what happened to tracy thurman?

Question

watching the movie a cry for help. Wondering what happened to her. What has she done with her life since the movie. How is her son and is Buck out of prison ?

Answer 1

(Shanny...no she's not...)

Thanks to her, there is now the Thurman Law, which called for mandatory arrests in wife-beating cases in Connecticut and several other states. In the twelve months after the new law took effect, the number of domestic violence assaults reported increased by 92 percent.

Read the page 38 of that 88 pages PDF document. In 1984, Tracey Thurman was awarded 2.3 million dollars in damages from the city of Torrington, Connecticut.
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Taubman_Center/taubman/HonThesis/mk.pdf


A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story (1989)
Tracy Thurman (played by Nancy McKeon in the movie) was married to a man who abused her. But he continues to harass her after she gets a restraining order, and the police do little to help. When he brutally beats her and slashes her throat in front of police, she sues the city and the police department for failing to protect her.

The scene of Buck's final, near fatal attack on Tracey is extremely violent and a almost TOO long. Buck Thurman chases Tracy down, throws her to the ground and stabs her repeatedly. As she lays helpless on the ground, he kicks her, jumps on her head and screams at her that she MADE him do all this, its all her fault (isn't that what the abuse always says)--stopping a couple of times and wandering a few feet away only to return and continue his attack. During this time, a police officer stands there, and as he says later "I continued to observe the situation". The only action he takes during the attack is to try and restrain the boyfriend (maybe husband?) of Tracey's friend when he attempts to aid her and picking up Buck's dropped knife and locking it in the trunk of his car. The only reaction we see from him is when Buck attempts to grab his son--then the officer rouses himself a bit.

It is this handling of the attack that leads Tracey to sue the police department on the grounds that they failed to offer her equal protection under the law.



Here's from the New York Times:
http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=124735
Tracey Thurman was a real-life Connecticut housewife who, throughout her marriage, suffered horrendous abuse at the hands of her husband. The beatings culminate in a single bloody night when Buck Thurman stabs his estranged wife 13 times. She survives--barely--and Buck is arrested. Having failed to get proper protection from the local police force, Tracey successfully sued the officers in 1989. The long-range result was the Thurman Law, which called for mandatory arrests in wife-beating cases in Connecticut and several other states. Nancy McKeon, who plays Tracey Thurman in A Cry for Help, starred in the film in the hope that it would prevent Buck Thurman's early release from prison. A Cry For Help: The Tracy Thurman Story first aired on October 2, 1989; Thurman was scheduled for release in 1991.

Here's from Chapter 9:
http://www.ejfi.org/DV/dv-42.htm#buck
In 1983 Charles "Buck" Thurman was sentenced to 20 years in prison after his brutal attack on his wife Tracey Thurman led to a $1.9 million suit against the Torrington, Connecticut police. In the Torrington case, Thurman was found guilty of stabbing his wife 13 times, stomping on her head, and partially paralyzing her for life.
Thurman was released from prison in 1991 after serving only nine years of the twenty year sentence. In 1999 a woman Thurman was living with in Northampton, Massachusetts, and mother of their child, fled the state accusing him of repeatedly choking and sexually assaulting her.
No criminal charges were filed as she only asked for a restraining order to keep him away from her. The order was issued, she returned to Massachusetts and Thurman, who has a long history of ignoring court orders, violated this latest order.
Thurman pled guilty only to violating a restraining order. A judge placed Thurman on probation for a year. Additionally, he ordered Thurman to participate in any counseling ordered by the probation department and ordered him to comply with the restraining order against him.
This was the only action taken by the judge despite the fact that Charles "Buck" Thurman is a chronic violent abuser who has a history of beating women and ignoring court orders. Buck Thurman had a restraining order against him and he was on probation when he beat and stabbed Tracey Thurman and traumatized her for life.

As far as the son goes...not so good (drugs, guns, stealing, gambling...):
http://www.registercitizen.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6006271

Answer 2

Tracey Thurman

Answer 3

I haven't read anything on her but the son she had with that monster Buck was sentenced to 7 years in prison for numerous drug offenses back in 2001.

Answer 4

i would like to commend her for having the courage to go to trial. What has happened to her and her son since the movie? I pray that she is doing well. I know she will not be the same as before but with God on her side she will be able to keep strong.

Answer 5

Just a note - the Lifetime movie states that although she won 2.3, the City appealed and they settled out of court for 1.9.
The movie was good. What a horrifying situation.

Answer 6

Someone should introduce Buck to Casey Anthony!!

Answer 7

would like to hear from her..had a violent marriage..drunks, bikers, etc..didn't know how I was ever going to survive it..the movie was a 'motivational-speaker' for me!! Unfortunately, your pain was my gain..Hold your head high & be proud..you are a model for us all!!! xoxxo

Answer 8

1

Answer 9

is she related to Uma Thurman