Interview with Rev. Melissa Mummert, Director of Perversion of Justice

In Perversion of Justice, director Rev. Melissa Mummert introduces us to Hamedah Hasan, a mother of three serving a mandatory life sentence for a drug crime she didn’t commit. I interviewed Rev. Mummert, whose film debuted at the San Francisco Women’s Film Festival.

AC: What inspired you to volunteer at the women’s prison and spend your time making a film that spreads the word about mandatory minimum sentencing?

MM: I’m a minister by training. Everyone had to do an internship to work as a chaplain. Most chose to do theirs in a hospital, but a prison sounded more interesting to me. My dad did a little time in prison when I was in elementary school, so it was something I felt strangely comfortable doing. I met many other women with stories like Hamadeh’s. I had talked about it [her story] with others and kept hearing about conspiracy. Then one of the other chaplains brought in a conspiracy article from Salon.com about how women are suffering in prisons. I was moved by my experience and wanted people to have the same experience—to see and hear prisoners in these situations. It was not an easy thing to do; it was hard to get into a prison. There aren’t many people who are going to take the initiative to bring their stories to a broader audience and humanize female prisoners and all prisoners who are affected by the drug war.

AC: How did you decide to focus on Hamedah and keep it a short film rather than tell all of the women’s stories that you met who had similar sentences?

MM: I worked with the media person from FAMM (Families Against Mandatory Minimums) to interview all of the women who were in the documentary. It was originally going to be a feature, an hour at least, but it didn’t work out. [There were] many nuances about the laws that didn’t get in there, but I wanted it [the film] to be about the kids and Hamedah and not just about the legal issues. Jodie Israel [in the film] was pardoned on the day I was supposed to interview her, and Danielle Metz’s involved guns. Hamedah’s story was quite clean. I really connected with Hamedah; when I met her, it just felt like an instant heart-to-heart connection.