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THE NEW YORK BLADE - March 3, 2000
FILM REVIEW and interview with director Nonny de la Peña
Bearing false witness
The Jaundiced Eye By Lawrence Ferber When Stephen Matthews and his father Melvin Matthews were charged with sexually abusing Stephen’s five-year-old son, it seemed like a joke: there was clearly coerced testimony, overt bigotry from the accusers, and a total lack of solid evidence that should have raised red flags with any jury. But when the Matthews were both sentenced to 35 years in prison, nobody was laughing. Investigative journalist Nonny de la Peña looked into the case and found a horror story: not one of child abuse, but abuse of the courts. "Our legal system is supposed to be about giving the stranger the benefit of the doubt," she emphasizes, "but we usually don’t. So the only way you can fight that is by taking the ‘stranger’ component out of it and personalizing their situation. That’s what my fight is, and what motivates me in life -- to take cases where I feel grievous injustice has been done which is indicative of larger issues and tell that story." De la Peña tells her story in The Jaundiced Eye, a documentary film that chronicles how homophobia, public hysteria, flawed evidence, and manipulative "experts" shattered the Matthews’ lives. "The more I investigated into it, the more astonished and incredulous I became," recalls de la Peña, a former Newsweek correspondent who first heard of the case through a friend of a friend. "And I have to say that this film has certainly changed me personally, in that I really am very cautious about passing judgment on any situation." Stephen Matthews is a gay man who became a father during his closeted teens. His troubles ultimately began when his ex-girlfriend (and mother of his son) shacked up with an admitted homophobe named Doug, who physically beat the child. Stephen’s father Melvin, who is straight, angrily confronted Doug over the matter, and soon thereafter the child accused Stephen, Melvin, and even his grandmother of over-the-top, completely unlikely sexual abuse, often involving a machete. "Know that he was living with his stepfather, an incredible homophobe, and you can imagine the things which are being said and how it would influence Stephen’s child," de la Peña remarks. "Doug even thinks [the child’s grandparents] are freaks just because they have a gay kid." Faced with dubious "evidence" and the child’s admittedly emotional courtroom testimony, in 1989 Stephen and Melvin were sentenced to 35 years in prison. During the four years they actually spent behind bars, Stephen was raped by a series of inmates, including a convicted murderer who broke his jaw. Upon appeal, the "evidence" was deemed balderdash, the child’s testimony declared a result of inappropriate psychological techniques, and the charges dropped. But even though they are free today, the Matthews’ lives have been permanently scarred. In making The Jaundiced Eye, de la Peña strove to examine many issues, not the least of which involved the way Stephen’s child was coached into testifying that he had been abused. During one sequence, for instance, a tape is played in which the boy claims his father had peed on him, while a police officer attempts to steer the testimony to indicate ejaculation. "One of the things I’m pretty careful about is showing how the cop tries to lead him down that road and he doesn’t go there," de la Peña explains. "It’s not until a year later that he’s using such graphically correct terms. In the initial interviews, he did not say ‘white sticky stuff’ like he did in court a year later. He corrected the cop and said ‘yellow.’ Somebody either intentionally or inadvertently gave him the language to use when he was testifying." Surprisingly, the Matthews remain almost serene about the experience. Indeed, Melvin, once a hard smoker and drinker, now devotes his time to working out and praising God. Stephen, once a hopeful accountant, simply embraces his freedom and hopes for a reunion with his son. "Stephen really has an inner strength," de la Peña says. "When he makes up his mind, he just sticks by it and somehow manages to see that end goal and keep on fighting." According to de la Peña, Stephen’s gayness had a definite impact on the initial convictions. "If somebody’s different, people will bury their reason," she explains. "They are so willing to judge and so willing to believe based on emotion rather than validity and truth. Here it’s that he’s gay and people are just willing to twist that issue." Melvin apparently foresaw this homophobia and asked that they be tried together, hoping his own heterosexuality and status as a well-regarded member of the local community would benefit his son. "He thought Stephen’s being gay was going to be a definite detriment -- and he was right," reports de la Peña, "because when the jury were polled afterwards, they specifically talked about the fact he was gay." As for Melvin’s own feelings regarding his son’s sexuality -- which didn’t make it into the film due to time constraints -- de la Peña says that "his comment was ‘Well, he was straight once, that’s how he had a son -- maybe he could go back.’ But he’s absolutely accepting of his son." The film ends on an unspeakably sad note -- now a teenager, Stephen’s son not only still hates his father, but like his stepfather Doug, "a real man," hates all gays. But that’s not the end of the story; de la Peña is quick to announce a joyous update that came as a result of her work. Since a tape of the film was screened by Stephen’s ex-girlfriend and son, they’ve had a reunion. Stephen’s son has now signed an affidavit acknowledging he has no recollection of any abuse, and his mother has separated from homophobic Doug. For de la Peña, who confesses that once she believes in and commits to her subject, becomes emotionally attached, this is the ultimate happy ending. "I don’t think I could make these films unless I got so committed," she admits. "They’re what I care about, and that’s the reward for me. So do I do a little dance when I hear Stephen has had a reunion with his son? Absolutely!" The Jaundiced Eye is showing at The Screening Room, Varick St. at Canal. |