Leon Omar Mason (left) and William "Pete" Duncan.
Right now Omar is incarcerated. Three months after we stopped filming, he committed a new crime. He relapsed. He did an armed robbery with a deadly weapon in the store that he first started working in, the Goodwill Store you see in the film. They gave him 25 years without parole, and he's in an incredible amount of pain. I saw him a couple months ago and showed him the film. He gave me the best compliment that you could get in making a film like this, which is: it's honest, it's true. He felt that everything in the film was true about his life, and he wept during parts of it. Right now he's pulling away from everybody, he's just incredibly withdrawn. And that's what's happened to Omar. Pete, on the other hand, is doing incredibly well. He's still counseling and making a life for himself and he's staying very focused and he's doing remarkably well.
— Tod Lending
— June, 2005
Talk About This
I just finished watching "Omar & Pete", and my heart ached for Omar. I couldn't believe he repeatedly gamble his freedom away on a momentary high. I was anticipating the ending for him to be successful and that he battled all his "demons" I was also ecstatic that Pete found confidence to stay out and change his life. I could relate to him, I was released for the second time from a women's correctional facility on May 23, 2000. I knew going out that door that I would not be returning and that what ever I had to struggle through I would in order to maintain my freedom and not be another number to the state! It's been NINE years since my release and I have accomplished so much in my life, I find the joy in my everyday even when things all around me fall apart! I remember back to living in that little cell and the prison guards dictating my every move and that let's me know if I can survive that NOTHING in this world can replace BEING FREE inside and out! So to Pete you stay encouraged and everyday you spend out here in the free world gets better and better. Enjoy your new found love for self and life! :) GOD BLESS YOU!
by Vanessa M.
June 14, 2009, 2:19 AM