Laird Hammons Laird Law Announces Release of Documentary: System Breakdown - the Tragedy of Marconia Kessee

The Tragic, Untold Story of Marconia Kessee
Marconia Kessee - The Tragic, Untold Story

Chris Hammons of Laird Hammons Laird Law firm and Liquidfish Productions announce the release of System Breakdown: The Tragedy of Marconia Kessee

Innocent lives lost in jail cells is not an uncommon occurrence, yet their stories are seldom told. This short-form documentary chronicles the untold story of Marconia Kessee, a mentally ill homeless man who tragically lost his life in 2018 in Oklahoma's Cleveland County jail. System Breakdown goes beyond just the tragic outcome of Kessee's fate at the hands of police, and examines the preventable medical and law enforcement process failures that ultimately contributed to Kessee's death. 

On Jan. 17, 2018, City of Norman police officers responded to a seemingly common hospital transport request and unexpectedly arrested Kessee after he was unable to leave of his own free will due to symptoms of overdosing. The questionable events and mistreatment leading to his death have led to further investigation and the reexamination of both the Norman Police Department and the legal system as a whole. 

"It blew my mind that these events happened more than three years ago and it's not more widely known," said Cody Blake, Producer of System Breakdown: The Tragedy of Marconia Kessee. "Once this story begins to spread within the community, we'll gain the support and the audience needed to help create the change that we all want to see in how we treat vulnerable people."

According to a Reuters investigative study conducted in 2020, approximately 4,998 people died in U.S. jails without making it to their court day, many of whom experience neglect or suffer from the effects of unsubstantial staff training. This documentary sheds light on the gray area between lack of training and desensitization amongst authoritative figures, one story and conversation at a time.

"This project is a chilling in-depth exploration into a broken system that affects innocent citizens and law enforcement alike," said Logan Walcher, Director of System Breakdown: The Tragedy of Marconia Kessee. "Marconia's case highlights the flawed training and procedures that need to be adjusted to defend all members of American society."

To learn more about the case, contact LHL Law at (405) 703-4567 or by visiting lhllaw.com.

Social handles: @justiceformarconia, FB: Justice for Marconia

System Breakdown - the Tragedy of Marconia Kessee

Source: Laird Hammons Laird Law

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Tags: black lives matter, BLM, criminal justice reform, justice reform, justiceformarconia, mental health advocacy, mental health reform, public health services