1
00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,640
They tried to make it look
like I murdered some guy in cold blood.
2
00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:21,360
And that's not what happened.
I'm a victim of a hate crime.
3
00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:42,760
It tore me apart
when I found out he died.
4
00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:49,560
Him being another American Indian
brother, you know what I mean?
5
00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:58,400
I mean, that's like killing
my biological brother. That's how I felt.
6
00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:13,960
I think
we could all be dangerous people.
7
00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:16,440
People say you're a monster.
8
00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:19,880
I'm not sitting here
saying I'm innocent.
9
00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:22,240
I just murdered
some guy in cold blood.
10
00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:54,120
I was born in Montana.
11
00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:56,920
1980. November 13th, 1980.
12
00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,600
They brought me back in a cardboard box
to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation
13
00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,120
because we didn't have the money to afford
14
00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:07,160
a car seat or anything. Know what I mean?
15
00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:11,760
Everybody thinks
America is a place that is rich.
16
00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,560
But what they don't understand
is that American Indian reservations,
17
00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:18,480
we're... we're third world countries.
18
00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,200
My grandfather was Chief Running Crane,
19
00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,240
who was the last chief
of the Blackfeet Indian Nation.
20
00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:36,680
My dad was full-blooded Indian.
21
00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:40,560
That was part of
the heritage that I grew up in.
22
00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,000
But on my mom's side, they're all white.
23
00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,000
My childhood
was a rollercoaster ride. Yeah.
24
00:03:08,920 --> 00:03:12,880
My mother had seven kids,
and we're all from different fathers.
25
00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:17,240
She'd move from place to place, all over.
26
00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:22,000
I've been in Montana, I've been in Idaho,
27
00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:27,200
Washington, California, Oregon,
all throughout the Northwest.
28
00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:34,080
The happiest time in my life
was when I was about eight years old,
29
00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:36,400
and we lived in Idaho with my stepdad.
30
00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:40,400
He lived on a ranch.
31
00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,320
I'd go out doing fence with him
and everything like that.
32
00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:44,920
We'd chase off coyotes.
33
00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,040
But he started beating my mom, and, uh,
34
00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:55,120
that's why my mom eventually left.
35
00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:01,280
So, I hopped off
the rollercoaster ride with my mother
36
00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:03,120
and moved in with my uncles.
37
00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:14,160
It was wild.
38
00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:19,000
The east side of Tacoma
was the worst sector in Washington State.
39
00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:20,800
It had the highest murder rate.
40
00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:22,840
It was filled with gang violence.
41
00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:27,640
I was part of
that criminal lifestyle, I suppose.
42
00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:31,000
My uncles worked full-time,
43
00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,200
and they didn't mind me
running around doing what I was doing.
44
00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:39,880
I'd wake up and start
moving around from house to house,
45
00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:43,080
and yeah, it was
nothing but criminal activity all over.
46
00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:56,720
I got my 18 money,
bought a car, everything like that.
47
00:04:57,600 --> 00:04:59,680
And I started spending money.
48
00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,920
Drinking, getting high, whatever,
you know, just partying around.
49
00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,720
And, uh, I ran out of money.
50
00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:10,520
And, uh... You know,
I didn't know what else to do.
51
00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:13,880
So, I robbed a hotel.
52
00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:16,120
And, uh, it's kind of funny.
53
00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:19,600
I didn't get nothing
out of that robbery at all.
54
00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:21,160
It was an old woman.
55
00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:23,640
And I decided that,
"I'm not gonna rob this lady."
56
00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:27,160
But I had already went in there and
had the gun out and everything like that,
57
00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,920
and pointed it at her,
and I'm looking at her, and I'm, like,
58
00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:31,200
"I'm not gonna do this."
59
00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:45,160
I ended up
getting robbery in the first,
60
00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,320
assault, assault, assault in the second,
61
00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:49,880
eluding the police,
and a deadly weapon enhancement
62
00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:53,160
because the three assaults
in the second degree was for
63
00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:55,920
supposedly driving the vehicles
off the road.
64
00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:12,760
My dad said, "When you go to
prison, take it as a college experience."
65
00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:15,920
And that's exactly what I did.
I studied my butt off.
66
00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:18,720
I... I didn't have
no schooling either at that time
67
00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,320
because I basic...
I dropped out in about seventh grade.
68
00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:24,880
But I grabbed book after book after book.
69
00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:26,800
And that's how my writing got so good.
70
00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,040
When I got to the joint,
I was the youngest one on the yard.
71
00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,640
The brothers seen it, and they
started training me and everything,
72
00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:49,800
about our traditional way of life.
73
00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:53,640
It was called the Indians of All Tribes.
74
00:06:54,840 --> 00:06:56,840
It was all about Native pride.
75
00:06:57,720 --> 00:06:59,200
One of the first things they did
76
00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,040
was give me the drum to hold
as a drum carrier.
77
00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:07,320
Because it's the heartbeat of the people.
78
00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:12,320
And I found myself.
79
00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:38,640
From that point,
80
00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:41,600
I started doing very well
in my whole life.
81
00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:45,800
Within two months of being out,
82
00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:49,240
I met my baby's mama,
and, uh, we just hit it off.
83
00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:55,000
A month after that,
she's pregnant with my son.
84
00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:01,160
And then I end up having my daughter
within ten months of when my son was born.
85
00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:04,880
I loved it.
86
00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:07,280
My kids were my pride and joy.
87
00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:10,880
I was going to college full-time,
88
00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,000
and I started doing good.
I was a 4.0 GPA student.
89
00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:17,720
I was on the dean's list
at the Blackfeet Community College.
90
00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:22,040
I wanted to get my PhD in Native American
studies, in Native American law.
91
00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:25,720
{\an8}Specifically treaty rights and stuff,
and casino rights.
92
00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:37,920
{\an8}My way of life
is the Blackfeet Indian way of life.
93
00:08:39,560 --> 00:08:42,600
But I also believe in
the unity of our people.
94
00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:45,520
I know different songs
from different tribes.
95
00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:47,280
I'll sing everybody's songs.
96
00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:51,600
Whereas some people, it's all about
their tribe versus my tribe,
97
00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:53,640
or this tribe versus that tribe.
98
00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:57,680
It should be about the unity
of our people, not the disunity.
99
00:08:57,680 --> 00:08:59,680
And tribalism,
100
00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:03,520
that was kind of one of the things
that happened with this homicide.
101
00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:16,760
My friend Adrian After Buffalo,
102
00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:19,600
him and his wife were having issues,
103
00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:22,720
and he wanted to get back with his wife.
104
00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,960
She was over in... in Polson, Montana.
105
00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:31,480
He started looking for a ride.
I said, "I can take you over to Polson,
106
00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:33,840
and you can find your wife and your kids."
107
00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:38,520
So we headed over there.
108
00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:58,600
We rented a hotel and stuff.
109
00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:02,760
I bought a 30-pack of Budweisers.
110
00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:08,640
I told him, I said,
"You can drive, and I'll just sit back."
111
00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:09,920
That's what we did.
112
00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:14,880
We started cruising around,
going from one spot to the next.
113
00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:17,560
We checked some of the bars.
114
00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:21,320
Right before closing,
115
00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:24,080
we ended up
getting invited to a house party.
116
00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:36,480
We get over to the house party,
and I said,
117
00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:40,560
"Well, back up there, and we'll
pop the trunk, and we'll listen to music."
118
00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:47,120
I was feeling good.
119
00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:53,400
But, uh, the party was more inside
than it was outside.
120
00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:57,600
So I decided,
"Well, maybe I'll... I'll go inside."
121
00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:06,720
When I went in, I tried to make a joke
to try to fucking break the ice.
122
00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,200
I said, "Hey, man,
where are all the Blackfeet at?"
123
00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:10,800
And I looked like this,
124
00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,480
because this obviously
is the Flathead Indian Reservation.
125
00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:15,640
It's not the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
126
00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:22,160
I wanted it to be a funny little joke just
to kind of introduce myself to this group.
127
00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,120
Some guy... Some kid standing next to me...
128
00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:32,280
looks over at me, and he says... he says,
"Shit, motherfuckers get fucking...
129
00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:36,560
get their asses fucking jumped
for talking shit like that around here."
130
00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:43,360
These guys had some kind of issue
with Blackfeet, Salish, Kootenai
131
00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:49,040
rivalry that dates back to the 1800s.
132
00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:52,160
But, uh, I didn't know any of that.
133
00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:56,600
I didn't know that Salish and Kootenai,
there was things going on there.
134
00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:59,240
And automatically I'm, like,
"Whoa."
135
00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:03,240
I'm in a house
standing next to a group of people
136
00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:07,080
and... that I don't know,
and you're talking about jumping me?
137
00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:08,760
I didn't even say nothing
138
00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:11,880
that I would consider,
139
00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:14,480
uh, any kind of derogatory statement.
140
00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:19,280
And one thing that I learned in prison
is don't show fear.
141
00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:23,160
Don't show fear,
because the moment that you show fear,
142
00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:24,800
these guys are gonna jump you.
143
00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:28,360
I had a knife because that's the
number one thing we protect ourselves with
144
00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:29,440
on the reservations.
145
00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:35,280
And I... I pull out my knife, and I said,
"Look, man, if anybody tries to jump me,
146
00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:36,840
I will defend myself."
147
00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:41,880
Another guy turned around, and he says,
148
00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:44,360
"You know, uh, we all got knives in here."
149
00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:47,960
Pulled out his knife.
150
00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:50,760
His knife was like that.
That was just the blade.
151
00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:54,560
And I'm looking at them, and I'm, like...
152
00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,760
"All right. We all got knives.
You just calm down."
153
00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:03,440
And I turned back around,
and I walked out.
154
00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:07,880
And I took a deep breath 'cause
I was outside. I was like...
155
00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:09,240
"All right, you're outside."
156
00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:11,480
"You're cool."
157
00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:21,200
This guy, John Pierre, Jr.,
comes out of the shadows,
158
00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:24,120
comes walking right up to me
like he's going to fight me.
159
00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:27,160
He said, "Hey, you know what?"
160
00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:30,320
He said, "You know, Blackfeet
and Salish Kootenai are archenemies."
161
00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:35,040
I said, "Look, man, I ain't even
about that. I'm about Native pride."
162
00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:36,640
"I ain't about all that."
163
00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:38,880
He just kind of looked at me.
164
00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:42,760
And I started walking towards my car.
165
00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:46,240
And then all these people
come walking out...
166
00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:51,120
...coming surrounding me.
167
00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:56,320
John Pierre, Jr. came at me.
168
00:13:57,920 --> 00:13:59,560
That's when I struck out
169
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:02,400
and stabbed this guy.
170
00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,760
It was self-defense from a hate crime.
171
00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:21,840
I stabbed this guy one single time.
That was it.
172
00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:27,360
I knew that those guys had knives.
173
00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:31,080
I felt that they were gonna come jump me.
174
00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:34,640
Why were these guys targeting me?
175
00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:36,520
Because I was Blackfeet.
176
00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:37,880
That's a hate crime.
177
00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:41,120
That's what it comes down to.
178
00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:06,560
I was working patrol.
179
00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:13,080
{\an8}Another officer and myself
were, uh, dispatched
180
00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:16,920
{\an8}to a loud party disturbance.
181
00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:19,840
Just go ask them to quiet it down.
182
00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:26,040
We got two to three blocks away
from that address,
183
00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:30,160
and, uh, we got told
that there had been a stabbing.
184
00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:38,280
This is the place.
185
00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:44,400
And there was young men and young women
running from the scene down the driveway,
186
00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:46,240
running around our vehicles.
187
00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:52,720
As I got closer,
188
00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:55,160
I could see
a group of people around a male
189
00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:57,400
that was sitting on the ground here.
190
00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:01,400
That was John Pierre.
191
00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:06,400
I've known him for a long time.
I've known the family a long time.
192
00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:10,680
And when I...
...uh, went up and talked to John,
193
00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,600
he... he did not respond back to me.
194
00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,640
I... I would say that he was
already in a state of shock.
195
00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:24,200
The small amount of blood
that, uh, that was coming out of his shirt
196
00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:29,720
made me believe that he had
a substantial bleed internally.
197
00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:35,320
I... I talked to him until we finally...
He... He went unconscious.
198
00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:39,040
And we laid him back, checked for pulse,
199
00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:40,880
and then we started CPR.
200
00:17:09,360 --> 00:17:12,240
You know, we deal with
a lot of bad things, and
201
00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:14,960
it always, uh, is hard when
202
00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:19,120
somebody from the community,
uh, dies senseless like this. So...
203
00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,080
We have the motel surrounded.
204
00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:59,680
We knock on the door, and the person
that comes to the door is Mr. Whitford.
205
00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:04,520
The room is quite in disarray.
206
00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:07,600
Garbage on the floor.
Blankets on the floor.
207
00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:11,560
He initially denies
even being at the party.
208
00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:16,040
Then he admitted that he had been there,
209
00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:19,960
but denied any, uh, part
of an altercation.
210
00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:27,520
When we have somebody that we're
talking to and they change their story,
211
00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:29,040
what are you trying to cover up?
212
00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:31,840
Why would you do that?
An average person has nothing to hide.
213
00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:39,120
But that's just how some people operate
when they try to get out of trouble.
214
00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:54,520
The cops came
to my room, and I tried to bullshit them.
215
00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:59,120
I'll be the first one to admit I was
scared as hell to... to even say anything.
216
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,240
That's part of my raising.
217
00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:04,920
Don't talk to the cops. Don't say nothing.
218
00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:08,720
You know? We have
a very deep distrust for the cops.
219
00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:13,720
My... My uncle David was shot and killed
by the Tacoma Police Department.
220
00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:17,280
We don't... We don't trust
the cops for nothing.
221
00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:24,920
Just because somebody in some other place
222
00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,760
had been treated poorly
by law enforcement,
223
00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:33,760
um, doesn't justify not trusting us
that we're going to do our job here.
224
00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,120
So, I think that was his motivation,
225
00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:39,000
is to lie to try to get out of, uh,
226
00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,720
the consequences
for his actions that night.
227
00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:47,600
To me, he's not
showing any remorse for it.
228
00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:51,520
Um, he's not happy that he was caught,
229
00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:56,320
and he did not want to be
held accountable, uh, for what he'd done.
230
00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:22,880
The state,
their version of the events
231
00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:27,520
was to paint Whitford as the only
aggressor of the... of the evening.
232
00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,720
But the concept just really didn't add up.
233
00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:36,720
Whether it was justified or not,
234
00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:40,160
in any argument or fight, there has to be
235
00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:42,560
{\an8}two people to engage.
236
00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:45,120
{\an8}There had to have been some interaction.
237
00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:51,000
So, I personally found Mak's
version of the events to be credible.
238
00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:58,600
My name is Jennifer Streano.
I was Mr. Whitford's trial attorney.
239
00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:13,720
You are parole eligible
at a quarter of your time.
240
00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:15,840
He received a 60-year sentence,
241
00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:19,080
which means he should be
parole eligible in 15 years.
242
00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,840
And the judge put
a 25-year parole restriction,
243
00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:26,320
which would equate to him
receiving a sentence of 100 years.
244
00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:29,360
It is a brutal outcome.
245
00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:37,600
Everything that he worked his adult life
to try to regain is now gone.
246
00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,400
You know, all of that because of
a two-to-three-second decision.
247
00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:45,240
You know, that's heartbreaking.
248
00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:06,280
Legally, Mak committed a homicide.
249
00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:09,120
There's no question about that.
250
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:12,880
I'm sure he regrets that decision.
251
00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:16,520
A life was lost,
and that's the ultimate tragedy.
252
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,160
But it is legally allowed
to commit a homicide
253
00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:25,840
if you're afraid for your own life.
254
00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:30,640
And so that's really where
the question comes down to.
255
00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:36,600
Did Mak make that split-second decision
because he was afraid for his own life,
256
00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:40,880
or because he was angry or defensive,
257
00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:44,200
or just, um, overreacted?
258
00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,200
It's completely understandable
that Mak would react
259
00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:58,320
impulsively in those circumstances.
260
00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:03,400
He had... had a pretty rough upbringing.
261
00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:09,280
And his trauma definitely
played into how he responded that night.
262
00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:31,480
Sometimes violence is so shocking
263
00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:36,520
that I think it just kind of
overshadows all the good things.
264
00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:44,000
After Mak got out of prison in Washington,
265
00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:47,960
he honestly was on this path
where he was amazing.
266
00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:56,760
{\an8}He was doing everything he could
to make his life stable
267
00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:01,920
{\an8}and really push towards
advocacy for the Natives.
268
00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:05,800
And that was really important to him.
That was a huge thing.
269
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:12,880
It is a tragedy to me
that it didn't work out.
270
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:17,200
But I think that Mak reacted
271
00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:20,520
in the only way
he knew how at that moment.
272
00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:26,640
My name is Amie,
and I am Makueeyapee's sister.
273
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:36,320
Mak's dad was a Blackfeet National,
and my dad is Cherokee.
274
00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:39,520
But we share a mother.
275
00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:47,000
She came from a really bad background,
a really hard background.
276
00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:54,240
She had kids very young, at 12 years old.
277
00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:56,240
She was 16 when she had me.
278
00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:12,440
At that time, the government
could come in and take children,
279
00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:14,160
and it was perfectly legal.
280
00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,640
Our adoption mentally broke our mother
281
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,880
in ways that she was
never able to get back from.
282
00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:30,040
It left something,
just a hole there that she couldn't fill.
283
00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:34,080
Nothing was ever stable or normal.
284
00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:40,000
She inevitably made really horrible
choices when it came to men.
285
00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:43,000
A lot of alcohol, drugs,
286
00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:47,400
a lot of physical and verbal abuse.
287
00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:52,480
Mak grew up with that.
288
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:09,080
My first
incident with violence, I was three.
289
00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:12,920
These two children
that lived across the street from us,
290
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,160
we always used to play
in the mud puddles and stuff.
291
00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:24,480
It's... It's hard.
292
00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:26,840
It's hard to talk about.
293
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:36,560
That ended up coming to a close,
uh, with our next-door neighbor,
294
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,440
who I guess had been having an affair
with my mother,
295
00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:40,880
and I didn't know it. Um...
296
00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:43,760
We went over there.
She took me and my sister,
297
00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:45,680
and there was an argument in the house.
298
00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:52,320
He ended up shooting his, uh, wife
five times in the chest
299
00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:54,720
with a .357 Magnum. And...
300
00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,600
This lady died in my mom's arms.
301
00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:04,080
I don't remember where that guy went,
but when the cops caught up with him,
302
00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:08,080
he'd ended up shooting his kids
once in the stomach, killing both of them,
303
00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:10,480
and himself in the head.
304
00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:12,200
Shot himself in the head.
305
00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:14,280
And, uh...
306
00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:18,800
all I could do was grab my sister
and cover her up and hold her. And...
307
00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:23,160
I could tell you
other violence and stuff that happened.
308
00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:25,240
But that was how my life started.
309
00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:29,960
Just...
That's a real powerful memory.
310
00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:43,160
I feel for the child that Mak was,
because going through that was,
311
00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:46,040
I'm sure, absolutely hideous.
312
00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:53,880
He's, from his youngest age,
dealt with the reality
313
00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:56,720
that these men can kill you.
314
00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:01,600
You know, that was a life lesson
that I don't think he ever lost.
315
00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:05,840
I think that it definitely speaks
316
00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:09,600
why he would react so violently
317
00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:13,640
to being in a situation
where he felt that he was in trouble.
318
00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:17,760
Somebody tries to hurt you,
319
00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:22,520
and you go straight back to childhood
and protecting yourself.
320
00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:30,520
The Pierre family have
every right to be angry at Mak.
321
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:33,480
John Pierre never should've died.
322
00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,880
But I don't think Mak meant to kill him.
323
00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:42,840
I think he just wanted to get away
before he got hurt.
324
00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:59,320
Way in there like that.
325
00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:02,440
- How are we? Yep. Throw him in there.
- There he is!
326
00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:05,600
Good job. Then bury him.
You ready? Go. Go.
327
00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:14,480
- Very classy, buddy. Yeah.
328
00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:31,720
I got up to that party
about three o'clock in the morning.
329
00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,160
Everybody's partying outside.
330
00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:38,440
Everybody's laughing.
331
00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:43,520
As I'm going into the house,
I ran into Whitford.
332
00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:54,800
Whitford was a little bit tense.
333
00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:00,760
The Blackfoot Reservation
and this reservation
334
00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:05,960
{\an8}are... two completely different... uh...
335
00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:08,520
pieces of earth, man.
336
00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:13,920
Is there still that mistrust
between our two tribes?
337
00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:17,840
Yeah.
338
00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:24,520
We started talking, and he says,
"Hey, do you know all these people here?"
339
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,240
And I said, yeah.
I said, "Yep. I know 'em all."
340
00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:35,640
Like, out of nowhere, he just stops
in the middle of our conversation,
341
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:40,640
and he decides to, you know,
share with me, you know, that,
342
00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:42,520
"I'm feeling threatened."
343
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:48,200
It was, like...
344
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:49,680
... some switch.
345
00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:53,000
He says, well... He...
346
00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,920
He takes a knife out of his pocket,
a paring knife,
347
00:30:56,920 --> 00:31:01,360
and it's got white tape or duct tape
around the... around the handle.
348
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,720
And he says,
"This is for anybody who wants to, uh,
349
00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:08,400
you know, try to talk shit
or start some shit."
350
00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:11,840
And I was, like, "Put that away!"
351
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:14,760
I was, like, "All these people here
are my family and friends."
352
00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:17,800
I was, like, "Everybody's cool here."
353
00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:22,000
God knows what could be
going through his head, you know.
354
00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:25,080
The guy looks like he's seen some shit.
355
00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:43,880
We start having a conversation.
356
00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:48,560
And, uh, Whitford
or Adrian said, " Piikani."
357
00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:54,040
I remember it just, like,
hitting John in the face like a punch.
358
00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:01,040
Piikani is brother in Blackfeet.
359
00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,320
And John says, uh,
360
00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:06,880
"So, you're Blackfeet?"
361
00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:11,320
And he says, "Yeah."
And John says, "I'm Kootenai."
362
00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:16,120
And, uh, Kootenai and Blackfeet have been
sworn enemies for hundreds of years.
363
00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:22,800
I think what John was doing was kind of
trying to establish that dominance.
364
00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:26,120
"This is my reservation,
you know, and if, uh...
365
00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:29,760
if you got problems or whatever,
we can handle it."
366
00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:34,360
And fights happen, you know.
People get beat up sometimes.
367
00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:39,360
So, my first thought of it... of it is,
"Don't let it go any farther than this."
368
00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:43,520
I remember trying to defuse the situation.
369
00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:47,640
"No, that was hundreds of years ago, man.
Times... Times have changed."
370
00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:58,880
I'm in there for maybe
a minute and a half,
371
00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:00,920
two minutes.
372
00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:06,080
My friend runs in the house and says,
"They stabbed John."
373
00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:09,160
"They stabbed John!
Get out here right now!"
374
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:12,600
So, I take off running outside.
375
00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:16,600
John was laying down on the ground.
376
00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,680
He wasn't responding to... anything.
377
00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:22,520
He's still breathing. And, uh...
378
00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:30,600
There was nothing
we could do about it.
379
00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:44,640
John believed in throwing hands.
380
00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:49,440
Maybe a little fight, you know, that's
probably what he wanted or whatever.
381
00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:54,480
But he did not deserve to die.
382
00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:59,240
John was a family man.
383
00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:02,800
Took care of his two sons.
384
00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:06,680
They were the center of his universe.
385
00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:11,880
He should still be here. And he should
be with his family and his loved ones.
386
00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:14,200
And he can't.
387
00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:19,960
I think Whitford was paranoid.
388
00:34:22,240 --> 00:34:26,680
I met him for 15 minutes,
and he took away a lot of people's friend,
389
00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:29,200
brother, father, and uncle.
390
00:34:30,240 --> 00:34:33,400
So, I couldn't care less about Whitford.
391
00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:12,280
I believe that Mr. Whitford
believes in his own mind
392
00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:14,200
that he does nothing wrong,
393
00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:18,640
and everybody else
is out to get him or hurt him.
394
00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:23,520
And he's had that hardwired
into him since he was young.
395
00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:32,440
{\an8}My name is John Todd.
I'm one of the jail commanders
396
00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:35,080
{\an8}for the Lake County Sheriff's Office
in Polson, Montana.
397
00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:41,720
{\an8}I was one of the senior guys in the jail
at the time Mr. Whitford was here.
398
00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:45,080
{\an8}Mr. Whitford could be violent,
399
00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:47,520
{\an8}and often was.
400
00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:52,040
If he didn't get his way,
then he immediately went to the violence.
401
00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:54,640
We never knew
from one minute to the other,
402
00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:57,840
are we gonna be fighting with this guy,
rolling around on the floor,
403
00:35:57,840 --> 00:35:59,520
or is he gonna cooperate with us?
404
00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:06,120
He was, I'd have to say, kind of a bully.
405
00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:10,080
{\an8}He would poke at the smaller, weaker guys
406
00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:13,960
{\an8}and just poke and poke and poke
until they exploded.
407
00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:17,200
And then he would hurt them,
or attempt to hurt them.
408
00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:19,280
And then it was never his fault.
409
00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:22,080
He was, "They did it.
They started it. It was their fault."
410
00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:25,640
Even though he was the one doing
the poking and the... and the prodding.
411
00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:31,240
He'd always say, "Well, I'm Blackfeet."
412
00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:35,240
"And this is the Salish and Kootenai
reservation that we're on."
413
00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:42,680
And he was instantly
on the, uh, defensive with whoever it was.
414
00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:50,680
He just chose to believe that he was
being oppressed and... and picked on,
415
00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:54,240
and so his... his reaction was to fight.
416
00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:57,720
That was just Mr. Whitford.
417
00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:39,040
Whitford's position was
that he was the victim of a hate crime.
418
00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:44,600
But there wasn't anything much
to support his version of the events.
419
00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:50,000
All of the other witnesses,
all of the other evidence and so forth
420
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:55,080
seemed to be contrary
to what his self-defense claim was.
421
00:38:05,560 --> 00:38:09,400
{\an8}The Blackfeet and the Salish
were historically at war.
422
00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:11,800
{\an8}But that was 170 years ago.
423
00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:16,800
While there may still be sometimes
some, uh, competition or tension,
424
00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:19,920
in the meantime,
they've intermarried and interacted.
425
00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:22,600
And a lot of Blackfeet come over here
426
00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:25,440
and attend the college here
or get jobs here.
427
00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:31,160
{\an8}So, Whitford's position
that he was surrounded by Salish,
428
00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:34,120
and therefore it was a hate crime
and he had to defend himself,
429
00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:36,880
wasn't a very persuasive argument.
430
00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:39,760
There was no reason for any of this.
431
00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:46,440
I sentenced Whitford to 60 years in prison
432
00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:53,240
with a minimum of 25 years before he would
be considered or eligible for parole.
433
00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:57,360
I thought that that was a fair sentence.
434
00:38:59,680 --> 00:39:03,240
The consequences to John Pierre
were pretty darn serious too.
435
00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:24,840
I should've
never even got a sentence.
436
00:39:24,840 --> 00:39:28,080
I should have been... I should have
walked out of that courtroom.
437
00:39:28,080 --> 00:39:29,800
You know, this was self-defense.
438
00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:35,440
They didn't like the fact that I had
mentioned anything about being Blackfeet.
439
00:39:37,560 --> 00:39:40,240
It's a hate crime
because of my nationality.
440
00:39:40,240 --> 00:39:43,720
Their nationality as a Kootenai nation
441
00:39:43,720 --> 00:39:46,280
and my nationality as a Blackfeet tribal.
442
00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:48,720
{\an8}That's what it comes down to.
443
00:39:55,640 --> 00:40:00,280
Well, it's troubling
to hear him, uh, speak like that,
444
00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:03,280
because in his mind, he did nothing wrong.
445
00:40:05,240 --> 00:40:07,920
Most people, even honest people,
446
00:40:08,640 --> 00:40:12,680
recreate an event in their mind,
often subconsciously,
447
00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:17,000
so that it's consistent
with their psychological needs.
448
00:40:17,680 --> 00:40:20,320
I suspect that some of that was in play.
449
00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:25,160
Mr. Whitford
and the fellow he was riding with,
450
00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:30,000
they'd had something like 30 beers
before they ever got to this party.
451
00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:35,760
Whether he could remember accurately his
emotions or motives or why he did things,
452
00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:38,080
I find that... questionable.
453
00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:47,600
From what I understand about
Mr. Whitford's behavior
454
00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:50,760
in prison since then, he hasn't changed.
455
00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:54,800
For his sake,
I hope he will at some point.
456
00:40:54,800 --> 00:40:58,240
Because otherwise he'll probably
spend the rest of his life in jail.
457
00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:04,920
If I were to ask him one thing,
it would be,
458
00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:07,400
"After all this,
have you learned nothing?"
459
00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:10,640
"Have you learned
no lesson from this tragedy?"
460
00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:15,840
He killed another human being,
and that doesn't seem to bother him.
461
00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:18,360
He's only feeling sorry for himself.