All language subtitles for law.and.order.s04e02.1080p.bluray.x264-segment_track5_[eng]

(male narrator)
In the criminal justice system...

the people are represented
by two separate yet equally important groups:

the police
who investigate crime...

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

[car horns honking]

Robert, someone
might see us. So?

[chuckling]
Oh, God.

[laughing]

(man)
Give me some change? Beat it!

Come on, I'm hungry.

Robert, there's someone.

Yeah, that guy's
in orbit around Pluto. No.

Let's just get a cab.
No. This time we stay, they go.

What are you doing?
Hey, buddy.

(Robert)
Scram.

Come on, let's go.

[man groaning]

[Cathy and Robert exclaiming]

We worked with him
for over three hours.

Multiple fractures
of the skull, intracranial hemorrhages....

It's a miracle he's alive.

Broken kneecap, broken leg,
he got the full workout.

What do you think,
baseball bat? Narrower, like a pipe.

It left a crisscross pattern
on the wounds.

Any idea
when he'll be conscious? With injuries like this?

Tomorrow, next week,
next year.

Assuming
he lives out the night.

What about his name?
You find any ID?

| didn't search
his pockets.

His clothing is here.
We had to cut it off him.

Your turn
to sort the laundry.

[woman chattering
on P.A. System]

Let's get it all.

Mr. Five-and-dime.
Broken pencil, string...

paper clips, crack pipe.
Nice to know he had a hobby.

Appointment card
at Friedland Psychiatric...

for Roland Kirk,
eight days ago.

No wallet.

He left that
in the other suit with the credit cards.

Yeah, he preferred cash.

Whoa, there's
a couple of grand, here. All in 20s.

So who says
clothes make the man?

Couple who found him,
we had to fight with them to get their names.

Wedding rings
didn't match.

They see a guy
with a shopping cart?

Before they came
into the alley, he spare-changed them.

"White male with red hat."
Too early for Christmas.

[rattling]

We found a crack pipe
on Kirk.

Stoned and hassling
the locals. That was him.

He had $2,200 on him.

What, was he selling crack
to the other pipeheads?

Between fighting
and getting high...

he hardly had time
for anything else.

This a playground?
That's Kirk's.

(Wheeler)
Anybody comes near it, he decks them.

A nightie?

Christian Dior,
still got the price tags.

A little something
for the missis?

Yeah, right,
he was dating Marla Maples.

(Briscoe)
Did Kirk have any associates?

Aside from
the imaginary ones? No.

(cop)
Detective?

This is real.
So is the blood.

Hey, get us a shot of this....

It reinforces concrete,
what do you call it? Rebar.

Right there.

(Kelley)
Come on.

Hey, I'm walking.
I'm cooperating.

You wanted a guy
in a red hat? Meet George Siddell.

Mr. Siddell,
how're you doing today?

Listen, gotta ask you,
were you here last night after midnight?

I'm not sure.
| lost my watch.

A guy named Roland Kirk
got beat up bad last night.

With that.

Now we know
you were around.

Roland?

I'm shocked.

I'm desolated.
| bet.

You ever hassle
with him?

| respected Roland.

He means
he was terrified of Kirk. He's terrified of everybody.

He's harmless.

All right.
Get him a cup of coffee.

We're gonna want
to talk to him later maybe.

Rooms with a view.
Want to start ringing doorbells?

We hear all kinds of things
from the street.

We used to call the police.
Now, we don't bother.

They can't do anything.

Look, | have to perform
a root canal in 20 minutes.

This Roland Kirk.
Now, you saw him around?

Everybody did.
He was a problem around here.

But was he a problem
to anyone in particular?

Yes,
the people of New York City. Now, | really have to go. Bye.

So long.
Bye.

We went to the movies.
We got home at 11:00.

This would've happened
around midnight.

The news was on.
We didn't hear anything.

It was a street person?

He was attacked 30 feet
from your living-room window.

| mean, how loud
do you play the news?

We've lived here
for eight years.

We stopped listening
to the street a long time ago.

(Prosky)
Twenty years ago, | wouldn't live anywhere else.

Now, it's like Calcutta.
People living and dying in the streets.

Yeah, but last night
around 12:00, Mr. Prosky?

Yeah, well, | close at 11:00.

11: 30, | was
halfway across the Triborough.

When you were leaving
did you happen to see Roland Kirk?

Not last night.

But I've seen him around
with some other lowlife.

A guy in ared hat?
| don't know about a hat...

but | can tell you
about the smell. How about a name?

Yeah, sure.
It was, "Hey, you, stay out of my garbage."

So what else is new?

Nobody heard anything,
nobody saw anything...

and nobody gives a damn.
And the victim was a model citizen.

Roland Kirk, 43.

Multiples for vandalism,
misdemeanor assault...

criminal mischief,
disorderly conduct, possession.

Why wasn't this man in jail?

Hey, the DA keeps
pleading him out...

as an emotionally
disturbed person.

The weapon was a rebar,
probably from a construction site down the street.

Blood and hair are Kirk's.
No prints.

Whoever popped him
left his money, so it wasn't a robbery.

He didn't make $2,200
dealing dime bags.

Maybe he stole it
from someone higher up the food chain.

Maybe he played the ponies.
How much time we gonna spend on this?

As long as it takes
to check off the boxes.

Didn't he have a card
from a hospital? Friedland Psychiatric.

Maybe he was on medication.

If he was getting pills
from some hospital...

he would've had
a Medicaid card.

Maybe somebody
beat him up for it. George Siddell?

| like offices.
Used to work in one.

[phone ringing]

Sorting, filing...
Come on, George.

Focus on the card.
Whose name does it say?

(Briscoe) Roland Kirk.
Very good.

But we found it
in your pocket. You see our problem?

People are gonna say
you clobbered Kirk and took his card.

No, | didn't.
He gave it to me, a long time ago.

Yeah. I'm sure he did.

But we're gonna have
to keep you here, until we can ask him.

That's just like the cops.
Never believe anything you tell them.

| used the card.

Tuesday. A week ago.

At the hospital,
bought some pills.

Lithium. Sixty of them.

So where are the pills now?

| sold them.

| like wine.

First admitted, June '77.
Drug-induced psychosis.

Again in '78, '79,
right through till last May.

Most were for
court-order evaluations. ..

two weeks treatment,
and out he goes.

Oh, right, the miracle cure.
| read about it at the checkout stand.

Hey, we don't
make the guidelines.

Once a patient is no longer
a danger to himself...

or to others,
we have to release him.

Okay, but his prescription,
did you fill it here?

Yes. He's supposed
to come in ohce a month.

Okay. When was the last time?

Last week.
Sixty units, Lithium.

Would he have to show ID?
No. Just his Medicaid card.

Dog, in his file,
does it say anything about his friends...

people he might know
on the outside? A peer group?

No, socialization
was something he needed to work on.

How about next of kin?
Sharon Kirk signed him out two years ago.

When Dad had a heart attack,
my brother never showed up at the funeral.

Three weeks later,
we found out he was living on the street.

There'd been signs before.

He had a routine,
he had his medication.

He seemed to be well,
so they'd release him.

Did he take his pills?
Long as he'd remember to, he'd be fine.

When he stayed with us,
two years ago...

| trusted him
to baby-sit my kids...

and then one day he was gone.

Back to Bedford Street?

He said that was his home.

He said it had something to do
with a sonic convergence.

He tried to explain it to me,
but. ..

You have any idea
why he had a pocketful of cash?

No. He panhandled.
How much could he have?

$2,200.

What on earth was he doing....

A couple of weeks ago...

he sent me a check for $108.

| figured it was worthless.

He said it was
for a doll he broke when | was four years old.

You still have the check?
| think so.

Account was opened
five weeks ago with a balance of $15,000.

Tax refund.
| don't know.

The account was set up
for Mr. Kirk as a trust, with a daily withdrawal limit.

And Kirk maxed out the limit.
Withdrew $200 a day.

$7,000 in five weeks.

Faster than he could smoke it.
Who's the trustee?

Richard Gillrich,
Mental Health Legal Advocates.

His signature's required
on all withdrawals over $200.

I'm amazed
to see you investigating.

Mindless violence
against the homeless is business as usual.

What about lawyers
and trust funds?

Is that business as usual
for the homeless?

If they're being
harassed, it is.

Did you sue the CIA
for putting transistors in Kirk's head?

We did even better than that.
We sued the residents of Bedford Street.

Read our brief.

They tried to have him
classified as an habitual offender.

They tried to get him
committed to Friedland Psychiatric Center.

Where he might've
gotten some help.

Mr. Kirk felt fully capable
of deciding for himself what he wanted.

| see you got him released
from the hospital last February.

Took him home with you
or just left him on the sidewalk?

Spare me the homilies.

Mr. Kirk could've afforded
a different choice.

The Block Association
insisted ..

on a gag order,
but they settled for $30,000 plus our costs.

Half this year, half next.
Sounds like a shakedown.

Next time
| run out of beer money, I'll call you.

If your rights
are being violated, maybe you should.

This Block Association.
It had assets?

Individual members did.

This was a civil rights issue.

We have the minutes to their
Association meetings.

The harassment
was Clearly premeditated.

(Lantos)
| don't think you realize what Mr. Kirk put us through.

Well, then,
he won't find a vacancy in yuppie heaven.

Too bad he lost
his Gold card. We tried kindness, Detective.

The Block Association
isn't interested in putting the homeless just on the bus.

We tried to find them
public housing, jobs-- Now wait a minute...

he picked your pocket
for $30,000.

| mean,
is there anybody on the block that wants a refund?

Everyone was outraged.
We thought he belonged in a hospital.

But the doctors said
his problem wasn't mental...

and the judges said
it wasn't criminal.

Well, being homeless and crazy
isn't against the law.

All right,
maybe the guy was a nuisance. Nuisance?

Let me show you a nuisance.

The last time
a judge released him from the hospital...

our lawyer thought
we should follow Mr. Kirk around with a video...

so the next judge
would see what we have to go through.

Get out! Get out of here!
Gef out of the street!

| told you not to come around,
didn't |? What you doing in my street? Get out!

(Kirk)
Out of here!

Crazy! This is my street!
Bang!

[car horn honking]

Hey.

Outl

Get out of here!
Gef ouyt!

| told you to get out!
| want you out now! Get out!

Three weeks later,
that nuisance pushed a child into a busy intersection.

| [Kirk humming]

Hey!

(Lantos)
Even the night he was attacked...

he was still at it.

How's that?

| was told he mugged somebody.
Irene Morrissey. Right in front of her house.

Put her in the hospital.

It was about 11:00.
| was coming home from an art class. ..

and he just attacked me.

Took my shopping bag,
and ran down the middle of the street.

That bag, was there
a nightgown in it? Yeah.

| had bought it that afternoon
from Bergman's.

Why didn't you
call the police?

(Morrissey)
What's the point?

Last time they arrested him,
he was back on the street two hours later.

It happens, Mr. Morrissey.

When he ran away,
did you see where he went?

| went in the house.
| was upset. He nearly tore her arm off.

| mean, we thought
her shoulder was broken.

It's just a torn rotator cuff.
1t'll be all right.

And her face was bloody
where he scratched her. ..

| took her
to the emergency room over at 12th Street.

Did anybody see you
get mugged?

| wasn't paying attention.

When we moved in here
four years ago...

we used to leave food out
for this guy.

You know, a homeless guy
gets attacked with a rebar...

nobody calls
the cops. Okay.

But a woman gets mugged,
and still nobody calls the cops?

Let's complain to the union.
They're trying to put us out of business.

Yeah? Well, Keep him awake,
okay? Thanks.

Kirk's out of his coma.

[groaning]
Oh, man, | hurt.

Who are you?

You don't live
oh Bedford Street.

Take it easy.
We work for the city.

We're detectives.
You remember who attacked you?

The other night, Roland.
In the alley on Bedford.

Yeah, | know.
It was a bald woman.

She jumped on my chest.
A bald woman?

Yeah. In a flowered dress.

Pounding on me
and kissing me.

Doc. ..

are we wasting our time here?

There is a hairline fracture
of his breastbone.

| think he remembers
the paramedics...

giving him CPR
and mouth-to-mouth breathing.

You get a lot of bald women
on the ambulances these days?

She was bald.
She had a flowered dress.

You don't believe me,
ask Governor Cuomo.

First of all, he's insane.

Second of all,
he was whacked in the head with a metal bar.

He's gonna make
a terrific witness.

So what? You want us
to call off the search for bald women?

| want you to find out
what went on at the meetings of the Block Association.

$30,000 gets you
some strong opinions.

Kirk's lawyer did say
he subpoenaed the minutes.

Yeah, well,
these people might be mad as hell.

But you really think
one of them's gonna whack him on the head with a rebar?

Look at the minutes.
See who the hotheads are.

Out of two hours,
they spent an hour and 45 on Kirk.

"Kirk smashed my car window
with a brick, and urinated into the car."

As of last month,
216 complaints.

After 50,
I'd call the realtor.

And sell for peanuts
when your life savings is holding up the roof?

This is a creative bunch.

One guy thought
seeding the alley with broken glass would...

keep Kirk
from sleeping there. Yeah.

Well, he was a nightmare.

Hey, Mrs. Bundy?

The little old lady
who told us she couldn't hear anything from the alley?

She complained here six times
that Kirk was keeping her awake.

It was after midnight.
| was asleep.

You told your neighbors
you couldn't sleep because of Roland Kirk.

How do you know that?

We're detectives,
Mrs. Bundy. We know how to find things out.

Now why don't you
just tell us the truth.

| was in bed. | heard voices.

What were they saying?
| couldn't tell.

Well, you didn't just go
right back to sleep though, did you?

| got up. | looked down.

| saw two men
leaving the alley.

One,
| couldn't tell who it was.

The other was Dr. Creighton.
The dentist?

He went into his house,
through the back way.

He was wearing his bathrobe.

| didn't see anything wrong.

The next morning,
after Kirk was found. ..

didn't it occur to you
to say something?

| didn't see anything wrong.

Mrs. Bundy's a sweetheart.

One evening last week,
she mistook me for her son-in-law.

Night blindness,
very common among the elderly.

Lying afflicts
all age groups.

Kirk ever give you
any trouble? | live here, don't 1?

Last spring...

my 11-year-old son's
standing at the corner...

waiting for the light
to change. Kirk shoves him out into traffic.

It's a miracle
he wasn't killed.

Boy, if somebody
messed with my daughter like that...

It crossed my mind.
But I'm not as crazy as he is.

Creighton's bald,
and he was wearing a bathrobe.

And he's trained
to perform CPR, so it fits what Kirk said.

He said it was a woman.
Maybe Creighton kisses like one.

Are you volunteering
to find out?

The good people
of Bedford Street. .

have been putting up
one brick wall after another.

Now, maybe we make an arrest,
maybe we shake something loose.

Your eyewitnesses
aren't reliable enough to support an arrest warrant.

How about
a search warrant?

You do CPR
on a bleeding victim, you're gonna get wet.

Hey, that's right.

Maybe Creighton
got some low-rent blood on his silk pajamas.

Convincing a judge
to play along won't be a walk in the spring rain.

(Logan)
| already looked at the calendar.

You got Judge Reisman
or Judge Talbert, take your pick.

Reisman. I've gotten some
shaky drug warrants past him.

This is your basis
for a search warrant?

An elderly witness
who wears glasses? You can't be sure what she saw.

She saw two things
the victim saw.

A robe that could've
looked like a dress and a bald head.

Creighton's a doctor,
he'd know CPR.

If he worked on Kirk
that night, there'd be blood on his robe.

Is that
what you're looking for? Evidence of CPR?

| didn't know
that was a crime.

We're after bigger fish,
Your Honor. Attempted murder.

Dr. Creighton's
an oral surgeon, not a thug.

Judge, you ever had
your wisdom teeth pulled?

Give me the warrant.

[police radio chattering]

I've called my attorney.
He'll be here in 10 minutes.

Keep him out of our way.

| can't believe
they have the right to do this.

Ray will take care of it.

Got arobe here.

It's brand-new.

These aren't.

Forensics found blood
on Creighton's slippers.

It matches Kirk's.
That puts him at the scene.

It doesn't tell us when,
or what he did there.

But the old lady
puts him there and at the right time.

Bring him in.
And arrest him for saving Kirk's life?

Hey, who says he didn't
try to kill him first?

There's no direct evidence
of that.

Well, if he didn't
swing the stick, he probably knows who did.

There was
a second person there.

I'll prepare the warrant.

Oh, yeah.

| Know what's going on now.
| Know exactly what's going on.

All right just relax, Roland.
Now you're gonna look at some people...

and you're gonna tell us
if you recognize anybody.

State's key witness, huh?
Congratulations. | can rest my case right now.

Here they come.
Okay, here we go.

The lineup.

Here we go.

Right there.
Right there in the middle.

That's her.

Next case.

"Docket number 63181.
People v. Steven R. Creighton.

(clerk)
"The charges are attempted murder in the second degree...

"assault in the first degree."

What's the plea?
Not guilty.

(Sirkin)
People? The People ask for $150,000.

That's ridiculous, Your Honor.
The victim identified the defendant.

The victim doesn't know
his birds from his bees.

The People's case
is predicated on the testimony of an insane person.

Save it for your opening.

Your Honor, my client
is a respected oral surgeon.

You're on thin ice, Counselor.
I've seen Marathon Man.

Bail is set at $150,000.

Next up.

Dr. Creighton
stepped in that blood...

when he took the trash out
the next evening.

The night
you're talking about...

he was enjoying
a good night's sleep.

Not according
to our eyewitnesses.

Yeah, a lunatic
and Mrs. Magoo? This is a farce.

Ray, | don't see the humor
in someone getting beaten by a steel bar.

And, Dr. Creighton,
we know that someone was in the alley with you...

and when we find them,
they might be more cooperative than you are.

What if he had nothing to do
with the attack, if he just administered CPR.

He's a doctor,
he left a man dying in a garbage heap.

He could be facing
a murder charge. | resent that.

| saved his life,
for God's sake. | gave him mouth-to-mouth--

Doctor.

We drop it down
to failure to report.

He pleads no contest.
Will that satisfy you?

It depends on his story.

It was over
by the time | got outside. Prosky was there.

He said
he'd called the paramedics from his restaurant.

Did he say
who did the beating? | didn't ask.

Kirk was barely breathing.
| started compressions.

| did everything necessary.
Except wait for the paramedics.

Prosky said
he'd take care of the rest.

That he'd keep my name
out of it.

| have friends, doctors,
who've been sued over this.

You help somebody in trouble.
Next thing, they take your house.

| was closing up
for the night, when | heard all hell break loose.

By the time
| ran to the alley, nobody was there except Kirk...

flat on his back. Bleeding.

Next thing,
Creighton came out.

That's not the story
you told the police. This is great.

You people drop the ball
and then you start pointing the finger at us.

| didn't want to get
Creighton in trouble, all right?

He's worried about lawsuits.
Just being a good neighbor?

How gullible do | look?

Miss, we don't
take care of ourselves, nobody else will.

You told Dr. Creighton
you called the paramedics.

Unfortunately, there's
no record of that call.

| didn't make any calls.

And | sure as hell
didn't tell Creighton | did.

He's lying
to save his own ass.

| left him with Kirk.
He was supposed to take care of it.

Well, we have two suspects
passing the buck.

Your victim
can't make the call? We're afraid to ask him.

His performance at the lineup
hardly inspired confidence.

His psychiatric records
indicate that...

when he's off drugs
he's somewhat coherent.

There's a long road between
coherence and competence.

Yeah, you don't
want to prosecute. Even with direct evidence. .

it's tough to sell a jury
that's been inundated with the homeless.

That guy
terrorized the neighborhood for three years.

And you think what they did
is a solution to the homeless problem?

What next? Flying squads
in the middle of the night?

If it was my child
he pushed into traffic, | might consider it.

Yeah, that's only
capital punishment.

Or do you make an exception
for people like Roland Kirk?

I'll have Elizabeth
talk to him.

When | smoke up,
these people are munchkins.

Little things | can
just flick out of my way. You're not high now.

Is it possible you remember
more about what happened in the alley?

What happened in the alley.
What do you think? | got messed up.

You described a bald woman.
Yeah, the dentist.

He walks around in a dress,
and they say I'm crazy?

Do you remember anybody else
in the alley?

Yeah, | know who.

Mr. "We reserve
the right to serve."

The man with the restaurant.

You mean Leon Prosky?

He'd never even give me
a damn glass of water.

Yeah, he was there.

Do you remember
what he was doing?

| was getting whacked.
| was bleeding.

| tried giving him the bag.

Well, what bag is that?
The one with the purple letters.

He kept pulling at it.
Did he say why?

His wife gives me the bag.
Then he wants it back.

| can't figure
these people out.

What is that, Roland?

Can | keep this?

Sure.

Happy birthday.

He drew this
while | was talking to him.

Once the drugs
clear his system. He settles down.

He becomes more lucid.

It explains why they keep
putting him back out on the streets.

Where he resumes
his old habits.

The drugs trigger
psychotic episodes, back he goes to the hospital.

At some point, doesn't
someone catch on that he needs long-term treatment?

There's no place for him.

Drug treatment programs
won't take addicts who are mentally ill...

and psychiatric hospitals
don't treat addicts.

So the system's crazier
than the people it's trying to help.

(Stone)
Liz...

do you believe Roland Kirk?

| think he's the one person
who has no reason to lie.

You know,
| already went through all this with the police.

Don't you people
talk to each other?

| read your statement.
It wasn't clear what time you got home.

Look, this drug addict
mauled my wife.

He separated her shoulder,
he drew blood.

You've got some nerve
making me feel like I'm the one under investigation.

My questions are very routine,
Mr. Morrissey.

Yeah, right.
So tell me where you live.

Next time we have a problem
with Roland Kirk, we'll send him over.

| have tax reports to do.
Goodbye, Miss Kincaid.

We signed Mrs. Morrissey in
at 10:50, and Dr. Parks saw her at 11:15.

Yeah, | remember
Mr. Morrissey now.

Out of a roomful
of emergencies? The squeaky wheel.

You'd think
his wife had been shot through the heart.

Do you know
what time they left?

She had blood panels
and x-rays, they were here maybe an hour.

But you're guessing.
Look, all | Know is the guy was a pest...

and he took all my change
for the pay phone.

He made one phone call
before his wife went into x-ray...

and one phone call
right before they left. Thanks.

| checked the usage
on the pay phone.

Two calls were made
to Prosky's restaurant between 11:00 and 12:00.

Morrissey is upset.
He wants revenge, and he calls Prosky.

Prosky tells him
Kirk's in the alley.

And Kirk ends up
in a coma.

Except the calls
don't prove Morrissey was in the alley.

So we start with Prosky.

Have him come in
with his lawyer.

These are more than
just customers, Mr. Prosky considers them his friends.

Mr. Prosky,
we could be looking at a conspiracy charge here.

Based on what?
Answering the phone?

He acted as a lookout
for Harold Morrissey.

That's enough
to make him an accomplice.

But | didn't do anything.
Leon, please.

| can see a light touch
doesn't come naturally to you.

What are you offering?
That depends on what he says.

Tell them.

| saw Morrissey do it.

He came back
from the hospital.

He grabbed a rebar
from the construction site.

He went in the alley, and he--
Wait a2 minute.

He grabbed the rebar
before he went into the alley?

Yeah.
And the next thing | knew....

(Stone)
Call Briscoe.

(Logan)
Harold Morrissey, you're under arrest...

for the attempted murder
of Roland Kirk.

You have the right
to remain silent and anything you say...

can be used against you
in a court of law. Do you understand that?

You have the right
to an attorney.

Should you refuse
that right...

He's hiding behind
a justification defense.

(Schiff)
Now listen, Ben.

Lawful use of physical force
to terminate a larceny...

is always a good reason
to beat up a mugger.

Mrs. Morrissey
was mugged two hours before the beating.

After three years
of harassment...

the jury's not gonna
start counting minutes.

It is a clear case
of premeditation.

He walked in that alley
with the rebar.

He knew that Roland Kirk
was violent, he was preparing for the worst.

It's called self-preservation.
It is also called vigilantism.

I'm in for a chorus
of Amazing Grace.

| didn't know that
he had time to cool off.

An hour earlier,
Kirk was fair game?

I'm not saying that
I'm comfortable prosecuting a man that...

but for the grace of God
could be me.

If the Almighty looked away
for half a second ...

you could also be Roland Kirk.

My wife and |
were returning from a dinner.

We saw Mrs. Morrissey
get out of a cab.

She had a shopping bag
on her arm.

Mr. Kirk pushed her,
grabbed the bag and ran away.

| went to see
if she was all right...

and then Mr. Morrissey
came out of his house.

And did Mr. Morrissey
say anything to you?

He was furious,
understandably.

Kirk had scratched her face.

| told him his priority
was getting his wife to the hospital.

That's what he did.
They got into a cab, and | went home.

Did there come a time
later that evening...

when you heard
a disturbance in the alley?

Yes, | went outside.
Prosky was there. Kirk was unconscious.

His breathing was labored...

he was in obvious
cardiac distress, so | administered CPR.

And what time was this?
Around 12:30.

And what time
did you see Mr. Kirk...

take Mrs. Morrissey's bag?
That had to be 10:30.

That's a full two hours
earlier, correct? That's right.

Thank you.

Yes or no, Doctor.

After you administered CPR
to Mr. Kirk...

did you wait around
for the paramedics to arrive?

No.

Did you do anything
about the blood gushing from his head?

He was breathing
when | left. There was-- But. ..

had the paramedics
been delayed...

he could have bled to death,
isn't that right?

It's possible.

True or false.

Six months ago...

Mr. Kirk pushed
your 11-year-old son in front of a moving car.

That's right.

Well, if it'd been my son...

| sure as hell
would want the guy dead. Objection.

Sustained.

Mr. Morrissey called again
from the hospital.

He wanted to know if Kirk
was still in the alley.

| told him yes.

Did you see Mr. Morrissey
later that evening?

It was after midnight.
| was closing up.

| saw him get out of a cab
and head towards the alley.

And what did you do?

This guy Kirk is dangerous.

| didn't want anything
to happen to Mr. Morrissey.

(Prosky)
| followed him into the alley.

(Stone)
And what happened next? The guy deserved it.

He wouldn't let us
live our lives.

Mr. Prosky, please.
Just tell us what happened.

Mr. Morrissey
started hitting him. Where?

On the legs.
Anywhere else?

And then the head.
With what?

His fists?
No.

The rebar.
And where did he get it?

They're fixing up
a building next door. They have them lying around.

And he armed himself with that
before he entered the alley, right?

Yeah, sure, who wouldn't?
Thank you.

Did you see Mr. Kirk
try to give the shopping bag back to Mr. Morrissey?

No.

Did you see Mr. Kirk
attack Mr. Morrissey...

before he started
swinging the rebar?

Yes.

Sidebar, Your Honor.
Approach.

This witness
has sudden recall he never told the police.

Are you saying
that I'm suborning perjury?

lam saying that,
that witness is lying.

Credibility is left
to the jury, Counselor.

If you want to discredit him,
call another witness.

Then | am amending
my withess list.

| want to call
Mr. Kirk to the stand.

The man's certifiable.
He's not competent.

Have him in my office.
9:00 am.

Yes, Mr. Kirk
becomes delusional.

But typically the delusions
are drug-induced.

He's been under medical care
since the incident, Your Honor.

When he was high
as a kite.

(Stone)
The issue is not whether he can stand trial...

but whether
he can bear withess.

Now he was there,
he saw what happened.

He remembers,
and he can communicate that to a jury.

With how much
coaching, Ben?

He certainly won't
perjure himself, if that's what you mean.

We'll ignore that,
Counselors.

Mr. Kirk, how old are you?
I'm 44, next January.

Do you remember where you were
when you were beaten?

| was in the alley.
| often sleep there.

| assume there
won't be any trouble with the oath, Ben.

I'm a very religious man,
Your Honor.

That's good enough for me.

| like to sleep in the alley.
It's quiet.

| was there the night
Mr. Morrissey beat me up.

Well, tell us
what you remember.

| was asleep.

All of a sudden,
my legs were on fire.

(Stone)
What do you mean? | was in pain.

| opened my eyes,
and | saw Mr. Morrissey standing over me.

He had a metal bar
in his hand. And what did you do?

| said,
"You want the damn bag so much? Take it"

And did he take it?
He kept hitting me.

How often?
Again and again and again.

Thank you.

Mr. Kirk, when you
first spoke to the police...

did you tell them
this same story? No.

Why was that?

| was out of it.
| was high on crack.

But | remember now.

And when you get high...

you have no idea
what's going on around you, is that right?

No.

Is that why you were
involuntarily committed...

to the Friedland
Psychiatric Center at least...

adozen times
in the last three years?

When I'm feeling better,
they let me go.

And when you get out
of the hospital this time, where are you gonna go?

My sister said
| could stay with her.

But things didn't work out
with your sister the last time you were there.

Well, it wasn't her fault.

When you left your sister's,
where did you go?

Where | live. Bedford Street.

You see, there's
this sonic convergence-- And when you go there...

you get high, don't you, sir?

Yes, | have to. | feel better.

And you buy the crack...

with money you won
suing the residents of Bedford Street.

Isn't that right?

They harassed me.
Oh, they say they're the victims.

I'm the victim.
He tried to kill me. | may never walk right again.

You gonna sue them again,
Mr. Kirk? You better believe it.

And I'll get enough crack
to last me a lifetime.

And every time
that son of a bitch comes out of his house. .

he'll see me
sitting in my Rolls-Royce wheelchair...

getting high,
and getting in his pudgy little face.

No more questions.

All | wanted to do
was to get my wife's things back.

Mr. Prosky told me
Kirk was in the alley sleeping.

The bag was next to him.

(Mullen)
What happened when you entered the alley?

Thank God | had the rebar
to protect myself.

As soon as | got near him
he was all over me.

| mean, sure, | hit him.
What would you do? You saw what he was like.

Mr. Morrissey,
you testified that you were scared of...

Mr. Kirk, right?
Everyone is.

He's dangerous. That's why
| brought the rebar.

And that you would use
physical force if it were necessary.

Yeah, if | had to.

And at the slightest
provocation, you'd come out swinging, right?

Well, I'm not a wild man.

| defended myself
only when he attacked me.

Did he injure you?
| didn't let him get close enough.

You mean
that you broke his kneecap, is that right?

That's right.
And did that stop him, sir?

No.

So you hit him again
in the legs?

Yes.

Did you have reason
to hit him a third time?

Yes.
Where?

On the head.
Why?

He kept coming at me.
How could he?

You'd just broken his legs.
He couldn't walk.

| don't remember.
| mean, you know, it happened too fast.

Too fast, Mr. Morrissey?

He has by now
two broken legs...

and it's all happening
too fast?

Isn't it true...

that you crippled Mr. Kirk
with a surgical strike to the knee. .

while he was asleep?
No.

And then you proceeded
to beat his brains in...

so that he wouldn't bother you
or your wife ever again?

That's not true.
Look, | am not the animal here. He is.

He should be locked in a cage,
right? That's right...

but you people
can't seem to do that.

You let him ruin our lives.

We're responsible
for Mr. Kirk? You're damn right.

You'd wanna come out here
and beat our brains in, right?

Don't think
| haven't thought of it.

Thank you, Mr. Morrissey.

Roland Kirk smokes crack
and loses contact with reality.

He throws a garbage can
through a plate glass window.

We toss him
into a state mental facility where they clean him up...

brush him off
and shove him back onto the street.

Where does he go?
Right back to Bedford Street.

Where he smokes crack. ..

loses contact with reality...

and pushes an 11-year-old boy
in front of a moving car.

Again, we toss him back
into the state mental facility...

where they clean him up,
brush him off and shove him back onto the street.

And where does he go?
Back to Bedford Street.

Three years of this,
ladies and gentlemen...

with no end in sight.

Until Harold Morrissey
said, "Enough."

Roland Kirk attacked his wife
and took his property.

Mr. Morrissey
tried to get it back.

And now they want
to put him in jail.

There's something
very wrong here.

Anyone familiar
with the Roland Kirk story has to feel frustrated...

and discouraged.
And, ves, infuriated.

The system broke down
outrageously...

but that's no reason
to disregard the laws of a civilized society.

Now Mr. Morrissey,
he was frustrated and angry.

And the night
he left that hospital...

he found the perfect device
to express his rage.

And he picked it up,
and he walked with it into the alley...

and whatever was on his mind,
he had murder in his heart.

He saw Mr. Kirk asleep.

He shattered his legs,
he shattered his skull...

and he left him there to die.

Now, the law says...

that you can use
physical force...

to prevent your property
from being stolen.

It does not say
you can murder a man...

because the state
won't do anything about him.

Yes,
the people of Bedford Street had their rights violated.

Yes, Mr. Morrissey...

he lost
an article of clothing.

But when he took the law
into his own hands.. .

he lost all connection
to what every citizen must hold sacred.

The rules, the laws...

which we've all agreed
to live by.

And when he struck
Mr. Kirk in his sleep...

he became
a menace to society...

greater than Roland Kirk
ever was.

On the first count
of the indictment...

attempt to commit murder
in the second degree, how do you find?

We find the defendant
not guilty.

(Stein)
On the second count of the indictment...

assault in the first degree,
how do you find?

Not guilty.

On the third count
of the indictment...

assault in the second degree,
how do you find?

Guilty.

Thank you very much,
Madam Forewoman.

(Stein)
The jury is excused. Show them out.

I'm ready to deal
with the sentencing right now.

Your Honor,
please forgive me...

but you are required to wait
for the pre-sentencing report.

I'm gonna save
the Department of Corrections some ink.

Sit down, Mr. Stone.

Mr. Morrissey...

the statute provides
for mandatory incarceration...

for this crime.

How much time
have you spent in jail?

Two days.
Pending bail, Your Honor.

Very well.

| sentence you
to time served. ..

and two years probation.
Probation.

Your Honor,
please note my exception...

and the People
intend to appeal.

Noted and overruled.

[judge bangs gavel]

Court is adjourned.

(man)
Congratulations.

Well, Judge Stein
confirmed the public's greatest fear.

System fails once,
keeps on failing.

That's not
the public's greatest fear. What is?

That Roland Kirk'll
move into their neighborhood.