Original subtitles

.

- No mistakes on my watch. Is that clear?

- Mr. Garcetti, I have no intention of losing Menendez.

- Winning is a given, Miss Ferrero.

- Who was Lyle talking to?

- It's Norma Novelli. She puts out a newsletter

for prisoners.

After a lifetime of terror,

these children were terrorized.

- He threw me on the bed

and--and he raped me.

- When I was, uh, seven,

he would put me on my knees,

and I would have oral sex with him.

- We're here because the defendants did this

to their parents.

- Erik and his brother honestly believed

their parents were going to kill them.

- It's the first day of deliberations

for both juries in the Menendez trial,

and as you can see, Menendez fever is as strong as ever.

[crowd cheering]

And here comes the van

carrying Erik and Lyle.

Each morning, they'll be driven from the county jail

in downtown Los Angeles

to the courthouse here in Van Nuys

to await the juries' verdicts.

[camera shutters clicking]

[crowd chanting, cheering]

And we'll be ready with live coverage

the minute those verdicts come in.

- The whole time, I couldn't wait for the trial to end.

But now...

[dark music]

Do you think...

do you think they'll vote for the death penalty?

- They decide that during the penalty phase,

and we're a long way from that, honey.

Right now, they're focused on murder versus manslaughter,

maybe even an acquittal.

- When I was up there talking, I could see Uncle Brian's face.

He looked at me like I was the lowest form of life.

Even Aunt Terry.

It's sad, you know?

We used to be a family.

- All those people, my friends, who lied on the stand,

Donovan, Glenn, Jamie.

People really hate me, don't they?

- Don't punish yourself, Lyle.

Try and stay positive.

- I want to get out. I want to prove to people

that I can be different than I was.

That I can be better.

*

- Let's start with a vote.

Just to see where everyone's leaning?

Raise your hand if--

- Whoa, whoa, whoa. Raise our hands?

I think we should have a secret ballot.

- Yeah. - Who cares?

- No, I'm with Paul.

Everything in the open. - I agree.

- I agree. So, once again,

raise your hand if you think Erik is guilty

of first-degree murder on both of the killings.

Interesting. Okay.

Raise your hand if you think Erik is guilty

of voluntary manslaughter.

- Okay, that's six for manslaughter

and six for first-degree murder.

- These other women got their panties in a twist over Lyle.

You and me know he's a bad seed.

- Okay, let's deliberate.

*

- Look what I found.

We can decorate the house for when Lyle and Erik come home.

- They're coming home?

Is it decided?

- No, Mama.

That's not what Henry means.

*

- [speaking Spanish]

- Mama...you already have more candles than the Vatican.

Let's just pray everything goes well.

- [whispering]

- Four days means the jury can't make up their minds.

Daddy, when are you coming out?

Your grandson wants to meet you.

Just pick a date.

We'll--we'll take care of everything.

Okay, love you too. Bye.

- I want a retraction. - [sighs]

- I did not cry during my closing.

Your reporter wasn't even there.

It was my client that cried.

Check the Court TV feed.

A retraction. And don't bury it.

[sighs] Unbelievable.

- Sorry that happened. You want a hug?

The press convicted the boys years ago.

They have to make us look weak and emotional

for defending them.

I found some things in the trial transcript

that might be grounds for appeal.

- An appeal?

You think they'll convict?

- Let me know if you want that hug.

- "Points of fact in law." What's this?

- My 25 facts that prove

Lyle should be convicted of first-degree murder.

- So now you're a lawyer?

- [sighs] Point of fact number one:

if the boys really thought their parents were going

to kill them, they could have looked through

the family room window, checked to see

if their parents had guns.

Point of fact number two...

- What you think they should have done isn't a fact.

- [scoffs] Sarah.

You know I'm right.

Your husband works in the DA's office.

Tell 'em.

- I really think you should listen

to other people's opinions, Dan.

- Now, sit down, and let's have a proper discussion.

- Good luck.

- Look, I don't want to set a precedent here.

But if these boys get off with a slap on the wrist,

every murderer who kills their parents

will say they were abused.

- I don't care about future cases.

Our duty is to this case.

- The prosecutor suggested that Erik learned

molestation details from some kind of homosexual experiences.

- Maybe he learned it from having sex with Lyle.

Right? Maybe those two--

- No, Erik's sexuality has nothing to do

with him being molested.

- I don't buy that whole abuse thing.

- Erik's cousins said he was abused.

And those photos.

Do you have photos like that of your kids?

I sure don't. - Look, I think those boys

could have pushed their dad away if they wanted to.

- Abuse isn't about how strong you are.

It's about the power they have over your emotions.

- Witness answers:

"He told me his father was massaging his pecker.

"He wanted to know if this happens to every kid

with a father and son relationship."

- Thank you, that concludes the read-back you requested.

You may go back to your deliberations.

- Merry Christmas, your honor. - Yes, merry Christmas.

- Thank you. Court is adjourned.

- Hello, Detective. - Counselor.

[sighs]

- Any plans for the holidays?

- I was gonna take the kids to Hawaii,

but I gotta stick it out until there's a verdict.

It's the fourth time this year I've had to push off the trip.

- I am sorry.

- Meh, it comes with the territory.

How about you? How's the little one?

- Yeah, he's wonderful.

It's great to get to spend some time with him.

He's endlessly cute.

But what baby isn't?

[elevator bell dings] - Right.

And then they grow up.

- Erik wouldn't need to ask his cousin.

Any kid would know it's wrong.

- Not if you don't know right from wrong.

- How does he not know that?

- Because the person who was supposed to teach him that

is the one who was molest-- - Where is the proof

that José was doing that to his sons?

There is none.

- We don't need definitive proof.

What we need is a-- - Oh, just stop talking.

I'm sick of your voice.

- Now, come on.

*

- Just look at the way the judge treats their lawyer,

Abramson. He doesn't buy it, either.

- Why is it so hard for you to believe?

We know abuse happens with coaches and priests.

Are you scared to admit that

it could happen between a father and his own sons?

- I'll tell you what scares me.

This man José Menendez pushed his kids,

and so what?

He worked hard to put food on the table.

And for what?

So his kids could kill him?

Is that what being a good provider gets you?

*

- I have two daughters.

One's in college. The other graduated last year.

And this case...

is making me sorry I spanked them when they were little.

- Well, I'm sure your daughters turned out fine.

- How far apart we are...

it'll be a miracle if we can agree on a verdict.

- That's because you're not facing the facts.

Take this cousin Diane Vander Molen, for instance.

She said Lyle told her he was being abused.

She's lying.

- Why do you say she's lying?

- Because he didn't mention it when he testified.

He would've if it was true.

- She said he was eight when he told her.

Maybe he doesn't remember.

- That makes me believe her even more.

If they were gonna lie,

you'd think they'd get their story straight.

- That's women's logic.

*

- [clears throat]

*

I changed my mind.

They were abused.

That's what twisted them,

twisted everything about them.

*

- I get letters thanking me for exposing the abuse.

I get other letters that...

[sighs]

I shouldn't be surprised.

I mean, how can anyone forgive me?

- God knows the truth. He forgives you.

- How can He?

How can my parents?

I want them to forgive me.

- You have to start by forgiving them.

- I'm trying.

I want to.

- God loves you, Erik.

- [sighs]

*

- In the name of the Father and the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

- Thank you, Father.

- Merry Christmas, Erik.

*

- Hey, Erik.

*

Do you remember when Mom and Dad took us

to see "A Christmas Carol"?

Dad thought the theater was so phony.

But he did it because

that's what high-class people in Princeton did.

- [chuckles]

He fell asleep during the show.

- [laughs]

*

- I miss them, Lyle.

- God, I miss them too, little brother.

*

- [sighs]

*

.

- My husband's under a lot of pressure

from the DA's office to get me to vote one way or the other,

but he thinks I should quit the jury,

but I can't.

I've put six months into this.

- What the hell are you doing?

- You're gonna see the results of what those brats did

so that things will be fair.

- You cannot put up some of the evidence

and not all of it. Take those down now.

- No.

I need them up to refer to them.

- Yeah well, pass them around if you need to refer to them.

Take them down or I will.

- Hey, man, just because you're the foreman

doesn't mean you're the boss of me.

- That's exactly what it means.

- Oh, hey, stop it. [overlapping shouting]

- You better step back. Step back.

- We've all been here a long time.

We all want to get out of here.

We all want to get on with our lives.

It's been over three weeks.

Let's just do what we're here to do.

I've thought about it,

and I want to change my vote again.

[tense music]

*

- So you're voting to convict Lyle of second-degree murder?

- Yes. We're allowed to.

- And that means down the line he gets out.

- And I think that's a reasonable thing.

- That ain't never gonna happen, lady.

- If Erik was really being abused,

he would have told Oziel.

- No, José owned Oziel. Erik knew that.

- I'm sick of you women talking about José and Kitty

like they're on trial.

They were good parents, and society would be better off

if more parents were like them.

- They went to every one of their sons' tennis games.

You know who went to my sports games when I was a kid?

Nobody.

What I would have given to have had a dad like José.

- Oh, my God. - Are you kidding?

- I--I feel sorry for you. I do.

But what has that got to do with Erik?

With--with reasonable doubt?

- Let's do another vote.

- And one of her eyes was open.

Kitty had these bright blue eyes.

She saw who killed her.

The sons she gave birth too.

This poor mother.

[sighs] I'm sorry, this is--

This has been a difficult case.

- Erik's jury is coming in.

Might be a verdict.

- Excuse me.

- Have you come to a decision?

- We have not, Your Honor.

We're deadlocked.

Our positions haven't changed after three weeks.

I see no hope for reaching an agreement

on any of the counts.

I'm sorry. We tried.

[courtroom murmuring]

- What does this mean? - Oh, it's good, honey.

If Weisberg declares a mistrial,

I can try to get a deal from the DA.

- I understand this has been difficult.

I know all of you have made sacrifices over the holidays.

But I'm going to ask you to go back

and to try and reach a consensus.

[dramatic music]

- What?

- You can't do that, Your Honor.

- Sit down, Ms. Abramson. - You should consult counsel

before giving the jury instructions.

- I'm fine with the instructions, Your Honor.

- I would like to know what charges are being discussed

and if first-degree murder is off the table.

- Please escort the jury back to the jury room.

- Your Honor, this is unfair.

You have been biased against my client this entire time.

- One more word, Ms. Abramson,

and I will hold you in contempt.

[gavel bangs]

*

[indistinct murmurs]

- That son of a bitch!

Judge Weisberg is the most high-handed,

obnoxious judge I have ever tried a case before.

The Judicial Council should be looking at him.

Erik and Lyle have been plagued by bad parents,

a bad shrink, and now a bad judge.

It makes you wonder what the next disaster is for this case.

- An earthquake measuring 6.7 struck the Los Angeles area

at 4:30 this morning. - Reports of casualties.

- Strong aftershocks are still being felt.

- Sections of the freeway crumbled...

- Entire apartment complexes are collapsed.

- Total devastation... - The Van Nuys courthouse,

site of the infamous Menendez murder trial,

suffered damages.

- Until the damage can be assessed and repaired,

we'll set you up in here.

- Oh, dear God, it smells like sewage in here.

- All right, everyone grab a chair.

- It stinks in here. - We gotta wrap this up.

- Oh, man.

- And how many for voluntary manslaughter?

[tense music]

*

- Everyone's put so much into this.

There are no 12 people in the world

who will ever be able to hear the evidence

in the way that we did,

because so many people followed this trial

and are now tainted by the media.

We owe it to the court to see if we can come

to a unanimous decision.

So would those of us currently voting first-degree

or manslaughter be willing to meet the others

at second-degree?

Raise your hand.

*

Dan, there's 11 of us willing to vote second-degree.

We're gonna need you to come down from first-degree.

*

- We really tried, Your Honor.

We went over all the evidence,

but we just couldn't reach a consensus.

- Are you absolutely sure?

- Yes, Your Honor, we're absolutely sure.

We're at a complete deadlock.

- You're positive?

- Yes, Your Honor, positive.

*

- Then I have no choice but to declare a mistrial.

Thank you for your service. You are free to go now.

The defendants are remanded to custody.

[courtroom murmuring]

[overlapping chatter]

- On behalf of Lyle and Erik, we want to express

our gratitude to both juries for their hard work

in considering the issues in this case.

- Leslie, do you feel like you won?

- Well, victory would be for Erik and Lyle

to walk down the street,

but I am glad that Jill and I had a chance

to shine a light on a kind of abuse

that people want to ignore.

There are people who want to deny it took place

in a beautiful house in Beverly Hills, but it did.

We asked the jurors to have compassion

for two young men who endured it, and they did.

- Excuse me, Jill. Will there be another trial?

- Hopefully not.

- Hopefully District Attorney Garcetti

will save the tax payers money and offer our clients a deal.

- I want Bozanich in here as soon as she arrives.

- Will you take that same gamble in a retrial?

- It's not about whether it was a risky defense.

It was the best defense because it was true.

[dramatic music]

.

- The public is losing faith in us.

We can't even convict confessed murderers.

You were too soft, Pam. You allowed the jury

to fall for that sex abuse crap.

- I did that?

Weisberg let Abramson run wild.

- I can't do much about Weisberg,

but I'm taking you off the case.

David will handle the retrial.

- Fine. I'd rather eat broken glass for a year

than spend another hour in a room with Leslie Abramson.

Good luck.

- No margin for error this time.

We need two convictions.

- So sex abuse, that split the juries.

- Weisberg let the defense run amok.

He's up for reelection.

The county and the justice system

deserve a stronger presence on the bench.

- When there's a hung jury,

often you have to look at the judge.

Either his jury instructions weren't clear

or his rulings were confusing.

Judge Weisberg has a record of hung juries

and controversial verdicts, including the McMartin case

and the Rodney King trial.

- There you are. Jackie sent me to look for you.

Bill Norris is about to speak.

- That's all I need, a lecture from a Ninth Circuit liberal.

And I don't need the contempt of my colleagues.

They're blaming me for Menendez.

- As your friend, I have one piece of advice.

Forget those SOBs.

- It took me two years to get out of municipal court.

If I don't get reelected because of those murderers...

- You're gonna get a chance to rehabilitate yourself

if there's a retrial, or better yet,

if you can get the DA to make a deal with Leslie Abramson,

you're everybody's hero.

- [scoffs] Leslie Abramson?

That woman...

- Keith's face would get redder than a radish.

One time he practically climbed over the table

to get in my face.

- Incredible. - And yet they couldn't

understand the concept of heat of passion.

- Do you know anything about a new trial?

- No, we're hoping for a plea bargain.

- Oh. [phone rings]

- Is that him? - Hello.

Hi, Erik. Yes, they're here.

Can I put you on speakerphone?

- Hello. all: Hi, Erik.

- You guys having a fun night?

[laughter] all: Yeah.

- Erik, it's just so strange to talk to you after all

those months of not being able to say anything to you.

- It's strange for me too.

You guys know a lot of stuff about me.

I don't know anything about you.

- Okay, we're gonna let you go.

We know you have other people to call.

- Okay, I just wanted to thank everyone

for listening to us. It was nice to meet you.

Bye. - Good luck, Erik.

- Bye. - Good luck.

- That's what Erik was hoping for, manslaughter.

He was really upset it didn't happen.

- It's a shame having to wait once more.

- Erik's just upset he's gonna have to testify again.

He's not in good shape.

And they told us today

that they're gonna move me to another row.

So Erik will be alone.

- I can check in on him if he wants.

- Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks, Norma.

Um, I, uh-- I have three calls tonight.

The first is 571-555-0189.

- 571, that's Virginia.

- Yes, someone who wrote me a nice card.

I want to say thank you.

- All right. I'll connect you.

[tense music]

*

[line ringing]

- Hello. - Hello. Is this Martha?

This is Lyle. - Hi. You got my card.

- Yes, I just wanted to say thank you.

- I saw you on the TV last Tuesday.

You looked so handsome.

- It's nice of you to say that, Martha.

[indistinct conversation]

*

- We concede nothing.

Justice isn't a game.

We'll file for a new trial in the Menendez case.

Assistant District Attorney David Conn

will lead the prosecution.

David. - Thank you.

The defense managed to put José and Kitty Menendez on trial

when in reality they were the victims.

This time we'll make that crystal clear.

Leslie Abramson has said in the press

she expects us to offer a plea bargain.

Let me be the first to tell her,

we will not be offering any deals.

- He's just staking out a position.

So Marcia told me that she has taken on a new case.

But I found somebody really good to replace her,

Barry Levin, ex-cop, and he's a damn good lawyer.

I think the three of us will make a really good team.

- Leslie, I can't do another trial.

- I know. Yes, it's gonna be very hard.

- No, I mean, I'm not doing another trial.

- What are you talking about? You can't do that to Lyle.

I'm sorry. That wasn't fair.

- My daughter has changed so much in the last four years,

and I feel like I've missed it all.

I don't know how you manage it with your baby,

but you do.

You're different. You're not like the rest of us.

- Don't blow smoke, please. You know I hate that.

[tense music]

*

Oh... [sighs]

Okay, I get it.

- I have grown to truly care about you, Lyle,

but I have to take care of my family, too.

- That's okay, Jilly.

- There's a friend of mine I'd like you to meet.

His name is Charles Gessler.

He's very respected as a public defender,

and he's an expert in death penalty cases.

- Sure. I'll talk to him.

- I really appreciate you making this easy on me, Lyle.

- You spent so much time away from family.

Family is everything.

- I was only appointed last week.

It'll take at least eight months to properly prepare.

I request that a new trial date be set for January, 1995.

- Foot-dragging, Your Honor.

I'm new to this case. I'm ready to go.

We request a trial at the earliest date.

- I'm ready too, Your Honor. Why don't you sever the trials

so proceedings for my client can begin?

- I'll take it under advisement.

- Can we talk bail?

- Your Honor, the People will be pursuing the death penalty.

That takes bail off the table.

- The DA has been holding our clients prisoner for four years

when they haven't been convicted of anything.

It is outrageous.

- Maybe the solution is a negotiated settlement.

That would be appropriate.

- The brutality of these murders

prohibits us from offering a deal.

- There has been enough bombast on both sides.

I strongly encourage you all to sit down

and come to an agreement.

You'll be doing your clients and the public a favor.

- Let's face it, David, we were this close

to getting a manslaughter verdict for our clients.

- Your defense is bull, and I'll rip it to shreds

in front of you.

- This case puts sexual abuse out in the public.

People are talking about it. Victims are speaking out.

And the jury pool are being exposed on a daily basis.

- The only people who believe that

are on your side of the table.

- If I offered you a deal, you think I'd be able

to face the detectives who stood in the blood

under a ceiling dripping with brain matter?

Your clients are a couple of craven brats

who killed for money, and they're laughing

their asses off at you for thinking otherwise.

You tell your boys to buy some new sweaters,

'cause I'm not offering them a damn thing.

- [exhales]

- Counselor. - Detective.

You know Barry Levin. He's ex-LAPD.

- Working for the other side now, eh?

Boy, Conn was laying it on a little thick.

- Yeah, he's all talk. - Eh, I don't know.

You don't seem to have your old pizzazz.

- Um-- - Don't listen to him.

He's just pimping you.

It's an old cop trick.

- The house in Calabasas was auctioned off to pay taxes.

There's hardly anything left in the estate.

- We can't afford a new trial.

All the experts, the lawyer fees--

- Lyle's new lawyer was appointed by the court

because Jill left.

His fees are paid by the state.

Same thing with Mr. Levin, who replaced Marcia,

and I will use my fees to pay experts.

- Leslie, there's not even enough to pay for you.

I'm sorry.

- I will ask the supervising judge to appoint me

to represent Erik.

That way the state will pay me

about a quarter of my regular rate.

You'll be getting a bargain.

My client is broke, Your Honor.

Neither he nor his family can afford my attorney fees.

I am asking to be made Erik's court-appointed attorney.

- I'm denying your request, Ms. Abramson.

As supervising judge, it is my duty to manage

the very limited resources of the criminal division.

This is one trial where the taxpayers

don't need to chip in.

- Are you trying to force me off the case?

You can't expect me to work for free.

- You've been paid very well.

- I don't like the inference

that I am a moneygrubber, Your Honor.

I have spent 8,600 hours over the past four years

on this case. That is $68 an hour.

- Can I speak? Please? - Erik.

- Please, please. - Erik.

- Your Honor, I beg you.

There is no way I would want to do another trial

without Ms. Abramson.

She's been my lawyer since my life was revealed.

I don't think that I can open up to another attorney.

- I am not relieving her of her position.

As long as you want her to work for you,

she has to work for you,

but the taxpayers of California

will not be footing the bill.

We are adjourned. [gavel bangs]

- I don't understand. They're paying for Lyle's lawyer.

They're paying for Mr. Levin.

- That's because we replaced lawyers who left,

and you want Leslie to stay.

- I can't ask you to work for free.

I'll let you go. I'll say I want another attorney.

- That's what they want. They want me off the case.

We will find a way around this. I'm not leaving you, Erik.

- This trial could take another year, at least.

And then the appeals.

Now, I know how committed you are,

but you can't pretend you can afford to do this.

You have to let Erik fire you.

[somber music]

.

- There's a misconception that Erik and Lyle are rich.

They are not. Not anymore.

I'm not rich either.

And because Judge Mills refuses to make me

Erik's court-appointed lawyer, I may go broke defending him.

As you all know, justice isn't cheap.

It costs a lot to mount a defense,

especially when the DA is hell bent

on killing our clients

and won't even consider a plea bargain.

So we need to raise money.

People have sent in contributions unsolicited,

very modest contributions from ordinary people,

but it gave us the idea to set up a defense fund.

- How much are you hoping to raise?

- We have to spend as much money defending the boys

as Garcetti is spending to kill them.

- Leslie Abramson may have the Erik Menendez Defense Fund.

Well, we have one too.

This came to my office today

addressed to the Erik Menendez Prosecution Fund.

It's for $50, and it's from an attorney in Chicago.

- And we hear that some disc jockeys on KFI

are holding a yard sale and they're donating

the proceeds to the prosecution.

[laughter]

- Garcetti's making it look

like I'm helping the prosecution.

Where's Abramson's motion to reconsider?

[sighs]

This should make things interesting.

- Listen, my grandmother was from Russia.

When I was little, she told me how the Nazis

wiped out our people.

My people, just rolled over them.

I don't wanna get rolled over.

Not by anybody.

I will find a way to pay for it.

- No, you can't pay for everything, Leslie.

- Look, Tim and I talked about getting a second mortgage.

I got a book offer.

- You just won't quit, will you?

- This is why I have an office next to K-Town.

- Judge Mills on line two.

- This is Leslie Abramson.

Uh, okay.

Half?

No, no, no. I accept.

Yes. Thank you, Your Honor.

He reversed himself.

He granted my motion to reconsider.

I am now Erik's court-appointed attorney,

for half my normal rate.

I am now the cheapest famous lawyer in the world.

- Just got a phone call. Mills reversed.

He appointed Abramson.

- Gutless.

That leaves Weisberg.

I read your preliminary witness list.

Oziel, really? - Why not?

- I hear he settled with Judalon Smyth on her lawsuit.

His credibility is shot.

- That's the agreement and the nondisclosure.

- This should end all claims by your client against Dr. Oziel.

- It's kind of like getting a divorce.

- Without the misery of actually being married to you.

- You're so abusive. You're the worst therapist ever.

Go to hell.

How much do you think I could get

for suing "Playboy" for those articles they wrote about me?

- How 'bout me suing "Vanity Fair"?

I'm serious.

- "Our local judiciary's inability to control

"the courtroom and deliver justice has made us

the laughingstock of our criminal justice system."

This is just a shot across the bow.

- What do you mean?

- Well, there's talk they're looking for someone

to run against you in the next election.

[somber music]

*

- I have considered the defense request

to sever the trials. I'm denying it.

Both defendants will be tried at the same time

with one jury.

- Your Honor, waiting for Lyle's attorney

to get up to speed is not fair to my client.

- Two trials isn't fair to the taxpayers.

It is time-consuming and costly.

One trial, one jury.

That's what you've got, Miss Abramson.

We're adjourned. [bangs gavel]

- Your Honor--

*

- I was eight when I saw you do the Run.

Most exciting moment of my life.

- Thank you.

- We just cleaned it for you, Juice.

But we'll be back. Try and take it easy.

[indistinct chatter]

- [Simpson crying]

- Mr. Simpson?

Um, O.J.?

- Who's that? - I'm Erik Menendez.

Um, you came to my house in New Jersey

when my dad worked for Hertz.

- Oh, yeah?

- Yeah, you were so nice to my brother and me.

- [Simpson sniffs]

- It's gonna get better, O.J.

First three days are the worst,

but...

It gets better.

- Mr. Simpson will be charged with two counts

of first-degree murder with special circumstances.

We will not seek the death penalty in this case.

- If anyone doubted the District Attorney

had a double-standard, now we have proof.

What kind of moral or legal decision

would merit the death penalty for two young men

accused of killing their abusers,

but not for a famous wife-beater

accused of killing his ex-wife and her friend?

I think "famous" is the key word here.

You believe this?

I've run off and joined the media circus.

- It pays the Menendez bills,

and everybody gets to see what a smart lady I married.

- I'm not feeling so smart.

Feel like I'm failing at everything,

as a lawyer, as a wife, as a mom.

I don't know if I'm doing the right thing.

.

- Thanks for signing it, Juice. My kid's gonna love it.

- Guys, you think I could get a different pillow?

I couldn't sleep last night.

- No problem, Juice. I'll see what I can do.

Hold onto that.

- O.J.

Be careful about what you say to the deputies.

They seem like they're your friends, but they're not.

- [chuckles] They're just fans.

- No, everything you tell them goes straight to the police.

Don't talk to anyone but your lawyer about your case.

That includes other inmates too.

The jail's full of snitches who'll try to beat

their cases by making yours. You understand?

- Yeah.

Thanks, Erik.

- And your lawyer, Robert Shapiro,

he screwed up my surrender.

I'm facing the death penalty because of him, so...

don't believe everything he says.

- I won't.

Thanks for the heads-up.

- Your Honor, defense has put

almost a dozen experts on the stand,

all testifying essentially about the same thing.

We're asking the court to limit

this quack pack of psychologists.

- It was six experts, not 12,

testifying for two defendants

about a much-misunderstood subject.

- Mr. Conn, I am denying People's motion.

Defense experts are in.

- Your Honor, our motion to exclude testimony

about the Menendez family history is before you.

- That testimony is crucial--

- Ms. Abramson, I did not ask you to speak.

Mr. Conn, your motion is granted.

I am excluding any irrelevant testimony

about the family history.

- Your Honor, please explain "irrelevant."

- Any unnecessary testimony from family members

or friends of the defendants

about physical abuse or psychological bullying.

- You can't do that.

- All such testimony will only be permitted

in the penalty phase.

- That's too late.

The jury needs to hear it during the trial

before they reach a verdict.

My defense is built on imminent fear.

Please, I am not trying to prove

that my client and his brother had a sad childhood.

Their entire sense of safety is at issue.

It makes no sense to present experts

when there is no corroboration from family members

and the people in their lives.

- I disagree.

- Ugh, this is unbelievable.

- I'm looking forward to working with you again too,

Miss Abramson.

Only this time around,

things are gonna be a little different.

For one thing, that will be coming down.

I am excluding all cameras from the courtroom.

We're adjourned.

[dramatic music]

- Wh--what does he mean, no family history?

- Our family can't testify about what happened to us?

- No, but you can, and we'll appeal.

We will find a way to get it in.

*

Weisberg just gutted our case.

- Yeah, I think you were right.

The fix is in.

- And they don't want any witnesses.

- I don't care anymore. I'm just tired of not knowing.

Will I be in jail for ten years?

Will I be in jail forever? Will I be executed?

I just want to know so I can get on

with whatever life I'm gonna have.

- I understand, Erik. We all do.

You just--you have to take it moment by moment.

- Hey, we'll get through this, all right?

I know you can do it.

Just remember, master your emotions.

*

- We should ask to have Erik put on suicide watch.

*

- What happened to O.J.? - He went to another unit.

His lawyer, Shapiro, called. Had him moved.

*

- Ooh, this toy train looks fun.

- I think he's a little young for that.

Oh, this is adorable.

[both chuckle]

- Sold.

[children laughing]

[somber music]

*

[indistinct chatter]

There we go.

*

- [sighs]

- What's wrong?

- Just all these happy kids.

- Yeah.

Why are you crying?

- I don't know.

*

[gate opens]

*

.

[dramatic music]

*

[wolf howls]