AUSTIN, Texas, May 6 (UPI)–The subject of 2011’s Bernie could be released from prison on Tuesday on the condition that he live with the film’s director, Richard Linklater, at his home in Austin.
Bernie Tiede, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of Marjorie Nugent, would also be required to receive counseling for sexual abuse.
State district Judge Diane DeVasto will hear testimony from psychiatrists who will argue that Tiede should have received a lighter sentence because he was sexually abused as a youth.
“Through counseling, Mr. Tiede can address his past abusive experiences and develop appropriate coping skills that would allow him to form and maintain healthy interpersonal relationships,” psychiatrist Richard Pesikoff wrote in a report after evaluating Tiede.
The former funeral director, then 38, shot 81-year-old Nugent in the back and hid her body in a freezer more than 17 years ago in 1996.
“I’m not telling you I like it, but there’s not much I can do about it now,” Danny Buck Davidson, the district attorney who oversaw Tiede’s prosecution, told the Texas Tribune.
According to a spokesman, the Nugent family wants Tiede to stay locked up. “He confessed to her murder and his confession was admitted in his trial,” said Ryan Gravatt. “A jury found him guilty and sentenced him to life in prison, where he should remain.”
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