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.
Sailors. I'd be happier with the Hell's Angels.
Three months floating on a tin can.
What do you expect?
I don't expect to end up looking like the Baghdad Hilton.
I want 'em out.
Everybody out!
Let's go!
Let's go. The party's over. You, out of here!
The party's over.
Let's go! Come on. Out! Out! Out!
Get out of here. In here.
Come on. On your feet!
On your feet, sailor. Party's over.
Let's go! On your feet.
Party's over. Out of here. Out of the room!
You, move it!
It's locked.
Let's go, sailor. Come on. Out!
Come on! Let's go.
Come on, miss. Let's go.
Hey, sweetheart, let's go. Hey!
This is section Able, 2229 Eighth.
We've got a 10-10, DOA.
Fresh kill, two hours at the most.
Contusions to the right arm and shoulder.
Hello. Major swelling.
Possible blunt force concussion.
She didn't get that playing spin the bottle.
Let's roll her over.
Hey, guys, someone wanna work the headboard, please?
Couple of Scotches, couple of dozen women...
Pretty soon everybody's a Kennedy,
and I don't mean Bobby.
She part of it?
Anything with a bounce is fair game.
Give your name to the sergeant in case we need you later.
We're holding 19 sailors and five of their dates next door.
All right. Hose them down with coffee until we're ready for them.
Cooper, Cooper, one item per bag.
Please go get some more bags.
It didn't get out of hand until they brought the prostitutes in.
They brought 'em in?
I thought they were on the room service menu.
C'mon, we don't run that kind of an establishment.
To my knowledge,
we've never had a hooker set foot in here, let alone die in our beds.
A hooker with dog tags?
"Janet Tracy Hagen. United States Navy."
Make that Lt. Hagen.
The nametag. This lady was an officer.
19 sailors, 19 pairs of eyes,
but no one remembers seeing Hagen.
They had something more memorable to look at.
They'll be more forthcoming once we talk to them.
I prepared a list of all the officers assigned to the McKinley.
Was the party by invitation only, Lieutenant?
Anyone above the rank of chief petty officer.
We might wanna check their service records.
We'll make them available. But when the smoke clears,
it's probably exactly what it appears.
Lt. Hagen got drunk.
She stumbled, hit her head.
A tragic accident.
Captain, thank you. Gentlemen.
Yeah, right.
She takes a header on the bed,
and her panties end up around her ankles.
Knee-jerk damage control.
With a dead officer on my hands, I might do the same.
The room she was in...
any name on the reservation slip?
The whole floor was charged to the Officers' Mess Fund.
Nice to know my tax dollars aren't being wasted on schoolbooks.
Her shoes were found in the hall?
Yeah, the boys had a grope gauntlet for the hula girls.
It takes a special kind of touching
to come up with bruises like these.
You sure we're not lookir at a rape?
No word from the ME.
Well, what are we waitir for?
The rape kit came back negative.
There were slight vaginal abrasions, but nothing conclusive.
Tells me somebody did more than hold hands with her.
Well, unfortunately, she got a headache.
Skull fracture. Brain hemorrhage.
Vomit indicates that she did not go quickly.
Any idea what she hit?
Uh, something flat and solid.
A wall or a headboard.
It left abrasions on the skin.
No external bleeding.
Hmm.
A couple of drunks on a bed with hot pants,
one of them cracks her skull on the headboard. We shouldn't be so surprised.
Hagen get these bouncir on a bed?
Torn rotator cuff on the right shoulder,
deep internal contusions in the upper-right quadrant.
Nobody likes it that rough.
Lt. Hagen was on temporary assignment duty to the ship
along with another female officer.
She was being trained in anti-submarine warfare.
And how long had she been on board?
Six weeks, with another two to go.
She was a promising young officer.
Third-generation Navy.
Got along well with everyone.
What about last night?
Was she getting along well with anybody in particular?
No, she was just mixing with the crowd when I left.
Everything seemed in order.
Captain, I didn't know that frat parties
were part of the Navy training manual.
The men were just letting off a little steam.
It was an unfortunate accident.
Captain Bunker, ahem,
where we work, there's nothing accidental about murder.
Lt. Hagen was beat up and left for dead.
It's all there in black and white.
Does the Navy Investigative Service know about this?
We sent them a copy.
We believe whoever is responsible left the party early
before we had a chance to talk to him.
Excluding yourself and Lt. Hagen,
there are six names on your guest list that don't appear on ours.
Lt. St. Claire will see that you talk to them.
I guarantee you, gentlemen, you'll have our full cooperation.
I was drinking, sir.
Everyone had a lot to drink.
Well, who were you drinking with?
At the party?
A lot of people.
Does that include Lt. Hagen?
I don't recall, sir.
Lieutenant Bates, did you have a good time at the party?
Yes, sir.
When I'm havir a good time, I don't cut out early.
Sir, I, uh...
It was because of the prostitutes.
What, you don't like girls?
I'm married, sir. I wouldn't want my wife to see me get involved.
Okay, we got it.
What time did the conscience kick in?
10:00 PM.
I went to a bar with Ens. Walters
a couple of blocks from the hotel.
McGill's.
I don't recall what time we got to McGill's, sir.
That's a nice big watch you got on your wrist, there.
I bet it even glows in the dark.
Sir, it was a sports bar.
There was a Ranger game on the TV.
It was the end of the third period.
Oh, come on. I don't get that.
You're gonna pass up a sure thing to watch a hockey game?
Sir, I didn't want...
I was afraid of catching something, sir.
I was assigned to share quarters with Lt. Hagen.
She was a very capable officer.
Off duty, capable of what?
I don't understand the question, sir.
Lt. Mendoza, they wanna know about her personal habits.
Just answer them to the best of your abilities.
Yes, sir.
She listened to classical music.
She was looking forward to seeing the philharmonic
with her father.
Chief Petty Officer James Hagen retired.
He lives in Brooklyn.
Was she involved with anyone on board ship?
She ever talk about anybody?
We didn't get personal, sir.
How about Hula Night?
You see her with anyone?
I had a drink with her early in the evening.
After that, I didn't see her until I was ready to leave.
What time was that?
Just before 10:00 p. m., sir.
She was in the hall.
I could tell she'd been drinking.
So, with two in sick bay, one on emergency leave,
that accounts for the six missing in the hotel.
Let's give our boy credit.
He might have figured being MIA would cause attention.
What, he kills her and joins his buddy in the conga line?
That's pretty cold.
I know a few rapists who wouldn't think twice about it.
I bet they left more behind than shoulder bruises.
This guy barely touched her where it counts.
Something scared him.
Yeah...
Well, let's say she had the hots for somebody, okay?
They're in the room. They're makir out.
But she's worried about the yahoos in the hall
who might enter at any minute.
Yeah, so modesty cools her down, and his kettle explodes.
She ends up dead. Romeo freaks. He splits.
That still leaves us casting for the part of Romeo.
Listen, if Hagen really had eyes for somebody,
don't you think she might have told her roommate about it?
Unless she was afraid of readir it
in the Navy Times the next day.
Maybe somebody outside the service?
Class of '89.
The first Hagen in the Academy.
The first to wear bars on her collar.
I don't know how she got through it.
She have a tough time there?
In her senior year at the Academy, some kind of problem.
It's not that I hadrt warned her.
The Navy's not my idea of a proper career for a woman.
But Janet stuck with it.
Did you talk to her after she was assigned to the McKinley?
Well, we had...
We had dinner her first night in... first night in port.
Mr. Hagen, was she involved with anybody on board the ship?
No. No. But I've been there.
A young woman like her
every guy must have taken his best shot.
Do you think it was possible in that situation she wouldn't have said no?
Janet knew better.
It was career, first and last.
There were people at the party who saw her drunk.
They said that?
Not my Janet.
Booze killed her mother.
A glass of wine at dinner, that was Janet's limit.
So she doesn't have tattoos on her arms, she's still a sailor.
The fact she may drink like one
shouldn't be a complete shock.
Her old man practically has her in the temperance league.
What, your tellir me daddy knows every little secret?
Well, she didn't keep any secrets from the ME.
Subject Hagen had a blood alcohol of 0.03.
I score higher than that after I gargle in the morning.
My brother-in-law... the nut...
one drink, he's off to the races.
Look, fellas, drunk or sober, somebody killed her.
Did you run the guest list through the computer?
Yeah. Didrt ring any bells.
There's nothir in the Navy's records either.
Fingerprints didn't exactly narrow the field.
We lifted 17 sets from the room.
Great. So, The Marines land in Somalia,
they got cameras covering every square inch of sand.
A sailor gets whacked in Manattan,
it might as well have happened on the moon.
Lennie, this guy, Bates.
Wasrt he worried about his wife seeing him grope a hooker?
Now, how was she gonna see?
The Navy's Funniest Videos?
Call St. Claire. See which one of his guys likes to play Allen Funt.
This gets out, and recruitment will go right through the roof.
Yes, unfortunately.
I can't say Lt. Can'ter was eager to volunteer this tape.
It's a disgrace.
Wait a minute. Go back.
All right, stop.
Down the hall. That's Hagen.
Go ahead.
So much for Daddy's little girl.
Go back again.
Freeze it.
And the door prize goes to Lt. Bates.
I told you, sir. I didn't want my wife to know.
Oh, you lied to spare your wife's feelings, huh?
Do I have "sucker" written all over my forehead?
No, sir.
Before the party, you spend any time with Lt. Hagen?
Of a personal nature?
I said hello to her a couple of times here in the ward room.
She wasrt my type.
Not sober, she wasrt.
Sir, she came down the line.
I don't know what I was thinking. It was stupid.
Once you got her in the room, you went from stupid to violent.
Mr. Bates, you had better tell them the truth.
As it is, you're in a world of trouble.
Ens. Walters. He had her after me.
He took her into the room, sir.
Sir, I already told the detectives everything I remember.
I assure you, mister,
lying now is not in your best interests.
Sir, I didn't lie.
Only losers bluff after the table's already seen their hand.
But I did go for a drink with Lt. Bates.
That's understandable.
You smack around a superior officer, you work up a thirst.
Am I entitled to an attorney, sir?
Cooperation now will benefit you in the long run.
I was drunk. I mean, everybody was.
I saw her come out of a room.
She nearly fell flat on her face.
Then she walked the gauntlet.
We went into a room.
I put her on a bed.
L... I was helping her off with her clothes
and she started to vomit.
Then she stopped moving.
She could have hit her head. I don't know. I don't remember.
You could have called a medical officer.
Sir, I panicked.
I don't know what exactly happened,
but she was dead.
We can convene an Article 32 hearing immediately.
You seem to forget that she was murdered in our precinct.
The Supreme Court has held that the military can prosecute
a member of the armed forces regardless of the situs of the crime.
If you want the citation, I can have my clerk send it to you by morning.
It'll make good reading while we're loading Walters
on to the bus to Rikers.
Our common goal is punishing a criminal.
If you take Walters,
his attorney can slow dance for a year and a half
before he ever sees the inside of a courtroom.
The military system moves to a much quicker beat.
You know, Lieutenant, I never had much of a sense of rhythm.
I think we better take him.
I'm no lawyer, but I do know that possession is nine-tenths of the law.
Ens. Walters isn't going anywhere.
He's right. The Navy has jurisdiction.
So what? We issue an arrest warrant and hold our breath
till they're finished with him?
Only if you're good about your morning jogs.
Uniform code of military justice
calls this an act inerently dangerous to others.
It's Murder One.
Mandatory penalty, life without parole.
That should make "America's Finest" think twice
about making whoopee inside a Scotch bottle next time they hit land.
I don't know. Could Walters have been so deep inside that bottle
he forgets roughir her up?
What are you saying?
I saw Cookie Benitez, light heavy,
get decked in the third round at the Garden.
He gets up, takes his bows.
Half an hour later, he keels over in the shower.
Dead, internal brain hemorrhage.
She got beat up before walkir the gauntlet?
A sharp blow to the head, you pop the carotid artery,
you do not have enough time to kiss your loved ones goodbye.
Capillaries are a whole different ball game.
Now, depending on the rate of seepage,
you could hang around long enough to rewrite your will.
And Janet Hagen?
Well, some might call her lucky.
Amount of blood in her cranial cavity,
she had a good 20 or 30 minutes.
Me, I would want it over with as quick as possible.
All right. During that time, would she be able to walk and talk?
Well, balance and speech would definitely be impaired.
So, for example, she'd look like she was drunk?
You got it.
Couple of minutes later,
she never would have made it into Walters' room.
Yeah.
Let's find out whose room she came out of, huh?
Any idea when I can clean up this mess?
I'm havir a hell of a time renting rooms on this floor.
Yeah, well, a year from now, somebody will write a book.
The place will become a tourist trap.
You can double your prices.
Okay, so the gauntlet ended here
and it started up here.
Hagen looked like she came out around here.
So, what's your pleasure?
Door number one or door number two?
Who signed for drinks in these two rooms?
It was an open bar.
Praise the Lord and pass the martinis.
Wait a minute.
What's a party without munchies.
Anybody order room service?
I'll check the computer.
Six platters of cold cuts were delivered to room 1510.
Did they have corned beef, Mike?
I like corned beef.
The receipts were signed by Capt. Allard Bunker.
He's the head honcho, who else is gonna sign?
That room was at the top of the gauntlet.
Yeah. Walters said Hagen looked drunk
when she started down the yellow brick road.
Did CSU check the room?
Well, there was no sign of a struggle,
but Hagers prints were on the desk chair.
So she sat down.
Looks to me like we're still trying
to catch flies with chopsticks.
And the flies are takir their vitamin B.
"Determination of Article 32 Hearing of Ensign Evan Hawthorne Walters.
"Sufficient evidence of involuntary manslaughter
to proceed to court-martial."
The kid took the high road, confessed, copped a plea.
"Convening Authority: Vice Admiral Miles Coty.
Referring officer, Captain Allard Bunker."
Uh, get me the bureau for Navy personnel.
I don't know, try the Federal Building.
The transcript for pre-trial inquiry
might make for some interesting reading.
Eight witnesses, three days?
Our courts should be so efficient.
When you're not getting paid by the hour,
there's no reason to take your time.
"I was inebriated, sir.
"She was inebriated, sir.
I don't remember, sir."
Well, nobody saw her leave Bunker's room.
Nobody thought to ask the question.
The other woman. Uh, what's her name?
You know,
Mendoza.
She's not on my list.
She's one of the last to talk to Hagen
before she walked the gauntlet.
Why do you think she's keeping quiet?
Look at 'em.
All dressed up in their tailor-mades and ready to roll.
What's the matter? Don't you remember the good times back in uniform?
I remember the shin splints from pounding the pavement.
I hate to ruin your reverie.
Lieutenant Mendoza?
Yes?
I want to talk to you for a minute.
You got a minute?
I was on leave.
I was in Florida visiting my parents
when the hearing was convened.
Let me ask you something, Lieutenant.
Who issued the leave?
Capt. Bunker. He thought I could use the time.
Capt. Nice Guy.
He didn't think my testimony was essential for the prosecution.
He was right.
Because they went after the wrong guy.
The medical examiner testified that Lt. Hagen
suffered the fatal blow more than 30 minutes
before Walters could get his hands on her.
But I spoke to her.
She wasrt drunk, Lieutenant. Her brain was hemorrhaging.
And we think Bunker did it.
That's impossible. Walters confessed.
You don't think it was a little funny
that Bunker prevented you from testifying at the hearing?
Bunker may give you an all-expense-paid trip to see your folks.
We're going to give you 25-to-life
for conspiracy when you cover up a murder.
We were in the hall.
Things were starting to get pretty wild.
Lt. Hagen and I went into Capt. Bunker's suite.
We were having a drink.
The conversation started to get, I don't know, uh, personal.
Between Bunker and Hagen?
Yes.
I wasrt really listening, but there was definitely some history there.
Capt. Bunker ordered me to leave.
The next day, when we found out she was dead,
Capt. Bunker told me to keep quiet.
He said that what Lt. Hagen and he spoke about
was of no importance.
A naval officer grabbed off the street in the middle of the night?
Well, our people expect this in Beirut, but not here.
The crime, sir, resides in the behavior of your officers, not ours.
Mr. Schiff, is or isn't Capt. Bunker
the target of an investigation?
No one's priming their big guns, Admiral.
Till we have a conviction, everyone's fair game.
Our people consider their work done when a suspect confesses.
With all due respect, sir, a vague drunken confession
without supporting evidence.
Our court found it convincing enough to send a man to Leavenwon'th.
We sent exculpatory forensic evidence
to the Naval Investigative Service.
Which dismissed it as inconclusive.
Mr. Schiff, the McKinley is scheduled for deployment at the end of the week.
I will accommodate you any way we can.
But at this point, I'm unwilling to remove Capt. Bunker from his command
based on pure speculation.
Gentlemen.
Circling the wagons.
A time-honored military maneuver.
Then what? We stand on the dock and sing
Anchors Aweigh while Bunker shoves off?
Until you have enough to arrest the man, let alone charge him,
that's the best you can do.
We certainly can't force him to talk to us.
We could with a material witness order.
You cannot detain a witness without an indictment.
And there's no indictment unless you have a defendant.
Well, there's one on his way to Leavenwon'th.
Indict Walters? You said he was innocent.
If it gets us face-to-face with Bunker...
This is an outrage.
And a proper way of securing the testimony of an uncooperative witness.
It's a prosecutorial mugging, is what it is.
Lieutenant.
I may not like your tactics, Mr. Stone,
but they seem to fall within the law.
I'll answer your questions.
You can begin by explaining why you ordered Lt. Mendoza
to withhold information from the police.
Because it wasrt pertinent to their investigation.
They can tie their own shoelaces, sir.
Lt. Hagen complained of the treatment of women on the ship.
She accused me of condoning what she called a pattern of harassment.
Why did you tell Lt. Mendoza to leave?
It was for Lt. Hagers benefit.
I didn't wanna chew her out in front of a junior officer.
How long were you in the room alone with her?
No more than five minutes,
until we were both satisfied that the matter had been resolved.
Then I left the party.
And where did you go?
I left with a companion. A blonde.
Her name?
I wasrt interested in her name.
If that's all, gentlemen, I have a ship to tend to.
That is not all, sir.
Under the material witness order,
you can be held until the grand jury is released.
On behalf of the Navy, I'm filing a motion to dismiss.
Oh, Ben, five prostitutes were arrested at the party,
all of them hired through Marathon Escorts.
Was one of them Bunker's blonde?
Four brunettes and a redhead.
That doesn't sound right.
Get a subpoena over to that escort service.
I don't know what they told you down at the office,
but the only service I give is good dinner conversation.
You went to the hotel
expecting a sit-down dinner with 25 sailors?
I'm a companion for lonely guys.
You want to arrest me, go ahead.
I have the beeper numbers of a half-dozen bail bondsmen.
I'm not concerned how you pay your rent, Ms. White.
When you left the party, were you alone?
Rule number one: Don't kiss and tell.
Better start dialing those numbers.
Your rules don't apply to murder suspects.
I left the hotel with "Bunky."
That's what he wanted me to call him.
We took a cab to the Ambassador.
I should have ditched him in the lobby.
Something wrong with his bedside manner?
The guy was loaded, but couldn't fire.
You grade performance?
I didn't care.
But he did, big-time.
Maybe it was just the way I looked at him, but he just took off on me.
Called me every name in the book.
Nothing you haven't heard before.
The creep almost ripped my arm off.
I changed my tune, told him what a big hunk he was,
and split as soon as I could.
He scared the hell out of me.
If nothing else, Ben, it shows Bunker has a propensity for violence.
Toward a prostitute, not a fellow officer.
A uniform may not be much protection from someone like Bunker.
Uh, in the eyes of a jury, a uniform might be all the protection he needs.
Look at that record.
Distinguished service, Vietnam, Middle East, Grenada.
Navy thought so highly of him
they sent him to Annapolis as an expert instructor.
Academic year '88-'89. Yep.
That's the same time as Janet Hagen.
Mendoza said they had some kind of history.
Before he taught at Annapolis,
he commanded a missile cruiser.
But after his teaching stint there,
he ends up at the Earle Naval Station in New Jersey.
From ship to shore? That doesn't sound like a promotion.
Maybe his career got on a collision course with Hagers.
Well, there's nothir about it here.
The Navy wouldn't be the first to bury his dirty laundry.
Yeah, maybe they do hand out shovels with their admiral's stripes.
Your instincts were right, Mr. Stone.
I called the Academy.
There was in fact an incident between
Lt. Hagen and Capt. Bunker while he was an instructor.
A board of inquiry was convened.
The matter was resolved without benefit of a disciplinary hearing.
Admiral, my instincts also tell me
that candor is the best policy.
Lt. Hagen filed a complaint against Capt. Bunker.
Apparently they had spent a weekend together.
Some kind of infatuation on Lt. Hagers part.
But afterwards, she refused to pursue the affair.
Capt. Bunker had other ideas?
Well, according to Lt. Hagen, he harassed her to the point
where she considered resigning from the Academy.
Is there a copy of the complaint?
Admiral, in the civilian world, Capt. Bunker
would have found a pink slip on his desk in the morning.
The board of inquiry had to weigh the word of a midshipman
against that of a distinguished captain.
You don't need Clarence Thomas
to tell you who they believed.
Capt. Bunker knows he'll never command a ship of the line.
Officially, Bunker was cleared.
Unofficially, he has an asterisk next to his name.
And his career goes into a nosedive.
Right into the Mulligan Navy.
Interesting sidebar, but hardly evidence of a murder.
It's motive. In his mind, she ruined his career.
And we know he gets violent.
Yeah, his machismo bruises easily.
Whose doesn't?
You'll need more than spider webs to hang him.
Well, the Navy's already hung Walters.
Adam, our forensics proved that Hagen received her injury
20 minutes before Walters even got her in the room.
He couldn't have killed her. But, if we don't proceed,
he'll spend the better part of his life in a military prison.
Read the good captain his rights.
Keep your suit of armor handy.
The Navy has its own rules of engagement.
Capt. Bunker.
Excuse me, gentlemen.
What is it now?
I'm in the middle of a conference.
Allard Bunker, you are under arrest
for the murder of Janet Hagen.
This is absurd.
Tell it to the Marines, Captain.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you do, say, can and will be
used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney.
"Docket number 889756.
People v. Allard Bunker. Charge is murder in the second degree. "
The few, the proud, the indicted.
My client is a captain in the United States Navy, Your Honor,
not the Marine Corps.
My apologies, Counselor.
How does the captain plead?
Not guilty, Your Honor.
People request bail in the amount of $500,000.
Capt. Bunker is a career officer,
motivated by service to his country, not personal financial gain.
The State's unconscionable request will place undue burden
on the men under his command.
Bail is set at $200,000, cash or bond.
Let no one say I'm not patriotic.
You're running very lean, Ben.
Forensics, Lt. Mendoza's testimony.
In contrast to Capt. Bunker's service record,
your evidence hardly merits the term "circumstantial."
The motive will kick it up a few notches.
What possible motive could I have
for killing an officer under my command?
To you, sir, Lt. Hagen was a great deal more than just an officer.
You mean she was a woman, and with Time magazine on their soapbox,
everyone believes that women are mistreated in the Navy.
Are you saying that you treat the women in your command
the same as you treat the men?
No. I've had to deal with a double standard that favors them.
If it was a male officer who had cracked his head in a drunken accident,
you won't give two seconds of your time.
Captain, please.
But it is this civilian obsession with sexual harassment
that has given these women power.
The power to ruin your career, sir?
My whole life has been service to my country.
You have no right to judge me.
I'm not judging you, sir.
That right belongs to your conscience and 12 taxpayers.
And I assure you, the latter will not be as tolerant as the former.
We were assigned to the McKinley
for sonar training.
From the time we arrived,
Capt. Bunker seemed to take a special interest in Lt. Hagen.
In what way, Lieutenant?
In general, he was very condescending.
As trainees, it wasrt unusual for us
to miscalibrate the equipment.
One time when Lt. Hagen made a mistake,
Capt. Bunker made a point of
dressing her down in front of the entire crew.
Do you know why he took a special interest in Lt. Hagen?
I never actually discussed it with her.
But I sensed that this training mission
wasrt the first time they met.
That feeling was confirmed
when I saw them together in the hotel room.
Thank you.
Were you on board the McKinley when Lt. John Weber
misread a sonar reading?
Yes, sir.
Then, tell us, Lieutenant, how did Capt. Bunker react?
He read Lt. Weber the riot act, sir.
Just as he did when Lt. Hagen was in error?
It was different.
Why is that? Because she was a woman?
Objection.
Withdrawn. Isn't it possible, Lieutenant,
that Capt. Bunker was merely being a good officer?
We were at sea six weeks.
Capt. Bunker thought we deserved a party.
Six weeks. A young man gets lonely.
Yes, sir.
And a party with prostitutes is a way to alleviate that loneliness.
I wouldn't know about that, sir.
Of course you wouldn't.
Tell me, Ensign,
when did you first decide to have sex with Lt. Hagen?
There's a question pending, sir.
Permission to treat this witness as hostile, Your Honor.
Proceed, Counselor.
True or false, Ensign?
You grabbed Lt. Hagen after she walked down the gauntlet.
That's right.
You thought she was drunk.
She certainly appeared friendly,
so you carried her into a bedroom.
Yes.
And then you beat her up? No.
Isn't it true you've already been convicted of killing her?
Yes, but...
As a matter of fact,
you confessed to committing that crime.
Isn't that true?
I thought...
Yes or no, sir?
Yes.
Uh, Ens. Walters,
do you have any recollection
of ever striking Lt. Hagen?
No.
We have heard forensic evidence
that the blow that killed Lt. Hagen
was struck 20 to 30 minutes before her death.
In the pre-trial inquiry conducted by the Navy,
was there any evidence introduced
to prove that it was you that struck her?
No.
In other words, you only thought
that you had accidentally killed her.
That's right.
Thank you.
What happened at the Academy was a misunderstanding,
pure and simple.
Lt. Hagen and I had a relationship, yes.
The girl admired me very much.
I allowed it to get personal.
But it certainly was not sexual.
Why did you leave your position
as instructor at the Academy, Captain?
You have to understand,
accusing me of violating the code of behavior
was Lt. Hagers way of dealing with rejection.
Do you blame her for ruining your career?
Certainly not. I'm a Navy man.
Commanding a ship is all I ever wanted.
I'm proud of my position.
Tell us what happened at the hotel, sir.
I wanted to clear the air once and for all.
I thought it best that her junior officers
not know about our past relationship.
That's why you asked Lt. Mendoza to leave the room?
Precisely.
Lt. Hagen and I had a drink.
I tried to talk with her in a reasonable way,
but I saw that she still harbored ill feelings.
I could see the way our conversation was going
and rather than losing my temper, I left.
And what did Lt. Hagen do?
She was alone in a room with an open bar, I assume...
Objection.
Withdrawn. No further questions.
Sir, are you familiar with the name Burton Calloway?
If you mean Admiral Calloway, yes, I know him.
He also taught strategic theory at Annapolis
the year immediately preceding your tenure, correct?
Yes.
And where is the admiral now?
He's commanding a battle group.
Uh, who was appointed to your position the year after you departed?
I believe it was Brooks Sedgewick.
And what is Mr. Sedgewick's present rank?
Rear admiral.
And Sam Mclntyre, Kevin Moore,
Robert Swiggett, Alan Markman?
They also taught strategic theory at Annapolis, didn't they?
Yes.
And they are all admirals now, aren't they, sir?
Sir?
Yes.
So that teaching post must be a stepping stone to the Navy elite,
yet you remain a captain. Why is that, sir?
I wouldn't know.
Isn't it because of Lt. Hagen?
Isn't it because of her that you will never rise higher
than the level of a CO of a sub-hunter
and there is absolutely nothing that you can do about it?
And how do you deal with that sense of impotence?
Objection. Overruled.
With rage? With the same rage
that you directed at Tammy White, the prostitute at that hotel?
That bitch deserved it!
Which bitch is it, sir?
Lt. Hagen or Tammy White?
No further questions.
Lt. Hagen may or may not have been drunk.
Capt. Bunker may or may not have had an argument with her.
He may or may not have been in the hotel
at the time that Lt. Hagen suffered the fatal blow.
Now, if this doesn't add up to a reasonable doubt,
let us examine, then, what we do know.
We know that Ens. Walters confessed to the murder.
We know that every man who ever served under Capt. Bunker
will gladly testify to his courage, his patriotism,
his heroics in defense of our country.
This trial is an insult to that man
and the great institution in which he serves.
Acquitting him is a necessity.
The men who have served with Capt. Bunker,
they do call him an excellent officer.
But what about the women?
Or, for that matter, one woman, Lt. Janet Hagen?
She, too, was an excellent officer.
She overcame adversity
and did what no one in her family had done before.
She aspired to be best of her class.
And when she testified as to Capt. Bunker's attributes,
it ruined his career.
Years passed, and suddenly,
they find themselves alone together in a hotel room.
And Capt. Bunker does not see
a lieutenant in the United States Navy.
He sees the woman who destroyed his life.
We don't have evidence as to what was said,
but we do have evidence
as to Capt. Bunker's actions.
He tore her rotator cuff when he grabbed her by the arm.
And he fractured her skull when he threw her against the wall.
Now, the military calls that
"conduct unbecoming an officer."
In this courtroom, we call it murder in the second degree.
Has the jury reached a verdict?
Yes, we have, Your Honor.
On the sole count of the indictment,
murder in the second degree,
how does the jury find?
We find the defendant guilty.
The Navy cleared Walters of all charges.
Bunker spent 30 years defending the Constitution.
I wonder if he ever read it.
I doubt he ever got past the Declaration of Independence:
"All men are created equal."