Harry's Law (2011) s02e08 Episode Script
Insanity
Previously on "Harry's Law" My father and I really appreciate your efforts.
I adore you.
Don't get me wrong, I do.
But I want to be able to see and feel a future in a relationship.
- Take it outside? - Wait.
Are you two sleeping together? - He'd like to.
- No, I wouldn't.
- Yes, you would.
- No, I wouldn't.
He's gonna be joining.
Ollie Richard is joining this firm? Take it outside? - Thrilled? - Beyond.
911.
What's your emergency? I'm calling from Ogilvie.
There's a man with a gun and he's shooting people! Okay.
Is anyone hurt? Oh, God.
Oh, God! Oh, God! Ma'am, I need you to calm down.
Oh, my God, he's killing everyone! We're all gonna die! The video doesn't lie.
The defendant, Matthew Gayles, is a cold-blooded killer.
When Matthew Gayles walked onto the campus of Ogilvie University and killed Adrian Shaw, Patrick Wills and Emerson Casey, and left Janice Carroll choking on her own blood, he knew it was wrong; he just didn't care.
He wasn't suffering from any mental disease or defect, he simply wanted revenge.
But don't believe me.
Believe the defendant.
In his own words and I quote "I'm not crazy.
" "They all deserved to die.
" Okay.
Let's be clear.
If your verdict is based solely on the emotion evoked by this case, Matthew Gayles will either die by lethal injection or spend the rest of his life in prison.
There's no way around it, he pulled the trigger.
He killed three people, he wounded a fourth.
But the law is equally clear.
If, at the time he committed this act, he was suffering from a mental defect that prevented him from knowing it was wrong, we cannot hold him accountable.
Now, Ms.
Kepler, as is her prerogative, neglected a few details.
First, at the time of the shooting, Matthew had undiagnosed schizophrenia.
And second, he doesn't remember any of that day because he was in what psychiatrists will call a floridly psychotic state brought on by this.
This is Brian Gayles, Matthew's older brother.
After a drunk driver killed their parents, the boys were sent to separate foster homes.
When Brian was old enough, he adopted Matthew.
See, Brian was more than an older brother, he was Matthew's mother, his father, his entire world.
Until he was hazed to death by Adrian Shaw, Patrick Wills and Emerson Casey, the victims in this case.
As part of joining a fraternity, he was forced to drink, he was subject to waterboarding with alcohol.
He died of alcohol poisoning.
Now, please understand, we are not blaming the victims as strategy.
What we're saying is that because of his sickness, Matthew Gayles is not guilty.
And the way his brother died exacerbated that sickness.
I do not envy you sitting in those 12 seats.
This is a difficult case.
But the question before you is simple.
When Matthew Gayles pulled that trigger, was he a complete, sane, functioning, aware human being or a sick young man? How did the openings go? Um, fine.
- Excuse me? - Excuse me? What was the "um" about? Do you have a problem or? I said "fine.
" Qualified with "um.
" I heard you.
If you have a note, would love to hear it.
I aim to better myself.
Okay.
It left me a little cold.
My concern is it'll leave the jury cold.
Yeah, my opening didn't leave you cold, you walked into the room cold, as you walk through life.
Ollie, that was unnecessary.
She just pissed all over my opening.
You heard her.
- She said "um.
" - It was a calculated "um," - and you know it.
- Maybe you can take her outside.
- Okay, you know what? - Ollie.
I'm in the middle of a trial here.
I don't need his bull, and I especially don't need hers.
- You're second chair.
- I said "um.
" - Ollie, could you come in my office, please? - No! You just want to handle me.
Consider it done.
I'm handled.
Let's go.
We're due back in, um, court.
Look, I know I've asked this before, but are you sure you two aren't sleeping together? I think I'd remember.
Maybe not.
Well, whatever your differences, I don't want them affecting this trial.
If he can't be an adult, then the job falls to you.
Harry's Law 2x08 - Insanity Original air date November 17, 2011 It's called eminent domain.
It's a legal action.
The government can take land to for public welfare.
They can just throw us out? They have to give you just compensation.
Here, they're taking four buildings for economic development.
They're deeming the neighborhood a blighted area.
This is part of the whole gentrification scheme.
You can see what's happened on this block.
But our business is doing fine.
Let me look into it, okay? It's tough to fight these things, I'll be honest, but let me look into it.
It's indecent.
Tell us what you find indecent, Ms.
Harrington.
Well, as I said, my mother was a very active environmentalist, as am I.
I drive an electric car, I eat all organic, as did she.
When she passed, I went to Mr.
Miller's green mortuary to give her a green burial, which is what she wanted.
Okay, and, for the record, tell us exactly what you understand this "green burial" to mean.
It means no casket, no headstone, no embalming.
The body is returned to the earth as is dust to dust.
It's very green, very natural.
And did my client provide this green burial to your satisfaction? Yes, he did.
And you're suing him just the same for fun? I'm not suing for the burial, I'm suing for the vegetables.
- Ah.
- I eat all organic tomatoes every day, which I buy at a local market.
Turns out, his market, his vegetables, fertilized with human remains.
Which I did not know.
Nobody knew.
Basically, for the last year, I've been eating tomatoes fertilized with my mother.
I don't remember hearing shots or feeling pain.
Actually, I remember this warm sensation rush through me.
The next thing I felt was my head hitting the ground.
And somehow I knew.
What did you know, Janice? I knew that I'd never walk down the aisle at my wedding.
I knew that I'd never have children.
I didn't know if I was dying, but in that moment, I knew my life was over.
When did you realize you were shot? A minute or so later, during the chaos, I saw the defendant walking toward me.
He had a gun.
I thought he was going to finish me off.
But he didn't? No.
He knelt down beside me with this eerie calm in his eyes, and he said, "I'm sorry.
" "It wasn't you I was after.
" And he walked away.
First of all, my sympathy for both this terrible tragedy and for having to relive it somewhat now.
Thank you.
Have you ever met my client? Yes.
Would you mind telling us how? Well, I certainly didn't know him during the time of the shooting, but I was having some trouble moving forward with life.
My therapist thought it would be a good idea for me to confront the person responsible, so, I did.
And you reached out to him? Yes.
To well, to find out why he shot me.
I guess I needed to know.
And what did he say? Well, he conveyed his contrition.
And he said he didn't remember the shooting or apologizing to me.
Did you believe him? Yes.
I did.
Did he strike you as genuine? Yes.
Thank you.
If you don't mind, I'd like you to take a look at this on the monitor.
Matthew, why'd you do it? Are you crazy? I'm not crazy.
They all deserved to die.
Does he strike you as being genuine there? Yes.
He does.
How did it go? All in all, pretty well, I thought.
Okay.
Okay, what? Okay, it went well.
Oliver, what exactly went well? Her testimony was riveting.
She was also sympathetic toward our client.
Did you just not hear that? She admitted that he seemed contrite.
That's not necessarily sympathetic.
In fact, she testified that with clarity of mind, he admitted his guilt.
That doesn't exactly help us.
Okay.
You're off this case.
- I want her off.
- Ollie! Clearly she thinks our client is guilty; she has from the start.
Oliver, he is guilty.
And if he's to have any chance at all, he'll need a lawyer who can see I want her off this case and gone from this firm.
- What?! - I'm a partner, you're an associate.
You're out.
Pack up.
You're gone.
That's enough.
Both of you in my office right now.
Harry, she's not helping.
I certainly don't want the jury sensing - her belief that our client is guilty.
- Oh, please.
- You're not being supportive.
- That's bull and you know it.
Oh, hey, I've had it with you two! - She never agrees with anything I say.
- Not true.
- She doesn't respect me as a lawyer.
- I agree with that.
You just think you're the most clever person on earth, - don't you? - No, just more clever than some.
- Take it outside? - Cassie! Harry, he thinks he can just walk into a room, the jury will swoon, and he'll win the case, and it doesn't work like that.
We're arguing insanity when the kid's actions were well thought out, premeditated.
We have experts to testify - Hired guns with the credibility - I want her off! Shut up! Both of you.
All right.
She can't be taken off now, or else the jury will pick up on that.
But, Cassie, you need to be supportive of his case.
He's first chair, he's a partner.
And whether you believe that our client should be acquitted or not, we've been hired to achieve that result.
And we're professionals.
And if you can't be a professional, maybe you should go back to the D.
A.
's office.
And you.
If your own second chair can't support your defense, instead of simply condemning her, it might behoove you to find out why.
The burials were green.
The vegetables were organic.
I just Neglected to tell the community that your two businesses were so intimately connected.
First of all, that was never actually concealed.
It just wasn't advertised.
And second, everyone, including the plaintiff, was told the remains would be used to help promote plant life, including vegetables.
I see.
And were your produce customers told how the vegetables were nourished? No.
- Aren't human remains toxic to plant life? - At first, but over time, they become extraordinary fertilizers.
So after decomposition, we'd transfer the dirt to our garden.
It was as extremely safe as it was eco-friendly.
Tell me, Mr.
Miller, if you're so proud of this, why did you conceal it? I certainly knew people might have a conceptual problem buying produce that was mulched with human remains.
But again, everything was safe, organic and in full compliance with the law.
Come on, can you not imagine the horror of knowing you ate a tomato fertilized with a loved one? That's not at all foreseeable to you that this could cause a relative some distress? I wish the news were better.
It isn't.
There are certain requirements a government must meet to satisfy eminent domain.
In this case, they've met them.
It's his whole life.
I know.
Their trump card here is the economy.
All the government has to say is, "More jobs, jobs, jobs," and they win.
Don't waste your money on legal fees.
Just negotiate the best deal you can, move on to a new location and start again.
They killed my brother.
So I decided I would kill them.
So that's what I did.
You want to arrest me, fine, go ahead.
But all I did was get the justice you refused to.
You had read the defendant his Miranda rights before he made that statement? We started to.
He stopped us.
Said very calmly that he neither needed nor wanted an attorney.
He just wanted people to know the truth.
And what truth was this, detective? Well, that his brother was murdered.
And his death needed to be avenged.
It was an eye for an eye.
And did he seem crazy or psychologically Objection.
The witness lacks foundation to testify as to my client's mental state.
Lay opinion, Your Honor.
I'm not interested in his opinion.
He can testify as to what he observed.
Detective? I observed an individual of sound mind.
- Objection.
The witness - Sustained.
What was the defendant's demeanor, detective, as he made these statements? He was calm.
His voice was deliberate.
He seemed composed and very sure of himself.
And he said his brother's death needed to be avenged.
Yes.
He said "eye for an eye" several times.
Thank you, sir.
Do you have any psychological or medical training, sir? - No.
- Thank you.
Do you have any clinical experience or qualifications that would enable you to diagnose a psychotic state? No, but from what I observed .
.
Thank you.
Do you have any training clinical or academic with regards to psychosis? - No, I do not.
- Thank you.
And is it your testimony today that if someone appeared calm and composed, it would be impossible for them to be suffering from schizophrenia? - That is not my testimony.
- Thank you.
Wasn't the purpose of this for us to talk? Yeah.
I thought we might start with an apology.
Okay.
From you.
That's not the same.
Ollie, I know you're a good lawyer.
I just think, here you seem a little blinded.
- That's all.
- You sure it's me? The Eric Sanders trial that case was impossible, but you were the one who remained positive.
Here, you just seem entrenched, like I don't know it's almost personal.
Is it? Cassie? Is it? Look, the experts are going to be a wash.
We put up ours, they put up theirs.
When the dust settles, three kids are still dead.
The only way we win this is if Matthew himself testifies, and I certainly don't have to tell you how dangerous that is.
Okay.
What else? What do you mean, what else? Why is this case so personal to you? I'm a Columbine kid.
Not the Columbine.
It's a tag they now give to kids who've lived through school shootings.
A week before my summer break, sophomore year, a man came into our cafeteria with an Uzi and just started My best friend, Sara, pulled me under a table.
People I'd been eating with seconds before When he was done, he'd killed nine people, including himself and Sara.
She was just shy of 16.
I still get the shakes when I walk on a campus.
When I look at our client, a part of me still sees a guy with an Uzi.
I'm a little curious why you didn't bring this to our attention.
It's nothing I can't handle.
Cassie, if you look at the client and see a man with an Uzi, that's not exactly handling it.
You had an obligation to make us aware of this.
Can you continue? Yes.
Can you close? Wh what? The fact that you lived this, the fact that you know what it's like No.
You can't make me do that.
You can't.
I won't make you do it.
It's totally your call.
You may be in the best position to help this kid.
Assuming you want to.
That's their bottom line.
Norman.
Clearly, you kept this little secret under wraps because you knew it would freak people out.
If you ever saw what the inside of a slaughterhouse looked like, you'd never eat beef.
If you saw what the inside of farmed salmon look like before they feed them little pellets to dye the meat red This isn't about cows or farmed salmon.
This is about people.
The most beloved people of all the dead ones.
We need to settle.
The thing is, Tommy there's a slew of potential plaintiffs waiting in line to see how this case turns out.
If I offer money, they'll all sue.
And I'll be out of business.
Look, I'll give it the good fight if you want, but summary judgments usually go in favor of the plaintiff as it is.
We're not likely to win here.
And should we lose, we'll need to think about settling.
Dr.
Bonner, could you briefly describe your relationship with my client? I've examined or tested Matthew more than 30 times over the last 16 months.
And what conclusions, if any, have you drawn, Doctor? Simply put, that leading up to this shooting spree, he almost certainly was suffering from psychosis, most likely schizophrenia and some depression, exacerbated by the death of his brother.
Could you break that down - a little bit for us? - Okay.
Symptoms of depression likely began with the death of his parents.
The schizophrenia basically, it's as follows.
After his parents died, he sort of lived by a simple rule: "What would Brian do?" - Brian was his older brother.
- Yes.
Even when they were separated, that was kind of his guide.
"What would Brian do? What would Brian think?" "What would Brian say?" After Brian died, it crossed a line.
He started hearing what Brian would say.
Brian would tell him what to do, what to think.
It was Brian who instructed him to avenge his death.
That falls under either delusional disorder or schizophrenia.
You only treated him after he shot these people.
- That's correct.
- To your knowledge, had he ever told anyone before the shooting that he heard the voice of his deceased older brother? No, but that's not uncommon.
People suffering from this disorder often don't share their delusions with others.
So he knew they were delusions.
That the voices weren't real.
That's not what I said.
He likely knew that others would perceive them as unreal.
Ah.
And he has some acuity as to how others might perceive things, does he? Seems kind of convenient.
He's got these voices to lay a triple murder on.
If your suggestion is that I've been duped, I can tell you Did his older brother, Brian, tell him how to carry out this murder plot with such efficient precision? Seems Brian sure knew what he was talking about, didn't he? - Objection.
- Withdrawn.
This kid was methodical, he was organized.
Are you telling me all those premeditated executive decisions were made by dead Brian, and Matthew was simply following orders? It's not as simple as that and you know it.
No, it seems complicated.
And you say Matthew was controlled by his brother's voice, and that's why he did what he did.
When right after he did it, he went and apologized to Janice Carroll for shooting her.
Doesn't that kind of remorse show that he knew what he did was wrong? Or did Brian whisper in his ear, - Objection! - "Go say sorry"? That only shows he didn't desire to shoot Janice.
He shows no appreciation of the wrongfulness of - shooting the three boys.
- Can you look those parents in the eye and say the killer of their children should be set free? I can say that Matthew is ill.
He needs treatment, not prison.
I bet your doctors will say that, too.
There is no evidence to suggest that the plaintiff consumed any produce actually fertilized with her mother's remains.
But just the possibility that she might have, that's enough to cause emotional distress.
Oh, please, our court dockets are logjammed as it is, that's with actual cases, which take anywhere from three to six years to get litigated.
Now, you want to open them up to include "could haves," "might haves," cases where, gee, "maybe there are grounds.
" - I don't think so.
- She has an actual case now if she has reason to suspect her mother was used - to feed the tomatoes.
- Oh, please.
He at least had a duty to disclose it.
My client made all disclosures as required by law.
Are you suggesting he go beyond that which the law requires? If so, you'd be the first idiot to say that.
The indignity of eating food grown with human remains As opposed to cow crap, pig dung? All right, counsel.
I have to admit I find this whole thing a bit disgusting.
- Why? - Why? Judge, before you heap contempt on my client, consider that at least he is doing something to save this planet, perhaps for your grandchildren, for mine.
What's truly vile are cemeteries.
Give me a break.
It takes an entire full-grown tree to make one casket.
We fill corpses with embalming fluids, noxious carcinogenic chemicals that pollute the groundwater in the time it takes a body to decay.
Millions of acres are lost to cemeteries, trees mowed down, land that can never be developed into anything productive, and they require a lot of maintenance, and that means using fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, chemicals which leach into water supplies, and why? - To honor dead people? - All right.
And cremation is just as bad.
Judge, it burns fossil fuels and releases pollutants into the air.
Mr.
Jefferson, this is not a referendum on cremation or cemeteries.
Well, perhaps it should be.
They're horrible to the environment, potentially life-threatening to us all, and yet who's on trial here? My guy.
My guy, who's doing what he can; he's growing pesticide-free produce in a way that saves the planet, preserves land, protects ecosystems, but hell, let's just sue him anyway just because this woman may have eaten a tomato that may have been fertilized by her decomposed mother, and she feels icky.
How dare you trivialize this? I don't trivialize death, Ms.
Harrington, not your mother's, not anybody's.
But cemeteries cause death, they're toxic, they kill people, they kill the planet, and this is not the guy whose ass should be dragged into court.
All right! Perhaps in furtherance of a toxic-free environment, you might stop talking, Mr.
Jefferson.
I'll take all of this under advisement.
We're adjourned.
I gave it my best shot, Norman.
Thanks, Tommy.
You are a disgrace of a human being, you know that? A disgrace.
Hey.
Hey.
Adam, I just came to say thanks for this case, and last week.
Thank you.
I sort of lost them both.
You tried.
Look, I'll continue to tweak the settlement, squeeze as much as I can.
In the meantime, any idea what you'll do? My father got work at another dry cleaners, - Oh.
- which is good.
I'll find something.
Again, Adam, thank you.
Chunhua, listen, we're looking to hire somebody, both as an assistant and to help manage the shoe store.
I'm not sure that's a good idea.
Why not? You have experience running a small business, which is what we're looking for.
I mean, I know we But I mean, that shouldn't be an issue, right? Well, are you sure you'd be okay with it? It could be weird.
We're both adults.
I'll be fine, I think.
I mean, if you We're both adults.
We need to put him up there.
- It's so dangerous.
- Can you see any other way? Oliver, we don't really know what he's gonna say.
The way I figure, he either comes off as sympathetic, which is good, or crazy, even better.
You give any thought to closing? You really think it's gonna help? Actually, I do.
Okay.
In which case, you should probably take Matthew so you have at least some relationship with the jury when you get up to close.
I don't even feel I know this kid.
None of us really do.
All we know for certain is that he needs help.
It doesn't have to be long, just enough for the jury to get a sense of him.
Okay.
Look at me.
If you can't do it, just say so.
I can do it.
Are you out of your mind!? Harry, we need administrative help, especially in accounting, - Chunhua has - She's your old girlfriend.
And old news.
It's not gonna be a factor.
Of course it's gonna be a factor you slept with her.
Once you sleep with somebody, he or she's a factor for life! You can't unsleep with a person, trust me, I've tried.
People can still be friends after Oh, balls, that never happens.
- Will you listen to me? - No! She's not working here.
You just tell her you made a mistake.
You were thinking with Mr.
Dickie.
Now she'll just have to look someplace else.
I can't unhire her.
Of course you can.
You just tell her you were a dope and now you're over being a dope.
She's not working here.
Hey, Harry! Chunhua.
I just want to thank you.
People aren't hiring in this economy at all.
I was sure I I know that the generosity of this firm starts at the top.
So thank you.
I am so grateful.
Yes.
It's good to have you here.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go pass a kidney stone.
Okay, the first thing I'm gonna ask since we're arguing insanity some people here might wonder whether you know what's going on.
Do you? Yes.
What's going on, Matthew? I'm on trial for shooting those kids.
And do you know what you're on trial for? Murder.
And you never denied shooting them, right? But I deny it's murder.
Murder is when it's unjustified.
They killed my brother.
You loved your brother very much.
You loved your brother very much, didn't you, Matthew? I don't want to talk about my brother.
He's dead.
Okay, let's go back a bit.
Let's talk about your parents.
I don't want to talk about my parents.
Well, that makes my job a little difficult, I have to admit.
'Cause what I'm trying to do here is get the jury to know a little bit more about you.
And from what I know, your brother meant everything to you, except for maybe your parents.
I I don't want to talk about my brother.
My my brother's dead.
Those kids killed him.
That's why I shot them.
That must have been a very hard thing for you to do.
Can you tell us what it felt like to shoot them? Do you remember shooting them, Matthew? Matthew, do you remember shooting those three boys and Janice Carroll? No.
But I I know I did.
I know I did.
Okay.
Can you tell us? I don't want to talk about my brother, okay? He's dead! He's he's dead, and he he doesn't want He doesn't want what? Is he speaking to you right now, Matthew? Matthew? Shut up.
You're you're not to be trusted.
Can I be trusted, Matthew? Does Brian trust me? I'd like to go home now.
Please.
It it's time to go home.
Your Honor, I think we're going to stop here.
Thank you, Matthew.
Just a few questions, Matthew.
In fact, I'll make these yes or no, since I can see this is difficult.
After your brother's death, you met with police officers and detectives to discuss the potential criminal prosecutions for the boys you deemed responsible.
Right? Yes.
And you were very disappointed, then upset, that the boys were not going to be criminally charged.
And about three weeks after this disappointment, you applied for a gun permit, which you did not get because you were only 17.
True? Yes.
Then you procured a gun from an acquaintance.
Then, through social networking and, I guess, your computer skills, you ascertained the class schedules of these boys? - Yes? - Yes.
You further ascertained that they routinely congregated at 11:15 on Wednesdays in front of one of the school's frat houses.
True? Yes.
And you formulated a plan where you would go to that spot at the designated time and shoot them.
Which plan you carried out.
True? Yes.
That's all I have.
The irony of this case doesn't escape me.
The amount of poison that we ingest on a daily basis, and here we have a person making a healthy, natural product, good for us, good for the planet, and he is being sued.
You see, we as a society have a, uh, beloved relationship with the dead.
The reason half of us go to funerals is to pay our respects to people that we couldn't be bothered with while they were living.
Yeah, we like our dead.
We'd kill for our dead.
In fact, it seems we do.
Just in this country alone, every year, we bury 30 million board-feet of hardwoods.
Over a 100,000 tons of bronze, steel, copper, over a million tons of concrete, over a million gallons of formaldehyde.
Every year, we are burying this in our soil.
Not to mention that we cut down trees on over two million acres to make our cemeteries, and then, we blitz all of that with poisonous pesticides.
We kill the planet, we kill each other to honor our dead.
But what we do not do is sprinkle our dead on tomatoes.
Now, Ms.
Harrington, if this case goes before a jury, chances are they're going to hammer the defendant, which is why I'm not going to let it go to a jury.
Now, from what I've heard about your mother, I think she, she might feel honored to be giving back to the earth, and since she's not here, I'm going to say something to you that she might: get over it.
This case is dismissed.
Okay, how much do we love this judge? You saved my business is what you just did.
Thank you, thank you.
He didn't snap.
He was methodical in planning, in preparation, execution.
This was meticulous, careful, premeditated behavior carried out by the defendant to accomplish a revenge murder.
He woke up that morning, checked his computer, made himself breakfast, got dressed, drove to the school, obeyed all the traffic laws on the way over.
Then, after mission accomplished, he's telling doctors that he hears dead people.
Insanity.
I don't doubt that the defendant suffered a terrible tragedy and a lot of pain here.
Many do.
That does not make it okay to take the law into your own hands, go buy a gun, take some target practice, and then exact eye-for-an-eye justice.
That is not who we are, whether you claim you hear voices or not.
Matthew is a killer, but that does not make him a murderer.
We think of insanity as more of a flash thing.
"He lost his mind.
" "He snapped.
" "He just went off the deep end," "started speaking in tongues.
" Much harder for us to see it as something chronic, something even methodical, but that's exactly what happened here.
First, his parents were killed, and then when his brother died Matthew became delusional.
It triggered a psychosis, and ultimately he slipped into a floridly psychotic state, and you saw what happened.
This young man threw his life away.
That's not high-level executive functioning.
That's crazy.
He was on a rampage.
That's not efficient, precision-like behavior.
That's nuts.
You saw him in that video.
You witnessed him in that chair.
He was incapable of acting in his own best interests while testifying.
He seemed a bit of a madman, didn't he? 'Cause that's what he is.
I certainly understand the desire or need to see him jailed.
When I was in high school a man came onto our campus and opened fire, killing nine people, including my best friend, who was sitting next to me.
I still see her face.
And I I still see his.
I know firsthand how difficult it is for us to look beyond our need for retribution, to Matthew Gayles is sick.
I don't want to see him walk the streets any more than you do, but he's ill.
You want to lock him up, okay.
Just put him in a place where he can get help.
Basically, you'll go up and down as needed.
- Okay.
- I would suggest you concentrate on the shoe store first.
We've had some administrative bumps.
There might be some issues with staffing that need working out.
We can talk about that once you get settled.
Okay, you've been officially welcomed.
Not many rules the hours are 8:00 to 6:00.
You'll split 'em between up here and down at the shoe store.
As for dress code, you'll look neat and presentable, as you usually do.
Whatever I say, do, and above all, stay away from Adam's penis.
You got that? Harry, I've been thinking.
Oh, never a good idea.
I think everybody in this office should commit to having a green burial to save the planet.
Oh, forget it.
I don't want to be stuck in the ground.
When I go, I want to be dropped in the ocean.
At least I can feed something.
The ocean, like Osama bin Laden? It's my way of giving back.
Let the sharks have their way with me.
- How was she? - She was great.
- Really? - Couldn't have been better.
She didn't ask the jury to like him, to forgive him, just see that he was ill.
Harry, I didn't appreciate that comment about my penis.
Oh, relax, you should be glad somebody is finally talking about it.
Ollie, the D.
A.
wants to meet.
He pleads to murder, I'll go - Simultaneous.
- Consecutive.
- 60 years? - He gets to live, - which is no guarantee right now.
- Voluntary manslaughter we'll agree to five years in a treatment facility.
- Come on, Kathryn.
- Ten years per count, simultaneous.
Yeah, even if I could sell that to Hosanna, I could never to the public.
I'll give you ten on each, consecutive.
That's my line in the sand.
No! Matthew, I know 30 years seems like a long time.
I'm not going to prison for 30 years; I'd rather die.
That just might be the alternative.
If you're convicted, you very well could be facing lethal injection.
My brother would say "fight this.
" Which you did.
Your brother would also say "save your life.
" Maybe we should get a guardian appointed.
No, if he was deemed competent to stand trial, we won't get a guardian.
It's his call.
I'm not taking 30 years.
Let's just see what the jury says.
Well, they're saying it now.
Jury's back.
Mr.
Foreman, has the jury reached a unanimous verdict? We have, Your Honor.
In the matter of The State of Ohio v.
Matthew Jamison Gayles, on three counts of aggravated murder and one count of attempted murder, we the jury find the defendant Matthew Gayles guilty.
Okay, the defendant will be taken back into custody.
Sentencing is scheduled for next Tuesday at 3:00.
- Let's go.
- Members of the jury, this concludes your service.
You're dismissed with the thanks of the court.
We're adjourned.
Aggravated? All three counts.
Sentencing's next week.
- What are you thinking? - Good chance lethal.
Three basically innocent college kids just mowed down on video.
Look, I, uh First, my condolences.
Second, should he be sentenced to death, you think the kid might consider, you know, a green burial? It's a chance for redemption.
Not the time, Tommy.
How's she doing? Okay, I think.
How are you doing? Okay.
It was nothing we didn't expect, Ollie.
Let's just focus on the sentencing and, uh, at least try to save his life.
For what it's worth, I think you did a great job.
Yeah, well, in the end, it wasn't worth much, was it? Listen, Cassie, I'm no shrink.
Thank God for that.
It just seems to me like you're bottling a lot of stuff up on this one.
This isn't a wave.
You can't just ride it out.
I'm fine.
No, you're not.
Yes, I am.
You had a lousy couple of weeks.
Yes, I have.
This job really, really sucks, and I wish I'd never left the prosecutor's office.
If there's anything you need, you let me know.
Thanks.
Ollie? Maybe a beer.
I adore you.
Don't get me wrong, I do.
But I want to be able to see and feel a future in a relationship.
- Take it outside? - Wait.
Are you two sleeping together? - He'd like to.
- No, I wouldn't.
- Yes, you would.
- No, I wouldn't.
He's gonna be joining.
Ollie Richard is joining this firm? Take it outside? - Thrilled? - Beyond.
911.
What's your emergency? I'm calling from Ogilvie.
There's a man with a gun and he's shooting people! Okay.
Is anyone hurt? Oh, God.
Oh, God! Oh, God! Ma'am, I need you to calm down.
Oh, my God, he's killing everyone! We're all gonna die! The video doesn't lie.
The defendant, Matthew Gayles, is a cold-blooded killer.
When Matthew Gayles walked onto the campus of Ogilvie University and killed Adrian Shaw, Patrick Wills and Emerson Casey, and left Janice Carroll choking on her own blood, he knew it was wrong; he just didn't care.
He wasn't suffering from any mental disease or defect, he simply wanted revenge.
But don't believe me.
Believe the defendant.
In his own words and I quote "I'm not crazy.
" "They all deserved to die.
" Okay.
Let's be clear.
If your verdict is based solely on the emotion evoked by this case, Matthew Gayles will either die by lethal injection or spend the rest of his life in prison.
There's no way around it, he pulled the trigger.
He killed three people, he wounded a fourth.
But the law is equally clear.
If, at the time he committed this act, he was suffering from a mental defect that prevented him from knowing it was wrong, we cannot hold him accountable.
Now, Ms.
Kepler, as is her prerogative, neglected a few details.
First, at the time of the shooting, Matthew had undiagnosed schizophrenia.
And second, he doesn't remember any of that day because he was in what psychiatrists will call a floridly psychotic state brought on by this.
This is Brian Gayles, Matthew's older brother.
After a drunk driver killed their parents, the boys were sent to separate foster homes.
When Brian was old enough, he adopted Matthew.
See, Brian was more than an older brother, he was Matthew's mother, his father, his entire world.
Until he was hazed to death by Adrian Shaw, Patrick Wills and Emerson Casey, the victims in this case.
As part of joining a fraternity, he was forced to drink, he was subject to waterboarding with alcohol.
He died of alcohol poisoning.
Now, please understand, we are not blaming the victims as strategy.
What we're saying is that because of his sickness, Matthew Gayles is not guilty.
And the way his brother died exacerbated that sickness.
I do not envy you sitting in those 12 seats.
This is a difficult case.
But the question before you is simple.
When Matthew Gayles pulled that trigger, was he a complete, sane, functioning, aware human being or a sick young man? How did the openings go? Um, fine.
- Excuse me? - Excuse me? What was the "um" about? Do you have a problem or? I said "fine.
" Qualified with "um.
" I heard you.
If you have a note, would love to hear it.
I aim to better myself.
Okay.
It left me a little cold.
My concern is it'll leave the jury cold.
Yeah, my opening didn't leave you cold, you walked into the room cold, as you walk through life.
Ollie, that was unnecessary.
She just pissed all over my opening.
You heard her.
- She said "um.
" - It was a calculated "um," - and you know it.
- Maybe you can take her outside.
- Okay, you know what? - Ollie.
I'm in the middle of a trial here.
I don't need his bull, and I especially don't need hers.
- You're second chair.
- I said "um.
" - Ollie, could you come in my office, please? - No! You just want to handle me.
Consider it done.
I'm handled.
Let's go.
We're due back in, um, court.
Look, I know I've asked this before, but are you sure you two aren't sleeping together? I think I'd remember.
Maybe not.
Well, whatever your differences, I don't want them affecting this trial.
If he can't be an adult, then the job falls to you.
Harry's Law 2x08 - Insanity Original air date November 17, 2011 It's called eminent domain.
It's a legal action.
The government can take land to for public welfare.
They can just throw us out? They have to give you just compensation.
Here, they're taking four buildings for economic development.
They're deeming the neighborhood a blighted area.
This is part of the whole gentrification scheme.
You can see what's happened on this block.
But our business is doing fine.
Let me look into it, okay? It's tough to fight these things, I'll be honest, but let me look into it.
It's indecent.
Tell us what you find indecent, Ms.
Harrington.
Well, as I said, my mother was a very active environmentalist, as am I.
I drive an electric car, I eat all organic, as did she.
When she passed, I went to Mr.
Miller's green mortuary to give her a green burial, which is what she wanted.
Okay, and, for the record, tell us exactly what you understand this "green burial" to mean.
It means no casket, no headstone, no embalming.
The body is returned to the earth as is dust to dust.
It's very green, very natural.
And did my client provide this green burial to your satisfaction? Yes, he did.
And you're suing him just the same for fun? I'm not suing for the burial, I'm suing for the vegetables.
- Ah.
- I eat all organic tomatoes every day, which I buy at a local market.
Turns out, his market, his vegetables, fertilized with human remains.
Which I did not know.
Nobody knew.
Basically, for the last year, I've been eating tomatoes fertilized with my mother.
I don't remember hearing shots or feeling pain.
Actually, I remember this warm sensation rush through me.
The next thing I felt was my head hitting the ground.
And somehow I knew.
What did you know, Janice? I knew that I'd never walk down the aisle at my wedding.
I knew that I'd never have children.
I didn't know if I was dying, but in that moment, I knew my life was over.
When did you realize you were shot? A minute or so later, during the chaos, I saw the defendant walking toward me.
He had a gun.
I thought he was going to finish me off.
But he didn't? No.
He knelt down beside me with this eerie calm in his eyes, and he said, "I'm sorry.
" "It wasn't you I was after.
" And he walked away.
First of all, my sympathy for both this terrible tragedy and for having to relive it somewhat now.
Thank you.
Have you ever met my client? Yes.
Would you mind telling us how? Well, I certainly didn't know him during the time of the shooting, but I was having some trouble moving forward with life.
My therapist thought it would be a good idea for me to confront the person responsible, so, I did.
And you reached out to him? Yes.
To well, to find out why he shot me.
I guess I needed to know.
And what did he say? Well, he conveyed his contrition.
And he said he didn't remember the shooting or apologizing to me.
Did you believe him? Yes.
I did.
Did he strike you as genuine? Yes.
Thank you.
If you don't mind, I'd like you to take a look at this on the monitor.
Matthew, why'd you do it? Are you crazy? I'm not crazy.
They all deserved to die.
Does he strike you as being genuine there? Yes.
He does.
How did it go? All in all, pretty well, I thought.
Okay.
Okay, what? Okay, it went well.
Oliver, what exactly went well? Her testimony was riveting.
She was also sympathetic toward our client.
Did you just not hear that? She admitted that he seemed contrite.
That's not necessarily sympathetic.
In fact, she testified that with clarity of mind, he admitted his guilt.
That doesn't exactly help us.
Okay.
You're off this case.
- I want her off.
- Ollie! Clearly she thinks our client is guilty; she has from the start.
Oliver, he is guilty.
And if he's to have any chance at all, he'll need a lawyer who can see I want her off this case and gone from this firm.
- What?! - I'm a partner, you're an associate.
You're out.
Pack up.
You're gone.
That's enough.
Both of you in my office right now.
Harry, she's not helping.
I certainly don't want the jury sensing - her belief that our client is guilty.
- Oh, please.
- You're not being supportive.
- That's bull and you know it.
Oh, hey, I've had it with you two! - She never agrees with anything I say.
- Not true.
- She doesn't respect me as a lawyer.
- I agree with that.
You just think you're the most clever person on earth, - don't you? - No, just more clever than some.
- Take it outside? - Cassie! Harry, he thinks he can just walk into a room, the jury will swoon, and he'll win the case, and it doesn't work like that.
We're arguing insanity when the kid's actions were well thought out, premeditated.
We have experts to testify - Hired guns with the credibility - I want her off! Shut up! Both of you.
All right.
She can't be taken off now, or else the jury will pick up on that.
But, Cassie, you need to be supportive of his case.
He's first chair, he's a partner.
And whether you believe that our client should be acquitted or not, we've been hired to achieve that result.
And we're professionals.
And if you can't be a professional, maybe you should go back to the D.
A.
's office.
And you.
If your own second chair can't support your defense, instead of simply condemning her, it might behoove you to find out why.
The burials were green.
The vegetables were organic.
I just Neglected to tell the community that your two businesses were so intimately connected.
First of all, that was never actually concealed.
It just wasn't advertised.
And second, everyone, including the plaintiff, was told the remains would be used to help promote plant life, including vegetables.
I see.
And were your produce customers told how the vegetables were nourished? No.
- Aren't human remains toxic to plant life? - At first, but over time, they become extraordinary fertilizers.
So after decomposition, we'd transfer the dirt to our garden.
It was as extremely safe as it was eco-friendly.
Tell me, Mr.
Miller, if you're so proud of this, why did you conceal it? I certainly knew people might have a conceptual problem buying produce that was mulched with human remains.
But again, everything was safe, organic and in full compliance with the law.
Come on, can you not imagine the horror of knowing you ate a tomato fertilized with a loved one? That's not at all foreseeable to you that this could cause a relative some distress? I wish the news were better.
It isn't.
There are certain requirements a government must meet to satisfy eminent domain.
In this case, they've met them.
It's his whole life.
I know.
Their trump card here is the economy.
All the government has to say is, "More jobs, jobs, jobs," and they win.
Don't waste your money on legal fees.
Just negotiate the best deal you can, move on to a new location and start again.
They killed my brother.
So I decided I would kill them.
So that's what I did.
You want to arrest me, fine, go ahead.
But all I did was get the justice you refused to.
You had read the defendant his Miranda rights before he made that statement? We started to.
He stopped us.
Said very calmly that he neither needed nor wanted an attorney.
He just wanted people to know the truth.
And what truth was this, detective? Well, that his brother was murdered.
And his death needed to be avenged.
It was an eye for an eye.
And did he seem crazy or psychologically Objection.
The witness lacks foundation to testify as to my client's mental state.
Lay opinion, Your Honor.
I'm not interested in his opinion.
He can testify as to what he observed.
Detective? I observed an individual of sound mind.
- Objection.
The witness - Sustained.
What was the defendant's demeanor, detective, as he made these statements? He was calm.
His voice was deliberate.
He seemed composed and very sure of himself.
And he said his brother's death needed to be avenged.
Yes.
He said "eye for an eye" several times.
Thank you, sir.
Do you have any psychological or medical training, sir? - No.
- Thank you.
Do you have any clinical experience or qualifications that would enable you to diagnose a psychotic state? No, but from what I observed .
.
Thank you.
Do you have any training clinical or academic with regards to psychosis? - No, I do not.
- Thank you.
And is it your testimony today that if someone appeared calm and composed, it would be impossible for them to be suffering from schizophrenia? - That is not my testimony.
- Thank you.
Wasn't the purpose of this for us to talk? Yeah.
I thought we might start with an apology.
Okay.
From you.
That's not the same.
Ollie, I know you're a good lawyer.
I just think, here you seem a little blinded.
- That's all.
- You sure it's me? The Eric Sanders trial that case was impossible, but you were the one who remained positive.
Here, you just seem entrenched, like I don't know it's almost personal.
Is it? Cassie? Is it? Look, the experts are going to be a wash.
We put up ours, they put up theirs.
When the dust settles, three kids are still dead.
The only way we win this is if Matthew himself testifies, and I certainly don't have to tell you how dangerous that is.
Okay.
What else? What do you mean, what else? Why is this case so personal to you? I'm a Columbine kid.
Not the Columbine.
It's a tag they now give to kids who've lived through school shootings.
A week before my summer break, sophomore year, a man came into our cafeteria with an Uzi and just started My best friend, Sara, pulled me under a table.
People I'd been eating with seconds before When he was done, he'd killed nine people, including himself and Sara.
She was just shy of 16.
I still get the shakes when I walk on a campus.
When I look at our client, a part of me still sees a guy with an Uzi.
I'm a little curious why you didn't bring this to our attention.
It's nothing I can't handle.
Cassie, if you look at the client and see a man with an Uzi, that's not exactly handling it.
You had an obligation to make us aware of this.
Can you continue? Yes.
Can you close? Wh what? The fact that you lived this, the fact that you know what it's like No.
You can't make me do that.
You can't.
I won't make you do it.
It's totally your call.
You may be in the best position to help this kid.
Assuming you want to.
That's their bottom line.
Norman.
Clearly, you kept this little secret under wraps because you knew it would freak people out.
If you ever saw what the inside of a slaughterhouse looked like, you'd never eat beef.
If you saw what the inside of farmed salmon look like before they feed them little pellets to dye the meat red This isn't about cows or farmed salmon.
This is about people.
The most beloved people of all the dead ones.
We need to settle.
The thing is, Tommy there's a slew of potential plaintiffs waiting in line to see how this case turns out.
If I offer money, they'll all sue.
And I'll be out of business.
Look, I'll give it the good fight if you want, but summary judgments usually go in favor of the plaintiff as it is.
We're not likely to win here.
And should we lose, we'll need to think about settling.
Dr.
Bonner, could you briefly describe your relationship with my client? I've examined or tested Matthew more than 30 times over the last 16 months.
And what conclusions, if any, have you drawn, Doctor? Simply put, that leading up to this shooting spree, he almost certainly was suffering from psychosis, most likely schizophrenia and some depression, exacerbated by the death of his brother.
Could you break that down - a little bit for us? - Okay.
Symptoms of depression likely began with the death of his parents.
The schizophrenia basically, it's as follows.
After his parents died, he sort of lived by a simple rule: "What would Brian do?" - Brian was his older brother.
- Yes.
Even when they were separated, that was kind of his guide.
"What would Brian do? What would Brian think?" "What would Brian say?" After Brian died, it crossed a line.
He started hearing what Brian would say.
Brian would tell him what to do, what to think.
It was Brian who instructed him to avenge his death.
That falls under either delusional disorder or schizophrenia.
You only treated him after he shot these people.
- That's correct.
- To your knowledge, had he ever told anyone before the shooting that he heard the voice of his deceased older brother? No, but that's not uncommon.
People suffering from this disorder often don't share their delusions with others.
So he knew they were delusions.
That the voices weren't real.
That's not what I said.
He likely knew that others would perceive them as unreal.
Ah.
And he has some acuity as to how others might perceive things, does he? Seems kind of convenient.
He's got these voices to lay a triple murder on.
If your suggestion is that I've been duped, I can tell you Did his older brother, Brian, tell him how to carry out this murder plot with such efficient precision? Seems Brian sure knew what he was talking about, didn't he? - Objection.
- Withdrawn.
This kid was methodical, he was organized.
Are you telling me all those premeditated executive decisions were made by dead Brian, and Matthew was simply following orders? It's not as simple as that and you know it.
No, it seems complicated.
And you say Matthew was controlled by his brother's voice, and that's why he did what he did.
When right after he did it, he went and apologized to Janice Carroll for shooting her.
Doesn't that kind of remorse show that he knew what he did was wrong? Or did Brian whisper in his ear, - Objection! - "Go say sorry"? That only shows he didn't desire to shoot Janice.
He shows no appreciation of the wrongfulness of - shooting the three boys.
- Can you look those parents in the eye and say the killer of their children should be set free? I can say that Matthew is ill.
He needs treatment, not prison.
I bet your doctors will say that, too.
There is no evidence to suggest that the plaintiff consumed any produce actually fertilized with her mother's remains.
But just the possibility that she might have, that's enough to cause emotional distress.
Oh, please, our court dockets are logjammed as it is, that's with actual cases, which take anywhere from three to six years to get litigated.
Now, you want to open them up to include "could haves," "might haves," cases where, gee, "maybe there are grounds.
" - I don't think so.
- She has an actual case now if she has reason to suspect her mother was used - to feed the tomatoes.
- Oh, please.
He at least had a duty to disclose it.
My client made all disclosures as required by law.
Are you suggesting he go beyond that which the law requires? If so, you'd be the first idiot to say that.
The indignity of eating food grown with human remains As opposed to cow crap, pig dung? All right, counsel.
I have to admit I find this whole thing a bit disgusting.
- Why? - Why? Judge, before you heap contempt on my client, consider that at least he is doing something to save this planet, perhaps for your grandchildren, for mine.
What's truly vile are cemeteries.
Give me a break.
It takes an entire full-grown tree to make one casket.
We fill corpses with embalming fluids, noxious carcinogenic chemicals that pollute the groundwater in the time it takes a body to decay.
Millions of acres are lost to cemeteries, trees mowed down, land that can never be developed into anything productive, and they require a lot of maintenance, and that means using fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, chemicals which leach into water supplies, and why? - To honor dead people? - All right.
And cremation is just as bad.
Judge, it burns fossil fuels and releases pollutants into the air.
Mr.
Jefferson, this is not a referendum on cremation or cemeteries.
Well, perhaps it should be.
They're horrible to the environment, potentially life-threatening to us all, and yet who's on trial here? My guy.
My guy, who's doing what he can; he's growing pesticide-free produce in a way that saves the planet, preserves land, protects ecosystems, but hell, let's just sue him anyway just because this woman may have eaten a tomato that may have been fertilized by her decomposed mother, and she feels icky.
How dare you trivialize this? I don't trivialize death, Ms.
Harrington, not your mother's, not anybody's.
But cemeteries cause death, they're toxic, they kill people, they kill the planet, and this is not the guy whose ass should be dragged into court.
All right! Perhaps in furtherance of a toxic-free environment, you might stop talking, Mr.
Jefferson.
I'll take all of this under advisement.
We're adjourned.
I gave it my best shot, Norman.
Thanks, Tommy.
You are a disgrace of a human being, you know that? A disgrace.
Hey.
Hey.
Adam, I just came to say thanks for this case, and last week.
Thank you.
I sort of lost them both.
You tried.
Look, I'll continue to tweak the settlement, squeeze as much as I can.
In the meantime, any idea what you'll do? My father got work at another dry cleaners, - Oh.
- which is good.
I'll find something.
Again, Adam, thank you.
Chunhua, listen, we're looking to hire somebody, both as an assistant and to help manage the shoe store.
I'm not sure that's a good idea.
Why not? You have experience running a small business, which is what we're looking for.
I mean, I know we But I mean, that shouldn't be an issue, right? Well, are you sure you'd be okay with it? It could be weird.
We're both adults.
I'll be fine, I think.
I mean, if you We're both adults.
We need to put him up there.
- It's so dangerous.
- Can you see any other way? Oliver, we don't really know what he's gonna say.
The way I figure, he either comes off as sympathetic, which is good, or crazy, even better.
You give any thought to closing? You really think it's gonna help? Actually, I do.
Okay.
In which case, you should probably take Matthew so you have at least some relationship with the jury when you get up to close.
I don't even feel I know this kid.
None of us really do.
All we know for certain is that he needs help.
It doesn't have to be long, just enough for the jury to get a sense of him.
Okay.
Look at me.
If you can't do it, just say so.
I can do it.
Are you out of your mind!? Harry, we need administrative help, especially in accounting, - Chunhua has - She's your old girlfriend.
And old news.
It's not gonna be a factor.
Of course it's gonna be a factor you slept with her.
Once you sleep with somebody, he or she's a factor for life! You can't unsleep with a person, trust me, I've tried.
People can still be friends after Oh, balls, that never happens.
- Will you listen to me? - No! She's not working here.
You just tell her you made a mistake.
You were thinking with Mr.
Dickie.
Now she'll just have to look someplace else.
I can't unhire her.
Of course you can.
You just tell her you were a dope and now you're over being a dope.
She's not working here.
Hey, Harry! Chunhua.
I just want to thank you.
People aren't hiring in this economy at all.
I was sure I I know that the generosity of this firm starts at the top.
So thank you.
I am so grateful.
Yes.
It's good to have you here.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go pass a kidney stone.
Okay, the first thing I'm gonna ask since we're arguing insanity some people here might wonder whether you know what's going on.
Do you? Yes.
What's going on, Matthew? I'm on trial for shooting those kids.
And do you know what you're on trial for? Murder.
And you never denied shooting them, right? But I deny it's murder.
Murder is when it's unjustified.
They killed my brother.
You loved your brother very much.
You loved your brother very much, didn't you, Matthew? I don't want to talk about my brother.
He's dead.
Okay, let's go back a bit.
Let's talk about your parents.
I don't want to talk about my parents.
Well, that makes my job a little difficult, I have to admit.
'Cause what I'm trying to do here is get the jury to know a little bit more about you.
And from what I know, your brother meant everything to you, except for maybe your parents.
I I don't want to talk about my brother.
My my brother's dead.
Those kids killed him.
That's why I shot them.
That must have been a very hard thing for you to do.
Can you tell us what it felt like to shoot them? Do you remember shooting them, Matthew? Matthew, do you remember shooting those three boys and Janice Carroll? No.
But I I know I did.
I know I did.
Okay.
Can you tell us? I don't want to talk about my brother, okay? He's dead! He's he's dead, and he he doesn't want He doesn't want what? Is he speaking to you right now, Matthew? Matthew? Shut up.
You're you're not to be trusted.
Can I be trusted, Matthew? Does Brian trust me? I'd like to go home now.
Please.
It it's time to go home.
Your Honor, I think we're going to stop here.
Thank you, Matthew.
Just a few questions, Matthew.
In fact, I'll make these yes or no, since I can see this is difficult.
After your brother's death, you met with police officers and detectives to discuss the potential criminal prosecutions for the boys you deemed responsible.
Right? Yes.
And you were very disappointed, then upset, that the boys were not going to be criminally charged.
And about three weeks after this disappointment, you applied for a gun permit, which you did not get because you were only 17.
True? Yes.
Then you procured a gun from an acquaintance.
Then, through social networking and, I guess, your computer skills, you ascertained the class schedules of these boys? - Yes? - Yes.
You further ascertained that they routinely congregated at 11:15 on Wednesdays in front of one of the school's frat houses.
True? Yes.
And you formulated a plan where you would go to that spot at the designated time and shoot them.
Which plan you carried out.
True? Yes.
That's all I have.
The irony of this case doesn't escape me.
The amount of poison that we ingest on a daily basis, and here we have a person making a healthy, natural product, good for us, good for the planet, and he is being sued.
You see, we as a society have a, uh, beloved relationship with the dead.
The reason half of us go to funerals is to pay our respects to people that we couldn't be bothered with while they were living.
Yeah, we like our dead.
We'd kill for our dead.
In fact, it seems we do.
Just in this country alone, every year, we bury 30 million board-feet of hardwoods.
Over a 100,000 tons of bronze, steel, copper, over a million tons of concrete, over a million gallons of formaldehyde.
Every year, we are burying this in our soil.
Not to mention that we cut down trees on over two million acres to make our cemeteries, and then, we blitz all of that with poisonous pesticides.
We kill the planet, we kill each other to honor our dead.
But what we do not do is sprinkle our dead on tomatoes.
Now, Ms.
Harrington, if this case goes before a jury, chances are they're going to hammer the defendant, which is why I'm not going to let it go to a jury.
Now, from what I've heard about your mother, I think she, she might feel honored to be giving back to the earth, and since she's not here, I'm going to say something to you that she might: get over it.
This case is dismissed.
Okay, how much do we love this judge? You saved my business is what you just did.
Thank you, thank you.
He didn't snap.
He was methodical in planning, in preparation, execution.
This was meticulous, careful, premeditated behavior carried out by the defendant to accomplish a revenge murder.
He woke up that morning, checked his computer, made himself breakfast, got dressed, drove to the school, obeyed all the traffic laws on the way over.
Then, after mission accomplished, he's telling doctors that he hears dead people.
Insanity.
I don't doubt that the defendant suffered a terrible tragedy and a lot of pain here.
Many do.
That does not make it okay to take the law into your own hands, go buy a gun, take some target practice, and then exact eye-for-an-eye justice.
That is not who we are, whether you claim you hear voices or not.
Matthew is a killer, but that does not make him a murderer.
We think of insanity as more of a flash thing.
"He lost his mind.
" "He snapped.
" "He just went off the deep end," "started speaking in tongues.
" Much harder for us to see it as something chronic, something even methodical, but that's exactly what happened here.
First, his parents were killed, and then when his brother died Matthew became delusional.
It triggered a psychosis, and ultimately he slipped into a floridly psychotic state, and you saw what happened.
This young man threw his life away.
That's not high-level executive functioning.
That's crazy.
He was on a rampage.
That's not efficient, precision-like behavior.
That's nuts.
You saw him in that video.
You witnessed him in that chair.
He was incapable of acting in his own best interests while testifying.
He seemed a bit of a madman, didn't he? 'Cause that's what he is.
I certainly understand the desire or need to see him jailed.
When I was in high school a man came onto our campus and opened fire, killing nine people, including my best friend, who was sitting next to me.
I still see her face.
And I I still see his.
I know firsthand how difficult it is for us to look beyond our need for retribution, to Matthew Gayles is sick.
I don't want to see him walk the streets any more than you do, but he's ill.
You want to lock him up, okay.
Just put him in a place where he can get help.
Basically, you'll go up and down as needed.
- Okay.
- I would suggest you concentrate on the shoe store first.
We've had some administrative bumps.
There might be some issues with staffing that need working out.
We can talk about that once you get settled.
Okay, you've been officially welcomed.
Not many rules the hours are 8:00 to 6:00.
You'll split 'em between up here and down at the shoe store.
As for dress code, you'll look neat and presentable, as you usually do.
Whatever I say, do, and above all, stay away from Adam's penis.
You got that? Harry, I've been thinking.
Oh, never a good idea.
I think everybody in this office should commit to having a green burial to save the planet.
Oh, forget it.
I don't want to be stuck in the ground.
When I go, I want to be dropped in the ocean.
At least I can feed something.
The ocean, like Osama bin Laden? It's my way of giving back.
Let the sharks have their way with me.
- How was she? - She was great.
- Really? - Couldn't have been better.
She didn't ask the jury to like him, to forgive him, just see that he was ill.
Harry, I didn't appreciate that comment about my penis.
Oh, relax, you should be glad somebody is finally talking about it.
Ollie, the D.
A.
wants to meet.
He pleads to murder, I'll go - Simultaneous.
- Consecutive.
- 60 years? - He gets to live, - which is no guarantee right now.
- Voluntary manslaughter we'll agree to five years in a treatment facility.
- Come on, Kathryn.
- Ten years per count, simultaneous.
Yeah, even if I could sell that to Hosanna, I could never to the public.
I'll give you ten on each, consecutive.
That's my line in the sand.
No! Matthew, I know 30 years seems like a long time.
I'm not going to prison for 30 years; I'd rather die.
That just might be the alternative.
If you're convicted, you very well could be facing lethal injection.
My brother would say "fight this.
" Which you did.
Your brother would also say "save your life.
" Maybe we should get a guardian appointed.
No, if he was deemed competent to stand trial, we won't get a guardian.
It's his call.
I'm not taking 30 years.
Let's just see what the jury says.
Well, they're saying it now.
Jury's back.
Mr.
Foreman, has the jury reached a unanimous verdict? We have, Your Honor.
In the matter of The State of Ohio v.
Matthew Jamison Gayles, on three counts of aggravated murder and one count of attempted murder, we the jury find the defendant Matthew Gayles guilty.
Okay, the defendant will be taken back into custody.
Sentencing is scheduled for next Tuesday at 3:00.
- Let's go.
- Members of the jury, this concludes your service.
You're dismissed with the thanks of the court.
We're adjourned.
Aggravated? All three counts.
Sentencing's next week.
- What are you thinking? - Good chance lethal.
Three basically innocent college kids just mowed down on video.
Look, I, uh First, my condolences.
Second, should he be sentenced to death, you think the kid might consider, you know, a green burial? It's a chance for redemption.
Not the time, Tommy.
How's she doing? Okay, I think.
How are you doing? Okay.
It was nothing we didn't expect, Ollie.
Let's just focus on the sentencing and, uh, at least try to save his life.
For what it's worth, I think you did a great job.
Yeah, well, in the end, it wasn't worth much, was it? Listen, Cassie, I'm no shrink.
Thank God for that.
It just seems to me like you're bottling a lot of stuff up on this one.
This isn't a wave.
You can't just ride it out.
I'm fine.
No, you're not.
Yes, I am.
You had a lousy couple of weeks.
Yes, I have.
This job really, really sucks, and I wish I'd never left the prosecutor's office.
If there's anything you need, you let me know.
Thanks.
Ollie? Maybe a beer.