Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline 20240704

Terrified, that they would come back . Absolutely, the chilling matter, a young survivor driven to become a state senator. He was very, very passionate. What they ever come Out Of The Dark . I always get a little emotional and i cant believe its in here 30 years later, an answer. The Power Forgiveness. This is what my dad and my mom taught me. In his 40s and married again, he started fresh, here in the beach, in malibu. It was time, finally to put it to rest. Ali use hollywood to release those demons, get that in the rearview mirror. I look back and it was just building this coat of armor. And that was killing me and it was killing my marriages, my friendships. It was protecting me but it was keeping me away from people that i loved. After all, what else but a movie could make sense of it . But those people did to him. And then what came of it . You couldnt make up. And the movie, it turned out to be a decadeslong saga of crime and punishment retribution and forgiveness. Perhaps it was too unbelievable not to be true. Though backward happen. Back east along the old route 66 for its next through oklahoma. Where his sister lived with demons of her own. A warning. It was really true. Its not like some scary movie that you watch on tv or csi or whatever show it is youre watching. This really happened. It all did. The unspeakable crimes, the strange painful past toward punishment and then could there ever be forgiveness . God knows thats what the father demanded. God knows all about us, theres not a secret crevice of our heart that hes not fully aware of. But could the sun obey . God never expects of us that which we cannot lose. God never demands of us what he does not empower. Imagine now that its 1979 in a little place called okarche, oklahoma before it happened. Okarche is a Small Community and pretty quiet, peaceful little town. And to be frank, the douglasss didnt quite live in okarche proper. They preferred a medicinal plays way out by itself miles beyond the street lights. A little detail with keeping in mind later. But mention the douglass name back in 79, and this would be the location people will be apt to think of. The patino city Baptist Ridge of Oklahoma City. Where the reverent Richard Douglas and family had established a remarkable reputation. Richard douglass was one of the most influential baptist pastors in oklahoma. At the time, he was a pastor of over 3000 member church. Everyone wanted to associate with them. The pastors daughter, leslie we became the people who we are because my parents were so strong. We lived a life that he would want us to live and learn the lessons he wanted us to know. And the fact that reverend mr. Douglass was a man of some heft in the Baptist Church seemed somewhat secondary to his nature. Kindly, approachable, principled. If he wasnt at the church, he was visiting people and helping them work out their problems all the time. Pastor douglas preached his first tournament at 16. And once he had grown into a husband and father, took his family all the way down to the jungles of brazil where he and they spent their happiest years in a missionary outpost. It was for leslie and her big brother unlike anything they would ever know again. Magic time. We grew up in a city Called Mullin which is right on the mouth of the amazon. So its where the atlantic meets the amazon river. And it finally occurred to me why i liked being near the water so much and thats where i grew up. And i traveled with my dad. So they were close as close as a family on its own in such a place as this could possibly be. And accomplished. Maryland douglass could have sung professionally, if she wanted to. Couldve done all kinds of things. She was a straight a student and i just saw her being so smart and successful and what it was she wanted to do. And what she wanted to do more than Anything Else was raise brooks and leslie. You could see their faces still . Oh yes. And i can hear my mom singing. She did once. Every week a church. And at home where shes so the outfits leslie war to compete in misty in oklahoma. I was the one who spent time with my mom whether it be singing or her making me a new dress for a pageant. So autumn, 79. 16yearold brooks was an advance football playing a senior in high school. But used to get her money walking doberman pincher dogs. Leslie, a pretty 12 year old, was in middle school. That was busy and all over oklahoma, a chaplain at the State House Visit Of Prisoners at Mccollister Penitentiary and packing them in at putnam peptides. For the pastor and his wife, charity began at home. Their door was always open. And really truly cared about people and where they were, and how they could help them. And how they could serve people. It was that generosity and openness that many years later, brooks would honor and his movie about his parents. And about that haunting night. It was up to her 15th on monday, everybody at home. Everybody was in the kitchen. Fixing dinner. Leslie was in the kitchen with her. It was brooks who answered the knock at the door. People called and all the time at the pastures house. This one he didnt recognize. A bearded stranger who wanted a favor. And no one felt the evil then. As it entered the house. The first thing i remember is raising my hands is it always happens together. Guy never happens to you. [inaudible] coming up. Suddenly, just before dinner, terror. He pulled out a 3 57 headed in my face and said, move over here. I remember that night. I was thinking, youve gotta remember this, youve got to remember this. Youve got to remember this. Who was this at the door . When dateline continues. [sneeze] astepro allergy, steroid free allergy relief that starts working in 30 minutes, while other Allergy Sprays take hours. 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Talk to your Health Care Provider about ways to lower your risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. Learn more at getrealaboutdiabetes. Com new emergenc crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. And who doesnt love a good throwback . [sfx video game sound] new emergenc crystals. Throw it back. I gotta good feeling about this, yeah new emergenc crystals. Im with it i gotta good feeling about this yeah, so lets get it im feeling good vibes a little house in the country, just outside of okarche, oklahoma, 1979. Pastor Richard Douglass and his family were getting ready for a quiet school night did or around dusk, a knock at the door. 16yearold Brooks Douglass put down his homework. Answered it. A bearded stranger stood before them. He asked if he could use the phone, im trying to get a hold of somebody that lived nearest. So the man went over, picked up the phone and he said, Phone Numbers in my pants. So he went outside but then, when he returned a moment later, he bent down, reached behind his back and the awful business began. He pulled out a 3 57 and in my face and he said, you know, what its all about, move over here. The second, man armed with a Double Barrel shotgun stormed the door. It was a robbery, the man said. I took my wallet out and i had 43 bucks on me. I handed it to. Him thats all you got . Thats all you got . Yeah. And then he went through my moms purse. And then he asked my mom if we had any rope. They pointed their guns, herded the family together. Hogged tied them. So he told us all to lie down in The Living Room floor, faced him and they tied me up with our hands and feats behind her back. One stood with the shotgun, the other ransacked the house. Then the man with the pistol had turn to The Living Room. And he looked at pretty 12 year old leslie. And now, the character of the attack changed. And he got leslie and he said show me were all the other phones are and where youre Hiding Places for money are. And she, said we dont have any Hiding Places for money. He said, well were going to find some. And so he put his gun to the back of her head and walked around the house and then i heard him walk back into leslies room and i heard her start crying and saying, no, no, no. You all knew what was going on . Yeah, and my mom of course was next to me and she was just sobbing and i said, mom, leslie is going to be okay. Were going to be okay. Were all going to be okay. Brooks and his parents lead on The Living Room floor, hogtied and they listened hopeless as each man took his turn as each one raped leslie. And then they brought leslie in, tied her up, hands and feet behind her back like the rest of us for. I remember that night just thinking, you know, youve got to remember, this youve got to remember, this youve got to remember this. The two gunman helped themselves to maryland had cooking on the stove. They sat down at our table and ate our dinner. And then, the terrifying round bargaining began. They went back and forth about what they were going to do. That one, point he had, said if you dont give us four hours before you go to the police, were going to shoot you. And of, course will give you four hours. Two hours into their ordeal, the family heard the leader, the one with the pistol, issue an order go outside, start the car, turn around and listen for the sound. Was a pretty clear to you, listen for the sound meant thats what i took it to mean was that he was going to shoot us. And at that point, it came home to you that it was going to happen . I dont think i believed that there was actually going to happen. And, all they could do then was wade and pray. I remember him walking right up over my head and saying, well, i dont want to have to shoot you but i heard the first shot go, off hit me and i heard another shot went off and my mom screamed and then there was two other shots and to more. And they all ran to the door. Shot twice in the backs, Brooks Shimmied on his stomach towards his parents. And then i went over to my mom and it was untangling her rope with my teeth, i was able to get a hold of them now. And i said mom, i love you, i love you that. Yeah, my dad was, Like I Love You to, get me untied. And he said quit worrying about things and just get your mother untied. I said, that, im trying. Mom, you lose your ropes are loose, and time, and me. And she looked up at Me One Last Time and her head tip down and she just faded in and then she died and then i went over to my dad and looked at him in the face and said mom stead. And they never really said Anything Else. I told them again that i love them. And he said i loved you. And i said its okay that. And, yeah leslie and i are going to be okay. It was the last thing pastor Return Douglass ever heard. He died with his son at his side, the suns assurance whether the father may or may not had understood to be. Wishful thinking because brooks and leslie were aghast to themselves. Coming up you just think, i want to live, i have to do something i cant just lay here. What could they do . I need to make a decision, i remember thinking as long as i could draw a breath or even twitch muscle i need to keep trying. A race for life and for the gunman begins. [sirens] when dateline continues. Eline continues. Am i a big deal . Yeah you are, because its a big deal, when you get a big deal. Wayfair deals so big that you might get a big head. Because with savings so real. You can get your dream sofa for half the price. Wayfair. Its always a big deal. Wayfair, youve got just what i need when i was diagnosed with hiv, i didnt know who i would be. But here i am. Being me. 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Xfinity rewards creates experiences big and small, on the night of october 15th, and onceinalifetime. 1979, two drifters raced away from the okarche Oklahoma Oklahoma home of the Douglas Family. In the wake of the dead, died. Pastor Richard Douglass and his wife marilyn, shot to death. 16 year old brooks and a 12 year old sister leslie, each shot twice. Hogtied, bleeding beside the bodies of their parents. If i was going to live, i needed to make a decision. I remember thinking, as long as i could draw a breath or even twitch muscle, i need to keep trying. The house was eerily quiet. And brooks feared his sister to, was gone. I had been shouting periodically and she was responding and she stopped responding. Yet, despite being shot twice herself, leslie had somehow escaped her bonds. And made her way to the kitchen. And i looked up and leslie came running in with a knife and cut me loose. Youre the one who got things going afterwards . Right, right. Where did that come from . I dont, know i guess that internal drive that you just think, you know, i want to live. I want to be here. I have to do something, i cant just lay here. Brooks and leslie were bleeding to death, both of them. And, at least brooks knew it. We needed to get to the hospital where we were going to die. Brooks carried leslie out to the family car. They were terrified, all but you are the killers must be out there, somewhere. Lying in wait for them. I remember also thinking they might be at the end of the driveway, so i drove really fast. And they went there, and then thinking they might be on the highway. As they raced up route 80, one brother and sister had a serial surprisingly composed conversation. There was very strange because there were moments of silence and leslie asked me, mom and dad, dad, and i said yeah, yeah they. Our. And i said what are they going to do and i guess were going to live with their aunts and uncles and i said i guess so. We dont need to wear but it right now. We just need to get better. Brooks was doing better than 100 Miles Per Hour in this that 1970 duster. He drove on to the law of the okarche of a family friend, a doctor, blurted out what had happened. He actually didnt believe us we were saying, weve been shot, mom and dad are dead, help us. And then i collapsed. And as soon as i got in The Living Room. The doctor and his son carried brooks and leslie to a nearby hospital. And then the doctor in his son went two went out to the house. To check on my mom and dad. The children fought for their lives, in the middle of the night, they were moved to an Intensive Care Unit in Oklahoma City. Their wounds were appalling. One bullet had nicked brooks hart. It came in the side of my back and collapsed mullins. And what about your sisters injuries . She was shot twice, one of them went through her poor arm because we had our arms tied together around the back and then it went through her lower back and then the second bullet went through the middle, or not, even just off the seam of her back. And it came out a chess. The doctor called the Sheriffs Office, officers reach the douglass home around six pm. Lynn was chair of Canadian County. The preacher, Reverend Douglas and mrs. Douglass were still at the residence on The Living Room floor. That . One. Pretty shocking thing. Yes. Certainly. Was like an execution . Yes sir. They didnt take them long to identify the suspects, there had been another Home Invasion earlier that day in tennessee, oklahoma, just up the road from the douglasss. Two men fled that crime in a distinctive banana yellow chevy malibu with primer spots. The victims who were robbed but not physically harmed gave deputies good descriptions. Both the men in the vehicle. The investigators were able to trace that distinctive car to an oil feel, a few miles up the road from the douglass property. Two rough next working the drilling rig had up and quit that very morning, taken off on a broad car. Out there wanted for parole violations, apparently. They werent, they thought they were. The two were named steven hutch and glen ake. And they were familiar already to the local police. One of them had a burglary conviction. These are petty criminals . Yes sir. As police pieced together ake and hutchs activities those day, they learned that after they bore the yellow chevy, they drove into town and clean that their bank account. Each one of them got approximately 500 out of a savings account. They bought beers and whiskey, and scored some speed and cocaine. And then roared off in the board car to rob the family in tennessee. That crime needed more than 1,000. In a Double Barrel shotgun. From there, they headed south to okarche, and the pastors modern ranch House Assistant District Attorney bill james responded to the crime scene of the douglass home that night. He was starting to help build a case. Within two, three, 4 00 in the morning we had the identity of the people. And because of the prior robbery they took money out of their Bank Accounts and then they wrapped another place, that a couple of thousand dollars, they had a car, they had guns, why go into yet another house . I think it was so easy that they had somewhat of a high from doing at the first time so they wanted to do it again. The county sheriff, the state police, the Oklahoma Bureau of investigation, the fbi are all looking for ake and hutch, but they said at least a vr start. They werent gone, yeah. Meanwhile, back in hospital, brooks and Leslie Douglas clung to life in an Intensive Care Unit. And law manhattan bad feeling. I was afraid, that what i had seen that night, that these people could commit one murder after another. Because they were just so cold, without thought, without deep necessity. Coming up were you frightened, terrified that they would come back . Absolutely. Round the Clock Protection for brooks and leslie, where they still in danger . People dont know where these two guys are, they could be anywhere. When dateline continues. When dateline continues. On top of the worlddddd before advil. Advil targets pain at the source of inflammation. When pain comes for you, come back fast with advil liquigels. Will you pause it real quick . mumbles just sold the car to carvana. What . All i had to do was answer a couple questions and got a real offer in seconds. Then, they just picked up the car and paid me right on the spot. Sell your car at carvana dot com today. Lysol is supporting schools by providing materials to teach healthy habits. Keeping kids together, here. [boy] Chicken Nugget man. 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And 2000 mourners crowded into putnam city Baptist Church for the funeral of the churchs beloved pastor, Richard Douglas and his wife marilyn. Even the governor was there. It was three days after the Home Invasion, after the murder, the children couldnt be. Theyre brooks and leslie remained in intensive care. Brooks took a turn for the worst. The morning of the funeral, my temperature shot way up and they thought, at that, point theyre going to lose me. But they caught it early and they treated it and so it was pretty miraculous. As the mourners listened to eulogies, and the douglasss favorite. Him a multistate man hunt was on for the shooting suspect and steven hatch. Leslie and folks were kept together in the same Hospital Room under 24 hour police card. Where frightened that they would come back and try to kill . Absolutely. Obviously some things and the police in the family. It wasnt just the douglass children who are frightened. It transfixed oklahoma. Respite kasky was an anchor i cagey our h tulsa. And this terrible thing has happened. There is a man hunt thats going on and there is a lot of tension. People dont know where these two guys are. They could be anywhere. Reports of sightings came in. Some of them disturbingly close, what were they up to . Bill james was assistant District Attorney. Were you worried that they would come back and get those other two kids once they learned that they were alive . Correct. Somebody thought they had seen them in the okarche area. And we had a manhunt up there. But of course, brooks and Leslie Douglas were more than just victims. More than survivors. Even they were crucial witnesses. Im with the hospital, im at. Them they were pretty stable at that time, they answered every question i asked them directly. What was interesting about them . How analytical they were about them answering exact questions and what was going to happen and that they were pretty intelligent kids. They were actually pretty well in control of their emotions. As you were laying in the hospital, trying to recover, trying to understand what had happened, what was that like for you . It was really strange and part of it was that i think nobody knew how to react. Members of the church would come in had to console us and we would end up controlling him hugging him and asking him if hes gonna be okay. Were gonna be okay. Three weeks after the shooting, brooks and leslie were spirited out of the hospital and take into a secure location. Still under police guard. It was halloween, we were staying in a little house that was owned by the church. And a residential neighborhood and trickortreaters came. Up and they were adult, they showed up at the door wearing mask and lovely and, i both came out of our skin and the patrolman actually had his weapon drawn behind the door and was saying, we dont want to be here. And that was a scary moment. Out of the hospital, orphan now, the finality of the childrens loss. Sinking. All the way. The hardest thing was the cemetery. I remember walking toward the grave site, it was just dirt and with a grave marker, with both of their names on. It and that was the first moment that it was real to me that they were gone. And i just felt like everything that was in me, at that moment, just fell out and i remember falling on my knees and just thinking senseless. [inaudible] then, imagine this, having survived the deadly attack, having lost their parents, having soldiered through a recovery. Brooks and leslies home, and all the familys positions were auctioned off to pay their medical bills. And so began repercussions needed nor anyone else had imagined. A hunting, really, that would go on for decades. First, the siblings who kept each other alive through crisis and recovery were separated. Leslie moved in with relatives in another town and started at a new school. Brooks, just a term shy of high school graduation, state in the neighborhood with Church Members so he could finish school. At the end of the day, i was still a 16 year old kid that didnt want to be strapped down in the hospital. I didnt want to be stuck in the house with security. It was all necessary. But, it was hard to take for a 16 year old and a 13 year old. And glenn akin and steven hutch, were still out there somewhere. Coming up worst fears are confirmed. Their feet and hands were bound behind their back. They had hoods over their head and both of them had been shot execution style. The suspect, strike again. And again. The car just got away. Just disappeared. But police are about to get the break they need. When dateline continues. When dateline continues. With two maxstrength pain relievers, so you can rise from pain like a pro. Icy hot pro. vo crabfest is back at red lobster. When you can choose your crab, and one of three new flavors like roasted garlic butter. 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Im with it i gotta good feeling about this yeah, so lets get it im feeling good vibes when my doctor gave me breztri for my copd things changed for me. Breztri gave me better breathing, symptom improvement, and reduced flareups. Breztri wont replace a Rescue Inhaler for sudden breathing problems. It is not for asthma. Tell your doctor if you have a Heart Condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Dont take breztri more than prescribed. Breztri may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, Vision Changes, or eye pain occur. Ask your doctor about breztri. Steven hutch and glen ake, were on the. Run a day after the murder, they called a family in oklahoma. And learned that lament were on the run for killing faster Richard Douglass and brooks leslie. The sheriff let the investigation. And they ended, up the next morning, in 14, arkansas. Still in malibu . Yes sir, the spent the night and they walk to the bus station. , eventually they managed to track down the yellow getaway car but by then they were long gone. And hopped a bus to memphis. And they spent three nights there, drinking heavily and they lost about 1,000 while they were in the motel a couple of hookers to their room for about 1,000. And after memphis, they wandered around southern louisiana, looking for Oil Fieldwork before hitchhiking to new orleans. , theyre the two found jobs in the carnival, and it took up with the young woman named virginia ginger beat. They hooked up with. There and they went on the road, and back on the, road after they lost those carnival jobs. It happened when ake got drunk at work and find a shotgun in the. They were just about broke by then. Except for a credit card that was stolen from mrs. Douglas. But early november, three weeks after the douglass, murders ake, hutch and ginger, caught a bus as funds as far as difference would take. Them that as Lumberton Texas ake and hutch and virginia keith, they were on a continental bus. The sheriff of Hampton County back then they got the bus to stop in the house and they broke into the house. The two men did, and Virginia State out in the woods. , and they were going to wait for somebody to come home. And when the home owner returned, a friend along with, him ake and hutch were waiting. With the sawed off shotgun. Sheriff later found some signs of a struggle. But otherwise, the crime scene was a carbon copy of the douglass murders. They had been tied, with the ropes and their feet and hands bound behind their backs, they had hoods over their heads and both of them had been shot execution style. Pain didnt know that about the douglass case, didnt connected to them right away. But he did have something to go on. The home owners new docks into a d. C. Was missing. And we were able to put out a National Bulletin for that vehicle. Hatch, a, contender keith squeezed into the stolen car and headed west. They had a little cash, gasoline still it in the texas murders. And maryland douglasss visa. The trio drove to california, then doubled back east to wyoming, ake and hutch again working for all fieldwork. But their murderous road trip was about to end. In a bar, in downtown bags wyoming, ake got drunk. Started Slapping Ginger around. She had had enough. And, as her first opportunity filled her guts to the bar kyiv. And, the bar owner alerted the police but by then ake and hutch, escaped and he was a Detective Sergeant in colorado back then. Our deputies found out that the car was associated with ake and hutch and that they were wanted on a number of different murders in oklahoma and texas. They tried to pursue the car but what we had then was just kind of an old Pick Up Truck for patrol vehicles and of course these guys got away real quick. Ake and hutch floyd [interpreter] for the 2020, they searched and scarred the county. Our guys chased and the car just got away from them. Just disappeared about 25 miles north of town. They had given the cops the slip. All on money freezing, and the colorado, Winter Ake Hutch was desperate us animals. They invaded around, house along into mike mandala, outside of colorado. And they got the car stuck, in the driveway leading up to his house. And they went out of the car went to his house basically forced their way in. Armed, of course and took hostage. Here is how ake hutch had met they had business. You had a little, dog and he called his little three like a dog. And the dog went to jump up on the bed and one of the guys shot and killed that dog. And they told mr. That if he didnt do exactly as they said, he would be next. After age bloody after a bloody warning the warning, he was still pretending. Ranchers stalled for time, he got them to drink a lot of beer, and one, day they either want to sleep or passed out. He got away from them. Its quick thinking, the way that he handled himself in that situation, absolutely saved his life. The redshirt met with the sheriff. We showed him the pictures and he instantly identify them as the two people taken hostage lives for. The ranch or orange that he had access to an arsenal. Between firearms and our ammunition that they brought, they were very, very violent. I want to cycles to 30 different firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition. Early the next morning, nearly a dozen moment storm the ranch house. Right as we are driving up to the house, we see two men, ache and hatch, Jumper A Window in the house and they run into different directions. They were both armed. A deputy fired a warning shot, Double A Block shot. A tripped over an Irrigation Ditch and fell down. It was all i thought at the time that he had hit that guy, maybe we would have killed him. But not a scratch. You cant have surrendered without firing a shot. They were taken to the county jail. When their belongings were inventoried, the each had less than 1 in change, a gas credit card belonging to a texas victim and pastor and mrs. Douglass wedding rings. Coming up arrested, at last. Was the long Nightmare Overcooks and Leslie Douglas . Was it just beginning . 357 magnum [inaudible] on these people. Chilling words from a killer. Did you have any idea how much use logical there if no they caught him . Heavens, no. No idea. When dateline continues. N dateline continues Family Cookouts [blowing] [dice roll] playing games [party chatter] dancin in the par Type 2 Diabetes . Discover the ozempic® trizone. In my ozempic® trizone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. In studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. 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What would that reality look like . Well i guess i wouldve gotten us xfinity. And wed have a better view. Do you need mulch . What, we have a ton of mulch. Sleepovers just arent what they used to be. A house full of screens . Ton. Basically no hiccups . You guys have no idea how good youve got it. How old are you . Like, 80 . Back in my day, it was scary stories and flashlights. We dont get scared. Oh, really . Mom can see your search history. Thats what i thought. Introducing the next generation 10g network. Only from xfinity. It was stunning news. 1979, six weeks after the murders of maryland, douglas. The shooting of their children. The manhunt was over. The governor calls a news conference. It was that big of a deal. They wanted to put people at rest that these two guys werent out there terrorizing oklahoma and people. It was a big deal. Glenn and stephen, who for buy now wanted for questioning him to additional murders in texas, had been captured in colorado after another investigation. Word reached past the prosecutor at the el reno courthouse. It was a call he was waiting for. A trump of the really, ran the office and prepared the extradition papers. I put a call into the governor. We hadnt been within a few hours. By the . Why the rush . We want them. Remember, the fugitives had committed a double murder in texas to. The oklahomans were determined that they wanted first crack at glen ake that steven hutch. Had to be there before some of the texas beat them to it. News of the capture was a huge relief to brooks and Leslie Douglas. Now, a race to bring back ache and touch. Flying from colorado it was 2 30 to 3 00 in the morning that we landed at Rogers Airport here and on the city with them and took them back to laredo. The sort of think that almost never happens. All the way back to oklahoma, hutch and ake told them they wanted to make a statement. We had a semblance of thanksgiving that day. They did this that evening. They were meeting. They locked up hutch in this whole building and the laredo jail. Ake, they kept in a more secure facility, more modern placed on the block. Thanksgiving night, chefs deputies collected the two of them, took them around the corner there and down to the Sheriffs Office so that they could deliver those confessions they seem so eager to make. Some, they did. Apparently, without any remorse or motion, first hutch and then ake, calmly describing their activities on that murderous night. The standby that the couch and i unload the. 357 magnum and the wide cutters. I continue to run out the door. The dogs were all barking at me. A slowdown, walk out the door. I drove off. And drove off. Steve asked me what i had done. He told me. Said, never done that before. They told us they didnt give that kind of stuff, in their words, unless they were drunk. And they had been drinking heavily that day that this happened of October The 15th of 79. Taking drugs as long . Yes, sir. In one of the areas, speed. Ake mentioned cocaine. That, ake made it clear in the statement that he was the shooter. He was in charge. They shouldnt be on steves part. Steve dont kill nobody. He had to do nothing. All this was my brain. Why did hutch go along with him . Hutch was a and this is akes words, hutch its a follower. Ake said, im the strong one and make all of the decisions. So, it was like a Big Dog And Little dog following along behind him. Ake told the sheriff that he and he alone was the trigger man. Not only in the douglass killings but in texas as well. The incident with the two shootings of the fellas in texas. Did ake tell you about that . He said that he had to do it because steve hutch was just too weak to do. It was afraid to pull the trigger . Guests, are. Did either one of them expressed any remorse . The only remorse that i got was that ake said, about the Death Penalty. All this here, i want the Death Sentence. I want to injection as soon as possible. After, i looked up a little bit of time so i can see my parents and my nephew. I want to be executed. He knew what he had done. Yes, sir. For brooks and Leslie Douglass, capture of the killers appeared to put an end to their ordeal. Little did they now did you have any idea how much you still had to go through even though you cut them . No idea. I get it was done at that point . Yeah, yeah. Naive you. Yeah. By the early weeks of 1980, brooks on Leslie Douglass had officially returned just cool. Healed physically, that is. Now, shellshocked of the murder of their parents or previous october, they struggled. Any semblance of teenage normalcy were forever lost to them. And they coped separately. Wesley had moved to another town. Brooks was in the Old Neighborhood by his has gone. They still had no idea that oklahoma, that the legal trials of the man who killed their parents, which were about to begin, would become their own decadeslong tribulation. Despite their long and detailed confessions, glenn ake and stephen hutch, his accomplice, had pleaded not guilty to charges of Murdering Marilyn and Richard Douglass and shooting the douglass children. Steven hutch was judge first at the Canadian County courthouse. Steven hutch was a follower. Thats the one that picked up the house that night. Hes the one that wanted to commit another crime. He is one that created the energy for the set. Crime and the state of oklahoma, lucky to have an ironclad case against him, most important, of course, the harrowing stories of the eyewitnesses and survivors, leslie and brooks douglas. And ake hutchs the testimony of ginger keith, a Traveling Companion while they were on the run. Keep, who was never charged with any crime, testified that ake and hutch told her about killing the douglasss and Shooting Brooks and leslie. We had two eyewitnesses to identify them. We someone kept it simple. Simple . The judge hearing the case, maybe. Certainly not for those surviving witnesses. Brooks had already testified once in the preliminary hearing. Both he and sister would have to relive it off for hutchs trial. 13yearold Leslie Douglass occurred in the First Time Since heard her brother were critically wounded and her parents dead. How did the two kids do . I thought they were excellent. Stood up under Cross Examination . Yes. We tried the case in one day. With just one witness after another. Altogether, the hutch case took three days. Hutch testified in his own defense. He was convicted, sentenced to death. Akes traveling early summer didnt take much longer. In the courtroom, they kept him under heavy guard. Ake was volatile, unpredictable. Ake was really mean. He was a mean person. Stedman testified for two hours about akes thanksgiving confession. And can the star witnesses for the prosecution. Brooks and leslie, two teenage siblings who are about to revisit the most traumatic life of their lives. Coming up aced to face with the gunman. It was like i had to pretend i was Somebody Else. Leslie and brooks by the courage to speak. When dateline continues. When dateline continues. But with my moderate tosevere eczema, it can be tough. Now, im staying ahead of it. Dupixent helps heal your skin from within. So you can have clearer skin, and noticeably less itch. Serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or Vision Changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. Dont change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. Ask your doctor about dupixent. geri i smoked and i have copd. My children are really worried. 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And wed have a better view. Do you need mulch . Glen ake was on trials for what, we have a ton of mulch. The murders of Richard Douglass and his life, marilyn. The cold blooded executions were written by the douglass children. Now, brooks and leslie what have to relive the horrific details of that night from the stand. It both calmly identified ake as a man who shot them and murdered their parents. Did you watch the childrens testimony . Yes. Brooks was very strong in his testimony. Leslie was to, but if her more than it did brooks to testify. It was like i had to pretend Somebody Else telling a story of what happened. Its kind of like the night that it happened, i had to remember all of this, all of this. That promise that Leslie Douglass made to herself, not to forget anything. That is what carried her through. She said. I didnt know why. I just knew that i had to remember everything. So, whenever it was time to be on the stand, i know everything i said was important. I had to be specific and remember. I dont know. I got my head. I have to remove all emotional attachment. The jury needed just two hours to make up its mind. Ake was convicted. He was sentenced to 1000 years for shooting that douglass children. As for the murder of brooks and leslies parents we the jury for the entitled cause, for our oath, and hearing and finding the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree. Punishment to death. So, down the road for ake ed hutch. Or so the prosecutors assumed. The sheriff Ex Courted Ake to the penitentiary and death row. When i took glen ake to oklahoma to be processed and the department of corrections, when we got out of the car, i told him, glenn, this is the last time i will see you until i come back to see you die. What this monstrous chapter of their lives apparently over, leslie and brooks began to thrive. Leslie, living in that new town with her mothers family, became a stellar High School Student and cheerleader, college bound. Youre going to do all of the things that you did. Like any regular teenage person. I think it is because my mom said one night, if anything ever happened, she wanted me to be strong and move on with my life. Im a cry guy, mom, i say that . Nothings ever going to happen to you. I think its one of those things that i just had on the back of my mind and it helps in the fish there things. And the first trials, and in the years immediately after, brooks also felt his parents were somehow still with him. I was able to during that first couple of years and even now, especially now in the first few years, hear their voices. Having to make decisions or do things. So, i felt they were still with me. It wasnt until years later somebody said, youre norfolk. Yes, he was. Because of what happened to make him one, both the law and live began to spin and very strange directions. Certainly beyond his control. As it began to look like his parents killers might escape justice after all. Coming up i felt the bullet hit me. I heard another gun go off and my mother scream. Brooks and leslie returned to the courtroom. I screamed and he shot me again. This time, the outcome will be very different. I remember when the verdicts were read in the courtroom, there was an audible gasp. When dateline continues. Nues sniff still fresh. Still fresh mmm, still fresh get 6x longerlasting freshness, plus Odor Protection with downy unstopables. New emergenc crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. And who doesnt love a good throwback . [sfx video game sound] new emergenc crystals. Throw it back. Upbeat music [ Tires Screeching ] director cut jordana, easy on the gas. Force of habit. I gotta wrap this commercial, i think im late on my payment. Its okay, the general gives you a break when you need it. Yeah, we let you pick your own due date so you can pay your Car Insurance when its best for you. Well thats good to know, because this next scene might take a while. [ helicopter and wind noises ] for a great low rate, go with the general. Some days, it seems every step for he made, Brooks Douglass made to back. He made it out of high school all right. Although orphaned with the sister by the murder of his parents and haunted by the complication that survival, great, confusion. He was adrift. Other scattered might be a better word for those years after brooks headed off to college. I want to six or seven different universities because my road scholar days, go for eight weeks and get kicked out or leave, drop out. Drive to the next school. And will there for 63 weeks. So, i was having a hard time get again. Had a heart of the site. Legal developments over the next few years didnt make it any easier. The appeals of the two men convicted of Killing Brooks parents seem to be drifting, scattered and confusing. The u. S. Supreme court ruling on the Death Penalty in the fara case and florida led to hutchs a Death Sentence being vacated twice. Therefore, more uncertainty for the douglass children. More legal hearings. If this case does it aggravating circumstances that was special heinous and cruel, i cant imagine the case that what. Has a slit reinstated. Steven hutch went back to death row. Meanwhile, glen ake, the trigger man, had been filing appeals from a nearby cell. February 1985, six years after the douglas is murdered, the United States Supreme Court ruled in ake versus oklahoma, that he deserved a new trial. Prosecutors had failed to provide a psychiatrist at state expense. Stover was the diana dea. I contacted brooks and leslie and indicated that we would have to we try ake. Im sure they fall, all december and . That was exactly the start of the siblings reaction. Once again, they opened up their psychic and emotional bills for inspection by the court. This is the thing that is so remarkable. You are able to go there, again and again, and places that are daunting a difficult, and yet, you clearly feel that same of motional turmoil every time it comes up. I dont. Here you, are sitting with us. Youre feeling it all again . You think 31 years later would be different. I was get a little emotional. Start remembering and think, wow, i cant live its that this long. As akes second trial began in february 1986, has lawyer laid out the defenses case. We have entered a plea of not guilty by the reason of insanity. That well maintained that thats about the trial. After six years a maximum security, glen ake was nearly unrecognizable. Sheriff when stedman was in charge of security. The second trial, he may not sound during the trial. He had let his hair grow long and he sat there with his head down, looking at the enable the entire trial. But jurors heard from other witnesses. Despite the passage of time, details of the crime remained chilling. Douglass was lying on his back. His feet were tied together with a court tie material. Although ake never took the stand, never said a word to his lawyers, the jury heard his thanksgiving statement. Where did you shoot . That, boy. Daughter. Mom. Matt, from here. I think i shot the boy twice. That can be eyewitnesses to the common carnage that night, Leslie Douglass, now 20 years old, college did, calmly exploited all to the jury. Which hit my father, i screamed. He shot me again. And then, i heard him run out the door. I was amazed by her courage. She had to go back there in her mind yak tell you exactly what happened, which she did. She did not falter. And she was rocksolid . Yes. Brooks douglass wasnt spared his turn of the stamp. I heard another one go off. My mother screamed. The court the defense case was the testimony of psychiatrists. Three of them. Do you believe that he wasnt soon on the 15th of october, 1979 . Yes, sir. Im convinced that glen ake, mr. Ake, did not know right from wrong. Throughout it all, in court, glen ake remained silent. Presented himself more like a mental patient with a convicted murder. Detective stephen washed and decided had to be a ploy. He was feigning insanity. He had five years or so to come up with this act. But did the jury see but the sheriff believed he sought . The decision, when i came, was quite a surprise . I remember when the verdicts were read in the courtroom. There was an audible gasp. Where that jerry, empaneled and sworn, upon her boss had found the defendant, glen ake, guilty of murdering in the first degree of the death of Richard Douglass, fix the punishment up live in the state penitentiary. Nope Death Penalty. This time, the jury spared his life. He would come off death row. The jury came back as sentence ake to life for each of the murders and 200 years each for the shootings of the children. But wait a minute stephen hatch did not fire but ake got life. Fox was floored. As i heard the decision read, was going through my mind was, that i can see my parents dying and knowing that they would never be fully avenged. They die, this person kept alive. Yet, he is going to allow to continue living. At our expense. As brook saw, after all this time, all the suffering, his parents, his, his sister, he cheated the execution of. That day after sentencing, i shall shot brooks expect it into a hallway, following by sheriffs deputies, escorting glenn ache, back to a prison cell there. They were, standing feet apart. Brooks looked at ake, and something in him snapped. He saw the deputy passing by, his revolver, tantalizingly close, and in that moment, Brooks Douglass contemplated murder. He reached for the officers weapon. You saw, at one point, he was being led somewhere, and there is a deputy with a gun . Just by chance, i walked out of one door of the corner, he came in front of me. It was actually kathy stoker that grabbed my arm. They saw what you wanted to do . Yes. You might have done it . And might have done it. But, two can play that game. If he can play crazy, i can too. Wow. So that crime had done a lot to you . Yes. But brooks knew, he said, that he wouldnt, and couldnt, have done it. It is not even staying their hand. It was with their bleeding, it is going to try and save himself. Is he getting off that floor to kill them . No. Is that what my parents would have wanted . I would have been much better off not dying that night. I needed to live my life, and i couldnt do it as long as i was holding that. Of course, at that moment, he could have no idea. This it was not the last time he would meet the man who killed his parents. Now, they were destined to meet again. Coming up a confrontation with a killer. What did you see in him . Powerful emotions. The long buried demons. What i really wanted was for it to be over. When was for it to be over. When dateline continues. 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Record flooding near juneau, alaska, has caused concentrated point to the river. This comes after major release of water from [inaudible] thats a glacier down the lake. Now, back to dateline. Ack to dateline. As the years roll by, seem to set the emotional and psychic once inflicted sunlight that Richard Douglass and marilyn were shot but the children might never yield. They did learn to live. Any outsider might learn they had learned the lesson well. Leslie, the cheerleader in High School Homecoming queen went on to college and graduate school, became teacher and assistant principal. Had a family, two children of her own. I never wanted to seem like this person that, you, know hid and fell apart, because your typical person that goes through all of this kind of stuff. I wanted to make something of myself. If someone said Something Like, well, shes never gonna be okay. Shes not ever going to college. I went to college, i got a masters degree. You know . Its one of those things but i dont want people to tell me i cant accomplish things, two things because they think i am going to allow everything that has happened affect my whole life. Brooks finally struggle through college, took an army are to use the commission and went to law school, got married. Again and again, both put their lives on hold to on pack their arch members for charles and prayer pauls and Clemency Hearings For Glen Ake and steven hutch. How many times did you testify . I think it is a total of nine. What did you do . As soon as i would hear that i was going to need to go testify again, my mind would go to that place. It was a month or however long, leading up to it, apprehension and fear. And just plain old fair. And i do 90, 11 years after the murders, just after last, long just broke, frankly, a marriage headed south, brooks decided, almost a win, to run for the Oklahoma State senate. Was that what the system that made you decide to go and finish a lot of very, get involved in politics . I remember feeling helpless and looking for what are ways that i can gain a little bit of control of what is happening to me. Didnt seem ludicrous too . I think i was really oblivious. You didnt know what was possible . Yeah, no one told me he couldnt do it. Why not . Whats to. Lets try. He won. It was an upset. It made him, at 27, the youngest senator in oklahoma history. We cascade, been a tv reporter covering the capitol, became a close friend. His teenagers were pretty rough. He struggled for a long time. But he was starting to put the pieces back together. I think, at that point, he was ready to start moving forward with his life. You could see a transformation now. He met another young senator, later governor. Brad henry. It was natural that way gravitated towards one another. We were the youngest by a long shot. Even though he is a republican and im a democrat, we just became very, very good friends. It wasnt his second year in the senate one brooks found the cause close to his heart. Victims rise was one of those things that nobody talked about. Of course, that was the core experience of his life. He knew how the victims were treated. He introduced oklahomas first Victims Rights act. The jury never heres one word about the family and not considering how brutal that crime was. This person took another individuals life and his cases. Victims Rights Movement was in its infancy than. If that resistance from judges and prosecutors. It was very, very passionate that focused on Victims Rights. Who could argue with him . No one in the senate or the house, for that matter, who had been through that kind of a traumatic experience. The passage was a huge victory for brooks ad allies in the legislature. And personally, for him . Well, it happened during his second term in the senate. Revelation. Not happy when. For all he had accomplished, while hed overcome, the, grave theory, drift, confusion, it wasnt enough. Perhaps it was as long that father still whispering in his ear. Something he needed to do. He found himself on a legislative tour of oklahomas their famous maximum security prison. [inaudible] the states most dangerous prisoners, including glen ake, the trigger man and his parents murder. And an even more secure way, steven hutch, akes a complexs, waiting on his final days on death row. Evers, brooks was afraid he would run into glen ake here at the penitentiary. He was nervous about that. Wanted to avoid it. Then, something started denying at him. Eventually, he realized he knew what he had to do. He had to confront the man who murdered his parents. The man he contemplated killing outside of that courtroom years before. You want to see the warden. The senator has perks. The warden sent an up to the prisoner. Much to everyones amazement, glen ake i agreed to a meeting. It was february 1985, Brooks Douglass Council Sitting across the table from the man who had murdered his parents, shot him in his sister. For 15 years, i wanted nothing more than to see you dead. I still want it. Hearing some of that, hearing myself say that, was very, very strange. He had to confront the fact that you just said that this man. Yeah. That you wanted him to. I wanted him to. By saying it, Something Like look. Yeah. That [crying] what i really wanted was for at the over. And i didnt realize how much that was dominating my life. It was not what he intended to do. Didnt know what he would do when he found himself said encased face with his parents killer. Now, the words came out. He realized he met them completely. He forgave glen ake. Inside him, he, said the reaction was almost physical. Yet, you are now the one of the session of having job [inaudible] and were confronted at the same time with your desire to see these guys die from what they did your parents. What reaction did you see and have . He was completely remorseful, which surprise me right off of the bat. By that moment came was when he was messing with cuffs and trying to wipe away tears. He confided in his friends. Because now that we can. I said, how did i go . He said, i forgave him. Their silence on the phone for a minute. My job is on the floor. The thing that really purge his soul was this forgiveness that washed forward. That he really couldnt explain. I think he surprised himself that he actually what affirmative lay forget his parents murder. I think because of that teachings of his father and his mother, he was able to find that forgiveness inside, somehow. I think it has been a tremendous, tremendous load off of his shoulders. Leslies reaction was more muted. He had told me about meeting with ake and him for giving him. Having a hard time understanding. His forgiving part of moving on like that . Part of getting past . I think it is. I feel like i have forgiven you can forget. It doesnt change the circumstances sometimes. But there is a difference between forgiveness and forgetting. The state of oklahoma, along with brooks at Leslie Douglass, had some and finish business with steven hutch, not the trigger man, no. Murder, yes. Coming up i was trying to sleep at night. I was afraid someone was coming to get me. And a part of the story. After all of these years. When dateline continues. Dateline continues. He snores like an angry rhino. Youve never heard an angry rhino. Baby i hear one every night. Every night. Okay. Ill work on that. Save up to 500 on the new sleep number® smart bed. Plus, free Home Delivery when you add an adjustable base. Shop now only at sleep number®. [ Tires Screeching ] jordana, easy on the gas. I gotta wrap this commercial, i think im late on my payment. Its okay, the general gives you a break. Yeah, we let you pick your own due date. Good to know, because this next scene might take a while. For a great low rate, go with the general. It was 18 months after an extraordinary meeting that day, the one which Brooks Douglass forgave his parents killer. The other man convicted in the murder, steven hutch, was scheduled to die. Brooks i tried to meet but hutch on death row. He was rebuffed. Appeals exhausted,s execution date was that in the summer of 1996. Theres a Funnel Clemency hearing. Brooks i leslie would have to testify against him one last time. Hutch pleaded for his life. Im sorry for the pain the children, brooks and Leslie Douglass continue to feel. I can say sorry for the rest time. He would not be enough. I could die 100 times and they would never be enough to make up for what happened. But, that testimony that was founded Leslie Douglass and brought back all of the horror. I found out some things at the Clemency Hearing that i was not aware of. So, it shattered my world. It happened at the very beginning, on the state brought those Murder Charges against steven hutch in the first place. They chose not to put leslie to the additional trauma of testifying about the rapes. After all, they could prove murder easily. Leslie never knew, not in all of those years, that the killers denied raping her all along. Then, hutchs considering, what his life on the line, he stuck to his story that he had not sexually assaulted her. They had denied raping me. So, i think right then, it really threw me for a loop. I was only supposed to talk 30 seconds. It ended up being three or four minutes because i was so upset. I remembered every minute of it like it was happening right then. That only had i i was afraid to go to restaurants. I was afraid of sleeping at night. I would hear noises that would wake me up because i was afraid someone was coming to get me. Not only to the knockout to go to my parents funeral, high did not know they have died. After all of these years, it just seemed like there was no remorse. Not only deny that he did it, but calling a liar . Right. I could see where that Poor Tollville Girl could have that i did, where this happened. I was, like theres no thought. It did. The Clumsy Appeal was denied. So, on august 9th, 1996, leslie and Brooks Douglass drove from Oklahoma City to mcalister present to witness steven hutch s death. All of the filings of the Supreme Court have been denied. We have a green light to proceed with the execution shortly after midnight. A brother and sister among the first Family Members ever to witness the execution of her murder. That they can do so it all was because of additional Victims Rights legislation that brooks help passed earlier that year. The night of the execution, they give them an option making a last statement. He didnt say anything. You know you are there . Right. That left me numb, stun. Wow. Isnt that way i want to do . Change the things that we have done in life that we regret. Go back and amend those things for us for forgiveness because he took a huge part of me. Just after midnight, 17 painful years after their parents were killed, leslie and brooks watch steven hutch strapped to a gurney die by lethal injection. Hutch left behind a written statement. And, it he called those who sat in judgment of him leave off. Far varick politicians. An hour after hutch was pronounced dead, brooks spoke to the press. Leslie and i, have again, witness the taking of a life. The first time we did so, we were young people. We were present what our mother or father were viciously killed. Today is the end of a very long ordeal that has dominated our lives. The family witnessing the execution was so unusual, leslie appeared on that today show. How is this prime haunted in bolivia since it happened . I dont know that a lot. As ive become older and have had children, it has become so much harder to try to explain to my children that theyre never going to get another grandparents. The never going to see them. So, wasnt what you expected it would be . I dont know but im never going to get a call either midcalifornia or wherever it is that im living, or mongolia, and be told, guess what . I had to tell you this, but youre gonna have to come back and testify against steven hutch again. It was over. But was it . He had forgiven and felt as though he put that behind him. Except things the way they were. According to brookes friends, it was trouble just after the execution. How long afterward, the second marriage ended. He was depressed for a while. It brings everything back up. You have to go to the prison and so forth, what is, it it takes you back to that place. I think it made it tough for him. Andy, it took him right back there. One of the more bizarre things was, i felt like as i was watching him die, that i was also watching that night all over again. Part of us died back there. Ill never forget it. Leslie will never forget it. No, nor cut either of them have down than that one day he was going to choose his own decision and relive the worst side of his life and living color. It was balling, saying, i feel so bad for my mom and dad because he knew that was the last day. He was so young and had so much to love for. That whole like was really excruciating for everyone. More real than you would have a magic and. Coming up my parents would be proud. Freed his goes. The surprising move that helped brooks bask at last. When dateline continues. Inues. With caplyta, theres a chance to let in the lyte. 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Did you know most dish soaps dont remove all the grease, even with scrubbing . whaaat . i just cleaned those. Try dawn platinum. It removes 99 of grease and food residue. Thats why dawn is trusted to save wildlife affected by oil. Dawn platinum cleans to the squeak. [ Tires Screeching ] jordana, easy on the gas. I gotta wrap this commercial, i think im late on my payment. Its okay, the general gives you a break. Yeah, we let you pick your own due date. Good to know, because this next scene might take a while. For a great low rate, go with the general. Brooks douglass was restless. The man who had help murder his parents have been executed, shooter was behind bars for life. Brooks seemed unsure where he belonged. Three terms in the Oklahoma Senate was enough. He started a business, sold it, served as an army officer in the middle east and enrolled in Harvards Kennedy school of government where he met and married julia. The crime that so impacted his life . He did make speeches from time to time above Victims Rights. The czech 14 years for us to get these guys who had started taking with them, one of them had to sought off of him when they caught him. Life was different now. He and julia had two children, subtle down in california. That, broxton cited that maybe he could do some acting on writing. I was teaching a Writing Workshop and books came into the class had he pitched three ideas. One, a second. One, a drama. He proceeds to tell me about his life. Paul brown is a hollywood writer and director. I couldnt believe i was hearing. Austin rivers shelters and vengeance becomes a story about forgiveness. I thought that was a very unique and important story. He, said that is the one you need to write. Well, i dont think i can write it. It is too personal. Its too painful. He convinced me that i should try it. I wrote a few seems. Parts were very difficult. Extraordinarily difficult. Yes, difficult. Before long, as important than anything in his life ever been. Could he actually make a movie . He had never done anything like this before. Not even close. Eagles are destroyed, fortunes made to vanish. Amazing regularity here. Still, yes, he believed, was the answer. He hired brown to cover it and direct is moving. He raided his bank account and what fundraising among friends and family, scraping together a couple million dollars. For three years that to his labor of love. Cast hollywood actors as well as some of his friends. I had called it heavens raid, for reasons his father what understand. Heavens rain opened up in 2010, leslie, who had survived the whole are already on her private way had to watch someone else, very publicly, be her. Do you realize that every time we go through this, i have to relive everything again . And i dont know whos going to show up in my dreams. Then that koepka made my head was, i wonder how she feels about this. I wonder what she thinks about this. Maybe look back at where my head was and what i was thinking. She actually did a great job portraying me. I back, i can say exactly where forward everything that she said. Those things all came out of my mouth. You just go on with your life and you look back and go, wow, i left there that. Its different. It is. Its kind of like seeing yourself as other city, which we can do. Back and be scary sometimes. Now, i think my brother has told a beautiful story. You know, i think my parents would be proud of how he has portrayed our family. Lets lay herself as a small part, a tribute of sorts to her mother. Maryland i was told her how to say. She has a beautiful voice. That voice got silenced. It would be, she sings. People that heard her voice was astonished by how beautiful it is. Im hoping that this will be a new chapter for her to start singing again. Brooks . I did local theater here in Oklahoma City. I know i wanted to act in this movie. Act, yes. It backed, there is really only one role he wanted to play. What he may have been born to. Brooks decided he would portray his own father. Nothing excitedly more than the possibility of big able to do that is a tribute to my dad. Please come tonight movie follows brooks and leslies life. Picks up just after brooks election to the senate. Her delight airs as missionary children in brazil. Its a portrait of an American Family with, at the heart of it, or is he still remembers contained in his fathers very last segment. Delivered, of course, by brooks, as his preaching dad. That joy of life is poisoned by the resentment of past prejudice. Your ketchup at that particular serve men in the movie. Yeah. A lot of that was the salmon he preached the morning he died. The theme was forgiveness. It was something he preached and lay them. That title, heavens rain, from shakespeare. Merchant of dennis. Quality of mercy is not strain. It drops is that gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice last. Bless him that gives bad him that takes. Im so, so sorry for what i had to junior family. I want you to tell you why. A true this, there was no reason. Its the reason he made the movie, they said. Why is that moment on that stop makes the emotion come into your eye . What i said in front of ake. I think it was so revealing. I look back at building this coat of armor that was killing me and killing my marriages, friendships. At the end of the day, it was protecting me, but it was keeping me away from people i loved. Theres another scene in the movie, a flashback that died at the crime. Maybe this was the scene he needed to play to finally move on. [sound of gunfire] i wondered how it must have been, pressuring him when he died. That was one of the very few instances of my life where it was much harder. Much more painful than as tired of thinking was going to be. His wife was with him on set for that one. Upstairs before we found. Its gut wrenching ball like. I felt so bad for my mom and dad because he knew that was their last day. He was so young and had sound much to live for and that whole line was really excruciating for everyone. More real than you would have a marriage and. Moms dad. He had to relive that night. I know how hard that was for him. We talked about it, how hard that was going to be. I was glad it with him going and not me because i couldnt help of it. After los angeles opening, heavens rain was first released and oklahoma and texas. Later, across the southwest. As up to close another chapter in brooks and leslies life, in april of 2011, glen ake, the trigger man died in prison of natural causes. Brooks what entrepreneurs the movie, often speaking after group screenings. The film found is really audience among oklahoma churchgoers. Im not sure people can fully appreciate the power that the grace of god has had in your life in granting the forgiveness to the people who murdered parents. An old wound. He couldve left it alone, skydivers it was. More than once he had turned down book and movie deals proposed by fathers, chose to let that deadline. Not now, not anymore. By opening the wound again himself, he may finally have yielded. You couldve said, no. Forget about it. Forgive someone or something that has happened or be forgiven. These are all very old lessons. Thats not anything i came up with. This is five my dad and mom taught me. Mike thats topping and i wanted people to see who my dad was. Who both of my parents were. The work that they did and the lessons that they taught me. What you want people to take away from this movie of yours . The Power Forgiveness and the importance of it. As individuals, as people, if were going to move on hasse the things of our past, we have to find a way to forget. Well be forgiven. Ake and hutch just some horrible things. They throw curveballs our way. It is always up to me. Every day that i wake, up it is up to me. What i want to live a life or not. Brooks chose to live a vote life. In may of 2020, tragedy struck but Douglas Family yet again. At age 56, brooks died from cancer. His message of forgiveness was not lost on his sister. I just look at it that you have to forgive or her heart is not going. You cant move. He dwell on it, you will not. It especially when people have hit four people. I kind of go and hating these men because that reflects on your own life. If your paper people, it makes you a hateful person. I dont want to live like that for the rest of my life. Hello, im craig melvin. And this is dateline. She was receiving long, rambling emails, threatening her life, saying that her husbands cheating on her. Shes telling her to watch her back, she better get out of the picture. That icing emails sent to a newlywed. The new wife went to authorities and said that she was being harassed. Thats when the fireworks start happening. Obviously, this has a stop. What about next was far worse. Strange man appeared at her door and try to attack her