By Erin Richards Staff Writer
Posted: 01/28/2011 07:47:50 PM PST
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In a small green house in a quiet Carson neighborhood, Deborah Peagler lived out the last few months of her life.
Before that, she spent more than 26 years in prison for the murder of her abusive boyfriend.
And now, seven months after her death in June, Peagler is the star of a new documentary that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival this week to much critical acclaim and widespread support.
"Crime After Crime" follows her controversial case. Peagler spent more than two decades in prison for luring her boyfriend, Oliver Wilson, to a park in Lawndale, where two men beat and strangled him.
In prison, Peagler dedicated herself to others: She taught illiterate inmates how to read, became choir director
Angela Harris sits in her sister Deborah Peagler's room, which is exactly as how she left it. Peagler died recently from lung cancer, but her life story is the subject of a documentary film at Sundance film festival that is receiving acclaim. (Steve McCrank / Staff Photographer)
and earned two associate college degrees.
"She touched so many people's lives," Harris said. "On a daily basis, I get people calling and sending cards and stopping by to tell me how much she meant to them. Once you met her, she was like a light bulb, you could never forget her."
Sitting in her sister's old room, Harris pulled out a frayed red box, full of mementos, decorations and pictures given to her sister. Reading a birthday card that Peagler gave her last year brought tears to her eyes.
"I can never get closure," Harris said softly. "But I know that she wanted her story told so that it could help other women get help."
At the time of her 1983 conviction, it was not known that Wilson had repeatedly
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beaten Peagler, forced her into prostitution and molested her young daughter. In 2002, California passed a law that allowed for the reopening of cases of incarcerated women who suffered abuse.
In 2009, diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, Peagler was freed on a compassionate release. She spent her last nine months with her younger sister, Angela Harris, in Carson.
When released, Peagler spent her time helping other abuse victims and visiting women's shelters.
"She did
Deborah Peagler sings in the choir.
so many speaking events, going to battered women's shelters and speaking to at-risk women," Harris said. "She always looked so happy no one could ever tell she was even sick."
Harris said the documentary takes a very true look at her sister's life, including her time before and after her incarceration.
Yoav Potash, the film's director, felt strongly about portraying Peagler's achievements in prison as well as her appeals case.
"What impressed me was that she was able to reveal her past and all the pain of her circumstances in a way that was honest," Potash said. "She really blossomed during her incarceration and in the present was making the most of her life behind bars."
The film also raised some eyebrows
Angela Harris has a photo of her sister Deborah Peagler on her cell phone taken the day she was released from prison; the first thing she wanted to do was go to the beach. (Steve McCrank / Staff Photographer)
at how Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley handled the case.
According to Peagler's appeal lawyers and public documents, Cooley's office filed a memo that admitted a key witness lied on the stand. Additionally, Cooley supported a decision to offer Peagler a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, which would have resulted in her release.
Cooley later changed his mind and filed papers in 2006 to keep her in prison.
"Steve Cooley was supposed to be a good guy. He had just written a deal to set her free, and then flip-flopped," Potash said. "I never set out to make him a villain or a bad guy. He himself decided to change his own stance and has still not admitted to a mistake. I can't see how someone can do that."
Cooley's office still insists it did everything it could to pursue justice.
"Deborah Peagler intentionally orchestrated the murder-for-hire of her estranged boyfriend," said Cooley's spokeswoman, Sandi Gibbons. "She lured him to the spot where he was killed. She witnessed the murder and drove the killers away. She profited by receiving money from the victim's insurance. Her claims have been discredited over and over again."
"Crime After Crime" also highlights the plight of abuse victims. Potash hopes it will help other women in similar situations.
Harris agrees, knowing that her sister's passion was helping other victims avoid a fate like hers.
"That was her main point, she wanted to make sure that no other woman went through what she did," Harris said. "She felt that if her story got one other woman out of prison, then it was worth it."
erin.richards@dailybreeze.com
Find out more
To learn more about "Crime After Crime," visit www.crimeaftercrime.com
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