Twenty years after he helped put Jon Buice in a Texas prison, Ray Hill is fighting to free him. Filmed over eight years, The Guy With the Knife traces the history of the friendship between a prominent gay rights activist and a convicted ‘gay bash’ murderer, set against the backdrop of gay rights, victims’ rights, and prisoners’ rights, in the harsh Texas justice system.













Reviews
In a timely epilogue to the screening last week of “The Guy With the Knife” at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, news comes today that the subject of the film, Jon Buice, was just granted parole after 24 years in prison.
Crime and Punishment: In Conversation with Alison Armstrong
Sometimes, even people with the best of intentions can get things horribly wrong. Rather than holding on to what we think we know is true, we all need to be able to look past our preconceptions and admit our biases. As much as we would sometimes like it to be, nothing is black and white.
Long before Houston banker Paul Broussard brutally was murdered in a Montrose gang attack on July 4, 1991, Ray Hill, a blustering ex-con and gay activist, was a master of media manipulation. But with Broussard’s death – and the crime investigation that followed – Hill faced the biggest challenge of his career.
A Look at “The Guy with the Knife”: Is the Texas Criminal Justice System too Easily Manipulated?
Paul Broussard’s murder taught the nation the phrase ‘gay-bashing.’ But was it really a hate crime?
It’s hard to walk into Alison Armstrong‘s first feature-length documentary without bias or expectation. In cases involving profiling or the loss of life — cases like that of Jon Buice — pre-conceived notions are the norm. It’s a disturbing reverse-stereotype that clenches a fist around the hearts of even the most cautious and intellectual observer. And it’s exactly what Armstrong is counting on.
Credits
Director:
Alison Armstrong
Cinematographer:
Jerry Hattan
Editors:
Sarah Peddie & Ross Wilson
Consulting Editor:
Ricardo Acosta
Consulting Producer:
Bob Culbert
Executive Producers:
Brad Danks & Philip Webb