BlackHeart (Extended Cut)
This short film was made for the 13 Stories Film Competition and is based on the true story of a real life inmate at the Old Idaho Penitentiary. Margaret Hardy, born in Osage Beach, Missouri in 1947, claimed she received no education as a child. In St. Louis, Missouri she ran a “bawdy” house (or brothel) and developed a propensity for thievery. She soon moved to Aspen, Colorado and married. The couple adopted a young African American girl whom they named Henrietta. Margaret moved to Moscow, Idaho in 1890. On February 10, 1895, Margaret attempted to kill Henrietta with an injection of morphine. She then threw carbolic acid onto Henrietta’s face, killing the child. Margaret claimed the poisoning occurred while she was out of the house. After a coroner’s inquest, authorities arrested her. She received a life sentence, to be served at the Idaho State Penitentiary. An Idaho Daily Statesman reporter referred to Margaret as a “Black Hearted Old Hag.” Due to her “status” as the first Caucasian woman to serve time at the prison, staff made many special arrangements to keep Margaret comfortable. Still, she attempted suicide by eating glass on multiple occasions. Guards placed her in the “bughouse,” an early version of solitary confinement, where she started a fire that nearly claimed the life of another prisoner. Despite their early insistence that Margaret faked insanity, they ultimately transferred her to the State Hospital South in Blackfoot, Idaho on October 9, 1895.
