Original subtitles

Right here. Oh, you are not.

No, you're not.

Thank you.

She beat me by a step. I took the bite.

Yours are on deck.

Oh, good.

I've got to hurry. I've got the club luncheon today.

Oh, uh... Really?

Mm -hmm.

Looks like we got the account.

Guaranteed. Three flights a week, Los Angeles.

You're kidding.

No, no, I'm going down there today. Firm it up. That's great, Dad.

You weren't talking to him.

You deserve it.

Yes, I do.

I'm, uh, just not hungry.

You've got to eat something.

No, I'm just not hungry. I'm not hungry.

Well, I just made.

See you later.

Honey, have you seen my logbook?

Yeah. By the phone.

Tied around my neck.

What's it today?

Falafel for 40?

You're not going to have a rest at the zoo, are you, Nancy?

Well, actually, I do, and it's an old family recipe.

Where's Jill?

Three guesses.

Great. She'll be late for school again.

I'll go get her.

Okay.

Jill, you have to wake up.

Come on, Jill, you have to get up. I'll be alone.

No, Wendy, you can't borrow it.

But I was just looking at it.

It's not you. It won't even fit.

Give it.

Well, is it not you? I just wanted to look at it. Come on. Let me see it.

stop it. This is my leather jacket.

Let go, Wendy. Let go.

Come on.

Enough.

Get ready for school. She'll eat your breakfast.

Mom, I don't eat breakfast.

You know, signing with me is one thing, but that kid's crazy about you.

She's in the dweeb stage, Mom. I'll bond with her later, okay?

I don't have time for your attitude.

Just get in there, eat what's on the table, and get to school.

Mr. Warden.

Hi.

Oh, Western Juniper's fine.

All right.

I'm impressed.

Thanks.

Come on, let's go. We're going to be late.

Natalie just called.

She can't work the luncheon. I don't know what I'm going to do.

I've got to pick up Wendy at school at 5.

She's working on her science project.

I can't do it. Bill, please.

We'll be back from Los Angeles till 7.

Get Jill to do it. She'll be done. Bill, I can't even get her to school on time.

Not funny.

What? I... You love me.

Yeah, I love you.

Okay, look, fine.

I'll just finish everything, that's all. I'll just do it.

What kind of researcher?

A medical researcher.

I'm thinking of Stanford.

Well, you're certainly good enough in math and science.

But I worry about what it's going to cost when you're ready to go.

You're so good in math and science, you'll probably get a scholarship.

Well, my mom and dad have been saving since I was born.

Do you need something?

No, just...

Surprised anybody else was putting an overtime around here besides me.

Great. Okay, let's start arranging these private flowers and alternate them, all

right?

Thanks so much for coming. I've been lost without you today.

Hi, Jill Sanders, please. It's your mom.

Hello?

Hi, sweetheart.

Hi.

Listen, I need you to do a favor for me.

What? I'm running really late, and you've got to pick up Wendy at school.

Mom, I already made plans to bribe her today.

I'll let you get those earrings.

Yeah, I can bribe.

Good. Thanks.

Don't be late, okay? Five o 'clock. I won't. I won't. Okay.

Wendy, are you sure you wouldn't like me to wait with you?

Mm -mm. Well, I could even give you a ride home myself.

What time is it?

Five to five.

I'm fine with five.

My mom will be here any second. She's never late.

Well, okay.

See you tomorrow, honey. Bye. Bye.

Excuse me. Could you, like, recommend something for somebody who just left

brain in the park at night?

Give me a break, okay?

Oh, my gosh.

You've got nothing to worry about.

Hey.

I'm all yours.

Oh, my God.

What? Oh, my God. My mom told me to pick up Wendy at ten after five. How did

this happen?

Where's my jacket?

I gotta go. I gotta go.

All right.

Still here?

Waiting for my mom.

She's late, huh?

She'll be here any second.

Want to wait inside?

No, I'm okay.

Why don't you use the phone?

Call somebody.

No, I'm okay.

Sure not.

Mm -hmm.

Is she here?

What? Is Wendy here?

What do you mean?

You were supposed to pick her up. I know. I looked everywhere.

I can't find her.

Are you sure? You looked everywhere all over the school. I looked everywhere.

Oh, God. Her books were, like, on the ground in front of the school. Jill,

down. Calm down, sweetheart.

I know something is wrong.

Come on. Let's go.

Uh, I'm coming too. No, you stay here. Try calling her friend.

Like I had to go home with one of her friends or something, right? That's

probably right, honey. Why don't you look down the back there?

One night!

Hello? Carol? Anything?

No. No one's seen her.

Call in the police.

Right away.

Sorry.

You were at 7 .15. I was getting worried.

Decided to run home and clean up a little bit.

I'm flattered. What's the occasion?

The occasion is you're special, Ma.

And I'm buying tonight.

No, Frank, you can't afford it. No, no, no.

Thanks.

You okay?

Fine, Ma.

Well, let's eat.

I'm starving.

Sam,

we're not sure, but we found what possibly could be blood out there. Just

case, I need to know Wendy's blood type.

Just as a formality.

Oh, positive.

We'll be up all night. I've got every available man working on this. We're

to question all the employers at the school and anybody that might see us.

You're going.

No, I want to stay. I know you do. But I think you might be needed at home.

Do you want to sleep?

No, no, she can't sleep.

She's fine.

It's okay.

I know she's okay.

I... I don't know what went wrong, but...

I mean, I'm right.

Hunter?

Yeah.

Is she all right?

I'm not sure.

We found her out by Culbertson Road.

She's been raped.

Beaten. Very, very bad.

She's comatose. There might be brain damage, we won't know for sure until she

comes around.

Neurosurgeon's with her now.

But I mean, so that means she will just be okay, right? No permanent damage or

anything? That's right.

She has a broken left forearm, poor cracked ribs and contusions all over.

look, I've given you the worst part.

The good part is that while she's critical, she's stable. And that's

considering what she's been through.

There's a good chance for a full recovery if she comes out of this coma

next 24 to 48 hours.

Even up to 72 hours. Still promising.

But after that... It was terrible.

I called your mother.

She's on her way.

Police have a couple of leads, but they don't know whether it was somebody she

knew or somebody passing through.

If she doesn't come back, I don't know what I'm going to do.

Carol, honey, it's been decided. Now you're going home. Come on. You're going

make yourself sick.

No.

Come on. You've been up for two days. The doctor said she could come to any

minute. I want to be here. She does.

Come on.

She was waiting downstairs to take you home.

I'm worried about you. So listen, doctor.

I want to be here. I will call you if you think I need you.

Hello?

Oh.

Hi Natalie.

No. No.

There's no change.

Where's your grandma?

She's, like, still in the cafeteria.

You okay?

Dad, I'm sorry.

For what?

I've been feeling so awful.

Oh, no, honey, it's not your fault.

It's not your fault.

I mean, I was the one, you know, who was supposed to pick her up on time.

I just never thought that was...

Your old mom blames me. Oh, she does. Yeah, she does.

My car right now, she didn't talk to me. She didn't look at me.

She doesn't blame you.

Hello? Hello?

Is it from there?

Who is this?

How is she?

How is she?

She kind of pulled through.

Who is this?

Tell me, damn it.

No, no, no. No, you tell her.

You tell her to be quiet, because I can hurt her again.

Thank you.

Carol, what's up?

Is Wendy okay?

Yeah, she's fine. What's wrong?

Just calm down.

I'll call the police.

What's the matter? What's wrong?

Maybe he's under control.

No, it's not.

Not while he's still out there. He won't be for long.

You have to find him.

You have to find him. I don't think you understand.

I think he wants to kill her. Mrs. Sanders, we're very close. And until we

him, we've posted a guard at Wendy's door 24 hours a day. There is no way he

get to her.

She was safe.

Frank Wharton, police.

What the fuck's going on? Get up slowly.

I've got a warrant for your arrest for the rape and assault of Wendy Sanders.

Get up.

I've also got an order to impound your car.

What kind of joke? I didn't do nothing.

You have the right to remain silent. If you give up the right to remain silent,

anything you do, it will be used against you in a court of law.

You have the right to speak to an attorney and to have an attorney present

during questioning.

If you desire and cannot afford one...

Sanders, we got him.

His name is Frank Warden. He's been a janitor at Wendy's school for two

He had two prior charges of molestation in California.

God, how does a guy like that get hired? He's never been in trouble in this

state. He just didn't show up on the screening for the job.

But we have good forensic evidence. The lab found a hair in his car.

It's Wendy's.

Look.

There's going to be an evidentiary hearing in three days.

The judge will review the case and make sure the evidence is good enough to go

to trial. But there's no problem, right? He's the right guy?

It's just a formality. The assistant DA says it's a slam dunk.

Please.

I miss you so much.

You know what?

I can't go running without you.

I need my running mate.

Wendy, please.

That looks like Frank Warden got himself a top attorney.

Well, everybody gets an attorney.

Yeah, well, not everyone gets Ellen Wells.

She was the one that got the cop killer off last year, remember?

Yeah, she's a clever one.

It doesn't matter.

They have him, and they have evidence.

She can't do anything about that.

My son is innocent.

He did nothing wrong.

How can you do this?

How can you defend him after what he's done to my daughter?

No verdict has been handed down yet, Mrs. Sanders, and everyone deserves the

best defense.

Well, I guess you just have to believe that, don't you, just to keep going.

There's no doubt, then, that the hair found in the car registered to the

defendant, Frank Warden, no doubt that the hair came from the victim, Wendy

Sanders? None.

The hair sample found in the car was a perfect match to the one taken from the

Sanders girl.

Thank you.

That's it, Your Honor?

Dr. Hall, I read your report, and I have no doubt whatsoever that the hair you

found in my client's car matches the hair of the victim.

What I do have doubts about are the procedures used by the police once Mr.

Worden's car was impounded.

I don't understand.

No, I don't understand.

Frank Worden's car was taken for an evidence search, but it sat in front of

police garage unguarded for eight hours before you and your team caught it. Your

Honor, is Ms. Wells suggesting that evidence was planted? Not necessarily.

Then what?

Chain of evidence, Your Honor.

Police arrested my client in a house he shares with his mother.

A tow truck towed the car from there to the lab, but it was not escorted by a

police officer. Oh, come on now. Chain of evidence.

From the time the car was taken to the time Dr.

Hall discovered the telltale hair in it, it was left unguarded, unsecured, four

times. A total of nine hours, 25 minutes. Your Honor, there is absolutely

indication whatsoever that any evidence tampering went on. As there is no proof

that any sort of evidence tampering didn't go on, the chain of evidence was

broken not once, but several times. And therefore, such evidence is not

admissible. And even though Mr. Post has dutiously avoided revealing this, the

court must know.

that Frank Warden routinely left his keys in his car, and that any number of

friends and associates knew this, and just as routinely borrowed it, often

without permission.

There is simply no telling how a hair from the victim got into the car.

But setting aside the car now, was there any other forensic evidence found on

the victim herself? Any blood, tissue, or semen?

No blood, tissue, or semen from the victims of Thalen was found, no.

That's all, Dr. Hall. Thank you.

Your Honor, since the evidence against my client is tainted... Wait.

We do know that the accused was the only one in the school at the time. No, we

don't. He was seen at the school before 4 o 'clock, but no one can place him

there after that. And we know the victim wasn't abducted until closer to 5.

Mr. Worden was gone by then, and I have a witness who can verify that.

Raise your right hand.

Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,

help you God?

Yes, I do.

Be seated.

Mrs. Warden, did you meet with your son on the night in question?

Yes.

That's the night we have dinner together every week.

Where do you meet?

At Armand's restaurant out near the interstate.

Do you have a special time you meet?

At five o 'clock, always.

And was Frank late?

He was right on time.

Would you lie under oath to protect your son?

No, Ms. Weld, I would not.

Thank you.

Your Honor, I know detectives questioned restaurant personnel regarding the time

Frank Warden showed up that night.

They serve hundreds of people a day there. No one could say exactly what

Mr. Warden was there. No, but they could verify that he was indeed there.

Your Honor, the district attorney's office rushed to indictment on this

which is understandable considering the crime.

But we must separate the emotions in the community from the process of law with

which we're charged.

Since there is not enough evidence against my client, I move that all

against him be dismissed.

Mr. Post, if your office turns out more conclusive evidence, you may pursue a

new indictment against the defendant.

For now, I have no choice but to dismiss all charges against you.

All rise.

Yeah,

I bet you want to talk to me.

uh uh

What was it doing in your bag, Carol?

I know that sounds strange, but I didn't even remember that it was in there.

I don't care if you forgot. I wanted to do that.

Do you think I planned this?

Do you?

No.

I don't know what to think. This whole thing is a nightmare.

We made bail. Yeah? How?

How?

That couldn't have been enough.

I had to put up part of your business, too. Oh, jeez.

Thank you, Jack. I appreciate it.

So what do we do now?

Well, you're going to get your wife a decent attorney.

Well, I assumed you people would be doing that. Bill, I'm her corporation

tax attorney. I'm not equipped to handle Carol's case.

Nobody in my firm is.

I'll help you get the best attorney in town.

Believe me, she's going to need it. Yeah.

In the eyes of the law, she shot an innocent man.

And if he dies, she could be tried for murder. Mr. Sanders, can you tell me

your wife is going to plead?

Well, I'm sorry, I have no comment.

Will it be justifiable homicide, or is she going to plead temporary insanity?

Mr. Sanders told you he has no comment. Excuse me, excuse me.

Are you Carol Flanders' husband?

Yes. I just wanted to tell you how brave that I think your wife is.

Brave? That man.

deserved everything he got, and your wife was the only person who had the

to do it. I saw everything on TV.

Please, tell her that I'm rooting for her, and I'm not the only one.

Better be prepared, Bill.

This is just the beginning.

Will you plead temporary insanity?

Mrs. Sanders, who's your lawyer?

How do you see yourself, Mrs.

Sanders, as a vigilante or a hero?

Who's your lawyer? Do we have a comment, please?

The doctor today said you're getting so much better.

You're such a strong girl.

I want to know how you're fighting.

She was deeply unconscious before.

Now she's just barely under. So what does that mean?

Physically, she's out of her coma.

Psychologically, she's in withdrawal.

She's just not ready to remember.

So you're saying she'll come out of that too then, right? Oh, yes.

And when she does, she's going to need all of your support and the best

psychiatric help that's available.

I really need to get back.

Yeah, listen.

I'm worried about Jill.

Jill?

The girl who hardly comes to see her. She doesn't come here because you're

and she knows you're here, and she thinks you don't want to see her. That's

ridiculous.

Well, maybe not.

You hardly ever talk to her. Wendy needs me more than Jill does right now.

Maybe not.

She thinks you blame her for this.

Maybe you do.

That is so unfair.

Look, we need to be a family right now, Carol. We need to be together.

There's something else I need to talk to you about, too, now. We've got to

choose a lawyer.

Now, you haven't met with any of those people that Brody suggested. I thought

you were going to take care of all that. Look, I met with all of them, but you

have to make the choice.

It's your lawyer.

You've got to choose.

I mean, you've got to take some responsibility here, Carol.

I'm the one that's up there holding her hand, talking to her, willing her to

come back every moment. Well, who's going to do that if you go to jail,

Who's going to do that if you're convicted?

Now we're in a hell of a jam here. We need to find the best possible criminal

lawyer we can.

You can't be serious.

I am.

I saw you in action, and I think you're brilliant.

And I want you to be my attorney.

Mrs. Sanders, I only agreed to meet with you as a courtesy.

If I'd known you were going to ask me to represent you, I never would have let

you in here.

Frank Warden is still alive. I still represent him.

I'm afraid that's all I'm allowed to say to you legally.

If you would like me to have my secretary compile a list of criminal

I could do that.

Well, I do have one more question.

How can you defend people like him?

Criminals. Guilty people.

How can you live with yourself?

I could ask you the same question.

I'm not the one who shot a man in cold blood.

Do you have children, Ms. Wells?

Yes.

Do you love them? Of course.

Would you do anything in your power to protect them, you know, from anyone,

anywhere? Mrs. Sanders, that's not the issue. Well, I'm not proud of what I

And I live with that every day.

But Frank Warden was not an innocent man.

And we both know that.

He was guilty as sin.

And you let him go free.

The man who raped my 12 -year -old daughter.

and left her for dead.

You let his mother lie under oath.

You knew all about it, and you let it happen.

All of it.

You may not have killed a man, Ms. Wells, but you are every bit as guilty

am. I'm only guilty of representing my client to the best of my ability.

In this country, you're innocent until proven guilty.

Even you.

Mrs. Worden.

Go away.

Mrs. Worden, I'm in trouble. I need your help. Go away.

Mrs. Worden, I can't go to jail.

My daughter needs me. She's very sick.

Because of something your son did to her.

I know that it would be very hard to believe that, but it's true.

And you know it.

Please, I just need you to tell the truth. Get out of here.

Mrs. Warden, he will do it again.

Just hear me out. I can't hear you out, Mrs. Sanders.

I don't have the time. I have something that I have to do.

I have... I have to bury

my... Son, Frank

died an hour ago.

You're a murderer, Mrs. Sanders, and you're going to jail for a very long

And while you're there, you can think about how your child needs you and about

how I don't have mine anymore because of you.

God, I don't believe you. Ellen Wells, what in the hell is the matter with you?

What were you thinking? You said to get an attorney, the best I could find.

She's the best, isn't she? That's not the point. Isn't she the best? The point

is, she's the one that's responsible for the... The point is, she's not going to

represent me anyway. So, this whole conversation's useless.

I spoke to Brody.

He recommended Sibitsky, Graboff, and Lee.

They have a meeting there tomorrow.

Well, good. That's good. But let's not fight. I don't want to fight.

We're on the same side, right?

Right?

Not fighting.

Tell me.

Tell me what?

About what happened.

About Mr. Warden.

About what you did.

There'll be lots of time to talk about that later.

Just wipe the tears with all your energy and all your guts.

No.

Of course not.

I should have let Mrs. Hyde take me home. No, it's not your fault.

I don't understand.

Mr. Gordon was nice to me.

He was my friend.

I trusted him.

Why did he hurt me?

Why did he want to hurt me?

I'm not sure anybody does.

What about you?

Are you going to be okay?

God, this is so strange, Grandma.

I mean, this one says, Mom's to run for Congress.

And then one yesterday said she's no better than Frank Warden.

There used to be such a normal phenomenon.

Why, Jill?

How could you?

After all your sister's been through. What happened? What's going on?

She's making a little progress, just as she's starting to get a little better.

You decide that she has to know about the trial, the murder, the shooting.

What are you thinking?

What are you thinking? Mother, she asked me.

Okay, she had heard people talking about it. Oh.

Well, I think that's an excuse.

And I think it's typical.

What was I supposed to do, lie to her?

You wish it were me, don't you?

You wish it were me in the hospital, not Wendy.

Not your favorite.

That's insane.

And I am sick of hearing you say things like that. I don't want to hear that

anymore. True.

You've always loved Wendy more than you've loved me.

I didn't know why you wanted to hurt me.

before he started hitting me real hard.

I knew I was going to die.

And I woke up in the hospital.

I thought I was in heaven.

I thought I was dead.

Who was the first person you saw?

Mommy.

She was the first person I wanted.

And the first person I saw.

And what did you think?

I was just happy.

I don't want to worry about Mommy.

Dr. Olsen, I don't want her to go to jail.

Thought we said everything we had to say in your office.

Things are different now, Mrs. Sanders.

Frank Warden is dead.

I thought about what you said.

A lot.

I've always believed that every person deserves the best defense possible.

There's no way for me to understand why Frank Warden did what he did, but I do

understand what you did. I understand your frustration and your rage.

Whether you planned it or not, even if he was guilty, what you did was wrong.

But... If it had been my daughter that he raped, if he had tried to

kill my daughter... I don't know what I would have done.

In answer to your question, yes.

I would like to represent you.

She's working through it. It's tough.

Wendy's dealing with so much, but she's getting better each day.

Your being here every day has been extremely important.

Thank you.

That's what I wanted to talk to you about.

My trial is starting soon, and I won't be able to be here as much as I've been,

but Wendy's dad will and her sister as much as possible.

Still some rough times ahead, but she's getting better each day.

No, I mean, I'm just, like, way in the back of the picture. No, you're not.

Brian, really.

Her priorities are all laid out. She's taking care of Wendy, getting ready for

trial, trying to keep Dad from going insane.

After that, there's not much time left for me.

Just tell her that... And Brian, I've tried.

Tried a hundred times.

I think it was like this even before anything happened.

Don't stop.

I don't think everyone in the neighborhood has seen you yet.

So you happy?

Do I look happy?

I know you should.

Got to get out of me and make Brian feel real bad.

I know you don't like him. I don't care.

He is always there for me.

I think we're all aware of that.

have been some other way to do it, you know.

To let me know you didn't like what we were doing besides doing your whole

scene.

It was pretty damn embarrassing.

No.

Embarrassing if your daughter almost died.

And it's taking months to come back and your other daughter sits parked in front

of the house with her boyfriend, necking, so the whole neighborhood...

blame me, don't you?

What are you talking about now? For what happened to Wendy?

If only I had been here just two minutes sooner.

You think about it every second. I don't blame anyone.

Except Frank Warden. That's a lie.

Joe.

I love you.

But I don't understand you sometimes.

You don't seem to think of anyone's problems but your own. And I don't have

time or the energy.

To deal with those right now.

Why don't we just admit it? You have never had the time or the energy to deal

with me. You don't want to deal with me. That is so not true.

Yeah, because the truth hurts, doesn't it? Just leave me alone.

You get away from me right now. Stop it. Now, listen.

You know how this goes? Let me tell you how this goes. You both just yell until

you get louder and louder. And then one of you says something that you'll

regret. And then you don't speak for a while. And then when you do, the whole

damn thing starts over again. So please.

Jill, stop it.

I cannot believe I got into that with her.

Oh, come on, Tim.

This kind of last -minute crap is beneath you.

Well, it used to be.

It's a pu - One shot. Shoot at my expert and maybe you'll get lucky and hit him.

Please.

So you're not backing off?

Can you believe it? Less than two weeks until the trial and the special

prosecutor from the DA's office wants to exclude our expert witness.

The psychiatrist?

The pre -trial hearing is tomorrow and he's hoping to weaken our temporary

insanity defense. It's a low blow.

It's close to the trial, especially since the judge is such a hardliner. But

he disallows our shrink?

I'll find something else and fight like hell with it, I promise you.

Who knows, we might be able to play this into a continuance.

That'll be good. I'm sure that'll be fun.

What's wrong?

I had a fight with Jill, and, uh...

We said some really ugly things to each other, and she took off, and I don't

know where she is.

I realize how hard this must be for you and your family, but you've got to focus

on the trial.

The pretrial hearing is tomorrow, and you need to concentrate on that.

Excuse me.

Jill Sanders' mother called a little bit ago.

Sure, of course.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Sanders. I still haven't seen her. She hasn't been by.

What about Brian?

Have you heard from him?

No, I checked with the rest of the employees.

No one's heard a word.

Is Jill okay, Mrs. Sanders? Is she in any trouble?

Oh, I hope not. Thank you.

Brian? Where's Jill?

Brian?

Talk to me. I need to know where she is. She's my daughter.

I don't know.

I looked every place I thought she might be.

I couldn't find her.

Call me if you hear from her.

So, Miss Wells, where's your client? Doing a talk show?

No, Your Honor. In fact, my client is turned down. All requests for all

Please, Miss Wells, spare us a media update.

Where is she?

Your Honor, Mrs. Sanders has been so preoccupied with caring for her daughter

that she can barely keep track of what hour it is, let alone what day.

I'm sure you're not trying to sell me some sort of a schedule mix -up,

Correct, Your Honor.

All right. Now, regarding Mr. Reimer's motion to exclude your expert witness,

Dr. Green, motion denied.

Now, the next time we see each other, I want Carol Sanders here.

She will be. She'd better, because I've set a firm trial date for Monday morning

at 9 a .m. before Judge Roth. She will be here, I promise.

Well, if she isn't, I'm going to issue a bench warrant for her arrest, which

means her bail is revoked and she'll be spending her trial in jail.

All right.

Mr. Sanders. I don't know where the hell she is.

and looking everywhere for her. She's got to realize this judge will eat her

alive. I told her that. I told you that. How could you let this happen? I didn't

let this happen. There's a lot of stuff that's been going on at our home. I know

that. I know how tough it is, but she's got to get her priorities straight.

Well, that's quite a statement coming from someone like you.

It would seem to me that the first priority would be to get Carol

Look, you just do for her what you did for Frank Ward and we'll get along.

That's what I'm trying to do, but I can't do anything if she doesn't show

Right, fine.

I've been thinking about what you said.

That I... I blamed you for what happened to Wendy.

Maybe I did.

I couldn't blame someone.

Anyone. I was... I was in so much pain.

I... But it wasn't fair, Joe.

I couldn't admit the truth that I blame myself.

I couldn't face the truth.

That's why I was so angry at you and everybody.

Mom, none of this was your fault.

No.

None of this you are not to blame.

Maybe Dad's right.

Maybe none of us are to blame.

Maybe it's just you and I quit pointing fingers at each other.

You know, it just seems like we're always fighting or yelling or something.

I mean, maybe we should just, you know, we're never

just able to talk.

Hello, Mrs. Hyde. Mr. Sanders.

How's Wendy?

Oh, she's getting better every day.

I'm so pleased to hear that. I can't tell you.

This is everything from Wendy's desk and all of her... I kept putting it off

until I admitted she wasn't coming back to school this year. It was

terrible what happened to her. We were all just heart sick.

Did you hire him?

Custodial help comes to the district office.

Yeah, but you're the principal. You had to approve him, right?

He passed all the standards we apply to our applicants.

There was no way we could have... But didn't you check his records? I mean, he

had two child molestation charges in California. We only check on a statewide

basis, and there was no file on him.

So what you're saying is that...

There could be people like Frank Wooden. That's how it's done, Mr. Sanders.

It's no excuse, but that's how it's done.

Wendy is a lovely child, and I'll be sorry for what happened to her for the

of my life.

And you'll make sure this never happens again.

No, not yet.

Wendy, you look great.

Not bad.

I think I'm scared.

Isn't that silly?

No, maybe that's not silly.

It's good.

I mean, it's all my friends.

People I like.

People that like me.

I feel... different.

And they're still the same.

Do you think they'll still like me?

More.

They'll like you more.

Wendy, everybody out there thinks that you are just...

Like the bravest person in the world.

You've been so strong for so long.

And they all just love you and admire you for that.

So do I.

Enough to let me borrow your leather jacket?

Yes, enough to let you borrow my leather jacket.

Okay.

I'm ready.

Oh, Bill.

Yeah. We need some more lemonade.

Oh, just one minute. Oh,

my God, I don't believe it.

More letters every day.

And from places I've never even heard of.

Bill? Yes?

Have you given any thought to what might happen to Carol if she's convicted and

she... Yeah.

Yeah.

I think about it all the time.

I think about nothing else.

Me too.

You know, it's first degree. She could get life.

What'll happen to her?

What'll happen to us?

you're going to jail for a long time.

Tell us, Carol.

How did you feel when you heard the charges against Frank Warden were being

dropped? I'll try.

Shock at first.

Complete shock and disbelief.

Everybody knew that he was guilty.

I have to object to that.

Sustained.

Whatever your feelings were, the evidence didn't work out.

Well, I got the impression, and I had that impression from Detective Metcalf

the district attorney.

That they had evidence that there was no doubt about who had raped and beaten my

daughter almost to death.

And that whoever had done it would be punished for it. So I felt outraged.

Okay. What else did you feel?

Most intense hatred I've ever known.

I hated him more than I thought anyone could.

It was crippling.

What happened next?

When the judge said that he could go free, I got up and I dropped my purse,

that's when I saw it. I saw the gun, and I picked it up,

and I looked up at him, and he was laughing.

I saw Frank Gordon laughing.

Do you usually carry a gun?

No, never. It was my husband. He keeps it for protection.

I didn't even like having it in the house.

What were you doing with it?

Someone had called and threatened my daughter's life, and I panicked. I got

gun, and I put it into my purse.

You told police of the threatening call. Did they take the threat seriously?

They took it seriously enough to put a policeman outside Wendy's room. Okay.

You were in the courtroom.

You saw the gun.

Then what happened?

Something snapped in me. I lost control.

It was like I was watching myself from the outside, looking at myself and not

being in the middle of it.

Lovely daughter.

When you reached for the gun in your purse, did you intend to kill Frank

No.

I didn't intend anything.

It was like my system was overloaded and I was being pushed to a place I'd never

been before.

I know that might be hard to understand.

No, I think that many of us could begin to understand that.

Carol, did you plan to kill Frank Warden that day in court?

No, I did not.

At the time you shot Frank Warden, did you know who he were?

I don't understand.

Well, you are Carol Sanders, yes, and you've always been Carol Sanders.

So on that day...

Did you think you were someone else?

No, I did not.

So you were fully aware of who you were the whole time, correct?

Yes, that's correct.

And did you know where you were then?

Yes, I did.

Did you know who Frank Warden was? You didn't forget his identity, did you? I

knew only too well who Frank Warden was.

You pulled a gun from your purse. You put your finger on the trigger, aimed

At Frank Warden and shot him dead. Is there a question, Your Honor? Because

is all on video. It's not disputed. Question. At the second you pulled the

trigger, did you want Frank Warden to be dead?

At that very second, I guess I must have wanted him dead.

But I didn't plan it.

supposed to be the father. I'm supposed to be there to protect her.

And you and I didn't. I wasn't there.

I wasn't there for any of you.

I let you down.

You didn't let us down.

You did everything you could. There's nothing more you could have done.

How are we going to survive?

Detective Metcalf, who brought the charges against Frank Warden?

Assistant D .A. Post.

Did Mr. Post believe he had sufficient evidence for a conviction?

He said it would be a slam dunk.

But it wasn't, was it? But it should have been.

Case unraveled.

I never had a case that was quite like it. No, that was anything like it.

We should have followed procedures a little more closely, especially

the evidence.

What did you want to do?

I don't understand.

You were convinced he was guilty, but he was going to walk away from it. Did you

have any reaction to that?

I wanted to kill him.

I'm a father.

For just a second, I was thinking.

Well, I wasn't thinking.

I was so angry and so frustrated, and I'd worked so hard.

I guess I went a little crazy for a second insane just temporarily

yes

Tell us how this happened, Dr. Green. She suffered two severe shocks.

Once when the charges against Frank Warden were dropped.

The second time when she felt the gun in her hand.

She lost all touch with reality in what's known as a dissociative state.

She felt nothing, heard nothing, saw nothing. She just reacted.

There was no way she could have stopped herself.

The defense asks you to believe.

that a woman with a normal childhood and no history of mental problems forgot

she had a loaded gun in her purse.

And they want you to believe that she was insane for only a minute and isn't

held accountable for her actions during it.

A minute, by the way, in which she did something she now admits she very badly

wanted to do.

Kill a man.

She hated with every fiber of her being. I think that's just too much to ask you

to believe.

The answer that deserves is a verdict of guilty in the first degree.

Now, there's one more issue here that needs to be addressed.

Justification.

The crime committed against Mrs. Sanders' daughter is the kind of thing

stirs up vengeful emotions in most of us. It makes us want to get up.

and go set things right, doesn't it?

But we can't work that way.

We have laws.

We have police.

We have court.

When we feel justified in enforcing the law for ourselves,

well, chaos is right around the corner.

Last night, saying goodnight to my son, I thought about how I would react if

someone hurt him in a brutal, degrading, painful way.

And how I'd feel if that person was somehow let go.

Given the sudden opportunity to right that wrong, would I be able to control

myself?

I know it's... for a mother who loves her child as much as I love mine and as

much as Carol loves hers to lose control.

Carol finally ran out of control.

She'd been using all her strength to hang on, and on that day in this

she simply ran out of control.

She's a woman whose heart was torn apart by a violent, senseless

act.

What she did was neither planned nor premeditated. I know you know that.

And you understand that. And I'm asking you to acquit her by reason of temporary

insanity.

All rise.

You may be seated.

Has the jury reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

What is the verdict?

We find the defendant guilty of manslaughter.

Sanders, please stand.

The verdict of this jury now becomes the judgment of this court.

I pronounce you guilty of the crime of manslaughter.

Order. Order.

I'm setting a sentencing hearing for two weeks from today. The penalty for

manslaughter is less severe.

I can't wait.

I've got to know right now.

Your Honor, may I confer with my client before you dismiss the court?

Ms. Wells, this is highly unusual.

Please, Your Honor.

Very well.

Rex, I'm dead.

We can't spend two weeks waiting. We have to move on. We have to keep going.

Your Honor, my client seeks closure to this.

Her emotional journey over the last few months, as we've revealed, in this trial

has been incredible.

What are you requesting?

Mrs. Sanders is ready to hear her sentencing as soon as possible.

Granted.

Pending no objection from the prosecutor.

Tomorrow, then, at 10 a .m., I'll review my notes and hand down the sentence.

Thank you, Your Honor.

All rise.

With Judge Roth's sentencing patterns, you're going to draw five years more

likely. You could be paroled in three and a half years, and I'm not done. I'm

filing an appeal, and I'm going for a sentence reduction as soon as possible.

But, I mean, she's going to jail tomorrow, right?

I'm so sorry.

I'm scared.

Yeah. Well, I think that's permissible.

Listen.

Whatever happens, you've already been through the worst.

Now you and I know that watching Wendy go through this is the worst thing that

can ever happen.

She's going to be fine.

So are you.

Hmm?

Your Honor, the state requests the maximum sentence, 10 years in prison.

Ms. Wells, anything?

Thank you.

I would ask, please, that you remember the tragedy my client has endured, all

she's had to go through, and especially the fact that her daughter's recovery,

though significant so far, is incomplete, and that Mrs. Sanders has

integral to it.

Does anyone else have anything to say about this matter before the court

its decision?

I do, Your Honor. Who spoke?

Miss Worden, I would like to say something.

Come forward, Miss Worden.

It's important for me to say this. I don't know what it means to you, Your

Honor. I mean you're going to do what you've decided.

But I want you to know how I feel.

Go on, Miss Worden.

I loved my son. He was my only child.

All I lived for.

But things didn't work out for him.

I did what I could, but he always had trouble.

He got into trouble.

I lied to you.

I had to.

He's my child.

But I didn't think that it would lead to Frank getting let go.

I thought you'd all prove what he'd done and he'd be punished.

But I wasn't going to help you to do it.

I'm his mother.

But he did do it.

And I'm so ashamed.

I mean, that was beautiful little

girl.

She suffered so much and she'll keep on suffering.

He didn't tell me, but I knew because I knew him so well.

Your Honor, if you send her to jail, it won't bring back my son.

It won't make what he did to her daughter go away. It won't erase

the terrible, ugly thing that he did.

It won't do anything except make our misery last longer.

Wendy's hers and mine.

Thank you, Mrs. Wharton.

I'm ready to hand down my decision now.

The beauty of our legal system is overall that it works, all on its own.

If we perceive that it is not working, we do not have the right to take our own

corrective measures, especially violent ones.

If we do that, we will not have a just society.

Mrs. Sanders, for the crime you have been convicted of, manslaughter, I had

originally intended a sentence of six years.

as this is unlike any case I've ever had, and after long, long consideration

owing to the many tragic and extenuating circumstances, I am reducing that

sentence to three years.

With good behavior, that sentence is reducible to 24 months.

And I am allowing weekend visitations with your family so that you may begin

healing process.

It's been long overdue.

This court is adjourned.