Wednesday, December 4, 2013

An update on the “Beyond the Label” documentary and A Call to Action

In June 2012, two Registered Citizens were gunned down by a lifelong career criminal named Patrick Drum in Port Angeles, WA. Later that year, I decided to attempt to make this case into a documentary about vigilante violence.

In light of the article, “The Vigilante of Clallam County,” printed in The Atlantic, written by Lexi Pandell, I figured it was time I gave an update on the film.

For the past few months, I have devoted time trying to gather as much information on this case as possible. After fundraising for the money to travel to Port Angeles to collect more interviews and case info, I still lacked some information. I contacted Patrick Drum and even tried scheduling an interview. Unfortunately, the Washington DOC will not all me to film Drum, so I ran out of options. Drum saw my appearance on HLN and the cat was out of the bag, so to speak. I have reached a dead end with extracting information from Patrick Drum.

This year, Lexi Pandell’s article and the LMN show “I Killed my BFF” have each provided an interpretation of the events surrounding the murders of Gary Blanton and Jerry Ray. For the past year, I have also devoted time and research into the case. While the other articles give a pretty good story, it is still a biased and incomplete story. Both stories paint Drum as an “antihero,” a rough character you can still sympathize with because, well, he killed two Registered Citizens.

While I can help fill in the missing puzzle pieces, I cannot offer a complete documentary with the footage I have at the moment. So what I am looking to do is expand the film into a treatise on vigilantism against Registered Persons. That means more work, more interviews…and unfortunately, more money. I was in the process of making a video ad before this story broke, in fact, because being an ACTIVE activist costs money. Traveling, phone calls and stamps, equipment, and projects like this documentary all take resources, and as I previously stated, it is hard to get all I need on my meager income.

In the coming months, I will have to travel to Montgomery, AL to stop an anti-clustering law, as well as a possible trip to Coalinga, CA to join a planned protest. I need lighting for films, and most of all, the funds to keep my website up. This documentary is still needed, but I need more than the footage I have to give a quality product.

There is no better time for me to ask the people for their generous support of my organization than right now, during the Holiday Season. The Holiday Season is always followed up by the Legislative Season, so now is the time to offer your support before you overspend on the holidays.

Donations can be mailed to: Derek Logue, 2559 Eden Ave. #14, Cincinnati, OH 45219