Although they are known for their controversial messages, the Westboro Baptist Church has been able to show compassion and understanding for individuals who are not within their community during interviews with The Topeka Twisters. Despite outsider’s opinions on what they might believe the WBC to be a community of heartless protesters, we have been able to see another side from members of the church when discussing the types of individuals they defend in court. While talking with the two sisters, Kathy and Rebekah, they first described the hardship they underwent when applying to law schools. Subsequently, their persistence eventually led them to being excepted into their desired programs.

The sisters also opened up about the difficulties they have faced when dealing with the criminal court system. During the late 1970’s to early 1980’s they worked on defending minorities and their civil rights during the Wichita aircraft cases. Without disclosing case details, the sisters continued on to elaborate on certain challenges when handling cases involving domestic and child abuse. They informed us that Kansas has a No Fault Divorce law, which just adds another obstacle for WBC attorney’s grueling case loads. The sisters started getting choked up when remembering some of the most emotionally tolling cases they defended for, which only showed their sympathetic and humanistic characters.

Kathy and Rebekah continued to compare their law skills to their father’s, where they noted his litigating skills over his negotiating ones. They reminisced on their childhood, where Rebekah communicated her desire for always wanting to go into law. Her father was in school to become an attorney when she was born, so the law has always had a special place in her heart. Kathy acknowledged her reasons for leaving the church, but also the spiritual aspects of what drew her back to the Westboro Baptist community. Overall, it was an enthralling and refreshing interview.