Court Orders Payout in 'Boys Don't Cry' Case April 21, 2001 9:07 am EST

LINCOLN, Neb. (Reuters) - The mother of a murdered cross-dressing young woman whose story inspired the movie "Boys Don't Cry" deserves more compensation for her daughter's death, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled this week. In a scathing ruling on Friday that demanded a larger damages award against Richardson County, Nebraska, and its sheriff, Charles Laux, the state's highest court declared a lower court had erred in awarding just $17,361 to JoAnn Brandon for official negligence in the death of her daughter, Teena Brandon.

The Supreme Court remanded the case to a District Court for a new determination of damages.

Hilary Swank won a best-actress Oscar for her portrayal of Teena Brandon in the 1999 film "Boys Don't Cry." Brandon, who cut her hair and dated a woman, passed as a man. When her true gender was discovered, she was beaten, raped and later murdered by two male acquaintances in a small Nebraska town over a week's time at the close of 1993.

The story was also the subject of a long article in the New Yorker magazine and an earlier documentary.

In his review of the case, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Hendry said Judge Orville Coady's decision not to award damages to Brandon's mother for the loss of her daughter's companionship "shocks the conscience."

A tape-recorded interview Sheriff Laux conducted with Brandon after she was raped on Christmas Day, which was excerpted in the ruling, revealed that he was insensitive and had a "negative attitude" toward her sexuality, Hendry ruled. Laux described Brandon as an "it" on a few occasions.

The court described Brandon, who had been convicted of forgery and had fled her home in Lincoln, as someone who had been sexually abused as a child and suffered from a gender identity crisis, in which one is repulsed by one's own gender.

In his exchange with Brandon after the rape, Laux repeatedly suggests in "locker room talk" that she might have seduced her attackers, the court said.

"The tape recording reveals that Laux's tone throughout the interview was demeaning, accusatory, and intimidating," the court said. "Based upon the undisputed facts in this case, we determine as a matter of law that Laux's conduct was extreme and outrageous, beyond all possible bounds of decency, and is to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community."

The ruling said Laux and his police force failed in their duty to protect Brandon once she agreed to testify against her attackers and were aware of death threats against her by the two rapists, John Lotter and Marvin Nissen.

On Dec. 31, the two tracked down Brandon at a friend's house where she was hiding and killed her and two others.

Lotter is on death row while Nissen, who cooperated with authorities, is serving a life sentence.

JoAnn Brandon, who testified at trial about her close relationship with Teena, said she was gratified by the ruling.

"Nothing will bring Teena back, but I will sleep better knowing that we found some justice for her, and because of this case, fewer parents will find their children abused and exposed to danger by law enforcement officials," she told the Omaha World-Herald newspaper.

-- Anonymous, April 21, 2001

Answers

I saw the movie, and had no idea that it was based on a real life event, or that the main character was a portrayal of someone that had been murdered.

The treatment from the police, and the handling of the case by the police is typical, IMO.

-- Anonymous, April 21, 2001