Let it never be said that Richard Linklater exploits his subjects for the benefit of making a great movie.

In 2011 Richard Linklater released Bernie. The film tells the story of Bernie Tiede, who went to prison for murdering his long time companion in his East Texas town of Carthage. The film is expertly crafted, featuring interviews with real-life Carthage residents and a narrative portrayal of the events. Jack Black plays Bernie, an effeminate mortician pretty much loved by everyone. Bernie befriends and becomes an intimate companion of a wealthy recluse named Marge (loved by no one), and after her body is found chopped up in the freezer in the garage, Bernie is charged with and convicted of first degree murder, and given a life sentence.

That summary sounds really dark, and it is. But Bernie is also a very funny film, and a touching portrait of a unique man. The film is a comedy, a very dark comedy, but a comedy nonetheless, and the tone certainly promotes the audiences’ sympathy for the real life Bernie Tiede.

Many have protested the life sentence of Bernie Tiede as too harsh. Bernie was well-known and well-loved. That Marge was not, and was very wealthy probably did not hurt this sympathy. Bernie was the music director at his church, started charities and scholarships, and ensured that Marge’s money helped to improve Cathage. His past, as well as the circumstances of his relationship with Marge have created questions about his imprisonment. So the story goes, anyway. Nevertheless, since 1997, he’s been in prison.

That’s the very short story of Bernie Tiede. Until this week.

After hearing evidence from a psychiatrist regarding Bernie’s childhood sexual abuse, and testimony that the event was a one-time “dissociative” episode and not a pre-meditated murder, a Texas judge reduced Bernie Tiede’s sentence. After he met the $10,000 bail, Bernie was released after serving 17 years in prison.

At this point, a strange story gets even weirder. One of the conditions of Tiede’s release is that he must move into the home of the director of his biopic, Richard Linklater. Linklater has spent the past several years organizing to have Bernie’s life sentence reduced. Linklater made the offer to let Tiede move into his home during testimony recently, and told the Texas Tribune he had no reservations about the situation. “Myself and others are determined to help him in any way we can,” he said.

Tiede and Linklater

So, at his own request, the acclaimed American filmmaker will now have a convicted murderer living his home.

We should not forget the onus of all of this, the story, the film, and the notoriety, results from the fact a woman was murdered. Marge Nugent (played by Shirly MacClaine in the film) didn’t deserve what happened to her, no matter how unpopular she was in Carthage. Nugent’s granddaughter also spoke to the Texas Tribune, and her family’s confusion and sadness should be part of any story about the Tiede affair. “I don’t really understand how this happened,” she said. “This doesn’t feel like justice for her.”

Justice is a complicated matter in this and many stories about crime and prison sentences. Surely there’s little comfort in this development for the Nugent family.

But Richard Linklater’s work on behalf of Bernie Tiede, and his offer to house him rather than leave him in prison, is one worthy of recognition. It’s compassion of the kind I hope to embody myself-and only increases my admiration for the director. How many Oscar-nominated, Golden Bear Winning, filmmakers would let a confessed murderer join the family?