Tuesday, July 14th
Miss O’Brien came to see me this afternoon. She looked tired. She said that Bobo’s testimony hurt us a lot and that she had to find a way to separate me from King, but King’s lawyer wanted to make sure the jury connected us because I looked like a pretty decent guy. She talked to me for almost an hour. Several times she patted me on the hand. I asked her if that meant that she thought we were going to lose the case. She said no, but I don’t believe her.
I am so scared. My heart is beating like crazy and I am having trouble breathing. The trouble I’m in keeps looking bigger and bigger. I’m overwhelmed by it. It’s crushing me.
It is a nice day on the outside. On the street below, people walk in what looks like a crisscross pattern across the narrow streets. There are yellow cabs inching along. On the corner there is a cart that sells food, frankfurters or sausages I guess, and sodas. People stand around buying what they want, then move away. It looks like something I would like to do, move away from where I am.
Tomorrow we start our case, and I don’t see what we are going to do. I hear myself thinking like all the other prisoners here, trying to convince myself that everything will be all right, that the jury can’t find me guilty because of this reason or that reason. We lie to ourselves here. Maybe we are here because we lie to ourselves.
Lying on my cot, I think of everything that has happened over the last year. There was nothing extraordinary in my life. No bolt of lightning came out of the sky. I didn’t say a magic word and turn into somebody different. But here I am, maybe on the verge of losing my life, or the life I used to have. I can understand why they take your shoelaces and belt from you when you’re in jail.
Miss O’Brien made me write down all the people in my life who I love and who love me. Then I had to write down the people who I admire. I wrote down Mr. Sawicki’s name twice.
Mr. Briggs will present King’s defense first. Miss O’Brien will go second, but she says she has to be careful because if she says anything that makes King look bad and Mr. Briggs attacks her, it will look bad for me.
“We can use some friends,” she said.
When she left and I had to go back to the cell area, I was more depressed than I have been since I’ve been here. I wish Jerry were here. Not in jail, but somehow with me. What would I say to him? Think about all the tomorrows of your life. Yes, that’s what I would say. Think about all the tomorrows of your life.
When the lights went out, I think I heard someone crying in the darkness.
FADE IN: INTERIOR: COURTROOM: DOROTHY MOORE is on the stand. She is a brown-skinned, fairly pleasant-looking woman. She looks sincerely at ASA BRIGGS.
BRIGGS
And what time do you remember Mr. King coming to your home that afternoon?
MOORE
Three thirty.
BRIGGS
And you’re sure of the time?
MOORE (confidently)
I am quite sure, sir.
BRIGGS
Nothing more.
PETROCELLI
Mrs. Moore, how often does Mr. King come to your house?
MOORE
About twice a month. He’s my cousin.
PETROCELLI
Do you remember the purpose of the visit?
MOORE
He was just dropping by. He saw a lamp that he thought I might like and he brought it by. We talked about Christmas coming up.
PETROCELLI
He bought the lamp for you?
MOORE
Yes, he did.
PETROCELLI
Do you remember if he was working at the time? Did he have a job?
MOORE
I don’t think so.
PETROCELLI
And still he took his money to buy you a lamp. You remember how much the lamp cost?
MOORE
No, I don’t.
PETROCELLI
But that was nice of him, wasn’t it?
MOORE (subdued)
I think it was.
PETROCELLI
And you like him a lot, don’t you?
MOORE
I wouldn’t lie for him, if that’s what you’re saying.
PETROCELLI
Before this visit, when did you last see Mr. King?
MOORE
I guess a few weeks before that. I don’t know the exact date.
PETROCELLI
What kind of work was he looking for?
MOORE
Just a job. I don’t know.
PETROCELLI
Does he have a driver’s license?
MOORE
I don’t know.
PETROCELLI
You really don’t know a lot about your cousin, do you?
MOORE
I know I saw him that day.
PETROCELLI (condescendingly)
And what do you do for a living?
MOORE
I do day’s work, but I wasn’t working that week, because I had hurt my ankle. I went to the doctor that Monday, and you can check that.
PETROCELLI
You don’t have to verify what you were doing, Mrs. Moore. Did anybody see Mr. King at your home on that day?
MOORE
I don’t think so.
PETROCELLI
Do you still have the lamp? The lamp Mr. King so kindly bought for you?
MOORE
It broke.
PETROCELLI
Should I take that to mean you no longer have the lamp?
MOORE
They don’t make things to last anymore. I think it was made in Korea or someplace like that.
PETROCELLI
Again, should I take that to mean that you no longer have the lamp?
MOORE
I don’t have it now, but I did have it.
PETROCELLI
Yes, of course. Thank you. Nothing further.
CUT TO: GEORGE NIPPING on stand. He is about 50 and wears wire-rimmed glasses. He speaks precisely and generally makes a good impresssion.
BRIGGS
Mr. Nipping, do you know, as a matter of fact, if Mr. King is right-handed or left-handed?
NIPPING
He’s left-handed. I know that because when he was a kid, I went out and bought him a glove, a baseball glove, and I had to take it back because he was left-handed.
BRIGGS
Have you ever known him to do anything of significance with his right hand?
NIPPING
No, I’ve never seen him use his right hand for anything.
We see STEVE writing on a pad.
CUT TO: The pad. O’BRIEN is writing a note under STEVE’s question, which reads “What’s that about?” She writes: “The wound was on the left side of the body, which might mean that the shooter was right-handed. It’s a weak argument.”
BRIGGS
And for the record, how long have you known Mr. King?
NIPPING
I’d say about 17 to 18 years.
BRIGGS
Thank you.
CUT TO: NIPPING on stand facing PETROCELLI.
PETROCELLI
Have you ever seen Mr. King shoot a man?
NIPPING
No, I haven’t.
PETROCELLI
So when he shoots a gun, you don’t know what hand he uses. Is that right?
BRIGGS
Objection!
PETROCELLI (ignoring objection)
If Mr. King was struggling with someone and the gun happened to be on the right side, do you know what he would do?
NIPPING
No, I don’t.
PETROCELLI
Nothing further.
CUT TO: FILM CLASS. MS of MR. SAWICKI.
SAWICKI
There are a lot of things you can do with film, but you don’t have an unlimited access to your audience. In other words, keep it simple. You tell the story; you don’t look for the camera technician to tell the story for you. When you see a filmmaker getting too fancy, you can bet he’s worried either about his story or about his ability to tell it.
CUT TO: INTERIOR: ROOM where lawyers meet with their clients. SPLIT SCREEN: One side is O’BRIEN, pacing nervously. On the other side is STEVE, sitting.
O’BRIEN
You’re going to have to take the stand—look at the jury and let the jury look at you—and say that you’re innocent. I know the judge will tell the jury not to infer anything if you don’t take the stand, but I believe that the jury wants to hear from you. I think they want to hear your side of the story. Can you handle it?
We see STEVE nodding in the affirmative.
O’BRIEN
The prosecutor’s strongest point against you is the connection between you and King. She has Bobo admitting to being in on the robbery and his link to King. You’ve told me you know King. I don’t know why you’ve chosen this man as an acquaintance, but it’s going to hurt you big-time if you don’t manage to get some distance between you and him in the eyes of the jury. You’re going to have to break the link. He’s sitting there looking surly. Maybe he thinks he’s tough; I don’t know. I do know you’d better put some distance between yourself and whatever being a tough guy represents.
You need to present yourself as someone the jurors can believe in. Briggs isn’t going to put King on the stand. That helps you, but when he sees us separating you from him, he’s going to realize that his client is in trouble.
STEVE
How do you know he won’t testify?
O’BRIEN
King made a statement to the police when he was arrested. He said he didn’t know Bobo. But the prosecution can prove that’s a lie. So if he takes the stand, they can use his own statements against him and he’s cooked. If you don’t testify, you’ll just make the tie between you and King stronger in the mind of the jury. I think you have to testify. And the way you spend the rest of your youth might well depend on how much the jury believes you.
STEVE
That woman said that King was with her.
O’BRIEN
Right, but Petrocelli didn’t even bother with a lengthy cross-examination. Did you notice that? She dismissed Mrs. Moore with her tone of voice. A cousin who likes him testifes that he was with her. Big deal. Against all the evidence against him, it doesn’t count for very much. His lawyer is going to rely on his closing argument to win the case, and I don’t think that’s going to be effective unless he’s very, very lucky. Cases are won on closing arguments only on television, not in a real courtroom.
SINGLE MS: We see STEVE nodding, but he is looking down. We see O’BRIEN looking at him, studying him closely. She sits down and takes a deep breath.
O’BRIEN
(Puts a paper cup on the table.) Okay, Steve, now stay with me. We’re going to play a little game. I’m going to take this cup and place it on the table. Then I’m going to ask you some questions. When I like the answers you give me, I’ll leave the cup facing up. When I don’t like the answers, I’ll turn it upside down. You figure out what’s wrong with the answer you gave me. All right?
STEVE
Why? (O’BRIEN doesn’t answer. Then we see STEVE nod his assent.)
O’BRIEN
Did you know James King?
STEVE
No?
CUT TO: O’BRIEN turns the cup down.
STEVE
Yeah, casually.
CUT TO: O’BRIEN turns the cup up.
O’BRIEN
When was the last time you spoke to him before the robbery?
STEVE
Last summer?
CUT TO: O’BRIEN turns the cup down.
STEVE
I don’t know for sure. I mean, he’s not like a guy I talk with a lot.
CUT TO: O’BRIEN turns the cup up.
THEN: The camera moves farther and farther away from the pair. We see another prisoner and lawyer enter the room. We don’t hear O’BRIEN’s questions or STEVE’s answers but we see O’BRIEN turning the cup.
FADE TO BLACK.
FADE IN: INTERIOR: CELL at nighttime: We barely see the outlines of the inmates, 2 of whom are sleeping on the floor.
VO (INMATE 1)
The prosecutor said I was lying. I wanted to ask her what she expected me to do when telling the truth was going to get me 10 years.
VO (INMATE 2)
When they got you in the system, it ain’t time to get all holy. You in the system, you needs to get out the system.
VO (INMATE 1)
What’s the truth? Anybody in here knows what the truth is? I don’t know what the truth is! Only truth I know is I don’t want to be in here with you ugly dudes.
STEVE
Truth is truth. It’s what you know to be right.
VO (INMATE 2)
Nah! Truth is something you gave up when you were out there on the street. Now you talking survival. You talking about another chance to breathe some air 5 other guys ain’t breathing.
VO (INMATE 1)
You get up on the witness stand and the prosecutor talks about looking for truth when they really mean they looking for a way to stick you under the jail.
VO (INMATE 3, in a cry for help)
I’ve spent half my life in the joint, man. Where’s my life? Where’s my damned life?
We hear the toilet flush as scene ends.
CUT TO: INTERIOR: JAIL. STEVE is dressing for court. We see him checking out his hand, which is slightly swollen.
CUT TO: STEVE sitting in back of van. He holds his hands out in front of his face. They are shaking.
CUT TO: STEVE on stand.
O’BRIEN
Mr. Harmon, did you act as a lookout for the drugstore robbery or check out the store so that a robbery could be safely committed?
STEVE
No, I did not.
O’BRIEN
Mr. Harmon, did you discuss with anyone that you would act as a lookout or that you would check out the store?
STEVE
No, I did not.
O’BRIEN
Mr. Harmon, were you in the drugstore owned by Mr. Nesbitt, the victim, on the 22nd of December of last year?
STEVE
No, I was not.
O’BRIEN
Are you sure in your mind that you know what a lookout would do?
STEVE
Yes, I am.
O’BRIEN
One last question. Were you in any way involved with the crime that we are discussing here? To make it clear—were you, in any way, involved with the holdup and murder that occurred on the 22nd of December?
STEVE
No, I was not.
O’BRIEN
Nothing further.
CUT TO: PETROCELLI riffling through papers. She stops occasionally, looks toward STEVE, and nods. PETROCELLI leans back in her chair and visually confronts STEVE for a long beat. Then she gets up and goes to podium.
PETROCELLI
Mr. Harmon, do you know James King?
STEVE
I know him from the neighborhood.
PETROCELLI
You talk to him much?
STEVE
Once in a while.
PETROCELLI
Once in a while. When was the last time you spoke to him before the robbery?
STEVE
I don’t know exactly, but it was during the school year.
PETROCELLI
Didn’t you speak to him in December?
STEVE
I don’t think so, but I might have.
PETROCELLI
Which is it? You don’t think so or you don’t remember?
STEVE
Both. I mean, I might have spoken to him, but we don’t talk about anything important enough to remember.
PETROCELLI
What do you talk about?
STEVE
Usually I see him in the playground. Maybe he’d say something like “Those guys can’t play ball,” stuff like that.
PETROCELLI
“Those guys can’t play ball.” Did you ever see him play ball?
STEVE
I don’t remember seeing him play ball.
PETROCELLI
You having trouble remembering what you’ve seen?
STEVE
No, but I’ve seen a lot of ball games. I watch a lot of ball games.
PETROCELLI
Are you nervous? Do you want to take a few minutes?
STEVE
No.
PETROCELLI
You talk to Bobo sometimes?
O’BRIEN
Objection. We’ve been referring to the witness as Mr. Evans.
JUDGE
Sustained.
PETROCELLI
Have you spoken with Mr. Evans?
STEVE
I might have said “Hi” to him. I’ve never had a conversation with him.
PETROCELLI
You ever talk to Mr. Cruz? Osvaldo Cruz?
STEVE
Yes, he’s about my age. I’ve talked with Osvaldo.
PETROCELLI
What did you talk to Mr. Cruz about?
STEVE
Same thing, mostly. About playing ball, or the weather. Or what’s going on in the neighborhood.
PETROCELLI
Did you hear Mr. Evans’s testimony that—let me put it this way—you heard Mr. Evans’s testimony that you came out of the drugstore just before the robbery. Is that right?
STEVE
I heard his testimony.
PETROCELLI
And are you saying it was just a coincidence that you were coming out of the store at that time?
CUT TO: FLASHBACK of O’BRIEN turning over the cup.
CUT TO: STEVE on witness stand.
STEVE
I don’t know exactly when the robbery happened, but I know I wasn’t in the drugstore that day.
PETROCELLI
So Mr. Evans was lying?
STEVE
I don’t know what he was doing, but I know I wasn’t in the drugstore.
PETROCELLI
You heard Mr. Cruz say that you were supposed to go in and “check the store out” for cops. Is that right?
O’BRIEN
Objection! I believe the testimony was that Mr. Cruz was told that was the case.
JUDGE
Do you want the testimony read back?
PETROCELLI
I’ll withdraw the question as framed. Mr. Harmon, do you remember Osvaldo saying that he understood you to be the lookout?
STEVE
I heard him say that.
PETROCELLI
And according to you, Mr. Cruz was lying, too?
STEVE
No, somebody could have told him that, but I know I wasn’t there.
PETROCELLI
Then he must have lied, is that right?
O’BRIEN
Objection. The prosecution is soliciting an argument.
PETROCELLI
Withdrawn. Mr. Harmon, you say you weren’t at the drugstore anytime during the day of the robbery. Perhaps you would tell us where you were.
STEVE
I don’t know exactly where I was when the robbery took place. Most of the day I was going around taking mental notes about places I wanted to film for a school film project.
PETROCELLI
Well, if you don’t know exactly where you were, can you tell me anyone who might know where you were?
STEVE
I don’t even remember where I was. When the detectives asked me where I was, I couldn’t even remember the day they were talking about. They didn’t ask me about it until weeks later.
PETROCELLI
Then how do you remember—what did you say?—taking mental notes for a school film project?
STEVE
I know that because I was planning to do the film of my neighborhood over the holidays.
PETROCELLI
Getting back to Mr. King. Would you consider yourself a friend of his or an acquaintance?
STEVE
An acquaintance.
PETROCELLI
Mr. Cruz, friend or acquaintance?
STEVE
Acquaintance.
PETROCELLI
Mr. Bobo Evans, friend or acquaintance?
STEVE
Acquaintance.
PETROCELLI
So you’re acquainted with everyone involved in this robbery, is that—
BRIGGS
Objection! She knows better than that! She knows better than that!
JUDGE
Sustained. The jury will disregard the last question. There is no one who was involved in this affair until the jury makes that decision. And yes, Miss Petrocelli, you do know better.
PETROCELLI (satisfied)
Nothing further.
We see STEVE stand shakily and head back to the defense table. He looks out onto the onlookers and sees his parents. His MOTHER forces a smile and his FATHER makes a fist and nods emphatically. We see STEVE sit down, start to pick up a glass of water, and have to put it down because his hand is shaking so badly. O’BRIEN crosses to the desk and writes on the pad in front of STEVE. We see what she has written. It says “TAKE DEEP BREATHS.”
O’BRIEN
The defense calls George Sawicki.
CUT TO: CU of GEORGE SAWICKI.
O’BRIEN
Mr. Sawicki, do you know the defendant sitting at this table?
SAWICKI
I’ve known Steve for three years. He’s been in my film club.
O’BRIEN
Can you give us your opinion of Mr. Harmon’s work?
SAWICKI
I think he’s an outstanding young man. He is talented, bright, and compassionate. He’s very much involved with depicting his neighborhood and environment in a positive manner.
O’BRIEN
Do you consider him an honest young man?
SAWICKI
Absolutely.
O’BRIEN
When he says he was taking mental notes for a film, would that be a film for your club?
SAWICKI
Yes.
O’BRIEN
Nothing further.
CU of MR. SAWICKI. He starts to leave the stand but is then held up by the JUDGE.
CUT TO: PETROCELLI.
PETROCELLI
You said you’re a teacher in Mr. Harmon’s school. Do you live in his neighborhood?
SAWICKI
No, I don’t.
PETROCELLI
So although you want to vouch for his character, isn’t it fair to say that you don’t know what he does when he goes to his neighborhood and you go home to yours?
SAWICKI
No, it’s not. His film footage shows me what he’s seeing and, to a large extent, what he’s thinking. And what he sees, the humanity of it, speaks of a very deep character.
PETROCELLI
What was he doing on the afternoon of December 22nd? Did he show you a film of that day?
SAWICKI
No, he did not.
PETROCELLI
Do you feel that the ability to make a film means that someone is honest?
SAWICKI
It is my belief that to make an honest film, one has to be an honest person. I would say that. And I do believe in Steve’s honesty.
PETROCELLI
As a matter of fact you like him quite a bit, don’t you?
SAWICKI
Yes, I do.
PETROCELLI
Nothing further.
O’BRIEN
Harmon rests.
BRIGGS
King rests.
CUT TO: STEVE lying on his cot, soaked with sweat. He tries hard to catch his breath. He turns his head to the wall. He lifts one hand and lets it slide slowly down the pale-green wall.
CUT TO: INTERIOR: COURTROOM: CU of JAMES KING. He looks around awkwardly as BRIGGS sums up his defense.
VO (BRIGGS)
So what do we have? We have a man who admits to being part of a robbery accusing another man. And why is he making these accusations? The prosecution would have you believe that bringing Mr. Evans, this “Bobo” character, here, is the result of good police work, which gives Mr. Evans the chance to demonstrate what a great citizen he is. But isn’t the truth of the matter that the only reason he’s here is because the police have him on a criminal matter, and have offered him a deal if he comes here and implicates someone else? Isn’t that the real story?
Does it really surprise anyone that a man who is capable of robbing a drugstore, and he has admitted to doing just that, who then sells the loot from the robbery, and he has admitted to that, and who is caught with drugs, and he has admitted to that—then tries to get a lighter sentence by testifying against another person? Isn’t his character, if you can call it character, clear? Hasn’t he proven by his own admissions who he is? What he is?
Camera pulls back from POV of JUDGE. We see only MR. and MRS. HARMON on one side of COURTROOM, a few strangers on the other side. The COURTROOM is nearly empty. The camera pans to COURT CLERK, who is going through mail. Then to court STENOGRAPHER, who takes down proceedings. Then to COURT OFFICER, who is nodding, close to sleep.
BRIGGS
What I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is that Mr. Evans made the mistake of selling the cigarettes he stole during the robbery. Did he do the shooting? I don’t know. But naturally he says he didn’t do it. If he had sat up there on the witness stand and said he did the shooting, he would never have been offered the deal he got. The only way out for him is to look around and find somebody else to accuse. And that’s precisely what he did. He could have picked anyone else in the neighborhood. Half the young men of that age group are either unemployed or underemployed. He happened to pick Mr. King.
The State did not produce one witness to the murder. They produced one witness, Miss Henry, who said she saw Mr. King in the store. Where was her mind at the time? According to her testimony, it was on the health and wellbeing of her grandchild. Could she have made a mistake? Evidently she has. Not that she did not see someone in the store, but whom did she see? She was taken to the police station and given a set of photographs. From these photographs she picked, at police urging, Mr. King. But she didn’t pick out this photo from a thousand photographs, or a book of photographs or even 50 photographs. She was shown a handful of photos and asked to pick one. Later, when she had to pick someone from a lineup, what was she doing? Was she picking out the man she saw in the drugstore, or was she picking out the man the police had given her in the photographs? That’s for you, the jury, to decide. We heard Mrs. Moore testify that James King was at her house at the time of the incident. Shall we assume that every person who is related to an accused person is going to lie? I don’t think so. The prosecution, Miss Petrocelli, paraded in front of you a bunch of admitted criminals, people who have participated in stickups, buying and selling stolen goods, you name it. She has asked you to believe them. Then she asks you not to believe Mrs. Moore, who has never committed a crime in her life. Think about it. If you met these people on the street, which would you believe, which would you trust?
As for Osvaldo Cruz, he is putting as much distance between himself and this crime as possible. All he was supposed to do was to stand outside and push a garbage can in front of a potential pursuer. But there wasn’t a pursuer, because Mr. Evans and whoever he was with—if indeed he was with anyone else—made sure of that. And think about this: Lorelle Henry, who seemed for all the world like a decent, law-abiding human being, testified that she was sure that there were 2 men in the store, 2 men involved in the robbery. And we have 2 men who have admitted participation. I submit to you that there’s no need to go beyond these two when you look for the perpetrators of this crime. Ultimately, what this case is about is whether you believe people who are admitted participants in this crime and who are saving their own hides. If you believe, as I do, that their positions, their stated characters, so taint their testimony that everything they say is well within the area of reasonable doubt, then you have no choice but to find Mr. King not guilty. And when you walk away from the sorry testimony of the State’s witnesses, you have nothing else from the prosecution. Nothing else. Ladies and gentlemen, at the beginning of this case the prosecutor spoke of monsters. She not only found them, but she has brought them here to testify for the State. I have faith in you, and faith in the American judicial system. And that faith leads me to believe that justice in this case demands more proof than you have seen in this case. I believe that justice demands that you reject the testimony of these men, consigning their stories to the area of deep doubt. I believe that justice demands that you return a verdict of Not Guilty. Thank you.