All language subtitles for Law and order S10E10 - Loco Parentis

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.

My kid wants 60
bucks for one card.

Hey, we had baseball,
they got Pokémon.

Hey, Thurman Munson
never cost me 60 bucks.

Oh, man.

What's the matter?

Thing weighs a ton.

Well, check it out. Could
be a computer or somethin'.

Whatever it is, I want half.

I don't think so.

(CHATTER ON POLICE RADIO)

Male, 16. Wrapped up in a
blanket, then double bagged.

(SIREN WAILING)

Slashed once on the neck.
ED: Damn.

BRISCOE: So who is he?

School ID from Jameson High.
Name's Chris Skinner.

Mother called the precinct last
night, reported him missing.

Here's his address.

Columbus.
About 10 blocks north.

Anybody see the bag get dumped?
We're on it.

Could've been dragged from
any one of these buildings.

Or somebody drove
up with a delivery.

Is that Chris?

Who called her?

Not us.

What a coincidence What,
she just showed up?

Chris never came
home for dinner.

I called his friends, looked
around the neighborhood.

Then I called the police.

They didn't find him.
And now he's dead.

How did you happen to come to
the murder scene Ms. Skinner?

A friend heard it on the news.

A dead boy on 56th Street.

Are you married,
Ms. Skinner?

Boyfriend?

No. Why?

These are just standard
questions, Ms. Skinner.

I would never let
anyone hurt Chris.

(STAMMERS) I need a cigarette.

An officer will walk you out.

When did patrol get
there last night?

9:20. About 10 minutes
after she called 911.

They canvassed the neighborhood,
searched his building.

And the apartment?

Yeah, and the car.
Nothing suspicious.

Just a missing kid.

Fax from the kid's school.

Two years ago,
he came in all beat up.

They called
Children's Services.

Chris and his mom said
he fell down some stairs.

May be this time he
fell down on a knife.

I make time of death
about 5:00 p.m.

What's this on his arm?

It's from yesterday.
I'm guessin' a grab mark.

Or from getting banged
around in the bag?

People don't bruise so
easy when they're dead.

So you can't tell if he was
dragged, carried or beamed down.

Any signs of abuse?

Either that or he played
serious contact sports.

Found some edema on his
right shoulder and side.

He got popped a
couple of weeks ago.

ED: Not like
this time.

Interesting wound.

At least a six-inch blade based
on the length of the cut.

And I'm guessing a blade
with a wide curve.

What, like a scythe?

Well, whatever it was, it hacked
into his artery and he bled out.

All over that blanket.

Must've been washed recently.

No hairs, no fingernails,

no fibers that didn't
come from the blanket.

And the garbage bags
are no good for prints.

Good enough for dumpin' a body.

Extra large. Three-millimeter, heavy
duty, high-density polyethylene.

Not something you'd
find in your kitchen.

There were cigarette ash
and tobacco particles

on the outside
of the outer bag,

stuck to some dried blood.

What brand?
American, menthol.

Can't give you more until we
get it back from the lab.

Stuff could have been
picked up on the sidewalk.

Or a smoke after
to calm your nerves.

Sorry to hear the
boy got killed,

but I have to be at a
divorce hearing in an hour.

I don't have time for
this Make him wait.

You hear any commotion in the
Skinner's apartment yesterday?

Thick walls, okay? Only good
thing about this building.

She have any boyfriends
staying over?

I'm not interested in
the woman's sex life.

Uh, did you ever hear
her get mad at her son?

You think I stand in the hall
with my ear to the door?

We love nosy people.
We gotta ask.

Any idea what kind of
cigarettes she smokes?

I've seen her at the
deli around the corner.

ED: Long brown hair.
She smokes.

She might have come
in with her son.

I know them. They walk by
here to church every Sunday.

She ever buy cigarettes here?

Yeah. Uh,
Deauville Lights.

Not exactly American menthol.

I saw 'em yesterday.

When?
About 4:15.

He was out here with another boy,
selling candy bars for school.

I sell candy too, so
I told 'em to go away.

- You know the other boy?
- No.

What did he look like?

Spanish kid.
Uh, teenager.

I'm sorry I yelled at them.

Thanks.

Maybe the kid sold
some bad candy.

(BELL RINGING)

MAN: I just heard.
My God.

Uh, Chris was sellin' chocolate
bars for the school.

The office pointed us
in your direction. Why?

We figure he got killed
while he was hawkin' candy.

Oh, I hope it wasn't that.

Our Weightlifting Club just started
a fundraising drive yesterday.

The boys were out
selling Neptune bars

to, uh, raise money
for new equipment.

Somebody else from the club
was with him yesterday.

Could have been Terry Sanchez.

When Chris joined
the club a month ago

Terry kind of took
him under his wing.

You know, help pushed
him through his reps.

Terry show up today?

I think I saw him.

We only sold like one candy
bar in about half an hour.

Then the Korean guy ran us off.

Where'd you and Chris go?

We split up. Figured,
why stand on the street

when I could sell a whole
box to my grandmother?

And that's where you
were at five o'clock?

Yeah.
What about Chris?

He was gonna sell door to
door above 56th Street.

Why 56th?

Said there was a big
building with no doorman.

It'd be easy to get in.

You and Chris were
buddies, huh?

Yeah, I guess you
could say that.

I shoulda went with him.

Maybe not.

BRISCOE: ls the
doorman on a break?

Yeah, since '96. Co-op board
decided they're too expensive.

I'm the super.

I'm Detective Briscoe.
This is Detective...

Ooh-hoo! Two o'clock!

Hey, follow the shiny badge.

You see this kid
yesterday afternoon?

May have been going door to
door with a box of candy?

Uh, I wasn't here
yesterday afternoon.

But I know that boy, all right.

A couple of weeks ago,
right across the street,

he was messin' with one of
the kids from the building.

I ran after him. Had him
pushed up against the wall.

Who was the kid
from the building?

Uh, skinny kid.
Always wears black.

Ryan Velardi, 12C.

RYAN: I got home
right after school.

But no one came
around sellin' candy.

Where were your parents?

At work.
Like they are now.

What about you? Is this
about the dead kid?

What makes you think that?

He was found right
down the street.

Yeah, you guys know him?

Nah.

What school you go to?
Jameson High.

Same school as Chris Skinner.

I knew who he was. We just
never hung out together.

How about a couple of weeks ago, when
he had you shoved up against the wall?

Where'd you hear that?

Look, maybe you should come
back when my parents get home.

ED: What's he
got to hide?

They'll be home from
work around 10:00.

Why don't we call them?

You can't reach them now.
We'll be back later.

Charming pair.
Parents work till 10:00?

Maybe they're cops.

Hey, Lennie.
What the hell?

They won't have bags
that big up here.

Couldn't fit a large pizza
box into one of these.

Yeah?

How about this?

Neptune Bars.
"Not for retail."

I want my brother here.

Ryan, relax. He's right
across the hall.

Then why can't he come in?

Don't worry about it.

Just me and you.

I didn't do anything.

Mmm, you lied about
Chris Skinner.

I'm not lying.

Come on, man.

The two of you had beef.
He chased you.

I barely know the kid.

You saw him after school on Thursday.
I didn't.

So it was just a coincidence
that he was sellin' candy

on your floor at the
same time he got killed?

Yeah, I guess.

Don't play me!

You really think you're gonna
get up and walk outta here?

You and your brother
both are down with this.

You got him to help you drag the
bag downstairs, didn't you?

No.

Come on, man. We're getting
fingerprints off your door.

You're lyin' to me,
you're goin' to Rikers.

I'm only 16.

Mmm-hmm. And they got a place for
little boys like you out there.

You think you're scared now, wait'll
they get a hold of your little ass.

I'm not saying anything
till I talk to my brother.

I wasn't even home on Thursday.

BRISCOE: What time did you get in?
Like 6:30.

Your brother mention anything about
Chris Skinner comin' around?

He told you,
he hardly knows him.

He was havin' problems
with this kid, wasn't he?

What kind of problems?
Come on, Ricky.

We got a witness who saw Chris
goin after your brother.

I don't really get all involved
in my brother's social life.

Maybe there's somethin
goin' on with him.

Like what?
You gotta ask him.

What kind of knives
do you and Ryan have?

We don't have any knives.

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

Mr. Velardi's lawyer.
Uh, interview's over.

Unless you have some
evidence I don't know about.

COVEN: Let's go.

We searched their apartment.

No blood, no bags
and no prints.

We know the victim
was up there.

His prints were
on the candy box.

Could be coincidence.

Ryan had motive. The dead
kid was hassling him.

One witness, one incident.

Are you saying my son
was bullying this boy?

High school can
be a rough place.

Sometimes you gotta act tough
to keep the wolves at bay.

Chris wouldn't hurt anyone.
I'm sure of that.

BRISCOE: Our M.E. said
he was all bruised up.

He was?

BRISCOE: Did he mention
being in a fight?

Ever get a call
from the school?

Detention? Anything
like that?

MARCIA: No.

But Chris wasn't doing all
that well when school started.

I just thought he didn't
like his teachers.

When you say he
wasn't doing well...

He didn't really talk to me.

But the last few weeks,
he seemed a lot better.

Around the time he joined
the Weightlifting Club.

Chris was lifting weights?

He'd never done that before?

No.

BRISCOE: Anything else
unusual going on?

I found a pamphlet on his desk
about conflict resolution.

I thought it was just something that
they gave everybody at his school.

(CRYING) I meant to
ask him about it.

I was just so busy lately.

Are you going to
be okay, ma'am?

I don't know.

So the student has a problem, he sits
down with a group of peer counselors.

They try and talk it out.

And if that doesn't work,
they grab their guns.

(LAUGHS) I hate to disappoint you,
Detective, but Jameson's a magnet school.

We don't really have the violence
prevalent in bigger city schools.

If a kid requested intervention,
would you know about it?

I'm supposed to.

Chris Skinner?

Uh, no. Chris was in my math
class, but he never came here.

He had one of your handouts.

Any sense of what
was bothering him?

There's a lot of tension between
the various cliques, you know?

The jocks diss the freaks. The
hip-hop kids diss the nerds.

Any fights?

Uh, not that I'm aware of.

The psychological torture
can get pretty nasty.

It can drive a weak
kid to self-destruct.

Or to destruct some other kid.

Was Chris in one of the cliques?
I'm not sure.

What about a kid
named Ryan Velardi?

I don't recognize that name.

Dark greasy hair,
black clothes.

Mascara, black nail polish?
He'd be a Goth.

Just black clothes.

Oh, then he'd be
with the freaks.

I just lost my appetite.

ED: We just have
a few questions.

This has gotta be
about Chris Skinner.

It's about Ryan Velardi. He
hangs out with you guys, right?

Sometimes.

He's got a PlayStation
and some ill video games.

He ever have any
problems with Skinner?

Aside from Chris being a geek?

It sounds like you and
Skinner didn't get along.

We didn't have anything
to do with him.

He didn't have any
classes with you?

Ask Jon.
He's in Special Ed.

(LAUGHS SARCASTICALLY) Shut up.

We didn't hate him or anything.
He was just shallow.

Practically a skater-oid.

A what?
BOY: A skater.

You know, baggy
pants, no brains.

Ah, that would make him
stand out around here.

Thanks.

I bummed a cigarette
off Chris a few times,

but he didn't really
hang out with us.

Did he ever say anything
about Ryan Velardi?

He was kind of quiet.

Maybe Chris had a
grudge against him.

Is that what the
freaks told you?

We think Chris was pickin'
on this Velardi kid.

GIRL: Doesn't
sound like him.

Chris was in my
Modern Lit class.

He was like,
you know, sensitive.

Sensitive?

He was. When we
did poetry,

he recited a Kurt
Cobain song in class.

When did he start pumpin' iron?

Serious?
Chris Skinner lifting?

I guess you don't really know what
anybody's really like inside.

So there's nothing between
him and the freaks?

We would've heard something.

Thanks for your help.

Chris asks about counseling,
he starts some weight lifting.

I don't see the bully. I'm
seein' the 98 pound weakling.

I just wonder who kicked
sand in his face.

Chris started showin' up to
work out like a month ago.

BRISCOE: Why a sudden
interest in body building?

Said he wanted to get cut. Then maybe the
jerks in school would leave him alone.

Which jerks are
we talkin' about?

Hey, man, in this place?
Take your pick.

Between you and me,
what do you think?

I don't know.

Who you protecting?

The kid who killed your buddy?

I think Chris was having some
problems with the freaks.

Who in particular?

There's like 10 or 12 of them.

We need the names.

You talked to my son
at school already.

BRISCOE: Look, we just need to ask
a couple of follow-up questions.

Uh-huh.
You think Jon's involved?

I'll take care of it, Sandra.

The boy's body was found just
down the block from here.

It's probably a coincidence
but we need to check it out.

Well, what do you want to know?

We'd rather talk to him.

Right now, you'll
have to talk to me.

Where was your son
Thursday afternoon?

He needs an alibi?
That'd be a start.

(STAMMERS) Well, I think I'd
like to see a lawyer first.

I gotta tell you, you're not
helping your boy like this.

Do you have a business card?

Detective Green, um,

I'll call you when Jon's ready
to be interviewed, all right?

Good night.

Bingo.

Maybe somebody up here
bought a Neptune bar.

I was home all
day Thursday. Why?

Anybody come to your door around
five, six o'clock sellin' candy?

No.
You know the Telfords?

Who, the family down
the hall? Not really.

Those Bronco Menthols? Yeah, man.
You want one?

Yeah, for later.

You ever smoke out
here in the hallway?

My wife won't let me
smoke in the apartment.

Yeah?
Where do you go?

She makes me stand out here.

BRISCOE: You always leave
your butts on the floor?

I know, I know. Super's
been on me about it.

Says he always has
to mop up after me.

I throw him an extra 20
around Christmas, you know.

You hear anything unusual goin'
on out here Thursday afternoon?

I'm a percussionist. I've been
workin' on some new material, man.

I wouldn't have heard
a cannon go off.

The cigarette ash we
found in the stairwell

matches the tobacco residue
on the outer garbage bag.

The Telford kid dragged the body
down the stairs and onto the street.

Plus, the kid won't
give us an alibi.

Or his father won't
give him a chance.

What do we have for motive?

The Telford kid's clique at school was
giving Chris Skinner a hard time.

He started pumping iron so maybe
they'd stop hassling him.

I'll talk to Carmichael. It sounds
like enough for a search warrant.

BRISCOE: Where's your son's bedroom?
Jon's doing his homework.

Police!

Unlock the door, Jon.

Bust it.

Please, don't hurt him.

Don't say a word, Jon.

Homework, huh?

"Biker Sluts Rock Vegas."

Must be the new math.

No place like home.

He's a teenage boy.

Oh, yeah? What's this?

A zit remover?

Murder in the second degree.

How does the defendant plead?
Not guilty.

People request $500,000 bail.

GRANICK: They're dreaming,
Your Honor.

CARMICHAEL: We have a weapon
that matches the fatal wound.

No blood was found on this weapon
or in the defendant's apartment.

CARMICHAEL: There's
evidence the victim's body

was dragged through
the defendant's stairwell.

GRANICK: Tobacco residue that could
have come from a million places.

All they've got
is coincidences.

You get enough coincidences,
they start to add up.

Yes, they do.
To $20,000.

Can't fault Judge
Fraser on bail.

Can you put Telford and Chris Skinner
together on the day of the murder?

Nobody saw them together.

And how'd he manage to
clean up all that blood?

He got an A in Home Ec.

Or maybe he had help.

I never saw Chris
or Jon that day.

You stickin' with that?
It's the truth.

Then you're under arrest.

You said you were just
gonna talk to him.

And he's not talking.

So that makes him an
accomplice to murder.

So you and Jon are going
upstate together.

For a couple of decades.

COVEN: Oh, please. My
son didn't do anything.

Except set the whole thing up.

Jon killed Chris because he
was bullying you, right?

That's your case?
A second-hand motive?

RYAN: It wasn't
even like that.

That's the only theory we have
so we're runnin' with it.

I never even told Jon about
Chris pushin' me around.

I didn't want him
to think I was a wimp.

So what did you tell Jon?

He talks to you, you forget
about this accomplice nonsense?

We'll see.

(WHISPERS INAUDIBLY)

I saw him on the
street that day.

All I said was Chris was in the
neighborhood sellin' candy.

Why?

I knew Jon liked
messin' with him.

VAN BUREN: Messin
with him how?

RYAN: I don't know. Just
givin' him a hard time.

What did Jon say when you
told him about Chris.

Nothin' about killin' him.

Then what?

He said, "I hope that faggot
comes to my building."

Not exactly a death threat.

He was lying in wait
for Chris Skinner.

Because he has a sweet tooth.

He enjoyed hassling the kid.

Why not try out
his toys on him?

His parents know that
he had these weapons?

They were hanging on his wall.

He ever threaten anyone else?

So far, none of the
kids are talking.

And the people who aren't kids?

Teaching creative writing
is like being a therapist.

Some of the stuff they
write would freak you out.

What kind of stuff
did Jon Telford write?

Very disturbing.

I saved one of his stories.

"I sent my enemy's gibs
flying through the air."

Gibs?

Body parts.

"I spammed him with my
pill, threw my grenade."

"I fragged another fresh beer,"

"made another
easy kill."

Anthony Burgess would be proud.

I wish Burgess was
the inspiration.

It's from a computer
game called Terror.

Jon told me he plays it on the
Internet five, six hours a night.

You mind if I borrow that?

I called Jon's parents about it,
but his father hung up on me.

I didn't know what
else to do. (SIGHS)

You know, I still can't believe
that Jon actually killed that boy.

"Then I laid a gash in the
neck of Superfly Jones."

Character from the game.

We seized his computer
this morning,

and I found these video
games on his hard drive.

The violence looks
so over-the-top.

That's what sells. Terror
2's the best on the market.

The Marines use games like
this to train their newbies.

Must be a male thing.

My nephew has the old version.

It gets to you.

So you like this junk?

Lighten up, Abbie. He got
me to try it one night.

Three o'clock in the morning
I was still hypnotized.

Anything else interesting
in his computer?

I downloaded a bunch
of e-mails for you.

Anything useful?

Let's see. Telford e-mailed
somebody named DoomMaster.

"Did you notice Skinner's
faggot haircut?"

Here's one about
some kid named Leo.

Telford was trying to figure out
away to put urine in his locker.

CLAYTON: I'm just glad he
didn't kill Leo.

Did you have problems with Jon?

Not really.

Oh, come on, Leo.
It's no big deal.

He'll barely talk
to me about it.

Maybe you'd feel better if
you got it off your chest.

Well, I'll tell
you what I know.

Last year in study hall, Jon put
a dead rat in Leo's backpack.

This year, he scratched the
word 'faggot' on his locker.

Did you complain to the school?

Leo didn't want me to.

He was afraid
it'd make it worse.

One of his friends
told me about the locker.

I decided to go
see Telford's father.

And how'd he react?

He said I had no proof, and if I
called the school he was gonna sue me.

You sure it was Jon?

CLAYTON: Leo says Jon's the only
one who calls him "faggot."

Look, it's no big deal.

And it did not end there.

Three weeks later, he locked
him in a bathroom stall.

Come on, Dad. I called
Telford's father.

He said Leo should learn
to tough it out.

Sounds like you were having
a pretty rough time.

Let's face it, I'm short,

I'm nerdy looking.

Bullies like Jon are
going to pick on me.

Did he ever threaten you?

If he did,
I need you to tell me.

It's really nothing.

Look, Leo,

maybe it's okay to keep what
happened to you a secret,

but Chris Skinner was murdered.

Jon once took out a knife and tried
to pull me into his building.

What happened?

He said he had a room
in his basement

where he was gonna use
me for sword practice.

Then I ran away.

Why didn't you tell me?

What were you gonna do, Dad?

Call his father again?

Which one is your storage
room, Mr. Telford?

Why should I help you? You're
tryin' to lock up my son.

You son is a predator.

Why? Because he
plays video games?

BRISCOE: This is it.

Give us the key.

I don't have to.
ED: You're right.

What the hell is this?

I brought it home from
the store where I work.

Couldn't you get
any live volunteers?

You knew about this?

What's the big deal?
Jon was practicing.

Looks like he was gettin'
pretty good at it.

The People's motion should be
denied in its entirety, Judge.

What evidence are you seeking
to introduce, Mr. McCoy?

Jon Telford's practice dummy.

Evidence of his
Internet fantasies.

Prior instances
of his bullying.

It's prejudicial, Judge. It's
an attack on his character.

He sliced up a mannequin in the exact
manner Chris Skinner was murdered.

It goes to modus operandi.

Modus operandi implies a
prior crime was committed.

There's no law against
defacing a mannequin.

There are laws against possessing
these kinds of weapons.

Yes, and you're free
to introduce the fact

my client broke those laws if he
takes the stand, which he's not.

So Mr. Granick can portray
his client as a choirboy?

If he opens the door, Mr. McCoy
it all becomes relevant.

Now, until then,

I'll permit you
to introduce this...

What do you call it? Kama.

This kama. You can argue it's a unique
weapon that inflicted a unique wound.

Now, that's legitimate
circumstantial evidence.

The other stuff is out.

Van Ness excluded all
our bad acts evidence.

He may as well have
dismissed the case.

We have Ryan
Velardi's testimony.

Not unless you can talk
some sense into his mother.

Ryan didn't see his
friend Jon like he said.

When he spoke to Ms. Carmichael,
he was confused.

He didn't seem confused to me.

You threatened him
with a murder charge.

He was just sayin' what
you wanted to hear.

Did somebody get
to him, Mrs. Velardi?

If there's been witness
tampering, we can make it stop.

It's not that.

So what's going on,
Mrs. Velardi?

He's scared.

Scared of what?

If you don't help us, I'll
prosecute you for tampering.

Oh, first you threaten him,
now you're threatenin' me?

He's a witness
in a murder case.

I need his testimony
to convict the killer

I don't care. I'm not
puttin' him in danger.

We can protect him.

You'll have to find
somebody else.

Mrs. Velardi, he's the only
one who heard Jon Telford

threaten to harm the victim.

Please, Mr. McCoy.

Mrs. Velardi,
I'll subpoena him

and put him in
front of the jury.

And he'll say he
made a mistake.

His lawyer says he doesn't
have to talk to you.

We have nothing else to say.

CARMICHAEL: Ryan Velardi
was the lynch-pin of our case.

Can you put the victim
at Telford's building?

The cops have been through it three times.
Nobody saw him.

ADAM: There was a blanket.

Freshly dry cleaned. No hairs or
fibers except for the victim's.

This teenager commits
the perfect crime.

I know. It's hard
to believe.

CSU luminoled every conceivable
spot in the Telford's building.

They didn't find
a drop of blood.

We have the splatter games, the violent
behavior, the illegal weapons.

But there's no
way to get it in.

ADAM: Where'd he
get the weapons?

Mail order. Paid for with
his father's credit card.

(LAUGHS) Kid gets off, father
buys his son a bazooka.

(SIGHS) Charge the father.

With providing the instrumentality?
With murder.

On what basis?

Depraved indifference.

Hold the father responsible for
the criminal acts of the son?

You don't think
he's responsible?

Morally, maybe.

It's good enough for me.

It's about time we knocked
some sense into these parents.

You're wielding a
pretty big stick.

They don't do the job
puts it on us.

Does it?

Nobody's ever tried it.

That ever stop you two before?

What do you think?

It makes me nervous.

I don't know. Telford encourages
Jon's aggressive behavior,

he arms him to the teeth.
Jury might buy it.

That's what makes me nervous.

We try them together. All Jon's
prior bad acts become probative.

We don't get the father,
at least we get the kid.

Bombs away.

You're arresting me for what?

For the murder
of Chris Skinner.

Why are you doing this?

Turn around,
Mr. Telford?

Not until my lawyer gets here.

You sure you want to do
this in front of your son?

Hey, get away from me.

Get your hands off me! Come on.

Jimmy, go to your room now!

I don't believe this!

No, I didn't expect you would.
Give him Miranda.

You have the right
to remain silent,

which you should take us up on.

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

Judge Fraser in arraignments

didn't think our
case was worth bail.

His problem.

Our problem is how to make
a case against Telford.

Make sure the jury knows
he dropped the ball.

And we get a conviction
for bad parenting.

He gave his son a sword,

sent him out to
practice neck chops.

Ah, bad parenting
in the first degree.

His indifference
created the risk.

Only a matter of time before
that kid attacked somebody.

Okay, suppose we pull it off.

Who's next, Adam?

What did Potter Stewart
say about pornography?

"I can't define what it is,
but I know it when I see it."

Right.

Telford could have
stopped his son.

The way I read the law,
it makes him a murderer.

Maybe you should try the case.

(LAUGHS)

I have to do
all the work around here?

Do you think he's innocent?

I don't.

Well, I'm sure you'll do fine.

JACK: The People will prove
that Jon Telford buried

a martial arts weapon
called the kama

into the neck of Chris Skinner.

The evidence will show that this
crime would not have happened

had it not been for the total
indifference of Jon Telford's father.

Had Robert Telford
opened his eyes

to what was going on with
his son in his own home,

Chris Skinner would
be with us today.

I'll be frank with you,
ladies and gentlemen.

We're entering
uncharted waters here.

Once you bring a child
into this world,

there are obligations attached.

Parents have a commitment to
love and care for their child

to nurture his growth,

and they also have a
commitment to us, to society,

to make sure that their
child obeys the law.

You're going to hear evidence that Robert
Telford dishonored both commitments.

He nurtured his son's brutality

and anti-social behavior.

Warned that his son was
aggressive, a bully,

a boy obsessed with images
of cruelty and violence,

he shrugged it off.

He armed his son with
instruments of death,

and then he let him
loose on Chris Skinner.

I don't have to prove
to you that Mr. Telford

was a direct cause
of Chris's death.

If he could have
foreseen that his son

would use his weapons
to harm another person,

and if he set that chain of events
in motion through his inaction,

the law says he committed
depraved indifference murder.

And in that case,

the sins of the son should
be visited on the father.

Let's talk about what's
really going on here.

The People's case
against Jon Telford

is a handful of
circumstantial evidence.

Mr. McCoy wants to hold this pathetic bit
of evidence together by one proposition.

He's going to try to prove to
you that Jon is a bad boy.

He's asking you to convict
Jon not on the evidence,

but on his character.

And he wants you to believe that
Jon was so mean, so out of control

that his father should
be held legally responsible.

The prosecution of
Robert Telford is a ploy

to admit bad character
evidence against his son.

Mr. Telford never
heard of Chris Skinner.

He was miles away
when this happened.

He didn't have a thing
to do with this murder.

Follow the ball,
ladies and gentlemen.

They can't prove a case
against Jon directly,

so they'll do it by innuendo.

And for lack of an explanation
for this terrible crime,

they'll blame the parent.

If you let them
do this to Jon Telford,

you'll be next.

Thank you.

The tobacco residue we discovered
in the Telford's stairwell

was identical to the
residue on the garbage bag

where we found
the victim's body.

And when you made that discovery,
Detective, what action did you take?

We obtained a search warrant,

and we recovered a kama
in Jon Telford's room.

People's three.

Was there any kind of forensic
test conducted on this weapon?

Yes.

It was consistent with the fatal
wound in the victim's neck.

CARMICHAEL:
No further questions.

Was any of the victim's blood

found in the Telford's apartment
or stairwell, Detective?

BRISCOE: No.

How about on the kama?

No.

You have children,
don't you, Detective?

Objection. JUDGE: Where are
you going, Mr. Granick?

The prosecution has raised the
issue of parental responsibility.

I'd like a little leeway
to address their argument.

Fine, Judge. But
with this Detective?

I'm going to give it
to him Ms. Carmichael.

You're the ones
pushing the envelope.

Answer the question, Detective.

I had two daughters.
One of them was murdered.

Because she turned state's
evidence in a drug case?

She was going to testify
against a dealer.

So she was selling
drugs herself?

Objection.

Overruled.

Yes, she was selling drugs.

And as her father,
under Mr. McCoy's theory,

shouldn't you be held criminally
responsible for her drug dealing?

Criminally responsible?

No.

But I didn't give her the pills
and teach her how to sell them.

No further questions.

CARMICHAEL: Beside
the locker incident,

what other things
did Jon do to you?

LEO: Locked me
in the bathroom.

What else, Leo?

He put a knife against my neck and
tried to get me in his basement.

He called me names.
Like what?

Do I have to say?

It's okay.

Faggot.

Homo boy.

CARMICHAEL: Did you
ever ask him to stop?

Yeah. He just
laughed at me.

I told him my father was
going to call his dad.

He said, "Go ahead.
Big deal."

Thank you, Leo.

Does your father let you play
with video games at home?

Yes.
Like what, Leo?

Well, uh, I have Death Match
and Cyber Mafia.

GRANICK: Did he ever buy
you a toy gun or a knife?

A Swiss Army Knife.

Hmm, did you ever
do anything bad?

I don't believe it.
Not one thing?

(LAUGHS) Well, I broke my
sister's glass animal collection.

(LAUGHS) All right, you know
the story of George Washington

and the cherry tree, right?
LEO: Yes.

When he did something wrong,

he took responsibility
for it, right?

That's what the story's about.

And when you broke
your sister's things,

you took responsibility, right?

Right.

You didn't say it was your
father's fault, did you?

No.

It's a truth so simple,
even a child can grasp it.

Thank you, Leo.

I'm a delivery dispatcher
for Bloomingdales.

My wife Sandra manages the produce
department in a supermarket.

And what kind of hours
do you and your wife work?

I work a lot of overtime.

Sandra works a regular shift
but sometimes it's nights.

Did you receive any complaints
about Jon from school?

Just a call from that
teacher that time.

Oh. Well, she testified
that you hung up on her.

Look, maybe I was
a little thick.

You know, she was talking about
Internet this, Internet that.

(LAUGHS) I don't
know much about it.

(LAUGHS) Well, do you know about
the video games your son plays?

I know they're violent.

When we were a kid, we used to
play combat and blow up the Nazis.

You know, the way I see it,
kids are the same.

Just the
technology's different.

GRANICK: How did Jon get
involved in martial arts?

I took him to karate
lessons when he was little.

And is that why he
had these weapons?

Uh, no. He quit the lessons.

But he was gettin'
picked on at school

by some of the
football players,

so I just thought this might
help him with his confidence.

GRANICK: Nothing further.

How did your son get
this, Mr. Telford?

Jon showed me how to order
the karate gear on a computer.

I gave him my credit card
number to buy the stuff.

This karate gear,
as you call it

you can't buy it in
New York state, can you?

ROBERT: A brother of mine lives in Virginia.
We had it shipped down there.

So you enabled your son
to buy illegal weapons.

Boys like that stuff.

Didn't you ever have a
slingshot when you were a kid?

Made out of a tree branch.

It wasn't contraband from
an 'adults only' website.

It taught him how
to defend himself.

Without any kind of
training or supervision?

He was practicing on his own.

Only he was practicing to be a
bully, wasn't he, Mr. Telford?

When he was 13, some punk held

a knife to his throat and took his money.
He came home crying.

So this is your
idea of parenting?

To send him out with this,
and this, and this?

Listen, it's a different world
than when you and I grew up.

A kid throws a punch now
another kid pulls out a gun.

JACK: How about teaching
him not to fight?

ROBERT: What, so they
could rob his money again?

I wanted him to
stand up for himself.

To be a man.

They laugh at you
when you say that now.

But yeah.
What's wrong with that?

Was he being a man when he
tortured Leo Clayton in school?

ROBERT: Jon wouldn't do that.

When he held a knife
against his throat?

I don't know the story on that.

JACK: You knew he
was carrying a knife.

ROBERT: I knew he had one,
but he knew not to use it.

Well, he did use it,
Mr. Telford.

Isn't that what you taught him?

No.
To relieve his feelings

of helplessness
with aggression?

That's just more PC crap.

Or to retreat into his fantasy
world on his computer.

He's not the only kid
playing these things.

You stood there and
watched while your son

turned into a killer
didn't you, Mr. Telford?

That's ridiculous.

I wanted my kid
to protect himself.

You were proud when he dished
it out at school, weren't you?

I wasn't proud.

You know what those
football players called him?

Fluff boy and...

Is that what this is about, Mr. Telford?
You were ashamed?

Where do you get off tryin' to
tell me how to raise my kid, huh?

You think it's easy?

I love my boys!
I did the best that I could!

You did not!

JUDGE: Sit down,
Mrs. Telford.

It's not true!
He ruined him!

JUDGE: Mrs. Telford.
(JUDGE POUNDS GAVEL)

I want a mistrial, Judge.

Let's step outside.

I'll instruct the jury
to ignore the outburst.

(LAUGHS) Oh, gimme
a break, Judge.

How can my clients get a
fair trial after that?

The defendant brought
it on himself.

The People oppose a mistrial.

And you're not getting
one, Mr. Granick.

I'm not wasting
two weeks' work.

Judge... That means
you have a problem.

We'll recess till tomorrow.

JACK: Jon admits to murder,
I'll consider man one.

And my husband gets off?

Man two.
Reckless homicide.

I didn't kill the kid.

You got Jon. You really need a
pound of flesh from Mr. Telford?

I'm not taking any deal.

JACK: We'll see
you tomorrow.

SANDRA: What if
I give you evidence?

Will you make a deal with Jon?

What are you doing?

What I should have
done all along.

What kind of evidence,
Mrs. Telford?

About the blanket.

Shut up, Sandra.

Please, Mrs. Telford.

And I'll testify
against my husband.

About what?

About what you've done
to us all these years.

(CRYING) The weapons,
the fighting.

I've watched it long enough.

You want me to go to jail?

I see what you did to Jon.

You're not going
to do it to Jimmy.

Tell Mr. McCoy what
happened, Jon.

No, Mom.

That's right, Son.
Don't say a word.

Tell him or I'll tell
him about our blanket.

Damn you, Sandra.

It's over, Jon.

Please.

Say what you did.

I made Chris come
into our apartment.

I was just going to take
his candy money, I swear.

But he punched me in the
stomach hard, and...

The kama was
on the wall, and...

I grabbed it, and I swung it at him.
(CRYING)

Man one,
10-to-20.

How can you do this to me?

I didn't kill that kid.

Man two,
two-to-six.

Or I put your wife
on the stand.

Would you rather risk
a murder conviction?

Take it, Dad.

Oh, now you're tellin'
me what to do?

I'll do what I said, Robert.

It's a fair offer.

(SIGHS)

Now or never,
Mr. Telford.

Fine.

Sandra Telford had her husband served
with divorce papers at Rikers.

Sacrificed her marriage
to save her sons.

She spoke up sooner, she might
have saved Chris Skinner.

Want to put her in jail, too?

Don't tempt me.