Law & Order (1990) s08e01 Episode Script
Thrill
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srt by GeirDM NARRATOR: In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups, the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
(MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO) MATT: Sure I can afford it.
Mr.
DeLuca, he knows one of the waiters.
So, he's going to call him up so we can get served wine.
(CHUCKLES) Well, they got They got table cloths.
They got candles.
Yeah, and they sing opera.
Well, you know, maybe I can get them to sing Happy Birthday for you.
Hey, look, I think I'm coming up on the address.
Let me call you when I get home, all right? Yeah.
I love you, too.
(BRAKES SQUEALING) Hey, excuse me.
I'm looking for number 127.
Do you know which door that is? (RATTLING) (GUNSHOT) (WOMAN CHATTERING OVER POLICE RADIO) CSU TECH: He was tapped once in the back of the head, .
25 caliber.
We got three casings in a group back there, and four more spread out along the sidewalk.
The shooter was running after the van.
Yeah.
The kid tried to get away.
Matthew Wheeler, It's his van.
BRISCOE: He was just like this? Uh-huh.
The perp must have pulled him out.
Yeah.
He left the cash.
And the watch.
And the four buckets of chicken.
CSU TECH: DeLuca's, BRISCOE: Good place.
They make their own chicken soup.
I never saw this kid there.
Detective, this is Mr.
Sheehan.
He saw it happen.
Well, not the whole thing, actually, l Well, we'd appreciate anything you can tell us.
I was walking along the street here, going home, when I heard three shots.
So I looked up to the corner here, and I saw this van here roll by the intersection.
There was somebody running along the passenger side shooting into the van.
Can you describe this somebody? Well, I didn't run up to get a good look.
I was pretty scared.
And then what? Then nothing.
I ran home.
Until I heard the sirens.
Okay.
The detective will take your statement.
Thanks.
Lennie, the address on the delivery ticket, 127.
You want to deliver the chicken? I should've never sent him out this late, but four large buckets You got to make a living.
(SIGHS) He was only working here a couple of weeks.
Nice kid.
(SIGHS) This is really screwed up.
CURTIS: Who took the order? He did.
We didn't find a phone number on the delivery ticket.
I told him to always get a number.
Come on.
Come on.
I'm sure it's here.
Why don't we check the caller ID box? They save the numbers.
Oh, right.
I forgot.
The call came in right after 10:00.
The early news just started Here.
it's this one.
Mr.
DeLuca, you been having any trouble with anybody? You know, maybe somebody you pissed off.
Or maybe you buy your chickens from the wrong supplier? Nothing like that.
Why? Well, the phony address.
No sign of a robbery.
Almost looks like somebody's trying to send you a message.
Hey, I pay my bills, I don't owe no Shylock.
(SCOFFS) And I get my birds from the right people.
He's a good kid.
He never hurt anybody.
What kind of a sick bastard would do this? We'll get him.
Can you think of anyone who might've wanted to hurt him? No.
He got along good with everybody.
I don't mean any disrespect, but was he ever mixed up with a gang or with drugs? No.
He told me that he tried pot.
But, I mean, show me a kid that doesn't.
Oh, God, I should call Lauren.
BRISCOE: Lauren? Yeah.
That's his girlfriend.
He met her at City College.
He goes there part time.
We're going to need to talk to her.
Yeah.
I'll get the address.
(PAGER BEEPING) Excuse me, it's Profaci.
MR.
WHEELER: I'm telling you right now, the son of a bitch who killed my boy, you better pray you find him before I do.
The call to the chicken place came from here.
I got people canvassing.
Two witnesses in one day? We should be so lucky.
You checking that for prints or what? Soon as I take it back to the lab.
This year? It's up to him.
I can't just disconnect a payphone.
I have to have a work order from my supervisor.
And he needs a paper from his supervisor, who needs a paper from the city.
Tell you what.
I'm going to give you a piece of paper.
Now, this is my card, see.
I'm going to write a little note on it.
And the next time you get stopped for speeding, you just show this to the officer.
Deal? Yeah? Okay.
Check the coins, too, huh.
We got a match from a thumbprint on two shell casings to partials on five coins in the phone.
So the shooter made five calls.
Looks like.
There was a second set of thumbprints on the casings.
Can you put a face to the prints? They're not in the system.
You get any more good news, you hurry on back.
We talked to the victim's girlfriend, to his friends.
The kid was the boy wonder.
I don't see any motive here.
People don't kill for no reason.
This doer made a phone call from Central Park for a delivery He wanted a nice, quiet street.
There are quiet streets closer to the park.
Tell me about this bogus address.
Repair shop for small appliances.
Went out of business about 14 months ago.
So our suspect knows that because he lives in that neighborhood.
Yeah.
Along with I got the dumps from the payphone.
Twenty-three calls made in the hour and a half before the murder.
Six to take-out places, including the last one, DeLuca's.
Five coins, five calls.
He was trolling for victims.
Until he found a place that delivered.
Would be nice to find someone who actually talked to this person.
Okay.
I got this covered.
I'll pick you up around noon? Yeah, we'll be out front.
Oh, they were calling from a phone booth.
It didn't sound on the up-and-up.
There were two of them? Yeah.
First the one guy orders the buckets, then the other guy gets on to give me the address.
Young, old? Young, I think.
The first one talked through his nose.
White guys.
They wanted two large buckets.
Yeah.
They ordered four buckets from DeLuca.
Four? Yeah, for four I would've gone out myself.
I'm really scared, Rey.
I know you are, baby.
But you're going to be all right.
I'm sure it's nothing.
See you tonight, all right? I love you.
BRISCOE: So? She's got to come back for more tests.
What's wrong with her? She's got some numbness in her right foot.
It comes and goes.
They just want to rule some things out.
So, what's up with our shooter? Well, there might've been two of them.
Young, probably white.
They called four other take-out places.
The other two calls were legit orders.
That accounts for four of the coins.
Might've used the fifth to call a number on the list.
Well, here's the LUDs.
Take your pick.
MRS.
HEMMERICK: It was him who called me.
He forgot what he was supposed to get from the store.
He never remembers anything.
MR.
HEMMERICK: I remembered our phone number.
You had it written down in your wallet.
BRISCOE: Mr.
Hemmerick.
Yeah? Did you see anybody hanging around the phone booth the other night? Maybe a couple of kids? They might've been white.
Yeah, sure.
Two boys, they was laughing it up.
One of them looked a little Puerto Rican.
BRISCOE: They were laughing it up about what? I wasn't listening to them.
I was listening to her.
What did they look like? Maybe one of them had red hair.
I didn't get a good look.
He can't see at night.
I see just fine! They had loose-fitting clothes, and one of them had skates with those plastic wheels.
You mean roller blades.
That's right.
Roller blades.
With green wheels.
Lime green.
That was me who used the phone.
I called home to check my messages.
Did you notice any kids waiting to use the phone? One of them might've been on roller blades? Yes, I did, and in fact, I borrowed a quarter from them.
That explains that.
Betty, could you make sure that the legs go out to ortho by Friday? Explains what? Nothing.
SHUSTER: Please, sit down.
Can you describe these kids? Sure.
I've seen them before in the park.
At night.
CURTIS: When was that? In the past month, on three or four occasions.
A couple of times, they were with a young girl.
Adele.
CURTIS: Adele who? Oh, I don't know.
She goes to a prep school.
I don't remember the name.
But they wear blue blazers with gold trim.
BRISCOE: Do you go to the park very often at night? Yes.
Yes, I do.
I find it very relaxing at night.
What do you do there, Mr.
Shuster? I drink.
With teenage girls? And middle-aged women, college kids, lawyers, waiters, off-duty cops.
Everyone's welcome.
I bet.
Listen, we'd like you to come down to the station house with us and talk to a sketch artist about those two boys.
Right now? Right now.
(BELL RINGING) HEADMISTRESS: Is she in trouble? CURTIS: No.
But she might be a witness to a crime.
(SIGHS) Adele does have a knack for being in the wrong place at the right time.
And with the wrong people.
So we've heard.
She's a challenge, no doubt about it.
I don't know if she'll be home yet.
School just let out.
Could she still be here? Susan? Have you seen Adele Green? She left.
But you could try the bodega on 81st and 3rd.
Whoa, Adele, police.
Let me go.
Just take it easy.
What do we have here? A big forty.
That's the good stuff.
Supplying alcohol to a minor.
That's a $5 fine.
Get out of here.
Take your hands off me! You're hurting me! Stop moving, we stop hurting.
Let's go.
I want to call my parents.
You can call them from the station house.
CURTIS: We found this stuff in her backpack, Mrs.
Green.
We're not making it up.
Fingerprinting her like a common criminal.
Don't you have anything better to do? Doesn't this worry you? Drugs, booze, condoms.
I mean, she had the whole James Dean fun pack with her.
Well, that's no reason to scare the wits out of her.
You're scared, Adele? I wasn't hurting anybody.
And what's this for? You open a lot of boxes at your prep school? I need that because of all the creeps out there.
You mean, the creeps you hang with in the park at night? That's none of your damn business.
Adele Well, these two are our business.
Do you know them? No.
Think harder, Adele, somebody saw you with these guys.
It wasn't me.
(KNOCK AT DOOR) This is Ms.
Green's lawyer.
You mind? Five's a crowd.
At most she knows these mutts.
But we don't figure she's involved in the murder.
Are you sure about that? We're ready.
First of all, she was at her relatives in Brooklyn Heights the night of this murder.
Ten people can alibi her.
Second, she's never seen either of these individuals.
Mmm-hmm.
Then maybe she can tell us why we found her thumbprint on a shell casing at the homicide scene? Oh, my God.
That's not possible.
VAN BUREN: I'm afraid it is.
You're implicated in a murder, little girl.
So cut the bull.
GILL: Lieutenant, please.
(WHISPERING) But I didn't.
Okay, so I know them.
They bought a little gun last week, a .
25 auto.
They didn't know how to load the mag, so I showed them how.
And just where did you pick up this knowledge? Around.
These guys are clowns.
One of them is always talking about how he wants to be some major gangster.
Names and addresses.
Joey and Tagger.
I don't know where they live.
How do you get in touch with them? I see them when I see them.
In the park.
I'm supposed to hook up with them at the fountain around 7:00.
Did they tell you they were planning to kill a delivery man? They just said they wanted to kill someone.
They were always talking about doing that.
VAN BUREN: Why? Just to see what it feels like.
A thrill killing.
I take it back, Lennie, some people don't need a reason.
Guess the Macarena wasn't exciting enough for them.
Profaci, we're getting up a team to stake out the park.
The chicken guys? Yeah.
Our informant says that one of them has a job that keeps him busy till 6:30, so we're not expecting them till after that.
Let's keep it small.
Maybe a half a dozen guys.
We don't want to spook the locals.
How about taking the girl along to ID them? No.
I don't trust her.
Well, there's Shuster, spare parts salesman by day, drunk by night.
(SIREN WAILING) BRISCOE: Okay.
So the Rumble in the Jungle.
The night before, Angelo Dundee gets a big wrench and goes around all four corners and loosens the top.
That's the rope-a-dope! VAN BUREN: But it was Muhammad Ali who did the floating and the stinging.
The man was sweet.
A poet.
A real poet is Milton.
You want to understand the ways of God, Milton's your boy.
When it comes to understanding the ways of God, I prefer malt to Milton.
I know! That's right! (ALL LAUGHING) Hey.
Over there.
Straight down the path.
KID: Raise up! Five-O! BRISCOE: Hey, stop! Hey, police! (PANTING) You okay? Just shoot me, will you? We got the other guy.
Well, Joey, you think about what we talked about before? I don't know what I'm doing here.
Same old song, huh.
He says he was in the park all night on Tuesday.
CURTIS: Except we found his prints on coins in a payphone on 71st.
And on the bullets that killed the delivery guy.
No, you didn't.
Mr.
Timon No.
You can't get fingerprints Mr.
Timon, be quiet.
Okay by us.
We'll just go talk to your buddy, Tagger.
A little bird told me this alleged buddy got away from you.
If you want Mr.
Timon to help you find him, it's going to cost you big.
Yeah.
Right.
Like he's getting a free trip to Disney World.
Then find the accomplice.
Unless you want to be somebody's punk for the next 25 years.
It's a mistake.
My son goes to Saint Pete's.
He has a part-time job.
He's not a killer.
Maybe it's his friend, Tagger.
You know him? I don't know his friends.
They don't stop in here for cookies and milk.
That kind of attitude won't help your son, Mrs.
Timon.
I'm sorry, this is very upsetting.
Did Joey ever talk about knowing anybody in Hell's Kitchen? He don't know those people over there.
He goes to school, he goes to work.
He comes home.
He's not some gypsy.
And I guess he's never been to West 23rd Street Electronics, huh? No.
I don't know where that came from.
I remember him.
He ran off with the CD player about two weeks ago.
CURTIS: Was there anyone with him? A kid with red hair, maybe? Yes, there was another kid.
He was at the counter filling out a job application.
I was helping him when the other one Oh, I see.
I'm so stupid.
I can't believe it.
That's okay.
A lot of merchants fall for that trick.
This other kid with red hair, have you seen him since? No.
He took the application home.
So no name, no phone number? No.
He said he used to work at a repair shop on 11th.
A repair shop for small appliances? Yes.
He said they went out of business last year.
The only employee I had was Jose Martinez, and right now he's drinking Cuba Libres in Miami.
Well, maybe this kid worked a couple of weekends.
No.
I could hardly afford to pay Jose.
Nobody gets things fixed anymore.
It's cheaper to throw it away.
And then those rotten kids What kids? That was the straw broke my back.
They burglarized me, vandalized the place, broke my tools.
What were they looking for? Toasters? They get caught? Yeah.
The judge ordered restitution.
I got a check for $17.
00 from one of them.
I didn't even have insurance.
Rotten kids.
One of them's on a full scholarship to Attica, another to Elmira.
The other two are keeping low profiles.
(CELL PHONE RINGING) Curtis.
Yeah.
Hold on, got to get this.
You got any photos or fingerprints? No, not anymore.
Juvie court waved a magic wand when they turned 18.
We got Robinson and Sloane, the two I told you about, and Dale Kershaw and Neal Behrens.
The hole-in-the-head gang, we called them.
Real bright bulbs.
Last knowns? Kershaw lives on 36th with his brother.
Behrens is on 43rd.
The other three fingered Kershaw as the ringleader.
Okay.
We'll start with him.
I'll get you some backup.
Thanks.
First stop is Dale Kershaw, West 36th Street.
Byrne's getting us backup.
You okay? Yeah.
That was Deborah.
Her doctor got the result of the MRI, and she has a She has a type of MS.
I wrote it down.
It's Relapsing-remitting chronic progressive multiple sclerosis.
That's why she had the numbness.
Rey.
I'm sorry.
Listen, why don't you go home? I'll call Profaci.
She's okay.
She's going to She's going to take the kids to their swimming lessons.
Let's get this rolling.
We're not saying your kid brother did anything.
We just need to talk to him.
He's got a girl upstairs.
That's where he is.
This is a bad situation.
I got to tell our mother.
Mr.
Kershaw, if you know something that we don't You don't understand about Dale Lennie.
In a paper bag in the kid's closet.
.
25 auto.
Aw, jeez.
I tried telling him.
All that big talk about being a gangster, like the Westies.
What are you going to do to him? Don't kill him! Please! Dale! I love you! DALE: Shut up, Marlene! Dale! Now, let's do this the easy way, all right? Just open the door and come out nice and slow! DALE: (STUTTERING) I can't.
We're not going to hurt you.
I got no pants.
It's just us guys out here, Dale.
Nothing we haven't seen before.
Either I get my pants or I don't come out.
All right, Dale.
Here.
Here.
Look out the keyhole now.
See? Here's your pants.
Now I'm tossing them to you.
All you have to do is reach out and grab them.
Go ahead.
DALE: Okay.
I'm opening up the door.
(DALE SCREAMS) No! Liar! I want my pants! Why, Dale? I don't see anything here worth covering up.
BRISCOE: There he is, the criminal mastermind, Dale Kershaw.
A.
K.
A.
Tagger.
(DOOR OPENS) This is from ballistics.
And this is Mr.
Shatenstein.
Stan Shatenstein.
From the 18B panel.
I'm looking for a Dale Kershaw.
That's my client? In all his glory.
Why is he handcuffed? I thought this was just a weapons charge.
Well, that's about to change.
The gun had prints from him and Timon.
And it matched up to the slugs.
I'll amend the charge.
CURTIS: Nap's over, hump.
BRISCOE: Get up! What's going on? CURTIS: Dale Kershaw, you're under arrest for the murder of Matthew Wheeler.
Congratulations, Dale, you made your bones.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
(GATE BUZZING OPEN) You know, you make fun of my case and I make fun of yours, but at the end of the day, you still have a problem.
Then, funny how you came to us.
Under the circumstances, murder two, is generous.
Your eyewitness only saw one shooter.
The jury will want to know, was it Mr.
Timon or Mr.
Kershaw? Our position is they were both there.
Anyway, it doesn't matter.
They're accomplices, they're both liable.
And what accessorial conduct is my client guilty of? He called the restaurant.
He put the bullets in the gun.
Based on a six-point fingerprint match.
That's hardly conclusive.
At most, he's guilty of touching a gun a few days before the shooting.
Ms.
Tyrell.
Give the jury some credit.
Even if your brilliant presentation of the evidence convinces them that Mr.
Timon and Mr.
Kershaw planned this crime together, my client will testify that he changed his mind at the last minute.
He stayed in the park while Mr.
Kershaw went to shoot the delivery boy.
And my client will say that he's the one who backed out, and it was Timon who did the shooting.
That's reasonable doubt, Mr.
McCoy.
The gun was in his room.
Timon gave it to him the day after.
At worst he pleads to facilitation.
He points at Timon, and Timon points at him.
That's a very dangerous defense strategy.
I've seen it work before.
People v.
Wong.
And I've seen it not work.
People v.
Benzinger.
I don't know that case.
I'll look it up.
Ms.
Tyrell has shown me jury verdicts in cases like this.
Two defendants but only one possible shooter.
The odds are on our side, Mr.
McCoy.
Murder two, 20-to-life.
That's still our only offer.
You think about it and give us a call.
We're done.
They couldn't even load a gun by themselves? Clarence Darrow got Leopold and Loeb.
Who do we got? Beavis and Butthead.
United they stand.
I read the jury studies.
If we try them together, the percentages are against us.
Any grounds to sever the trials? No legal grounds.
No judge will do it just to make our lives easier.
Then the answer's no, unless the defense wants separate trials.
The eyewitness.
Couldn't pick them out of a lineup.
We suck it in and offer one of them a deal to implicate the other.
Yes.
And if we choose the wrong one? So we take our chances at trial.
Until you can tell a jury which one pulled the trigger, you don't go near a courtroom.
You mean because the eyewitness only saw one guy shooting at the van, they could actually get off? Good chance the jury acquits or hangs.
In other words, we're better off without an eyewitness.
I can't believe these two stumbled into the perfect crime.
You canvassed the subway? Hey, we had people at the 34th Street station at 10:00 every night for a week passing their pictures around.
We checked with bus drivers, cabbies Nobody remembers them.
This was the biggest thrill of their lives.
They must've bragged about it.
BRISCOE: Not to the people we talked to.
Maybe you didn't talk to the right people.
CURTIS: Hey, we got to everybody.
We even got a list of their visitors at Rikers, parents, aunts, uncles, Kershaw's girlfriend.
Yeah.
I'd love to hear these two mutts explain how the whole thing was a case of mistaken identity.
So would I.
Can we bug their conversations? Won't work.
Timon and Kershaw are in the general population.
They see visitors in a common room.
Some of my friskier clients were held at Rikers in isolation.
I had to talk to them through a glass divider over a telephone.
After Jamie had Rikers move them into isolation, she got a court order to record their visits.
This was taped yesterday morning.
The visitor is James Galva, Timon's uncle on his mother's side.
TIMON: (SOBBING) I can't sleep, I'm so scared.
You don't know what happens in this place, Uncle Jim.
You got to get me out of here.
GALVA: We'll do what we can, Joey.
But if you did this killing there's only one way out for you.
You have to take responsibility.
You have to admit what you did.
I want to.
Oh, God.
Just tell me the truth, Joey.
(TIMON CRYING) I walked up on the driver's side and I shot him.
Oh, God, Uncle Jim, I'm sorry.
That's okay, Joey.
I'm just no good.
Don't say that.
God forgives you.
He loves you, and so does your family.
I don't want Mom to know.
You tell her when you're ready.
Right now, it's just between us.
And the People of the State of New York.
Does he implicate his accomplice? Never mentions him.
We sent a transcript to Timon's lawyer this afternoon.
She'll be happy.
What the hell were you thinking? Do you have tapes of my meetings with him, too? ROSS: Except for his conversations with you, Mr.
Timon has no expectation of privacy while he's at Rikers.
What Joey said to me is protected.
Mr.
Galva, you should've read the advisory when you signed in.
"All conversations may be monitored.
" I read it.
And it's Father Galva.
You're a priest? TYRELL: A Jesuit priest.
And this is a confession protected by the priest-penitent privilege.
He didn't identify himself as a priest on the sign-in sheet.
Well, now you know.
He's been Joey's spiritual adviser since his first communion.
Well, it hasn't been a screaming success.
Ms.
Tyrell, what I heard didn't sound like a confession the way I remember them.
Look, he could've set it to music.
It's still privileged and you can't use it.
I've searched Westlaw.
I haven't found any New York cases on point.
How about in other states? The New York statutes only say we can't compel a priest to reveal the contents of a confession.
Nothing prevents us from taping one.
In other words, we can start bugging churches.
I wouldn't go that far.
Jack, like it or not, we have the tape.
We should use it.
I wish it were that simple.
That makes two of us.
Temporary restraining order to keep the tape out of court.
Timon? No.
The Archdiocese.
If people don't feel safe talking to their priests, the church can't minister to its flock.
Simple as that.
The sacrament of penance is one of the pillars of our religion, Mr.
McCoy.
As a catholic, you know this.
And as an Assistant District Attorney I have a duty to prosecute murderers within the bounds of the law.
We understand and we concede that the recording was a good faith mistake.
You also have to concede that it's a very unorthodox confession.
REV.
GERVAIS: Joey Timon confessed his sins, and Father Galva gave him absolution.
That's all we require.
We ask you not to oppose the restraining order.
And to destroy the tape.
Are you asking me as a catholic or as an officer of the court? As someone who's sworn to uphold the Constitution.
Including the First Amendment and the free exercise of religion.
I can't promise anything.
This tape is the best evidence we have against Timon and Kershaw.
Violating the sanctity of the confessional interferes with the practice of religion, Mr.
McCoy.
It's not only unconstitutional, it's immoral.
ROSS: And protecting two killers isn't? Do you want to see what they did to Matthew Wheeler? They spilled his brains on the street just for kicks.
We don't condone what they did, Ms.
Ross.
But when people confess their sins, it's an article of our faith.
They're speaking to God through a priest.
In plain English, you fool with that, you fool with God's work.
I read it in the paper.
I couldn't believe it.
How can the church do this? How can they stand up for that scum? They're not even human.
Matthew was an altar boy.
Why don't they stand up for him? It's just not right.
Have you talked with your priest? MR.
WHEELER: Our priest! He said the church has to do this to protect the sacraments.
The hell with the sacraments.
I want those punks to pay.
We'll do whatever we have to.
You leave that to us.
You know, the church says God forgives even the worst sinners.
Well, maybe God can.
But we can't.
Not ever.
How they holding up? About what you'd expect.
They got thrown a curve.
How's Deborah? She's okay.
That problem with her leg is clearing up.
The doctor says to expect that, symptoms will come and go.
Oh, I talked to my daughter at the hospital.
She gave me the names of some specialists.
And a support group.
They've got support groups for everything now.
Yeah, we got one at our church.
But thanks, Lennie.
I'll pass it on to Deborah.
I haven't decided what I'm going to do.
CURTIS: I've got to say, I have to side with the church on this.
The case isn't easy to make without the confession.
I don't want these guys to walk either.
I want justice for the Wheeler kid and his parents.
But this isn't the way to do it.
Because it offends your religious beliefs? (SCOFFS) Even my own? I'm not sure that's a reason.
Give Lennie and me some more time.
We'll make the case.
From what I hear, you've already exhausted your leads.
Look, Detective, I appreciate the input, but it's out of your hands.
You're a catholic.
Not when I'm at work.
I'm sorry.
You know, so am I.
What you believe in, your faith, sometimes that's all you have to go on.
You can't just forget about it whenever you like.
Everybody's staking out their territory.
You can't make them all happy.
You want to weigh in? Until I can figure out which constituency to alienate the least, it's your call.
Thanks.
And I have to figure out which clause of the First Amendment I like the most, the separation of church and state or the free exercise of religion.
So for you it's a constitutional issue.
Not entirely.
Well, you're the last person I expected to have a problem with this.
No one's more surprised than me.
Who knows what'll happen to that tape.
Right now, it's leverage.
Use it before you lose it.
I've read this.
Ms.
Tyrell gave me a copy.
It doesn't say anything about my client.
That's right, but it's the nail in Mr.
Timon's coffin.
Once we get the restraining order lifted and we're free to use his confession, he'll be begging us for a deal.
And he might get one unless we already have a deal with your client.
Ms.
Tyrell and I have already discussed this.
I wouldn't put all your eggs in Ms.
Tyrell's basket.
What kind of deal are we talking about? I'll start the bidding at twenty to life in exchange for his testimony.
I only need one of you, Mr.
Kershaw.
I don't care which.
You're going to get nothing.
Talk to your lawyer before I don't need this pencil-neck here to tell me what time it is.
I talked to my man Joey.
He's got you beat on this confession deal.
So we got nothing to worry about.
Thank you, Mr.
Kershaw.
You just made up my mind for me.
HOGAN: The suspicion that any freely-confessed sin might become public is a deterrent to participating in the sacrament of penance.
This tape makes it impossible for clergy like Father Galva to minister to those who arguably need it the most, people like Mr.
Timon.
Your Honor, if you don't allow us to use this tape, you're placing the church's claim above the authority of the state.
This violates the separation of church and state envisioned by the Founding Fathers.
So under your analysis, the church has less protection because it is a religious establishment.
Doesn't that stand freedom of religion on its head? With all due respect, Your Honor misses my point.
I don't expect this court to afford the church less protection.
I'm just saying that Your Honor shouldn't give it more than that enjoyed by your average citizen.
That's what the Constitution demands.
Your Honor I've heard enough.
Sit down, Mr.
McCoy.
The clergy-penitent relationship is one of the most sacred recognized by this nation.
As such, Mr.
Timon and Father Galva were reasonable in relying on the laws of New York and this country's respect of religion in general, to protect their private communications.
Mr.
McCoy, you've cited no case in which a court has approved the invasion of the rite of confession by any agency of the government, and my own research has found none.
For these reasons, I'm enjoining the District Attorney and all parties hereto from using in any trial or disseminating by any fashion the contents of this confession.
No.
No.
This isn't justice.
That animal killed my boy! JUDGE MICKERSON: Sit down! How can you protect him? This can't be what God wants! Officer, remove that man.
MR.
WHEELER: This isn't fair, how can you do this? He killed my boy! He killed him! Oh, God, my boy's dead! Your Honor, for the record, I intend to serve a notice of appeal on grounds that your blanket injunction isn't in the interest of justice.
I think I've addressed that issue, Mr.
McCoy.
I don't believe you have, Your Honor.
You've completely ignored the impact of your ruling on third party action.
For example, the victim's family bringing a wrongful death suit against Mr.
Timon.
JUDGE MICKERSON: Mr.
McCoy This tape has probative and exculpative value Your Honor has simply neglected.
Your Honor, if I may.
I'm counsel for Mr.
Timon's co-defendant, Dale Kershaw.
This tape may very well prove my client innocent from having participated in this crime.
In this narrow instance, the exculpative value of evidence must supersede the priest-penitent privilege.
Please, sit down.
Sit down! Mr.
McCoy, you see what you started? This isn't what I had in mind.
No? Tell you what, Mr.
McCoy, I'm going to amend my decision.
You're still enjoined from using the confession against Mr.
Timon.
But Mr.
Kershaw may use it in his own defense.
Adjourned.
Your Honor, you can't allow the I said we're adjourned.
(GAVEL POUNDING) Nice going.
I thought it went pretty well, considering.
You just handed Kershaw a gift.
He'll use the confession to prove Timon did the shooting while he was off roller-blading in Central Park.
Not unless he severs his trial from Timons.
Once they're tried separately their little finger-pointing routine won't work.
The federal judge ruled the confession tape can't be used against Mr.
Timon.
Now, if Mr.
Timon and my client are tried together, that means that the jury will be barred from hearing the only evidence that exonerates my client.
Because the confession exculpates your client while implicating Mr.
Timon.
SHATENSTEIN: Yes, Your Honor.
That's why you must sever the trials, so that my client can present the tape to a jury without violating the federal court order.
All right.
What Mr.
Shatenstein fails to appreciate here is that this is just a ploy by the District Attorney to drive a wedge between our clients.
JUDGE STEINMAN: And this is legal grounds to oppose severance? I don't think so, Ms.
Tyrell.
Mr.
McCoy, do the People take a position on Mr.
Shatenstein's motion to sever? No, Your Honor.
We'll rely on your good judgment.
Then the motion's granted.
The defendants will be tried separately.
TYRELL: Shatenstein is an idiot.
I told him it was a sucker play.
JACK: You're imagining things.
My imagination put me through B.
U.
, playing the ponies at Suffolk Downs.
Jack, I just realized we are better off with two trials.
It's very cute.
There's still only one shooter.
You try Kershaw first and convict him, you give my client the perfect defense.
You try Timon first, Kershaw's off the hook.
That's a tough decision, McCoy.
Odds are still on our side.
I won't have to flip a coin.
While I'm arguing to a jury is that your Mr.
Timon fired the bullet that killed Matthew Wheeler, Ms.
Ross will be down the hall telling another jury it was Mr.
Kershaw.
See you at the track! Simultaneous trials? Otherwise, whoever's tried first, the other one gets a walk.
I want them both convicted.
Of firing the same bullet? You familiar with the laws of physics? JACK: I'm familiar with the laws of the state of New York.
I'm playing legal tiddly-winks with these punks.
What I'd really like to do is take them out to Battery Park and hang them by the scrotum.
Understandable sentiment.
But stick to tiddly-winks.
(SIGHS) it's from Tyrell and Shatenstein.
Motion opposing simultaneous trials.
I guess you're going to find out what the law thinks.
Look, he can argue Timon was the shooter or Kershaw was, but he knows damn well it wasn't both of them.
Your Honor, in each trial I'd simply be arguing from the facts in evidence, and the facts permit the reasonable inference, in one case, that Timon shot the victim, and in the other, that Kershaw did.
How can he say that two different people fired that bullet? It doesn't make sense.
Nothing in the law prevents me from simultaneously arguing different facts to different juries in the same case.
He's absolutely right.
It doesn't stand up to logic.
Welcome to the judicial system.
Your Honor, how's it going to look? Come on.
You let him do this, it's going to undermine public confidence in the court.
Nothing undermines public confidence like seeing two cold-blooded killers walk free.
Yes, yes, Mr.
McCoy.
Ms.
Tyrell, Mr.
Shatenstein, regardless of what a logician might think, Mr.
McCoy can in fact present two separate and mutually exclusive theories of the crime to two different juries in concurrent trials.
In short, your motion's denied.
SHATENSTEIN: Your Honor, I move to un-sever the trials.
(STUTTERING) In light of your decision, our clients should be tried jointly.
Mr.
Shatenstein you have a strange sense of humor.
You all have a nice day.
Frankly, I don't know what an appellate court would do with a conviction.
Not that my client's eager to find out.
My offer hasn't changed, Mr.
Timon.
Twenty to life.
(SIGHS) I'm so tired.
I can't take not knowing what's going to happen to me.
You know you'll have to get up in court and testify against Kershaw.
Yes, ma'am.
You'll have to say what the two of you did.
I know.
I got one thing.
I want to be in a prison close to the city.
So my mom and uncle can come visit.
We can arrange that.
JACK: And after you ordered the food, what did you do? TIMON: We took the subway to 34th Street and then we walked to the address that Dale told the guy.
JACK: Who had the gun at this point? I did.
But Dale wanted to go first.
What do you mean "go first"? To shoot first.
How did you decide who'd go first? Well, we went odds-evens, you know, like, with our fingers.
And who won? I did.
What happened next? Well, we waited for the guy.
He drove up real slow.
Then he called over to Dale.
What did you do? I came up behind him.
He must've heard me.
He turned around and he looked at me.
I started shooting.
How many shots? Three.
And then? And then he drove away.
So Dale took the gun from me, ran after him, shooting at him.
Then the van rolled into a street light.
And what did Mr.
Kershaw do after that? He opened the door.
The guy had his head on the steering wheel.
There was blood coming out of his ears.
Dale and me, we pulled him out.
He was just laying on the street, looking up at the street light.
He was still alive? Yes, sir.
He was hardly breathing.
We stood there and we watched him die.
Then we ran off.
I'm real sorry.
Before I pronounce sentence, pursuant to statute, the family of the victim has an opportunity to address the court.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Wheeler, you may step forward.
Here, Your Honor? Yes, that's fine.
Whenever you're ready.
I just want to say that my life My life stopped when Matthew died.
Nothing's the same.
I can't (EXHALES) You (WHISPERING) I'm sorry for losing my son.
I'm sorry you killed him.
I'm sorry you're going to spend the rest of your life in prison.
You made a bad choice.
You broke the golden rule.
To love other people like you love yourself.
For the last four months, I have tried to hate you.
But I can't.
I just can't hate you.
The church is right.
Even you and your friend deserve God's love and protection.
So I'm going to pray that God watch over you in that terrible place you're going.
Mr.
Kershaw, please stand up.
A jury having found you guilty of Murder in the Second Degree and criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, this court sentences you to a term no less than 30 years and no more than the term of your natural life to be served at a facility to be determined by the Department of Correction.
(GAVEL POUNDS) Thrill-killers are protected by the church.
The law says two people can fire one bullet.
And now the victim's mother forgives them.
You figure it out.
You don't think you could? Forgive them, I mean? No.
Neither could I.
What does that say about us?
srt by GeirDM NARRATOR: In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups, the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
(MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO) MATT: Sure I can afford it.
Mr.
DeLuca, he knows one of the waiters.
So, he's going to call him up so we can get served wine.
(CHUCKLES) Well, they got They got table cloths.
They got candles.
Yeah, and they sing opera.
Well, you know, maybe I can get them to sing Happy Birthday for you.
Hey, look, I think I'm coming up on the address.
Let me call you when I get home, all right? Yeah.
I love you, too.
(BRAKES SQUEALING) Hey, excuse me.
I'm looking for number 127.
Do you know which door that is? (RATTLING) (GUNSHOT) (WOMAN CHATTERING OVER POLICE RADIO) CSU TECH: He was tapped once in the back of the head, .
25 caliber.
We got three casings in a group back there, and four more spread out along the sidewalk.
The shooter was running after the van.
Yeah.
The kid tried to get away.
Matthew Wheeler, It's his van.
BRISCOE: He was just like this? Uh-huh.
The perp must have pulled him out.
Yeah.
He left the cash.
And the watch.
And the four buckets of chicken.
CSU TECH: DeLuca's, BRISCOE: Good place.
They make their own chicken soup.
I never saw this kid there.
Detective, this is Mr.
Sheehan.
He saw it happen.
Well, not the whole thing, actually, l Well, we'd appreciate anything you can tell us.
I was walking along the street here, going home, when I heard three shots.
So I looked up to the corner here, and I saw this van here roll by the intersection.
There was somebody running along the passenger side shooting into the van.
Can you describe this somebody? Well, I didn't run up to get a good look.
I was pretty scared.
And then what? Then nothing.
I ran home.
Until I heard the sirens.
Okay.
The detective will take your statement.
Thanks.
Lennie, the address on the delivery ticket, 127.
You want to deliver the chicken? I should've never sent him out this late, but four large buckets You got to make a living.
(SIGHS) He was only working here a couple of weeks.
Nice kid.
(SIGHS) This is really screwed up.
CURTIS: Who took the order? He did.
We didn't find a phone number on the delivery ticket.
I told him to always get a number.
Come on.
Come on.
I'm sure it's here.
Why don't we check the caller ID box? They save the numbers.
Oh, right.
I forgot.
The call came in right after 10:00.
The early news just started Here.
it's this one.
Mr.
DeLuca, you been having any trouble with anybody? You know, maybe somebody you pissed off.
Or maybe you buy your chickens from the wrong supplier? Nothing like that.
Why? Well, the phony address.
No sign of a robbery.
Almost looks like somebody's trying to send you a message.
Hey, I pay my bills, I don't owe no Shylock.
(SCOFFS) And I get my birds from the right people.
He's a good kid.
He never hurt anybody.
What kind of a sick bastard would do this? We'll get him.
Can you think of anyone who might've wanted to hurt him? No.
He got along good with everybody.
I don't mean any disrespect, but was he ever mixed up with a gang or with drugs? No.
He told me that he tried pot.
But, I mean, show me a kid that doesn't.
Oh, God, I should call Lauren.
BRISCOE: Lauren? Yeah.
That's his girlfriend.
He met her at City College.
He goes there part time.
We're going to need to talk to her.
Yeah.
I'll get the address.
(PAGER BEEPING) Excuse me, it's Profaci.
MR.
WHEELER: I'm telling you right now, the son of a bitch who killed my boy, you better pray you find him before I do.
The call to the chicken place came from here.
I got people canvassing.
Two witnesses in one day? We should be so lucky.
You checking that for prints or what? Soon as I take it back to the lab.
This year? It's up to him.
I can't just disconnect a payphone.
I have to have a work order from my supervisor.
And he needs a paper from his supervisor, who needs a paper from the city.
Tell you what.
I'm going to give you a piece of paper.
Now, this is my card, see.
I'm going to write a little note on it.
And the next time you get stopped for speeding, you just show this to the officer.
Deal? Yeah? Okay.
Check the coins, too, huh.
We got a match from a thumbprint on two shell casings to partials on five coins in the phone.
So the shooter made five calls.
Looks like.
There was a second set of thumbprints on the casings.
Can you put a face to the prints? They're not in the system.
You get any more good news, you hurry on back.
We talked to the victim's girlfriend, to his friends.
The kid was the boy wonder.
I don't see any motive here.
People don't kill for no reason.
This doer made a phone call from Central Park for a delivery He wanted a nice, quiet street.
There are quiet streets closer to the park.
Tell me about this bogus address.
Repair shop for small appliances.
Went out of business about 14 months ago.
So our suspect knows that because he lives in that neighborhood.
Yeah.
Along with I got the dumps from the payphone.
Twenty-three calls made in the hour and a half before the murder.
Six to take-out places, including the last one, DeLuca's.
Five coins, five calls.
He was trolling for victims.
Until he found a place that delivered.
Would be nice to find someone who actually talked to this person.
Okay.
I got this covered.
I'll pick you up around noon? Yeah, we'll be out front.
Oh, they were calling from a phone booth.
It didn't sound on the up-and-up.
There were two of them? Yeah.
First the one guy orders the buckets, then the other guy gets on to give me the address.
Young, old? Young, I think.
The first one talked through his nose.
White guys.
They wanted two large buckets.
Yeah.
They ordered four buckets from DeLuca.
Four? Yeah, for four I would've gone out myself.
I'm really scared, Rey.
I know you are, baby.
But you're going to be all right.
I'm sure it's nothing.
See you tonight, all right? I love you.
BRISCOE: So? She's got to come back for more tests.
What's wrong with her? She's got some numbness in her right foot.
It comes and goes.
They just want to rule some things out.
So, what's up with our shooter? Well, there might've been two of them.
Young, probably white.
They called four other take-out places.
The other two calls were legit orders.
That accounts for four of the coins.
Might've used the fifth to call a number on the list.
Well, here's the LUDs.
Take your pick.
MRS.
HEMMERICK: It was him who called me.
He forgot what he was supposed to get from the store.
He never remembers anything.
MR.
HEMMERICK: I remembered our phone number.
You had it written down in your wallet.
BRISCOE: Mr.
Hemmerick.
Yeah? Did you see anybody hanging around the phone booth the other night? Maybe a couple of kids? They might've been white.
Yeah, sure.
Two boys, they was laughing it up.
One of them looked a little Puerto Rican.
BRISCOE: They were laughing it up about what? I wasn't listening to them.
I was listening to her.
What did they look like? Maybe one of them had red hair.
I didn't get a good look.
He can't see at night.
I see just fine! They had loose-fitting clothes, and one of them had skates with those plastic wheels.
You mean roller blades.
That's right.
Roller blades.
With green wheels.
Lime green.
That was me who used the phone.
I called home to check my messages.
Did you notice any kids waiting to use the phone? One of them might've been on roller blades? Yes, I did, and in fact, I borrowed a quarter from them.
That explains that.
Betty, could you make sure that the legs go out to ortho by Friday? Explains what? Nothing.
SHUSTER: Please, sit down.
Can you describe these kids? Sure.
I've seen them before in the park.
At night.
CURTIS: When was that? In the past month, on three or four occasions.
A couple of times, they were with a young girl.
Adele.
CURTIS: Adele who? Oh, I don't know.
She goes to a prep school.
I don't remember the name.
But they wear blue blazers with gold trim.
BRISCOE: Do you go to the park very often at night? Yes.
Yes, I do.
I find it very relaxing at night.
What do you do there, Mr.
Shuster? I drink.
With teenage girls? And middle-aged women, college kids, lawyers, waiters, off-duty cops.
Everyone's welcome.
I bet.
Listen, we'd like you to come down to the station house with us and talk to a sketch artist about those two boys.
Right now? Right now.
(BELL RINGING) HEADMISTRESS: Is she in trouble? CURTIS: No.
But she might be a witness to a crime.
(SIGHS) Adele does have a knack for being in the wrong place at the right time.
And with the wrong people.
So we've heard.
She's a challenge, no doubt about it.
I don't know if she'll be home yet.
School just let out.
Could she still be here? Susan? Have you seen Adele Green? She left.
But you could try the bodega on 81st and 3rd.
Whoa, Adele, police.
Let me go.
Just take it easy.
What do we have here? A big forty.
That's the good stuff.
Supplying alcohol to a minor.
That's a $5 fine.
Get out of here.
Take your hands off me! You're hurting me! Stop moving, we stop hurting.
Let's go.
I want to call my parents.
You can call them from the station house.
CURTIS: We found this stuff in her backpack, Mrs.
Green.
We're not making it up.
Fingerprinting her like a common criminal.
Don't you have anything better to do? Doesn't this worry you? Drugs, booze, condoms.
I mean, she had the whole James Dean fun pack with her.
Well, that's no reason to scare the wits out of her.
You're scared, Adele? I wasn't hurting anybody.
And what's this for? You open a lot of boxes at your prep school? I need that because of all the creeps out there.
You mean, the creeps you hang with in the park at night? That's none of your damn business.
Adele Well, these two are our business.
Do you know them? No.
Think harder, Adele, somebody saw you with these guys.
It wasn't me.
(KNOCK AT DOOR) This is Ms.
Green's lawyer.
You mind? Five's a crowd.
At most she knows these mutts.
But we don't figure she's involved in the murder.
Are you sure about that? We're ready.
First of all, she was at her relatives in Brooklyn Heights the night of this murder.
Ten people can alibi her.
Second, she's never seen either of these individuals.
Mmm-hmm.
Then maybe she can tell us why we found her thumbprint on a shell casing at the homicide scene? Oh, my God.
That's not possible.
VAN BUREN: I'm afraid it is.
You're implicated in a murder, little girl.
So cut the bull.
GILL: Lieutenant, please.
(WHISPERING) But I didn't.
Okay, so I know them.
They bought a little gun last week, a .
25 auto.
They didn't know how to load the mag, so I showed them how.
And just where did you pick up this knowledge? Around.
These guys are clowns.
One of them is always talking about how he wants to be some major gangster.
Names and addresses.
Joey and Tagger.
I don't know where they live.
How do you get in touch with them? I see them when I see them.
In the park.
I'm supposed to hook up with them at the fountain around 7:00.
Did they tell you they were planning to kill a delivery man? They just said they wanted to kill someone.
They were always talking about doing that.
VAN BUREN: Why? Just to see what it feels like.
A thrill killing.
I take it back, Lennie, some people don't need a reason.
Guess the Macarena wasn't exciting enough for them.
Profaci, we're getting up a team to stake out the park.
The chicken guys? Yeah.
Our informant says that one of them has a job that keeps him busy till 6:30, so we're not expecting them till after that.
Let's keep it small.
Maybe a half a dozen guys.
We don't want to spook the locals.
How about taking the girl along to ID them? No.
I don't trust her.
Well, there's Shuster, spare parts salesman by day, drunk by night.
(SIREN WAILING) BRISCOE: Okay.
So the Rumble in the Jungle.
The night before, Angelo Dundee gets a big wrench and goes around all four corners and loosens the top.
That's the rope-a-dope! VAN BUREN: But it was Muhammad Ali who did the floating and the stinging.
The man was sweet.
A poet.
A real poet is Milton.
You want to understand the ways of God, Milton's your boy.
When it comes to understanding the ways of God, I prefer malt to Milton.
I know! That's right! (ALL LAUGHING) Hey.
Over there.
Straight down the path.
KID: Raise up! Five-O! BRISCOE: Hey, stop! Hey, police! (PANTING) You okay? Just shoot me, will you? We got the other guy.
Well, Joey, you think about what we talked about before? I don't know what I'm doing here.
Same old song, huh.
He says he was in the park all night on Tuesday.
CURTIS: Except we found his prints on coins in a payphone on 71st.
And on the bullets that killed the delivery guy.
No, you didn't.
Mr.
Timon No.
You can't get fingerprints Mr.
Timon, be quiet.
Okay by us.
We'll just go talk to your buddy, Tagger.
A little bird told me this alleged buddy got away from you.
If you want Mr.
Timon to help you find him, it's going to cost you big.
Yeah.
Right.
Like he's getting a free trip to Disney World.
Then find the accomplice.
Unless you want to be somebody's punk for the next 25 years.
It's a mistake.
My son goes to Saint Pete's.
He has a part-time job.
He's not a killer.
Maybe it's his friend, Tagger.
You know him? I don't know his friends.
They don't stop in here for cookies and milk.
That kind of attitude won't help your son, Mrs.
Timon.
I'm sorry, this is very upsetting.
Did Joey ever talk about knowing anybody in Hell's Kitchen? He don't know those people over there.
He goes to school, he goes to work.
He comes home.
He's not some gypsy.
And I guess he's never been to West 23rd Street Electronics, huh? No.
I don't know where that came from.
I remember him.
He ran off with the CD player about two weeks ago.
CURTIS: Was there anyone with him? A kid with red hair, maybe? Yes, there was another kid.
He was at the counter filling out a job application.
I was helping him when the other one Oh, I see.
I'm so stupid.
I can't believe it.
That's okay.
A lot of merchants fall for that trick.
This other kid with red hair, have you seen him since? No.
He took the application home.
So no name, no phone number? No.
He said he used to work at a repair shop on 11th.
A repair shop for small appliances? Yes.
He said they went out of business last year.
The only employee I had was Jose Martinez, and right now he's drinking Cuba Libres in Miami.
Well, maybe this kid worked a couple of weekends.
No.
I could hardly afford to pay Jose.
Nobody gets things fixed anymore.
It's cheaper to throw it away.
And then those rotten kids What kids? That was the straw broke my back.
They burglarized me, vandalized the place, broke my tools.
What were they looking for? Toasters? They get caught? Yeah.
The judge ordered restitution.
I got a check for $17.
00 from one of them.
I didn't even have insurance.
Rotten kids.
One of them's on a full scholarship to Attica, another to Elmira.
The other two are keeping low profiles.
(CELL PHONE RINGING) Curtis.
Yeah.
Hold on, got to get this.
You got any photos or fingerprints? No, not anymore.
Juvie court waved a magic wand when they turned 18.
We got Robinson and Sloane, the two I told you about, and Dale Kershaw and Neal Behrens.
The hole-in-the-head gang, we called them.
Real bright bulbs.
Last knowns? Kershaw lives on 36th with his brother.
Behrens is on 43rd.
The other three fingered Kershaw as the ringleader.
Okay.
We'll start with him.
I'll get you some backup.
Thanks.
First stop is Dale Kershaw, West 36th Street.
Byrne's getting us backup.
You okay? Yeah.
That was Deborah.
Her doctor got the result of the MRI, and she has a She has a type of MS.
I wrote it down.
It's Relapsing-remitting chronic progressive multiple sclerosis.
That's why she had the numbness.
Rey.
I'm sorry.
Listen, why don't you go home? I'll call Profaci.
She's okay.
She's going to She's going to take the kids to their swimming lessons.
Let's get this rolling.
We're not saying your kid brother did anything.
We just need to talk to him.
He's got a girl upstairs.
That's where he is.
This is a bad situation.
I got to tell our mother.
Mr.
Kershaw, if you know something that we don't You don't understand about Dale Lennie.
In a paper bag in the kid's closet.
.
25 auto.
Aw, jeez.
I tried telling him.
All that big talk about being a gangster, like the Westies.
What are you going to do to him? Don't kill him! Please! Dale! I love you! DALE: Shut up, Marlene! Dale! Now, let's do this the easy way, all right? Just open the door and come out nice and slow! DALE: (STUTTERING) I can't.
We're not going to hurt you.
I got no pants.
It's just us guys out here, Dale.
Nothing we haven't seen before.
Either I get my pants or I don't come out.
All right, Dale.
Here.
Here.
Look out the keyhole now.
See? Here's your pants.
Now I'm tossing them to you.
All you have to do is reach out and grab them.
Go ahead.
DALE: Okay.
I'm opening up the door.
(DALE SCREAMS) No! Liar! I want my pants! Why, Dale? I don't see anything here worth covering up.
BRISCOE: There he is, the criminal mastermind, Dale Kershaw.
A.
K.
A.
Tagger.
(DOOR OPENS) This is from ballistics.
And this is Mr.
Shatenstein.
Stan Shatenstein.
From the 18B panel.
I'm looking for a Dale Kershaw.
That's my client? In all his glory.
Why is he handcuffed? I thought this was just a weapons charge.
Well, that's about to change.
The gun had prints from him and Timon.
And it matched up to the slugs.
I'll amend the charge.
CURTIS: Nap's over, hump.
BRISCOE: Get up! What's going on? CURTIS: Dale Kershaw, you're under arrest for the murder of Matthew Wheeler.
Congratulations, Dale, you made your bones.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
(GATE BUZZING OPEN) You know, you make fun of my case and I make fun of yours, but at the end of the day, you still have a problem.
Then, funny how you came to us.
Under the circumstances, murder two, is generous.
Your eyewitness only saw one shooter.
The jury will want to know, was it Mr.
Timon or Mr.
Kershaw? Our position is they were both there.
Anyway, it doesn't matter.
They're accomplices, they're both liable.
And what accessorial conduct is my client guilty of? He called the restaurant.
He put the bullets in the gun.
Based on a six-point fingerprint match.
That's hardly conclusive.
At most, he's guilty of touching a gun a few days before the shooting.
Ms.
Tyrell.
Give the jury some credit.
Even if your brilliant presentation of the evidence convinces them that Mr.
Timon and Mr.
Kershaw planned this crime together, my client will testify that he changed his mind at the last minute.
He stayed in the park while Mr.
Kershaw went to shoot the delivery boy.
And my client will say that he's the one who backed out, and it was Timon who did the shooting.
That's reasonable doubt, Mr.
McCoy.
The gun was in his room.
Timon gave it to him the day after.
At worst he pleads to facilitation.
He points at Timon, and Timon points at him.
That's a very dangerous defense strategy.
I've seen it work before.
People v.
Wong.
And I've seen it not work.
People v.
Benzinger.
I don't know that case.
I'll look it up.
Ms.
Tyrell has shown me jury verdicts in cases like this.
Two defendants but only one possible shooter.
The odds are on our side, Mr.
McCoy.
Murder two, 20-to-life.
That's still our only offer.
You think about it and give us a call.
We're done.
They couldn't even load a gun by themselves? Clarence Darrow got Leopold and Loeb.
Who do we got? Beavis and Butthead.
United they stand.
I read the jury studies.
If we try them together, the percentages are against us.
Any grounds to sever the trials? No legal grounds.
No judge will do it just to make our lives easier.
Then the answer's no, unless the defense wants separate trials.
The eyewitness.
Couldn't pick them out of a lineup.
We suck it in and offer one of them a deal to implicate the other.
Yes.
And if we choose the wrong one? So we take our chances at trial.
Until you can tell a jury which one pulled the trigger, you don't go near a courtroom.
You mean because the eyewitness only saw one guy shooting at the van, they could actually get off? Good chance the jury acquits or hangs.
In other words, we're better off without an eyewitness.
I can't believe these two stumbled into the perfect crime.
You canvassed the subway? Hey, we had people at the 34th Street station at 10:00 every night for a week passing their pictures around.
We checked with bus drivers, cabbies Nobody remembers them.
This was the biggest thrill of their lives.
They must've bragged about it.
BRISCOE: Not to the people we talked to.
Maybe you didn't talk to the right people.
CURTIS: Hey, we got to everybody.
We even got a list of their visitors at Rikers, parents, aunts, uncles, Kershaw's girlfriend.
Yeah.
I'd love to hear these two mutts explain how the whole thing was a case of mistaken identity.
So would I.
Can we bug their conversations? Won't work.
Timon and Kershaw are in the general population.
They see visitors in a common room.
Some of my friskier clients were held at Rikers in isolation.
I had to talk to them through a glass divider over a telephone.
After Jamie had Rikers move them into isolation, she got a court order to record their visits.
This was taped yesterday morning.
The visitor is James Galva, Timon's uncle on his mother's side.
TIMON: (SOBBING) I can't sleep, I'm so scared.
You don't know what happens in this place, Uncle Jim.
You got to get me out of here.
GALVA: We'll do what we can, Joey.
But if you did this killing there's only one way out for you.
You have to take responsibility.
You have to admit what you did.
I want to.
Oh, God.
Just tell me the truth, Joey.
(TIMON CRYING) I walked up on the driver's side and I shot him.
Oh, God, Uncle Jim, I'm sorry.
That's okay, Joey.
I'm just no good.
Don't say that.
God forgives you.
He loves you, and so does your family.
I don't want Mom to know.
You tell her when you're ready.
Right now, it's just between us.
And the People of the State of New York.
Does he implicate his accomplice? Never mentions him.
We sent a transcript to Timon's lawyer this afternoon.
She'll be happy.
What the hell were you thinking? Do you have tapes of my meetings with him, too? ROSS: Except for his conversations with you, Mr.
Timon has no expectation of privacy while he's at Rikers.
What Joey said to me is protected.
Mr.
Galva, you should've read the advisory when you signed in.
"All conversations may be monitored.
" I read it.
And it's Father Galva.
You're a priest? TYRELL: A Jesuit priest.
And this is a confession protected by the priest-penitent privilege.
He didn't identify himself as a priest on the sign-in sheet.
Well, now you know.
He's been Joey's spiritual adviser since his first communion.
Well, it hasn't been a screaming success.
Ms.
Tyrell, what I heard didn't sound like a confession the way I remember them.
Look, he could've set it to music.
It's still privileged and you can't use it.
I've searched Westlaw.
I haven't found any New York cases on point.
How about in other states? The New York statutes only say we can't compel a priest to reveal the contents of a confession.
Nothing prevents us from taping one.
In other words, we can start bugging churches.
I wouldn't go that far.
Jack, like it or not, we have the tape.
We should use it.
I wish it were that simple.
That makes two of us.
Temporary restraining order to keep the tape out of court.
Timon? No.
The Archdiocese.
If people don't feel safe talking to their priests, the church can't minister to its flock.
Simple as that.
The sacrament of penance is one of the pillars of our religion, Mr.
McCoy.
As a catholic, you know this.
And as an Assistant District Attorney I have a duty to prosecute murderers within the bounds of the law.
We understand and we concede that the recording was a good faith mistake.
You also have to concede that it's a very unorthodox confession.
REV.
GERVAIS: Joey Timon confessed his sins, and Father Galva gave him absolution.
That's all we require.
We ask you not to oppose the restraining order.
And to destroy the tape.
Are you asking me as a catholic or as an officer of the court? As someone who's sworn to uphold the Constitution.
Including the First Amendment and the free exercise of religion.
I can't promise anything.
This tape is the best evidence we have against Timon and Kershaw.
Violating the sanctity of the confessional interferes with the practice of religion, Mr.
McCoy.
It's not only unconstitutional, it's immoral.
ROSS: And protecting two killers isn't? Do you want to see what they did to Matthew Wheeler? They spilled his brains on the street just for kicks.
We don't condone what they did, Ms.
Ross.
But when people confess their sins, it's an article of our faith.
They're speaking to God through a priest.
In plain English, you fool with that, you fool with God's work.
I read it in the paper.
I couldn't believe it.
How can the church do this? How can they stand up for that scum? They're not even human.
Matthew was an altar boy.
Why don't they stand up for him? It's just not right.
Have you talked with your priest? MR.
WHEELER: Our priest! He said the church has to do this to protect the sacraments.
The hell with the sacraments.
I want those punks to pay.
We'll do whatever we have to.
You leave that to us.
You know, the church says God forgives even the worst sinners.
Well, maybe God can.
But we can't.
Not ever.
How they holding up? About what you'd expect.
They got thrown a curve.
How's Deborah? She's okay.
That problem with her leg is clearing up.
The doctor says to expect that, symptoms will come and go.
Oh, I talked to my daughter at the hospital.
She gave me the names of some specialists.
And a support group.
They've got support groups for everything now.
Yeah, we got one at our church.
But thanks, Lennie.
I'll pass it on to Deborah.
I haven't decided what I'm going to do.
CURTIS: I've got to say, I have to side with the church on this.
The case isn't easy to make without the confession.
I don't want these guys to walk either.
I want justice for the Wheeler kid and his parents.
But this isn't the way to do it.
Because it offends your religious beliefs? (SCOFFS) Even my own? I'm not sure that's a reason.
Give Lennie and me some more time.
We'll make the case.
From what I hear, you've already exhausted your leads.
Look, Detective, I appreciate the input, but it's out of your hands.
You're a catholic.
Not when I'm at work.
I'm sorry.
You know, so am I.
What you believe in, your faith, sometimes that's all you have to go on.
You can't just forget about it whenever you like.
Everybody's staking out their territory.
You can't make them all happy.
You want to weigh in? Until I can figure out which constituency to alienate the least, it's your call.
Thanks.
And I have to figure out which clause of the First Amendment I like the most, the separation of church and state or the free exercise of religion.
So for you it's a constitutional issue.
Not entirely.
Well, you're the last person I expected to have a problem with this.
No one's more surprised than me.
Who knows what'll happen to that tape.
Right now, it's leverage.
Use it before you lose it.
I've read this.
Ms.
Tyrell gave me a copy.
It doesn't say anything about my client.
That's right, but it's the nail in Mr.
Timon's coffin.
Once we get the restraining order lifted and we're free to use his confession, he'll be begging us for a deal.
And he might get one unless we already have a deal with your client.
Ms.
Tyrell and I have already discussed this.
I wouldn't put all your eggs in Ms.
Tyrell's basket.
What kind of deal are we talking about? I'll start the bidding at twenty to life in exchange for his testimony.
I only need one of you, Mr.
Kershaw.
I don't care which.
You're going to get nothing.
Talk to your lawyer before I don't need this pencil-neck here to tell me what time it is.
I talked to my man Joey.
He's got you beat on this confession deal.
So we got nothing to worry about.
Thank you, Mr.
Kershaw.
You just made up my mind for me.
HOGAN: The suspicion that any freely-confessed sin might become public is a deterrent to participating in the sacrament of penance.
This tape makes it impossible for clergy like Father Galva to minister to those who arguably need it the most, people like Mr.
Timon.
Your Honor, if you don't allow us to use this tape, you're placing the church's claim above the authority of the state.
This violates the separation of church and state envisioned by the Founding Fathers.
So under your analysis, the church has less protection because it is a religious establishment.
Doesn't that stand freedom of religion on its head? With all due respect, Your Honor misses my point.
I don't expect this court to afford the church less protection.
I'm just saying that Your Honor shouldn't give it more than that enjoyed by your average citizen.
That's what the Constitution demands.
Your Honor I've heard enough.
Sit down, Mr.
McCoy.
The clergy-penitent relationship is one of the most sacred recognized by this nation.
As such, Mr.
Timon and Father Galva were reasonable in relying on the laws of New York and this country's respect of religion in general, to protect their private communications.
Mr.
McCoy, you've cited no case in which a court has approved the invasion of the rite of confession by any agency of the government, and my own research has found none.
For these reasons, I'm enjoining the District Attorney and all parties hereto from using in any trial or disseminating by any fashion the contents of this confession.
No.
No.
This isn't justice.
That animal killed my boy! JUDGE MICKERSON: Sit down! How can you protect him? This can't be what God wants! Officer, remove that man.
MR.
WHEELER: This isn't fair, how can you do this? He killed my boy! He killed him! Oh, God, my boy's dead! Your Honor, for the record, I intend to serve a notice of appeal on grounds that your blanket injunction isn't in the interest of justice.
I think I've addressed that issue, Mr.
McCoy.
I don't believe you have, Your Honor.
You've completely ignored the impact of your ruling on third party action.
For example, the victim's family bringing a wrongful death suit against Mr.
Timon.
JUDGE MICKERSON: Mr.
McCoy This tape has probative and exculpative value Your Honor has simply neglected.
Your Honor, if I may.
I'm counsel for Mr.
Timon's co-defendant, Dale Kershaw.
This tape may very well prove my client innocent from having participated in this crime.
In this narrow instance, the exculpative value of evidence must supersede the priest-penitent privilege.
Please, sit down.
Sit down! Mr.
McCoy, you see what you started? This isn't what I had in mind.
No? Tell you what, Mr.
McCoy, I'm going to amend my decision.
You're still enjoined from using the confession against Mr.
Timon.
But Mr.
Kershaw may use it in his own defense.
Adjourned.
Your Honor, you can't allow the I said we're adjourned.
(GAVEL POUNDING) Nice going.
I thought it went pretty well, considering.
You just handed Kershaw a gift.
He'll use the confession to prove Timon did the shooting while he was off roller-blading in Central Park.
Not unless he severs his trial from Timons.
Once they're tried separately their little finger-pointing routine won't work.
The federal judge ruled the confession tape can't be used against Mr.
Timon.
Now, if Mr.
Timon and my client are tried together, that means that the jury will be barred from hearing the only evidence that exonerates my client.
Because the confession exculpates your client while implicating Mr.
Timon.
SHATENSTEIN: Yes, Your Honor.
That's why you must sever the trials, so that my client can present the tape to a jury without violating the federal court order.
All right.
What Mr.
Shatenstein fails to appreciate here is that this is just a ploy by the District Attorney to drive a wedge between our clients.
JUDGE STEINMAN: And this is legal grounds to oppose severance? I don't think so, Ms.
Tyrell.
Mr.
McCoy, do the People take a position on Mr.
Shatenstein's motion to sever? No, Your Honor.
We'll rely on your good judgment.
Then the motion's granted.
The defendants will be tried separately.
TYRELL: Shatenstein is an idiot.
I told him it was a sucker play.
JACK: You're imagining things.
My imagination put me through B.
U.
, playing the ponies at Suffolk Downs.
Jack, I just realized we are better off with two trials.
It's very cute.
There's still only one shooter.
You try Kershaw first and convict him, you give my client the perfect defense.
You try Timon first, Kershaw's off the hook.
That's a tough decision, McCoy.
Odds are still on our side.
I won't have to flip a coin.
While I'm arguing to a jury is that your Mr.
Timon fired the bullet that killed Matthew Wheeler, Ms.
Ross will be down the hall telling another jury it was Mr.
Kershaw.
See you at the track! Simultaneous trials? Otherwise, whoever's tried first, the other one gets a walk.
I want them both convicted.
Of firing the same bullet? You familiar with the laws of physics? JACK: I'm familiar with the laws of the state of New York.
I'm playing legal tiddly-winks with these punks.
What I'd really like to do is take them out to Battery Park and hang them by the scrotum.
Understandable sentiment.
But stick to tiddly-winks.
(SIGHS) it's from Tyrell and Shatenstein.
Motion opposing simultaneous trials.
I guess you're going to find out what the law thinks.
Look, he can argue Timon was the shooter or Kershaw was, but he knows damn well it wasn't both of them.
Your Honor, in each trial I'd simply be arguing from the facts in evidence, and the facts permit the reasonable inference, in one case, that Timon shot the victim, and in the other, that Kershaw did.
How can he say that two different people fired that bullet? It doesn't make sense.
Nothing in the law prevents me from simultaneously arguing different facts to different juries in the same case.
He's absolutely right.
It doesn't stand up to logic.
Welcome to the judicial system.
Your Honor, how's it going to look? Come on.
You let him do this, it's going to undermine public confidence in the court.
Nothing undermines public confidence like seeing two cold-blooded killers walk free.
Yes, yes, Mr.
McCoy.
Ms.
Tyrell, Mr.
Shatenstein, regardless of what a logician might think, Mr.
McCoy can in fact present two separate and mutually exclusive theories of the crime to two different juries in concurrent trials.
In short, your motion's denied.
SHATENSTEIN: Your Honor, I move to un-sever the trials.
(STUTTERING) In light of your decision, our clients should be tried jointly.
Mr.
Shatenstein you have a strange sense of humor.
You all have a nice day.
Frankly, I don't know what an appellate court would do with a conviction.
Not that my client's eager to find out.
My offer hasn't changed, Mr.
Timon.
Twenty to life.
(SIGHS) I'm so tired.
I can't take not knowing what's going to happen to me.
You know you'll have to get up in court and testify against Kershaw.
Yes, ma'am.
You'll have to say what the two of you did.
I know.
I got one thing.
I want to be in a prison close to the city.
So my mom and uncle can come visit.
We can arrange that.
JACK: And after you ordered the food, what did you do? TIMON: We took the subway to 34th Street and then we walked to the address that Dale told the guy.
JACK: Who had the gun at this point? I did.
But Dale wanted to go first.
What do you mean "go first"? To shoot first.
How did you decide who'd go first? Well, we went odds-evens, you know, like, with our fingers.
And who won? I did.
What happened next? Well, we waited for the guy.
He drove up real slow.
Then he called over to Dale.
What did you do? I came up behind him.
He must've heard me.
He turned around and he looked at me.
I started shooting.
How many shots? Three.
And then? And then he drove away.
So Dale took the gun from me, ran after him, shooting at him.
Then the van rolled into a street light.
And what did Mr.
Kershaw do after that? He opened the door.
The guy had his head on the steering wheel.
There was blood coming out of his ears.
Dale and me, we pulled him out.
He was just laying on the street, looking up at the street light.
He was still alive? Yes, sir.
He was hardly breathing.
We stood there and we watched him die.
Then we ran off.
I'm real sorry.
Before I pronounce sentence, pursuant to statute, the family of the victim has an opportunity to address the court.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Wheeler, you may step forward.
Here, Your Honor? Yes, that's fine.
Whenever you're ready.
I just want to say that my life My life stopped when Matthew died.
Nothing's the same.
I can't (EXHALES) You (WHISPERING) I'm sorry for losing my son.
I'm sorry you killed him.
I'm sorry you're going to spend the rest of your life in prison.
You made a bad choice.
You broke the golden rule.
To love other people like you love yourself.
For the last four months, I have tried to hate you.
But I can't.
I just can't hate you.
The church is right.
Even you and your friend deserve God's love and protection.
So I'm going to pray that God watch over you in that terrible place you're going.
Mr.
Kershaw, please stand up.
A jury having found you guilty of Murder in the Second Degree and criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, this court sentences you to a term no less than 30 years and no more than the term of your natural life to be served at a facility to be determined by the Department of Correction.
(GAVEL POUNDS) Thrill-killers are protected by the church.
The law says two people can fire one bullet.
And now the victim's mother forgives them.
You figure it out.
You don't think you could? Forgive them, I mean? No.
Neither could I.
What does that say about us?