Original subtitles

(INDISTINCT SHOUTING CONTINUES)

PEDRIE: "Magazine Hill", they call this place.

Dead end.

Mmm.

JOHN: Why would Labuschagne and the other men

in the minibus have come up here?

PEDRIE: He claims he can't remember any of it.

So, Leon's bakkie was parked here.

He left the keys in the ignition, then he ran that way.

The minibus taxi belonging to the football team was...

Came to rest here.

Point-blank range.

The gun they found was registered in Leon's name.

He dragged the bodies over there, then he lined them up.

Wait. He lined the bodies up? Why would he do that?

None of it makes any sense.

Oh.

You can see the prison from over here, where he worked.

JOHN: Who's the judge?

Van Zyl, the hanging judge.

The two of you should get on like chalk and cheese.

Do you think the state should kill people?

Majority support the death penalty.

The majority supported burning at the stake,

witch dunking, crucifixion.

CELL SERGEANT: Sit!

Leon, this is John Weber.

He's a senior advocate. He's been asked to defend you.

I've been asked to, but I don't particularly want to.

Then why don't you go home?

Because your case is so bad, no one else will take it.

I already told you, I don't want you to defend me.

I don't want to talk.

I don't want to see you, either.

Well, we've fulfilled our obligations. Let's go.

Hang on. I've had enough of this cock.

I've spent a shitload of time working on this case!

Listen to me, Leon. You might be feeling sorry for yourself now,

but you're gonna feel a hell of a lot worse when you get a death sentence.

I met your wife, your little daughter, Esme.

When you last see her? Six months ago?

I read in your file that you were a warder in the prison service.

I suggest you find out what's in store for you.

Speak to the warders when you go back to your cell,

ask them what happens on death row.

I know what happens on death row.

I worked there.

When this happened, you were working

on death row at Maximum Security Prison?

Surely, you were too young.

I started working there over two years ago.

On gallows duty?

Leave me alone.

JOHN: Nobody gets away with killing seven people.

Unless they're the police, of course.

JUDGE STEYN: Bad break, my boy.

There's no defense for an attack like that.

No, the guy's as good as dead.

Good serve, Andrew!

Paul, stand further back, you get a better chance to get to the ball!

Look at it this way, John. Everyone gets a bad case now and then.

You just got a hopeless one.

DR. SCHLEBUSCH: With soldiers who return from combat,

a minority suffer mental breakdown

after one traumatic experience.

But only a very small minority avoid breakdown after prolonged exposure.

Which is what this would have been.

In fact, he reminds me of veterans I've treated.

I'd say he's in a similar state of emotional collapse.

So, what you're saying, as far as the prosecution is concerned,

is that your tests don't prove mental breakdown,

but also don't rule out the possibility

that he could be a racist or a psychopath.

My opinion? Something triggered a violent response.

Any idea what that trigger might be?

I'm afraid not.

So, it follows, Dr. Schlebusch,

that there might actually not be a trigger.

That's correct.

(RIOTERS CHANTING INDISTINCTLY)

MALE REPORTER: The trial of Leon Labuschagne,

the man who shot dead seven members of a Mamaloni Football Club,

starts in the Pretoria High Court this week.

Human Rights advocate, John Weber, who's defending Labuschagne,

is well known internationally as an opponent of capital punishment.

According to police sources,

Labuschagne's motives for the shooting are unclear,

and any links to right wing organizations is pure speculation.

To date, Labuschagne has refused

to make a statement.

PEDRIE: We won't have many chances, Leon.

Once you're in the witness box,

we'll be prohibited from speaking to you

until you finish giving evidence.

So, you've gotta help us now, man.

Just give us a reason for why things happened the way they did.

There you have it.

He's been briefed on how to respond

to the judge and the prosecutor

and how to answer our questions.

I don't know what else I can do.

CELL SERGEANT: Stand up!

Hold it! Labuschagne, look at this.

Mr. Wierda obtained this register from the Prisons department.

It lists the names of all the men hanged last year.

You must've participated in some of these executions.

All of them.

Repeat that?

I was at all the executions.

According to this list, 164 men were executed last year.

A record number.

If that's what it says.

Why were you present at every execution?

Pierre.

Aye, John.

How is it? Good.

Uh, could you let me sit this side? If you don't mind.

Yeah, sure. Thanks.

So, how's my sister?

Surprised to hear you're in town.

So, what's this business you wanna discuss?

Pierre, um,

what do you know about the men who work on death row?

Not much.

Well, I happen to know that they take part in executions,

but what I don't know is, what kind of person does that?

What makes someone take on the job of killing someone?

John, I can't talk about that. You should know that by now.

I don't mean you. This is a boy they put

on gallows duty at 17, for God's sake.

And you get another shot at the evil system you hate so much, eh?

Pierre, they threw this boy into hell

and he went out and shot seven men.

Now, he won't, or can't speak a word to defend himself.

You have contacts inside the prison system.

They'll talk to you.

All right, I'll make some inquiries, but you're wasting your time.

'Cause the guys who do what he does, they don't talk about it.

They never do.

You should tell him to keep his head up.

It's the victims' families, they staring at him.

That's his parents, his sister Antoinette.

At about 18:00, on a deserted road near the Magazine Hill quarry,

the accused forced the minibus in which

the deceased were traveling from the road,

then shot all seven victims with a pistol.

Detective, is this pistol, which is

registered in the name of the accused,

the firearm that was used to fire the bullets found at the scene?

This is the pistol, M'Lord.

That's all I have for this witness, My Lord.

Mr. Weber?

No questions, My Lord.

What are you doing?

I'll explain later.

MARAIS: The bakkie found parked next to the body,

that too was registered in the name of the accused?

Yes.

MARAIS: According to your report, the vehicle would not start.

OFFICER: Correct. He was forced to flee on foot.

That's all, My Lord.

No questions, My Lord.

Why didn't you cross

We can't argue facts.

If we admit everything, we deny them the opportunity

for a parade of emotional witnesses,

and rob the case of its impact.

So, after a couple of days, they'll have nothing left.

They found him, they found the gun, they found the bakkie.

That's all they've got.

That's all?

What have we got? Leon is nearly comatose,

Dr. Schlebusch will barely speak to him...

If it goes that way tomorrow, gentlemen,

we'll soon be finished on our side.

Good night.

Good night.

And you were going to say,

a senior advocate who hasn't handled a murder case in 15 years?

I don't know what you said to him last time,

but he was grouchy when he came home.

More than usual?

I'm the one who has to live with him, John.

Here, take that.

Seems to me he's guilty of murder

and you're trying to turn it into a political case.

Well, every case involving the death sentence is a political case.

Could've just been road rage, you ever think of that?

He shot seven people 13 times.

A very bad case of road rage.

The only thing I've accomplished so far

is to keep our strategy a secret,

but that ends when the defense starts.

Well, see if this is of any use.

What is it?

It's a Table of Drops. How much do you weigh?

About 70 kilos.

So, you divide 840 foot-pounds

by the weight of the prisoner, in this case 70,

which means that you, John Weber,

would need five feet, three inches of rope

for a nice, clean break.

He was very good at it, apparently.

They relied on him, calculating the drops.

And how do you know this?

You don't wanna ask.

What else, Pierre?

What struck me is that these warders,

they get to know the men that they have to hang.

They're their caretakers, then they haul them out, string them up.

And this struck you, why?

In a war, you don't see the enemy as people.

You're shooting at uniforms, not men.

The only thing worse than killing a stranger is killing someone you know.

Strangers are hard enough.

You have to go through all of these?

Yes, these 32 men who were hanged in the last two weeks

Leon was there.

And what are we looking for exactly?

It might be useful to find out something about the men he hanged

in the days before the shooting.

He developed a very close relationship with these men.

How would you know that?

My brother-in-law has contacts in the prison system.

He's a warder?

Intelligence. Special Forces. He spent three years fighting in Angola.

What's that got to do with anything, John?

Well, for one thing, it means he knows

first-hand what killing does to a person.

I'm sorry, are we assembling evidence

to support your political pre-conception about capital punishment,

or are we trying to discover the extenuating circumstances

that might save Leon from a death sentence?

Something must have happened to Labuschagne toward the end.

These men all had reasons for killing. He must've had a reason.

We need to find out what it is.

So, we're down to wild hunches, then.

Look, I understand that a defense

based on complete mental breakdown

doesn't succeed very often.

But it's all we've got at this stage.

Unless you have a better idea.

Do you have a better idea?

No.

Um...

If it pleases My Lord and My Lord's learned assessors.

Yes, yes, carry on.

This is an extraordinary case

in which the evidence for the prosecution is undisputed

and the case for the prosecution is,

in a way, also the case for the defense.

On a murder charge, the prosecution has to prove

that the act was both unlawful and intentional.

We intend to prove that there was no act

to which the law attaches legal consequences.

Are you suggesting there was no act when we have seven bodies?

My Lord is entitled to be skeptical.

The prosecution has been at pains to explain what has happened.

We intend to explain why these events happened

and whether the accused can be held criminally responsible.

Well, you'd better explain

very carefully what the defense is,

as I'm at a loss to understand.

How can you say there was no act

when you've admitted that the accused killed the seven deceased?

With respect, My Lord, the events

at the quarry are not in dispute,

but the brutality, the scale of the events,

seven fit young men killed by a single individual

calls for closer scrutiny.

The prosecution has adduced no evidence of a motive,

and there appears to be none.

We intend to look at the accused's working conditions

on death row, inside Maximum Security Prison,

and the events that took place there

prior to the incidents at the quarry

in order to find the reason for his actions.

Actions we believe

were unconscious

and triggered by his traumatic experiences as a warder.

So,

the defense is asserting

that the accused's working conditions triggered these actions,

that they were involuntary, and therefore not punishable by law.

Correct, My Lord.

This raises matters of state security, Mr. Weber.

If I allow this, I don't want any names used.

Not of officials or inmates. Not one.

Listen, Labuschagne,

when you're on the stand, you'll talk, you'll do as you're told,

or you'll soon find yourself back in your gallows

with a noose around your own neck.

Mr. Labuschagne, please tell the court how old you were

when you first joined the prison service.

17.

And why did you join?

If you join the police or prisons,

you don't have to go to the army.

Why did you wish to avoid the military?

They sent you to Angola to fight.

Were you aware that the warders at Maximum Security Prison

performed gallows duties?

LEON: No.

So, you had no idea what your duties would be

when you first arrived at Maximum.

LEON: No.

JOHN: Could you tell the court about your first day there?

I was briefed on the importance of secrecy.

I was told not to speak to anyone

about anything to do with the work

we were doing inside the prison.

And if I did, I'd be disciplined.

My Lord, is this detail necessary?

We are here to shed light on what occurred on Magazine Hill,

not to make public the internal functions of a government institution

whose activities might be confidential, perhaps even secret.

My Lord, the time the accused spent working on death row

is central to the defense's case regarding his state of mind

that day on Magazine Hill.

We intend to lead detailed testimony

about the accused's state of mind,

in particular, his circumstances at work.

I'll allow it, Mr. Weber, provisionally.

Continue, please.

What did you experience on your first day at Maximum, Mr. Labuschagne?

I was to accompany the warrant officer

to see seven men on the rope.

JOHN: "On the rope?"

LEON: It's what we say for any prisoner under the death sentence.

These seven were going up the next day to the gallows.

Will you please tell the court

what happened when you went to see these men?

The warrant officer said I'd have to pick one

as I'd have to escort one of the men to be hanged the next day.

So, you were told you were gonna help

hang one of these men the very next day.

Sir, I'd rather you picked one for me, sir.

The new boy must pick one. That's how it works.

Hmm?

Makhandla.

Pick Makhandla.

What's his name?

What's his name? Makhandla!

Did the warrant officer tell you

what you were to do the next day

as an escort at a hanging?

Just said to learn by following and watching others.

That was your first day?

Yes.

Tell the court what happened on your second day.

(WARRANT OFFICER SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY)

LEON: Executions are at 7:00 a.m.

We came for them at 6:00.

(WARRANT OFFICER SPEAKING AFRIKAANS)

(WARRANT OFFICER SPEAKING AFRIKAANS)

Come on.

(WARRANT OFFICER SPEAKING AFRIKAANS)

WARRANT OFFICER: Come.

JOHN: Were there any problems?

Were there any problems, Mr. Labuschagne?

No.

Everyone just does what they're told, do they?

LEON: They're taught to obey.

What happens if they don't obey?

Come on.

(WARRANT OFFICER SPEAKING AFRIKAANS)

SHERIFF: Do you have anything to say

before the order of the court is carried out?

Do you have anything to say before the order of the court is carried out?

Do you have anything to say before the order of the court is carried out?

Do you have anything to say before the order of the court is carried out?

Do you have anything to say before the order of the court is carried out?

Do you have anything to say before the order of the court is carried out?

LEON: I didn't wanna look at the rope, but I could smell it.

It was like a wet doormat.

A sound was in my ears,

like water.

I could feel my arm shaking,

but I didn't know if it was from me or from the prisoner.

Tell us in your own words what you observed.

Mr. Labuschagne, the court is waiting.

Tell us what you remember from that day.

The noise.

What did you see?

WARRANT OFFICER: Don't hold on so tight next time,

or he'll pull you down with him.

Then you'll look like a puss, won't you?

JOHN: Did the warrant officer say anything to you after this?

LEON: I was told not to talk about the hanging,

any hanging, to anyone.

JOHN: Did he say anything else?

LEON: That I would be doing this job

two or three times every two weeks.

Two or three times every two weeks.

Did he offer any advice, or counseling?

No.

Did he provide any training for the work you were to do?

No.

Had you been assessed or screened in any way

to ensure you were suitable for this job?

No.

Did the warrant officer give you a choice,

whether you were willing to do this work, or not?

No.

Remind the court as to how many days you'd been working at Maximum

when you were called upon to hang these men.

One.

JOHN: And you were how old?

I said, I was 17.

Still 17.

Mr. Weber.

Um...

Would now be a convenient time to adjourn, My Lord?

The court adjourns.

Mr. Weber?

Sorry.

You asked if I believed Leon when he said

he had no memory of the shooting.

Memory is an intellectual function.

When you're completely swamped by emotion, the intellect can shut down.

So, memory shuts down, too.

They're upset. They don't like seeing him put through the wringer.

They'll like it even less if he ends up on death row.

You'll have to force Leon to recollect things that are painful.

Break him down, make him cry even. Then he'll talk.

Hell, that's the problem.

We have no idea what he'll talk about.

We're plunging down a dark tunnel

with no idea what's on the other side.

What's on the other side may be the reason why it happened.

And if that reason is racial or political,

how's it gonna help him beat the rope?

How can you defend that man, Mr. Weber?

Ma'am, I despise killing of any kind,

lawful or unlawful.

What about my son? Thabo Mokoena.

Why should he get away with it?

She is right, sir.

That man must pay for what he's done!

Look at this one. "Eben Christiaan Coetzee."

Same age as Leon. Had a daughter. From a good home.

Mild mannered by all accounts.

Participated in the rape of a black woman

after pressure from the others involved.

All of whom were older.

Then he snaps, goes on a rampage,

and takes the lead in killing the victim.

Why?

I wouldn't know.

Was he trying to prove something to the others?

Was that the reason?

We won't ever know. He's dead. They hanged him.

Yes.

And Leon was his escort.

He specifically requested Leon be his escort.

Why?

I'm going home, John.

We still have the case histories to go through.

No. We're off on some tangent here.

These profiles, they're not gonna tell us anything about Leon,

or why he did what he did.

That woman, the one who lost her son, Mrs. Mokoena, she's right.

You sit there wringing your hands over the death penalty,

studying the case files of the men who were hanged.

But no one ever remembers the victims. Like this guy.

Him and his accomplice stabbed the victim numerous times.

No one remembers that poor man running for his life.

Or this guy, this bastard who burned

his victim to death in the boot of her car.

No one remembers that poor woman's suffering.

Or any of these women in any of these cases,

who were raped and strangled and beaten,

had their heads bashed in, stabbed,

drowned in their own blood in the arms of a son!

No one remembers their suffering. And who organizes a protest,

or delivers a paper at an international conference!

The reason is that these men are animals.

And when there's a gang involved,

reason goes out the window altogether.

The only thing you can do with them

is to get rid of them for good.

Pedrie, there's...

There's something here.

The relationships that Leon formed with the men he hanged

have to had an impact on him.

I need to go, John.

Good night.

PEDRIE: Who's that?

If that's who I think it is, we're in for a rough ride.

Please, could you inform the court

as to how many men were executed

in your final year at Maximum.

Please consult the execution register,

which has been submitted as evidence.

164.

164 hangings in a single year,

which was a record, I believe.

LEON: Yes.

JOHN: And you were present when these men were admitted

and you were also present when they were executed.

LEON: Yes.

JOHN: At all the executions that year.

LEON: Yes.

So, you would've come to know these people during their stay,

or should I say, "your stay at Maximum?"

LEON: Yes.

How well did you get to know these men?

We spent all day with them.

So, would you say that, in some cases,

you developed relationships with some of these men?

Let's pick a prisoner at random.

If you look down the list.

Eben Christiaan Coetzee, for example.

We object, My Lord. Once again, my learned friend

is straying into matters which are deliberately kept confidential

out of respect for the families of the executed prisoners.

Yes, Mr. Weber. I've asked you to keep the names out of this.

My Lord, we have to use a name in this instance

as the prisoner, before he was hanged,

may have developed a relationship with the accused.

Further, My Lord, the evidence supplied and the names thereon

are a matter of public record, not confidential at all.

I've given the defense a lot of leeway in this case,

far more than I ever imagined I would in a case like this.

I expect the same solicitude from the defense in future.

Mr. Labuschagne, how well did you know the prisoner,

Eben Christiaan Coetzee?

I read the Bible to him.

To any prisoner who requested it.

Eben was 19 years old, correct?

Yes.

Eben had a wife and daughter, and I believe

you have a daughter, don't you?

Esme.

You met his wife and daughter.

They came to say goodbye to him.

I walked them back to the car park through the prison garden.

And they thanked me for looking after him.

You believed that Eben should have been reprieved?

Other men were reprieved, so, why shouldn't he have been reprieved?

Did you tell him?

I would've been dismissed.

By the warrant officer?

Over here.

VAN ZYL: Order!

Yes.

So, you felt Eben should have been reprieved,

but instead, you were his escort and you helped hang him.

Yes.

What were your duties as Eben's escort?

LEON: I measured his weight,

height,

neck.

JOHN: What was the purpose of all these measurements?

LEON: To calculate the length of the drop.

JOHN: The length of rope required

in order to assure he died instantly.

You were responsible for that.

Yes.

If you calculated Eben's drop incorrectly,

he might not have died instantly.

He might've suffered.

Yes.

Quite a lot of responsibility, isn't it?

How long can it take for a man to die from strangulation,

hanging there with his neck broken,

but enough oxygen to allow conscious brain activity?

If you left him hanging there, without hauling him back up again,

it could take as long as 15 minutes.

Rather like torture, isn't it?

VAN ZYL: Mr. Weber, I'm warning you.

This is not the time nor the place

for a debate on the death penalty.

As My Lord pleases.

Mr. Labuschagne, please tell the court how you felt personally,

measuring Eben's neck,

when you'd gotten to know him so well

and felt he should not be hanged.

I didn't feel anything.

What about when you were on the gallows next to Eben,

and the trap door opened?

What went through your mind then?

I don't know what you mean.

What thoughts did you experience?

None.

When you met Eben and his little girl,

you were having problems at home, weren't you?

Your drinking and fighting had resulted in a separation

from your wife, Magda, and your own little girl, Esme.

Mr. Labuschagne!

Nothing!

I felt nothing. I thought nothing. I was just tired.

VAN ZYL: Are you telling us you felt nothing inside after this man died?

I was just tired.

JOHN: You had no thoughts, no feelings,

no emotions.

Mr. Labuschagne, are you all right?

I'm not feeling well.

My Lord, I'd like to press on.

Are you feeling faint?

I might be sick.

My Lord. My Lord, I'd like to approach my client.

Mr. Weber, if the accused needs medical attention,

the court will adjourn.

My Lord, I'm near the end of this line of questioning...

You are at the end, Mr. Weber.

The court is adjourned.

How could you be so cruel?

It is your job to protect him, not to hurt him.

My job is to defend him, Miss Labuschagne. That's all I'm trying to do.

You don't need to abuse him to defend him.

I'm sorry. I'm doing my best.

You don't care if he hangs, do you?

(ANTOINETTE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

I'll talk to her.

Hello, Pierre.

How's it?

Well, you didn't choose this place

for the decor or the clientele.

Saw you on the TV the other night, leaving the court.

Being seen with you is kind of a liability.

So, we're reduced to secret, shabby assignations now.

I can't get you what you want. My source on the inside has clammed up.

They're taking things more cautiously.

Surely, there's something on a warrant officer

that's a matter of public record.

I just need to know what I'm looking for.

I cannot get a file on the warrant officer.

Or the other warders.

Half these okes don't even tell their wives where they're working.

Well, we've got to find something

or they'll hang him within six months.

They'll hang him sooner than that.

A warder who went through the same ordeal,

someone who liked him. There must be somebody who's on his side.

And how the hell do you think we got what we already have?

Now you listen to me, 'cause this

is the last of it, do you understand?

And I'm not seeing you again until all of this shit is over.

There was a prison revolt, a riot,

whatever you wanna call it, on death row,

his last day.

And?

And they hanged them, anyway. And that's all I've got for you.

Wait, wait.

Um...

You know what it feels like, killing. I don't.

I need to know what he remembers, what he tries to block out.

I can't get through to him unless I know

what's going on inside his head!

What did it do to you?

You stupid doos.

Pierre!

CLERK: Mr. Weber?

Mr. Labuschagne, consult the register

for your last three days at Maximum, please.

Tell the court what happened on the 8th of December.

We hanged seven men.

And on the 9th?

Another seven.

And on your last day, the 10th?

Seven more.

JOHN: Seven more. 21 men in three days,

which, I understand, was another record number of executions

for that amount of days.

Yeah.

Did anything unusual occur during the executions on your last day?

Mr. Labuschagne, tell the court what happened

on your last day at Maximum, the 10th of December.

Did the prisoners who were going up that day

become difficult in some way?

Mr. Labuschagne, you told the court about your first hanging,

now tell the court about what you experienced at your last one.

LEON: The warrant officer thought they'd been broken.

LEON: But they weren't.

WARDER: (IN ENGLISH) Get him in there!

(WARRANT OFFICER SPEAKING AFRIKAANS)

LEON: Took another half dozen men to get them out.

LEON: We were ordered to take them up in straightjackets

and hang them like that.

Don't touch him!

What happened after the hanging? What were your duties then?

Just a moment.

Miss Marais, the purpose of this evidence is to show

that the execution process was traumatic for the accused.

I'm sure the State would admit to that by now.

Is this correct, Miss Marais?

We are prepared to admit that.

Is there any need for more detail in this area, Mr. Weber?

It's damage control.

They're trying to do to us what we did to them.

My Lord, we're grateful for the concession by the State,

but we're going to have to lead this evidence,

unpleasant as it may be.

We're conscious of our duty to avoid unnecessary evidence,

but we are equally conscious of our duty

to present the defense case fully.

Mr. Labuschagne, continue.

What happened after the hangings?

LEON: We tossed a coin to see

who had to take them to the cemetery.

I lost.

PASTOR: Amen.

ALL: Amen.

LEON: Stop!

Isaiah!

JOHN: What happened when you got back

to the prison. Mr. Labuschagne?

I fainted.

And they took me to the medic.

I had a bump on the left side of my head from the accident

and I was bleeding from my ear.

Were you offered any treatment?

The medic gave me a headache tablet.

A headache tablet.

What happened next?

I came off duty, and started for home.

But the storm was really bad.

What happened, Mr. Labuschagne?

LEON: All I can remember is how tired I was.

How tired I was of everything.

The minibus...

There was almost another accident.

You remember what happened?

Mr. Labuschagne, what happened

after you nearly had an accident with the minibus?

JOHN: You followed them up the quarry road to Magazine Hill.

Once you and the driver reached the dead end at the quarry,

what occurred?

I heard the trapdoors open.

VAN ZYL: Can you say that again?

I heard the sound of the trapdoors opening.

JOHN: Proceed.

Take your time. Tell it slowly.

I smelled the rope.

Could taste the smell of the rope in my throat.

The quarry, Mr. Labuschagne, what occurred there?

I can't remember.

So, that's it, you can't remember?

Mr. Weber, do you have anything else for the defense?

JOHN: Mr. Labuschagne, what happened next?

What do you remember?

Mr. Labuschagne!

Mr. Weber, this is highly improper!

Will you return to the bar at once.

I'm sorry, My Lord.

And so you should be.

It should never happen again.

Do you have any other line of questioning

for this witness at this time, Mr. Weber?

My Lord, I have no further questions. Thank you.

VAN ZYL: Miss Marais.

As the court pleases.

So, you say that the execution process and the work in the pit room

upset you greatly. Is that what you're saying?

You have to speak up. The evidence has to be recorded

and a nod or a shake of your head will not be recorded.

Miss Marais is right. Speak up and direct your answers to us.

So, you're saying that the execution process

and the work in the pit room upset you greatly.

Yes.

But weren't you playing the fool

in all the sections of the prison,

including the gallows room, the pit room,

and even the chapel?

No.

Let me see if I can give your memory a jolt.

Can you recall an occasion when you gave a new warder a fright

by putting white chalk on your face

and hiding in one of the freezers in the autopsy room?

It wasn't me.

But you smiled when I reminded you of the incident. Why?

Don't know that I smiled.

So, what is your answer?

You remember the incident, do you?

I heard about it.

MARAIS: You climbed up on the catwalk

and scared prisoners by making ghost noises.

It's not true.

You sprayed the other warders with the hose

while cleaning the pit room.

Some of us got wet while cleaning.

You once put a lit cigarette

in the mouth of an executed prisoner before closing his coffin.

And the smoke leaked out

with his family there for the funeral.

It wasn't me.

MARAIS: All you have to do is say yes or no.

If any explanation is needed, I will ask you for an explanation.

Otherwise, you can leave your explanations for later

when your advocate re-examines you.

And do not speak to Miss Marais. Address your answers to me.

You collected beads.

No.

New coffins arrived with lids that came in two pieces,

a head piece and a longer body piece.

So that you could get your fingers beneath the head piece

to open the coffin, they pre-set little plastic beads

beneath the lid, didn't they?

Yellow ones, green ones, white ones,

and even little pink ones.

They're washers.

They're washers, you say.

Yes.

You collected these washers.

You kept a washer for every prisoner

you escorted to the gallows, didn't you?

It wasn't like that.

You kept one washer from each coffin

like notches on a gunslinger's six-shooter.

You did so because there was a competition between warders

to see who could collect the most, wasn't there?

I was ordered to do the work.

Please look at this photograph.

These are the washers you collected

before you were arrested, correct?

LEON: Yes.

You kept these washers in your drawer.

This photograph was taken at your house when the police searched it.

You'd placed the washers from the 8th and

the 9th on the string already, hadn't you?

You'll have to speak.

Yes.

I suggest to you that your evidence that

you were upset by the execution process

and the work you had to do in the pit room is just a facade

and that, in truth, you actually enjoyed the work.

In fact, you got used to this special work very quickly, didn't you?

The special work of killing.

That must've made you feel important and powerful,

knowing that you could kill and not be prosecuted for it.

No one except us knew about the work we're doing.

So, how would that make me feel important or powerful?

Don't ask me questions.

You knew you were immune to prosecution,

that you had the blessing of the law, didn't you?

We didn't do the killing, the hangman did.

Yet you've told the court that you had to pull prisoners up by the neck

and drop them again, haven't you?

Yes, but we didn't actually touch the prisoners.

We only touched the rope. It was what

the warrant officer told us to do!

But you dropped them again

so that their necks would break cleanly, didn't you?

LEON: Yes. So, in those cases,

the executioner pushed the lever,

but his hand did not cause the prisoner's neck to break, did it?

Your hands did.

My Lord, with respect, the question is actually an argument

and not a question the witness can answer.

You told us Mr. Labuschagne's state of mind was relevant,

and that every bit of information

that has a bearing on his state of mind is admissible.

So, I'd like to hear the answer.

You physically raised the prisoners and then dropped them again

so that they would die.

Yes.

When a prisoner's neck broke, after the trapdoor had opened,

you saw the executioner's hand as the one that had done the killing.

LEON: Yes, it was his hand.

MARAIS: So, by the same token, when you hauled a prisoner up

dropped him down, and his neck broke,

it was not the executioner's hand that did the killing, was it?

I see what you mean.

So, it was your hand that did the killing.

And it was your hand that did the killing at the quarry, too, wasn't it?

You can't remember what happened

at the quarry, is that what you say?

But I've told you what I can remember.

You claim you have no memory of the shooting.

Is that how we are to understand your evidence?

But I can't remember!

So, your defense is not that you didn't shoot them,

but that you can't remember shooting them.

Is that how we are to understand it?

My Lord, it's not for the accused to answer questions of law.

I alone can answer questions

such as those proposed by my learned friend.

No more questions, My Lord.

Mr. Weber, do you intend to re

If it pleases My Lord.

You killed them.

Everyone knows that.

Isn't that right?

Isn't that right, Mr. Labuschagne?

I don't know.

I mean, it must've been me.

But I don't understand.

Two years ago, you were a school prefect and active in the church.

And now you're here in court, on trial for murder.

How did that happen?

I don't know.

You were a husband, a father,

but now neither your wife nor your daughter will visit you in the cells

and they've not attended court, either, have they?

What brought about this change, Mr. Labuschagne?

Tell us what happened, the reasons you fired those shots.

JOHN: Mr. Labuschagne!

You were having problems, weren't you?

So, why didn't you go to the warrant officer and ask to seek for help?

A psychiatrist could've helped you!

Why didn't you tell me?

Before I started hurting my wife.

VAN ZYL: Mr. Labuschagne.

Before I lost everything.

Before I killed seven people!

VAN ZYL: Mr. Labuschagne!

Why didn't you tell me!

That is enough!

Bailiff!

LEON: Why didn't you tell me?

VAN ZYL: Remove the accused from the dock.

VAN ZYL: Order!

If I'd known what you were going to do,

I would never have allowed further questioning.

Court adjourned.

They pass these cases off to the most junior advocates

because no one cares.

The judges hand down death sentences in the name of the law.

And the prison officials say they're just witnesses,

it's the hangman that does the killing.

It's denial of responsibility all the way down the line.

What's the hangman's excuse then?

It's gravity's fault, I suppose.

JOHN: Tell us in your own words what you observed.

Mr. Labuschagne, the court is waiting.

What happened after you nearly had an accident with the minibus?

The quarry, Mr. Labuschagne. Tell us what you remember.

You followed them up the quarry road to Magazine Hill,

and once you reached the dead end, what occurred?

What happened, Mr. Labuschagne?

What did you see?

LEON: The noise.

You'll lead the inspection in loco, Weber.

Frankly, I'm surprised Kathleen consented.

I would've expected to close a case like this by now.

Well, thank you, Judge.

I'd like to start by having the accused

stand next to the door of the bakkie,

so that we can measure the exact distance from there to the minibus.

I'd now like the accused to raise his arm

and point toward the minibus.

Can we agree that the distance is no more than 10 meters?

VAN ZYL: Ten-and-a-half, I'd say. Anything else?

Leon.

Leon.

VAN ZYL: Why did you bring us here?

Judge, we think this is the trigger

for an unconditioned response in him, that he acted unconsciously.

Something to do with this door.

J.P., we would like the court to take note of the

winding and undulating nature of the track leading to the quarry.

NIEMAND: And the rocks in the roadway.

MARAIS: It would require a very conscious

effort to drive over such terrain.

VAN ZYL: Noted.

If there's nothing else, we'll reassemble back at court.

Judge, I have one further request

before we terminate the inspection.

(WARRANT OFFICER SPEAKING AFRIKAANS)

VAN ZYL: So, what are we here to see, Mr. Weber?

I wonder if the warrant officer would be kind enough

to throw the lever and release the trapdoor.

JOHN: Leon.

Leon,

what I did today...

I just wanted to explain...

I'm just so sorry...

...for what I've done.

I'm just so sorry.

This list of names

of men hanged at Maximum Security Prison

might look like any list of names and dates and numbers.

Nothing more than an anonymous flock.

But to Leon Labuschagne,

these were real people who entered his life.

He processed them, placed them in their cells,

woke them, saw that they were fed,

took them to the showers and the exercise yard,

met their families.

Searched them, touched them.

Read their mail, led their Bible studies, and then,

he took them to the gallows.

Some he was made to kill with his own hands.

After which he handled their dead, naked bodies,

and buried them.

No, to Leon Labuschagne,

this is not an abstract list of names, or an anonymous flock.

But the list is incomplete

because there's a name missing from it.

And that name is

Leon Albert Labuschagne.

That is ridiculous, Mr. Weber!

Is it? He spent his whole time locked in with them!

He shared every moment of their last days with them,

and then he was made to witness

the gruesome details of their deaths

on a regular and extended basis!

He has been sentenced to death as surely as all the others!

That is a ridiculous submission!

It is not ridiculous, My Lord!

What is ridiculous is the denial

of what we have done to this young man!

My Lord, gentlemen, you cannot ask a man

to be both shepherd and butcher at the same time.

VAN ZYL: Miss Marais,

do you have a final reply to the defense's argument?

My Lord, gentlemen assessors.

May I remind the court that this is a case of murder.

Murder seven times over.

And that the court should declare it to be such.

Leon Labuschagne, trained in the physical act of killing,

herded his victims to a secluded area,

where he shot and killed them.

He has not been a good witness, but evasive and unresponsive.

And now he tries the court's indulgence

with a farfetched and unconvincing effort to save his own life.

J.P. says they won't give judgment tomorrow.

They apparently need another day.

Wonder what that's about.

Perhaps one of the assessors might not agree with the proposed verdict

and the judge would prefer a unanimous decision.

So, they're just being careful, taking their time.

Bad news for you, then.

They take longer with a conviction than an acquittal.

J.P. will want to write an appeal-proof judgment.

Have a good evening.

And you.

Nice closing argument.

You want to talk?

Anne says you disappear quite often. Sometimes for days.

What is this, one of your cross examinations?

Tell me what's going on, Pierre.

We're alone. You're drunk enough.

What does it matter?

You're not on down-time, are you?

You're running an op somewhere.

We bombed a house today.

Is that what you want to hear?

It's your job, right?

Yes, it's my job!

I serve this country. It is my duty, and that is why I do it!

So, why are you drunk and in a state about it, then?

Mr. Labuschagne, please stand up.

We are not united in our findings of the facts

and there will be a majority verdict.

I shall read the judgment of the majority

and their verdict, not the opinion of the dissenting member,

will be the verdict of this court.

Mr. Labuschagne,

while your defense counsel have put forward the argument

that your actions were not conscious or voluntary, as required by law,

this court finds you guilty of murder as charged.

However, due to the extraordinary events

that led to your actions at the quarry,

the court finds extenuating circumstances present.

You are therefore sentenced to 20 years imprisonment

with the possibility of early parole,

based upon your progress in a program of psychiatric treatment,

supervised by a state appointed psychologist.

Well done.

Congratulations. I wouldn't have thought anyone could pull that off.

It won't be a popular decision on either side.

Somebody once said, "In the cycle of killing,

"there's no beginning or end, just more killing."

Maybe we addressed that on some level.

Take care.

Thank you, sir.

* I was born in the rain I belonged to no one

* I was born into what I became

* And it's not my choice to be him

* Sooner or later they'll come to take me

* And this too shall pass

* And if they talk about you and me It will serve me well

* No man could wish for a better friend

* A rich father's die and the wars go down and I find my hell

* The very last breath is a lonely sound

* Mercy of angels, where are you now?

* I see the light

* I hear the roar of thunder

* See how they run

* I hear the sound of nothing

* I hear the silence breathing inside

* Sparing time for the stranger with more questions than answers

* Give a little love to the one you leave in this world of hate

* In this war of words

* And there's gotta be a right to a fight on the final day

* Holding my hand, show me the way

* Show me the way

* Mercy of angels

* Somewhere to rest my spirit

* When I'm bound to go nowhere

* See how they run

* I hear the sound of nothing

* I hear the silence breathing inside

* Screaming inside screaming inside *

Captioned by Deluxe