All language subtitles for Matlock s08e07 The Capital Offense

The defendant will rise.

Will the poor person please read the
verdict?

It is the recommendation of this jury
that in view of the aggravated

circumstances under which this murder
was committed, the defendant, Adam

Spangler, be given punishment by death.

Request for the jury be pulled.

Juror number one.

Is this your recommendation?

Yes, it is.

Juror number two?

Yes, it is.

Juror number three?

It is, Your Honor.

Juror number four?

Yes, Your Honor.

Juror number five?

It is, Your Honor.

Juror number six?

Yes, Your Honor.

Juror number seven?

Yes, Your Honor.

Juror number eight?

Yes, it is, Your Honor.

Juror number nine?

It is, Your Honor.

Juror number ten?

Yes, it is.

Juror number eleven?

It is, Your Honor.

Juror number 12.

Yes.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the
jury.

Mr. Spankler, based upon the jury
recommendations and my review of the

reports, it is the sentence of this
court that you will be executed

under the laws of the state of Georgia.
Set execution to take place at a time to

be determined by the commissioner of the
Department of Corrections.

May God have mercy on your soul.

How could you let this happen?

The DA rested his case on the testimony
of one witness? On what some crutch the

old lady thinks she saw? And you
couldn't get me off?

You have no one to blame but yourself.

You're right for hiring an incompetent
jerk like you.

It all boiled down to her word against
yours.

You got on the stand.

When you had one chance to make them
believe you instead of her rolled

you blew it.

You smiled, you laughed, you were
charming. I'm innocent, damn it.

I didn't do it.

The jury didn't believe you, Adam.

They saw you for the two -bit con man
you are.

I should have never listened to you.

I did the best I could.

Oh, yeah?

Then how come I just got sentenced to
death?

I didn't kill that woman.

I'm innocent.

Remember that while you're teeing off
this afternoon.

Very sorry.

Enter.

Oh, come on.

I said cut that out.

Well, Detective Bichard, what a
surprise. Come in, come in. Sure it's

mean, if you're busy, I can come back.
Oh, no, no. I got myself one of those

personal computers, fella, I know.

You gave me a good deal on it.

You're setting it up yourself?

Yeah, he said it'd be a piece of cake.

Tough piece of cake.

See, you're not missing any meals.

Not meals, Ben.

Just sleep.

Guilty conscience?

In a way.

They sentenced Adam Spangler today.

Got the death penalty.

I never did anything like that to bother
you before.

No, don't get me wrong. I'm all for the
death penalty.

Hey, I think murderers should die the
same way they made their victims die.

As far as I'm concerned, that would be
justice.

And a hell of a deterrent.

Then why?

I mean, what's... I'm not sure he did
it.

Well, they had an eyewitness.

Picked him out of the lineup and
everything.

This 70 -year -old lady said she saw
Adam Spangler enter the victim's house,

burglarize the place, then shoot the
victim in cold blood when she walked in

him. But the witness saw all this
through a window in the house next door.

Ben, you of all people know how
unreliable that kind of testimony can

The jury's convinced.

Now, just listen to this.

Adam Spangler was seen entering through
the front door of the house, and a

window was broken in the rear of the
house, so everybody figures that's the

he went out. But Spangler did not know
anybody was watching him, so why didn't

he just go right back out the front?

And we didn't find any of his
fingerprints there, none at all, even

witness said he wasn't wearing gloves.

And we did lift a set of prints that
didn't match the victim, her relatives,

housekeeper friends, anybody.

What about the murder weapon?

The 9mm Makarov. Never recovered.

What's his story?

Says it was never there.

No alibi?

No.

I just got this feeling in my gut.

Your gut, huh?

So you'll talk to him?

I think you guys always get me into this
kind of stuff.

Thanks, Ben.

Oh, now remember, I'm not saying this
guy's a saint or anything.

He's just no murderer.

I'm going to hate him.

No, he's going to be perfectly charming
and you're going to love him.

It's when you realize that 99 % of what
he says is absolute bull.

That's when you're going to hate him.

The script of your trial.

I read it last night.

I can certainly see how you got
convicted. You can't open your mouth

trying to scam whoever you're talking
to.

What do you mean?

You're a grifter.

Right down to the soles of your shoes.

But you're no good at it.

Everything that comes out of your mouth
sounds like a lie.

And sure is.

Campbell Bouchard.

He poised your mind about me, now didn't
he? I wouldn't be too hard on old

Campbell.

He's about the only friend you've got
right now.

Well, here's the way I see it.

You've got a fair trial with no
procedural errors.

And that means that whoever handles your
appeal is going to be denied.

And that means the only hope you have is
for a new trial.

And that means somebody... like me has
to file what's called an extraordinary

motion.

And I can't do that unless I have
concrete proof that you're innocent.

So if the truth is something other than
you told that jury, I got to hear it

right now.

Well, I wanted to tell the truth, but
that shyster lawyer of mine wouldn't let

me. Why not?

Well, first I kind of denied everything.

I said I was never in the house. I said
I didn't know the victim.

I lied out of habit.

But that lawyer of mine said that if I
suddenly changed my story, what little

credibility I did have would be shot to
hell.

So you were in that house that night.

Well, earlier that day, I was in this
pawn shop a friend of mine owns.

And pretty soon this woman comes in with
some jewelry.

Family heirlooms.

Really nice stuff.

Well, she didn't like what he said he
was going to give her for it and left.

So I followed her.

And it turns out she lived just up the
street.

Why'd you follow her?

Sort of scoping her out.

I figured she lived alone and a little
burglary was in order. So I cased her

house real good.

Got some tools. Came back. Waited for
her to leave. And when she did, I went

work. How'd you get in?

Just picked the lock on the front door.

So you were the one that Witness saw in
the house that night.

Well, then, yeah. But not later. I
swear, I made a beeline to the bedroom,

when I didn't find jewelry in the
jewelry box, I looked around the closet

some kind of safe.

Sure enough, I found it.

Or gloves.

Of course.

I remembered that there was this key in
the jewelry box, so I tried it in safe,

and bingo.

I cleaned out everything that was in
there, waltzed right back out the front

door, and went straight to my friend the
pawnbroker.

See, he's also a fence, a little -known
fact.

You fenced the jewelry that night?

That's where I was at the time of the
murder, fencing the jewelry.

Anybody with you that night?

Just him and me.

What's his address?

A pawn shop in the 2300 block of East
Monroe.

Oliver Serling.

Well, I'll give it a shot.

Matlock.

Captain Onya.

Trial's over.

With new evidence, I can get him a new
trial.

Can you guarantee my testimony will get
him off?

No, not your testimony alone, no.

But if you could help us recover some of
the stolen jewelry, even one piece, I

can almost guarantee it.

I run a respectable business here.

Most of my clients are overextended
yuppies who bring me their Rolexes and

Leroy Neimans and their Wedgwood because
they know I'm going to give them a fair

shake.

Now, if I suddenly cop to receiving
stolen goods, I'm finished.

Kaput. Through.

If you don't cop to it, Adam Spangler's
dead.

Serling, according to Irene Payson, who
witnessed the murder, and Dick Osmond,

the 911 operator who took her call while
the murder was being committed, the

victim died at 11 minutes after 10, May
21, 1988.

Where were you at that time, do you
recall?

I was in the pawn shop I own.

Doing what?

Buying several pieces of jewelry from
Adam Spangler.

You sure?

I'm positive.

Was this one of the items you bought?

That's why I remember where I was that
night.

I liked that piece so much I kept it.

Had you ever seen it before that night?

A lady came in that afternoon wanting to
pawn it and some other stuff.

We couldn't come to terms, so she left.

Did you ever see the lady again?

Not alive, no.

That's pretty.

Is it valuable?

Very. I had it authenticated. It's from
the 1920s. It's a scarab.

A lot of Egyptian -themed pieces like
that were made right after King Tut's

was discovered in 1922.

These are some photos that were taken by
the company that insured the victim's

jewelry prior to her death.

Do you recognize these photos?

Well, there's the scarab, and I can't be
positive, but I think I may have bought

a couple of those other pieces that
night.

What happened to them?

Well, when I read the paper the next
day, I saw that the lady who'd been in

store was murdered. I figured the
jewelry was too hot to handle, so I...

Took out the stones and melted it down
and sold it off that way.

But you kept it scared?

I didn't have the heart to destroy it.

One more time. Are you sure the
defendant, Adam Spangler, was with you

minutes after 10 the night of the
murder?

Absolutely.

You see, he caught me just as I was
about to lock up, which I always do at

exactly 10 p .m., and he stayed for a
good half hour.

Thank you.

Miss Harrington, rebuttal witnesses?

Thank you, Your Honor.

Just one. The state calls Mr. Donald
Veach to the stand.

Yes, I am a certified gemologist and
metallurgist, as well as curator of the

jewelry division of the Museum of
History.

And you can tell if that scarab is
genuine just by looping it? No, no. By

assaying the gold.

You see... Pure gold is very soft.

It must be mixed with an alloy before it
can be used to make jewelry. And

different alloys have been used in
different decades.

If this scarab was indeed made in the
1920s, then a drop of this chemical will

react with the gold to produce no foam,
nothing.

If there is foam, this jewelry is fake.

Object.

Irrelevant. Fake or real, that's still
the same brooch my client was selling

Serling at the time of the murder.

Mr. Serling testified under oath that he
had this piece authenticated. Now, if

it turns out to be a fake, it means he
not only makes money illegally, but he's

a liar as well.

Objection overruled.

Go ahead, Mr. Beach.

Very well, I'll place a drop right here.

There's no way this jewelry was made in
the 20s.

The very earliest of the alloys in this
gold were used was in the late 1960s.

My guess is that this reproduction, as
good as it is, was made recently.

So much for Mr. Serling's testimony.
Thank you.

This is a first for me, you know that.

Wish I'd never laid eyes on you.

You're the first person I ever heard of
to get the death penalty twice for the

same crime.

I'm still innocent.

Innocent. You manufactured evidence and
then you got somebody even dumber than

you are to commit perjury. You call that
innocent?

You must really have something on that
guy.

I don't want to know about it.

I didn't kill that woman.

You'd say or do anything to save your
skin.

Well, wouldn't you?

You're telling my only chance of getting
off is to find evidence?

There isn't any.

So I made it up. It's not like I have a
whole lot to lose.

Don't lose me.

You don't even know what happened that
night. You can't tell the truth.

God's honest truth.

I saw that woman at the pawn shop, and

I followed her home. I caved the place,
got the tools, and waited for her to

leave. When she did, I picked the lock.

Went inside, looked around.

I found the safe.

But I didn't find no key.

So I left.

You couldn't pick it?

No.

You didn't take anything?

There was nothing to take.

All the valuables must have been in that
safe. Believe me, I looked.

Before you told me you took the jewels.

I lied.

I got nothing.

Afterwards, I hit a couple bars.

Around midnight, I ended up at Roy's
Tavern. I sold my tools to some kids and

went home with Beth.

She was my girlfriend at the time. She
tends bar there.

Why'd you sell the tools?

S .O .P. I travel light and low profile.
No guns, no drugs, no contraband, ever.

When did you get the tools?

That night, I bought them on the street
right before I went to the house.

Somebody must have been right there and
gone in right after I left.

That's all I can figure.

So, do you believe me?

Ben?

I'm sorry for dragging you into this,
Ben.

He's an ungrateful, two -faced, lying
little snake who's about to get what he

deserves.

I guess.

He said somebody must have come in after
he left.

He's lying.

You might explain that broken window.

He probably broke it. Just to throw us
off.

You could explain that set of friends
that have never been identified.

Probably belonged to the victim's long
-lost Uncle Harry.

Forget about him.

Come on, I'll buy you a drink. A drink?

You're buying me a satin court dinner.

Let's just make one little stop till I
can sleep tonight.

Please come in. Thank you. Detective
Bouchard, how nice to see you again.

Don't tell me you still smoke.

Afraid so.

Well, don't even think of lighting up in
here.

Your clothes alone are enough to make me
start sneezing. Yes, ma 'am. Sorry.

Oh, sit down, please.

Well, would you like some tea?

No, thanks. I'm fine. Me too.

Not that I mind the company, but I
should think you would have come by

the trial, not after.

Well, the fact is, I was sure I could
get an acquittal based on what I thought

was new evidence. Now I guess I'm just
trying to ease my mind.

I know what that's like.

If I'd known that my testimony was going
to send that man to his death, I would

never have opened my mouth.

What he did was horrible, but turning
around and doing the same thing to him

makes us no better than him.

Now, before you and old Campbell here
start going round and round on that,

me again what happened that night, what
you saw, where you were when you saw it.

Well...

I was doing my laundry downstairs like I
do every Wednesday night.

And then I came up here. It was about a
quarter of ten.

It was real muggy outside, so the first
thing I did was walk over to this window

and open it.

And that's when I saw Adam Spangler
coming up the front walk to the

house next door.

You're sure it was him, even though it
was dark?

Oh, yes.

The porch lights were on. I got a real
good look at him at the front door.

But he was so nonchalant about it, I
didn't think anything of it. So he went

into the house, and then I went on about
my business up here.

Doing what?

Well, let's see. I put away the laundry.
I ran my bath. I made some

tea.

And I didn't even look out the window
again until I went to close it about 20

minutes later.

And that's when I saw that he was in her
bedroom, just

tearing everything apart.

You sure it was the same man?

Oh, absolutely.

The light was on.

I saw him plain as day.

He was pulling out the drawers and
rifling through them and then just

them aside.

And then all of a sudden, he stopped
like he'd heard something, and he ran

toward the light switch.

No sooner had the lights gone off in
there than a lamp came on in the front

room.

And I suddenly realized that while I'd
been watching him, the woman who owned

the house had come home.

I... Didn't know what to do, but she
went out of sight into the back of the

house.

And then the bedroom lights went on
again.

And I saw her walk through the door and
stop suddenly.

Because there he was with a gun pointed
at her.

Was he wearing gloves?

I don't think so, no.

And then I saw him say something to her.

And she said something to him.

And then she held out her key ring.

He grabbed it from her.

Took a step back.

Raised a gun.

And just shot her.

And then he went into the closet.

without even giving her a second glance.

By that time, I'd reached 911, and I was
crying hysterically at the operator.

And he came out of the closet, and he
was holding a lot of jewelry in his

And then he ran out of the room.

And there's not a doubt in your mind the
man you saw that night was Adam

Spangler.

I wish there was.

But God help me know.

There's not It was him

You happy no, but I guess I'm satisfied

and real hungry

Hi, Ben.

Campbell Bouchard.

Yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it?

How you doing?

I never do good at 4 o 'clock in the
morning. Put that cigarette out.

Listen, I'm sorry, but I figured you'd
want to hear this.

What? A home out in Hillsdale was
burglarized tonight.

Somebody broke the downstairs window.

entered the house, stole a bunch of
jewelry, and climbed back out the same

window without being seen.

I'll go back to bed now.

Wait a minute.

Remember that set of fingerprints we
found in the Adam Spangler case, the

we never could account for?

Yeah. Ben, we found that same set of
prints at the house in Hillsdale

No.

Yes.

Adam Spangler is innocent.

Hello, Ben.

Long time no see.

Who's this pretty lady?

It's my daughter, Leanne McIntyre. She's
a lawyer, too. We've been partners for

over a year.

Well, then, that must mean you're every
bit as talented as you are beautiful.

And you are every bit as full of it as
Dad said you'd be.

Losing my touch.

That's all.

Three years on death row will do that to
you.

So what's this about new evidence?

A home out in Hillsdale was burglarized
last night.

Police lifted a set of prints that
matched those they could never identify

your case.

Then there was somebody there that night
after I left.

Well, have they found him yet? Do they
know who he is?

The prints are not on file anywhere.

They were a partial set, just like the
set in your case, which leads the police

to believe that this guy may be missing
a couple of fingers.

So what happens next?

Keep filing appeals till he's found.

More appeals.

Ben, they keep getting rejected.

Look at it this way.

They're keeping you alive.

You know...

The fact that somebody went in that
house after you came out is too much of

coincidence for it to be a random
burglar.

Somebody must have known about those
jewels.

And maybe he was planning to rob you
like you robbed that woman.

When he saw you come out of the house
empty -handed, maybe he figured he'd go

and have better luck.

Who knew you were going to steal that
jewelry?

We'll see.

Well, I told Serling because I wanted to
make sure that he'd buy the stuff once

I got it.

And Beth.

Beth Newton.

She was my girlfriend at the time.

In fact, she set me up with the guy I
bought the tools from that I used that

night.

What's his name?

Hawk.

I don't know his real name.

What does he look like?

About my height.

He didn't build.

I met him out under the pier at the
amusement park that night.

It was dark. I didn't get a good look at
him.

He was smoking a cigar.

I do remember that.

So Serling and Beth and Hawk knew what
you were planning to do that night.

Well, it couldn't be Serling. He was
going to end up with the stuff anyway.

It's got to be this Hawk guy.

Time's up.

Uh, Beth might have told somebody.

Beth wouldn't have double -crossed me
like that.

She loved me.

Don't understand why, but she did.

The worse he treated me, the more I
wanted him.

I was like a piece of gum stuck to the
bottom of his shoe.

I was always there.

Until finally, one night, I heard this
knock on my door.

And there he was.

I'd worn him down.

He didn't move out until I sent him to
prison.

It hurts thinking about him.

I wouldn't ask him if I thought it would
help.

See that guy in the blue T -shirt?

That's Paddy McCord.

He and my brother were Marines.

Paddy lost the use of his legs and my
brother died when their barracks were

bombed by terrorists in Lebanon.

Paddy promised my brother that he'd wash
over me.

He's a really nice guy.

He gets along with everybody.

He has a lot of connections on the
street.

Like when I told him Adam needed some
tools for that night, he just said, no

problem. and arranged the meeting under
the pier.

So Hawk's his friend, not yours.

I wouldn't know Hawk if I fell over him.

Hi,

Beth.

Did you see that shot?

Nothing but net.

Guess it can't be the shoes.

No wonder I don't get any endorsements.

Patty, this is Leanne McIntyre. Hi.

How you doing?

She's one of Adam Spangler's lawyers.

She needs to talk to you about Hawk.

Come on, Beth.

You know better than that.

Patty, please. It's important.

Forget it. Mr. McCord, I just want to
talk to you. It could save his life.

No way.

Patty, wait!

Mail here.

Dad.

Did you get a computer?

Where's the monitor?

Don't use it.

Why not?

It doesn't like me.

I don't roll over on people.

It's a thing with me.

Her brother was my best friend.

This is important to her.

What do you want to know?

Who is this guy, Hawk?

He's a thief.

Minor league.

Breaking in during a couple of car
heists.

Never been caught.

He thinks that's really cool,
considering he's more or less disabled.

What do you mean?

He's only got three fingers on his right
hand.

Blew him off playing with cherry bombs
when he was a kid.

Where can we find him?

Patty, please?

Please?

All those detectives, Harris and
Lieberman.

There's Detective O'Doyle and there's
Campbell.

Yeah, but where's Hawk?

Any minute now.

What if this is another one of Adam
Spangler's scams? I mean, we both know

not much for telling the truth.

What if he got Beth to get Patty to make
up this whole Hawk thing? Now, if he

did, I'll save the state some money and
kill him myself.

What?

That guy over there.

He's the right size, height, wearing
gloves, cigar, got a bag.

It's him.

Yeah, but he's going the wrong way.

He knows something's up. I'll follow
him. You get him.

There.

All units, he's heading for the
playground.

All the way down.

All the way

down.

Sandwiches.

I don't understand.

You mean there's still a chance he won't
be executed? There's always a chance,

right up until I throw the switch.

How much time does he have left? That
depends.

I'm looking for a reason to file what's
called a writ of habeas corpus so I can

get the state Supreme Court to hear new
testimony.

I don't have anything new to say.

Oh, Miss Payson, in thinking back of
what you told me before, there's

I couldn't quite understand. You said it
was muggy in here.

And the first thing you did when you
came back up here, opened the window.

And then you said 20 minutes later you
closed it again. Why?

I don't know what I did.

Oh, cigar smoke.

If I don't close this, I have a sneezing
fit for sure.

What?

I smelled cigar smoke that night.

That's why I closed the window.

Miss Payson, it's possible. Just
possible.

If somebody was standing down there
between the houses, watching Adam

enter their house, just like you were
from up here, and when you walked away

from the window, He threw his cigar down
and entered the house after Adam had

left. And that's the person who killed
your neighbor. Isn't it possible?

If he looked enough like Adam, I suppose
so.

Yes.

That would explain the cigar smoke.

Leanne!

We have cause to file a writ. Put that
thing out and come up here.

You've read the written declarations
I've submitted, but those are just

This case is about emotions.

The emotions of an eyewitness, the
emotions of a jury.

Human memory is a fragile thing to begin
with.

And when enlisted to recall something as
horrible as a crime of murder, well,

emotions just naturally get in the way.

Events are heightened, some suppressed
to the point of being forgotten.

And I submit to you that that's what
happened in the case of Spangler versus

state of Georgia.

Adam Spangler is a con man who tried to
con a jury and failed.

Irene Payson is an eyewitness to murder,
but it so upset her that later on she

wasn't so much able to remember what
happened as to assume.

The truth of the matter is, the crime
for which Adam Spangler is to be

was committed by another man, a burglar
whose fingerprints were found not only

at the scene of the crime, but at
another burglary as well, a fact to

Detective Bouchard will soon attest.

A man who smokes a cigar, who smoked a
cigar outside the victim's house the

night of the murder, as Irene Payson
will soon attest.

This man, whom we are still trying to
seek out,

is the real killer.

I've come here to convince you, in the
interest of justice, to at least stay

execution of Adam Spangler till this man
can be found.

To that end, petitioner calls Detective
Campbell Bouchard to the stand.

That won't be necessary, Mr. Matlock.

This court was convened to hear oral
arguments, not new testimony. But, Your

Honor... Mr. Matlock, the declarations
that you've made here haven't brought us

any new evidence. In fact, all you've
submitted here is speculation.

It's not our place or our purpose to
weigh arguments based on such.

Your appeal is denied.

The petitioner, Adam Spangler, will be
put to death as sentenced at 2 a .m.

Two weeks from today.

No, no, we don't have new evidence.

But if you could just suggest to your
viewers that they call their assembly.

Well, yes, sir. I'm sorry. I do know
it's late. I was just wondering, did you

consider staying? No. I understand.

Judge.

Dad, did you hear back from the U .S.
Supreme Court?

Refused our petition.

Did you ever hear back from Patty?

He said he would call us as soon as he
gets the slightest tennis to where Hawk

is.

There's no time to be playing with a
computer.

I'm not playing with a computer, Dad. I
have the phone number of every judge in

the state of Georgia in here.

Yeah?

Yeah. Man, it's Campbell. We just picked
up the second story man who might know

something about this Hawk guy.

What'd he say?

Nothing yet. Hasn't been Mirandized.

Where are you going to be in case we
might shake something out of this guy?

Leanne will be right here. Call her the
second you got anything. I'll be out at

the prison.

Still a chance.

Well, I took Beth up to a great friend
one weekend.

Gave my camera to some guy to take a
picture of us.

It's a picture of Bush.

Yeah, he must have been moving.

Cameron when he pushed the button.

Pictures never did Beth justice anyway.

She's always prettier in real life.

happening for a reason, you know?

It's gotta be.

I just wish I knew what the hell it was.

I understand that, Your Honor.

Yes, okay, Judge Katz. Thanks anyway.

Bye.

Hello? Yeah?

Oh, great.

Great. Yes, Campbell, I'll be right
there.

Okay.

Bye.

One. One more.

Yes.

Daughter just called. Said police had an
address for him.

Hawk somebody.

He's on the way there now.

Do they have him yet?

Not yet. Officers just went in. They
know they've got to take him alive,

They know.

He's under the fire at the gate.

Campbell, no guns.

He's dead.

Nine millimeter macro.

It's time.

Yes.

Yes.

They found the murder weapon.