Parents of jailed Oklahoma soldier discuss documentary

Parents of jailed Oklahoma soldier discuss documentary “Purple Hearts: A Requiem for Mad Dog 5”

BY ADAM KEMP
Published: June 10, 2011
Movie director Mike Wilkerson said that when he met the parents of Michael Behenna, he knew the soldier wasn’t guilty of premeditated murder. That’s not the way the soldier was raised.

Wilkerson will premiere a documentary, “Purple Hearts: A Requiem for Mad Dog 5,” at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Kerr Auditorium in the SandRidge Energy Complex as part of this year’s deadCenter Film Festival.

The documentary focuses on U.S. Army 1st Lt. Behenna, an Edmond native, and the soldiers he led in 5th Platoon, Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division.
Behenna was charged in 2009 with unpremeditated murder and sentenced to 25 years of confinement at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., a U.S. disciplinary barrack. The sentence later was reduced to 15 years, but Wilkerson said his documentary points out several flaws during the trial and evidence that he thinks would support Behenna’s innocence.


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