Bull (2016) s03e21 Episode Script

1 [THUNDER RUMBLING.]
[OVERLAPPING CHATTER.]
NEWSMAN: We interrupt this episode of Big Brother to bring you a special bulletin from the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service has just issued an Emergency Hurricane Update for Long Island, Bronx County, and portions of Southern Connecticut.
Hurricane Nolan, a Category 4 hurricane, appears to be changing course and moving swiftly to the north.
As a result, the governor has extended the mandatory evacuation zone.
People should seek shelter and expect wind speeds of up to 150 [ALARM BEEPING.]
[CLACK, WHIRRING.]
RALPH: Okay.
That's it for rec time.
Everybody back to your cells for count.
[THUNDER RUMBLING.]
Boss man, how bad is a Category 4? Say something, will you? Is there a plan? How come we're not hearing nothing about a plan? Don't you walk away from me.
[INMATES SHOUTING.]
[SHOUTING QUIETS.]
Gentlemen, it's wind, it's rain, it's lightning and thunder.
It's nothing you haven't seen before.
I just need everybody to stay calm and stay visible.
We're all gonna be just fine.
Just let me do my job.
[LOCK BUZZES.]
Paco, you fill in headquarters on the new weather situation? They give you any new orders? No, man.
Landlines must be down or something.
And none of these bigwigs gave you a cell number, huh? [THUNDER RUMBLING.]
So you haven't spoken to the warden? Captain Price? All I'm getting is-is dial tones and static.
And by the way, you left your cell phone here, and it's been buzzing nonstop.
Damn.
My wife.
Hey, Ralph, been trying to get the count from C block, but there's no one on C block.
What do you mean, no one's on C block? No guards.
They're not there.
Just guys acting dumb in their cells.
Sammy and the others must've bailed or something.
What? They just left? Hey, guys, it's bad out there, okay? Like, our families, man.
And plus, I just read on my phone - it-it's mandatory evacuation now.
- Mandatory? Come on.
I'm not just gonna sit here for 15 bucks an hour while my family gets hit by a hurricane.
My mom's on oxygen.
She can't move herself.
Wh what are you guys gonna do? You gonna stick? Stick? It's a mandatory evacuation.
I'm sorry, man.
I'm getting the hell out of here.
I know you're the highest ranking guy, but you should, too.
[EXHALES.]
INMATE: Hey! Our cell is filling up with water here! I don't think anybody's here.
I think all the guards left.
You might want to get up on my bunk with me.
[INMATES SHOUTING.]
[ELEVATOR BELL CHIMES.]
Dr.
Bull? Can I talk to you? My brother-in-law, Ralph, is was a prison guard at a private prison in the Bronx.
Blackwood.
The prison that's been in the news a lot lately.
Where the two men died, drowned, and all the prisoners were left without food and water and electricity for three days.
Your brother-in-law was one of the men one of the prison guards who left during the hurricane? He stayed as long as he could.
He was the highest ranking corrections officer there at the time.
The police came to the house last night my house, my apartment because that's where everyone was staying since their house was destroyed by the storm, and took him into custody, in front of his wife my sister and his two children.
They want to charge him with two counts of manslaughter.
[SIGHS.]
I'm sorry.
I don't know who else to talk to.
My sister was home alone with my niece and nephew, and Ralph had the only car, and she's pregnant, and a tree fell on the house, and the roof was about to collapse.
Sis, have you eaten? Yes, I've eaten.
Did you not see all the empty slots in the vending machine out in the hall? I'm worried about you.
That's good.
I'm worried about me, too.
This is my baby sister, Kristen.
This is my boss, Dr.
Bull, and this is Mr.
Colón, Ralph's lawyer for today.
Say thank you, Kris.
This is a big damn deal.
Thank you.
Is-is it okay if I sit? Absolutely.
Why don't we all sit.
They know we have no money, right? Not here, not now.
Let's not worry about that just yet.
Right now, our focus should be on getting your husband out on bail.
BAILIFF: Case number 44340.
Ralph, for God's sakes, are you okay? I'm good.
Is-is this you? I'm Dr.
Jason Bull.
This is Benjamin Colón.
He'll be your attorney.
Now let's see if we can get you out of these cuffs.
That would be great.
Normally, I'm the guy with the keys.
They had you in protective custody, I hope? Yeah, solitary.
Thankfully, nobody thought it'd be a good idea to put a prison guard in with the general population.
It's amazing what just 16 hours in a concrete box can do to your head.
Poor guy.
If we lose this, they're not gonna keep him in solitary forever.
He won't last 20 minutes outside of it.
Well, then let's not lose this.
[EXHALES.]
Okay, so now that you're out on bail, the hard work begins.
We have to prepare for trial.
Okay.
So how does a 28-year-old corrections officer end up being in charge of an entire prison during a hurricane? Well, uh, normally, Warden Hewitt calls the shots, but he wasn't there when the storm turned, so corporate decided we should just shelter in place.
And, usually, when the warden is gone, Captain Price gives the orders, but when the hurricane was upgraded to a Category 4, she was given permission to leave.
I think she has a house down the shore, she-she wanted to board it up or something.
But you were next in the chain of command? Yes, sir.
I was the ranking C.
O.
on duty.
Had the most years on the job, which is, like, four.
And at that point, there were still enough guards for an operational crew, so no big deal, but then the storm got worse, people started jumping ship, and And then you jumped ship.
I know how it looks, but my wife is pregnant.
A tree fell on our house.
I had the only car.
And, besides, the plan was, I was gonna run home, get my wife and kids to safety, and then go back.
I mean, that-that was the plan.
I was gonna be gone maybe, like, two, three hours.
But then trees started coming down and power lines started coming down and the road was flooded and you couldn't get back.
Mm.
Was that really your only option? Wasn't there someone else that could help your wife? A friend? A neighbor? Well the-the folks next door were already gone.
They're the only ones we really know, the only ones whose number we have.
And it's not like Kristen could go door to door in weather like that.
She has preeclampsia.
I mean, she could've had a seizure.
My kids are only eight and five.
Look, they were stranded.
If there was a better option, I didn't see it.
But the police report said you weren't the one who actually ended up evacuating your family.
No.
I-I mean, with the-the trees and-and the road closures, by the time I got back to the house, they weren't there.
And Kristen's phone had died.
She left me a note saying that a volunteer rescue van had come by and-and taken them to a motel.
And I swear, the second I knew they were safe, I tried to get back to work.
But the rain the-the water just rose too fast.
The-the road back to the prison was blocked.
I-I-I called corporate, the warden, 911, everyone I could think of.
There-there was nothing anyone could do.
And I read that, because the county prioritized evacuating hospitals and nursing homes, the inmates were stranded for three days.
BULL: We sympathize with you, Ralph, but let me tell you how it's gonna go.
We are gonna get into court and the attorney for the state is gonna say it was reckless of you to leave the prison, and that your recklessness is the only reason those two men are dead today.
I know that's what it looks like, but here's the thing: the prison has a brand-new roof.
They put in new pumps and a brand new generator last year.
Things my crappy little house doesn't have.
I thought those men were gonna be safe.
So you're saying you believed the prisoners were safe, but your family was in danger? Well, sounds to me like he left that prison to prevent a greater harm.
Where is everybody? Looks to me like almost half the jury pool is a no-show.
Probably at home still trying to chop down trees or shovel mud out of their basement.
- Great.
- Those no-shows? Those are exactly the kind of people we could use - on this jury.
- How do you mean? Well, they clearly think dealing with their family or their property in the aftermath of the storm is more important than doing their civic duty.
Basically making the same choice Ralph did.
Bingo.
If only they were here.
BAILIFF: All rise.
Ones that did show up dedicated bunch of rule-followers and they are gonna have a very hard time getting past the fact that Ralph broke the rules when he left his post.
BAILIFF: The Honorable Judge Elsa Maynard presiding.
Before we begin with today's proceedings, can I get a show of hands of anyone personally affected by the storm who feels they would be unduly burdened by serving on this jury? MAYNARD: You are all excused.
The court thanks you for your service.
And there goes anyone with an emotional connection to the storm's devastation.
That's great.
We're starting voir dire with less than half the options we usually have.
- [CHILDREN BABBLING.]
- Theo.
[LAUGHS.]
I love you, but I need this leg, bud.
Hannah, why don't you take the boys in the other room before Aunt Taylor kicks us out on the street? [CHILDREN LAUGHING.]
Dr.
Bull and Mr.
Colón need me to go through your finances.
What? Why? Like, our checking and savings? I mean, what does that have to do with Ralph's case? Well, we're telling the jury Ralph had no choice but to leave his job to help you.
So we're pretty sure the other side is gonna say Ralph should have evacuated you guys earlier, when it was still a voluntary evacuation.
Before he had to go to work, so we want to be able to say "Hey, this guy's family doesn't have the money "to pay for hotels or taxis "in anticipation of a hurricane that might not even show up.
" Okay.
I get it, um but I have to talk to Ralph 'cause it's his money, too.
Of course.
What? [VOICE BREAKING.]
: I don't know, just hormones.
I'm overwhelmed.
Come here.
It's gonna be okay.
MONROE: So Warden Hewitt.
Because there were no employees present to move the prisoners to safe and secure areas when parts of the prison began to flood, what happened? Unfortunately, two prisoners drowned.
MONROE: I have no further questions at this time.
[CLEARS THROAT.]
BENNY: Good afternoon, Warden.
Now, Blackwood is a private, medium-security facility.
And is it policy for a lone guard to move - more than one inmate at a time? - No.
Our guards only carry nonlethal weapons, so if a cell needs to be emptied, we require that there is at least one guard for each inmate.
One guard for each inmate.
Now, the police report states that seven cells on the first floor of the prison flooded.
22 men.
Now I'm guessing in the case of a flood, you'd need to move these men to the highest floor possible.
The third floor.
Now, how long do you think it would take for one guard to move these 22 inmates? One inmate at a time? A single man, by himself? That's what I'm asking.
I'm guessing eight minutes.
Objection.
Speculation.
BENNY: Your Honor, this is not speculation.
I'm asking the man whose job description is the "creation and implementation of the safety protocols.
" How they work, and how long they take to execute.
If we can't ask him, then who do we ask? Overruled.
BENNY: Thank you, Your Honor.
So, if it takes eight minutes to move a single prisoner from the first floor to the third floor, and there are 22 men, we would be talking about almost three hours to move all those men.
And what if Ralph tried to do it faster? By emptying a whole cell at once.
Two men, three men, four men.
Would that have been a safe option? No.
And why is that? Because a single guard could easily be overpowered when there are multiple inmates.
"Overpowered"? Well, that sounds dangerous.
So, we are back to our three-hour estimate.
Now, do you know approximately what time Ralph left the prison? Our video shows him leaving a little after 10:00 p.
m.
And do you know what time those two men perished in their cells? Again, the video seems to suggest it was a little after 11:00.
So about an hour later.
So, even if he had stayed there right? Even if he had ignored his pregnant wife's plea, who was convinced their house was going to fall on her and her two children at any second, there's a very good possibility that Ralph would have been moving some other prisoner and would have not discovered the dead inmates until an hour or two later.
Maybe.
Or maybe he would have heard their cries for help.
And been able to do something to rescue them before it was too late.
BENNY: You're right.
That's a definite maybe.
Which reminds me.
Where were you in relation to the prison when the storm hit? Driving my wife to her folks' place in Philly.
Ah.
So the warden gets to drive his family to a safe, dry place.
But a 28-year-old prison guard can't do the same.
Interesting.
Objection! Inflammatory.
Warden Hewitt is not - on trial here.
- MAYNARD: I am way ahead of you, Mr.
Monroe.
The jury will disregard Mr.
Colón's assertion.
[WHISPERS.]
: No, they won't.
CARTER: Once the generator died, it was pitch-black in there.
I couldn't see my own hand in front of my face.
And then the water started coming up fast.
It was cold.
And it stank like I don't know what.
Everyone was panicking, climbing up to the top bunks to stay out of it.
That must have been when Moose fell.
Hit his head.
And by Moose, you mean your cellmate? Inmate Pawlowski, one of the deceased? That's right.
I didn't see it.
None of us did, but he must've gone under.
With everybody screaming none of us even noticed that he wasn't saying nothing.
And then the next time I did see him, it was when the sun came up.
And he was just laying there.
Floating.
Face down.
All puffy, kind of purple.
I know Moose wasn't no saint.
But he was a man, you know? MARISSA [OVER EAR BUD.]
: Jury is hanging on this guy's every word.
Why doesn't Benny object, do something to break the spell? Because as you just pointed out, the jury is busy empathizing.
We interrupt, we and by extension, Ralph look callous and we'd be playing right into the A.
D.
A.
's hands.
I've done some bad things in my life.
Sure.
But that doesn't give you the right to do what you did.
You left us to die - like animals in cages.
- MONROE: Mr.
Carter, the defense asserts that Ralph Kelly left his post solely to save his family.
Do you have any reason to believe that that, in fact, is not the case? Yeah, I do.
Early on, before the power generator died, there was already a little bit of water coming in through the drains in our cells.
And that's when I heard C.
O.
Kelly.
He was standing in the cell block corridor, on his phone.
And that's when I heard him say, "I got to figure out a way to get out of here before it's underwater.
" - [GALLERY MURMURING.]
- BENNY: Objection, Your Honor.
Hearsay.
[MURMURING CONTINUES.]
Actually, I find it's a statement against penal interest.
I'm going to allow it.
Objection overruled.
The jury may consider the witness's statement as evidence.
I'm sure you're ahead of me, but it is a sea of red over here.
Of course it is.
RALPH: I never said that.
Carter lied.
I'm-I'm telling you.
I never said anything like that.
Ask Kristen, she-she was the only one I spoke to - on the phone that day.
- BENNY: Well, it's late in the day, but we could try to subpoena his phone records.
Call Kristen to the stand first thing tomorrow, she could tell the jury what they did say.
What they talked about.
Hmm.
She's his pregnant wife.
Anything she says, the jury's gonna take with a mountain of salt.
Were there any other witnesses to this phone call? Anybody out there in the block with you? I-I don't know, m-maybe one of the guys in the cell? No one's gonna rat out a cellie to help out a guard unless they get something for it.
Yeah, well, we don't have anything to offer; we're not - the D.
A.
's office.
- What about the rescue van driver? The one that picked up Kristen and the kids and evacuated them before you made it home? Well, what about him? Well, you think she might have said something to him about you being on your way home? Maybe.
I Why? Wha-What are you thinking? I-I'm not sure she even got the guy's name.
But if she did say something to him and we could - find the guy - He could testify to what he heard and that, in combination with Kristen's testimony Could do some real damage.
The good kind.
It could help convince a jury that the only reason you left was honestly just to help your family.
- [GAVEL BANGS.]
- BENNY: Your Honor, the defense would like to call Mrs.
Kelly to the stand.
Once you finally got through to Ralph on his cell phone, what did you say to him? I told him that if he didn't come and rescue us right then, that we were probably gonna die right there in that house.
I mean, you can see.
The tree fell right on it.
You could see the sky.
The rain was coming in.
I-I I was afraid that maybe the whole place was gonna blow up or something.
BENNY: And then what happened? Ralph promised that he was gonna come and get us.
That he was leaving right away.
Now, uh, during that phone call, do you recall your husband ever mentioning needing to leave the prison because it was flooded? 'Cause it was unsafe? Did he ever share any concerns with you about his own safety? No.
His safety never came up.
Trust me, I was hysterical.
The only thing we ever discussed was him coming home to get me and the kids.
BENNY: Thank you.
No further questions, Your Honor.
[BEEPS.]
Hey, sis.
No big deal, I'm just surprise, surprise going over your bank statements, and, uh, there are some deposits here, I just can't figure out where they came from.
Anyway, if you're, uh, asleep by the time I get home tonight, you can just fill me in in the morning.
Hey, I just got off the phone with your sister.
So you're the reason I can't get ahold of her.
Well, she wasn't able to fill in any of the blanks for me in my hunt for this van driver who rescued her and her kids.
I mean, I get it.
There were children, everyone was in a panic, everyone was wearing rain slickers.
Who remembers details, let alone faces? - Sorry.
- All's not lost.
I got an idea.
I called the motel where our Good Samaritan dropped off your sister and her kids to see if there was any security footage, or to see if somehow, they got the guy's name.
And? No security cameras.
And the hotel lost power that night, and the desk clerk didn't have any information on our guy.
But she did remember Kristen coming in with a group of evacuees.
And she was nice enough to e-mail me a copy of the paper check-in log that they used that night.
I'm thinking maybe one of the people that Kristen came in with remembers who drove them? Do you want to split up the names? Start making calls? You think these check-in times are accurate? I assume so.
Why? [WHISPERING.]
: Kris.
[INHALES SHARPLY.]
We need to talk.
You lied to me, didn't you? And not just me.
You lied on the stand.
When you got through to Ralph on the day of the storm, you couldn't have asked him to come rescue you at the house because you and the kids were at the motel.
And don't give me any BS, because I know, Kristen.
I have the motel records.
What did you say to Ralph on that call? Why did Ralph actually leave the prison? Because it sure as hell wasn't to save you and the kids.
Ralph left because there was something in our garage.
Something really important.
Something that we couldn't afford to leave behind.
And when the tree fell on it, I knew I couldn't get into the garage, so if Ralph didn't come for it Okay.
And so I'm just supposed to guess what it was? What was so damn important it cost two men their lives, your husband his job, and in all probability, me, my job? $50,000, in cash, in a duffle bag, getting wetter by the minute.
That's what Ralph had to get.
And, look, obviously, nobody thought anyone was gonna get hurt.
Okay.
So wherever that money came from, am I supposed to assume that's where all those deposits in your bank account came from, too? What deposits? Have you not checked your voice mail? Did you go ahead and look at our bank statements without my permission? Did you hack into my bank accounts? Of course I did.
I worked in Homeland.
I do what I have to do.
And by the way, I was trying to save your husband's ass.
Now, where's all this cash coming from, Kristen? I don't know.
Apparently, there are ways to make money in a prison.
- [SCOFFS.]
- Okay but I'm telling you the truth.
I-I don't know.
I never wanted to know, so Ralph - never told me.
- Kris Look, but with this money, and your loans, we were actually able to get caught up on our house payments.
And we can actually afford this baby, and assuming that my husband doesn't go to prison and the insurance is willing to cover the cost of the roof, we might actually be able to pay you back.
Yeah.
With dirty money! You may not be able to tell me how he got it, but you know it's dirty money.
It has to be.
Whatever he did to get that money is almost certainly a crime, Kristen.
And so is perjury.
All right, well, then tell me the other choice.
We tell the truth.
And it's not the other choice.
It's the only choice.
Look, it's simple.
Your husband can't take the stand tomorrow.
Not if he's gonna perjure himself.
Wait, what do you mean? He has to.
Your boss said that's the only way we win this, with Ralph's testimony.
Well, I don't know what to tell you.
He can't testify.
He can't lie under oath.
I have to tell Dr.
Bull about this.
I have to tell him the truth.
Taylor, you can't do that.
Think about Ralph.
Think about me.
Think about our kids.
Where are you going? It's the middle of the night.
Hotel.
I got to beat Dr.
Bull to work in the morning.
Got to get to him before he gets to court.
[ELEVATOR BELL CHIMES.]
Dr.
Bull? I'm so sorry.
BULL: Your wife lied on the stand yesterday, didn't she? BENNY: Eh, she didn't call you asking you to rescue her.
She called you asking to rescue a duffle bag full of money, didn't she? And that inmate who testified, Carter, he was telling the truth, wasn't he? I suppose.
You suppose? You know you told your wife you had to get out of there before "it" was underwater.
And now we know the "it" you were referring to wasn't the prison, it was the $50,000 you had in your garage.
Fortunately, Mr.
Colón was able to ask the judge for a 24-hour continuance.
But [SIGHS.]
before I decide if my team will continue with your case, you need to tell me everything.
- The whole truth.
- Let's start with the money.
Where'd you get it from? You smuggling drugs? Shaking down some inmates? On some gang's payroll? No.
Nothing like that.
It I was running phones.
Selling them.
What do you mean? To prisoners? All the guards do it.
I held out for a really long time.
But then, Kris got pregnant again.
We were already up to our eyeballs in debt.
I was just gonna sell a few, get caught up - until the baby came.
- Well.
Well, $50,000 sounds like you did more than just catch up.
Yeah.
'Cause then, I realized how easy it was.
Do you know what the going rate is for a cell phone in prison? Like, a thousand dollars.
I can make more selling a few dozen phones than I got paid for an entire year as a guard.
All of a sudden, I didn't have to worry about losing the house or getting the power turned off.
And it was only phones.
I wasn't hurting anyone.
Well, I haven't spent a lot of quality time in prison, but it doesn't take a lot of imagination to figure out what a criminal behind bars might be able to do with a cell phone.
I'm sorry I lied.
[SNIFFLING.]
But no one was supposed to die.
Dr.
Bull? Benny.
I'm sorry.
You have no idea how sorry.
Neither one of us thinks you have much to be sorry for, but, obviously, this does put us in a tricky position.
So what do we do? What do you do? What happens now? We go to court.
What does that mean? We are calling Ralph to the stand, and we've strongly advised him to tell the truth.
The rest is up to him.
He doesn't have to talk about the money, and I'm not gonna ask him about it, but everything else, he's got to fess up.
It's his only chance to win over that jury.
And if the other side finds out he left the prison knowing his wife and kids were safe? And we have to assume they will.
And they ask him about it before we do? We are cooked.
He's going to prison for 20 years.
And as an ex-prison guard, he won't last 20 minutes.
[SIGHS.]
And what about my sister? If Ralph tells the truth, won't everyone realize she lied on the stand? What about her? Like I said, this has put us in a tricky position, but at the end of the day, your brother-in-law did not kill those men.
Now, the warden's testimony strongly suggests that even if he had been there all by himself, it's unlikely that he would have been able to move those people quickly enough to make a difference.
We just have to hope, between Ralph's truthfulness and what I know will be a very stirring closing argument, the jury will be able to see that.
[SIGHS.]
Your Honor, the defense would like to call Ralph Kelly - to the stand.
- [GAVEL BANGING.]
Mr.
Kelly, how long have you been a guard at Blackwood Correctional? - Uh, just under four years.
- Okay.
And forgive me for getting personal, but how much are you paid for being a correctional officer at Blackwood? Objection.
Relevance? Mr.
Colón? Your Honor, Mr.
Kelly is being charged with manslaughter in the deaths of two men.
I think it's important for the jury to understand just where he sits in the pecking order of the people who work at this private prison.
And I think his salary might offer the jury a real-world indicator of that.
Objection overruled.
The witness may answer the question.
$18.
50 an hour.
- [GALLERY MURMURING.]
- Started at $11.
40 an hour - when I was first hired.
- BENNY: Wow.
And-and are you, as a matter of course, ever left in sole charge of the prison? Actually, the-the day of the hurricane was the first time.
[GALLERY MURMURING.]
I feel the wind starting to shift.
How's the weather where you are? Well nobody is switching sides yet, but their engagement is high.
- They want to hear what he has to say.
- BENNY: So, normally, making life-and-death decisions isn't a part of your job? Life or death? No.
Uh, making sure everyone behaves, people take their meds, eat their meals, stay in the areas they're assigned to, that's pretty much what we do what-what I do.
So, if you're not normally in a position of oversight at Blackwood, who is? Who's normally giving the orders? Well, uh, normally, there's the warden.
And at other times there's one of the deputy wardens.
And there's always the home office.
I mean, if-if you can't locate someone above you, you can always call them.
Except during the hurricane.
Uh, their the phones were down.
BENNY [CHUCKLES.]
: Okay.
So, u-uh, the wardens, the deputy wardens, uh, where were they? I don't know.
I, uh, I came in to work and they weren't there.
And why do you think that is? You think they were concerned about the weather? You think they were concerned about their families? Objection.
He's asking the witness to speculate.
I'll withdraw the question, Your Honor.
So the hurricane changes direction, and one by one, your guards start to leave.
Rushing home to their families, but not you? Well, uh, I was the guy that was there for the longest.
So uh, in-in a way, I was the most senior.
Not senior enough to stop anybody from going, but But you had a very pregnant wife at home.
And two small children.
I know, but still, it was my job.
And-and I liked my job.
Mm-hmm.
So what changed your mind? When you got that phone call from your wife? Here we go.
Our "make it or break it" moment.
[EXHALES SHARPLY.]
BENNY: Mr.
Kelly? Wasn't it the moment your wife called you and pleaded with you to come home and rescue her and the children? Kristen called, but it wasn't about that.
[GALLERY MURMURING.]
I'm sorry, I'm-I'm confused.
Your wife testified two days ago that she called you and pleaded with you to come home.
I know.
And that's partly true.
She wanted me to go to the house, but not to get her and the kids.
They'd already been rescued.
They were at a hotel.
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
- MAYNARD: Order.
[GAVEL BANGING.]
Please keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle at all times and remain seated.
Hang on to your personal belongings, especially your hat.
The ride could get turbulent.
Are you saying your wife lied to the court? I'm saying that m-my wife said what she felt she needed to say to keep me out of prison.
It's not her fault.
[SNIFFLES.]
She just wanted me to be around to see my newborn.
I know it sounds crazy, but we had some things in the garage.
Things that meant everything to us.
And, normally, I-it would have only been 25 minutes each way to the house and back.
I figured it would be fine.
Uh They had pumps, backup generators.
The prison was dry as a bone when I left.
I made it to the house fine.
And I got what I needed to out of the garage.
And then when I headed back to the prison, trees were down.
And power lines.
The road was blocked.
- Hmm.
- I couldn't get through.
No one could.
Those men I see their faces all the time.
Moose worked as the chapel orderly.
He said it gave him peace.
[SNIFFLES.]
And Thomas? He just got his GED.
I knew them.
I swear to you, I-I would never have left if BENNY: Thank you.
No further questions, Your Honor.
Let's take a 20-minute recess.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY.]
BULL: All right.
So I thought we should just step out and grab a breath of fresh air before we have to go back in there and hear that the last week of our lives has been a total waste of time.
- You're awfully sure of yourself.
- Eh, I've been doing this a long time.
Faces change, not the rules.
You need all 12 jurors for a guilty verdict.
You don't have them.
I'd be surprised if you got half.
- Half? - Come on.
These jurors get it.
Kid's been hung out to dry because the real bosses, the people who should have been there calling the shots, were too busy hiding in their McMansions and hoping the hurricane didn't take out their yachts.
Best you're gonna do here is a mistrial, which means we get to do this all over again in six months or so.
Waste more of the taxpayers' money, more of my time, more of your time.
Meanwhile, the kid can't get a job to support his family, and the taxpayers get to take care of that, too.
- That's not what this trial is about.
- Well, I'm sorry to be the one to break it to you, but he didn't kill those men.
And that will still be true the next time we try this, and the time after that and the time after that.
The only thing this kid's guilty of is poor judgment.
And getting his wife to lie for him.
And working for people who are only too happy to throw him under the bus, and then drive over him if it will keep them from having to bear any personal responsibility.
So what is it that you want me to do? I want you to call the game off, on account of rain.
Drop the charges.
Let everybody go home, put their lives back together.
Put their houses back together, have their babies.
[GAVEL BANGING.]
MAYNARD: Before the prosecution cross-examines the witness, counsel has asked for a brief meeting in the judge's chambers.
I'm going to call another short adjournment and ask that the jury be returned to the jury room until such time as I can signal that we're ready to resume.
[GAVEL BANGS.]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY.]
Of course.
[DOOR CLOSES.]
Assuming all of us can come to a meeting of the minds on a few minor details, we are going to walk back into that courtroom and the judge is going to announce that the district attorney's office has decided to withdraw the manslaughter charge against you.
[EXHALING, LAUGHING.]
What? Oh, my God.
U-Uh Dr.
Bull, h-how do we ever thank you? You don't.
I didn't do this for you.
I did it for Taylor.
And for those babies you have and the baby you're having.
And I did it because while I think you behaved like a selfish jackass both of you I don't believe you are actually responsible for those men losing their lives.
Now let me ask you something.
How much do you think a big-ass second chance like that is worth? I think $50,000.
$25,000 each to the families of the men who perished.
How's that sound to you? Uh That sounds like the bargain of a lifetime.
Hmm.
Well said.
Now, how about we go back into that court, hear the good news for ourselves? Can I at least thank you? It's a free country.
Thank you.
I think you just saved someone's life.
And when I think about my sister and my niece and nephew, my future niece or nephew maybe a lot of people's lives.
I'm incredibly grateful.
Good.
I like that.
Anything that makes it easier to exploit and take unfair advantage of the people who work for me, I'm all for it.
Wow.
You can't just say "you're welcome," can you? Okay.
Wait a second.
Let me try.
Nah.
What for? You coming?