly, it is
a story of never, ever giving up, even in our darkest of hours.
Blackstone's Equation is 45 minutes long, and will play at the Lyric Cinema
Cafe in Ft. Collins, beginning November 3rd, playing for a week. Tim Masters will be at the November 3rd showing, at 7 PM, to answer audience questions. The
documentary has been re-mastered in High Definition for these screenings, for
the best possible viewing experience. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50d7Ya48dqw For more information, please contact: Nicholas Bernhard, Director-Producer (303) 304-6125 E-mail: Nicholas@NDHFilms.com
