4A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2007
STUDENT FILM
Phelps feature premieres on TV
BY KATHERINE MULDER
editor@kansan.com
Starting in November, K Ryan Jones, 2003 University of Kansas graduate, will see his Fred Phelps documentary "Fall From Grace" air on national TV.
The film will first be featured, along with Jones, as part of a story about Phelps for ABC's "20/20" that will air on Nov 16. Then the complete film will premiere nationally in high-definition on Showtime as part of a five-figure contract Jones signed this summer.
"Ryan is the first (KU) student to have had a film originated for a class be sold to a major cable channel," said Matt Jacobson, associate professor of film, who taught Jones. "It is the first film to garner major national attention. That doesn't happen every day."
Though Jones said he is excited and thankful for what this might do for his career, he described his emotions over the success as a mixed bag. Jones stresses the emotional anguish that comes from documenting Phelps, who is infamous for his controversial protests at funerals of Iraq war soldiers and AIDS victims. Jones started filming Phelps for a school project for Jacobson in 2005. He spent a year shooting additional footage to complete the documentary, gaining intimate access to Phelps, his church and his family. Jones wants to move on.
"I've been ready to be done with this for 18 of the past 24 months," Jones said. "If I had known it was going to go on this long I don't know if I would have done it. It has kind of become cumbersome because I've become somewhat of an expert."
Although Phelps and his followers are generally known to seek attention, especially from the media, Jones was not surprised with their reaction to the news.
"They were kind of noncha-lant," Jones said. "I didn't expect anything else really. The woman I talked to said 'Well, we don't get Showtime."
Jones said he is often asked if he feels he is helping create yet another platform for Phelps' messages. Jones said this idea no longer bothers him.
"Yes it is giving their message a wider audience but it's falling on unsupportive ears," Jones said. "For me it's just about educating people on who these people are and how they relate to our society."
Jones estimates more than 5,000 people have seen the film, including members of Phhells' Westboro Baptist Church. The film gained much of its national attention after being shown in March at the film festival South by Southwest in Texas. Jones also said that the DVD for the film should be available sometime in January, though an official deal is still in the works.
The national interest with the film has given Jones dual celebrity. Naturally, with the success of the film came professional acclaim but with that came a less-expected association with the films' subjects.
"He became very personally identified with his subjects," Jacobson said.
Jones said his role in the "20/20" story will be as more of an expert rather than a filmmaker. Jones is living in New York to further his film career and is eager to start other projects, such as a film on the writer J.D. Salinger.
Edited by Amelia Freidline
LAWRENCE
Lawrence ordinances target dog fighting
BY ANDY GREENHAW
editor@kansas.com
editor@kansan.com
"It was obvious they were victims
(Steve Helber/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick arrives with his attorney Billy Martin, right, at federal court in Richmond, Va., Monday, Aug. 27, 2007. Vick's attorney will appear in Sury County court Wednesday where he faces further charges relating to doofitting.
When Lawrence Humane Society officials entered Ernest Martin's garage 10 years ago, a pit bull lay decaying on the garage floor. The dead animal was covered with garbage and its throat had been ripped open in a dog fight. Five other dogs were tied up in the backyard suffering infected wounds, cropped ears, filed teeth, and other injuries from previous dog fights. Lawrence officials seized all 16 of Martin's pit bulbs, including 11 puppies.
Authorities charged Martin with dog fighting, but the prosecutor could not build a strong enough case against him. In order to convict someone of dog fighting under Kansas law in 1997, the individual had to be caught in the act.
Instead, the court convicted Martin of animal cruelty and sentenced him to a year in prison. He was released in six months.
Dog fighting as a sport gained national attention when Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick plead guilty to conspiracy charges related to the sport.
Midge Grinstead, director of the Lawrence Humane Society said that dog fighting in Lawrence declined significantly since the Martin incident. In the past 10 years, the number of physically abused pit bulls brought to the Lawrence Humane Society dropped from 600 to two according to invoice receipts verified by Grinstead. Much of the information on the receipts is classified for legal reasons.
"Dog fighting is no longer a problem in Lawrence," Grinstead said. "But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist."
Ten years ago, the Lawrence Humane Society took in mistreated pit bulls on an almost-daily basis. Grinstead said she received dogs with bones protruding through their skin, muscle tendons hanging from their limbs, and infected wounds covered in pus.
of dog fights." Grinstead said.
Before the ordinance the City of Lawrence could do little to stop dog fighting, said Anthony Barnett, owner of Home Sweet Home Dog Resort, 2140 Haskell Avenue. Barnett, who specializes in raising pit bulls, said the sport was much
If the owner is found guilty, a microchip must be inserted into the animal with registration and ownership information. If an owner fails to keep the dog confined, he or she is criminally prosecuted, and the dog is euthanized.
The number of injured pit bulls dropped to 100 the year after Lawrence officials enacted the Dangerous Dog Ordinance in 2000. The ordinance requires that if the public considers a dog to be a threat to society, the owner must keep it heavily restrained. When an owner does not comply with the ordinance, officials can confiscate the dog and take the case to court.
more organized before 2000 than it is today and almost impossible to access.
"It itused to be like infiltrating a drug cartel," Barnett said. "Dog fighting organizations are extremely close-knit groups."
Since the 2000 ordinance was enacted, it has helped to bring about 30 cases of animal cruelty involving dog fighting to civil court.
Douglas County challenged the local dog fighting industry in 2003 with the passage of its Vicious Dog Ordnance. The ordinance outlawed equipment that could be used to train dogs to fight, including jump cords, tread mills, weight harnesses, and injection steroids. The ordinance allowed the search of property belonging to those possessing such equipment and permitted the houses of suspected dog fighters to be inspected.
Grinstead said she thought the ordinance helped significantly in
the fight against dog fighting. The Lawrence Humane Society took in fewer than 25 battle-weary pit bulls in 2005.
"The Vicious Dog Ordinance gave us a way to get in the door," Grinstead said. "Before, it was almost impossible to investigate people we suspected of dog fighting."
Another change came in July 2006, when Grinstead hired a lobbyist to pushed the Kansas Legislature to increase the crime of animal cruelty from a misdemeanor to a felony. The Senate voted unanimously to increase the severity of the law.
Today, those convicted of animal cruelty in Kansas must serve at least 30 days in jail and pay a fine ranging from $500 to $5,000. Since the tougher penalties were enacted, the Lawrence Humane Society has brought in only three injured pit bulls.
— Edited by Ashlee Kieler
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