Original subtitles

There's no way to answer to that.

and hear what you get.

This is it. This is the big one, the one we've been waiting for, right?

And we both know you're going to be the first woman in the big, right?

If the picture's your name on it, just wait for it, okay?

Who made me queen for a day?

Just eggs.

Morning, Pop.

Morning, sweetheart.

Street wild?

Pretty good.

Good.

I don't know why I subscribed to this trout rapper.

Oh, goody.

Eggs for a change.

Thank you, sweetheart.

She finishes her breakfast, she puts her food on a plate, and she cleans up the

mess she made.

Hmm? Nah.

You ever heard of a plate?

Plate? Never.

Now I know where she gets her smart mouth.

Mom says I get my smart mouth from you.

I swear I have never won an argument with a woman between the ages of 8 and

Do your old grandpa a favor, would you?

Put your food on a plate.

Now you can go.

I can't tell you what a relief it is to have you and Sam back in town again.

After my divorce with one lonely old country boy. Don't you get to see your

kids? Oh, she moved them down to Florida. It makes it kind of hard for

visits. Oh, no.

Yeah. What about Marlene?

Oh, what about Marlene?

When, Cook?

Marlene's okay.

I'm just passing the time, you know. What kind of passing the time are we

talking about?

Well, you are a nosy little snoop, aren't you? Just like when we were

up.

Good kid.

She's just so damn ornery.

From the fights.

She's been getting worse every minute since her dad died.

Yeah, she's probably really hurting, especially if she was close to him.

Same thing happened to me when my dad died.

She's so closed up.

Sometimes I used to feel like a third wheel around them.

They had their own private language, always laughing about something.

She really misses him.

Yeah.

Maybe you could talk to her. I mean, after she got the Wynne Cook stamp of

approval, it's been a hell of a lot easier making friends around here.

Well, like Sam, she tolerates me. She idolizes you.

She's such a tomboy.

Go get it. Go get the stick.

All right, bring it here. Hey, I'm right here. If you think it'll do any good,

I'll talk to her.

Yeah.

That'd be great.

Hey, cowboy.

How about some swimming?

No, maybe later. Hey, come here. Come on. I won't get you.

Hey.

Whoa, gotcha.

Hey, what are you, playing to the water or something?

Time for some target practice.

Sammy, come here.

I want you to go take those cans and put them up on that log right over there.

There? Yeah, that's right.

You ever shoot a gun before?

No. Well, it's something we all learn around here.

Go on, do it now.

How old were you, Jody?

I don't know, 8 or 10 maybe.

Yeah.

That's right.

Now, the trick is to just relax.

You want to aim a little bit low because the kick's going to knock the gun up

just a notch. Put your finger right there, and then squeeze.

And the folks in Canada are going to sleep better tonight because of that.

Come on, Mom, let's see you try.

I'm not much for guns. I haven't held one of those in 15 years.

If I remember correctly, Jody, you were a rotten thot.

No? Come on back here.

Look out.

Remind me never to get into an argument with your mom.

How about a little bet? Loser cleans up.

You know what? I'll just clean up and spare myself the humiliation, all right?

Mom, can I have one more shot?

Sure.

doctor got a cancellation at the last minute.

You know how difficult it is to get an appointment.

Why am I explaining this to you?

I'm the parent, you're the child. I'll pick you up at Wynn's by dinner time.

I just feel like going with you.

You're going to have a great time at Wynn's.

He's got a surprise for you. Surprise?

sure you don't have a bronco hidden somewhere you're not telling me about.

So you hungry?

Uh -huh. All right, I'll go make some sandwiches.

Why don't you head on in the barn?

Okay.

You're walking like a real cowboy now.

I got some tuna, ham and cheese, and I bought a couple of turkeys down here.

Ham and cheese.

Okay. Hey, darling, you want to grab me a beer? Help yourself to a soda.

Boy, you must be kind of sore after all that bull riding, huh?

Well... What's over here?

Oh, if your daddy was still alive, you'd have a special relationship with him,

just like we do, right?

Because that's how fathers show affection to their sons and their

daughters, you know?

Girls who understand a man's world like you do.

I haven't told anybody, have you?

You told me not to.

What we do is kind of a ritual, you know.

Because your daddy's gone, I'm kind of just taking his place.

Because I care about you just as much as he did.

And you know your mama wants us to be special friends, too.

You know that?

Mm -hmm.

You miss your daddy.

I miss my little girls.

But you are as pretty as they are any day of the week.

Hey, when a guy compliments a girl, she's supposed to say thank you.

Thank you. Yeah, that's better.

You know what jealousy is, don't you?

It's whenever somebody wants something that somebody else has.

That's right.

You know, everybody would want the special relationship that we've got.

You know, even your mama would be jealous.

She's happy now. I mean, she's the happiest she's been since before your

died.

That's what she told me.

Isn't that what she told you?

Well, see, that's what I think.

Jack Sparrow to see the game?

Nah, who cares?

Yeah, we'd be playing right now, but you have to be a tough guy.

What happened to you?

I fell off my bike. It's nothing.

Oh, honey.

Look at you.

Let's see.

Sam, honey, I want you to take your clothes off and put this gown on. Tie it

the back, okay? Your mom will help you.

No, I'm okay.

Well, we won't know that until I take a look at you, will we? I'm fine.

I don't even see why we had to come here.

Sam, honey.

I'm not the enemy.

I'm just going to take a look. I promise I won't hurt you.

There's no reason to be afraid of Doc Cunningham, honey.

I promise.

That's a big girl.

Jody, you and I have known each other all our lives.

Edna, is there something wrong with Sam?

Sam's not sick.

But when I was examining her, I found signs of... I think Sam's been molested.

That's not possible.

Jody, it is probable.

She jammed herself on her bicycle seat. Of course she's bruised.

I found pre -existing bruising.

She's an active child. She's fearless. Just the other day, she parachuted off

the roof of the bed sheet.

I found other signs of abuse.

Jody, what are you arguing for?

If she's been abused, don't you want to know?

Jody, did this happen to you?

Your stepfather?

Is that why you ran away from home?

to report this to Spence and Child Protective Services. I don't want a lot

strangers all over my baby.

I'll talk to her.

No, talk to Spence.

Trust me on this.

The laws are so complicated.

What I strongly suggest you not do is talk to Sam about this.

That's crazy. She's my daughter.

The way these cases go, we find out who did this.

He has a smart lawyer who says the words were put in Sam's mouth by some

individual who has a vested interest in having the child fabricate the abuse.

How could someone get anything from saying a child was abused?

Jody, I know this is horrible for you, but we have to follow proper procedure

we're to have any hope of putting the son of a bitch away. Are you telling me?

that some pervert can use my daughter for his own sick sexual needs and I

even talk to her about it? Jody, please, I'll arrange for Sam to talk to the

proper people. Please, let the professionals do their job.

I'm her mother.

I'll be a hundred before I finish this.

And then you'll start another one.

What do you think?

It's wonderful.

Sam, remember when we were in Chicago and you told me your teacher talked

how some adults touch kids in ways they shouldn't?

Yeah, first grade, Miss McGrath. She had bad breath.

If anything like that happened to you, I'd want you to tell me.

Sure.

You'd tell me if something like that had already happened, wouldn't you?

Mom, stop worrying.

Nothing like that has ever happened.

Play with the doll?

Play with the truck?

Anything you want.

I don't play with dolls.

These dolls are neat.

Under their clothes, they have undershirts and underpants. And with

they're just like real people.

That's cruel.

Are you all right?

Can I get you anything?

No, thanks.

Hi pumpkin, you hungry?

Come on, have your supper.

Sam's play indicates that she was sexually molested by an adult male.

Oh, my gosh. She's angry and she's afraid.

Who on earth could have done it? If we want to put this man behind bars, Sam's

coming forward can't seem invited or coerced. Are you saying I can't ask my

daughter who did this to her?

That's right.

Well, then what am I supposed to do?

Lock her up? Follow her?

Ask every man I've ever known if he sexually molested my daughter?

And what if this...

Play therapy doesn't work.

But she never tells.

Okay, Bobby.

That's it. Run him down. Throw the ball now.

Good play.

Now, Tommy, throw it back.

Put the tag on him.

Hey. Hey.

Bunch of us are going into billing Saturday night.

Good play.

And if yours truly waits for you to ask her, we probably won't get there until

everybody else is back in church Sunday morning.

That's the way, buddy. Nice going.

You know what? I've got a great idea.

Now, a bunch of us are going dancing on Saturday night.

Yes, I would consent to be your date.

You would.

Hey,

Judy. Hi.

I swear I'd like to sew him in a burlap bag and throw him in the river.

Listen, I gotta run.

Bye. Bye.

Don't roll your eyes at me when I'm cutting.

Now, do you think that you can play baseball without getting into a fight?

Yes, sir.

All right. Then hit the field.

Okay.

I'm worried about Sam.

Is she okay?

Stop cutting him.

Somebody's molested her.

Are you sure?

Yeah.

Hey, John, you want to take to practice?

I got it, man.

What are we going to do?

Did she tell you who?

She won't even admit it.

There you go.

Sometimes I think she's just so ticked off that her dad died, that I ripped her

away from her friends in Chicago and moved her back here.

Oh, man.

You're the closest thing she's got to a father.

Look,

we'll deal with this together.

I'll help you, Jody.

Okay, move that ball around the base. Let's go.

All right. All right.

Are you going to marry Wynn?

What?

I thought he was going to Marlene.

She's all over him.

Then why would I marry him?

Well, you hugged him like you used to hug Dad.

Well, we're just friends.

Sometimes friends hug each other. It just means you like somebody.

I hope I never grow boobs.

Why?

I think they make you crazy.

I'm going to lean down and stick them in the wind.

If I ever grow them, I'll cut them off.

Sam!

It's okay.

It's okay.

Mommy's here.

Mommy's here. It's just a nightmare.

It's okay.

It's okay.

Oh, wow.

We're going to have a wonderful day.

We're going to go over to Billings and watch the bull riding like I promised.

Get an early start.

Wynn's going to pick us up at nine.

You've got to tell me.

Has Wynn been doing things to you?

It's okay.

It's okay.

I'm not going to let him hurt you again.

I promise.

I promise.

This is the only way we know how to stop Windhook.

I'm sorry.

Well, how often do these incidents take place?

A lot.

A lot?

Okay, is that once a week or once a month or once a year? What exactly is a

A lot is a lot.

Honey, I need you to help me here.

Okay?

Once a week, sometimes more.

And you said sometimes he did these things and his mom was around?

Not like she was right there.

She was in the house and we were in the barn.

She was in the house?

Uh -huh.

So you're saying that he did these bad things to you And his

mom was in the next building?

Huh?

He doesn't believe her. I can't believe he doesn't believe her.

Look at him.

You do bad things when your mom's around, honey?

Is that what you're trying to tell me, honey?

Not a damn funny!

You say he never forced you.

No.

He was always nice.

What do you mean he was nice?

Well, he treated me nice, like I was special.

He said we were special friends.

I see.

How did it begin?

Where did he do the first time?

Mom was off doing something, and she parked me at Wynn's.

I was pitching.

He was teaching me to throw a screwball.

Go on.

He said that all major league players got a rubdown after a workout.

My arm was sore, so he told me to take off my shirt and lie down.

I told this part before.

Does she have to again?

I'm sorry.

Sam, please.

He started to touch me, to rub my front.

It was to make me breathe better, but I could breathe just fine.

And he undid my pants, and he made me down.

He rubbed me all over with some kind of liniment.

Did he just rub you down?

No.

He reached in my pants and felt around.

He asked me how I felt.

I told him it felt nice.

He said he could make it feel even better.

I don't want you to play baseball again until this is all over and win it in

jail.

Is that good ice cream?

Everybody in the ready position.

Gloves ready. Get your butts down.

Here comes the million dollar ball.

That's it, Jamie. Stay with it.

Come on, get in the car.

I don't want to leave. There's nothing else to do in this stupid town.

All my friends play.

I'm afraid to make him angry.

God.

Can I go back out to the field, bro?

Yes, but I'm going to wait and drive you home.

Everything all right? Oh, yeah, I just need to talk to Sam.

Hey, you want to hit some grounders? No, that's okay. I'll just watch.

How'd you do that?

Tina. Dragged it in back of her bike for a day.

How's she liking the team this year?

Loves it.

It's win -win. Yes, and when that... Why? You ever think when acts a little

friendly to the girls?

God, Jody, do you know what you're saying?

Yes, I do.

Well, then you've got to have good cause to be saying it.

Please, tell me.

No.

Nothing I've noticed.

I just can't believe... Who's the only father half these kids have?

Oh, my God.

Has he done something to Sam?

Hey, Jody.

Hi, Sam.

Hey, boys. Roy, how are you?

Hey, Rayette. What's the special?

Something you ran over on the way to work today?

If it's better than serving something she ran over last week.

Come on, Roy.

Now, is that any way to talk to the woman who cooks your eggs every morning?

You were a whole lot sweeter last time.

Oh, hey.

You know, between a two -dollar bourbon and a chewed bag, you boys haven't

tasted anything of yours anyway.

You're hungry, Joe? Just coffee.

Persimmon is a very small town, Jody.

I want you to know I never touched her. You and Sam mean everything in the world

to me.

You scum.

I understand what you're feeling.

But you know better than anybody else, your daughter has got a lot of problems.

How could you? Sam's lying, Jody.

Other people in this town may buy that crap, but I don't.

If you come near my little girl again... You what?

You figure it out.

Hey.

Hey, Jody.

What's that all about?

Oh, just family squabble, you know.

Hey, Ray, you have to put Jody's copy on my tab, all right?

stayed in Chicago and saved everybody grief.

We all know Sam's a troublemaker. Well, your Bobby is Sam's age. Aren't you

worried about him?

I've heard enough.

This is Louise's birthday party, and you've got Portia here all upset.

Jody's right. We've got to get to the bottom of this.

There's nothing to get to the bottom of.

I think there's something wrong with Louise.

Why? Has she said something?

No, but all of a sudden she's wet in her bed.

And she doesn't want to play baseball anymore.

It's for boys.

And last month, there was blood in her underwear.

Louise said she scratched herself diving into a swimming hole.

An underwater brain.

Five other families have come forward, especially having shown Staghorn pick up

wind tonight.

Thank God.

I'm just saying I'm not happy. I don't think he did it.

Look, I spoke to these kids.

They are eight, nine years old, and they will say whatever, whoever they spoke

to them last told them to say.

God knows the way in all his life, and I don't want to be a part of something

I'm going to regret later.

I don't care what you want.

Just do your job.

That's right. Just do your job.

You think because you drank beer with a guy means he isn't guilty.

Those people are supposed to protect my daughter?

And how does the defendant plead?

Not guilty, Your Honor.

Not guilty.

Bail is set at $150 ,000.

Your Honor, Mr. Cook is established in the community. His family goes back

generations. Your Honor, these are serious charges.

We have indications this is not his first offense.

My client does not have a record.

What?

sleep a lot better knowing Mr. Cook put up a little something to ensure his

presence in court.

Bail is set at $150 ,000.

Trial in one month.

Even

when

this jury acquits him, he'll have to spend the rest of his life feeding on

burden of this stigma. I could understand if there was only one count,

How do you explain away six accusations?

All the accusations have the same source. One disturbed, angry woman.

Millie, come on. You've known me your entire life. Do you think I could do

anything like this? It's hard to ignore. I know. I'm sorry these poor children

have to get dragged through this. Now, that's all.

Thank you. That's enough.

That's all for now.

Enjoy your dinner.

You're paying for it.

Why don't you tell me what else I'm paying for?

You're paying me to undermine the credibility of every single witness,

with Jody Stokes.

I've hired private investigators to look into her background here in Chicago.

We've got expert witnesses to dispute the medical evidence and the

findings, and a group of people from across the nation.

who've been falsely accused of child molestation.

You're a lucky man, you know that?

Lucky?

Lucky you're coming to trial now.

This time of year.

You can get soft -shell crabs even in Montana.

Yeah, I always look at the bright side.

Oh, and I'd, uh, I'd resign.

Temporarily, of course, from your coaching duties.

Above all your concerns, if no parent, even for a second, have any worry about

the welfare and safety of their child.

Is that understood?

Yeah, loud and clear.

I don't understand what happened in court. What do you mean this is not as

personal? I wanted to get into that with you all.

Gwen's done this before.

Why didn't we know about it?

He had three arrests.

The first one was thrown out of court on technicality.

The second one was dropped because it was with his own girls.

Oh, my God.

Wynne promised never to see them again.

And there was one conviction.

If he was convicted, then he has to register as a sex offender. He was

convicted. Can't you arrest him for that? But he doesn't have a record. What

hell does that mean?

Wynne pleaded guilty in Tennessee.

They put him in a special program for first -time offenders.

But you said he'd been arrested twice already.

Arrested, but not convicted.

When completed the special program, the record was erased.

Who knows how many girls he's done this to. He could be doing it to another kid

right now. And why not? The law can't touch him.

The hard, ugly truth is it's tough to put someone like Wynn behind bars.

I need everyone's cooperation on this.

I thought you said we could convict him.

I never said that. I can't promise you a conviction, but is that any reason not

to fight him?

Hey!

Let's go.

This is for Jody.

After what those boys did to you, they still can't eat.

It was nothing, Mama.

Not nothing.

And I know that Jody Stokes was behind it.

That girl's always been trouble. I knew it since she was 14 and snuck that piano

into the Church of Christ.

She was just a kid, Mama.

Oh, just like you to forgive her.

Why shouldn't you? She only ruined our life.

Mama.

Would you sit down and eat, please?

Just sit down and eat.

The soup is fine. Thank you very much.

All I can do to keep from going up to that girl and telling her to leave us,

hell I'm doing.

It's not about us, Mama.

This is about me.

Jody is my business.

And we both.

We got our reasons, okay? And you just stay the hell away from Jody.

I don't know why you're taking her side against your very own mother.

You don't want to know.

Don't put that tone with me.

I'm the one that wiped her behind and suckled you at this very breath. I don't

deserve to be talked to like that.

You know I know what you deserve.

Huh?

She's getting cold.

Jody Stokes is right.

Stop talking nonsense.

You know, I get upset when... You don't shit.

No, no, I didn't say him in those other calls. Stop it. I'm not going to listen.

Yeah, why should you listen?

You didn't see what Daddy did to me, did you?

You don't have to hurt me. You knew about it. And you let it happen. You

away in that mind of yours where nothing bad ever happens.

Nothing, everything okay. Everything's fine.

Daddy loved me and he... Well, he never touched me.

You know that.

I never molested anyone.

Okay.

Everything's fine just like it's always been.

All right.

Okay.

Although Jody Stokes says you have to be charged with inciting this vicious

crime, Sheriff Staghorn is conducting an investigation that I am certain will

result in her arrest.

I had nothing to do with this.

Ms. Stokes. In the meantime, a restraining order would be the least the

could do to protect my client.

Your Honor, there is no evidence linking Ms. Stokes to the beating. Ms. Stokes

threatened my client two days before the beating.

We can produce the witnesses that saw them argue.

The perpetrator said it was a message from Jody.

That's ridiculous.

Come out in the trial, where your demeanor will undoubtedly improve.

I agree with counsel.

The court orders Jody Stokes to stay at least 200 yards from the defendant,

Winfield Cook.

Hey, Missy.

You watch your back.

What do you mean?

You just ought to know what people around here think. That's all.

No one's willing to go the distance.

We lost three of the kids.

Can I talk to the other parents?

No. No?

Why should Sam bear the burden for the whole town?

You said we'd have to help with some other parents.

I'm not going to let her go up on that stand alone.

She won't be alone.

I'm sorry.

It's all right.

What about Louise and Portia?

They dropped out, along with the Brooks girl and Jane Locke.

I'm sorry, Jody.

We're doing the best we can.

We don't have a case without you. I've got to look out for my little girl.

You have a responsibility to this town.

You think this town cares about us?

Tina's got no friends left.

We've got to think about our children.

By running away?

We're not running away. We're dealing with the problem in therapy. The whole

family's in therapy.

Therapy's great, but when's he going to do this again? Even if he moves away,

he's going to do it again to another little girl. Then let the next town

it. Why should my Janie get hurt for doing the right thing? She's been hurt

enough. What about Sam?

She told Louise she made it up and she wasn't going to testify.

She'll testify.

I know what Sam said, Louise, but she's just scared.

She's going to testify, I promise.

You and Sam are best friends.

You have to help each other.

If you don't testify, Wynne is going to hurt other little girls.

That's what will happen.

get this number.

I changed my number, damn it!

What the hell is that for? We got another one of those calls.

I thought we were going to turn him in. There'd be a trial and he'd go to jail.

That's the way the system's supposed to work.

But it's Sam and I that are on trial for hounding an innocent man, for dividing

the town.

I can't sleep.

Oh, honey, neither can I. When this trial's over, we're going to sleep like

bears. Well, maybe there shouldn't be a trial.

What if Wynne didn't do it?

What are you saying, Sam?

You and I both know Wynn did exactly what you said he did.

Wynn didn't do anything.

I made it all up, like you said.

That's not true.

You don't know. You weren't there.

I lied to get back at him, just like you said.

Sam, this is no time to lie.

If you don't testify, Wynn is going to be free to do what he did to you, to

other little girls, over and over.

Why should I... care about them. Who cares about me?

I was lying. That's all. I was lying.

Why would you lie to me? I don't know why I lied.

Why? Because I wanted to go home.

Sam, this is home.

No, it's not.

It's not.

No, Sam.

Sweetheart, let her be.

What have I done to my little girl?

Sam told me that when... Objection.

Hearsay. Sustained.

Your Honor, the witness hasn't said anything objectionable yet. I'm trying

prevent that.

Your Honor, federal rules of evidence admit hearsay. If justice can best be

served... This is the state court.

And hearsay is a reversible error.

Now, should we spend the state's money to go through this entire trial again

because your case is built on hearsay?

I agree.

Objection sustained.

No further questions.

You mean I can't even say what Sam told me Wynne did to her?

Cross -examination.

Mr. Rosenglass, will we be finishing this cross -examination any time soon?

Just trying to be thorough, John.

Well.

Two days of cross -examination is sufficient to be more than thorough.

Get on with it.

You testified that Dr. Ernst and Cunningham, prosecutor

Spence Cunningham, and psychologist Alma Munoz all warned you not to question

your child about the alleged abuse. Isn't that correct?

That's correct.

According to the grand jury, however, you discussed this with Samantha on

several occasions.

Well, I'm her mother, so naturally... Please, just answer the question.

Of course I did. I had to.

Isn't it true that at Rayette's diner on August 4th, you threatened Wynne Cook?

Objection. There has been a thorough investigation, and there is no

whatsoever between the beating and Jody Stokes.

I'll withdraw that question.

Isn't it true, though, that...

Since you had already prejudged my client guilty, you went on a campaign to

poison the town against him?

Didn't you talk to parents?

Organize them?

Hold meetings?

All with the idea of railroading Wynne Cook out of this town?

It was a support group.

A support group.

And does support include harassing Louise Culpepper to testify against her

will and the will of her mother?

I never did that.

These photographs were taken on August 12th of this same year.

They show Jody Stokes talking to Louise Culver.

Now, what were those conversations about?

I'll be asking Louise when she testifies. I asked her to testify. I

harassed her.

You didn't tell her how important it was to get to bad man or words to that

effect? He had me followed. Can he do that?

Yes.

I'm waiting for an answer, Ms. Stokes.

There's nothing wrong with telling a child to tell the truth.

Truth.

It's an interesting word.

Truth.

Tell me, do you think Samantha's an honest child?

Yes. So back in Chicago, when she told you that she had skipped the second

when she hadn't, was that the truth?

No, it wasn't the truth.

But she was very upset. Her father had just died.

She needed attention.

I couldn't be there for her because I was falling apart myself and too

wrapped up in my own grief.

Isn't it a possibility, just a whisper of a possibility, that

Samantha was so upset at her father's death?

That she's taking her anger out on a man who, out of the kindness of his heart,

has become the closest thing to a father your child has known since her own

father passed away.

No.

It is not a possibility.

Not with him.

She's a good child.

I'm sure she is, Mrs. Stokes.

I'm sure she is.

Can I get you a glass of water?

Excuse me, Stoker.

How you doing?

How'd it go?

Fine.

No, it didn't.

Now, Louise, you told the grand jury that Wynn took his clothes off.

But just now you told us that he didn't.

Mm -hmm.

Were you lying to the grand jury?

No. Were you lying to us just now?

No.

Well, did he take his clothes off or not?

I don't remember.

You don't remember.

You also told the grand jury that Wynn played the dirty game with you 20 times.

Did somebody tell you to say 20?

I don't remember.

Do you remember the first time?

Yes.

It was on a Saturday.

Oh, but see, you told the grand jury it was on a Sunday.

So when you told the grand jury Sunday, were you wrong?

Or are you wrong now?

Objection. A child's sense of time isn't fully formed until she's a teenager.

Your Honor, I'm just trying to get Samantha's testimony straight.

Samantha?

Samantha!

The child's name is Louise.

How the hell do you expect a poor child to keep names and dates straight from

over a year ago without any notes, and you can't remember her name from five

minutes ago?

Mr. Rosenglass, I'm sure the jury gets the point.

The child is getting tired.

Just a few minutes more here, I know.

Jody, I'm afraid this is all going to boil down to Sam's testimony.

Louise hurt us more than she helped us.

We've got Sam and we've got Tina.

Tina's scared to death. She's not half as bright as Sam.

You said it was going to be hard on these kids. You didn't say it was going

kill them.

What did you think hard meant, Jody?

You told me, Sam, that you lied about Wynn molesting you.

But we both know he did it.

You're afraid.

You don't want to have to face Wynn in that courtroom.

But we know you were telling the truth before.

Spence, Alma, Doc Cunningham, we want to make sure that Wynn is punished for

what he did to you.

Nobody believed me because it didn't happen. We all believe you.

But unfortunately, when you go to court, you have to follow the rules to make

sure that innocent people don't go to jail.

I can't talk in court.

I just can't. I won't.

You don't understand.

What don't I understand?

Please tell me.

I want to understand more than anything in the whole world.

I'll have to tell.

I like Gwen.

Oh, sweetheart.

You're so nice to me.

You make me feel special.

And then, everybody likes me.

Now they're gonna know.

What are they gonna know?

I'm bad, I'm bad, I'm bad, I'm bad, I'm bad! You're not, you're not bad!

Gwen is bad!

It's not your fault!

You are the most wonderful girl in the whole world, Samantha.

I know how you feel.

No, you don't. Yes, I do, and I'm sorry.

I should have seen the signs.

I should have known.

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Are you out of your mind?

I can tell now. I can talk in court. I can tell now. He made me scared.

I can tell now.

Oh, honey, you didn't have to do that to prove you're brave to me.

I know.

I know.

Hey, bud.

How you doing?

I'm okay.

How you doing?

I'm all right.

Good to see you.

Good to see you, you old horse thief.

Sam.

Oh.

Oh, honey.

Hi,

Sam.

Real good.

Looks like you'll become worse, too.

I didn't let you say anything.

I'm here as an officer of the court.

I'm going to have to prosecute you. Did you know that?

What the hell were you thinking?

I've been the best friend you had through this thing.

I understand why you did it.

But for the life of me, Jody.

I'm Sarah Berger. I'm your lawyer. I came down from Belize. Who hired you?

He got my name from Spence.

Now, don't worry about the bail.

Ned's put up the house, and some friends of yours have contributed money.

And Spence?

Well, I don't think he's too worried about you leaving town.

Have you seen my daughter?

Pam is fine. She's with Forza Culpepper.

They're waiting outside.

You wore your dress.

Oh, you look so sweet.

I don't know if you're prepared for this. It's pretty crazy out there.

Hi, Borsha.

Will you take Sam?

Don't say anything. I'll do the talking.

I just want you to think about one thing. A child is molested in this

every two seconds.

Now that Wynne Cook is dead, you'll find out that he has had three other arrests

for child molestation, including one conviction, including his own

children.

If he was convicted, why did he want to come out of this trial?

Bo -

brought back the horror of the last few months of this poor, tortured mother's

life. Portia, I can't leave my house. I'm followed everywhere I go.

No use being a prisoner in your own home.

Okay, okay, I'll call you back later. Maybe I can sneak out.

My God.

They're acting like I was elected president.

How can they say I'm a hero?

I don't want Sam to see this.

It was wrong under any circumstances.

No judge and a jury could punish you as much as you punished yourself.

Honey, I would do anything I could to fix this for you.

Your old dad ain't good for much anymore, but I do love you.

How can you say you're not good for much?

You're the only rock I've got left.

What the hell?

Hello? Is there anybody home?

What do you want?

We said no interviews.

And we meant it. I just wanted to use your job.

I bet you can't get it in another second.

Just careful, it'll be nice.

I don't want to go.

I don't want to either, honey.

What else do you want to take? Yeah.

Pickles.

Oh, okay.

Hold the phone.

Jody, it's Sarah.

Okay, I'll be right there. Put the rest of this stuff in here, all right?

All that stuff is bread.

We'll meet you there. Bye.

Our phone is bugged.

Sam, are you ready?

Yeah. Are you going to be all right?

I'm always all right.

Okay, bye.

Bye.

All right, darling, you take care of your mama.

We go for diminished capacity defense.

I said no, I'm not crazy.

Nobody is saying you're crazy.

Diminished capacity is like saying temporary insanity.

You're not listening. Shooting someone in a courthouse is a special

circumstance.

They can give you the death penalty.

You put apples in yours. I never did that.

Looks good.

Do you want to see her grow up?

Do you want to see what she's doing in 20 years?

Or maybe you want her to see her mother on death row.

I don't want to be like Wynn.

He manipulated the law.

It'd make me no better than him.

Jody, when you woke up that morning, were you planning to shoot Wynn? Of

not. A minute before you shot him, were you planning to do it?

No. The law allows for your state of mind. You're not manipulating a damn

Now let me do my job.

Good.

Now, we got one more thing to talk about.

We have to plan for Sam.

We don't want to put her in a foster home.

I was hoping that Nan, but... He needs help himself.

Maybe Portia.

There's something we have to talk about.

There's a chance I may have to go to jail. No.

Sam, just listen, please.

They don't say you're a hero.

Nobody puts heroes in jail. A hero isn't someone who shoots a person because she

doesn't know what else to do.

A hero acts on behalf of everyone.

Not what I did.

Understand?

Well, you did it for me. Doesn't that make you my hero?

Yes, I did it for you, but it's still wrong.

It's still murder.

We're going to have to find a place for you to live. No!

No!

No! No!

No! No!

No! No!

No!

I won't.

I won't ever make you say anything.

Sam, all those times I dropped you off at his place, I swear I never knew.

I know.

May I have a word with your client, sir? It's okay.

You can still call me Jody.

I don't look forward to this, you know that.

But my whole life... Bill, you don't have to apologize to me.

You're a good and decent man.

Thanks.

I have all the sympathy in the world for Jodi Stokes.

I know how she felt.

The pain, the anger, the frustration at a legal system

that seems to swallow up her rights.

the rights of her daughter.

And amazing technicalities and laws and precedents.

A system indeed that allows the guilty to go free.

But no matter how much my heart breaks for Jody Stokes,

we are either a nation of laws or we are not.

We either believe in those laws and trust them to protect us.

Has the jury reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

You may read the verdict.

The defendant will please rise.

In the matter of the state of Montana versus Jody Stokes,

We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of murder in the second degree.

We, the jury, also find the defendant was operating in a state of diminished

capacity at the time of the shooting.

The probation department will file a

report before the sentencing hearing. Will two weeks be enough time?

That'll be fine, Your Honor.

Sir?

Two weeks is fine with us, Your Honor.

Bail is continued then until the sentencing hears. Court is adjourned.

Thank you.

It's the best we could have hoped for.

You probably get five years, but in Montana with a good time, you do a

months for every year.

I will recommend to the probation department that you're unlikely to be a

to any other citizen.

Five years.

by the stage.

Thanks.

Don't make a liar out of me.

Please pass the toast.

Why don't we say grace?

As we forgive our debtors.

Lead us not into temptation.

Deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

Don't forget to pack that new toothbrush I gave you.

I want you to write your name on all of your clothes. You don't want to get them

mixed up with Louise's.

And I want you to mind Portia just like you mind me.

Well, forget that.

Just mind her, period.

Please?

I thought maybe you... We'll have to ask Portia, but I'm sure it'll be okay.

That's it, then.

Just fine.