Original subtitles

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Dad, just get back in your car and leave.

Or what?

You stay away from my mother.

Get out of my way, Dan.

I'm warning you!

Don't go in there.

Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

If you cannot afford an attorney, the court will appoint one for you.

Oh, Danny.

Do you understand what I just told you, Danny?

I understand.

Please don't take my boy. Please.

I'm sorry, ma'am. Please stand aside.

Mom, it's OK, it's all right. You stay here.

Grandma.

- Hey, Ben? - Yeah.

I brought you that book...

Better Health Through Fruits and Vegetables.

Oh, good.

- You're not going to eat that. - I bet I can.

What about Health Through Fruits and Vegetables?

Well...

Chicken dipped in batter and drenched in oil isn't healthy.

I know, but I get to have some fun.

Every time I turn on the TV, I see a news report

about how something I've eaten all my life is going to kill me

and the five or six things that are still OK are dangerous

because of the stuff they spray on it or pour on it or wrap it in.

The air's no good. The water's no good.

The ozone is going like 60-cent gasoline, so I'll worry about it all tomorrow.

What's that?

It's going to be dumplings.

You can't eat dumplings.

I bet I can.

Not without gravy.

I make terrific gravy.

- You're invited. - Hmm.

- Would you get that? - Sure.

Hello?

Christine? Slow down.

Christine, that's terrible.

How is my mom?

She's hanging in there, Danny.

Is somebody with her?

She shouldn't be alone.

Your grandmother is with her.

Danny...

your mom told me that you shot your dad

because you thought he was going inside the house to kill her.

No, no, no. He said that he was going to kill her.

I knew that he meant that.

Sometimes people threaten terrible things when they're angry,

but later on, when they calm down. They never really meant what they said.

Not my dad.

If he said he was going to do something, he did it.

Like what?

What kinds of things would he threaten and then do?

My dad wanted dinner on the table every night at 6 P.M.

He told my mom that meant 6:00... Not 6:05 or 6:10...

And the next time dinner wasn't ready at 6:00...

he'd bash her face in.

Your father physically abused your mother?

He broke her leg.

Your mother told me that she slipped and fell down the stairs.

No. He pushed her.

That's... That's why they separated.

He'd hit her or... throw things at her.

He used to lock her in the closet.

I remember lying in bed at night,

hearing her scream and cry.

I remember one time he hit her

because she threw out the newspaper before he could read it.

Your mom never told me any of this.

She didn't tell anybody.

She wanted everybody to think that...

our family was normal.

She even made excuses for him.

How long had all this been going on?

Forever.

The last few months, it just got worse.

He got madder and madder.

I had to shoot him.

The problem is, Danny, you didn't have to shoot him.

If you thought your father was going to kill your mother,

why didn't you get her out of the house?

I tried. She wouldn't go.

My dad wouldn't let her work, she had no money of her own.

Where was she supposed to go?

- You could have called the police. - I did.

The police asked me if he was standing there

waving a gun or anything like that... Was there any immediate danger?

I said no.

They said that they needed more reason than a threat to arrest him,

and that if my mom wanted him to stay away,

she'd have to file a restraining order.

Yeah, that's standard procedure.

Can you help me?

I'll sure try.

Um, will you do me a favor?

If I can.

Will you tell my grandmother I'm sorry?

First, I'm going to tell Ben everything you told me.

And then we'll see about getting the charges reduced.

No prosecutor would push for first degree murder

if he heard what you just told me about your dad.

Mr. Connolly, were you surprised

the jury reached a guilty verdict this quickly?

Surprised. Delighted.

Hungry. Sleepy. That just about covers all my emotions.

Ben, I wish you had seen me in that courtroom today.

- That good, huh? - Better.

I just threw a shutout in there.

- Hey. - Excuse me.

Um, I hear you've been assigned the Danny Hayes case.

That's a fact.

You're not thinking of defending him, are you?

I'm considering it.

I'm surprised.

You generally don't defend people who confess to murder.

Ordinarily I don't, but, uh...

I don't think this is a murder one case.

You're kidding.

Frank Hayes had a history of violent behavior.

He was a wife-beater.

That wasn't in the police report.

Well, his wife didn't report it.

But Frank Hayes told his wife that he would kill her

if he found her in the house that night.

And given his history of violent behavior,

Danny believed him.

Danny was just defending his mother.

And that gave him license to just shoot his father in cold blood?

- I didn't... - Ben.

I'll grant you I'm no Harvard Law graduate,

but where I went to school,

if a kid sits hiding in a garage for two hours with a gun in his hand,

then shoots his unarmed father the minute he gets out of his car,

well, that's murder one in a very big way.

He didn't shoot him the minute he stepped out of his car.

He was trying to get him not to go in the house.

He was protecting his mother, not going to shoot his father.

But he did shoot his father.

I'm surprised at you.

This kid handed you a line,

and you swallowed it hook, line, and sinker.

I believe what Danny told me.

Ben, your client was lying in wait for his victim.

You know that constitutes extraordinary circumstances.

It's wrong to put this boy on trial for murder one.

Well, we'll see what a jury thinks.

See you in court, Counselor.

Jackass.

Mr. Connolly, are you ready to give your opening statement?

I am, Your Honor.

It is June 10th of this year, ladies and gentlemen.

It is the last few minutes of Frank Hayes' life.

As he exits his car

and he walks the five or seven feet toward the door leading to his house...

Even as his hand reaches for the knob...

gunshots shatter the evening calm

and enter Frank Hayes' back,

to the left of the spine, and lodge in his heart.

The evidence in this case will show, beyond a reasonable doubt...

that some person very close to Frank Hayes had come to hate him...

was waiting in the garage for him to arrive,

took aim with a high-powered handgun...

and, without any justification or provocation whatsoever,

killed him in cold, cold blood.

A plotted, planned and premeditated murder of a human being.

That person is seated in this courtroom...

at that table, in that chair.

That person's name is Daniel Hayes.

He is the son of Frank Hayes,

and he is the defendant in this case.

Ladies and gentlemen, the evidence you will hear speaks for itself.

The state asks only that you listen to that evidence...

and you give us your verdict in accordance with the law.

Mr. Matlock?

That was a very convincing speech.

So, why don't we just convict Danny Hayes of murder right now

and send him to prison for the rest of his life?

Of course, you would be disregarding the law,

but that's what my distinguished colleague

apparently wants you to do.

He is absolutely right about one thing.

Murder is never justified.

However, we do have, in this country,

a thing called "justifiable homicide".

Every state in the Union allows it.

It's a law that simply means...

in defense of another human being,

you, you, you, or Danny Hayes,

has the right to keep that person from being killed.

We don't have to sit on our hands.

Now, you're going to hear evidence

that Frank Hayes was not just an ordinary man

who lost his temper once in a while.

This was a violent, intolerant man

who frequently slapped, beat, abused his wife.

And then, when his temper reached its peak,

he made a promise that he would return at a specified time

and take the life of Danny Hayes' mother.

And Danny believed his father.

He took him at his word.

Frank Hayes was a wife beater, abuser.

He would say he was sorry, wouldn't do it again,

and then something would set off this violent man.

And he said to his wife, "I'm coming back here tomorrow,

"and if you're still here, I'm going to kill you."

And Danny believed him.

After you've heard all the testimony,

I'm going to ask you to put yourself in Danny's shoes.

Ask yourself...

"Would I defend my mother

"if I were certain

"that, in a matter of seconds,

"her life would be ended?"

Would you?

OK, there you go.

Eat your pie.

Oh, no, thanks. I'm not hungry.

Danny, you have to eat.

I don't want you looking pale in the courtroom.

I dream about him every night.

I see his face, hear Mom crying.

I'm not surprised.

I'm very worried.

If your mother had just called the cops once, twice...

Once... it would have helped.

At least your father's abuse would have been on the record.

If you had left your name when you called, that would have helped.

Wait, you don't believe me?

My belief isn't necessary or even important.

Reasonable doubt.

There is no doubt you shot your father.

We have to make the jury believe

that you felt you had to shoot him to save another person's life.

Ain't nothing easy. And this sure ain't.

Eat your pie.

Eat your pie.

Mr. Connolly, would you like to proceed?

Thank you, Your Honor.

Mr. Blessing...

are you acquainted with the defendant?

We went to high school together.

Do you recall an incident that took place about a year ago

between you and the defendant regarding a gold-plated pen?

Yeah, I'd call it an incident.

Will you elaborate for the court, please?

Danny accused me of stealing his pen.

Had you stolen it?

No. He found it later, scrunched in the back of his car seat.

Mr. Blessing, when Mr. Hayes suspected you had stolen his pen,

did he tell a teacher or take you aside and talk to you?

Are you kidding? He knocked the crap out of me.

He hit you?

He cracked my tooth.

What did you do to provoke Mr. Hayes' rage?

Nothing. I was in the locker room.

I was headed for the showers, and he just came up and blindsided me.

You mean he attacked you because he believed you had his pen

- and not because he had any proof? - That's right.

Sounds to me like Daniel Hayes has a hair-trigger temper.

Nothing further.

Mr. Matlock, your witness.

Mr. Blessing...

uh, have you ever been in a fistfight before?

Yeah, lots of times.

Oh. Were you ever in a fistfight with Mr. Hayes before?

Well, yeah.

What was that fight about?

He asked out my girlfriend.

Ohh, he made a move on your girl.

That must have made you mad.

In that fight, who threw the first punch?

Who threw the first punch?

I did, but he was asking...

No further questions.

Witness may step down.

You may call your next witness.

The state calls Sam Parker to the stand.

Mr. Parker, you were a close, personal friend

of Frank Hayes, were you not?

I knew Frank for 21 years. He was my best friend.

In all those years of friendship,

did you ever witness any violent behavior from Frank Hayes?

- Never. - See him uncontrollably enraged?

- Be physically abusive to anyone? - No.

How about to his wife?

No way. Frank was a really good husband.

How about his relationship with his son?

- Did he ever talk to you about it? - Sometimes.

He couldn't understand why Danny hated him so much.

Do you recall the night before Frank Hayes' death?

Yes. I spent part of the evening with him.

We had dinner, and then I drove him to his house.

Now, in your own words, I'd like you to explain

the events of that evening, as best you can remember them.

After Frank and Christine had separated,

Frank and I started getting together once a week for dinner.

Anyway, we were sitting in this cafe that night,

and Frank started telling me how much he missed Christine.

Finally, I told him to stop telling me this

and get over and tell her.

Chris?

Chris, it's Frank.

Christine was wearing a real sexy dress.

You could see she was mad

because Frank showed up without calling.

Why didn't you call?

I've missed you, Chris.

Ask Sam here. You're all I ever talk about.

You should have called first, Frank.

Is everything okay, Chris?

Who are you?

Jack, this is my husband.

What's this guy doing in my house?

Well, that's none of your business, Frank.

You're the one who said we should see other people.

What?

What the hell are you talking about?

About then, Danny came out of his room.

I think maybe I'd better go.

I'll call you later.

- Where are you going? - To bed.

Chris, we've got to talk.

Frank started upstairs to talk to Christine,

but she didn't want any part of him.

You can't just barge into this house any time you want.

Why not? I pay the bills.

Just get out of here, Frank. I don't want to talk to you.

Christine...

That's when Danny blocked his father's way upstairs.

You heard what she said, Dad. Get out of here!

Get out of my way. This is between your mother and me.

Don't you ever lay your hand on me like that again.

Danny didn't have to throw him downstairs like that.

Luckily, Frank wasn't hurt.

I helped him up and told him we should go.

Did Frank Hayes make a threat of any kind to his wife

before you left?

Yes, he did.

I'm not going to stand by while my wife shares my bed with somebody else.

I want you moved out of this house

by the time I come back here tomorrow night.

Or what, Frank?

I'll kill you, that's what.

Mr. Parker, do you believe that Frank Hayes literally meant

that he intended to return to that house the following day

and kill his wife Christine?

Objection. Calls for speculation.

This is hardly speculation, Your Honor.

The witness had a lengthy conversation with the victim

the moment they left the house.

- Then it's hearsay. - Overruled.

The witness may answer that question.

No, he wouldn't have hurt Christine.

In fact, when we got to the car, he broke down in tears.

He said he loved his Chris

and prayed to God they'd be able to work things out.

I have nothing further.

Uh, Mr. Parker, I apologize.

I just can't quite remember the name of the restaurant

where you and Frank had dinner the night before he died.

Scully's Grill.

Oh. I believe that's Scully's Bar and Grill, isn't it?

Yeah, actually I think it is.

So, did you and your friend Frank

have some alcoholic drinks along with dinner?

- Yes, I believe we did. - How many?

- One or two. - Or three or four?

No more than three.

Oh, so I guess you were feeling no pain, maybe a little woozy.

I was perfectly fine.

Do you mean to tell me that three strong alcoholic drinks

won't impair your perception of things the way it does everybody else?

I remember that night very clearly, Mr. Matlock.

Let me ask you something, Mr. Parker.

You say that Frank was a good and loving husband

who never physically abused his wife.

That's right.

Uh, how often did you spend an evening with the two of them?

Excuse me?

Well, in all the years that you've known them,

how often would you say you and your wife

spent an evening with Frank and Christine Hayes?

I don't know.

Would it be closer to one or a hundred?

Frank and I were buddies.

We used to hang out together, not with our wives.

The truth is, you hardly spent any time with the two of them,

so you couldn't know whether he was a good and loving husband.

I knew Frank. You didn't.

You knew what he drank.

You knew what sports he liked to bet on.

You knew what cars he wanted to buy.

But you didn't have a clue how he treated his wife

or how he got along with his son.

That's not true.

Mr. Parker...

I'm sure you miss Frank.

I believe he was your best friend,

and my guess is that you'd feel a lot better

if his death were avenged.

Don't you dare patronize me, damn it.

Mr. Parker...

Your Honor, he's trying to twist everything around.

Danny hated Frank.

- Move to strike... - He's glad he's dead.

Hey, shut up! You don't know anything.

- Sit down, young man! - He's lying!

Mr. Matlock, restrain your client, or I'll have the bailiff remove him.

This is a beautiful garden.

Rose, Danny asked me to come by

and tell you that he loves you.

And he's sorry.

Danny says that you were in the house

the night Frank came home with his friend.

I was in my room.

I didn't hear anything.

I understand it got pretty loud.

You didn't hear anything?

My son is dead.

Leave me alone.

No one can bring your son back, Rose.

But you don't want to lose Danny, too.

If you'll just testify that you heard Frank threaten Christine.

I told you, I didn't hear anything.

Mr. Connolly, call your next witness.

The state calls Christine Hayes to the stand,

and asks that she be deemed a hostile witness under the evidence code.

It is so deemed.

Mrs. Hayes...

would your characterize your husband as a violent or abusive man?

Yes.

Did he physically abuse you?

Many times, yes.

- Did you ever call the police? - No.

Ever file a charge against him?

No.

File for a divorce?

We had separated.

Mrs. Hayes, you want us to believe that your husband

was a dangerous and violent man who chronically abused you,

yet you never called the police or filed a charge or divorced him.

Why is that?

Because he always said that he was sorry...

that he had been working too hard or was tired or had too much to drink.

He always said that it would never happen again.

And I always felt that someday, if I just held on long enough,

that he would change.

So, I stood by him.

- By having an affair? - Objection.

Withdraw the question.

Mrs. Hayes...

we've heard that your husband threatened to kill you

if he found you at home at the evening of June 9th.

Did you believe him?

I was very scared.

Then, of course, you called the police this time?

No.

You feared for your life,

yet you didn't think that your husband's threat

warranted one call to the police, did you?

Tell us, where were you at the time that your son shot your husband?

- In the house. - Doing what?

Cooking? Vacuuming?

On the phone?

- With your boyfriend? - Objection.

You weren't scared at all, were you?

Mr. Connolly.

You did nothing to protect yourself

because you didn't think that your husband's threat was serious.

Your son didn't think it was serious. And, in fact, the threat was not serious.

Mr. Connolly!

No. No, that is not true.

I'm done here.

Mr. Matlock?

No questions at this time, Your Honor.

The witness may step down.

This appears a good time to break for lunch.

This court is in recess until 2 P.M.

It's better than being in jail.

Yeah.

Danny...

I think I'm going to have to put you on the stand.

It's very risky.

It opens you up to a cross-examination.

After we hear your side of the story,

then you're going to have to answer Mr. Connolly's questions,

and I have absolutely no control over what he might ask you.

He sure went after Mom.

Yep.

Just like he'll go after you.

But you're the only witness who can respond to Sam Parker's testimony.

It was very damaging.

So, what do I do?

Well, I want you to tell about the night

your father brought Sam Parker to the house.

I want you to tell what really happened,

everything that was different from what Sam Parker said.

All right. I can do that.

Mainly, I want you to make the jury understand

the fear you had for your mother,

and how certain you were that your father would carry out his threat to kill her.

OK.

When Mr. Connolly questions you, don't lose your temper.

OK.

You already lost it in the courtroom once.

This is going to be tougher.

He's going to come at you with everything he's got.

He's going to bait you. He's going to provoke you.

He's going to try his damnedest to make you lose your temper

so the jury will see you as a hot-tempered kid

who hated his father and couldn't wait to shoot him dead.

I didn't want to shoot him.

How can you sit there and eat like that?

Like nothing is happening?

Like I told you, it's lunch and I'm hungry.

Now, see, that's what I was talking about.

Now you're mad at me, and I'm on your side.

All right. I'm sorry.

Now, no matter what Mr. Connolly says,

don't argue with him.

If there's any fighting to do, let me do it.

OK, I understand.

Eat a little lunch.

Come on, it will help you keep calm. Eat.

Danny, why did you shoot your dad?

If I had let him go into that house, he would have killed my mother.

How can you be so certain of that?

He told her that he would kill her the night before.

But your father had made threats against your mother

on other occasions, hadn't he?

He would threaten to beat her up... And then he would.

But he had never threatened to kill her before, no.

Danny, you heard Sam Parker's account

of what took place that evening.

Was it correct?

No.

In your own words, would you give us your memory

of what happened that night?

I was in my room when my father came home with Mr. Parker.

I remember that he called out for my mom.

Come on, Sam, it's all right.

Chris?

It's Frank.

Frank, what are you doing here?

I've missed you, Chris.

Come on, ask Sam here. You're all I ever talk about.

I don't remember that dress.

Is everything OK?

When my dad saw Mr. Williams, he lost it.

You whore.

He's just a friend, Frank.

You're the one who said we should see other people.

Get the hell out of my house!

Go, go.

OK, but I'll call you later.

As soon as Mr. Williams left,

my dad started moving towards my mother

with this real scary look in his eyes.

- Where do you think you're going? - To bed.

You've been disloyal to me, Chris.

You know my feelings about that.

Please... Please, Frank, just go.

No, not till we have a little talk in the bedroom.

Look, Dad, come on. She asked you to go.

Just don't cause any trouble, OK?

Don't you ever put your hand on me like that again.

My dad turned around and took a swing at me.

I ducked, and I guess he just lost his balance.

That's when my father looked up at my mother

with this look I'd never seen before.

You're not my wife.

You're a filthy slut.

I'm going to make you pay for bringing men into this house.

Leave. Just leave.

Oh, I'm going.

But I'm coming back tomorrow night.

And if every piece of your clothing isn't out of this house,

I'll kill you.

Did you call the police after your father left the house that night?

Yes, I did.

My mom begged me not to, but I did anyway.

What did you say to them?

I told them that my dad said that he was going to kill my mom.

The police said that there was nothing they could do about that

unless a crime was committed.

So, I hung up.

Did you leave your name?

No.

That might have helped.

Why didn't you try to get your mother out of the house

before your father came back?

I did. I tried.

But she said the reason she separated from my dad

was so that she wouldn't have to be afraid of him anymore.

She didn't want to run.

Ah.

It sounds like...

your mother was less afraid of your father's threats than you were.

My mom always thought that my dad had beaten her for the last time.

She was always wrong.

Danny, are you absolutely certain,

if you had not shot your father,

he would have killed your mother?

I have never been more positive about anything in my life.

No further questions.

Mr. Connolly?

Danny... what kind of dad was your father?

He was... He was OK sometimes.

Sometimes, not.

Did he ever help you with your homework?

Did he ever come out to see you play Little League?

Did he ever take you to the Braves games?

No, not very often. He worked a lot.

All those years,

watching your friends playing catch with their dads on their front lawns...

You must have resented him terribly.

I didn't resent my dad.

Did you ever see your father mistreat your mother?

Yes.

And that resentment turned to anger, then hatred, didn't it?

I was angry, but I didn't hate my father.

The night your father came home with Sam Parker...

he didn't trip down those stairs. You pulled him.

You threw him down, didn't you?

- I didn't mean to... - Yes or no?

- Yes, but... - Had he hit you?

- No, but he... - He didn't hit you.

And you didn't call the police, did you, Danny?

That's why they didn't have your name, because you didn't call the police.

Yes, I did.

You knew your father wasn't going to kill your mother.

He said that he would!

He was drunk, and he was upset

at seeing another man in his house with his wife.

It was an idle threat.

He knew it. Your mother knew it.

- And you knew it, didn't you? - No!

Oh, come on, Danny.

The police never found any knife or gun

anywhere in your father's possession.

- He would have strangled her! - Admit it, you hated him.

You don't know what I had to live with!

- You're glad he's dead, aren't you? - Objection.

- Aren't you? - Objection!

No further questions.

Thank you for seeing me, Rose.

You sounded worried on the phone.

Now that you're here, you look worried.

I am.

I'd like to tell you everything will be okay,

but the fact is...

There's a good possibility...

You think Danny's going to be convicted, don't you?

Ben doesn't think the jury believed his testimony.

Why?

Ben's been reading jurors' faces for 35 years.

He knows when they're not buying a defendant's story.

What about my testimony?

Danny is your son.

The jury expects you to protect him.

How long a sentence could he get?

He's being tried as an adult, Christine.

He could get... Life.

The defense calls Rose Hayes to the stand.

Mrs. Hayes, I want to thank you.

I know you loved your son Frank very much,

and I understand how difficult this must be for you.

How many years did you live with your son Frank,

your daughter-in-law Christine and your grandson Danny?

Four years, last month.

And in those four years,

did you ever see or hear your son and your daughter-in-law fighting?

Well, sometimes at night,

when I was in my room...

I heard them fighting.

Did you ever see your son hit your daughter-in-law?

No.

Did Danny ever tell you that he saw his father hit his mother?

Yes.

Mr. Matlock, does your witness need a recess?

Rose?

No, thank you, Judge.

When Danny told you that he had seen his father hitting his mother,

did you believe him?

My son works very hard.

He's under a lot of pressure.

I understand. Did Christine ever tell you

that her husband was hitting her?

She...

She always said it was her fault.

Mrs. Hayes, were you in the house

the night that your son brought Sam Parker home with him?

I was in the kitchen.

Mrs. Hayes, there have been two entirely different stories told

about what took place that night.

I'd like you to give us your memory of what you saw and heard.

Now, you were in the kitchen

when you heard your son's voice?

Yes.

But you didn't go in and say hello?

He was very angry.

Mrs. Hayes, in all the years you have known your son,

how many times have you seen him that angry?

Oh.

My Frank was like his father.

Joe worked very hard, and I know he loved me...

but sometimes...

he had a temper.

Your husband hit you?

He was always sorry.

And deep down, he was a good man.

Just like Frank?

Yes. Deep down.

I see.

You haven't had it easy, Mrs. Hayes.

But we must have an answer.

How many times have you seen your son

as angry as he was the night he brought Sam Parker to the house?

Never.

I'm almost finished, Rose, I promise.

Did you hear your son threaten to return the next day

and kill his wife if she were still there?

Yes.

Were you afraid for Christine?

Nothing further.

I know that it's wrong to kill,

even someone like him.

But what if I hadn't, and you were dead?

I had no choice, did I?

Oh, Danny, the fault is mine.

I should have reported the abuse to the police.

I should have divorced your father years ago.

I should have gone with you

the night you wanted to take me away.

The jury's coming in.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

On the charge of murder in the first degree,

we find the defendant Daniel Hayes not guilty.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury.

You're dismissed.

This court is adjourned.

I'm so sorry.

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