.
- In the criminal justice system,
the people are represented
by two separate, yet equally important groups:
the police, who investigate crime,
and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
♪
- It's censorship, pure and simple.
- I actually agree with the board on this one.
- Seriously? "Romeo and Juliet?"
- Yeah. - But it's a classic.
- That's filled with toxic masculinity.
- Come on. [laughing]
- And while they're at it, they should take
a look at "Othello" and "Henry V."
- Used to be the conservatives banned books.
Now it's the woke liberals, too.
- That...
That's Henry Gleason.
Henry?
Henry, can you hear me?
Oh my God. I think he's dead.
Call 911.
- DOA was Head of School, Henry Gleason.
Took a single bullet to the chest.
- Caliber?
- 9mm. - Time of death?
- MLI has it somewhere between
10:00 last night and 2:00 this morning.
- [sighs] Witnesses?
- A few people said they heard a loud bang last night
around 10:15.
- [whistles]
- Thank you.
- Yo. Found something?
- Looks like the killer went through this door.
There's blood on the push bar.
- Oh.
"Go forth without fear."
Might wanna get a new slogan.
[dark music]
[dramatic music]
♪
- Our spring musical was last night.
"Dear Evan Hansen" in the auditorium.
so it was crowded.
- What time did the play let out?
- Around 9:30. I left just before 10:00.
- Anyone left here?
- Corridors were empty.
Henry said he was heading back to the office to get his coat.
- And the classroom where he was shot,
that's on the way to his office?
- It's the 12th grade homeroom.
- Ms. Sandler, can you think of
a reason why someone would want to kill him?
- I really didn't know him that well.
This was his first year at the school.
- Married? Kids?
- Said his students were his children.
And not just at Davenport.
He spent his free time working with kids
from economically unstable families,
tutoring, helping with college applications.
- Yeah. We're gonna need his computer.
- Sure. Whatever you like.
- And the footage from your security cameras.
- I'm afraid that's going to be a problem.
- The school's surveillance footage was erased.
- All of it?
- Someone hacked into the system and wiped out
everything between 3:00 p.m. and midnight.
- Has Computer Crimes tried to recover it?
- Yeah, I just got off the phone with them.
It's gone for good.
- Can they at least trace the source of the hack?
- They're working on that. - All right.
Let's get a video canvass going.
Check for cameras in nearby buildings.
Where are we on forensics?
- FAS ran the discharged shell casing.
No hit in IBIS.
- Ah, computer analyst found an electronic footprint,
leads to an IP address to a 14-year-old.
A ninth grader at the school. Lives on the Upper West Side.
- Get a warrant for his computer.
And then pay him a visit. - Okay.
- Just make sure he's got a parent with him.
[somber music]
- Dylan!
- Yeah?
These detectives want to see your computer.
- Dylan, we need access to your computer.
- I've got homework. I have a Latin test.
- We have evidence you hacked into the school's
security system last night and erased the footage.
If he doesn't move, we're gonna arrest him for obstruction.
- Let them in. - But Dad--
- They have a search warrant.
- Stay back.
- Why do you have the girl's lacrosse trophy here?
And what are you doing with Mr. Gleason's nameplate?
- Okay, I admit it.
I stole the stuff from school.
It was a challenge on social media.
The goal was to steal stupid things from school.
It was like a dare.
- When you took some of this stuff,
did Mr. Gleason walk in?
- No.
- Did you see him on your way out?
He try to stop you and that's why you shot him?
- I didn't shoot him. - So...
why did you delete the security footage?
- I woke up in the middle of the night.
I had a panic attack.
I was nervous they were gonna see the stuff missing
and watch the video.
- What time did you leave school yesterday?
- Around 4:00.
- You weren't at the play? - No.
I already saw the real "Dear Evan Hansen."
Why would I wanna watch a bunch of annoying kids do it?
Look, I can show you.
I posted it as soon as I got home.
Look, there I am in room. Time stamp's 4:47 p.m.
Look at all this stuff!
One, two, three--six!
I feel invincible!
- I got home around 6:00,
and Dylan was in his room, studying.
- All right. You know anyone at school
that might have hated Mr. Gleason?
- Half the parents.
- Why do you say that?
- This guy Gleason was trying to change the world.
You know, jam all that progressive
woke nonsense down everyone's throat.
He made the parents sign a pledge
acknowledging they were anti-racist.
Look, I get it.
We all want the world to be more inclusive.
But how does forcing people to sign a pledge change anything?
- Hm. So, some parents got upset?
- No.
Some parents went ballistic.
The other day, for example, I saw a woman
screaming at Gleason.
Said if she had a gun, she'd shoot him in the face.
That's a direct quote.
[dramatic musical sting]
- I'm not so sure about this critical race thing,
teaching young kids to feel guilty
about the color of their skin.
- It's more complicated than that.
- No, I'm sure it is. - Come on, Frank.
White kids--
especially these white kids in these schools,
they got to get lessons on what it was like
growing up Black in America.
About how these things really went down.
- I don't disagree, but isn't that the job
of the parents, not the schools?
- Mrs. Wayland!
- Can I help you?
Yeah. Detective Bernard.
- Detective Cosgrove. - Yeah, we'd like to ask you
a couple of questions about Henry Gleason.
- Okay.
- We understand you weren't a big fan of his,
threatened him? - I didn't mean it literally.
I was just upset.
- About what?
- Let's just say we didn't see eye-to-eye
on his educational philosophy.
- Why's that? - I just found out about
this "extra time" scam-- kids getting diagnosed
with these fake learning disabilities
so they can get extra time for tests,
for the SAT.
Almost 50% of the kids in my daughter's class are doing it.
It's outrageous.
So I asked Gleason about it.
- I take it you weren't happy with his response.
- He pretended these kids actually had
real learning disabilities.
Three or four kids, sure.
But 47 kids? Really?
It's cheating.
My kid has four hours.
These kids get ten?
- Oh, I get it.
My kids, they go to a regular ol'
public school and they're doing the same thing there--
can't help but make you angry right?
- Yeah, and sometimes it's that kind of passion
that makes people do stupid things.
- Please. I was just pissed off.
But I didn't kill Gleason.
I've never even touched a gun.
- All right. Just the same.
Where were you two nights ago around 10:00 p.m.?
- DC, for work.
Took the Acela first thing yesterday morning.
- Mm-hm.
Okay, we believe you.
- Guessing you weren't the only parent
who didn't see eye-to-eye with Gleason.
Can you think of anyone else that was upset with him?
- I can think of about ten.
- Were there any people upset enough to shoot him?
We'd like to talk to you about a guy named George Pratt.
- Sure. He has a son and a daughter at the school.
Or...had. His son Ethan was recently expelled.
- Hm. - Why's that?
- He violated the school's anti-racism policy.
- What did he do?
- [clears throat] Um...
some kids were playing around and started singing.
- ♪ Bum bum bum...
- That's him.
- ♪ Where the shovel, 'cause bitch I'm a gold digger ♪
- ♪ Gold digger
- Okay, we got it.
We don't need to hear the rest.
- Henry expelled all four boys.
And three of the families accepted the decision.
- But not Pratt?
- No, he's fighting to get Ethan reinstated.
- Was he at the school two nights ago?
- His daughter was in the play.
- Kids got kicked outta school
for singing the words to a stupid song?
- You think that's okay?
- The word was in the lyrics. - It doesn't matter.
- If you don't want people to say it,
then don't put it in the song in the first place.
- Again, it's more complicated.
- Okay, Kev, make it clear for me.
Why can't a white kid sing along to his favorite rap song?
- There's never a good reason
for a white person to use that word.
Ever.
- Got it.
- Hey, guys, I got some stuff on George Pratt.
He's 52, a managing director at Goldman Sachs
and, according to court documents,
he's been married and divorced three times.
Lives on 52nd Street.
- Does he have a rap sheet?
- No, but he has a carry permit.
- What type of gun does he own?
- Mmm. Guns, plural.
This guy owns a .22, a .38 and a 9.
- Killer used a 9 mill.
- Ah, it's time we have a chat with Mr. Pratt.
- Oh, I love it when you rhyme.
.
- Mr. Pratt, we know that you own a 9 millimeter handgun.
- That gun is registered. It's legal.
- And it's also the same caliber
as the gun that killed Henry Gleason.
- We know that you didn't like Henry Gleason.
- No, it wasn't dislike.
It was hate. - Okay.
You didn't agree with his decision to expel your son.
- Correct.
- No shortage of private schools in the city.
Why not just send your kid somewhere else?
- I'm on the Board of Trustees at Davenport.
My father went there, I went there,
my children go there. [huffs]
If anyone needed to leave, it was Gleason.
- Looks like you got your wish.
- I didn't kill him.
- You were at the school when he was killed, correct?
- I was at the play.
- Where'd you go when it let out?
- Home.
- Never went into a classroom?
- No, never.
- Never talked to Gleason? - No.
- You have anyone else that can verify that?
- I was with another parent.
We walked outside together and...waited for our kids.
- Okay.
We're gonna need that parent's name.
- Well, Pratt's story checks out.
The parent says she was with him from the time the play
let out until he left the school with his daughter.
- Hey guys, check this out.
We have some video footage from the camera
across the street from the school.
[uneasy music]
♪
- That's Pratt and the other parent.
- Mm-hm.
- Right, and watch this. - Oh.
He seems to be in a hurry.
- Timestamp says 10:17.
- Can you get a clean shot of that kid's face?
He's got something on his jacket.
Punch in on that.
- Hmm.
Could be blood.
- Get the school to ID this kid
and let's get a search warrant for the jacket.
- Okay.
- We found a jacket in Cooper's bedroom, had some blood on it.
Preliminary test results show its type A-negative.
- Coincidentally, it's the same blood type as Henry Gleason.
- Cooper didn't kill Gleason.
- Well, we'd like to hear Cooper's side of the story.
- It's not what you think. - Stop.
- I-- - I said, stop.
- Ms. Young. We have Cooper on video.
A few minutes after Gleason was shot,
he's running away from the crime scene
with blood on his jacket.
Now, if Cooper were my son, I would urge him to cooperate.
- I know how this works.
Whenever anything goes wrong, the rich families close ranks
and try to pin things on the scholarship kids.
- We might be able to help him.
If he shot Gleason, he could have had a good reason.
- Mom-- - Keep your mouth shut.
We want a lawyer.
- Okay.
- All the evidence seems to be pointing in his direction.
But before we charge a 17-year-old with murder,
I need a little more. - We're trying, but--
- What about Gleason's computer? His phone?
- Just a bunch of privileged parents
and entitled kids griping about their grades and test scores.
The kid is just dying to tell us what he knows.
But his mom won't let him.
My gut says there's more to the story.
- All right, let's hold him for now.
And then have a tech scrub his electronics,
and in the meantime, let's find a motive.
- Cooper Young is a good student.
He's active in school activities,
lettered in three sports.
- And you can't think of any reason why
he would want to harm Mr. Gleason?
- He punched another student on the soccer field,
so Gleason suspended him from the team.
- I bet Cooper didn't like that.
- He didn't. Mother didn't either.
To be honest,
I thought it was a little harsh.
Cooper was getting recruited by lots of colleges.
- We'll need to see his disciplinary file,
and while we're here, we'd like to take a look at his locker.
- All right. It's this way.
- Thank you.
- What's that say?
- "Cooper, meet me in homeroom after the play."
- Sounds like someone else was in that classroom.
.
- Who put the drawing of the gun
in your locker, Cooper?
Who wanted to meet you in your homeroom after the play?
- Before he answers that, we need some kind of assurance
that you're not going to prosecute him.
- We can't promise that.
- If he did nothing wrong, he has nothing to worry about.
- And if he's involved, we'll talk to the DA
and let them know that you cooperated.
- Bennett Richardson put that note--
or...drawing in my locker.
- Bennett Richardson?
- Yeah. He's a punk.
Thinks he owns the world.
Always makes sure I know that he knows
I'm getting financial aid.
- Why did he put that in your locker?
- We got into a fight the other day.
- Was this on the soccer field?
- I...sort of kicked his ass.
- He wanted a rematch?
- Something like that.
I, uh... I didn't think he'd have a gun.
I just, you know, I thought he was just, you know...
flexing.
- Start from the beginning, tell us what happened.
- I walked into the classroom.
He pulled the gun out of his backpack.
I was like, "What the hell are you doing, bro?"
I freaked.
- Did he say anything?
- Yeah.
Said he was gonna kill me.
Or, no, his exact words were,
"I'm going to shoot you in the chest and watch you die."
- What did you do?
- I-I tackled him.
Tried to grab the gun.
And then Gleason came in.
And, uh, he saw the gun,
started yelling for Bennett to drop it.
And--and the gun went off.
Bennett--Bennett shot Gleason in the chest.
And then he turned to me.
Uh...
I thought he was gonna kill me.
I really did.
But he took off.
- And then what happened?
- Well, I tried to help Mr. Gleason,
but he was hurt real bad.
And that's how I got the blood on my jacket.
- He told you what he knows, and now we'd like to leave.
- No. No one is leaving until we sort this out.
- What the hell is this?
- We have a search warrant for your premises.
- We'll let you back up as soon as we're done.
- No, no, no, this is not acceptable.
- Maybe not, but it's the law.
Make sure no one leaves.
[tense music]
♪
- Ooh, looky here, looky here.
Two rounds of live ammo. Looks like 9 millimeter.
Let's photograph that.
- [whistles]. - Yeah.
- Check this out.
Artist look familiar?
- Yeah.
I think that's what they call "emotional realism."
- Bennett.
Come here and turn around.
- Hey, don't touch him. - You're gonna regret this.
I have a team of lawyers on their way down.
- You're under arrest for the murder
of Henry Gleason. - Dad?
- Don't say a word. Not a word, Bennett.
Tell them you want a lawyer.
Bennett, say it right now, "I want a lawyer."
- I want a lawyer.
- Honey, it's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay.
- Where does a sheltered prep school kid
from Manhattan get hold of a pistol?
- His grandfather bought and registered it in Wyoming,
where they had a family vacation house.
Bennett must have taken it. - So, we have an eyewitness.
Two rounds of 9 millimeter ammunition found in his bedroom
and the note from Cooper Young's locker.
- Plus all the other disturbing artwork.
- How old is he? - 17.
- You want to try him as a juvenile or an adult?
- Adult.
- You sure about that?
- The statute presumes a 17-year-old accused of murder
will be tried in adult court. I see no reason
to make an exception for Bennett Richardson.
- I do. He's young and emotionally unstable.
Is sending this kid to prison for 20-30 years
really the right thing?
- If he's tried as a juvenile,
he could be out in as little as five years.
If Bennett Richardson was mature enough to acquire
a 9 millimeter handgun, load it,
and gun down an innocent man,
he's mature enough to be treated as an adult at trial.
File for a retention hearing.
[dramatic musical sting]
- The statute requires that the people prove
one of three elements--in this case the people can prove two.
The crime was violent and a gun was used.
- Mr. Quinn?
- What Mr. Price said is true.
But my client is still a child,
still thinks and acts like a child.
He deserves a chance to be rehabilitated.
- First, he's six months short of his
18th birthday-- that's hardly a child.
Second, he doesn't deserve anything--
he killed man, shot him dead for no reason.
- I hear what you're saying, Mr. Quinn.
I have an 18-year-old son at home.
He can barely make a piece of toast without
burning the house down.
But the people have met the statutory requirements.
Mr. Richardson shall be tried as an adult. Anything else?
- Okay, but I'd like to ask once again
that my client be released on bail.
- The people object--bail has already been litigated.
- We're asking the court to reconsider.
- Based on what?
- The family is willing to pay the cost
of an ankle monitor and will
also agree to pay for 24-hour police detail.
That should assure his appearance at trial.
- Your Honor, we're not
intimidated by the judicial system.
We have no intention of fleeing or avoiding the trial.
We look forward to bringing this case to a close
and clearing our son's name.
- Bail is set at $4 million.
- The family will post forthwith.
- Next case. [taps gavel]
.
- Bennett Richardson is admitting he shot Gleason.
He just filed notice that he intends
to offer an affirmative defense--justification.
- How can he possibly claim self-defense?
There was no imminent threat. He was the aggressor.
- According to his affidavit, Bennett brought a gun to school
because Cooper was bullying him,
says he was in fear for his life.
- This case isn't about self-preservation.
It's about revenge.
Cooper beat up Bennett, and this was payback.
- "I didn't plan to shoot anyone.
"I brought the gun to school to scare Cooper,
"to make him stop harassing me.
"When I pulled out the gun, Cooper came at me,
"pushed me to the ground. I wasn't expecting that.
"The gun went off and the bullet hit Mr. Gleason.
[bell dings] It was an accident."
- He took a loaded gun to school
and pointed it at a fellow student.
Thank you.
He may not have intended to kill Henry Gleason,
but the intent transfers to him just the same.
The first thing we need to do is shore up
our theory that this was premeditated.
- Best evidence of his state of mind is his artwork.
It's filled with rage.
[dramatic musical sting]
- Bennett is exceptionally talented
but, like a lot of creatives, he has a dark side.
The subject matter in his sketches
had become increasingly violent.
- Did you show this to anyone?
- His parents. And the head of school,
Henry Gleason, they said they'd deal with it.
- Did they?
- I have no idea, but someone told Bennett I was concerned.
- How did Bennett take that?
- A couple of days later, he confronted me and he...
- He stabbed you? - I was helping him
cut materials for a mixed media project.
He was using a box cutter, and he got upset.
He said it slipped.
- But you think it was intentional.
- I can't prove it.
- Why wasn't he kicked out of school?
- Gleason asked me to meet with his parents.
I had a long conversation with them, shared my concerns.
Bennett's father pleaded with me.
He said he'd get Bennett help.
- So you just ignore the fact that he stabbed you
based on one conversation with his father?
- Bennett's father gave me $100,000 to keep it quiet.
[phone dings]
- Oh, I'm sorry, it's an emergency.
- Bennett got ahold of some pills
in his parents' medicine cabinet.
Valium, Ativan, Celexa.
- He tried to kill himself?
- Yes, but he didn't try that hard.
More like a cry for help.
- So, he's okay?
- He's under sedation.
We'll keep him under observation
for a few days, but he should be fine.
- Thank you.
- You son of a bitch. How dare you come down here?
- He is a child, for God's sakes,
he can't handle this kind of stress.
He's gonna wind up dead. - Is that what you want?
- No, of course not.
- Let me handle this.
What the hell are you doing here?
- I wanted to see Bennett's doctor,
find out what was going on.
- I'll tell you what's going on.
As soon as I get back to my office,
I'm filing for a competency evaluation.
With what just transpired?
I don't think my client is fit to stand trial.
- Do you understand where you are?
- A police station.
- Do you know who I am?
- A government shrink.
- Do you know why we're here?
- So you can tell my Dad if I'm crazy.
- Actually, I send my findings to the judge.
Are you depressed, Bennett?
- Wouldn't you be?
- Point taken.
You took a lot of pills.
You want to tell me what's going on?
- I didn't mean to do it.
- What?
- Kill Mr. Gleason.
Or Cooper.
I didn't want anyone to die.
I never should have told my father
that Cooper kicked my ass.
- How come?
- Because then my father
wouldn't have told me to fight back.
None of this would have happened.
And Mr. Gleason would still be alive.
- Your father told you to fight back?
- Yeah.
He said, what are you gonna do about it?
My father told me to grow up.
Be a man. Stand up for myself.
- That why you took the gun to school?
To impress your father?
- That's what I thought he wanted me to do.
- His father practically demanded
that he attack this kid.
- Where did you get the gun?
- It belonged to my grandpa.
And then he gave it to my dad,
and then my dad gave it to me.
- Your father gave you the gun?
- For my 17th birthday.
- Who the hell gives an emotionally disturbed
17-year-old a gun for their birthday?
.
- I heard the news.
Psychiatrist found the defendant
competent to stand trial.
- Yes, he apparently has no diagnosable mental illness
and he was obviously filled with guilt and remorse.
- Meaning, he knows what he did was wrong.
- You're right.
But it wasn't necessarily his idea.
- What do you mean?
- His father urged him to seek retribution on Cooper Young.
That's why he brought a gun to school.
A gun Bennett's father gave him.
- Knowing his son had emotional issues,
drawing pictures depicting violent acts,
he gave his son a weapon?
- Ammunition too.
As a result, Henry Gleason is dead.
- Are you suggesting-- - Yes.
I want to charge him with murder as well.
- Under what theory?
- That he was an accomplice.
He provided the murder weapon, which means he assisted
in the commission of the crime.
Bennett couldn't have carried it out without it.
- Is there any precedent for what you're proposing?
- No.
- Can you convict the father without the son's cooperation?
- No.
- Okay.
Talk to the kid's lawyer, see if you can work something out.
- No way.
I won't testify against my father.
- Come on, Bennett.
Think it through.
We are giving you a second chance at a normal life.
With good time, you'll be out of prison in 12 years.
- It's a hell of a lot better than spending
the rest of your life in prison.
- I'm not going to rat out my dad.
- A man he loves very much. - I know it's not easy.
There aren't any easy solutions to this situation.
It's just a question of which difficult choice
you're prepared to make.
- My father told me to stand up for myself.
Be strong. Someone hits you, you hit back.
There's nothing wrong with that.
- You brought a gun to a fistfight,
and you fired that gun and killed an innocent man.
There's no walking that back.
- If you want Bennett's cooperation,
you'll need to immunize him.
- A free pass on a murder?
- Otherwise, it's a hard "no."
- If we want to prosecute John Richardson,
we have to let Bennett walk free.
- I know the father's culpable,
but is he really more culpable than the actual trigger man?
- Without John Richardson, his son would never have had
a handgun, he never would have killed Henry Gleason.
- I totally get that, Nolan.
But we have a solid case against Bennett.
The case against the father is a lot weaker.
- Not to mention, it's predicated on the testimony
of an emotionally disturbed 17-year-old.
We go after the father and lose,
everyone walks away a free man and we look like fools.
- If we have learned anything
over the past decade, it's that locking up
disturbed kids doesn't prevent more school shootings.
It's proven to be an ineffective deterrent.
We need to try a different approach,
we need to send a message.
We need to hold more people accountable,
people who should intervene.
- Helluva speech... if you were running for office.
But you're not, you're a prosecutor
and your job is to follow the law
and get justice for victims.
- I can win the case, Jack.
We've prepared a grant of immunity.
Means your testimony is no longer requested.
It's now required.
I'm going to call you as a witness
in your father's trial.
- What if I say no?
- Like I just said, that's not an option.
- We talked about this, Bennett.
You're going to testify.
- And just so we're clear, if you fail to comply,
you will be held in contempt and sent to jail and we try you
for the murder of Henry Gleason.
- Same thing will happen if you lie on the stand.
- Why don't you give him a preview
of what you're going to ask?
- Fair enough.
Had your dad ever seen your artwork?
The ones that involved guns, that expressed violence?
- I don't know.
Okay. Okay, yes, he's seen my drawings.
He knew I had weird thoughts sometimes.
- Did he ever try to get you help?
- Hired a boxing coach.
Said it would help get my aggressions out.
- Anything else?
- Taught me how to shoot guns.
- When you told him about how you got the bruise,
did he say anything?
- When I, uh,
told my father that Cooper was the one
who punched me in the face,
he said I had to stand up for myself.
Let Cooper know I'm not a weakling.
Fight back. Regain my power.
- And what did you interpret that to mean?
- Objection, relevance?
- This is an accomplice murder. - I'll allow it.
- What did you think your father meant when he told you
to stand up for yourself and regain your power?
- That I...
shouldn't let anyone push me around.
- Your father knew you had a gun?
- Yes.
- In fact, he was one who gave it to you.
- Yes.
- He gave you ammunition as well?
- Well...
He, uh...
I--uh...
- Bennett, buddy. Answer the question.
Don't worry me-- - Stop.
Mr. Richardson.
Be quiet or I'll have you removed from the courtroom.
- Bennett, can you please answer the question?
- No, I'm not going to do this anymore.
- You understand that if you refuse to respond,
I'll have no choice but to hold you in contempt.
- I don't care.
- Since the witness hasn't been subjected to cross examination,
I'd move to strike his testimony.
- Members of the jury, I'm instructing you
to disregard everything the witness has said.
You are not to consider it as part of your deliberations.
.
- He's made up his mind.
He's not going to testify against his father.
- That means our deal with Bennett is officially off.
And only other person who knows what really
happened in your house, who knows what
your husband did and said is you.
- What do you mean? - We need you to testify.
- Are you insane?
Why would you think I would help put my husband in prison?
- Because it's in your son's best interest.
- No. It's in Bennett's best interest
to have his father home with us.
- You don't seem to understand. If you don't cooperate,
we're going to try Bennett for murder.
- And if I testify?
- We'll agree not to move forward against your son
when the trial is over, he'll come home with you.
Someone has to pay for Henry Gleason's murder.
The two choices are Bennett or John.
We'd prefer that person to be John,
but it's really up to you.
- I can't choose between my husband and my son.
[somber music]
♪
Okay, I'll do it.
Fine. Put me on the stand.
- As you know, we filed an application
to quash the subpoena.
Mrs. Richardson should be disqualified from testifying.
- I'll hear you, Mr. Price.
But the case law is clear
on confidential matters between spouses.
- Spousal privilege doesn't apply
in instances of child abuse.
- Abuse?
- What the hell are you accusing me of now?
I've never laid a hand on my child!
- I'm not alleging that Mr. Richardson was ever
physical with his son.
I'm asserting that, giving your emotionally
disturbed teenager a loaded handgun
and then telling him to stand up for himself?
I'd submit that that falls under
the category of abuse and neglect.
- Mr. Price is trying to criminalize parenting decisions
he doesn't agree with.
Guns are a part of the Richardson's culture.
That is how my client was raised
and that's how he chose to raise Bennett.
My client may not be raising Bennett
the way Mr. Price would like,
but that doesn't mean it's abusive.
- I find that the defendant's behavior
is more than a case of bad parenting.
Defendant's motion to quash is denied.
Mrs. Richardson may testify.
- Your husband was aware of Bennett's
increasingly erratic behavior?
- We both were.
- Bennett stabbed his art teacher
with a box cutter-- your husband knew about that?
- Yes.
- In fact, he paid off the victim
of that attack to keep his mouth shut.
- He reached a settlement with the teacher.
Look, John is a good man.
He really is. We didn't know what to do.
We both knew Bennett was troubled, but we thought...
We hoped that it was just a phase.
- Did you try therapy?
- John doesn't believe in therapy.
He thinks it's self-indulgent.
- Better to do nothing?
- He handled it the way he knew, the way he was raised.
John tried to get Bennett into sports
to take out his aggressions.
Boxing, wrestling, Outward Bound--
Bennett hated all of it.
- So he gave him a gun?
- Guns were the one thing Bennett seemed to enjoy.
So John took him to shoot skeet
and to target practice at the range, and hunting trips.
I may not agree with all my husband's decisions,
but I know that John is a good father
and he loves Bennett very much.
- So...
To be clear, your husband gave
your emotionally unstable son
a 9 millimeter semi-automatic handgun,
and when your son got into a dispute
with another boy at school, your husband urged him
to be a man and stand his ground,
and as a result your son took
that 9 millimeter to school and killed Henry Gleason.
Correct?
[somber music]
♪
- Yes.
- Thank you.
Nothing further.
[somber music continues]
♪
- Your husband never told Bennett to kill anyone, did he?
- Of course not.
- He didn't say, "Hey, take the gun to school
and kill the principal," did he?
- Never. - He was nowhere near
the school when Mr. Gleason was killed.
- Correct. He was at work.
- Thank you.
- Members of the jury. How do you find?
- We find the defendant guilty.
- Thank you for your service. You're excused.
Court is adjourned.
[gavel bangs]
- I am so sorry.
- Go to hell.
[wolf howls]