Roberta M. Helming: Bank robber proved she has chance for good life

Roberta M. Helming: Bank robber proved she has chance for good life
By ROBERTA M. HELMING
For the Norwich Bulletin
Posted Dec 14, 2010 @ 12:05 AM
Last update Dec 14, 2010 @ 12:20 AM

The Norwich Bulletin’s lead story Dec. 4 about Heather Brown’s sentencing on four counts of bank robbery in Connecticut — also facing similar charges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island — touched my heart.

Heather’s is a sad case.

In her teens, she was raped by a friend of a relative. She never sought help to understand the degradation she went through, eventually turning to a life of crime and risky behavior. At her sentencing, defense attorney James McKay called her smart and articulate, saying she could have possibly done well under different circumstances.

A former attorney, Lawrence W. Bates, described her as a nice person, not just a crack cocaine addict. He said she is very intelligent, a personable woman who had been an excellent baby sitter to his children. She’s gifted — someone who could have had anything she wanted in life.

So what happened?

Some point to her strong crack cocaine addiction, her denial and her need to be in the spotlight. On the outside, Heather looked like a drug addict and prostitute. But a woman robbing banks with no mask isn’t your typical bank robber. As Judge Patrick Clifford said, “This is about as loud a cry (for help) as you can get.”

Help eluded Heather, or maybe she eluded it. She was susceptible to being taken advantage of.

She started writing her autobiography during a previous prison sentence but never completed it. Once out of prison, she was approached by Mark Braunstein, a photographer and librarian at Connecticut College, to purchase the rights to her autobiography. On his website www.markbraunstein.org, his knowledge of Heather’s inability to make sound decisions is clear, but apparently that didn’t stop him from purchasing the rights for a mere $40, which he states Heather quickly used to purchase crack cocaine.

Heather now says she’s finally learned to love herself. It’s a relief to know she’s receiving help and is open to changing her behaviors. For under that larger-than-life crime spree is a woman who is — was — scared and hurt. Maybe, if not for being raped, she would have had a better life.

Hopefully, she’ll continue to receive help. She may not live in an ideal place, but if she works hard, she might find some quality of life — even in prison. And though she wasn’t emotionally healthy when committing her crimes, she needs to serve her prison time.

Heather’s apology at her sentencing was a major step forward — a glimpse, I think, of what’s really within her mind and heart.

Roberta M. Helming is a freelance writer from Ledyard and regular contributor to the Norwich Bulletin. She can be reached at RMHelming@aol.com.

Copyright 2010 Norwich Bulletin. Some rights reserved