Original subtitles

Previously on The Firm.

Sarah Holt was in the military.

She's former army.

The reason I couldn't find a record on her was she's enlisted as a Sarah

Dawson. That's her married name.

They're all dead?

the numbers each one is a patient insured by noble that died within the

last year they get assigned new numbers as soon as they pass away margaret

whitaker's number is on the list margaret whitaker is the one that sarah

is accused of murdering sir they're getting closer we can't take that chance

mcdeer needs to go these guys want to hunt me down i'm gonna give them a

trailer everybody hold their positions something's wrong what do you see

windows smacked in

Blood on the floor.

Whose blood?

I'll check it out.

Get in the house.

Something's wrong.

All right, so what's the next step?

We know what the Moxon numbers mean.

They're all noble patients who died within the last year. And one of them is

Margaret Whitaker, the woman Sarah Holt supposedly killed.

What about the other names? What do we know?

Well, I know more than names. I know the addresses. I've been calling, tracking

down families, waiting.

Good, right?

All about Sarah right now.

We know she was in the military. We know she was married once, so I'm reaching

out to her ex-husband.

We go about business as usual.

I go to work, I go to yoga.

Guys, we will make it through this.

We will.

I'm sorry. I know what he did was horrible, but he's still my brother.

I understand.

What exactly was he convicted of? A home invasion.

Jim, he killed the owner of the home, the father.

He was sentenced to death.

Yes, 14 years ago.

He's scheduled to be executed in Virginia in three days.

He asked me to find him a lawyer to go speak with him.

Ms. Thorn, death penalty cases are highly complex. I would assume that he

had qualified lawyers and they filed multiple appeals. This isn't about an

appeal.

He told me to tell you he's ready to die and he needs a lawyer's help to face the

end on his own terms.

What does that mean?

I don't know. He didn't tell me, but he's my brother, and I promised to do

this one last thing for him. Okay, Mrs. Dorn. Please.

I saw you on the news.

What you did for Elena Vasco, the woman accused of taking that baby.

No one wanted to help her, and you did.

Jim needs someone willing to help him when nobody else will.

Just talk to him.

Help him die with dignity.

So we have 11 names off the original Moxon list. One is Margaret Whitaker.

That's what we know. That leaves us 10 to follow up on.

And they're all dead.

We have to confirm that, but yes, they're listed in the Noble database as

deceased. Right.

Are you sure you want to do this? You should be teaching.

I'm sure.

That's why I called this morning and talked to my vice principal and told him

that I'm going to take a break.

I didn't realize you were considering that. Yeah, Mitch and I talked about it.

It just, it makes sense with everything that's going on.

I think you're right. You should take a break. And you can go back when all this

is behind us.

Okay, five names each. We track down whatever info we can.

Ooh, that could be one of the families I left a message earlier.

Law Office of Mitch McDeer, this is Tammy.

Yes.

Trudy Hale, yes.

I'm so sorry to hear about that.

Really? Are you sure?

No, it's just we haven't spoken in years.

Thank you.

You remember my Aunt Trudy, my mother's older sister?

Not really. Should I? That was her lawyer.

Apparently she died last spring.

She lived in Oxon Hill, Maryland, and he's been trying to...

Track me down? Not so easy in witness protection.

He found me now.

And... I just inherited a house.

Mr.

Thorne, I was hoping that we could talk more privately.

Maybe at the courthouse.

Warden keeps me on lock down here.

Three days away.

People in desperate situations do desperate things.

Your sister told me you wanted to see me.

She didn't tell you why.

She said she didn't know why.

Mr. Thorne, you know you have exhausted all of your appeals.

Don't want an appeal.

Ready to die for my crime.

I killed the man.

I meant to.

I wouldn't do it now. But that's who I was, that's what I did, so no tears, no

excuses.

You read my record?

19 trips to the punitive segregation unit.

No one's given me clemency.

Acceptance. It's my one and only choice.

Then why am I here?

When the government decides to kill you, people start paying attention.

My case fell over the news.

So I saw this.

It's an article about the man I killed.

His name, Tom Bauer.

That's his wife and daughter.

She's 16.

She's dying.

Heart disease.

It's got me thinking.

Thinking what?

About the end of my road is right around the corner.

Something good could come from my execution.

I'm listening.

She needs a heart.

Just so happens I won't be needing mine much longer.

You want to donate your heart to your victim's daughter?

That's right.

Says there that she won't last out a year.

Mr. Thorne, I'm not sure the law would allow it, or that she would even take

it. So, let's find out.

You talk to her, you convince her.

I'm not sure I could do that.

Please.

See, I'm not asking for forgiveness.

I'm not asking for anything.

I was a terrible man. I've been a terrible prisoner. I never did one damn

good thing in my life. So if I can do one good thing with my death, I'm not

saying that it makes it right.

I'm just saying maybe it makes it a little less wrong.

Can you help me with that?

I know that this is a lot to handle. You want me to take a heart for my daughter

from the man who murdered her father?

He's your client?

No, he is not my client. I wanted to meet with you first to see if this is

something that you would even want.

What I want?

How about a child who remembers being held by her father?

Mrs. Bauer, I can't pretend to know what you're feeling.

Is there a chance that she could be offered another heart in time?

I don't know.

She isn't first on the recipient list. Now, this is a targeted donation.

You understand that.

It makes me sick to even consider doing anything that might make that monster

feel one iota better about himself.

We can't guarantee that he is a match or that the judge would even allow it, but

we can try.

What kind of a mother would I be if I didn't?

I won't do it.

Christina.

I don't want it.

Not from him.

If I have to die, then I die.

And let me lose you, too.

I couldn't bear it.

That man's heart beating every day inside me.

It is an organ, a muscle.

It is not the center of his soul, or does it have anything at all to do with

his spirit.

It is a blood pump, and you need a new one in order to become the young woman

that your father dreamed you could be.

You didn't know him.

I have a daughter, and that is every father's dream.

I want to meet him.

I need to know he's going to go through with this.

He destroyed us once. I'm not going to let him do it again.

I looked at the stats, and if Christina doesn't accept the donation, then there

is a good chance she won't make it to her next birthday.

And now they want to meet Jim on death row.

Yeah, she wants to look him in the eye and make sure that the offer is genuine.

10 Vincent Avenue, Oxon Hill.

I found the deed.

I'm a homeowner.

Oxon Hill.

Boom. This place is gonna be worth quite a chunk of change.

We're not gonna sell it, Ray.

Come on, Tammy. You love our apartment.

That's not the point.

You haven't even seen it, babe.

It's Oxon Hill. I don't have to see the place. I can describe it for you right

now. It's got, like, a white picket fence and a treehouse and swing set. I

don't know why you're knocking it down before we've even had a chance to... Can

we just change the subject? You two should talk about this later.

Yeah, we will

Given

this girl my heart think that'll be a lot easier than talking to her

Just tell her the truth

look her in the eye and tell her why you're doing this

You can sit.

Why are you doing this?

I'm gonna go through with it if that's what you're asking. It's not. She's

asking why.

I'm asking why.

He's not asking for forgiveness. It's just that if something positive... No.

I need him to tell us.

I don't have an easy answer.

I guess.

Not a good person.

And in my mind, I always figured that that was mostly... My fault.

But maybe also.

There's a dark part of me.

Blackness in my heart. I didn't put it there.

So maybe if you have it, this heart, you can change it.

You turn it around on whoever put it there.

That's the only way I can say it.

Quite simply, the Commonwealth objects to any system that allows death row

inmates to direct what happens to their bodies after they are put to death.

Let's be frank. The defendant's motion is a ruse by a manipulative murderer

trying to stall the death process.

The reason he waited until two days before his execution to volunteer is

that he's playing the system just like he always has.

Mr. Thorne doesn't even know if he is a suitable donor.

This kind of offer preys on dying people. It shifts the balance of power.

to the inmates by allowing them to hold desperate people hostage to their hope.

This motion is nothing more than a cruel joke played upon a family that has

already suffered enough.

All we are asking for here is a simple blood test.

If Mr. Thorne is excluded, then there is no issue. But if he is close enough that

the drugs will make them histocompatible and you do not order that test... then

the system is condemning an innocent young woman to a likely death.

Her family is here.

They are asking if it is possible, and so is my client.

He has accepted his fate. He is willing to die. All he asks is to salvage a

small level of redemption from his impending execution.

While I am sympathetic with the Commonwealth's concerns, the question

before me is a simple one.

Whether or not to order a blood test.

Now, making that decision, I'm asked to balance a few more days of life for a

man who's been on death row for more than a dozen years against the life

-changing possibility of a new heart for a young lady who's already been

victimized by the death of her father.

I'm ordering that the blood test be done forthwith.

The results will be delivered to my chambers with all deliberate speed.

That will be all.

Is this about my husband?

Yes. We're so sorry for your loss.

It's about Noble Insurance.

Our company is investigating claims against them.

Well, what kind of claims?

Claims of non-payment.

Claims that they denied necessary treatment to save company money.

No. No, nothing like that ever happened. I mean, Norman, my husband, had liver

cancer. But it took him very suddenly.

Noble approved treatment, but we never had time. So he died sooner than

expected? Yes. I mean, we knew that he was terminal.

But with treatment, the doctor said he could have two or maybe three years.

Even see our son graduate from college.

I guess the cancer had other plans.

Pursuant to my ruling ordering a blood test to determine Mr. Thorne's

suitability as a potential organ donor, I'm informed that the plaintiff is a

viable donor.

And though it would require a lifelong drug regimen, Ms. Bauer is indeed

a suitable recipient for Mr. Thorne's heart.

However, I've also been informed by the experts appointed by the courts to do

this evaluation.

Virginia's method of execution would render Mr. Thorne's heart useless to Ms.

Bauer. Excuse me, Your Honor. The Commonwealth of Virginia uses a three

-drug cocktail in its lethal injections.

One of those drugs, pancuronium bromide, is a paralyzing agent.

It stops the heart, and in doing so, it irreparably damages the tissues.

Killing him impedes her? The Commonwealth could order the use of a

different protocol.

We're not changing the protocol.

Your Honor, you could order them to use one drug.

It would still kill him, but preserve his heart.

That's nonsense.

Unfortunately, Mr. McDeer, there's no precedent for such a thing. And I don't

believe I have the authority to issue such an order. Just because it is novel

does not make it wrong, Your Honor. It still accomplishes the state's aim of

putting Mr. Thorne to death and accomplishes his aim of donating his

heart to a deserving child.

You want to try and change the protocol, go to the Fourth Circuit Court of

Appeals. I'll certify the question to allow an interlocutory appeal.

But I'm afraid that's all I can do.

Your honors, we are asking only one thing.

That this court order the Virginia Department of Corrections to execute my

client using only a single drug.

You want us to decide a serious constitutional question in the 18 hours

before your client is executed?

Yes, or stay the execution until the question can be decided.

And the purpose of your motion is so that he can donate his heart?

Yes. If the state proceeds with the three-drug cocktail, then he will die,

but his heart will be useless to anybody else.

Hasn't the Virginia legislature already set out two choices for how to execute

someone? Yes, they have. The alternate choice, the electric chair, will damage

his heart beyond repair.

Is there any precedent for this?

There is, Your Honors. In Ohio, the inmate Johnny Bastin was put to death

using only pentobarbital.

Your Honors, clearly we are not in Ohio.

And Mr. McDeer knows... Ohio and Washington have already switched to a

single drug protocol, and Arizona is poised to do so next.

Thus far, 15 people have been executed using the method that we are requesting

here. But in each case, the executive branch made the change.

Yes. Your honors, the statute here allows a choice.

They are open to the idea that the manner of death can be changed. They

didn't list this way specifically, but if it could save a life... I don't think

we have that power.

Maybe if you ground your argument in the Constitution.

For example, are you saying a three-drug cocktail is cruel and unusual?

Well, it is certainly cruel and unusual to deprive Christina Bauer the chance to

live. Hang on.

Shouldn't we be concerned with the idea of a death row inmate donating his

heart? Virginia already allows for targeted donations.

But not from death row.

Wouldn't allowing targeted donations create the possibility of payoffs to

inmates' families by people desperate for vital organs?

It's a fair concern, Counsel.

In China, prisoners are stripped of their kidneys, livers, and hearts so

regularly that two out of three Chinese transplant operations rely on an organ

removed from an executed criminal.

Respectfully.

This isn't China. Every medical association in the country has expressed

discomfort or outright hostility to the business of harvesting organs from the

condemned. I am aware of that.

But I am less concerned about the possibility of abuse than the certainty

that Christina Bauer will die if she doesn't get this transplant.

Your Honors, this is a simple choice.

Save a life or waste one.

Jim Thorne will die. The Commonwealth will kill him. The question is whether

they do it in a way that gives life to a deserving teenager.

Kill him using a single drug, and from his death...

springs her life.

Wow. This kitchen is as big as our living room.

A lot to clean.

Oh, in the dining room?

Has a lot of potential.

Oh, and it's two bedrooms, so you could use one as a home office.

It's a lot of work.

Well, you're handy, honey.

Sweetie, I don't want to renovate a whole house.

I want this, Ray.

I mean, I admit it, I didn't know until it landed in both our laps.

But I want us to have a home.

What about what I want?

I swear, you are so selfish sometimes.

Look, I like our place.

We don't need to do this. Yeah, we do need to do this. If we're going to have

any kind of a future at all, we need to do this.

You know, I never thought I

would want to get married, but you actually got me there.

I went looking for a ring, you know?

was gonna jump out of my chest, but I did it. I could tell him myself, it's

okay. It's Tammy.

You weren't looking for a ring?

Yeah, I did.

Why didn't you buy it?

Look, I know, when we were in witness protection...

It was ridiculous to think about settling down.

We had a suitcase in the closet ready to pick up at any given moment.

But I don't want to do that anymore.

And frankly, Ray, I don't know if I can keep doing this.

I understand if it's difficult to talk about your mother's passing.

It's okay. Thank you.

She was very sick.

Our family knew she only had a little time left.

Her insurance, do you know if Noble Insurance agreed to pay for her

treatment?

Honestly, I don't.

But it didn't matter. The doctors told us she was terminal, and she was gone

less than a month later.

Mr. McDeer, the court has issued a 48-hour stay until they can decide your

motion. Congratulations.

Thank you.

Get back, please.

I love you.

It's gonna be okay.

What happened?

I don't know. She just collapsed. She was just sitting there reading, and then

she was on the floor.

She's still alive, but the prospects aren't great.

How much time?

Well, if she doesn't get a donor heart somehow, then she might not make it

through the morning.

16 years old? What that mother's been through.

Kind of puts your own crap in perspective, right?

You okay?

I'll have to tell you later.

Sarah's ex-husband's here.

Mr. Dawson?

Ray McDeer.

As I said on the phone, I'm part of your ex-wife's defense team.

I haven't seen Sarah for a few years, so I'm not sure how I can help.

Come in.

I don't know what he's scared of. What the house represents to him. I think

he'll come around, Tammy.

I can't believe he almost bought you a ring.

Well, meanwhile, I've made a decision.

I think I'm gonna move into this house.

Without Ray.

Honestly, Abs, I don't know what Ray's gonna do, but I know what I'm doing.

You know, Mitch and I have been through some tough times.

We almost broke up way back in Memphis, and again a few years ago.

I didn't know that.

Yeah, Claire was six.

We were in Scottsdale by then. Anyway, it was a small thing, but I was in this

store buying pillow shams or something, and I remember I called Mitch to ask his

opinion, and he said, just buy whatever you want.

And I felt like... I mean, all the words were normal, but I felt like underneath

that, what he was saying was it was stupid, that I was stupid for caring

about some dumb decorative pillow. And I thought, is it possible that...

My husband doesn't see me at all, that he has no idea who I am. Wait a second,

Abbs. You almost broke up over linens? No!

No, I almost left him because I needed a home.

It's called a class four systolic heart failure.

They are giving her drugs to stabilize her, but the outlook, it's not good.

The court needs to make a decision.

I don't want a stay of execution if this is all gonna be a waste. I am writing an

emergency motion to ask for an immediate rule. Why won't they do this? Why won't

they just... Let me do this. Why?

Look, you can still save someone. No. If we win, whoever you give your heart to

will still be some mother's child. No. And you will have changed the law for

everybody on death row. I'm not doing this for everyone on the row. I'm not

doing this for some damn principal.

I'm doing this so when they stick that needle in me... My last thought isn't

just what I did to those people, but what I did for them.

Yes.

If the court doesn't rule in time, I want you to know that what you have done

here, trying to save a life, it matters, and it will not go to waste.

You're never gonna let a guy like me win.

I'll tell you what, counselor.

You trust your process.

You'll trust mine.

I couldn't believe it when I heard.

A murder charge? I mean, it doesn't make any sense.

Sarah would never hurt anyone.

She saves people.

You two met in the army?

Afghanistan.

I was an engineer.

Tired. Jaded.

And here was this young medic who was about to make the world a better place.

Wait, you... Sarah was a medic? One of the best.

When I met her, I thought she was just a sweet girl from Oregon, but... You know

what it takes to become an army combat medic?

16 weeks at Fort Sam Houston.

Wow.

She must be tough.

Man, you have no idea.

First deployment, they shipped her out to a forward operating base.

Face.

Hope.

Faith. I didn't see it very much after that.

If I get shot, you're gonna patch me up, right?

That's exactly what I'm here for.

You're gonna be fine.

Her squad saw heavy action almost every day.

A number of bodies.

It doesn't matter who you are. It changes you.

Keep your head up.

We're not done fighting.

Damn straight, Counselor. We are not done fighting.

Jim, this is not the way. Let him go. Yeah?

Well, we tried it the legal way, now we do it the prison way.

Whatever chance this case has, that disappears in ten seconds.

Stay the hell back!

Don't do this, son! Yeah, one more step and he dies.

Now you, get the cuff key. It's the right side of his belt.

Get it.

Do not try to be a hero, Counselor.

Slowly, left hand first.

Move your people back Now you back

the hell out and you go talk to whoever you have to talk to they want me dead

They got one drug to do away Jim. They are never gonna listen you make them

listen. I'm ready to die. He's not Any of you try to come in here I got plenty

of time to take them with me Something in a man's eyes when he knows he's gonna

die

You stand over enough patients, enough brave kids who aren't going to make it.

But what about the medics?

The ones who see it every day.

You don't hear about what changes in their eyes.

I need light.

Get me some damn light.

She was good.

She could keep her calm.

Ice water in her veins.

And she saved them.

Over and over again, she saved him.

Even as her husband, I had no idea it would turn out to be the problem.

The problem?

You should see it, Ben.

These days, with the new technology on the battlefields, fibrin bandages, one

-handed tourniquets, blood supply, they're doing things we didn't even

think were possible.

Private Bender.

It's good to see you on the mend.

Why didn't you just let me die?

It's all right. You're going home now.

Home? Home to what?

I watched it happen.

The woman I loved, a girl from Oregon, went to Afghanistan. She disappeared

right in front of me.

To save a life. That's what she lived for.

But by the end, in a lot of cases, she regretted saving them.

She came home withdrawn, haunted.

And that's why the marriage ended.

She never even said anything about leaving.

I just came home one day and she was gone.

I promise we'll do everything we can to help her.

Thank you.

I brought you her military file. Maybe it'll help.

Her rifle squad, just before they deployed.

That's the woman I married.

Thank you.

We've got the situation contained.

The only way out of that room is by elevator or by the stairs.

And the public?

The whole building's already been evacuated, sir.

But he'll only talk to his lawyer. Mr. McDear.

Mr. McDear, Lee Andrews, I'll be the lead hostage negotiator. I've been

brought up to speed only to grab the guard. He wants a written order from the

Commonwealth stating that they will only use a single drug protocol. You know we

can't do that. Well, then you get on the phone and you get somebody who can. What

specifically do you think it'll take?

An executive order signed by the governor. That won't happen. That is his

decision. The governor is the one who... I don't think you understand this. I

spoke to the governor five minutes ago.

His administration would not negotiate with a death row with me.

Jim, Mitch McGeer.

Come on in.

Anybody else comes in, the guard dies.

Close the door.

What did you do?

He's fine.

They done worse to me.

What'd they say?

Worth a shot, though, right?

Jim, Christina is still alive. The court has not made a decision. There is still

a chance... Stop, stop, stop!

Look around, Counselor. You're talking to a death row inmate in a hostage

situation, and you're asking me to hope for the best?

How's this gonna end, Jim?

They locked the place down?

SWAT's outside the door.

They say if you release the guard, they will not hurt you.

I'm sure they do.

I have other plans.

Take me instead.

What? Release the guard and take me as your hostage.

It'll be easier in the end.

You would do that.

If that's what you want.

Don't shift.

We're sending out the guard.

The lawyer stays with me.

MOS, hold your fire!

You know how this ends, Counselor.

Let's go.

You got nowhere to go. Release the hostage.

Put your arms up and get on the ground. Not gonna happen.

Walking out of here a free man.

We have to keep his heartbeat

He's a matched donor.

We'll take it from here.

Got it.

Thank God you're okay.

I am, I promise.

I had to go to the precinct to make a statement.

I'll get you some water.

So he's dead?

Oh, yeah.

He wanted to die.

He knew Christina was running out of time and that he couldn't wait for the

court to make a decision on how to kill him.

Here, let me take this.

Christina's in surgery now. They've started the transplant.

But how did Jim know that they would kill him?

And without damaging his heart.

Because he knew SWAT always takes a kill shot to the head.

Did you know that he wanted to be killed?

Were you in on it?

Mitch?

He made a choice, Abby.

He gave Christina back to her mother. I didn't stop him.

You okay?

I gotta get out of these clothes.

I'm gonna go.

You should stay.

I'm gonna go to the house.

Call me if you need anything.

It's just a house, right?

She told you. She loves you.

I get it. You guys had a deal, you had a life that you built together, and now

she wants to change it. I don't.

Well, it happens. People change, right?

That's love. That's marriage.

All those things you think you don't want to be, that guy, that static cliche

in the suburbs, all of that.

is within your control.

Control, not exactly what I'm best at, right?

A house isn't going to make you someone you're not.

It's just going to make you someone who loves someone.

She's out of surgery.

We won't know how she's doing for a while, but they said it went great.

What about you?

But everyone who ever met that man lived to regret it.

I don't.

I don't think I can.

On some level, I thought some people were just beyond redemption, but now I'm

not so sure.

Maybe you're right.

Maybe even someone who was once a killer can change.

Nice to see you, too.

Hey, what are you doing here? You scared me.

How did you get in?

Old lock.

Forgot something.

You picked my lock to return a lint roller?

Forgot me.

There's nothing like your own house.

I already see one big advantage. No one complains when things get loud.

Raymond.

I was going to show you this last night, but you were kind of busy.

This is Sarah Holt's military file. I got it from her ex-husband.

Ready for this?

She was a medic.

She saved hundreds of lives on the battlefield.

A medic charged with murder? How does that track?

I don't know.

What about the Moxon names?

We've called four out of the ten families.

They all had the same story. Nice people, all with loved ones who are

dying, all diagnosed terminal with months or a few years to live. But the

thing is, none of them lived a few months or years.

They all died sooner than projected.

That can't be a coincidence.

This is a new day.

And I need to worry about us now.

Our safety.

I think it's time we turned over all this conspiracy stuff to Lewis and the

feds.

Hello?

Yeah, this is Mitch McDeer.

Thou is the clerk of the Fourth Circuit.

We won.

They ordered the one drug protocol?

Jim believed in his way, you believed in yours.

You're both right.

Who's that?

Sarah Holt's squad of medics from a forward base in Afghanistan.

And that's Kevin Stack, the vice president of Noble Insurance.

It is?

Yeah, he was there when I first met Moxon. He's the one that told me that

Moxon was stealing from the company. Wait a second. Kevin Stack is connected

to Sarah Holt?

He was her commanding officer.

Team 3D, read me.

All right, Team 3D, copy.