In 1999, Colorado mother Jessica Gonzales experienced every parent’s worst nightmare when her three young daughters were killed after being abducted by their father in violation of a domestic violence restraining order. Devastated, Jessica sued her local police department for failing to adequately enforce her restraining order despite her repeated calls for help that night. Determined to make sure her daughters did not die in vain, Jessica pursued her case to the US Supreme Court and an international human rights tribunal, seeking to strengthen legal rights for domestic violence victims. Meanwhile, her relationship with her one surviving child, her son Jessie, suffered, as he struggled with the tragedy in his own way.
Home Truth, the documentary film about Jessica Lenahan (formerly Gonzales) will premier on Sunday, June 11 and Monday, June 12 at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in NYC! For tickets, please visit https://ff.hrw.org/film/home-truth?city=New+York.
Here is the official film description: Shot over the course of nine years, Home Truth chronicles one family’s incredible pursuit of justice, shedding light on how our society responds to domestic violence and how the trauma from domestic violence can linger through generations.
For an 8 minute video about the Lenahan case, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvPtMCrl4J4
For additional information about the Lenahan/Castle Rock case, see the websites of the University of Miami Human Rights Clinic, the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, and the Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute.
