Raising the Bar (2008) s01e05 Episode Script
Bagels and Locks
I had that dream again.
- Third night in a row.
- With the teeth coming out? They slip through my hands and hit the table with this clinking sound.
It's an awful noise.
There's a good chance things won't go well no matter what I do.
I just Be prepared for that, Bruce.
I just don't want to spend the rest of my life in prison.
The boy was eight, the DNA implicates you on the sodomy.
He was alive when I left, sleeping.
It's hard for a jury to see that.
They're gonna hear about the sex, want to convict on the murder Especially since all we have is your word that you didn't do it.
Right.
Is there something else you can give me? Someone who might have seen you leave? I was careful.
Why do you think I gave him the soda? So that he'd go to sleep and be quiet while I did it.
The whole point was for him not to remember what happened.
I wasn't gonna be stupid enough to let somebody see me.
- OK.
- I'm sorry.
No, I'm gonna do everything I can, with everything I have.
Get some rest.
I'll see you in a few hours.
You must really love your job, counselor.
Let's go.
Morning.
Here you go, tough guy.
There's a bagel and a coffee with your four sugars.
Wow! This must've cost you three bucks.
You write the guy a check? No, I borrowed money from that pickpocket you dealt out last week.
Pitch me something, coffee's bitter.
Torkelson wants to cop to the sodomy.
We'll take the max.
- And the murder? - It's a no-go.
He didn't do it.
Of course he didn't.
That takes life off the table.
I don't know.
Parents are devastated, they want to see this through, think about them.
Tell them that the press is gonna take their son, serve him for public consumption if we go to trial.
It's an ordeal, Marcus.
The sooner we end it, the sooner they can try and move on with their lives.
I gotta talk to Nick.
Come on.
Pull the trigger yourself.
Not on this case.
I'll get back to you.
Cut a deal.
I've taken dumps that carry more weight than Valerio.
- It was a half a kilo of heroin.
- You underestimate me.
Classy.
- Look, I can get the win.
- Valerio's a goldfish.
Get him to talk, drop him in the toilet.
I don't want to waste resources.
Can I just show you what I have? Ernhardt, you're putting me to sleep.
Seriously.
And you? Torkelson's willing to take the max on the rape if we drop the murder.
You must've seen the pervert fairies, 'cause unless hell is now frozen, and there's pervert fairies doing the Ice Capades, there is no way we're pleading out this case.
We got our hands around 25 years right now, and I'm just This freakshow lured an eight-year-old boy to an abandoned building, gave him soda laced with a date-rape drug, sodomized him face-down in a pile of garbage.
But sure, let's show some humanity and cut him a break.
Honestly, I'm surprised you came to me with this.
This is a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, you want to kick a field goal? - You losing your edge? - I'm controlling the situation.
In the jury's hands, the guarantees are off the table.
Let me give you a guarantee.
As long as I'm here, this office will not make deals with homicidal sex offenders.
- I know the policy.
- I would rather lose this case and blame the jury than have anybody think otherwise.
Are we clear? We're clear.
Michelle? - Roberta, right? - Everybody calls me Bobbi.
Cute.
What can I do for you? You got a minute to talk about Freddy Valerio? Yeah.
If we get a name, I might let him cop to the B and get his time into single digits.
Sounds like a lot.
He wasn't near the heroin they found.
- So let the jury figure it out.
- Fine.
Just out of curiosity, who would you like my client to finger? Davido Ruiz.
He runs the corner where Valerio runs his stash house.
Valerio doesn't run the stash house.
He lives in the building.
Police surveillance says otherwise.
Police have creative ways of connecting dots.
We're going in circles.
Valerio gives me Ruiz, or I give him the A-1 and 25.
- Something funny? - No.
I'll take it to my client.
Single digits, like years? With some pushing, I can probably get it somewhere between four and six.
That's not gonna work.
No deal.
You're looking at five times that if we lose, Freddy.
But we're going to win.
They have nothing on me.
It's not that simple.
If the police testimony It is that simple.
Do I live in that apartment? No.
Do I have anything to do with that apartment? No.
Did they find a key on me? No.
But here you are, telling me I gotta rat somebody out and go to prison? I'm not telling you to take the offer.
They may not have evidence, but juries can be unpredictable.
I have to tell you all the ways this could play out.
- You're married, right? - Uh, yes.
I see your ring.
- How long? - Two years.
Two years you been together as husband and wife.
- Magic, right? - Yep.
I'm 39.
Never got married before, and when I met Belinda, I knew why.
Fate.
First moment, boom.
It's like this thing goes off in my chest and I'm like, I'm gonna do anything for this girl.
She's my life.
We got married 15 months ago, at the Botanical Gardens in Flushing.
- It's beautiful there.
- Crazy beautiful.
Then three months later, the cops take me.
Three months we had, and I've been in a year now.
Belinda tried to come visit, but the jail makes her scared.
She had some bad things happen in her childhood.
- When was the last time you saw her? - Going on ten months.
I'm dying in there! So I don't care about the risks.
If I get a chance to get out, I'm gonna go for it.
- Well, how dead is it? - Dead.
Balco made a football analogy.
Fourth quarter, game-winning drive, take it to the house You could get me the discovery so I can actually try the case.
I'm waiting, the cops are dragging their feet.
- Of course.
- Man, I gotta ask.
I see you at arraignments, elbowing the PDs aside to get the hardcore cases.
So? - Ever occur to you to let this one go? No.
Our office is very comfortable with the evidence in this case.
The bigger concern is the devastation this monster inflicted on the Andouzian family and on the community as a whole.
When horrific crimes like this are committed, it is incumbent upon us to make sure that justice is served quickly and judiciously.
That's the only way to begin the difficult process of healing.
That's why I'm trying the case myself.
There's my counterpart.
Mr.
Kellerman, care to make a statement? Looking forward to getting into the courtroom and fighting with everything I have on behalf of my client.
That's all.
Even though I have nothing.
Anything you want to tell me about Michelle Ernhardt? - Excuse me? - Ernhardt, the ADA? Yeah? - I'm against her in the Valerio trial.
Anything I should know? Oh, uh Rich.
Give Bobbi a one-liner on Michelle.
Ernhardt? Good family, well-dressed.
As a prosecutor, knucklehead.
Well, you probably know better than I do.
Which is why I'm asking for your broader perspective.
She likes to win.
- Well put.
She does like to win.
That is some top-notch insight.
Roberta Gilardi.
I can't talk about this right now.
Because the reasons are obvious.
I didn't rush off, and I'm not avoiding anything.
No! Because! Because the office isn't like that, and I have to go.
No.
Screw his voicemail.
I want you to get up out of your chair, waddle over to Morelli's office, and tell him personally that Nick Balco wants every inch of paperwork on the Torkelson case.
Files, notes, the doodles they made on napkins, on my desk in the next two hours.
Did he just pull the case from you? He didn't pull it.
I'm second chair.
Huh.
On a case with this kind of profile? Still gonna be good for me.
What you just did, I don't know how to do.
It's called taking it in stride.
Try it sometime.
Yeah.
Maybe next week.
Ask the lieutenant if he wants the mayor doing a proctology exam on his department.
'Cause I can make that happen, too Douche.
What? Valerio didn't take the plea.
He wants to go to trial.
Then go to trial.
And don't screw it up.
It's Nick Balco.
Fine.
- Was there something else? - Uh, no.
Greggie! Grab a pad and a pen, I'm gonna bend your ear.
Tell us what you saw during the eight weeks you conducted surveillance at tower five of the Oakwood Projects? It was a classic project-based drug distribution network.
Buyers gathered in the courtyard through the day.
Individuals identified as drug sellers provide them with product.
And was the defendant one of those sellers? Not to our knowledge, but we saw suspicious meetings taking place between each seller and the defendant.
He had access to the building, and would bring sellers with him.
- We believe he was their re-supplier.
- When they ran out of product, - he would give them more? - Yep.
- And how did you confirm this? - After arresting one of the sellers, we received information there was an apartment used to stash the heroin.
- What apartment was that? - Apartment 318.
Is that the apartment where Mr.
Valerio lives? No.
He lives in the apartment directly below, 218.
Both apartments are right next to the stairwell, so access is easy.
The defendant simply had to walk out of his apartment - and upstairs to get more? - Exactly.
Once you received this information, what did you do? We secured a warrant and searched the stash apartment.
What did you find? - Approximately a half kilo of heroin.
Half a kilogram.
That translates to roughly how many fixes? I'd need a calculator.
But cut and processed? Thousands.
Nothing further.
Your witness, Miss Gilardi.
You conducted surveillance of tower five from the rooftop of tower eight? That's right.
- That's 200 yards from tower five? More or less.
You couldn't hear the conversations between Freddy Valerio and known drug sellers, could you? - No.
And you never saw Freddy Valerio handling drugs? No, we didn't.
You never actually saw him re-supplying the buyers? No.
But you did find half a kilo of heroin in the apartment above Mr.
Valerio.
Yes.
And Mr.
Valerio's fingerprints were on the heroin? No, they weren't.
Then you must have found a key to apartment 318 on Mr.
Valerio when you arrested him.
No, we didn't.
You have no physical evidence that definitively links Freddy Valerio to apartment 318 or the heroin you found inside? He's a classic re-supplier.
We've seen this behavior hundreds of times.
- Move to strike.
- Yes, indeed.
You haven't answered my question, detective, I'll repeat it.
You have no physical evidence that links Freddy Valerio to apartment 318 or the heroin that you found inside it, correct? Correct.
Nothing further.
The suit looks good, Bruce.
- Yeah.
The arms are a little short.
No one's gonna notice.
You don't have to do anything here, OK? Just sit, listen and make sure to look at the judge if she talks to you.
- Excuse me a second.
- OK.
You too busy lynching my client to answer your phone? Did you call? I'm sorry.
Keep dicking me around, see what happens.
All rise! Court is in session.
The honorable Judge Trudy Kessler is presiding.
Be seated.
Are there any more pretrial motions before we get started? Your Honor, apparently the prosecution has forgotten the defense is legally entitled to review the discovery before the trial begins.
We're locked and loaded, what's the problem? No problem, Your Honor.
We're happy to share the discovery.
Everything we have, counselor.
This is insanity, Your Honor.
It's gonna take me days to sift through this.
- Then we'll adjourn.
- Thank you.
Reconvene tomorrow at 9:00 AM.
Your Honor, there literally is not enough time for me to open Then work on the fly.
I'm not giving you the rest of the week off.
I ain't your buddy from college, Kellerman.
When I start dicking you around, you won't be able to sit for a week.
Lose something? My mind, if I don't get some chocolate in the next five seconds.
- Right here.
- Ah.
Yes! You are a godsend.
See? Now I am, once again, alive.
Nice.
Maybe you feel like reading half of the Torkelson discovery for me.
Yes.
I'll say yes to anything right now.
Sweet! You can write my opening, too.
You at a loss for words? I got plenty of words.
Just none of them good, right now.
I've never done a case like that.
You never did a child rape and a murder? You should.
It's good stuff.
Ever catch yourself thinking about what Torkelson did? - Sure.
- Must be tough.
Well, I hate what he did, but that's not what makes it tough.
What makes it tough is going into court empty-handed.
You need to break out the juicer.
Turn that lemon into lemonade.
You might be the biggest dork I ever met.
Hey! - You told me to " break out the juicer.
" I don't know how it got started, but it's what we used to say in Brooklyn, at our most hopeless moments.
"Someone break out the juicer.
" Yeah.
And "Turn that lemon into lemonade!" Wow.
- Hi.
- I am so sorry to interrupt.
- You're not interrupting.
- No.
You two were definitely having a moment, which I killed, and I'm deeply sorry for that.
I'm Gavin Dillon, Bobbi's husband.
You don't mind if I introduce myself, do you? Uh, Gavin, Jerry Kellerman.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, Jerry Kellerman.
- The Jerry Kellerman.
- Well - Bobbi's great, isn't she? - Yes, she is.
- Not as far as you're concerned.
- Gavin, please.
- Relax.
I'm kidding.
You know, I walk in and there's a vibe going on.
I got to do something to break the tension.
And Jerry's a guy.
He gets it, right? Right.
We're gonna go.
- Yes, we are.
We are going, finally.
- It was great meeting you, man.
- You, too.
Those bastards.
Mr.
Markova you own a locksmith company, correct? - Yes.
Unbreakable Lock and Key.
- Objection.
What is this? It's an invoice.
Mr.
Markova brought it with him.
I've made a copy for counsel.
On April fourth of last year, did you install a lock at apartment 318, in tower five of the Oakwood Apartments? Yes.
C3-40-909, double-cylinder deadbolt.
Is that model known for anything? It is the most secure key-based deadbolt we sell.
On that same day, April fourth, you installed another lock in tower five, didn't you? Yes.
- What was the model of the second lock? The same model, C3-40-909.
- They were identical.
- Identical, yes.
So you installed two C3-40-909 locks in tower five on April fourth.
One was on the front door of apartment 318, and where did you install the other? The front door of apartment 218.
- The defendant's apartment? - I just know it was 218.
Is that a coincidence, Mr.
Markova? In other words, is it possible for two different people who live in the same apartment building to call you on the same day, each wanting exactly the same deadbolt model installed? Well, it is possible, but I only received one phone call.
Both were ordered during the same phone call? Yes.
- And does the invoice say who called? - The invoice says who paid.
- And who was that? The name is Valerio.
Nothing further, Your Honor.
Let me see if I understand.
You received a phone order for two locks? Yes.
- From someone claiming to be Valerio.
- Right.
- According to this invoice, - you were paid in cash? - Yes.
There was no check, no credit card? - No.
You never received any identification? - No, I didn't.
You have no independent recollection of what this supposed Valerio looked like? Independent recollection? The only thing you can testify to is the purchaser of these locks, who gave you no identification, whose description you cannot recall, gave you the name Valerio over the phone.
That's true, but I know I put the locks on those two apartments.
Thank you.
The coroner and forensics were already in the basement by the time I got there.
There was a pile of old rags and newspapers, and somebody's bed, I guess.
That's where the body was.
- The body of Patrik Andouzian? - Yes.
Can you describe what you saw? He was lying on his side, there were bruises around his throat.
His pants and his underwear were down by his knees, and there was dried blood on the back of his shirt, near the bottom.
- Did you notice anything else? - That shirt Detective? It was a Knick jersey, vintage.
It had "Frazier" on the back.
I'm sorry.
My own boy's got the same shirt.
- Objection.
Relevance? - I'm sorry.
- Objection! - Sustained.
No further questions.
Detective Dougherty, according to your arrest report, you took Bruce Torkelson into custody on September fourth, 2007.
Is that correct? If that's what it says, yes.
Three days later, you received lab results linking Mr.
Torkelson to the DNA - found on Patrik's body.
- That's correct.
That's when you felt comfortable you had your guy, on September seventh, 2007.
No, I knew before then.
The DNA just confirmed it.
Detective, what is a DD-5? A DD-5 is a written follow-up on a complaint.
This is a written follow-up on the complaint you wrote up on Bruce Torkelson Correct? Yes.
Can you read out loud the date of that report? - November 14th, 2007.
- November 14th.
The DD-5 states that approximately ten weeks after you arrested Bruce Torkelson and charged him with the murder, a fellow officer of yours arrested a man named Kevin Davies for - public urination? - That's correct.
Subsequently, you interrogated Mr.
Davies? Yes.
- Because he confessed to killing a boy in an abandoned building.
- Objection! Sustained.
Whatever this person said is inadmissible, I'm sure you're aware.
It's a statement against penal interest.
Not by this witness.
Back your way up the slippery slope you're on right now.
Your Honor, as you know, I received the discovery yesterday.
I believe Mr.
Davies can provide testimony that is crucial to this case.
If the court would allow me two days to find him, I would like to put him on the stand.
It's always something with you.
- You have until 10:00 tomorrow.
- Your Honor Nine am it is.
We're adjourned.
All right.
We got a shot here, OK? I'll see you tomorrow.
Hey.
Hey! Hey, I'm talking to you! I know you can hear me! - Don't walk away from me! - Behave.
How can you defend a monster? Are you a human being? - Hey.
- Hello.
Can I help you? - Yeah, you got any coffee? - Only instant.
- Bring it on.
- All right.
Break out the juicer, Kellerman Anything else? No, not unless you can tell me where to find a guy named Kevin Davies.
- Kevin Davies? - You know him? I see him every day.
He always has a question about religion.
Where does he live? Do you know? Kevin? Hello? Yeah? - My name is Jerry.
How you doing? You're from Social Services, right? I'm a lawyer.
I'm here about the boy, Kevin.
Is it OK if we talk about that a little bit? - You're not gonna beat me down? - Nobody's gonna beat you down.
You still upset about what you did? Pretzel guy across the street says that you've been asking him about religion.
He's a Muslim.
He's always happy.
Be nice to have some of that.
You ever go to church? I used to.
God loves everybody, Kevin.
You know that, right? I don't know if he loved that little boy.
He did.
You got something you need people to hear, don't you? And nobody believes you.
They don't understand what it's like when you stop and you think about it.
When you see that boy's face in your mind.
I see him all the time.
You can tell me about it, Kevin, and I promise I'll believe you.
I know some other people who would, too.
You can tell us the whole thing.
It's cases like these that make me miss the days of capital punishment.
You think Torkelson did the murder? I don't care whether he did the murder.
He should be eviscerated for the sodomy.
Judge Kessler recommends disembowelment.
If that little boy had lived, his life would have been completely dysfunctional.
Withdrawn for childhood, unable to connect with people And then, in the most pathetic irony of all, he would've ended up gay and completely confused by it.
Trauma doesn't cause sexual preference.
That's generally a DNA thing.
Victims act out the perversions that have been forced upon them.
It happens all the time.
Trust me.
Mr.
Kellerman, call your first witness.
The defense calls Kevin Davies.
Objection.
This man is about to make a statement against interest.
The only lawyer he's conferred with is the defense.
I've made him aware of the consequences of his testimony, Your Honor.
Approach.
I don't know, Your Honor, I am shocked.
Don't gild the lily, Mr.
Balco.
Surely someone as principled as you believes the right to counsel extends beyond your client list.
Yes, Your Honor.
So you don't mind if I call the 18-B panel? Mr.
Davies needs an advocate.
I'm not saying it's a lost cause, but the locksmith was a big win for the prosecution.
That don't prove anything! It proves a connection, sometimes that's all a jury needs.
Fine.
But I'm not snitching.
Look, I understand that you have a code, Freddy.
There is a good chance we could lose.
The longer you wait to cut a deal, the more time you're gonna spend in prison.
This ain't about no code.
The whole time I've been in jail, that guy they want, Ruiz? He's been watching out for my family.
My Pops, he don't move around so good.
Ruiz got him a satellite dish.
He's got somebody bringing him food.
He's got somebody bringing my cousins to school.
If I sell him out, we both go to prison, and my family's out in the cold.
The only choice I got is to roll the dice and hope for the best.
- Is Belinda coming? - I don't know.
Will the defendant please rise? In the matter of the People of the State of New York v.
Freddy Valerio, the charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree, how do you find? Guilty.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, thank you for your service.
You are discharged.
I'm so sorry, Freddy.
I really am.
Ah, young Master Kellerman.
Hi, Murray.
This witness you're coming for, Davies - Yeah? - He confessed to a murder they're trying to pin on my client.
He confessed? Yeah.
They tried to bury the DD-5, but it's there.
You know, the cops, they had a other idea of how the story should play.
Now you're trying to get him to confess in court.
Look, Murray I know you're gonna tell him to plead the Fifth, but if you could just get him started Let him say he was there, saw the boy alive! - Jerry! - He wants to confess, Murray.
That kind of prank will get me disbarred, and you know it.
I enjoy my work around here, however limited it might be at this point.
I'm sorry, Murray.
My hand has been so bad on this from the get-go, you know? I finally felt like I might have a move here.
I'm sorry.
Jerry.
The confession is in the police report, right? - Yeah.
- Once Davies pleads the Fifth, he's an unavailable witness.
Is there something you can do with that, or have I overestimated you all these years? Mr.
Davies, on March 28th of last year, did you find a young boy passed out in an abandoned building on 37th Street and Third Avenue? On the advice of counsel I would like to invoke my 5th Amendment right of - To decline to to testify - To testify.
On the grounds On the grounds On the grounds that I might be incarcerated.
- Was that OK? - That's fine, Mr.
Davies.
You're excused.
Are you going to call another witness or proceed with your closing argument? Yes, Your Honor, the defense recalls Detective Robert Dougherty to the stand.
I remind you sir, you are still under oath.
Yes.
Is this the DD-5 that details your interrogation with Kevin Davies? Yes.
Please read what you wrote.
Objection.
There's a glitch in the Matrix, or we've been down this road.
Actually, Mr.
Balco, Mr.
Davies became an unavailable witness, thanks in large part to you, which makes this a statement against penal interest, and therefore very much admissible.
Proceed as directed.
Sit down, Mr.
Balco.
If you would, detective.
"The individual claims to have found a young boy passed out in an abandoned building.
" Keep reading.
"Individual claims to have searched the boy's pockets for money," at which time the boy became conscious and started to cry out and thrash about.
Individual claims to have panicked, "then used his left hand to choke the boy until he stopped moving.
" Please read the last line of your arrest report, detective.
"Confession deemed not credible.
" This is the coroner's report on Patrik Andouzian's death? Yes.
- Which you received on April fourth - of last year, correct? - That's what it says.
You knew what was in this report months before you arrested Davies.
Yes.
Would you please read for us what the coroner wrote, right here? "Ligature marks on throat consistent with a choke hold with the left hand.
" Which fits perfectly with the confession you took from Kevin Davies and subsequently ignored - Detective? - Yes.
Thanks.
Nothing further.
Would the People like to make a pre-sentencing statement? We do, Your Honor.
Freddy Valerio has made a career out of facilitating the distribution of one of the most destructive illegal drugs plaguing our society.
He was found guilty of possession of enough heroin to turn more than a thousand teenagers into addicts.
Considering that, as well as Mr.
Valerio's prior violent conviction, the People believe the maximum sentence of 30 years is appropriate.
Miss Gilardi? Yes, Your Honor.
Freddy Valerio is not a drug dealer.
He's a man who loves his wife and family and put their well-being ahead of his.
The 15 year sentence would allow him a shot at growing old with his family.
I believe in family, too, Miss Gilardi, but the drug trade destroys families, it seems that Mr.
Valerio was an active participant.
Defendant is sentenced to 25 years in state penitentiary.
Your Honor, before they take Mr.
Valerio, would the court allow a brief discussion with his wife? They haven't seen each other since his incarceration.
OK.
Next time I make your client an offer, you should consider it instead of chuckling.
You're actually gloating right now? Just a word to the wise.
Optimism it's tough to come by.
Every single day in this city, we are inundated with reasons to be jaded and pessimistic.
There's no better example than what happened to Patrik Andouzian and his family, a tragedy no one should have to contemplate, much less experience.
But regardless of what you think of Bruce Torkelson, regardless of the feelings you have about this case, you must consider every piece of evidence, every word of testimony, and ask yourself whether the prosecution has achieved their burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
They haven't.
You have seen no physical evidence to confirm the charge of murder.
You have heard the account of a confession to that murder by another individual.
A confession ignored by the police, not for its lack of credibility but its lack of convenience.
Some people may be disappointed if you acquit Bruce Torkelson of murder.
But you will have made a decision based not on emotion but truth.
And, ultimately, optimism that we're all better off for it.
Defendant, please rise In the matter of the People of the State of New York v.
Bruce Torkelson, on the count of murder in the second degree, how do you find? Not guilty.
Thank you.
On the count of sodomy in the first degree, how do you find? Guilty.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury.
You're excused.
I'm sorry for your loss.
- I thought I'd be the first one here.
- Hey, beat you to it.
- What are you drinking? - What you have looks good.
Better than chocolate, I'll tell you that.
That's what I'm hoping for.
You take a beating? Valerio got 25 years in prison.
Does that qualify? Hey, salut.
What about you? - Why am I drinking? - Yeah.
What'd your guy get his 25 for? Watching the door for a drug dealer.
Meanwhile, Torkelson, who admits to giving an eight-year-old boy soda laced with roofies, then raping him in an abandoned building, he gets the same 25 years, which, by the way, was the original deal I wanted to make.
That's not making me feel much better about myself.
The tagline is the real winner.
'Cause the guy who actually confessed to killing the kid, he'll never get prosecuted.
The cops didn't believe him before, it'd look bad if they believed now.
The DA's not gonna push the case.
They know what any good public defender would do to beat them.
Argue Torkelson did it.
"He did the rape, of course he did the murder.
" Everybody argues both sides of the thing and the truth it somehow slips away.
That's why I'm drinking.
About once a year, I get this voice in my head that tells me everything that I'm doing is arbitrary and I'm just spinning my wheels.
No.
Sometimes it sucks.
It's never arbitrary.
The voice never lasts that long.
Well, if it ever does, you come looking for me.
All right? Yeah.
We gonna toast your win or what? - Yeah, sure.
Rip by spyderspyder
- Third night in a row.
- With the teeth coming out? They slip through my hands and hit the table with this clinking sound.
It's an awful noise.
There's a good chance things won't go well no matter what I do.
I just Be prepared for that, Bruce.
I just don't want to spend the rest of my life in prison.
The boy was eight, the DNA implicates you on the sodomy.
He was alive when I left, sleeping.
It's hard for a jury to see that.
They're gonna hear about the sex, want to convict on the murder Especially since all we have is your word that you didn't do it.
Right.
Is there something else you can give me? Someone who might have seen you leave? I was careful.
Why do you think I gave him the soda? So that he'd go to sleep and be quiet while I did it.
The whole point was for him not to remember what happened.
I wasn't gonna be stupid enough to let somebody see me.
- OK.
- I'm sorry.
No, I'm gonna do everything I can, with everything I have.
Get some rest.
I'll see you in a few hours.
You must really love your job, counselor.
Let's go.
Morning.
Here you go, tough guy.
There's a bagel and a coffee with your four sugars.
Wow! This must've cost you three bucks.
You write the guy a check? No, I borrowed money from that pickpocket you dealt out last week.
Pitch me something, coffee's bitter.
Torkelson wants to cop to the sodomy.
We'll take the max.
- And the murder? - It's a no-go.
He didn't do it.
Of course he didn't.
That takes life off the table.
I don't know.
Parents are devastated, they want to see this through, think about them.
Tell them that the press is gonna take their son, serve him for public consumption if we go to trial.
It's an ordeal, Marcus.
The sooner we end it, the sooner they can try and move on with their lives.
I gotta talk to Nick.
Come on.
Pull the trigger yourself.
Not on this case.
I'll get back to you.
Cut a deal.
I've taken dumps that carry more weight than Valerio.
- It was a half a kilo of heroin.
- You underestimate me.
Classy.
- Look, I can get the win.
- Valerio's a goldfish.
Get him to talk, drop him in the toilet.
I don't want to waste resources.
Can I just show you what I have? Ernhardt, you're putting me to sleep.
Seriously.
And you? Torkelson's willing to take the max on the rape if we drop the murder.
You must've seen the pervert fairies, 'cause unless hell is now frozen, and there's pervert fairies doing the Ice Capades, there is no way we're pleading out this case.
We got our hands around 25 years right now, and I'm just This freakshow lured an eight-year-old boy to an abandoned building, gave him soda laced with a date-rape drug, sodomized him face-down in a pile of garbage.
But sure, let's show some humanity and cut him a break.
Honestly, I'm surprised you came to me with this.
This is a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, you want to kick a field goal? - You losing your edge? - I'm controlling the situation.
In the jury's hands, the guarantees are off the table.
Let me give you a guarantee.
As long as I'm here, this office will not make deals with homicidal sex offenders.
- I know the policy.
- I would rather lose this case and blame the jury than have anybody think otherwise.
Are we clear? We're clear.
Michelle? - Roberta, right? - Everybody calls me Bobbi.
Cute.
What can I do for you? You got a minute to talk about Freddy Valerio? Yeah.
If we get a name, I might let him cop to the B and get his time into single digits.
Sounds like a lot.
He wasn't near the heroin they found.
- So let the jury figure it out.
- Fine.
Just out of curiosity, who would you like my client to finger? Davido Ruiz.
He runs the corner where Valerio runs his stash house.
Valerio doesn't run the stash house.
He lives in the building.
Police surveillance says otherwise.
Police have creative ways of connecting dots.
We're going in circles.
Valerio gives me Ruiz, or I give him the A-1 and 25.
- Something funny? - No.
I'll take it to my client.
Single digits, like years? With some pushing, I can probably get it somewhere between four and six.
That's not gonna work.
No deal.
You're looking at five times that if we lose, Freddy.
But we're going to win.
They have nothing on me.
It's not that simple.
If the police testimony It is that simple.
Do I live in that apartment? No.
Do I have anything to do with that apartment? No.
Did they find a key on me? No.
But here you are, telling me I gotta rat somebody out and go to prison? I'm not telling you to take the offer.
They may not have evidence, but juries can be unpredictable.
I have to tell you all the ways this could play out.
- You're married, right? - Uh, yes.
I see your ring.
- How long? - Two years.
Two years you been together as husband and wife.
- Magic, right? - Yep.
I'm 39.
Never got married before, and when I met Belinda, I knew why.
Fate.
First moment, boom.
It's like this thing goes off in my chest and I'm like, I'm gonna do anything for this girl.
She's my life.
We got married 15 months ago, at the Botanical Gardens in Flushing.
- It's beautiful there.
- Crazy beautiful.
Then three months later, the cops take me.
Three months we had, and I've been in a year now.
Belinda tried to come visit, but the jail makes her scared.
She had some bad things happen in her childhood.
- When was the last time you saw her? - Going on ten months.
I'm dying in there! So I don't care about the risks.
If I get a chance to get out, I'm gonna go for it.
- Well, how dead is it? - Dead.
Balco made a football analogy.
Fourth quarter, game-winning drive, take it to the house You could get me the discovery so I can actually try the case.
I'm waiting, the cops are dragging their feet.
- Of course.
- Man, I gotta ask.
I see you at arraignments, elbowing the PDs aside to get the hardcore cases.
So? - Ever occur to you to let this one go? No.
Our office is very comfortable with the evidence in this case.
The bigger concern is the devastation this monster inflicted on the Andouzian family and on the community as a whole.
When horrific crimes like this are committed, it is incumbent upon us to make sure that justice is served quickly and judiciously.
That's the only way to begin the difficult process of healing.
That's why I'm trying the case myself.
There's my counterpart.
Mr.
Kellerman, care to make a statement? Looking forward to getting into the courtroom and fighting with everything I have on behalf of my client.
That's all.
Even though I have nothing.
Anything you want to tell me about Michelle Ernhardt? - Excuse me? - Ernhardt, the ADA? Yeah? - I'm against her in the Valerio trial.
Anything I should know? Oh, uh Rich.
Give Bobbi a one-liner on Michelle.
Ernhardt? Good family, well-dressed.
As a prosecutor, knucklehead.
Well, you probably know better than I do.
Which is why I'm asking for your broader perspective.
She likes to win.
- Well put.
She does like to win.
That is some top-notch insight.
Roberta Gilardi.
I can't talk about this right now.
Because the reasons are obvious.
I didn't rush off, and I'm not avoiding anything.
No! Because! Because the office isn't like that, and I have to go.
No.
Screw his voicemail.
I want you to get up out of your chair, waddle over to Morelli's office, and tell him personally that Nick Balco wants every inch of paperwork on the Torkelson case.
Files, notes, the doodles they made on napkins, on my desk in the next two hours.
Did he just pull the case from you? He didn't pull it.
I'm second chair.
Huh.
On a case with this kind of profile? Still gonna be good for me.
What you just did, I don't know how to do.
It's called taking it in stride.
Try it sometime.
Yeah.
Maybe next week.
Ask the lieutenant if he wants the mayor doing a proctology exam on his department.
'Cause I can make that happen, too Douche.
What? Valerio didn't take the plea.
He wants to go to trial.
Then go to trial.
And don't screw it up.
It's Nick Balco.
Fine.
- Was there something else? - Uh, no.
Greggie! Grab a pad and a pen, I'm gonna bend your ear.
Tell us what you saw during the eight weeks you conducted surveillance at tower five of the Oakwood Projects? It was a classic project-based drug distribution network.
Buyers gathered in the courtyard through the day.
Individuals identified as drug sellers provide them with product.
And was the defendant one of those sellers? Not to our knowledge, but we saw suspicious meetings taking place between each seller and the defendant.
He had access to the building, and would bring sellers with him.
- We believe he was their re-supplier.
- When they ran out of product, - he would give them more? - Yep.
- And how did you confirm this? - After arresting one of the sellers, we received information there was an apartment used to stash the heroin.
- What apartment was that? - Apartment 318.
Is that the apartment where Mr.
Valerio lives? No.
He lives in the apartment directly below, 218.
Both apartments are right next to the stairwell, so access is easy.
The defendant simply had to walk out of his apartment - and upstairs to get more? - Exactly.
Once you received this information, what did you do? We secured a warrant and searched the stash apartment.
What did you find? - Approximately a half kilo of heroin.
Half a kilogram.
That translates to roughly how many fixes? I'd need a calculator.
But cut and processed? Thousands.
Nothing further.
Your witness, Miss Gilardi.
You conducted surveillance of tower five from the rooftop of tower eight? That's right.
- That's 200 yards from tower five? More or less.
You couldn't hear the conversations between Freddy Valerio and known drug sellers, could you? - No.
And you never saw Freddy Valerio handling drugs? No, we didn't.
You never actually saw him re-supplying the buyers? No.
But you did find half a kilo of heroin in the apartment above Mr.
Valerio.
Yes.
And Mr.
Valerio's fingerprints were on the heroin? No, they weren't.
Then you must have found a key to apartment 318 on Mr.
Valerio when you arrested him.
No, we didn't.
You have no physical evidence that definitively links Freddy Valerio to apartment 318 or the heroin you found inside? He's a classic re-supplier.
We've seen this behavior hundreds of times.
- Move to strike.
- Yes, indeed.
You haven't answered my question, detective, I'll repeat it.
You have no physical evidence that links Freddy Valerio to apartment 318 or the heroin that you found inside it, correct? Correct.
Nothing further.
The suit looks good, Bruce.
- Yeah.
The arms are a little short.
No one's gonna notice.
You don't have to do anything here, OK? Just sit, listen and make sure to look at the judge if she talks to you.
- Excuse me a second.
- OK.
You too busy lynching my client to answer your phone? Did you call? I'm sorry.
Keep dicking me around, see what happens.
All rise! Court is in session.
The honorable Judge Trudy Kessler is presiding.
Be seated.
Are there any more pretrial motions before we get started? Your Honor, apparently the prosecution has forgotten the defense is legally entitled to review the discovery before the trial begins.
We're locked and loaded, what's the problem? No problem, Your Honor.
We're happy to share the discovery.
Everything we have, counselor.
This is insanity, Your Honor.
It's gonna take me days to sift through this.
- Then we'll adjourn.
- Thank you.
Reconvene tomorrow at 9:00 AM.
Your Honor, there literally is not enough time for me to open Then work on the fly.
I'm not giving you the rest of the week off.
I ain't your buddy from college, Kellerman.
When I start dicking you around, you won't be able to sit for a week.
Lose something? My mind, if I don't get some chocolate in the next five seconds.
- Right here.
- Ah.
Yes! You are a godsend.
See? Now I am, once again, alive.
Nice.
Maybe you feel like reading half of the Torkelson discovery for me.
Yes.
I'll say yes to anything right now.
Sweet! You can write my opening, too.
You at a loss for words? I got plenty of words.
Just none of them good, right now.
I've never done a case like that.
You never did a child rape and a murder? You should.
It's good stuff.
Ever catch yourself thinking about what Torkelson did? - Sure.
- Must be tough.
Well, I hate what he did, but that's not what makes it tough.
What makes it tough is going into court empty-handed.
You need to break out the juicer.
Turn that lemon into lemonade.
You might be the biggest dork I ever met.
Hey! - You told me to " break out the juicer.
" I don't know how it got started, but it's what we used to say in Brooklyn, at our most hopeless moments.
"Someone break out the juicer.
" Yeah.
And "Turn that lemon into lemonade!" Wow.
- Hi.
- I am so sorry to interrupt.
- You're not interrupting.
- No.
You two were definitely having a moment, which I killed, and I'm deeply sorry for that.
I'm Gavin Dillon, Bobbi's husband.
You don't mind if I introduce myself, do you? Uh, Gavin, Jerry Kellerman.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, Jerry Kellerman.
- The Jerry Kellerman.
- Well - Bobbi's great, isn't she? - Yes, she is.
- Not as far as you're concerned.
- Gavin, please.
- Relax.
I'm kidding.
You know, I walk in and there's a vibe going on.
I got to do something to break the tension.
And Jerry's a guy.
He gets it, right? Right.
We're gonna go.
- Yes, we are.
We are going, finally.
- It was great meeting you, man.
- You, too.
Those bastards.
Mr.
Markova you own a locksmith company, correct? - Yes.
Unbreakable Lock and Key.
- Objection.
What is this? It's an invoice.
Mr.
Markova brought it with him.
I've made a copy for counsel.
On April fourth of last year, did you install a lock at apartment 318, in tower five of the Oakwood Apartments? Yes.
C3-40-909, double-cylinder deadbolt.
Is that model known for anything? It is the most secure key-based deadbolt we sell.
On that same day, April fourth, you installed another lock in tower five, didn't you? Yes.
- What was the model of the second lock? The same model, C3-40-909.
- They were identical.
- Identical, yes.
So you installed two C3-40-909 locks in tower five on April fourth.
One was on the front door of apartment 318, and where did you install the other? The front door of apartment 218.
- The defendant's apartment? - I just know it was 218.
Is that a coincidence, Mr.
Markova? In other words, is it possible for two different people who live in the same apartment building to call you on the same day, each wanting exactly the same deadbolt model installed? Well, it is possible, but I only received one phone call.
Both were ordered during the same phone call? Yes.
- And does the invoice say who called? - The invoice says who paid.
- And who was that? The name is Valerio.
Nothing further, Your Honor.
Let me see if I understand.
You received a phone order for two locks? Yes.
- From someone claiming to be Valerio.
- Right.
- According to this invoice, - you were paid in cash? - Yes.
There was no check, no credit card? - No.
You never received any identification? - No, I didn't.
You have no independent recollection of what this supposed Valerio looked like? Independent recollection? The only thing you can testify to is the purchaser of these locks, who gave you no identification, whose description you cannot recall, gave you the name Valerio over the phone.
That's true, but I know I put the locks on those two apartments.
Thank you.
The coroner and forensics were already in the basement by the time I got there.
There was a pile of old rags and newspapers, and somebody's bed, I guess.
That's where the body was.
- The body of Patrik Andouzian? - Yes.
Can you describe what you saw? He was lying on his side, there were bruises around his throat.
His pants and his underwear were down by his knees, and there was dried blood on the back of his shirt, near the bottom.
- Did you notice anything else? - That shirt Detective? It was a Knick jersey, vintage.
It had "Frazier" on the back.
I'm sorry.
My own boy's got the same shirt.
- Objection.
Relevance? - I'm sorry.
- Objection! - Sustained.
No further questions.
Detective Dougherty, according to your arrest report, you took Bruce Torkelson into custody on September fourth, 2007.
Is that correct? If that's what it says, yes.
Three days later, you received lab results linking Mr.
Torkelson to the DNA - found on Patrik's body.
- That's correct.
That's when you felt comfortable you had your guy, on September seventh, 2007.
No, I knew before then.
The DNA just confirmed it.
Detective, what is a DD-5? A DD-5 is a written follow-up on a complaint.
This is a written follow-up on the complaint you wrote up on Bruce Torkelson Correct? Yes.
Can you read out loud the date of that report? - November 14th, 2007.
- November 14th.
The DD-5 states that approximately ten weeks after you arrested Bruce Torkelson and charged him with the murder, a fellow officer of yours arrested a man named Kevin Davies for - public urination? - That's correct.
Subsequently, you interrogated Mr.
Davies? Yes.
- Because he confessed to killing a boy in an abandoned building.
- Objection! Sustained.
Whatever this person said is inadmissible, I'm sure you're aware.
It's a statement against penal interest.
Not by this witness.
Back your way up the slippery slope you're on right now.
Your Honor, as you know, I received the discovery yesterday.
I believe Mr.
Davies can provide testimony that is crucial to this case.
If the court would allow me two days to find him, I would like to put him on the stand.
It's always something with you.
- You have until 10:00 tomorrow.
- Your Honor Nine am it is.
We're adjourned.
All right.
We got a shot here, OK? I'll see you tomorrow.
Hey.
Hey! Hey, I'm talking to you! I know you can hear me! - Don't walk away from me! - Behave.
How can you defend a monster? Are you a human being? - Hey.
- Hello.
Can I help you? - Yeah, you got any coffee? - Only instant.
- Bring it on.
- All right.
Break out the juicer, Kellerman Anything else? No, not unless you can tell me where to find a guy named Kevin Davies.
- Kevin Davies? - You know him? I see him every day.
He always has a question about religion.
Where does he live? Do you know? Kevin? Hello? Yeah? - My name is Jerry.
How you doing? You're from Social Services, right? I'm a lawyer.
I'm here about the boy, Kevin.
Is it OK if we talk about that a little bit? - You're not gonna beat me down? - Nobody's gonna beat you down.
You still upset about what you did? Pretzel guy across the street says that you've been asking him about religion.
He's a Muslim.
He's always happy.
Be nice to have some of that.
You ever go to church? I used to.
God loves everybody, Kevin.
You know that, right? I don't know if he loved that little boy.
He did.
You got something you need people to hear, don't you? And nobody believes you.
They don't understand what it's like when you stop and you think about it.
When you see that boy's face in your mind.
I see him all the time.
You can tell me about it, Kevin, and I promise I'll believe you.
I know some other people who would, too.
You can tell us the whole thing.
It's cases like these that make me miss the days of capital punishment.
You think Torkelson did the murder? I don't care whether he did the murder.
He should be eviscerated for the sodomy.
Judge Kessler recommends disembowelment.
If that little boy had lived, his life would have been completely dysfunctional.
Withdrawn for childhood, unable to connect with people And then, in the most pathetic irony of all, he would've ended up gay and completely confused by it.
Trauma doesn't cause sexual preference.
That's generally a DNA thing.
Victims act out the perversions that have been forced upon them.
It happens all the time.
Trust me.
Mr.
Kellerman, call your first witness.
The defense calls Kevin Davies.
Objection.
This man is about to make a statement against interest.
The only lawyer he's conferred with is the defense.
I've made him aware of the consequences of his testimony, Your Honor.
Approach.
I don't know, Your Honor, I am shocked.
Don't gild the lily, Mr.
Balco.
Surely someone as principled as you believes the right to counsel extends beyond your client list.
Yes, Your Honor.
So you don't mind if I call the 18-B panel? Mr.
Davies needs an advocate.
I'm not saying it's a lost cause, but the locksmith was a big win for the prosecution.
That don't prove anything! It proves a connection, sometimes that's all a jury needs.
Fine.
But I'm not snitching.
Look, I understand that you have a code, Freddy.
There is a good chance we could lose.
The longer you wait to cut a deal, the more time you're gonna spend in prison.
This ain't about no code.
The whole time I've been in jail, that guy they want, Ruiz? He's been watching out for my family.
My Pops, he don't move around so good.
Ruiz got him a satellite dish.
He's got somebody bringing him food.
He's got somebody bringing my cousins to school.
If I sell him out, we both go to prison, and my family's out in the cold.
The only choice I got is to roll the dice and hope for the best.
- Is Belinda coming? - I don't know.
Will the defendant please rise? In the matter of the People of the State of New York v.
Freddy Valerio, the charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree, how do you find? Guilty.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, thank you for your service.
You are discharged.
I'm so sorry, Freddy.
I really am.
Ah, young Master Kellerman.
Hi, Murray.
This witness you're coming for, Davies - Yeah? - He confessed to a murder they're trying to pin on my client.
He confessed? Yeah.
They tried to bury the DD-5, but it's there.
You know, the cops, they had a other idea of how the story should play.
Now you're trying to get him to confess in court.
Look, Murray I know you're gonna tell him to plead the Fifth, but if you could just get him started Let him say he was there, saw the boy alive! - Jerry! - He wants to confess, Murray.
That kind of prank will get me disbarred, and you know it.
I enjoy my work around here, however limited it might be at this point.
I'm sorry, Murray.
My hand has been so bad on this from the get-go, you know? I finally felt like I might have a move here.
I'm sorry.
Jerry.
The confession is in the police report, right? - Yeah.
- Once Davies pleads the Fifth, he's an unavailable witness.
Is there something you can do with that, or have I overestimated you all these years? Mr.
Davies, on March 28th of last year, did you find a young boy passed out in an abandoned building on 37th Street and Third Avenue? On the advice of counsel I would like to invoke my 5th Amendment right of - To decline to to testify - To testify.
On the grounds On the grounds On the grounds that I might be incarcerated.
- Was that OK? - That's fine, Mr.
Davies.
You're excused.
Are you going to call another witness or proceed with your closing argument? Yes, Your Honor, the defense recalls Detective Robert Dougherty to the stand.
I remind you sir, you are still under oath.
Yes.
Is this the DD-5 that details your interrogation with Kevin Davies? Yes.
Please read what you wrote.
Objection.
There's a glitch in the Matrix, or we've been down this road.
Actually, Mr.
Balco, Mr.
Davies became an unavailable witness, thanks in large part to you, which makes this a statement against penal interest, and therefore very much admissible.
Proceed as directed.
Sit down, Mr.
Balco.
If you would, detective.
"The individual claims to have found a young boy passed out in an abandoned building.
" Keep reading.
"Individual claims to have searched the boy's pockets for money," at which time the boy became conscious and started to cry out and thrash about.
Individual claims to have panicked, "then used his left hand to choke the boy until he stopped moving.
" Please read the last line of your arrest report, detective.
"Confession deemed not credible.
" This is the coroner's report on Patrik Andouzian's death? Yes.
- Which you received on April fourth - of last year, correct? - That's what it says.
You knew what was in this report months before you arrested Davies.
Yes.
Would you please read for us what the coroner wrote, right here? "Ligature marks on throat consistent with a choke hold with the left hand.
" Which fits perfectly with the confession you took from Kevin Davies and subsequently ignored - Detective? - Yes.
Thanks.
Nothing further.
Would the People like to make a pre-sentencing statement? We do, Your Honor.
Freddy Valerio has made a career out of facilitating the distribution of one of the most destructive illegal drugs plaguing our society.
He was found guilty of possession of enough heroin to turn more than a thousand teenagers into addicts.
Considering that, as well as Mr.
Valerio's prior violent conviction, the People believe the maximum sentence of 30 years is appropriate.
Miss Gilardi? Yes, Your Honor.
Freddy Valerio is not a drug dealer.
He's a man who loves his wife and family and put their well-being ahead of his.
The 15 year sentence would allow him a shot at growing old with his family.
I believe in family, too, Miss Gilardi, but the drug trade destroys families, it seems that Mr.
Valerio was an active participant.
Defendant is sentenced to 25 years in state penitentiary.
Your Honor, before they take Mr.
Valerio, would the court allow a brief discussion with his wife? They haven't seen each other since his incarceration.
OK.
Next time I make your client an offer, you should consider it instead of chuckling.
You're actually gloating right now? Just a word to the wise.
Optimism it's tough to come by.
Every single day in this city, we are inundated with reasons to be jaded and pessimistic.
There's no better example than what happened to Patrik Andouzian and his family, a tragedy no one should have to contemplate, much less experience.
But regardless of what you think of Bruce Torkelson, regardless of the feelings you have about this case, you must consider every piece of evidence, every word of testimony, and ask yourself whether the prosecution has achieved their burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
They haven't.
You have seen no physical evidence to confirm the charge of murder.
You have heard the account of a confession to that murder by another individual.
A confession ignored by the police, not for its lack of credibility but its lack of convenience.
Some people may be disappointed if you acquit Bruce Torkelson of murder.
But you will have made a decision based not on emotion but truth.
And, ultimately, optimism that we're all better off for it.
Defendant, please rise In the matter of the People of the State of New York v.
Bruce Torkelson, on the count of murder in the second degree, how do you find? Not guilty.
Thank you.
On the count of sodomy in the first degree, how do you find? Guilty.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury.
You're excused.
I'm sorry for your loss.
- I thought I'd be the first one here.
- Hey, beat you to it.
- What are you drinking? - What you have looks good.
Better than chocolate, I'll tell you that.
That's what I'm hoping for.
You take a beating? Valerio got 25 years in prison.
Does that qualify? Hey, salut.
What about you? - Why am I drinking? - Yeah.
What'd your guy get his 25 for? Watching the door for a drug dealer.
Meanwhile, Torkelson, who admits to giving an eight-year-old boy soda laced with roofies, then raping him in an abandoned building, he gets the same 25 years, which, by the way, was the original deal I wanted to make.
That's not making me feel much better about myself.
The tagline is the real winner.
'Cause the guy who actually confessed to killing the kid, he'll never get prosecuted.
The cops didn't believe him before, it'd look bad if they believed now.
The DA's not gonna push the case.
They know what any good public defender would do to beat them.
Argue Torkelson did it.
"He did the rape, of course he did the murder.
" Everybody argues both sides of the thing and the truth it somehow slips away.
That's why I'm drinking.
About once a year, I get this voice in my head that tells me everything that I'm doing is arbitrary and I'm just spinning my wheels.
No.
Sometimes it sucks.
It's never arbitrary.
The voice never lasts that long.
Well, if it ever does, you come looking for me.
All right? Yeah.
We gonna toast your win or what? - Yeah, sure.
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