‘Heaven's Rain' filmmaker says he is grateful he forgave triggerman

“I talk about forgiveness — whatever it is you're going to do, you need to do it now. You never know when that opportunity to forgive or be forgiven will be gone,” he said.

“That seems to resonate with people.”

Too often, people have a tendency to hold onto what happens, holding grudges that ultimately hurt them more than the other person, he said.

“Ultimately, we have to move on — not forgetting our loved ones or forgetting what happened — and live our lives to the fullest. This is what I had to do.”

Film shares messages

Douglass said he has continued to attend private screenings of “Heaven's Rain” since the movie premiered last year.

He said he spoke at a recent screening of the faith-themed film for more than 1,000 people at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

In April, he was presented the Ronald Wilson Reagan Public Policy Award by the U.S. Department of Justice at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Douglass said the film also has been screened by several criminal justice groups including district attorney associations. He said many of the organizations screening the film these days are interested in his legacy as author of victims' rights legislation. He said one screening will be for employees at the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Washington, D.C., headquarters.

“I had one period in April where I was in 11 states in 13 days,” he said

Churches, too, continue to express interest in hosting “Heaven's Rain” screenings because of its theme of forgiveness and the fact that Richard Douglass was a Southern Baptist senior pastor at the time of his death. Before that, the Douglasses were Baptist missionaries to Brazil.

Brooks Douglass said he planned to speak at Asbury United Methodist Church in Tulsa on Friday, May 20. He said he is looking forward to speaking at Putnam City Baptist Church, where his father was senior pastor, in July.

Douglass said the public has been very responsive to the “Heaven's Rain” DVD sale now under way on the movie's website, www.heavensrainmovie.com. He said DVDs that are purchased will be shipped beginning June 1.