01x05 - Mothers and Sons

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Women of the Movement". Aired: January 6 –; January 20, 2022.*
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American historical drama miniseries about Mamie seeking justice for her son Emmett following his brutal m*rder.
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01x05 - Mothers and Sons

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[Eartha Kitt's "If I Was A Boy" plays]

♪ If I was a boy ♪

♪ I'd know the things
a girl shouldn't know ♪

♪ I'd go where girls shouldn't go ♪

♪ So, oh ♪

[SIGHS]

♪ If I was a boy ♪

[JUANITA] What's the hold up?

I just wish I had something to
wear that was worth looking at.

What about this one here?

[CAROLYN] It's fine, I suppose.

Except I've worn it
once already to court.

♪ I'd pack and catch me a train ♪

♪ Go out and raise me some Cain ♪

[JUANITA] They sure dress
different up north, don't they?

They talk different, too.

What she wears and how she
talks is none of your concern.

♪ There is such a lot a
girl has gotta cope with ♪

♪ There are times I think ♪

I expect the press will be
after me today, once I testify.

Lord, I wish they'd just leave us alone.

[JUANITA] I suppose I
don't need to remind you

that this ain't another one of
your high school beauty pageants.

Roy's life is on the
line, and so is J.W.'s.

For heaven's sake, Juanita,
you don't think I know it?

[CHILD SCREAMS IN DISTANCE]

I'll deal with him.

You need to hurry up and
get your head on straight.

You got us all into this mess.

It's up to you to get us out.

[PAPER SLAPS]

♪♪

[CHATHAM] The defense
is desperate, Mrs. Bradley.

I can smell it.

We have kidnapping
confessions from both defendants,

a great deal of circumstantial evidence,

and now, thanks to these new witnesses,

we can place Emmett at the plantation
where Milam's own brother worked

a few hours after his disappearance.

Thank God for Dr. Howard and his team.

[SIGHS] You can bet we did.

Before these witnesses came forward,

we had no clue where
the crime was committed,

only that it was.

And today, I intend to
prove that Bryant and Milam

k*lled your son on that very
plantation that same morning.

It's gonna be tough for a jury to ignore

eye-witness testimony from
these farmhands, ma'am.

I'm glad to hear that.

However... the fact remains

that our only shred
of physical evidence...

Our only proof that
a m*rder occurred...

Is your son's body.

Which is why they are so
determined to deny his identity.

And why we need you to prove to the jury

that there was no hoax,
and that, as a mother,

you would know your
son better than anyone.

I understand.

You need me to tell the truth.

And that's exactly what I intend to do.

[CHATHAM] The defense
will try to cast doubts, of course,

but just stick to the
facts and you'll do fine.

Now, um, there is one more thing.

We've received a few
letters from concerned citizens

who haven't taken kindly to the fact

that I've referred to you in
the press as "Mrs. Bradley."

I'm sure you're aware
of the Southern custom?

I am.

We believe it would not serve
us well to risk offending the jury

before they've even had a
chance to hear you speak.

If you'll permit me, I suggest

I stick to the custom
during questioning.

You're welcome to call me Mamie.

[CHATHAM] Thank you.

And please take care
with your responses, too.

They're going to want
to hear you say "sir."

[VENDOR] Pop! Get
your ice cold soda pop.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

♪♪

[SMOOCHES]

♪♪

Good morning.

Look at you.

Almost didn't recognize you
with all that paint on your face.

[VENDOR] Soda pop! Ice cold soda pop.

[MILAM] Damn, it just gets hotter

in this hell hole every day, doesn't it?

Son. Gimme a couple of them cold ones.

Keep 'em coming.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

♪♪

You straight on what you're saying?

Of course, Roy.

♪♪

♪♪

[CLANGING]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[CHATHAM] Now, Mandy,
I direct your attention

to the th day of August, .

Did you see Willie Reed that morning?

Yes, sir.

He stopped by my house about, uh...

Well, along : , : .

[CHATHAM] And at
that time, did you look out

towards Mr. Leslie Milam's house?

Y-Yes, sir. I looked out the window.

[WHISPERING] What the
hell happened to our chairs?

[RUBY WHISPERING] Shh!
Somebody must have moved them.

- Shh.
- [JUDGE] I need order, please.

I understand our
audience has grown today,

but I cannot allow anyone in those

aisles because it poses a fire hazard.

I'm sorry, but if you do not have
a seat, you'll have to wait outside.

Better luck next time, boys.

You may proceed.

Now, what did you see
when you looked out

towards Mr. Leslie Milam's house, Mandy?

I saw a green and white truck out there,

and four white men.

They were going in and out the shed,

and one went to the well
and got a drink of water

and then back to the shed.

[CHATHAM] Would you recognize
that man if you saw him again?

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS]

♪♪

Yes.

He was kind of a tall man.

And bald-headed.

♪♪

[CHATHAM] Thank you, Mandy.

[HICKS] Three days trying
to track those witnesses down,

and now we can't even
report on what they say?

Well, the drug store's
been selling folding chairs.

I've seen a few white
reporters bringing them in.

And you think they're going to
let us get away with that, too?

- Never know unless you try.
- Excuse me.

You're a reporter, aren't ya?

Trying to be. [SIGHS]
What can I do for you?

Well, we've been out here hoping
to find somebody that could help us.

You see, m...

You see, my wife, she
heard some talk yesterday

while she was getting her hair done.

And we thought somebody
ought to know about it.

What did you hear?

Well, it's about them men
folks have been talking about.

The ones that were in the truck
the night they got that Chicago boy.

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

[CHATHAM] Willie, as you came up towards

Mr. Leslie Milam's house,
did you see anyone there?

N-No, sir, not at first.

But there was a green a-and white truck

in front of the shed,
and it was the same truck

I had seen earlier
that had passed me by.

Who was in that truck then?

Four white men in the cab,

um, and three colored men in the back,

and I seen somebody sitting down

in the bed of the
truck... A colored boy.

Hmm. Now, later on,

did you recognize a photograph
or anything that indicated to you

who was sitting down
in the bed of that truck?

When I looked at the newspaper,
um, I seen a photo of a boy.

It was the same one I
seen in the back of the truck.

And was that Emmett Till?

- Well...
- We object, Your Honor.

[JUDGE SWANGO] Objection is sustained

unless it's connected, of course.

Now, I have a picture here

that was offered as Exhibit .

Have you ever seen this boy before?

Yes, sir. It is a picture of the boy

I seen on the back of the truck.

[CHATHAM] Now, as you were passing by

Mr. Leslie Milam's
place later that morning,

was Mr. J.W. Milam there?

[WILLIE] Yes, sir.

I-I seen him come out
of the shed to the well.

Mr. J.W. Milam, the man
that is sitting right over there?

Yes, sir.

[CHATHAM] Will you state

whether he had anything unusual

on his person?

[WILLIE] He had a p*stol on his belt.

[CHATHAM] And what did Mr. J.W.
Milam do when you saw him?

[WILLIE] Well, he, um...
He just went to the well,

got a drink of water,

and then... and then went
back towards the shed.

And after you passed the shed,

did you hear or see

anything unusual?

[CLEARS THROAT]

I heard somebody
hollering from in there,

and I heard some licks
like... Like somebody

was whipping somebody.

Thank you.

No further questions.

[BRELAND] Willie... [CLEARS THROAT]

when that truck passed
by you that morning,

did you recognize
Mr. J.W. Milam in there?

Well, I-I didn't pay too much attention

to them in... inside the truck.

I-I just looked at the ones in the back.

Then you wouldn't say that
Mr. Milam was inside the truck?

No, sir, I wouldn't say that.

No. Later on, when you passed this shed,

how far were you from it?

Yeah. I wasn't too far, sir.

[BRELAND] Well, would you
say it was, um, yards away?

I wouldn't know, sir.

Mm.

Now, this person you testified, uh,

was Mr. Milam,

how, uh... how far was he from you

when you first saw him there?

[GULPS]

Well, I wouldn't say
how far, just because I...

I just wouldn't know, sir.

Then you don't know whether
you were yards away,

or hundred yards, or
hundred yards away from him?

No... No, sir.

[BRELAND] You, uh...
You stated that you heard

something that sounded
like licks from inside the shed,

but you don't know whether Mr. Milam

was in there or not, do you?

But I-I seen Mr. Milam,

uh, when... when he left the shed.

But you didn't see him
in the shed, did you?

[WILLIE] Well, no, sir.

But I-I seen him w-when
he left the shed and...

And went to the well,

a-and I seen him when
he went back towards it.

But you don't know whether
the sounds you heard

was somebody hammering,

trying to fix a wagon,
or something like that.

It was somebody whipping somebody.

S-Sir.

[BRELAND SIGHS]

Um, Your Honor, so, we ask the court

to exclude all evidence
as offered by this witness

and to direct the jury
to wholly disregard it,

because Roy Bryant has
not been identified in any way

as being present on the occasion
as testified by this witness.

Your Honor, the defendants had the right

to be tried separately,

but they chose to stand trial together.

The motion will be overruled.

The testimony stands.

You may step down.

♪♪

The state calls Mamie Bradley next.

♪♪

[DOOR OPENS]

[CROWD MURMURING]

[GAVEL BANGS]

[SOLEMN MUSIC PLAYS]

♪♪

- Damn it. Sold out.
- Listen.

Ain't they got any more
chairs in this godforsaken town?

You know those missing men I
heard about at the dance hall?

They were spotted yesterday,
about miles up the road

in the Charleston... jail.

Wait. Hold on.

We gave their names to Chatham

so they could be brought in to testify,

and you're telling me
they ended up in jail?

Charleston jail is in
Sheriff Strider's jurisdiction,

and we know he's crooked as hell.

What if he's got them hidden away
in there so Chatham can't find them?

[BOOKER] Well, the state
wraps up testimony today.

Once they rest, it's over.

We can't introduce more witnesses.

Well, I doubt the folks at
the jail would appreciate

the likes of us just waltzing
in there to ask questions.

Well, then we better find
another way to prove it.

[TENSE MUSIC PLAYS]

♪♪

Hi. Excuse me, can you tell me

how to get to the jail
over in Charleston?

What kind of business
you got down there?

I'm a reporter.

Uh, Dan Wakefield...
I-I write for The Nation.

Just following up on a tip.

Wondering if there was a... a
bus or some way to get out there?

♪♪

Tell you what.

We was fixing to head
out there ourselves.

Why don't you hitch along with us?

Now, Mamie, will you please
state for the court and jury

whether you were
able to identify the body

you saw at the funeral home in Chicago?

Yes, sir.

I positively identified the
body as being that of my son,

Emmett Louis Till.

[CHATHAM] Please tell
the court and the jury how

you looked at it and what
you did in identifying it.

I looked at the face very carefully.

I looked at the ears and the forehead

and the hairline and also the hair.

And I looked at the nose

and the lips and his chin.

I just looked at it all
over very thoroughly.

And I knew, definitely, that was my boy,

beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Mamie, when your husband,
the father of Emmett Till,

was k*lled overseas, were
his effects sent to you?

Yes, sir. They were.

I'd like ask you if in those
effects there was a ring?

- Yes, sir...
- Now, Your Honor.

We now object to the
testimony of this witness

with reference to the effects,
or what is purported to be

the effects of her dead
husband being sent to her,

without showing just
who, when, and how

those effects were sent.

Yes, I believe there
would have to be a prior

connection to
identification of the ring.

Sustained.

Your Honor, we're just
trying to identify the ring

that the boy had on.

You can proceed a
little differently, I believe.

Yes, sir.

Mamie, I will ask you
if your son had a ring

and frequently wore a ring

and if that was sent to
you along with the effects

of your husband that you got?

- Yes, sir.
- We object to that,

Your Honor, for the reason that
she said the effects were sent

to her that were supposed to
belong to her dead husband,

but it hasn't been shown in evidence

anything about the
identity of these effects.

The objection is overruled.

[CHATHAM SIGHS]

I will now hand you this ring, Mamie,

with an engraving on it, "May , ",

and the large initials of "L.T.",

and I will ask you if
this ring was sent along

with the effects purported to be

the effects of your dead husband?

Yes, sir.

What was your husband's name?

Louis Till.

In other words, his
initials were "L.T."?

[MAMIE] Yes, sir.

And when you got
that ring in his effects,

what happened to it?

Uh, well, I kept the
ring in a jewelry box.

Before he left for Mississippi,

Emmett looked in this jewelry
box to get, um, cuff links,

I think it was, and when
he looked in the box there,

he saw this ring.

And he left Chicago with it, did he?

[MAMIE] Yes, sir.

And you definitely saw that that
was the ring that he left there with?

Yes, sir.

And that was the ring that he had on him

when he came down here to Mississippi?

Yes, sir.

Now, Mamie, I have

here some photos

taken by the police
photographer shortly after the body

was removed from the Tallahatchie River.

[SOLEMN MUSIC PLAYS]

♪♪

Is that a picture of
your son, Emmett Till?

♪♪

Yes, sir. It is.

Thank you, Mamie.

♪♪

♪♪

[CRYING]

♪♪

Mamie, did you have any life
insurance out on Emmett Till?

We object, Your Honor.

I'm gonna overrule that.

Did you have any life insurance on him?

Yes, sir.

How much insurance did you have?

About $ .

[BRELAND] And how long
had you had these, uh...

These policies out on him?

[MAMIE] Almost from his birth.

And to whom were they payable?

We object to that, Your Honor.

The objection is overruled.

I was the beneficiary of one of them,

and my mother was of the other.

And, uh... And have
you tried to collect on...

On those, uh, payments yet?

We object to that, Your
Honor. That is highly irrelevant.

The objection is overruled.

Have you contacted the insurance
companies about collecting?

Yes, sir.

Now, [CLEARS THROAT]

was, uh, Emmett ever in
any trouble up in Chicago?

We object to that,
Your Honor. Relevance?

[JUDGE SWANGO] The
objection is sustained.

You said you discussed
your son's trip down

to Mississippi several times with him

before he left Chicago, is that correct?

[MAMIE] Yes, sir.

[BRELAND] And did you
caution him how to conduct himself

while he was down here
in Mississippi before he left?

Again... relevance?

[BRELAND] I'll tell
you how it's relevant.

I have an exhibit that I
want the witness to identify.

Your Honor, I think it's perfectly clear

what he is trying to do, and I
think counsel should be counseled

to stop asking more questions like that.

The objection is sustained.

The court would like to
ask the gentlemen of the jury

to step into the jury room for a moment,

so that we may discuss this further.

[CHAIRS SLIDING]

[DOOR OPENS]

[CROWD MURMURING]

The court will allow the defense counsel

to proceed with this line of questioning

without the presence of the jury.

If counsel can show that the
testimony is indeed relevant,

the court will allow the
jury to hear it repeated.

You may proceed.

Well, thank you, Your Honor.

[GRUNTS]

Before he left Chicago,
did you caution your son

how to conduct himself
while in Mississippi?

Yes, sir.

Now I have a... a paper
here where you are quoted.

Listen carefully, it says...

"I... I told him several times
before he left for Mississippi

that he should kneel on the
street and beg forgiveness

if he ever insulted a white
man or a white woman."

Now...

Did you, uh, say that to him?

[MAMIE] Not those exact words.

Then what did you tell him?

Well, I told him he would have to
be very careful with how he spoke,

to always remember to say
"Yes, sir," and "No, ma'am."

And if ever there was an
incident that would arise

that might be any trouble of
any kind with white people...

Um, if he bumped into somebody
on the street, for example,

I told him to go ahead
and humble himself.

[BRELAND] Did you specifically
indicate to him and caution him

not to do anything to a white man
so as not to bring on any trouble?

[MAMIE] Yes, sir.

[BRELAND] Now, while he
was living there in Chicago,

had he been doing anything to cause you

to give him that special instruction?

No, sir. Emmett has never
been in any trouble at any time.

[BRELAND] And he had
never been in a reform school?

[MAMIE] No, sir.

[BRELAND] And he
had never had any trouble

in any way with any white people?

No, sir.

Now, Your Honor, we
submit that the testimony

is indeed relevant,

and that the witness
be permitted to repeat it

in the presence of the jury.

[JUDGE SWANGO]
The prior objections to this

portion of the testimony
will be sustained,

and the testimony will not
be permitted before the jury.

No further questions, Your Honor.

[JUDGE SWANGO] You may step down.

♪♪

♪♪

The state rests.

Your Honor, the
defense would like to call

its first witness, Sheriff H.C. Strider.

[HICKS] We think
the Sheriff's just trying

to keep them from talking,
but if you agree to verify

your husband's identity,
along with Too Tight,

we could get authorities
to grant you access

to the jail and allies to protect you.

You said you were a
friend of Too Tight's.

Ma'am, if your husband was a witness

to Emmett Till's m*rder,
there are probably a lot

of people who want him dead.

Okay, now, the fact
that he's still alive

means there's still a
chance to save him.

[SIGHS]

Henry is a good guy.

If he was mixed up in
anything with that boy,

it's because he had no choice.

We know.

That's why we want to
make sure that the men

who are responsible
are held accountable.

[BRELAND] As Sheriff
of Tallahatchie County,

have you taken bodies out of that river

during the summer period, with
weather like we had here in August?

I have.

And what is your opinion,

based on your past experience, as to

how long that body
had been in that river?

We object to that, Your
Honor. He is not a doctor,

and he is not qualified
to testify about that.

He is not qualified as a
doctor, but I think he is qualified.

Overruled.

I would say at least
days, if not .

[BRELAND] And when
the body was discovered,

how long had it been since
Emmett Till was reported missing?

[STRIDER] Three days.

[BRELAND] Could
you tell whether this was

a white person or a colored person?

[STRIDER] The only
way you might able to tell

it was a colored person
would be the hair,

and I have seen white
people have kinky hair.

[BRELAND] And was this body

recognizable to be that
of any particular person?

Well, if one of my own
boys had been missing,

I really don't think I could say

whether it was my son or not.

Or anyone else's.

I couldn't tell that.

All I could tell...

it was a human being.

Your witness.

[CHATHAM] Mr. Strider,
there was a death certificate

prepared for Emmett Till, was there not?

That's right.

And I believe that you signed

that death certificate, did you not?

Yes, sir.

[CHATHAM] And this
death certificate certified

the fact that this body
was that of Emmett Till,

isn't that correct?

No.

I did not certify it was Emmett Till.

I said it was a dead body.

I never seen Emmett Till.

I could not swear it was Emmett Till

because I didn't know
what he looked like.

♪♪

Sheriff, have you made
any investigation to find out

whose body that was?

Who that person was?

I sure have.

What efforts have you made
to find out who that body was?

Well, I got reports of a n*gro

who disappeared over at Lambert.

I went over there, investigated that,

and one man'd tell you he saw him,

and another man'd tell you

that someone told him that they saw him,

and then somebody else'd tell you

that somebody else
knew something about it,

and you'd just end up right
back where you started.

[CHATHAM] But you have
no information whatsoever

to indicate whose body that was?

You have not gotten any
information about that?

♪♪

No, I have not.

♪♪

So she agreed to go to the jail?

Mm-hmm. As long we
can get her in safely.

Which is where you come in.

We need you to go to Chatham again.

Get him to authorize a search

while there's still time to
introduce new witnesses.

The prosecution rested.

They've already moved on to the defense.

[SIGHS] Okay, uh...

We need to try anyway.

The judge can make an exception.

We're talking about two potential
eyewitnesses to the actual m*rder.

We just need someone to bring them in.

I'm sorry that you and your compatriots

went to all that trouble, Mr. Packton,

but those men are not
in the Charleston jail.

What? How do you know?

Because I took it upon
myself to have it searched,

along with the jail in Sunflower County,

right after I received the letter
you passed along from Dr. Howard.

You suspected they were being held?


No, but there was mention
of two men named Levi Collins

and Henry Lee Loggins
and that they were missing,

so I didn't want to leave
any stone unturned.

Both searches, however, came up empty,

according to my investigators,

and both sheriffs raised hell about it.

But if the men were being
held under false names,

how can you be sure they weren't there?

Loggins' wife should
still be allowed to check.

My investigators are thorough,

and butting heads
with Sheriff Strider again

is not going to do my case any good.

Thank you for coming in.

[TENSE MUSIC PLAYS]

♪♪

You know, if this really is
the last case of your career,

you sure you'll be able
to live with yourself,

knowing that you might
have let the only witnesses

to the crime slip right
through your fingers?

♪♪

[BRELAND] Mrs. Bryant,
I direct your attention

to Wednesday night,

the th of August. Who was
in the store with you that night?

[CHATHAM] If the
court pleases, we object

to anything that
happened on that evening

unless it is connected
to the crime in question,

which began on Sunday morning, the th.

Well, we will connect it.

The court would ask the jury to
retire to the jury room for a moment.

[CHAIRS SLIDING, SHUFFLING]

Now, the court will permit both
sides to address the question

as to whether or not this testimony

will be permissible before the jury.

[CLEARS THROAT] Your
Honor, the state argued

that one of the men who came to the home

of Mose Wright on August
th wanted to see the boy

who did the talking at Money.

Now, the state raised inferences
which the defendants believe

they are entitled to explain
and to show what happened.

And further, we believe that
these occurrences are a part

of what the state alleges
is one entire transaction...

The beginning and the
inception of the incident.

And as much, the occurrences
there on that occasion

are a part of the res gestae...

The circumstances...
Which relate to the case.

And as such, the defendants
should be permitted

to offer testimony in that particular.

[CHATHAM] Our proof
started with the occurrences

early Sunday morning,
when two or more persons

came to Mose Wright's
house to get the boy.

We offered no proof of anything prior,

and Mrs. Bryant wasn't
brought into this whatsoever.

And I think I can say that

her name was never
mentioned in this case.

Your Honor, the Supreme
Court of Mississippi

has many times held
that former difficulties

between parties cannot
be brought in as evidence.

And further, we contend
that anything that happened

down there is no justification
for m*rder anyway.

Your Honor, I would like
to call attention to the fact

that the Supreme Court

has ruled that an incident
may be separated by days,

and by weeks even, but if
they can be connected as part

or partial of a man's transaction,
then it doesn't mean that these things

must all happen right together.

[CLEARS THROAT]

Gentlemen, the court is of the opinion

that the testimony being offered here

pertains to an incident
prior to the crime in question.

Therefore, it is not
admissible for the jury.

[CROWD MURMURING]

[MURMURING QUIETS]

[BRELAND] Your Honor,
we still would like to develop

this testimony for
the sake of the record.

The court will allow it,
for the sake of the record,

not for the jury.

You may proceed.

Mrs. Bryant,

on Wednesday evening,
the th day of August, ,

did an incident occur which
made an impression on you?

Yes.

And just tell the court what
happened there at the time,

please, ma'am.

This n*gg*r man came in the store

and stopped there at the candy case.

[BRELAND] Now, when this
n*gro man came in the store,

where were you in the store?

[CAROLYN] I was farther back
in the store, behind the counter.

Now, what transpired up there
at the candy counter?

I asked him what he wanted.

- And did he tell you?
- Yes.

[BRELAND] And after you
got the merchandise for him,

what did you do?

[CAROLYN] I held out
my hand for his money.

And which hand did you hold out?

My right hand.

Will you show the court
how you held your hand out?

And did he give you the money?

- No.
- What did he do?

He caught my hand.

[CROWD MURMURING]

[GAVEL BANGS]

[MURMURING QUIETS]

[BRELAND] Now, will you, uh...

Will you show the court
how he grasped your hand?

[CROWD MURMURING]

And was that a-a
strong grip or a light grip

he had when he, uh, held your hand?

[CAROLYN] A strong grip.

[BRELAND] Hmm. How'd you get loose?

Well, I-I jerked it loose, like this.

[CROWD MURMURING, GAVEL BANGING]

Quiet! Quiet!

[BRELAND] And was it
with that much difficulty

that you... that you got loose?

Yes.

[INHALES DEEPLY]

And just what did he say
when he grabbed your hand?

He said, "How about a date, baby?"

[CROWD MURMURING]

- Quiet!
- [GAVEL BANGING]

- Quiet!
- [CHATHAM] Your Honor!

Your Honor!

[JUDGE SWANGO] That is enough.

[GAVEL BANGING]

That's enough.

[CROWD MURMURING QUIETLY]

And when you freed
yourself, what did you do then?

Well, I turned and tried to
get to the back of the store,

but he came at me and
caught me by the register.

Mrs. Bryant, will you stand up

and put my hands just
where he grasped you?

Will... Will you show the court?

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS]

♪♪

♪♪

[CROWD MURMURING, GAVEL BANGING]

[JUDGE SWANGO] Order!

[BRELAND] In other
words, with his, uh...

His left arm around your back?

A-And his right hand on your hip?

[GAVEL BANGS]

[JUDGE SWANGO] Order.

Yes.

Uh-huh. Um...

♪♪

Please.

♪♪

And did he say anything
to you at that time

when he grabbed you there?

Yes. He said, "What's the matter, baby?

Can't you take it?"

[BRELAND] He said, "What's the
matter, baby? Can't you take it?"

[CAROLYN] Yes.

And did you then try to free yourself?

- Yes.
- And was it difficult?

Did you succeed in freeing yourself?

[VOICE BREAKING] Yes.

And did he say anything
further to you at that time?

Yes. He said... [SOBS]

"You needn't be afraid of me."

And... And did he then use,
uh, language that you don't use?

- Yes.
- Hmm.

And can you tell the court

what that word begins with...

What letter it begins with?

♪♪

Oh, in other words, is
it an unprintable word?

♪♪

Yes.

[BRELAND] And did he say anything

after that one unprintable word?

♪♪

[CAROLYN] Yes, he said,

well... [SOBS]

"With white women before."

[CROWD MURMURING]

[BRELAND] Something to
the effect that he had been

with white women before?

[CAROLYN] Yes.

[BRELAND] And after you,
uh, freed yourself from him,

what did you do then?

♪♪

[CAROLYN] Well, this other
n*gg*r came in and grabbed him

by the arm and told him to
"come on," and, "let's go."

[BRELAND] Did he go,
uh, willingly or unwillingly?

Unwillingly.

And did he say anything further to you

after he had said these obscene remarks?

[CAROLYN] Yes. He
turned and said, "Goodbye."

[BRELAND] And what did you do then?

[CAROLYN] I ran out
the door to go to the car.

[BRELAND] Which car?

Mrs. Milam's.

[BRELAND] And what
did you go to the car for?

To get the p*stol.

- [CROWD] That's right!
- Yeah!

[GAVEL BANGS]

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

[GAVEL BANGS]

[CLEARS THROAT]

As you went through the
door and went to the car,

did you see this man again?

[CAROLYN] Yes.

[BRELAND] And did he say
or do anything at that time?

[WEAKLY] He whistled.

[BRELAND] Can you make a
sound something like the whistle

he made there?

Hmm?

Well, was it something like this?

[WOLF WHISTLES]

[CROWD GROANS]

[CAROLYN] Yes.

[BRELAND] After you
got your p*stol, Mrs. Bryant,

where was this boy then?

Or I should say... Where was this man?

[CAROLYN] When I turned
around, he was getting in a car

down the road.

[BRELAND] Mrs. Bryant...

... what sort of impression did
this occurrence make on you?

♪♪

I was just scared to death.

♪♪

Your Honor, we submit
that the testimony's relevant

to remove from the minds
of the jury the impression

that nothing but talk
had occurred in Money.

♪♪

It remains the opinion of this court

that the evidence is not admissible.

- Therefore...
- [CROWD MURMURING]

I will have order!

Therefore, the jury will
not hear this testimony.

[CROWD MURMURING]

[GAVEL BANGING]

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

That's enough.

♪♪

♪♪

[MAMIE] How dare that woman!

How dare she swear on a
Holy Bible to tell the truth,

only to... to spout
horrific lies about a child!

A child that she knows
is dead because of her!

A child they strategically
referred to as a "man".

Those lawyers never even
showed her a picture of Bo.

[DR. HOWARD] That was deliberate.

On one hand, Bryant and
Milam claim they let him go

because it wasn't
the boy from the store.

On the other hand, the wife says it was,

so he deserved what he got.

It doesn't make sense.

None of it does.

Every word of it was a lie!

And... And the whistling,
on top of everything else!

My... My son would never
whistle at a white woman.

I taught him better.

At least the judge kept the
jury from hearing those theatrics.

The only reason he would
whistle is because of his stutter.

I taught him to do that if
he got stuck on a word.

So even if he did whistle,

he wouldn't have been whistling at her.

Sweetheart, what
difference does it make?

It still doesn't justify
what they did to him.

I tried so hard to say
the right things in there

and to act the right way.

None of it even mattered, did it?

Nothing I said could
have changed a thing,

because they were never going to listen.

And I was a fool to
hope that they would.

♪♪

♪♪

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

♪♪

Whiskey neat, please.

Double.

♪♪

[LIQUID POURING]

[GLASS TAPS]

♪♪

[MAN] Then he chased her down,

grabbed her right around the waist,

and he surely would have
done much worse, too,

if she'd not had the
courage to fight back.

Thank God she did.

The next girl might
not be so lucky, though.

The fact of the matter is
that the thr*at from the north

is greater now than ever before.

Which is why we must come
together and pledge our lives,

our fortunes, and our sacred honors

so that our way of
life is not destroyed.

And if those two boys
are convicted tomorrow,

by God, it will be destroyed,
and all of us with it.

♪♪

[CRYING]

♪♪

[SNIFFLES]

♪♪

[EXCLAIMS]

♪♪

[SHRIEKING]

♪♪

[SOBBING]

♪♪

[BREATHING SHAKILY]

♪♪

♪♪

[SNIFFLES]

♪♪

♪♪

[CRYING]

♪♪

[SOBS]

♪♪

[WHIMPERS]

♪♪

[WAILS]

♪♪

[FIRE CRACKLING]

♪♪

♪♪

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

♪♪

♪♪
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