En el nombre del Señor

I know Tom Bird personally, he has been going to my church since he got out on parole. It came as a shock to me that we had a convicted murderer in my church when i found out in early high school. I don't know about Lorna, but Tom currently works at a catering business owned by a couple at church. He and his wife were also teaching the Sunday school class for high schoolers, i haven't been for a while so i don't know if they are still doing that or not. His wife is also the principal of the private school at the church. It is up to you to decide if he is innocent or guilty, and i don't have all the information, i haven't even read the whole book or seen the movie, but he is a very very weird man and i would not doubt he was guilty. He gave me the creeps from the very first time i met him, even before i realized who he was. It is some pretty freaky stuff to have a felon in your church.

Great acting of principle characters played by Jobeth Williams and Keith Carradine. A lot actors from the day. Good story about an actual crime. If that trooper didn't feel hinkie that case may never have been solved. Its truly a sad case.

One of the best TV movies ever made, this riveting film tells the true-life story of the murder of a preacher's wife in rural Kansas in the early 1980s.

In one long flashback that covers the year before the wife's death in a presumed accidental traffic mishap, the script meticulously evolves the sordid relations leading up to the tragedy and the suspicion of one highway patrolman that this was no accident. In time, an ongoing tangle of lurid involvement between the preacher and his attractive church secretary leads others to the same conclusion.

As the truth of a conspiracy starts to emerge and with law enforcement closing in, the confidently smug pastor, Tom Bird (Terry Kinney) reassures his panicky co-conspirator, Lorna (JoBeth Williams) that everything will be okay. "Endureth all things, Lorna ... didn't God test Abraham in the same way?" Of course, his naïve parishioners stand by their man, no matter what.

On-location filming in Kansas adds to the realism, as does court transcripts of some dialogue. Cinematography, production design, casting, and acting are all high quality. Editing is especially impressive. Yes, it's a long film, but the complex story involves conspiracy, murder, hit men, adultery, and possible incompetence in public office.

The subject matter is unusual in that we don't normally think of a preacher as a murderer. That only happens in fictional stories. Yet the unbelievable is precisely what makes this film so mesmerizing. The events really happened. For that reason alone "Murder Ordained" is worth watching.

I spent ten years working at the correctional facility where both Tom Bird and Lorna Anderson did their time. Lorna was transferred when the female inmates were all sent to Topeka, but Tom Bird remained at Lansing Correctional Facility for his entire incarceration. The resemblance between the real Tom Bird and the actor was amazing. However, the children, especially the youngest girl could have been related. I remember one time feeling especially bad when the children flew in from another state to visit their father, I was working the visiting room at the time, and saw that the movie was playing on a local channel about the time the kids probably got to their motel. They would visit their father for 5 days in a row since they were so far away. The actors that played Tom Bird's parents were uncanny in their looks and actions as well. I suppose this did much to explain my high marks for the movie. I have seen many docu-dramas depend on sensationalism, but this one played it close to the vest, and really did get the point across about the relationship between the two. Unfortunately the movie was made before Lorna Anderson was convicted of her husband's death or before Tom Bird re-married. He was paroled just last year. I am hopeful there will be no cause to make a sequel about the murder of yet another Sandra Bird. Keith Carradine and Kathy Bates were excellent as well in the movie. Their performance was every bit as good as a huge production rather than a made for TV movie. They should all be commended for such good work. It is just sad that no studio will release this excellent work on DVD and the only way to see it is to catch it on late night TV.

Let me start out by saying, this movie was a wonderfully made movie. As said before, there is a bit of overacting, but in all it is a good movie.

My grandfather, Vern Humphrey, worked on this case a great deal.. much more than the movie portrays. When the writers of this movie interviewed the detectives and officers that worked on the case they interviewed Vern Humphrey, and then John Rule. John Rule told the correct events; however, he did not tell the correct people that worked on the case, hence him being the key 'trooper' in this movie. It is sad that the wrong people were credited in this movie, but there is not much anyone can do now.

I wish this movie was more true to life. So many believe that this movie is spot on. A good movie, good actors/actresses, sets. I am pleased with the quality of this movie and encourage those who know nothing about the murder story to watch it. Just be aware of the errors.