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NARRATOR:
In the criminal justice system
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the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups,
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the police who investigate crime
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and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.
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These are their stories.
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Other side. MAN 1: Come on.
Deep. Deep. Deep.
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Set. Hike! MAN 2: Watch your pass.
Watch your pass.
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One Mississippi, two
Mississippi, three Mississippi
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MAN 2: Come on.
Come on. Come on. Oh!
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Holy...
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All I can tell you now is it was a
single knife wound to the chest.
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So, what? He crawled under
the cab to keep warm?
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This guy didn't crawl anywhere.
Knife hit the aorta.
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Our friend here, was dead
before he hit the ground.
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You got a time?
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Temp tells me no more than five hours.
Puts it around 3:00 a.m.
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From the blood spatter, he hit
the bricks right about here,
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then some good samaritan
shoved him under the cab.
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A clean New York
is a happy New York.
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And this was under the cab, too.
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A Season in Hell.
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Arthur Rimbaud.
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French poet.
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Thought he was a Knicks fan.
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This stogie was down there, too.
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Well, that could have
been there since the 60s.
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I doubt it. Cuban. Monty 2.
That's a $40 smoke.
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My ex was right. These
things will kill you.
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Alright, have forensics
run a preliminary DNA.
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Hey, and while you're
at it, could you run
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the vic's prints through
all the right places?
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Busy. Busy. Busy.
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Guy had a wallet,
not a stitch of ID.
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Well, luckily, I don't think
they require ID to hop in a cab.
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What makes you think
the DOA hopped a cab?
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I don't.
I think he drove it.
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How many cabbies you know
don't lock up for the night?
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Oh, so you're thinking
this is a robbery?
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Well, that's a possibility.
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But the hack license was
issued to a Ji-Hoon Pak.
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Maybe he was adopted.
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Detectives!
I just called the TLC.
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Ji-Hoon Pak lives
over on West 46th Street.
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Thanks.
Okay.
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That's like three miles away.
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But parking's a bitch.
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I got the sniffles.
That against the law?
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We found a body under your cab, Mr.
Pak.
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Body?
What kind of body?
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The dead kind.
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It's New York. They find bodies
in all kinds of weird places.
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Don't you read the papers?
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Unfortunately, we don't have to.
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We just wanted to
give you a heads-up.
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Yeah, thanks.
What for?
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We impounded your vehicle.
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Oh, come on. You can't do that!
I gotta earn a living here!
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Look, we'll get it back to you,
maybe tomorrow at the latest
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and with your little
bout of the sniffles,
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it shouldn't be
a problem, right?
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Man, this sucks.
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Just for kicks,
you recognize this guy?
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No.
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ED: I spent
my college years
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driving somebody
else's cab, Mr. Pak.
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You know, lending out your
hack license to somebody else
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could have you looking
for work real quick
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but that'll be the
least of your problems
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if you do know this guy
and you lie about it.
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It's John Chertoff.
He's a nice guy.
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I met him in A.A.
A couple years back.
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Sorry, pal.
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Another gig down the toilet.
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Well, how often did Chertoff
moonlight in the cab?
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Every Wednesday while Mr. Pak
was in an A.A. Meeting.
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We're canvassing
the neighborhood to see
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if there's any local spending
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more cash than usual.
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But you know the odds
on a random isolated killing.
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Only it might
not be that random.
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Forensics ran Chertoff's
prints through AFIS.
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Let me guess. They showed up
on the grassy knoll in Dallas.
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No, in a black church
in Beloit, Mississippi.
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One that mysteriously
burned down five years ago.
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Only, those prints belonged to
somebody named Bobby Lee Redburn,
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card-carrying
member of the KKK.
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Preacher's two kids
died in that fire.
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Stop. So what,
Redburn jumped bail?
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Nope. Hung jury and he lived a
happy life till the Feds noticed
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he was downloading child
porn from the Internet.
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That's when he split.
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Maybe I'm not so
upset he's dead.
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Well, how close are the prints?
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ED: Four-point match.
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That's hardly conclusive.
I'll call down to Mississippi
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and you two see if
there's anything else
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to prove that
Chertoff and Redburn
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are one and the same.
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If this guy was Redburn, he
must have left his white hood
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back in the land of cotton.
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You know, there's something to
be said for the simple life.
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No phone, no TV.
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If I were hiding from the
Feds, I'd be in Rio.
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You know, it's hard to figure a
Klansman buddying up to Mr. Pak.
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Maybe he saw the light.
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BRISCOE: Or maybe
it's not him.
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Oh, think we're getting warmer.
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VAN BUREN: The sheriff from Beloit
ID-ed the photo as Redburn.
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He also confirmed
that the preacher
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was home the night
that Redburn was killed.
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I wouldn't be shocked
if one or two more
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of the congregation
wasn't out to get him.
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Yeah, but if the Feds couldn't find
Redburn, how did a bunch of yokels?
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Hey, sometimes even a random
killer hits the lotto.
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Oh, is the one about the young
man from Nantucket in there?
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Hey, man, let me
ask you something.
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Do you remember seeing any
books in Redburn's room?
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Me either. I can't imagine
he'd start his collection
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with a dead French poet.
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Not when Mein Kampf
is available.
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You think the book
belonged to the killer?
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Well, it's new. The spine
isn't even cracked yet.
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There's a sticker from Barnes and Noble.
It's worth a look.
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Have fun.
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Verlaine was
the real talent, you know.
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Rimbaud just latched on to his
coattails and wouldn't let go.
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We were just saying that
on the way over here.
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He shot him.
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Who shot who?
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Verlaine popped Rimbaud.
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Paul loved Arthur. Paul also loved
Mathilde. It was a whole mess.
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The French.
What do you expect?
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So, can you tell us if you
sold any copies recently?
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If you really want decadent,
I'd stick with Baudelaire.
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Oh, wouldn't you know it?
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A couple of days ago our downtown
store sold a copy to Nelson Lambert.
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The writer?
Put it on plastic.
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Damn, I read all his books when
I was a freshman in college.
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I read his police report
when he stabbed his wife.
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I smoke, I drink. Whatever my ex-wives
don't know makes me stronger.
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(CHUCKLES)
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Cohiba Millenniums. They make one
batch of these every thousand years.
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Fidel gave them to me.
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No, thanks.
I'll pass.
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You know, what I used to love,
though, was the Monty 2s.
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Son of a bitch, that's
what I smoked last night.
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(LAUGHS)
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You knew that, didn't you?
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Okay, well, whatever
I did, wasn't enough.
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Whoever was on the receiving
end more than deserved it.
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In other words,
you don't remember?
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I met the muse
last night, Detective
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and she looked an awful lot
like a bottle of tequila.
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ED: Oh, yeah? And where
was she hanging out?
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Mmm, Helen's Tavern.
It's an eatery catering to...
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ED: The drunk
and obnoxious. Yeah.
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I read Page Six.
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Do I sense some animosity here?
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It's just that dead bodies
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make my partner a little testy.
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And I can ease the pain, how?
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Listen, a cabbie was stabbed.
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A new copy of A Season in Hell
was found beside the body.
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Hmm.
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Some bad memories
coming back, Mr. Lambert?
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I always mourn when someone who
actually reads leaves the earth.
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Let's cut the crap.
You bought the book.
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And a Monty 2 was also
at the scene of the crime?
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Go figure.
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Tack on your affinity for knives
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and all the fingers seem to
point in the same direction.
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Well, I gather this is
gonna take some time.
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Vodka, gin, Scotch. I'm drinking bourbon.
What can I get you?
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Oh, nothing for me, thanks.
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My muse dumped me in the
gutter about six years ago.
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Scotch is good.
Hey!
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What? It's the end
of a tough day.
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How often do I get to sit around
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shoot the breeze
over a couple of drinks
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with the voice
of his generation?
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You don't know him
very well, do you?
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The man has spent his
life trying to become
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the myth he created
in his books.
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Well, how much macho does
it take to stab a woman?
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With Nelson, fiction has a
funny way of becoming fact.
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The three of us were sitting over there.
He and Natalie were arguing
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about Finnegans Wake
or some such nonsense.
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Nelson tossed his soup spoon,
it hit the wall over there.
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Natalie was hit
with a glob of minestrone.
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That's not what it said
in the police report.
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He tells the story 10 times, the
soup spoon becomes a steak knife.
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He tells it 20 times, the wall
becomes Natalie's shoulder.
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In ten years, it'll be a
decapitation with a samurai sword.
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Writers, they lie
for a living, Detective.
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So, he was here last night?
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Until the wee hours.
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00:09:30,836 --> 00:09:32,736
Have you ever killed
a man, Detective?
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00:09:33,038 --> 00:09:34,130
Have you?
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Quid pro quo.
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You answer my question,
I'll repay the favor.
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00:09:38,977 --> 00:09:43,505
I've had occasion to use my weapon.
Yes, unfortunately.
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00:09:43,982 --> 00:09:48,009
Why unfortunately?
Was it a clean shooting?
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Not the point.
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00:09:50,255 --> 00:09:51,255
(SCOFFS)
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00:09:51,356 --> 00:09:56,020
Remorse, that's for naughty
children and priests.
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Let me see it, your piece.
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00:10:01,900 --> 00:10:03,367
Regulations.
(SCOFFS)
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00:10:03,502 --> 00:10:04,969
Would have you
benched for sharing
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00:10:05,037 --> 00:10:07,164
liquid refreshment
with a suspect.
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00:10:13,512 --> 00:10:17,608
Alright. I could use
a good benching.
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00:10:25,224 --> 00:10:26,224
Knock yourself out.
212
00:10:29,061 --> 00:10:32,462
Lighter than a.45,
government issue in Nam.
213
00:10:33,766 --> 00:10:34,824
You served?
214
00:10:34,900 --> 00:10:38,461
Marched through so much muck,
we had to shove our sidearms
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00:10:38,537 --> 00:10:41,301
down our pants to keep the
barrels out of the mud.
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00:10:42,374 --> 00:10:44,672
They say that the first one
is the toughest.
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00:10:44,743 --> 00:10:48,577
First kill is hard only by
consequence of it being first.
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First step. First word.
First woman.
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00:10:52,985 --> 00:10:54,646
First murder.
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Do you know the difference between
killing and murder, Detective?
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Mmm-hmm.
25-to-life.
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Intimacy.
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If you use a bayonet
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it becomes personal.
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A man's blood flows
between your fingers
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warm, wet.
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00:11:19,011 --> 00:11:20,569
Even more so with a knife.
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00:11:23,016 --> 00:11:24,847
Sometimes they scream.
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00:11:26,052 --> 00:11:27,952
Not as often as you'd think.
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00:11:34,761 --> 00:11:37,093
So, Nelson hang around
to help you clean up?
231
00:11:37,463 --> 00:11:41,900
That'll be the day. No, he was
drinking from his own private stock.
232
00:11:41,968 --> 00:11:45,768
Mezcal Especial. He claimed
Saul Bellow gave it to him.
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00:11:45,905 --> 00:11:47,463
Son of a gun drained the bottle.
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00:11:47,841 --> 00:11:49,001
Yeah. I've been there.
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00:11:49,075 --> 00:11:51,942
So, anybody else at this party
besides you and Nelson?
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00:11:52,111 --> 00:11:54,102
His friend Clay
was here for a while.
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00:11:54,180 --> 00:11:55,306
Clay?
Warner.
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00:11:55,582 --> 00:11:57,709
One book, he thinks
he's Leo Tolstoy.
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00:11:58,251 --> 00:12:00,845
Teaches a creative
writing class at Hudson.
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00:12:01,287 --> 00:12:03,152
This tequila they
were drinking...
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00:12:03,223 --> 00:12:07,387
Mezcal Especial. Two hundred
a bottle, if you can get it.
242
00:12:07,594 --> 00:12:10,028
Is that the kind with the
dead worm in the bottom?
243
00:12:10,096 --> 00:12:13,224
Yup. And Nelson sucked it
straight from the bottle.
244
00:12:13,299 --> 00:12:14,823
That's when I put him in a cab.
245
00:12:15,034 --> 00:12:16,034
Around 3:00 a. M?
246
00:12:16,102 --> 00:12:17,160
That's right.
247
00:12:17,237 --> 00:12:20,365
You know, I've never seen a
$200 bottle of booze before.
248
00:12:20,540 --> 00:12:22,531
It should be
in the trash out back.
249
00:12:22,609 --> 00:12:23,609
Help yourself.
250
00:12:25,879 --> 00:12:29,508
Yeah, I can get DNA off a bottle neck.
Sure I can. Maybe.
251
00:12:30,450 --> 00:12:32,941
Unless the alcohol denatured the
mitochondrial material or...
252
00:12:33,586 --> 00:12:34,780
You say it was in the trash?
253
00:12:34,921 --> 00:12:37,253
Yeah. Give it a whiff.
That's not my aftershave.
254
00:12:37,590 --> 00:12:38,989
Cross-contamination.
255
00:12:39,125 --> 00:12:40,558
Any number of elements
could corrupt the DNA,
256
00:12:40,627 --> 00:12:42,060
making it unrecognizable.
257
00:12:42,528 --> 00:12:43,688
Assuming it's even there.
258
00:12:44,597 --> 00:12:48,055
God! I'm glad I stayed late.
(CHUCKLES)
259
00:12:48,501 --> 00:12:50,093
Who needs Disneyland, huh?
260
00:12:52,205 --> 00:12:55,504
Who would you say was the most
despised man at the front?
261
00:12:56,943 --> 00:12:57,967
The C.O.
262
00:12:58,044 --> 00:13:00,842
Negative that. Sniper.
263
00:13:02,515 --> 00:13:04,710
Sitting all alone, up in a tree.
264
00:13:06,085 --> 00:13:08,212
No artistry in
that kind of a kill.
265
00:13:08,922 --> 00:13:10,787
Just technology.
266
00:13:13,026 --> 00:13:15,426
Now it takes a certain
kind of a man
267
00:13:15,862 --> 00:13:18,729
to do the deed,
up close, personal.
268
00:13:19,132 --> 00:13:20,292
And you're that kind of man?
269
00:13:21,067 --> 00:13:25,026
Just doing my job.
Cleaning up the nation's mess.
270
00:13:25,638 --> 00:13:27,265
Soldier-to-soldier?
271
00:13:28,041 --> 00:13:29,440
Man-to-man.
272
00:13:29,509 --> 00:13:30,601
Did the best man win?
273
00:13:30,910 --> 00:13:35,813
I'm sitting here and sharing my
Scotch and my soul, am I not?
274
00:13:39,352 --> 00:13:43,413
What about you, Detective?
Do you have what it takes?
275
00:13:44,390 --> 00:13:46,950
Can you perform with
grace under pressure?
276
00:13:47,627 --> 00:13:49,925
Play poker for
the ultimate stakes?
277
00:13:50,296 --> 00:13:51,296
Mmm.
278
00:13:52,098 --> 00:13:53,565
I don't think of it as a game.
279
00:13:53,700 --> 00:13:55,190
Of course it is!
280
00:13:55,601 --> 00:13:58,798
Winners live. Losers die.
It's all a damn game.
281
00:14:01,007 --> 00:14:05,068
A Season in Hell. That sounds
like something you'd like.
282
00:14:06,546 --> 00:14:08,480
Minor work by minor poet.
283
00:14:09,682 --> 00:14:10,876
Can I borrow your copy?
284
00:14:13,186 --> 00:14:14,448
I gave it to a friend.
285
00:14:17,890 --> 00:14:20,984
This cabbie fellow of yours,
where'd he take it?
286
00:14:22,295 --> 00:14:23,295
In the chest.
287
00:14:24,397 --> 00:14:27,093
Good. Good.
288
00:14:29,435 --> 00:14:31,335
A chest kill is the best kill.
289
00:14:33,373 --> 00:14:38,835
If the point of insertion is selected
correctly, the blade slips in easily
290
00:14:40,481 --> 00:14:42,847
bypassing bone and ligament.
291
00:14:44,051 --> 00:14:47,384
They could deflect the blade
making a quick kill less likely.
292
00:14:50,024 --> 00:14:52,891
The prey feels what
he thinks is a hard blow.
293
00:14:55,396 --> 00:14:58,661
Not until the blood flows does
the man realize he's dead.
294
00:15:01,135 --> 00:15:02,625
You son of a bitch.
295
00:15:05,305 --> 00:15:06,305
You did it.
296
00:15:07,741 --> 00:15:08,741
You killed him.
297
00:15:11,211 --> 00:15:12,337
Did I?
298
00:15:20,020 --> 00:15:23,183
Five hours? I hope to hell he
called you in the morning.
299
00:15:23,390 --> 00:15:24,857
Hey, the best way to get a drunk
300
00:15:24,992 --> 00:15:26,459
to open up is to let him drink.
301
00:15:26,527 --> 00:15:27,994
Isn't that right, Lennie?
Hear, hear.
302
00:15:28,062 --> 00:15:29,586
Did you at least
read him his rights?
303
00:15:29,663 --> 00:15:31,631
It was just two guys talking.
304
00:15:31,698 --> 00:15:33,791
Yeah, until
a lawyer gets involved.
305
00:15:33,867 --> 00:15:34,959
We just wanted to make sure
306
00:15:35,035 --> 00:15:36,468
we were lookin' in
the right direction.
307
00:15:36,537 --> 00:15:38,698
And? Well, he described
the wound like somebody
308
00:15:38,772 --> 00:15:40,330
who'd seen it up
close and personal.
309
00:15:40,407 --> 00:15:44,434
I've got Beck working on lifting
DNA samples from Lambert's bottle.
310
00:15:44,645 --> 00:15:46,977
If they match
the DNA on that cigar,
311
00:15:47,047 --> 00:15:48,708
it definitely puts
him at the scene.
312
00:15:48,782 --> 00:15:52,616
That's great, why don't we all go out
for a drink until we hear from Beck.
313
00:15:52,686 --> 00:15:56,122
He's had enough. But the owner of
the bar said Nelson was drinking
314
00:15:56,223 --> 00:15:57,952
with somebody named Warner.
315
00:15:58,025 --> 00:15:59,788
Well, maybe he'd like
to join us.
316
00:16:04,398 --> 00:16:07,196
Nelson's 50%
imagination, 50% mouth.
317
00:16:07,267 --> 00:16:08,825
I think there's some
ego in there somewhere.
318
00:16:08,902 --> 00:16:10,199
That's just a shield.
319
00:16:10,504 --> 00:16:13,371
Nelson was the smallest kid in the
schoolyard with the thickest glasses.
320
00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:15,738
The kids picked on him so he
learned to fight back with words.
321
00:16:15,809 --> 00:16:17,329
Believe me, Nelson
wouldn't kill anyone.
322
00:16:17,945 --> 00:16:20,106
Although, some might claim
he bored them to death.
323
00:16:20,180 --> 00:16:22,045
What about his
wartime escapades?
324
00:16:22,149 --> 00:16:26,108
Yeah, it was kill or be killed
in Fort Dix, New Jersey.
325
00:16:26,487 --> 00:16:28,045
Sounds like Mr.
Lambert has trouble
326
00:16:28,155 --> 00:16:29,884
distinguishing
fact from fiction.
327
00:16:30,757 --> 00:16:33,885
The whole macho thing, it's
all about self-preservation.
328
00:16:33,961 --> 00:16:36,657
A hard exterior shields
a sensitive soul.
329
00:16:37,164 --> 00:16:40,395
Nelson's not the first. Hemingway
and his man's man image.
330
00:16:40,467 --> 00:16:42,901
He wrote about running the bulls,
but the closest he ever got
331
00:16:42,970 --> 00:16:44,835
was watching from
a second-story balcony.
332
00:16:45,305 --> 00:16:47,296
Sounds like you know
Mr. Lambert pretty well.
333
00:16:47,474 --> 00:16:49,533
He helped get my
first book published.
334
00:16:49,610 --> 00:16:51,134
Would I lie to protect him?
I suppose I would.
335
00:16:51,211 --> 00:16:53,941
But the fact is, in this particular
instance, I don't have to.
336
00:16:54,014 --> 00:16:55,675
Okay, so, just for our records
337
00:16:55,749 --> 00:16:57,546
what time did you
say you left Helen's?
338
00:16:57,818 --> 00:16:59,615
Nelson passed out,
head on the table,
339
00:16:59,753 --> 00:17:01,584
around 1:00. Right
around then, I guess.
340
00:17:01,922 --> 00:17:03,583
There you go.
That's all we needed.
341
00:17:03,657 --> 00:17:04,646
I mean, as far as we can tell,
342
00:17:04,725 --> 00:17:05,953
the murder took
place around 3:00,
343
00:17:06,026 --> 00:17:07,357
so the worst cabbie in the city
344
00:17:07,427 --> 00:17:08,724
would have got him
home within two hours.
345
00:17:08,795 --> 00:17:11,457
Well, he could have gone home
and then come back out again.
346
00:17:11,832 --> 00:17:12,832
Thanks, man.
347
00:17:15,402 --> 00:17:17,996
Hey, how was that book
that Nelson gave you?
348
00:17:19,173 --> 00:17:20,973
You know what, I must
have left it at Helen's.
349
00:17:21,275 --> 00:17:23,266
I do stupid things
like that when I drink.
350
00:17:23,877 --> 00:17:25,367
I got a class.
BRISCOE: Thanks.
351
00:17:26,713 --> 00:17:28,772
Gotta give him credit for a quick recovery.
(CELL PHONE BEEPS)
352
00:17:28,849 --> 00:17:30,248
Yeah, twice.
353
00:17:30,317 --> 00:17:32,797
Once about the book and the other
about their time of departure.
354
00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:37,552
Briscoe. Yeah.
We'll be right there.
355
00:17:38,292 --> 00:17:39,725
You gotta love this kid, Beck.
356
00:17:40,227 --> 00:17:42,127
I wouldn't have believed it
if i hadn't seen it myself.
357
00:17:42,196 --> 00:17:43,629
But are you ready for this?
358
00:17:43,830 --> 00:17:46,230
You can get DNA off
the lip of a bottle.
359
00:17:46,466 --> 00:17:48,798
So, does it match
the prelim from the cigar?
360
00:17:48,869 --> 00:17:50,336
Oh, not even close.
361
00:17:50,470 --> 00:17:51,960
Beck, you just eliminated
our prime suspect.
362
00:17:52,039 --> 00:17:55,498
But you gotta love the
pure science of it, guys.
363
00:17:55,577 --> 00:17:58,808
Accomplishment, purely
for accomplishment's sake.
364
00:17:58,980 --> 00:18:00,880
I hate to criticize
your methods, Beck,
365
00:18:01,015 --> 00:18:02,915
but you could've told us
this over the phone.
366
00:18:03,117 --> 00:18:05,210
But then you wouldn't
have gotten the cherry.
367
00:18:05,286 --> 00:18:06,810
Now, please tell me you know
what he's talking about?
368
00:18:06,921 --> 00:18:08,218
The cherry.
Better known
369
00:18:08,289 --> 00:18:10,382
as the fingerprint match on that
book you found at the scene.
370
00:18:10,458 --> 00:18:12,483
Nelson Lambert?
That's the bad news.
371
00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:14,960
Beck, for your sake, I hope
there's some good news.
372
00:18:15,029 --> 00:18:16,860
Gee, now, I realize
that a four-point match
373
00:18:16,998 --> 00:18:18,863
is nothing to pop
the champagne cork over
374
00:18:18,933 --> 00:18:20,813
but considering it belongs
to somebody who spent
375
00:18:20,868 --> 00:18:22,893
the past six years in Sing Sing,
376
00:18:22,971 --> 00:18:24,768
I thought it might
pique your interest.
377
00:18:24,906 --> 00:18:28,171
Someone named Warner.
Clay Warner.
378
00:18:33,514 --> 00:18:38,508
I was 24 years old. I paid my rent by
selling weed to grad students at NYU.
379
00:18:38,987 --> 00:18:40,547
And one of them
turned out to be a narc?
380
00:18:40,622 --> 00:18:43,750
No, a PhD candidate in Physics
381
00:18:44,058 --> 00:18:45,889
got picked up for
soliciting a prostitute
382
00:18:46,027 --> 00:18:47,858
and traded my name for
his own clean slate.
383
00:18:47,962 --> 00:18:49,190
They found an ounce and a half
384
00:18:49,264 --> 00:18:51,926
in my apartment and
sentenced me to 10 years.
385
00:18:52,066 --> 00:18:53,897
Ten years?
For an ounce and a half?
386
00:18:54,068 --> 00:18:55,296
Must be more to it.
387
00:18:55,436 --> 00:18:56,835
You'd think so, wouldn't you?
388
00:18:57,272 --> 00:19:00,605
But like they say,
every cloud...
389
00:19:00,675 --> 00:19:01,795
Prison gave me time to write.
390
00:19:02,744 --> 00:19:03,744
Is this it?
391
00:19:03,811 --> 00:19:06,837
I lined my cell with
publishers' rejection letters.
392
00:19:06,914 --> 00:19:08,040
Oh, it only takes one.
393
00:19:08,416 --> 00:19:10,008
Which I wouldn't have
without Nelson Lambert.
394
00:19:10,084 --> 00:19:12,052
I sent him that
manuscript in a shoebox.
395
00:19:12,287 --> 00:19:13,607
I'm sure he only
opened it because
396
00:19:13,655 --> 00:19:15,418
the return address
was Sing Sing.
397
00:19:16,324 --> 00:19:18,485
Prison's a metaphor
that no writer can ignore.
398
00:19:18,693 --> 00:19:20,285
Yeah, no murderer either.
399
00:19:21,963 --> 00:19:25,399
Okay. I lied about the book.
I wanted to protect Nelson.
400
00:19:25,500 --> 00:19:27,468
So, he didn't give
you the poetry book.
401
00:19:28,002 --> 00:19:31,062
Nelson gets drunk
and reads poems to the crowd
402
00:19:31,139 --> 00:19:32,333
whether they're
listening or not.
403
00:19:32,407 --> 00:19:34,932
Wednesday night it
was Rimbaud's turn.
404
00:19:35,143 --> 00:19:37,168
Only, your prints
were on the cover.
405
00:19:38,379 --> 00:19:42,008
All right. Maybe I enjoy
a live audience, too.
406
00:19:43,851 --> 00:19:46,877
First, Nelson Lambert.
Now, Clay Warner.
407
00:19:46,954 --> 00:19:47,954
What do you want to do?
408
00:19:48,022 --> 00:19:51,116
Wipe out the entire New York
Times best-seller list?
409
00:19:51,192 --> 00:19:52,819
Warner only sold 2,000 copies.
410
00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:54,825
Read between
the lines, Detective.
411
00:19:54,896 --> 00:19:56,386
Well, you saw
that book of poetry.
412
00:19:56,531 --> 00:19:58,055
It looked unopened.
It was brand new.
413
00:19:58,132 --> 00:19:59,793
Yeah, but that's
hardly scientific.
414
00:19:59,867 --> 00:20:02,495
Hey, you get two drunks passing
a paperback back and forth
415
00:20:02,570 --> 00:20:03,850
they're bound
to bend some pages.
416
00:20:04,839 --> 00:20:06,170
Book report's due at three.
417
00:20:06,307 --> 00:20:07,672
The dog ate mine.
418
00:20:07,975 --> 00:20:10,409
Listen to this.
"The thoracic cavity
419
00:20:10,511 --> 00:20:13,708
"sits just behind the third
button from the top.
420
00:20:13,781 --> 00:20:17,217
"If the point of the knife enters
there, you're assured a kill."
421
00:20:17,552 --> 00:20:19,986
Who says you can't
learn a trade behind bars.
422
00:20:20,288 --> 00:20:22,756
Well, you can make it to
Sing Sing in about an hour.
423
00:20:23,057 --> 00:20:25,287
Find out if Warner writes
about what he knows.
424
00:20:29,030 --> 00:20:30,622
WARDEN: I'll tell you what.
I was glad to get rid of him.
425
00:20:30,698 --> 00:20:32,893
What, with Nelson Lambert
writing letters to the editor
426
00:20:32,967 --> 00:20:35,197
taking out ads in
The New York Review of Books.
427
00:20:35,269 --> 00:20:37,931
You'd think we had The Count of
Monte Cristo locked up here.
428
00:20:38,005 --> 00:20:38,994
BRISCOE:
The power of the pen.
429
00:20:39,073 --> 00:20:41,940
Well, the power of a
$600 an hour mouthpiece.
430
00:20:42,510 --> 00:20:43,510
Lambert hired an attorney
431
00:20:43,578 --> 00:20:45,307
who made 10 appeals
if he made one.
432
00:20:45,380 --> 00:20:47,644
I think those judges just got
sick of listening to him.
433
00:20:48,015 --> 00:20:49,335
Did they reduce
Warner's sentence?
434
00:20:49,384 --> 00:20:50,646
He served six of 10.
435
00:20:50,718 --> 00:20:51,758
So, he was a good prisoner?
436
00:20:51,819 --> 00:20:52,843
(CHUCKLES)
437
00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,411
"Good prisoner." That's kind
of like "jumbo shrimp."
438
00:20:55,990 --> 00:20:58,823
He mostly kept to himself.
Especially after the thing.
439
00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:00,184
What thing is that?
440
00:21:00,795 --> 00:21:02,422
Three guys went
into the laundry.
441
00:21:02,663 --> 00:21:03,823
Two came out.
442
00:21:03,965 --> 00:21:05,125
The third one was stabbed?
443
00:21:05,500 --> 00:21:08,334
Shanked in the chest.
Blood everywhere.
444
00:21:08,570 --> 00:21:10,090
And Warner? Oh, he was
there, all right.
445
00:21:10,139 --> 00:21:11,265
Some of that blood was his.
446
00:21:11,340 --> 00:21:13,399
Why would the appellate court
let him go after that?
447
00:21:13,475 --> 00:21:15,306
Well, knowing and proving
are two different things.
448
00:21:15,377 --> 00:21:17,436
Especially with
Lambert screaming about
449
00:21:17,579 --> 00:21:19,638
the immorality of
locking up a genius.
450
00:21:20,282 --> 00:21:21,613
You still have
the blood analysis?
451
00:21:21,750 --> 00:21:23,081
Sure, I'll get it for you, too.
452
00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:27,512
Warner's DNA was on the cigar.
His prints were on the book.
453
00:21:27,589 --> 00:21:28,817
They were both
found at the scene.
454
00:21:28,891 --> 00:21:31,621
The guy in prison was killed
the same way as the cabbie.
455
00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:34,228
Which Warner describes in
perfect detail in his book.
456
00:21:34,363 --> 00:21:35,489
A reason would be nice.
457
00:21:35,564 --> 00:21:37,896
Well, money's as good as any.
Redburn's cash was missing.
458
00:21:38,100 --> 00:21:41,831
This guy's been feeding us
volumes of lies from the get-go.
459
00:21:43,338 --> 00:21:44,737
Pick him up.
460
00:21:45,774 --> 00:21:47,214
WARNER: I have
a question. Did she...
461
00:21:47,876 --> 00:21:49,776
We're discussing
Anna Karenina. Join us.
462
00:21:49,878 --> 00:21:51,607
You ought to read
Crime and Punishment.
463
00:21:53,015 --> 00:21:54,277
Clay Warner, you're under arrest
464
00:21:54,349 --> 00:21:56,044
for the murder of
Robert Lee Redburn.
465
00:21:56,118 --> 00:21:57,949
Don't you love when
art imitates life?
466
00:21:58,020 --> 00:21:59,420
You have the right
to remain silent.
467
00:21:59,455 --> 00:22:01,821
Anything you say can be used
against you in a court of law.
468
00:22:01,957 --> 00:22:03,357
You have the right
to an attorney...
469
00:22:06,695 --> 00:22:09,391
"Docket number
4-7-3-6-8-9.
470
00:22:09,531 --> 00:22:12,227
"People of the State
of New York v. Clay Warner. "
471
00:22:12,334 --> 00:22:15,770
Charges are, "Murder in the First
Degree, Murder in the Second Degree,
472
00:22:15,838 --> 00:22:17,499
"Manslaughter in
the First Degree."
473
00:22:17,673 --> 00:22:18,935
All for one dead body?
474
00:22:19,074 --> 00:22:20,598
The murder was committed
during the commission
475
00:22:20,676 --> 00:22:21,734
of a robbery, Your Honor.
476
00:22:21,810 --> 00:22:23,243
That makes it a felony murder.
477
00:22:23,412 --> 00:22:25,710
Clay Warner. Are you the
fellow that wrote that book?
478
00:22:26,048 --> 00:22:28,516
I am.
I started it. Hmm.
479
00:22:28,984 --> 00:22:30,042
How do you plead?
480
00:22:30,118 --> 00:22:31,210
Not guilty on all accounts.
481
00:22:31,286 --> 00:22:32,412
JUDGE:
People on bail?
482
00:22:32,488 --> 00:22:35,218
A half a million dollars. The
defendant is tied to the murder
483
00:22:35,290 --> 00:22:37,417
with both DNA and
fingerprint evidence.
484
00:22:37,593 --> 00:22:40,153
Both of which are irrelevant
as far as risk of flight.
485
00:22:40,262 --> 00:22:41,729
He's a repeat offender,
Your Honor.
486
00:22:41,797 --> 00:22:44,129
A minor drug charge and he
didn't jump bail the first time.
487
00:22:44,199 --> 00:22:46,292
But old dogs do
learn new tricks.
488
00:22:46,535 --> 00:22:49,163
Bail is set at $300,000.
Uh, Judge...
489
00:22:49,238 --> 00:22:50,637
I'm sorry, professor
but nothing says,
490
00:22:50,706 --> 00:22:52,435
"I'll be back"
like cash. Next!
491
00:22:53,008 --> 00:22:54,008
(GAVEL BANGS)
492
00:22:54,276 --> 00:22:55,276
(WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY)
493
00:22:56,278 --> 00:22:58,143
"Utter genius.
494
00:22:59,314 --> 00:23:02,545
"It shocks the reader into
redefining his life experience.
495
00:23:03,519 --> 00:23:05,487
"One part Dostoyevsky,
one part Dickens."
496
00:23:06,054 --> 00:23:09,023
I'm impressed, Mr. Warner. Perhaps
this will increase sales.
497
00:23:09,424 --> 00:23:12,723
Alright, Jack, I can play smart-ass
with you. If that's what you want.
498
00:23:12,828 --> 00:23:15,092
This is your meeting, Ira
What do you want?
499
00:23:15,497 --> 00:23:17,727
World peace. The Mets
should win a pennant.
500
00:23:17,799 --> 00:23:19,164
But I'll settle for Clay
501
00:23:19,234 --> 00:23:21,034
being free to write
a couple dozen more books.
502
00:23:21,169 --> 00:23:23,660
I'll send him all the
pencils and paper he needs.
503
00:23:23,906 --> 00:23:26,306
See, you're starting up again with
the whole smart-ass thing and...
504
00:23:26,375 --> 00:23:27,899
Forensics puts him at the scene.
505
00:23:28,377 --> 00:23:29,435
Yeah, I would have
saved you the trouble,
506
00:23:29,511 --> 00:23:31,231
if you would've asked me.
Yes, he was there.
507
00:23:31,747 --> 00:23:33,408
As Rimbaud would
have said, c'est tout.
508
00:23:33,482 --> 00:23:35,177
That's it. Do you have
a murder weapon?
509
00:23:35,417 --> 00:23:36,417
No.
510
00:23:36,485 --> 00:23:38,316
Do you have an eyewitness
to the murder? No, you don't.
511
00:23:38,387 --> 00:23:39,786
He describes it in his book.
512
00:23:39,855 --> 00:23:42,619
Yeah, and how shall we exclude that?
Let me count the ways.
513
00:23:42,691 --> 00:23:44,750
Like I said, Ira,
this is your meeting.
514
00:23:47,329 --> 00:23:48,762
Man two. Time served.
515
00:23:48,964 --> 00:23:50,488
He hasn't served any time.
516
00:23:50,666 --> 00:23:53,396
Six years on a
trumped-up drug charge.
517
00:23:53,468 --> 00:23:54,662
You're not serious.
518
00:23:56,738 --> 00:23:58,865
Weren't you in my first-year
criminal law class?
519
00:23:59,041 --> 00:24:00,041
Back row, on the left.
520
00:24:00,175 --> 00:24:01,767
A-, if I remember
correctly.
521
00:24:01,843 --> 00:24:02,843
A.
522
00:24:02,911 --> 00:24:04,640
And you know, and I was always
surprised I have to admit,
523
00:24:04,713 --> 00:24:06,544
that you never took my
trial advocacy seminar,
524
00:24:06,615 --> 00:24:08,742
because we handled real cases
and you might have benefitted
525
00:24:08,817 --> 00:24:10,045
a little from the work.
526
00:24:10,118 --> 00:24:12,143
No offense, but I didn't
care for your clients.
527
00:24:13,055 --> 00:24:14,079
(SIGHS)
528
00:24:14,156 --> 00:24:16,181
Man two. He does it all.
529
00:24:16,491 --> 00:24:17,788
Oh, that's what
I like about you, Jack.
530
00:24:17,859 --> 00:24:20,327
You go for the jugular, but
you never forget to smile.
531
00:24:20,395 --> 00:24:23,559
Well, I'm sure I'm gonna
make you smile even wider.
532
00:24:24,133 --> 00:24:28,866
The police traipsed all across
the First Amendment illegally
533
00:24:29,172 --> 00:24:30,605
when they manipulated
the bookstore
534
00:24:30,673 --> 00:24:32,072
to disclose the names
of their customers.
535
00:24:32,208 --> 00:24:35,405
Whose First Amendment rights are
you talking about? Rimbaud's?
536
00:24:35,478 --> 00:24:38,606
Among others. And without that
illegally obtained disclosure
537
00:24:38,681 --> 00:24:40,615
you people never would have
looked at Nelson Lambert
538
00:24:40,683 --> 00:24:42,583
ergo, you never would have
looked at Clay Warner.
539
00:24:42,652 --> 00:24:43,652
Time to go.
540
00:24:49,525 --> 00:24:51,186
A hundred and
fifty-five pages.
541
00:24:51,661 --> 00:24:53,754
Why not? He has the best
researchers there are.
542
00:24:53,896 --> 00:24:56,694
Students trying to get the
grades for law review.
543
00:25:00,470 --> 00:25:01,470
(SIGHS)
544
00:25:04,374 --> 00:25:06,638
It was a routine
investigatory step.
545
00:25:06,709 --> 00:25:10,338
The detectives were attempting
to tie a suspect to a crime.
546
00:25:10,413 --> 00:25:13,382
Clearly not analogous to buying a
screwdriver from a hardware store.
547
00:25:13,449 --> 00:25:14,711
And I'm sure you'll tell me why.
548
00:25:14,784 --> 00:25:16,581
Allowing the state
to enter a bookstore,
549
00:25:16,653 --> 00:25:18,621
to review a person's reading
or buying patterns,
550
00:25:18,688 --> 00:25:22,055
would have incredibly chilling effect
on what a person chooses to buy.
551
00:25:22,125 --> 00:25:23,717
Surely, no one in this room
552
00:25:23,793 --> 00:25:26,921
would argue this is not a blatant
violation of the First Amendment.
553
00:25:26,996 --> 00:25:28,756
On the other hand, I doubt
anyone in this room
554
00:25:28,765 --> 00:25:30,596
would raise First
Amendment issues
555
00:25:30,667 --> 00:25:34,569
when the Feds search the Internet for
purchasers of child pornography.
556
00:25:34,637 --> 00:25:35,695
That's for another time.
557
00:25:35,772 --> 00:25:37,092
What we're talking
about right now
558
00:25:37,106 --> 00:25:39,131
is a man purchasing
a literary masterpiece.
559
00:25:39,208 --> 00:25:42,644
If you can't burn the books? Fine.
Stop the public from purchasing them.
560
00:25:42,712 --> 00:25:44,077
It's exactly
the same difference.
561
00:25:44,147 --> 00:25:46,809
First of all, your client
did not purchase the book.
562
00:25:46,883 --> 00:25:48,874
The book was bought
specifically for Mr. Warner.
563
00:25:48,951 --> 00:25:52,443
If Mr. Warner at any moment
had an expectation of privacy
564
00:25:52,522 --> 00:25:54,319
in this particular
reading material,
565
00:25:54,390 --> 00:25:56,255
he would not have
read whole passages
566
00:25:56,325 --> 00:25:58,725
out loud to strangers
in a public...
567
00:25:58,795 --> 00:26:00,422
Whoa! Let's back up.
568
00:26:00,496 --> 00:26:02,657
You're saying it wasn't the
defendant who bought the book?
569
00:26:02,732 --> 00:26:06,566
That's correct. Nelson Lambert
purchased the book in question.
570
00:26:06,836 --> 00:26:08,701
Well, then, Professor, the
next thing out of your mouth
571
00:26:08,771 --> 00:26:10,033
better be very convincing.
572
00:26:10,907 --> 00:26:14,434
Who would write... Who would buy
books, who would read books,
573
00:26:14,544 --> 00:26:18,503
if the very nature of those books were
not free from government interference?
574
00:26:18,581 --> 00:26:20,708
Good question.
Not good enough.
575
00:26:21,250 --> 00:26:22,683
Your client didn't buy the book.
576
00:26:22,752 --> 00:26:25,414
He doesn't have standing to
argue his rights were violated.
577
00:26:27,857 --> 00:26:31,588
You know, Nelson Lambert has already
started his "save the genius" campaign.
578
00:26:31,694 --> 00:26:34,356
Warner won't be the first genius
to have spent a significant
579
00:26:34,464 --> 00:26:36,398
portion of his life behind bars.
580
00:26:36,699 --> 00:26:38,564
Oscar Wilde, Jean Genet.
581
00:26:38,634 --> 00:26:40,499
I'll stick with
the tax code, thank you.
582
00:26:40,636 --> 00:26:43,503
I briefed the admissibility of
using Warner's book against him.
583
00:26:43,673 --> 00:26:45,937
Simpkis hasn't even moved
to exclude it yet.
584
00:26:46,008 --> 00:26:47,976
He will. The one thing
he preached in class
585
00:26:48,044 --> 00:26:51,070
was that the only advantage that
the defense counsel has is time.
586
00:26:51,447 --> 00:26:53,210
Especially when
he's paid by the hour.
587
00:26:53,349 --> 00:26:56,614
He advocates stretching out pretrial
motions as long as possible.
588
00:26:56,686 --> 00:26:59,985
He thinks that once the prosecution
has asked for its first extension,
589
00:27:00,289 --> 00:27:02,348
the advantage shifts
to the defense.
590
00:27:03,893 --> 00:27:05,121
How far can we push this?
591
00:27:05,962 --> 00:27:08,760
There's no case law directly on point.
It's a crapshoot.
592
00:27:08,831 --> 00:27:11,732
Which tells me we should have
something else in our back pockets.
593
00:27:16,439 --> 00:27:19,431
His father died in a
pool of his own vomit.
594
00:27:20,143 --> 00:27:22,202
Should I have expected
any better from him?
595
00:27:22,645 --> 00:27:26,479
It seems people who know about these
things think Clay is quite talented.
596
00:27:27,049 --> 00:27:28,107
That's sweet.
597
00:27:28,751 --> 00:27:30,150
Are you opposed to his writing?
598
00:27:31,254 --> 00:27:33,688
Is there something
specific, Miss?
599
00:27:35,158 --> 00:27:37,626
We think Clay may have killed
a cabbie in order to rob him.
600
00:27:37,693 --> 00:27:39,628
Do you know if he was
having financial problems?
601
00:27:40,063 --> 00:27:41,690
How could I possibly know that?
602
00:27:42,599 --> 00:27:45,090
You're his mother. Maybe
he asked to borrow money.
603
00:27:45,169 --> 00:27:46,727
It's been years, Miss.
604
00:27:47,171 --> 00:27:48,468
Since you supported him?
605
00:27:48,772 --> 00:27:50,296
Since I've spoken with him.
606
00:27:51,475 --> 00:27:52,669
He's a bad seed.
607
00:27:53,377 --> 00:27:55,572
Always was.
Always will be.
608
00:27:57,014 --> 00:27:59,380
Tell you what.
The man can write.
609
00:27:59,817 --> 00:28:02,183
Teaching, on the other hand,
well, let's just say
610
00:28:02,586 --> 00:28:04,816
it involves a whole
other set of skills.
611
00:28:05,155 --> 00:28:06,155
Let me guess.
612
00:28:06,223 --> 00:28:08,783
Nelson Lambert's influence
helped him land this job.
613
00:28:08,859 --> 00:28:11,089
And my Irish luck put me
in an office with him.
614
00:28:11,328 --> 00:28:12,568
You don't get along with Warner?
615
00:28:12,763 --> 00:28:15,425
Clay and a meager talent like me?
Come on.
616
00:28:16,366 --> 00:28:18,027
Did you know him before
he went to prison?
617
00:28:19,570 --> 00:28:20,935
You're not wired or anything...
618
00:28:21,071 --> 00:28:22,470
Of course not.
619
00:28:23,307 --> 00:28:25,832
He used to sell me dope.
He did okay, too.
620
00:28:26,210 --> 00:28:29,441
He was the only grad student who didn't
have to tutor freshmen to buy dinner.
621
00:28:29,513 --> 00:28:30,513
What about now?
622
00:28:31,582 --> 00:28:34,210
I wouldn't know.
Now, I'm high on life.
623
00:28:34,551 --> 00:28:35,643
What about money?
624
00:28:36,286 --> 00:28:37,310
What about it?
625
00:28:37,788 --> 00:28:39,221
Was he in financial trouble?
626
00:28:39,690 --> 00:28:42,451
I just figured he was up to something
that I didn't want to know about.
627
00:28:43,460 --> 00:28:44,460
Such as?
628
00:28:47,130 --> 00:28:50,395
What the hell, let the gods
of literati strike me dead.
629
00:28:51,068 --> 00:28:54,970
Okay, I'm working on a paper on
Faulkner's use of Keats' poetry.
630
00:28:55,272 --> 00:28:57,706
I'm here late one night
doing some research.
631
00:29:00,277 --> 00:29:03,769
Voila behind the two-volume
biography of Faulkner
632
00:29:04,114 --> 00:29:06,912
that everybody has
and nobody reads.
633
00:29:10,687 --> 00:29:12,951
The cash had the cab
driver's prints on it.
634
00:29:13,123 --> 00:29:15,250
The blood traces on the
knife are being tested.
635
00:29:15,325 --> 00:29:17,384
Outrageous.
I'm hardly a wordsmith
636
00:29:17,461 --> 00:29:20,089
but I think that describes what's
happening here as well as any word could.
637
00:29:20,163 --> 00:29:21,528
It was perfectly legal.
638
00:29:22,466 --> 00:29:24,957
Back when we were paying
taxes to King George.
639
00:29:25,569 --> 00:29:28,470
Legal? You're supposed to get a warrant
before you run your fingers through someone's
640
00:29:28,538 --> 00:29:30,199
personal items in his
personal office.
641
00:29:30,307 --> 00:29:34,573
Not when one of the office occupants gives
us permission to conduct the search.
642
00:29:34,912 --> 00:29:36,311
Behind my client's books?
643
00:29:36,446 --> 00:29:39,244
His officemate had
free access to the books.
644
00:29:39,316 --> 00:29:42,046
First off, he has an
expectation of privacy.
645
00:29:42,552 --> 00:29:44,312
Second, anything that's found...
WARNER: Stop!
646
00:29:46,723 --> 00:29:48,281
I'll take a deal,
Mr. McCoy.
647
00:29:48,692 --> 00:29:50,159
No you won't.
Shut up!
648
00:29:52,262 --> 00:29:56,460
I'll confess to whatever you want me to
confess to. I have only one condition.
649
00:29:57,534 --> 00:29:58,728
I'm listening.
650
00:29:59,536 --> 00:30:01,197
I want the death penalty.
651
00:30:02,773 --> 00:30:04,638
I want you to have me killed.
652
00:30:12,149 --> 00:30:14,982
I don't know who was more
shocked, Simpkis or me.
653
00:30:15,085 --> 00:30:18,282
Yup, what fun is it hitting
someone who won't hit back?
654
00:30:18,522 --> 00:30:21,218
I never really thought of this
as an exercise in fun, Arthur.
655
00:30:21,325 --> 00:30:23,793
Brace yourself for professor
Simpkis' motions.
656
00:30:26,096 --> 00:30:27,927
A motion to quash the
agreed upon sentence.
657
00:30:27,998 --> 00:30:31,456
On the grounds that Warner isn't competent
to negotiate on his own behalf.
658
00:30:31,735 --> 00:30:33,600
He wants to die,
so he's got to be crazy.
659
00:30:33,737 --> 00:30:35,967
I've arranged for Skoda
to examine him.
660
00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:37,873
And you say this isn't fun.
661
00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:44,542
Here's a new one for you.
662
00:30:44,681 --> 00:30:45,943
I am not crazy.
663
00:30:47,184 --> 00:30:49,015
Not everyone I talk to is crazy.
664
00:30:49,086 --> 00:30:50,678
But I bet they all claim to be.
665
00:30:51,121 --> 00:30:53,112
Not everyone is as
forthcoming as you.
666
00:30:53,323 --> 00:30:55,815
So show me where to sign
and we can call this off.
667
00:30:56,728 --> 00:30:59,094
The State takes this
very seriously, Clay.
668
00:30:59,630 --> 00:31:01,962
It won't execute someone
with a mental defect.
669
00:31:02,467 --> 00:31:04,094
They can't kill a crazy person.
670
00:31:04,168 --> 00:31:07,160
And a person who wants
to die must be crazy.
671
00:31:08,206 --> 00:31:09,605
And around and around we go.
672
00:31:11,743 --> 00:31:13,233
Tell me about prison.
673
00:31:13,378 --> 00:31:14,868
Now that'll make you crazy.
674
00:31:16,714 --> 00:31:17,714
How so?
675
00:31:18,349 --> 00:31:19,646
Very clever, Doctor.
676
00:31:21,019 --> 00:31:23,783
If I consider a life in prison
worse than no life at all,
677
00:31:24,022 --> 00:31:28,482
then my desire to avoid going back behind
bars is actually an indication of my sanity.
678
00:31:28,893 --> 00:31:30,224
I just asked a question.
679
00:31:30,762 --> 00:31:34,926
Victor Hugo compared prison to church.
The deprivation, the regulations,
680
00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:36,400
the conformity.
681
00:31:36,534 --> 00:31:37,558
And you agree?
682
00:31:38,269 --> 00:31:39,759
Prison is the anti-church.
683
00:31:40,304 --> 00:31:44,570
A church lifts the human consciousness,
elevating man beyond himself
684
00:31:44,675 --> 00:31:45,972
to a union with his God.
685
00:31:46,044 --> 00:31:47,272
But prison
686
00:31:47,945 --> 00:31:49,207
forces him down,
687
00:31:50,148 --> 00:31:52,548
flesh against concrete.
688
00:31:53,217 --> 00:31:55,617
It crushes him
deeper into himself.
689
00:31:56,387 --> 00:32:00,619
Writers like Hugo paint these grand metaphors
without having the slightest reality check.
690
00:32:00,691 --> 00:32:03,660
Sure, they heard about what goes on
in prison but they never really know.
691
00:32:04,962 --> 00:32:06,224
A life sentence.
692
00:32:06,898 --> 00:32:08,729
Think about what
that means, Doctor.
693
00:32:09,867 --> 00:32:12,665
Every minute
of every day. Forever.
694
00:32:18,176 --> 00:32:20,167
Imagining death's
a lot easier, no?
695
00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:23,907
I've barely
scratched the surface.
696
00:32:24,115 --> 00:32:25,480
After eight hours?
697
00:32:25,583 --> 00:32:28,450
His intelligence makes it hard to
know what's real and what's not.
698
00:32:28,719 --> 00:32:31,051
So the blurbs on the back
of his book are true.
699
00:32:32,023 --> 00:32:33,047
I don't know.
700
00:32:33,291 --> 00:32:35,555
I certainly hope
there's a "yet" coming.
701
00:32:35,827 --> 00:32:37,351
I'm meeting with him
again tomorrow.
702
00:32:39,931 --> 00:32:42,024
Let me ask you something,
Jack, off the record.
703
00:32:43,101 --> 00:32:45,569
Would you prefer that I found he
was incompetent and therefore
704
00:32:45,636 --> 00:32:47,570
unable to be sentenced
to execution?
705
00:32:48,106 --> 00:32:49,403
Why would you ask that?
706
00:32:51,642 --> 00:32:52,734
No reason.
707
00:32:53,411 --> 00:32:55,038
Analyze him, Emil. Not me.
708
00:33:00,751 --> 00:33:02,241
You seem irritable today.
709
00:33:02,453 --> 00:33:03,579
Tell me about the cab driver.
710
00:33:03,721 --> 00:33:04,779
Make that testy.
711
00:33:05,123 --> 00:33:06,385
If you don't want to do this...
712
00:33:06,757 --> 00:33:08,122
What do you want
to know about him?
713
00:33:09,494 --> 00:33:10,756
Did you talk to him?
714
00:33:11,529 --> 00:33:13,588
I told him I wouldn't
put out my cigar.
715
00:33:14,065 --> 00:33:15,999
The smoke bothered him?
I didn't care.
716
00:33:18,136 --> 00:33:20,001
Were you always
like this? Defiant?
717
00:33:21,105 --> 00:33:24,131
Don't you really mean, did I pay
attention to Daddy and Mother?
718
00:33:25,776 --> 00:33:27,256
If that's what
you want to talk about.
719
00:33:27,545 --> 00:33:30,878
Well, Daddy slept with every
tramp on the Upper East Side.
720
00:33:31,983 --> 00:33:33,610
Did your mother know?
721
00:33:34,418 --> 00:33:35,578
My mother.
722
00:33:37,655 --> 00:33:38,655
What about her?
723
00:33:40,958 --> 00:33:42,050
I'm tired of this.
724
00:33:44,395 --> 00:33:47,489
I murdered a man for no other
reason other than I felt like it.
725
00:33:47,565 --> 00:33:50,398
He pissed me off
and he deserved to die.
726
00:33:52,970 --> 00:33:55,803
Whatever she did to him,
it doesn't excuse his actions.
727
00:33:55,940 --> 00:33:57,669
He doesn't want to be
excused, remember?
728
00:33:57,742 --> 00:33:59,471
He didn't hear voices?
No.
729
00:34:00,011 --> 00:34:03,037
There was no irresistible
impulse to kill?
730
00:34:03,347 --> 00:34:04,575
Not that I'm aware of.
731
00:34:05,616 --> 00:34:06,776
So he's legally sane.
732
00:34:07,919 --> 00:34:08,920
Or he's lying.
733
00:34:09,454 --> 00:34:12,287
Not that it matters, but does
he feel any remorse at all?
734
00:34:12,558 --> 00:34:15,925
None whatsoever. Clay Warner
couldn't care less about anyone.
735
00:34:17,429 --> 00:34:20,057
I can't think of a better
candidate for execution.
736
00:34:28,574 --> 00:34:32,169
Albert Einstein kills
Jack the Ripper.
737
00:34:32,244 --> 00:34:34,337
Now what do we do?
Do we sentence him to death
738
00:34:34,413 --> 00:34:37,314
or do we name a college
physics building after him?
739
00:34:37,749 --> 00:34:41,048
Your hypotheticals are better
served in a classroom, Ira.
740
00:34:41,119 --> 00:34:44,179
And why is that? Because students
have the luxury of open minds, Jack?
741
00:34:44,256 --> 00:34:46,281
Because your example
is misplaced.
742
00:34:46,625 --> 00:34:48,923
He's a Klan member. He's
responsible for two deaths.
743
00:34:48,994 --> 00:34:51,155
In his spare time
he trades kiddie porn.
744
00:34:51,230 --> 00:34:53,061
Is his life really
as worth another life?
745
00:34:53,131 --> 00:34:55,463
Especially somebody with
so much to offer society?
746
00:34:55,867 --> 00:34:58,392
The legal system does
not ask that question.
747
00:34:58,503 --> 00:34:59,583
Oh. And so you
don't either?
748
00:35:00,105 --> 00:35:02,985
Right. All human life is equal, blah,
blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah. Right?
749
00:35:03,242 --> 00:35:05,642
That's good for church on Sunday,
Jack, but in the real world,
750
00:35:05,877 --> 00:35:08,209
the value of human
life is relative.
751
00:35:09,248 --> 00:35:13,116
You know what, Ira? It takes an over-inflated
ego to even suggest such a thing.
752
00:35:13,185 --> 00:35:15,946
Oh. And this from a man who doles out
innocence and guilt for a living.
753
00:35:15,988 --> 00:35:18,354
This from a man who made his
living defending a document
754
00:35:18,423 --> 00:35:20,391
that purports to treat
all men equally.
755
00:35:20,459 --> 00:35:21,483
(SIGHS)
756
00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:23,255
You like hypotheticals,
how's this?
757
00:35:24,296 --> 00:35:26,264
Bobby Lee Redburn
kills Clay Warner.
758
00:35:26,331 --> 00:35:27,331
(LAUGHS)
759
00:35:27,566 --> 00:35:29,431
Would you still be fighting
to keep him alive?
760
00:35:29,501 --> 00:35:32,095
Absolutely. Just because the
legislature says something is legal,
761
00:35:32,170 --> 00:35:33,501
does not make it moral.
762
00:35:33,572 --> 00:35:35,597
So, this genius thing has
nothing to do with this?
763
00:35:35,674 --> 00:35:36,914
No, I would do whatever it takes
764
00:35:36,975 --> 00:35:38,943
to stop even one
state-sanctioned murder
765
00:35:39,011 --> 00:35:42,378
and then, Jack, no matter what happened,
I'll be able to sleep at night.
766
00:35:42,681 --> 00:35:43,681
Would you?
767
00:35:44,116 --> 00:35:46,846
You may not like what
your client wants to do.
768
00:35:47,085 --> 00:35:48,245
But it's his life.
769
00:35:49,321 --> 00:35:50,788
And his right to end it.
Really?
770
00:35:50,856 --> 00:35:53,137
So you would ask for the death
penalty if we went to trial.
771
00:35:53,392 --> 00:35:54,450
That's irrelevant.
772
00:35:54,793 --> 00:35:56,658
Come on, Jack.
He stole $300.
773
00:35:56,728 --> 00:35:57,922
He killed a man!
774
00:35:57,996 --> 00:36:01,796
Right which if that were all he did, the
death penalty wouldn't even be an issue.
775
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:05,026
Three hundred bucks.
Two tickets to a Knicks game.
776
00:36:05,237 --> 00:36:06,932
I mean, that's really
worth a human life?
777
00:36:07,005 --> 00:36:09,838
Especially one with
such creative potential?
778
00:36:12,311 --> 00:36:14,575
You know what, Jack, you're right. You know
what, have another drink and just pretend
779
00:36:14,646 --> 00:36:17,581
that you're just an innocent
bystander to the process.
780
00:36:17,649 --> 00:36:21,608
Because somewhere down the road, when that
icy needle juts into Clay Warner's vein,
781
00:36:21,687 --> 00:36:25,555
you won't be able to avoid it anymore
and you will see as clear as day
782
00:36:25,624 --> 00:36:27,649
that you are the process.
783
00:36:40,105 --> 00:36:42,972
I've been a part of the literary
community for nearly three decades.
784
00:36:43,041 --> 00:36:44,702
SIMPKIS: It's not
a time for modesty, sir.
785
00:36:44,776 --> 00:36:47,745
You've won three national book
awards, two Pulitzer prizes.
786
00:36:47,879 --> 00:36:49,312
I don't write to win awards.
787
00:36:49,681 --> 00:36:50,681
No, of course not.
788
00:36:51,383 --> 00:36:54,263
But they certainly serve as recognition
of your standing in the community.
789
00:36:54,886 --> 00:36:56,012
I suppose.
790
00:36:56,088 --> 00:36:58,522
Have you formed an opinion
as to Mr. Warner's talent?
791
00:36:58,890 --> 00:37:02,621
Clay Warner has the ability to create
things that weren't there before.
792
00:37:03,095 --> 00:37:07,498
And that's an ability that should be
nurtured, developed, hell, even pampered.
793
00:37:08,100 --> 00:37:11,558
Why? Because it's
damn rare, that's why.
794
00:37:11,803 --> 00:37:13,361
Even if he violates the law?
795
00:37:13,438 --> 00:37:15,235
LAMBERT:
Art gives form to life.
796
00:37:16,208 --> 00:37:18,608
Clay Warner killed someone. He
should be punished for that.
797
00:37:18,677 --> 00:37:21,145
But taking his life is not
punishing Clay Warner,
798
00:37:21,213 --> 00:37:22,737
it's punishing society.
799
00:37:22,914 --> 00:37:24,280
But he wants to die.
800
00:37:24,417 --> 00:37:25,748
Well, he's not rational.
801
00:37:26,018 --> 00:37:29,545
Any true artist who
willingly abandons his art
802
00:37:30,590 --> 00:37:33,150
cannot by definition
be rational.
803
00:37:34,293 --> 00:37:35,385
Thank you.
804
00:37:39,031 --> 00:37:42,990
Along with your panoply
of literary awards,
805
00:37:43,236 --> 00:37:45,727
have you received
a medical degree?
806
00:37:46,773 --> 00:37:47,773
No.
807
00:37:48,007 --> 00:37:50,305
A PhD in psychology?
808
00:37:51,110 --> 00:37:52,236
No.
809
00:37:52,311 --> 00:37:54,745
Isn't it arrogant of you, then,
810
00:37:54,881 --> 00:37:58,840
to sit here and contradict
a recognized expert?
811
00:37:59,252 --> 00:38:01,584
Genius, true genius,
812
00:38:02,388 --> 00:38:04,879
should be coddled and forgiven.
813
00:38:06,759 --> 00:38:09,421
Dostoyevsky was a
degenerate gambler.
814
00:38:09,495 --> 00:38:14,432
Poe was a drug addict. Wagner was
a thief, an adulterer, a racist.
815
00:38:14,967 --> 00:38:16,935
These are despicable men all,
816
00:38:17,437 --> 00:38:20,998
and yet their respective societies
ignored their iniquities
817
00:38:21,073 --> 00:38:24,338
because of the sheer abundance
of their contributions.
818
00:38:25,044 --> 00:38:28,411
Now, for some sad reason we've
devolved into a society
819
00:38:28,481 --> 00:38:31,575
that worships conformity
over creativity.
820
00:38:32,351 --> 00:38:35,514
It would be better for
the world to let genius be,
821
00:38:36,422 --> 00:38:37,446
to never doubt it,
822
00:38:38,391 --> 00:38:39,483
never question it?
823
00:38:39,892 --> 00:38:41,052
That's right.
824
00:38:41,127 --> 00:38:43,061
And Clay Warner is a genius?
825
00:38:43,696 --> 00:38:44,696
He is.
826
00:38:45,631 --> 00:38:49,089
Then who are we, sir, to
question his decision now?
827
00:38:55,007 --> 00:38:59,000
I left Helen's, hailed a cab and
had him drive me across town.
828
00:38:59,111 --> 00:39:01,807
But you live downtown,
isn't that correct?
829
00:39:02,148 --> 00:39:04,241
There was another bar
I felt like going to.
830
00:39:04,684 --> 00:39:06,083
What happened in the cab?
831
00:39:06,552 --> 00:39:09,578
Nelson gave me a cigar,
a Cuban. I lit it up.
832
00:39:10,623 --> 00:39:13,023
And the cab driver,
Mr. Redburn,
833
00:39:13,559 --> 00:39:14,559
didn't care for that?
834
00:39:14,694 --> 00:39:15,694
No, he didn't.
835
00:39:15,761 --> 00:39:17,388
He told me to put it out.
I refused,
836
00:39:17,530 --> 00:39:19,794
so he pulled to the curb
and told me to get out.
837
00:39:19,866 --> 00:39:20,866
Did you?
838
00:39:20,933 --> 00:39:24,096
Yes. But when I was outside, I opened
his door and pulled him out with me,
839
00:39:24,170 --> 00:39:25,170
then I stabbed him.
840
00:39:26,806 --> 00:39:27,806
And then?
841
00:39:27,874 --> 00:39:32,277
Then I turned off the engine, took his
money and shoved him under the car.
842
00:39:33,846 --> 00:39:37,407
I didn't really need the money but,
what the hell, I already killed him.
843
00:39:38,885 --> 00:39:40,682
Was this the first time
you killed?
844
00:39:41,153 --> 00:39:46,022
No. In prison I stabbed some junkie in
the laundry because I didn't like him.
845
00:39:51,197 --> 00:39:52,221
(SIMPKIS CLEARING THROAT)
846
00:39:52,298 --> 00:39:55,961
All right, I'm just trying to
understand this, Mr. Warner.
847
00:39:56,035 --> 00:39:57,035
You're, uh...
848
00:39:58,070 --> 00:40:00,630
Think of death as
relief? Do you?
849
00:40:02,141 --> 00:40:03,141
Never thought about it.
850
00:40:04,410 --> 00:40:08,312
You're asking to die, but you've never
thought about being dead? You're not scared?
851
00:40:08,614 --> 00:40:12,414
Why would I be scared? Death is nothing
more than the absence of life.
852
00:40:13,219 --> 00:40:16,416
And believe me, life isn't as
precious a commodity as people
853
00:40:16,522 --> 00:40:18,854
delude themselves into
believing. Life, death.
854
00:40:18,925 --> 00:40:21,018
It doesn't matter
to me either way.
855
00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:23,885
So, you're sentenced to life
without the possibility of parole,
856
00:40:23,963 --> 00:40:25,396
you what? You just
kill yourself?
857
00:40:25,698 --> 00:40:27,325
Probably. But this
is a lot easier.
858
00:40:27,733 --> 00:40:29,200
Oh, come on,
Mr. Warner,
859
00:40:30,303 --> 00:40:31,303
you lose this motion,
860
00:40:32,138 --> 00:40:33,230
you're sentenced to prison.
861
00:40:34,206 --> 00:40:35,833
Before you get a chance
to kill yourself,
862
00:40:36,576 --> 00:40:37,770
wouldn't you continue writing?
863
00:40:39,479 --> 00:40:40,537
I suppose.
864
00:40:40,614 --> 00:40:43,777
Because as Mr. Lambert said any
artist willing to abandon his art,
865
00:40:44,551 --> 00:40:45,609
cannot be rational.
866
00:40:46,053 --> 00:40:50,183
The thing is, Nelson thinks his own immortality
lies between the covers of a book.
867
00:40:51,325 --> 00:40:52,605
I know there ain't
no such thing.
868
00:40:53,460 --> 00:40:54,518
This is it, Nelson.
869
00:40:56,029 --> 00:40:57,087
This is all there is.
870
00:41:05,238 --> 00:41:08,674
It would have been easier if Warner had
taken a chainsaw to a family of four.
871
00:41:08,875 --> 00:41:10,001
Why?
872
00:41:10,243 --> 00:41:13,906
Because you're human, and humans
can't help but judge other humans.
873
00:41:14,448 --> 00:41:17,781
That'd be just as wrong as treating
Warner differently because
874
00:41:17,851 --> 00:41:21,719
he can string together sentences better
than the rest of us. The quality
875
00:41:22,322 --> 00:41:26,486
of the victim should not matter anymore
than the quality of his killer.
876
00:41:27,227 --> 00:41:29,821
I said it'd be easier,
not more just.
877
00:41:29,896 --> 00:41:32,421
It's good, Arthur.
He can write.
878
00:41:32,499 --> 00:41:33,727
You want the easy answer?
879
00:41:35,936 --> 00:41:37,301
Just words on a page.
880
00:41:37,437 --> 00:41:38,802
And the more difficult one?
881
00:41:42,476 --> 00:41:43,476
So are these.
882
00:41:44,745 --> 00:41:48,408
The death penalty is the most
severe punishment the law allows.
883
00:41:48,849 --> 00:41:51,340
I got to admit, it's
disconcerting that Warner thinks
884
00:41:51,418 --> 00:41:53,443
it's less severe
than going to prison.
885
00:41:54,788 --> 00:41:57,348
You show the SOB,
keep him alive.
886
00:41:57,791 --> 00:42:01,818
If you do that, the best way for any future
defendant to avoid the death penalty
887
00:42:01,995 --> 00:42:03,690
is gonna be to ask to die.
888
00:42:04,231 --> 00:42:05,892
What gets your goat
is that in the past,
889
00:42:05,966 --> 00:42:08,526
you've always had the backstop
of mandatory appeals.
890
00:42:08,602 --> 00:42:10,069
You were just a cog
in the system.
891
00:42:11,038 --> 00:42:13,973
You could always rationalize
it to yourself by placing
892
00:42:14,041 --> 00:42:16,737
the ultimate responsibility
on someone else's shoulders.
893
00:42:17,277 --> 00:42:18,835
Now, if Clay Warner dies,
894
00:42:19,079 --> 00:42:20,671
it's because I wanted him dead.
895
00:42:23,950 --> 00:42:26,350
It's not you, Jack.
It's the law.
896
00:42:29,089 --> 00:42:30,454
Words on a page?
897
00:42:37,998 --> 00:42:38,998
(DOOR OPENING)
898
00:42:51,578 --> 00:42:54,069
I have listened carefully
to the testimony
899
00:42:54,147 --> 00:42:56,707
of the psychiatrists
for both sides,
900
00:42:57,451 --> 00:42:59,248
to the character witnesses
901
00:42:59,653 --> 00:43:02,622
and finally, to the
defendant himself.
902
00:43:03,423 --> 00:43:06,915
Which in the final analysis
deserves the most weight.
903
00:43:07,294 --> 00:43:09,728
First, I have determined
904
00:43:10,130 --> 00:43:14,965
that the plea bargain was reached in good
faith and without coercion of any sort.
905
00:43:15,602 --> 00:43:20,596
Second, I find that there was not a
preponderance of evidence offered
906
00:43:20,674 --> 00:43:25,668
to establish that the defendant suffers
from a mental disorder or defect.
907
00:43:28,048 --> 00:43:30,278
My final holding, therefore,
908
00:43:31,017 --> 00:43:34,248
is that Mr. Warner
shall be executed
909
00:43:34,588 --> 00:43:36,852
pursuant to the laws
of this state
910
00:43:37,624 --> 00:43:42,789
and in accordance with the plea agreement
reached between the parties to this matter.
911
00:43:43,797 --> 00:43:44,797
(GAVEL BANGS)