02x06 - Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

[bunniefuu]

[waves crashing]

[music]

[telephone ringing]

All right. Grady, CrawManon the b*at. Got it?

Yeah.

What you have justseen is the testimony in

the case of the stateversus Robert Washburn.

On which the juryis now deliberating.

please.

[people talking]

I don't have to tell you howserious this sounds all the time.

Please, ladies and gentlemen.

Sme people mayenjoy wasting time, but

I have moreimportant things to do.

Well, Mrs. Wilcox, everyone,please, not all at once.

You need us a decision?

Yes. Let's get it decided now.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

Now,

we've been in thisroom nearly hours.

and we're still right wherewe were when we began.

It wouldn't be if somepeople weren't so stubborn.

Mrs. Wilcox, please,let's try not to get personal.

Let's try to come to some agreement.

Now,

is the Washburn boy guiltyof homicide or isn't he?

Most of us agree,Mr. Tremaine. We feel he's guilty.

But it's not enough to feel he's

guilty. We're supposedto be sure of it.

Beyond a reasonable doubt.

Personally I am sure.

But the lady has a point.

Why don't we go over it oncemore and then take another pole?

That's a good idea.

It's just a waste time.

Very well. Now, then,

We know a man is dead.

Yes.

That's Pellegrini, the cafeowner. We know the watchman

saw the boy hiding in thealley where the man d*ed.

Yes.

We know he saw astruggle before the man d*ed.

Yes.

We know the policepicked up the boy at

the end of the alleyafter the man d*ed.

-Yes.-And,

Washburn himself admits thathe was in the alley the whole time.

But he also said there was anotherman with Pellegrin. Do you remember?

There's always another man.

Sure, The little manwho wasn't there.

Don't forget the night.Washburn, he saw the whole thing

And he swore there wasno one else in the alley.

Well, I'm still not convincedit was the boy who did.

The boy is a hoodlum with a badrecord what more is that to discuss?

Quite a lot, Mrs. Wilcox.

But there's several pointsthat I'm not clear on either.

It's not a good idea to bringin a verdict too fast. Besides,

the bailout said if we don'thave a verdict by .

they'll have to takeus out to dinner.

My dear man, are yousuggesting that just for

a free meal, we throwall this discussion?

Of course not, ma'am.But just between us.

I'm getting tired of home cooking.

Mr. Tremaine, you did say that

I could have turn?

Certainly.

Go right ahead.

Well, first of all,I'd like to say I'm

sorry. I seem to beholding things up.

However, I don't thinkI'm alone in my uncertainty.

But even if I were, I'dstill have to hold things up.

Because they're so.

still something aboutthis case that bothers me.

It's true, Mrs. Wilcox, that theboy does look like a hoodlum.

And from his past record,he probably is a hoodlum.

And that the watchmanlooks like a nice

old gentleman withan honest face. But

good heavens, we're not supposedto base our verdict on those things.

Judge gave us specific instructions.

Just let me read you oneof the things he said to us.

To the jury is assignedthe duty of rendering

a decision based onthe facts of the case.

Sorry, I just don't thinkwe have all the facts.

Something's missing.

This rig will belocked up all night.

I don't care if I'mlocked up all week.

If we can just settle thisthing according to our

consciences and the facts.

You want facts, Ms. Ives?All right, I'll give you facts

Besides the fact thatthe boy's record speaks

for itself, it is a factthat the dead man's

wallet is missing. It isa fact that the boy had

$ on him when he waspicked up of the police.

Yes, it is. But he accountedfor that $, do you remember?

by winning it in a pool hall?

My dear, a likely story.

You must admit,$ is a lot of money

for a kid like thatto have on him.

He didn't have anywitnesses to back up

his story about thepool hall, anyway.

And another thing.

is just about aday's receipt for a

little short orderplace like Pellegrini's.

Granted.

Grantedoh yes all of it.

Well, then you change your mind.

No.

Well, why in heaven's name,what do you bother to us now?

The wallet.

The missing wallet, for one thing.

You're right. It is a fact

That it wasn't found onPellegrini's body, but it's

also a fact that it wasn'tfound on Robert Washburn.

So.

What became of it?

He must have thrown itaway as he started to run.

Well, then why didn't thepolice find it in the alley?

I mean, it was a veryimportant piece of

evidence and theynever did find it you know.

And they neverfound any fingerprints

to tie the boyin with it, either.

And that's right. That's justwhat I mean. You see, it just

doesn't add up. Something'smissing somewhere. I don't know.

Is that all the science?

I guess so

Well, suppose we take that pole now.

This let's do.

Put them in the basket.

Guilty.

Guilty.

Guilty.

Guilty.

Not guilty.

Guilty.

Not guiltty

Guilty.

Guilty.

Guilty.

Guilty.

Not Guilty.

Nine for convictionand three for acquittal.

Only one vote changedsince the first poll.

Well, folks, wheredo we go from here?

I say we go to dinner.Let's ring for the balance.

Besides

if I'm ever on trial for a crime,I hope you've yelled my jury.

What makes you sosure that kid is innocent?

I don't have to besure he's innocent.

But before I can voteto send him to jail,

I had to be awfullysure he's guilty.

Can you prove it?

Maybe.

Let's just go back over thewatchman's testimony again.

All right.

Remember what he said?

He said

I making my roundsin the warehouse.

It's upstairs on the second floor,across the alley from the cafe.

I usually check thealley on Morouns.

I see this young boy standingthere, leaning against the building.

Couldn't see his face toowell, but he was young.

I could tell by hisbuild he was young.

Then the lights went outand the cafe crossed the way.

So I clocked up.

Next thing I knew,this kid, and Pelleguini,

the owner of thecafe, was fighting.

And I see this kidknocked Pellegrini down.

So I dial a direct line tothe police and hang up.

That means theycall back right away.

It's a special system we have.

And keep watchingthis alley all the time

to see what happens.

Then the phone begins ringing.

Well the kid heard the phone ringto started running up the alley.

But there's an officerright there waiting to nagga.

You must admit, Mis, that'sa simple, clear cut story.

Yes, except thewatchman admitted he

couldn't see theboy's face very well.

But he did identifyhim by his build.

And by his cap.

And don't forget, that watchman hasa fine record and a good reputation.

That's right.

And his testimony wasvery straightforward and tight.

Maybe that's what's bothering me.

It's almost too tight to

To be true I mean.

are you accusing himof perjuring his eyes?

Oh, no, certainlynot, Mrs. Wilcox.

It's just that, well,sometimes people

don't see whatthey think they see.

Especially when they'retelling about a month later.

And so if he couldn't makeout the boys his face too

well, there might have beensomething else he missed.

That's my point.

My dear. You seema nice, sensible girl.

Would you mindexplaining your attitude?

Oh, well

Well it has a littleto do with something

that happened at myhouse a little while ago.

I was coming home onenight from a PTA meeting and

found my best livingroom lance smashed.

I was sure that Timmyhe's my oldest boy

I was sure that Timmy had done it.

He will play footballin the house and he'd

already broken threethings in just one week.

He kept saying hehadn't done it but.

I didn't believe him.

I mean his record wasbad and the lamp was lying

right there and thefootball was very near it.

So I punished him.

Not so much for breaking thelamp, but well, for lying to me.

Well, the next day,the babysitter called

and said she'd done it. She'd beenafraid to tell me the night before.

You can imagine how I felt.

When I can't imagineis what that story

has to do with the caseof Robert washburn.

I will I can.

Listen to it'swritten right here.

A defendant must be presumed to beinnocent until he has proved guilty.

-That isn't that what you meant?-Yes.

Look.

so far we based everythingon what the watchman said.

Suppose we take a lookat it from the boy's story.

Remember what he said?

He said.

I was feeling kind of sick.

I guess I had one beer too many.

So I step in the alley.

So I'm leaning againstthe building there.

Not looking forany trouble, just

waiting until Ifeel a little better.

All of a sudden, thelights go out in the cafe.

Then Pellegrini comes outand this other guy's with him.

Pellegrini turns to lock up.

And this guy jumps him.

I am scared.

I don't want to getinto any trouble.

So I step back behind the doorway.

I don't want anybody asking mewhat I'm doing hanging around there.

Because, like I said, I'mnot looking for any trouble.

He took the walletout of Pellegrini's

pocket and ran rightby me down the alley.

But I like pellegrini I wantto see if I can help them.

One look and I can tell he's dead.

Then I hear this telephone ring.

I don't know what todo. I just run, that's all.

But there's a there's a copwaiting, and he grabs me.

And it seems to me that hecould have happened that way.

Well, he could have you know.

if he was innocentwhy he runaway?

Panic. Sheer panic would havemade him do that. Remember, he said

that the policeman wouldn't believehim because he already had two

-What was the word he used?-Priors.

Priors, that's it. Healready had two priors.

And he was right.

They didn't believe him.

And you do?

Do you prefer totake the word of an ex

convict against thatof an honest old man?

Well, no. I just thinkthat an honest old

man could have madean honest mistake.

But even if there wasanother man there,

why then didn'tthe police find him?

Yeah, it's a small alley. Howcould he have gotten away?

Because the policealready had the boy.

They wouldn't belooking for anybody else .

That man could have been hidingthere the whole time.

Or he could even have slippedout the other end of the alley.

Fantasy, sheer fantasy. My dear,you've been seeing too many movies.

I'm afraid you'rethinking with your

heart instead ofyour head's Ms. Ives.

You too. Mrs. Hammer.

we're not supposed to beinfluenced by our sympathies.

Says that in here too.

I know.

Maybe we oughtto take another poll.

All right, ladies and gentlemen.

[music]

Guilty.

Guilty

guilty.

Guilty guilty.

Guilty.

Guilty.

Guilty.

Not Guilty.

Guilty.

Guilty.

Eleven to one.

Well, I've heard of unreasonablepeople, but this is beyond anything.

Look, it's just written right here.

A juror should not surrenderhis honest convictions

concerning the weightof the evidence for

the mere purpose ofreturning a verdict or solely

because of the opinionof the other jurors.

Say at .

Or six o'clock

Looks like I won't gethome for dinner. Too bad.

Mr. Tremaine, will youplease do something?

Alright, Mrs. Wilcox.I'll ring for the Bailey.

[music]

I honestly can't see that you haveany legal basis for your contention.

But we're not supposed to decide.The law that the judge sent back.

Ms. Ives, Elevenpeople against you and

you still hold out. Haveyou know humility?

I don't know, Mrs. Wilcox,

but I remember I heardsomeone say once,

if you talk aboutit, you haven't got it.

Believe me, I don't meanto be an obstructionist.

Why be one then?

Mis. Ives not that I'm in any hurry,but come on, be a sport. Give in.

You could just convince me.

Perhaps, Ms. Ivesyou can convince us.

Would you like to try?

Mr. Tremaine, you'reasking me to try to prove

a negative. And youknow as well as I do that.

Well that's almostimpossible thing to do.

Well.

Oh.

Well now let me see.

First of all, I thinkthat you're all forgetting

that the prosecutionhas to prove his case.

That the,

What do they call it?

-The burden is on the state.-The burden is on the state.

Alright now

All right. Now, just exactlywhat have they proved?

They have proved that aman was k*lled in the alley.

That the boy was in the alley.

That's all.

There are nofingerprints no wallet.

They had only oneidentifying witness

an old man.

Looking from across the street downin the alley on a very dark knight.

As the whole case againstthe boy it just isn't enough.

It's enough for me.

Look, can't you see,Mr. Rackford, that isn't enough.

Can't you see that there couldhave been another man in the alley?

No, I can't.

Miss, Ives.

Let's suppose,just for the sake of

argument that therewas another man there.

You've still got the time element.

Yeah.

How would he havehad time to k*ll Pellegrini.

Still the wallet and make hisgetaway and all that, mind you,

without being seen by the nightwatchman. It just couldn't be done.

I know.

Supposing the nightwatchman had not been

looking out the windowwhile he was talking on

the phone to thepolice, for instance. It

could have been donethen, now, couldn't it?

Wishful thinking.No, no.

All right, I'll agree. Thatcould have been possible if

If the telephone hadbeen in some other

part of the room butit was on the desk

And the desk wasright next to the window.

You saw that when we wentout to look at the warehouse.

Yes.

Watchman didn't have to move at all.

Yeah, I know but

I'm sorry. It juststill doesn't add up.

I quit. I'm through.

Will never get a verdictlet them call another jury.

Spend the taxpayer'smoney. Yours, mine.

Who cares? I'm through.

-Cox sit down,-All, for heaven's sake.

Patience.

Mr wilcox.

Maybe I can explain it this way.

I work in a bank, see?

And I have sometimes stayedup all night long trying to make an

account come out right even ifthere's only two or three cents missing.

And that's the wayI feel about this.

There's something missingit doesn't balance now

in this case as muchmore involved than.

Two or three cents.

This might be that that boy spendsthe rest of his life in prison.

Remember, he said he already had twoprior convictions. He told us that.

Yes.

But what about pellegrini's life?

And his widow.

You saw her duringthe trial. And the kids?

What about their lives?

But I like pellegrini.

I know.

Well, certainly Ican't help them if

we sentence thewrong person, can it?

Ms. Ives admitted. Aren'tyou just being stubborn?

I hope I'm not.

No no.

What I'm trying to dois I am just trying to be

sure that that boy gasevery benefit of the doubt.

just as I'd want. IfI were in his shoes.

Eleven of us are in shoes Miss Ives.

No.

Not eleven.

Ten.

I'm not on her side again.

Oh no she gotta change of vote likethat can she?

There's mother inthe law, so she can't.

Mrs hammer.You mentioned your children.

They're boys, aren't they?

Yes.

I can understand.

but they havenothing to do with this.

really. Well, we're right backwhere we were hours ago.

Let's take a littlebreak what you said.

Have some coffee.

I don't think you're right, butI admire you for sticking to it.

Takes a lot of courage tostand up for what you believe.

Especially well, especiallywhen you're under such pressure.

I gotta hand it to youmiss Ives for sheer

determination youcertainly take the cake.

Mr. Fromer. What isthe color of my eyes?

She's not flirting withyou, Mr. Framer. It's a trick.

Lawyers use it all thetime to prove witnesses

don't always seewhat they're looking at.

But it's no good here.Your eyes are gray.

Oh, yeah, theyare. And pretty, too.

Oh, thank you.

We'd better get back to business.

Come on, everyone, let'stry again. What do you think?

It's now seven after nine.

Just as we broke for coffee.Bail. That brought me a message.

Judge is standingby for another hour.

We haven't reached a verdict bythen, we'll be locked up for the night.

How about that?

Little woman doesn'tlike me to be out at night.

[laugh]

That's it.

Night.

Mr. Tremaine , I seethese pictures, please.

Certainly

I knew there was something missing.

These were taking themin daytime. Both of them.

We hope for the beef.

What's wrong?

I know this may seem unorthodox, butI want you to ask him for something.

Please, Mr. Tremaine.

All right, Ms. Ives.

I'll ring for the bailiff

As you all know, it's illegal tohave a live phone in the jury room.

So I asked the bailiffto bring in this one.

Now I'm going to try an experiment.

Oh wait a minute.

When the watchmancalled the police he didn't

just dial the operatorand ask for police, did he?

No. He dialed headquarters.

That's right. That's what I thought.

What difference does that make?

Oh, it makes a greatdifference, Ms. Wilcox. And

I think I can show youwhy. At least I hope I can.

-Mr. Jonathan?-Yeah?

What telephone numberare you most familiar with?

-On my own, I guess.-What the world are you getting at?

-Give her a chance.-Thank you.

-Will you play the watchman for me?-Yeah, sure.

Will you sit right herein the edge of the desk

just the way he did andlook down toward the street.

I think he was turned downthe other way, wasn't he?

oh yeah yeah sure.

Oh, yeah, sure. Now,don't forget. Now, look

down toward the street.When I give you a signal,

turn on the flashlight,hold it in this hand and

then dial your homenumber with the other hand.

-Alright.-But not until I give the signal.

okay.

Mr. Tremaine, do you have asecond hand on your watch?

-Yes.-Good.

Yes. Good. When Igive the signal, will you

start counting anduse this little flashlight?

Now, everybodyelse, please just watch

Mr. Jonathan.Don't take your eyes

off his face. It'svery important. Now,

just a minute tillI give it to him.

Now.

[music]

[dailing number]

How many seconds, Mr. Termaine?

Twenty six.

Was he looking out thewindow the whole time?

No, he hadn't lookedout of the window at all.

His eyes were onthe telephone. You've

got to admit that.Mrs. W, weren't they?

Yes, I guess they were.

That's right.

It was impossible todial and not look down.

Absolutely impossible

So for secondsyou weren't looking

out the window for seconds.

Maybe thewatchman didn't either.

It isn't a very long time,but it is long enough to k*ll

a man and get away and letanother man get caught for it.

Yes, that's right.

Shall we take another poll?

Come on, folks.

[music]

Marion Thompson sent usthis newspaper clipping, and it's

dated two weeks after RobertWashburn was voted innocent.

It reads, Burton Odellocap burglar admits k*lling

Pellegrini cafe owner's.Wallet found on suspect.

And she clipped this littlenote onto the back of it.

I beg of you, if anyof you are ever called

to jury duty, don'ttry to get out of it.

Because you'll bemissing one of the

most rewardingexperiences of your life.