Law & Order (1990) s14e15 Episode Script

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.
Feels like the city's getting dirtier by the minute.
Budget crunch.
What do you expect? I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Giuliani.
Bite your tongue.
Oh, yeah.
Look at this guy.
Geez.
He doesn't look very good.
Hey, kid, you all right? Is he breathing? Call 911.
I don't feel a pulse.
- He was strangled.
- When did it happen? Sometime within the last four hours.
So about the same time the snow started? What makes you think he was choked to death? Petechial hemorrhages.
Strangulation until proven otherwise.
Autopsy will confirm one way or the other.
I don't see any marks or bruises.
Skin's gotta dry out for ligature marks to really pop.
Might not show up until tomorrow.
Any I.
D.
? Over there.
Hey, yo.
! Hey, man, what do you got? Contents of the pockets.
No wallet, but we're still looking.
House keys, spare change, fresh pack of smokes.
That's one way to kick the habit.
Found this in his stomach.
Could be off the killer's cuff.
It's a white button and white thread.
It's pretty generic.
Well, if the killer had him in a choke hold He bit it off trying to escape? He was being strangled to death.
How would he manage that? He could still swallow.
Huh? Look, your garden-variety, two-handed choke hold severely compresses the neck and prevents oxygen from reaching the lungs.
Right.
If you can't breathe, you can't swallow.
Right.
But this one applies just enough pressure to block venous outflow from the brain.
Meanwhile, the carotids are still pumping blood in.
You keep that up for four or five seconds, blood floods the brain, the capillaries start exploding like popcorn.
Four or five seconds? Correct.
Somebody knew what he was doing.
You could pick up this move a lot of places martial-arts training, the military.
- Mm-hmm.
Law enforcement.
- Back in the day, we called it the sleeper hold.
Used it to restrain suspects.
Trouble is, it put some of them to sleep for good.
Tell me we have an I.
D.
Mm-hmm.
The vic's name is Brian Teague.
B.
C.
I.
Had his prints on file.
I love it when their fingers do the talking.
In Teague's case, they couldn't shut up.
Four collars for disturbing the peace, one for assault, another one for resisting arrest.
Well, maybe he just mouthed off once too often.
It doesn't feel like a street fight to me.
He didn't have any other injuries.
His wallet's missing.
Somebody could have jumped him.
The lab's examining that button.
They told us not to hold our breath unless we get 'em a suspect and the shirt off his back.
Okay.
So where does that leave us? With a last known address.
Sorry to hear about Brian.
Most of the tenants here are students.
Pains in the asses, I can tell you that.
We heard Teague had a rep for acting up.
No, he was one of the nicer ones.
Always said hello.
Lot of these other kids make like I'm invisible.
My lot in life to clean up after 'em.
Who's this? Don't know her name.
Seen her coming and going a few times.
Girlfriend, maybe? I don't get involved.
Hey, no wonder Teague had that rap sheet.
He's been disturbing the peace fighting for it.
There's a whole bunch of rally flyers here.
New Yorkers for Peace, Bring Our Troops Home Now Coalition.
Kid tried to get me to sign a petition.
Did you? Like I said Yeah, I know, you don't get involved.
Hey, incoming messages.
Bri, it's Rehana.
I'm here waiting for you.
Where the hell are you? It's me again.
I'm going home.
See you tomorrow.
Rehana? Is that an Indian name? Sounds Indian to me.
"See you tomorrow.
" That protest is today.
We met at a W.
T.
O.
Demonstration.
Brian was a chain-smoker.
I was trying to quit.
He was so cute, I couldn't resist.
I bummed a smoke off him.
And one thing led to another and, uh You were boyfriend and girlfriend? We were more than that.
We were soul mates.
What about yesterday? Were you two together? We were at the Handleton demonstration.
Handleton? The construction company? The one making billions in Iraq and Afghanistan? I mean, that's the reason why these wars started.
Really? I thought it was 9/11 and 3,000 dead Americans.
Well, where were these demonstrations? Outside the C.
E.
O.
's townhouse on King Street.
How long were you there? Till about 3:00.
The cops came and cleared us out.
We got separated.
We were supposed to meet back at the car at 6:00, but-but Brian never showed.
- The car? The only keys they found on him were his house keys.
- His parents'car, actually.
I'm gonna call in a BOLO What kind of car? It's a black S.
U.
V.
Lexus.
I'm gonna have 'em call Impound and check repair shops.
Maybe they towed the car.
Where were the police? Too busy protecting the C.
E.
O.
Of Handleton.
We're very sorry for your loss, Mrs.
Teague.
Actually, the murder took place several hours after the protest.
So the police and the demonstrators had already left the scene.
Any witnesses? Uh, any idea what happened? Not so far.
Uh, can you think of anybody we should talk to? What do you mean? Well, Mrs.
Teague, your son had a history of, how should I put it confrontation? We taught him to speak his mind, to stand up for what he believed in.
In a pretty aggressive manner.
Disorderly conduct, assault No, no, no.
Civil disobedience.
Brian never hurt anyone.
Are you blaming Brian for what happened? No.
No, not at all.
I'm just saying that maybe somebody took exception.
Somebody he'd tangled with in the past? I can't think of anyone.
Honestly.
Well, we think the murder took place near where he parked the car, and the killer may have used it to flee the scene.
So if we could locate your car A copy of the registration's in my study.
I'll be right back.
I'm thinking we oughta recanvas the crime scene.
Why? What'd we miss? Well, the girl said the kid was a heavy smoker.
He was found with an unopened pack.
Oh, you thinkin' he bought them that day.
Hopefully, in that neighborhood.
I didn't sell this kid any cigarettes.
How can you be so sure? I told him to get lost.
He was fighting with this other guy.
They were knocking over all my magazines.
I told them to "Take hike.
" To both of them.
Did you get a good look at the other guy? Yeah.
Sure.
He's my mailman.
This is his route.
I see him every day.
I wouldn't call it a fight.
What would you call it? A disagreement.
Okay.
So what was the disagreement about? Well, the jerk wants to rag on America.
It's a free country.
Hey, I fought for their right to be stupid.
But these kids, you know, they're blocking all the foot traffic.
I got a 70-pound cart and a load to deliver.
So what, you told him to get the hell out of the way? No.
I asked him to step aside very politely, you know.
And the kid tells me to go screw myself.
Yeah.
That was part of the disagreement.
But it didn't end there.
Look, I tried walking down the block.
The kid followed me, talking all kinds of trash.
I was about to call my supervisor So why didn't you? This cop, you know, he broke it up.
He was about to let us both go.
But the kid just wouldn't quit.
Before I know it, the cop's shoving him in the back of his squad car.
For what? For talking back? No.
For giving the cop the bird.
I would've slapped the cuffs on him too.
I wonder why we didn't find a record of this arrest when we pulled Teague's file? It just happened yesterday.
Maybe he's slow on his paperwork.
Yeah.
Maybe.
Maybe he just drove the kid around the block to scare him and then let him go.
Uh-huh.
Maybe.
Why? You think this cop choked Teague? Well, like you said, this sleeper hold's an old academy move.
Yeah, and it's been banned since Lindsay was mayor.
I mean, Teague was killed hours after the cop arrested him.
Okay.
So I'm wondering what happened in between? We had about five guys working that rally three in plainclothes, two in uniform.
That's all? I mean, we were talking to one of the protestors.
She made it sound like the March on Washington.
Yeah, right.
A couple a dozen of these college kids with nothing better to do.
Wish I had that kinda free time.
Hey, the two unis, they got names? We got a problem here? One of them broke up a fight between one of the protestors and a mail carrier.
Oh, that.
Yeah.
Officer's name is Jeff Dawson.
You know that kid? What a royal pain in the ass.
Uh, wait.
He made it to the precinct? All the way to a holding cell.
Wouldn't shut up for a single second, hollering for a lawyer.
Hey, we didn't see a record of his arrest.
'Cause I voided it.
Why? A couple months back, Dawson detains a few demonstrators.
Forgot to let them use the john.
ACLU filed a lawsuit.
Hey, I didn't want him working that protest, just somebody else banged in sick.
- So you cut Teague loose? - Kid threatened to file a C.
C.
R.
B.
Over nothing.
So I tried to smooth things over.
Even arranged for that little twerp to get a ride back to his car.
Hope you didn't give that assignment to Dawson.
I look like an idiot, Detective? Dawson's head was already full of steam about letting that kid go.
I sent an R.
M.
P.
To take him back.
What do you want me to say? You sure you dropped the kid off? Why would I lie? Well, to cover for your buddy, Dawson.
Or maybe you're covering for yourself.
You think I killed him? No.
"A" you're too young to know the choke hold that killed the kid, and "B" you're too short to use it even if you did.
And what's "C"? I'm a woman? I wasn't gonna say that.
You think I shouldn't be a cop? You old-schoolers are all alike.
All I'm saying is, maybe you saw what went down.
I wasn't with Jeff.
But I know him.
He wouldn't do something like this.
All right.
So why don't you tell us what happened? I was pulling out, giving the kid a ride back to the car.
Jeff taps on the window, hops in.
We get there.
Jeff says he wants a few minutes alone with the guy.
- He say why? - You know, explain the facts oflife.
So, he gets out, opens the back door, pulls the kid out, walks him around the corner.
A few minutes later he comes back.
He's laughing.
He says he really messed up the kid's car.
I think he did a little bit more than that.
Docket number 49803, Richard Houck Jeff Dawson? Listen, I gotta testify against a Wall Streeter who made a right on red on Park Avenue.
You mind if we chat after? You know what? I'm not sayin' anything till I talk to my delegate.
- What makes you think we're I.
A.
? - Kid filed a complaint, right? He couldn't.
Oh, so you're not I.
A.
? Nope.
Homicide.
- This kid's dead? - Mm-hmm.
Somebody choked him to death.
And as far as we know, you were the last person to see him alive.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
The only thing I am guilty of giving that little punk is a civics lesson.
Okay.
You wanna explain that? I told him somebody was gonna kick his can if he didn't learn a little respect.
Only somebody beat me to it.
They customized his car.
Customized? Two slashed tires, they scratched the driver's side door.
You know what he says to me? He says, "Oh, my Dad's gonna kill me.
" Like he's a little teenager or something.
Man, I couldn't stop laughin'.
Was he pissed.
All right, man.
You told your partner that you scratched that car.
Yeah, sure.
I had to save face, right? What, I went all the way down there for nothin'? Docket number 49804.
Listen, that's my right on red.
Are we cool? Go ahead.
Well, I don't particularly like him, but I don't particularly like him for Teague's murder either.
- He said the kid had two flats? - Yeah.
Two flats, one spare.
The car had to be towed.
Well, we checked Impound and every garage in the neighborhood.
What about the parents' neighborhood? What time did he call for the tow? About 8:30.
How long did it take you to get there? Fifteen, 20 minutes, tops.
And he was by himself.
Yeah.
I offered him a lift.
He wasn't interested.
Said he would just hail a cab.
Did he happen to say where he was calling from? Someplace noisy.
Sounded like a bar to me.
Hey, Lennie, Brian Teague's wallet.
Found it under the front seat.
Well, that's one mystery solved.
You seen this guy around here in the last few days? Nah.
Not our clientele.
Try Feluzzi's up the block.
This is yuppie scum.
Look, man, he wasn't slumming.
He may have come in to use the pay phone.
His car broke down.
He needed a tow.
Sorry.
Doesn't ring a bell.
Well, he certainly rang my bell.
You saw him? Well, sure.
Cute young guy got all his own hair and no paunch walks into a dump like this? Makes a girl sit up and take notice.
Did he talk to anybody? No.
Just made his call, that was it.
So he didn't sit at the bar, have a couple drinks, say two words to anybody? He was on the phone.
I stepped into the ladies' room, and when I came out, he was gone.
We matched the phone records from the body shop.
Teague made a call for a tow from a bar called McNulty's on Carmine Street.
It's a few blocks away from the crime scene.
Yeah.
It's a dive.
Looks like a vets' hangout.
You know, flags, medals.
What did the patrons have to say? Nothin'.
Only one of'em even remembered the kid.
And they were a little fuzzy on the details.
Maybe there's a reason.
The lab lifted some prints from Teague's wheel rims.
- Ronald Gibbons.
Who is he? - He has one prior barroom brawl, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
- He's a vet.
- I checked with the army's personnel command.
Gibbons served five years Special Ops.
He saying I kinked up his car? Well, tell him he can sue me.
I mean, isn't that what makes America great? That's the civil side of the justice system, Ron.
We deal with the criminal side.
Oh, come on.
Two detectives for what, a misdemeanor? For Brian Teague.
You know, the traitor? What are you guys talking about? He's dead.
That turns your misdemeanor into an "A" felony.
Hey, I never even saw the guy.
So you just happen to mess up his car the night he got killed? Hey, "France was right.
" What? That's what the bumper sticker said "France was right.
" And that's why you wrecked his ride? That guy don't know what he's got.
Doesn't appreciate what a lot of other people have sacrificed so he could put that stupid sticker on his car.
That's a lovely story, Ron.
But it won't fly.
We did our homework.
You're ex-army.
Airborne, Special Forces.
Trained in hand-to-hand combat.
Meaning what? - Meaning Brian was killed by somebody with your particular skill set.
- Yeah? Now let me tell you why that doesn't fly.
The day I touched up his car? That night, I was 20 feet below Perry Street putting out an electrical fire.
Ah, look, fellas, I'm in enough trouble already.
I mean, vodka makes me a lot chattier than I ought to be, you know? Really? I thought it was our good looks and charming demeanor.
Hey, look, Tina, you-you know what I think? I think that somebody came down pretty hard on you for talking to us.
Listen, this is my neighborhood.
L- I gotta live here.
I mean, these are my friends.
Well, it won't get back to them.
I promise you.
Oh, sure.
Hey.
You know that cute kid who came to the bar that night? He's dead.
Somebody choked the life out of him.
I know.
We're just trying to make it right for his family.
Look, if you know anything, please The kid comes in, asks for change for the pay phone, calls for a tow.
I go to the ladies' room, powder my nose.
When I come out, he's mixing it up with one of the regulars.
- What do you mean, "mixing it up"? - Well, you know, yelling and cursing, saying this guy keyed his car, slashed his tires.
Is this the guy Teague had a fight with? Ronnie Gibbons.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He was there that night.
But the kid wasn't yelling at Ronnie.
He was yelling at Kenny.
- Kenny? Kenny got a last name? - Well, I-I just know him as Kenny.
But he usually drops by the bar around His route? Yeah.
He's a mailman.
Look, I told you.
He was blocking my path, I asked him to move, we had a few words and the cop took him away, end of story.
Kenny, we have a witness who was in the bar that night.
He saw you tangle with Teague.
Okay, okay.
He came into McNulty's, and he started in again.
But he's the one that got in my face, I swear.
What about? He said I trashed his car, which was bull.
- That had to have pissed you off.
- He was just talk.
Smart-ass kid.
- So you let him have it, right? - Nah.
He ran his mouth some more, and he left.
And that's the last I saw of that little bastard.
No, it wasn't.
You followed him out of the bar.
After they towed his car, you caught up with him.
That was the last time you saw him.
I know what it's like.
You had a tough day so you had a few, and the wrong person says the wrong thing.
You know, juries go easy on a guy like you, Kenny.
A working man, a veteran.
This kid, this anti-war protestor, he picks a fight with you earlier that day, and now he walks into your bar.
I think I want to see a lawyer now.
You're gonna need one, Mr.
Silva.
The lab says the button and thread found in the victim's stomach came off the shirt of a postal worker.
Arrest him.
Docket number 67905 People v.
Patricio Kenneth Silva.
The charge is murder in the second degree.
- How does the defendant plead? - Not guilty, Your Honor.
People's position on bail, Ms.
Southerlyn? - $500,000 bail, Your Honor.
- Mr.
Chiles? My client has no history of violent behavior, no criminal record, unlike the man he's accused of killing.
How about a little give, Ms.
Southerlyn? Mr.
Silva is divorced without any known dependents.
The People consider him to be a flight risk.
Mr.
Silva is a model citizen.
He is an immigrant who served this country with distinction, who wouldn't be here now if he hadn't been goaded beyond endurance by a young hothead.
Is that an admission of guilt, counselor? Bail is set at $500,000.
Next.
It sounds to me like Chiles is exploring the idea of a self-defense claim.
A trained soldier against a student activist? Who's going to buy that? Well, it's not as farfetched as you think.
Silva's got a Bronze Star to go along with a spotless record.
And Teague has a rap sheet and a history of provoking people.
He challenged a cop on the street, took on Silva on his own turf.
He was combative, to say the least.
Let's find out if the victim's as much of an agitator as the defense will claim.
I'm not saying Brian was a shrinking violet.
You know, he knew how to stand up for himself.
But that night in the bar wasn't the first time that Silva attacked Brian.
They got into a fight earlier that day.
A few months ago at a community board meeting.
I thought you knew.
No, I didn't.
What happened? Silva was pushing the community board to convince the city council they rename a street in the memory of a soldier who was killed in Afghanistan.
Brian was dead set against it.
Said it glorified an unjust war.
Silva went ballistic.
Told Brian he was lucky to be living in the good old U.
S.
A.
Why was Silva so gung ho about renaming the street? Was this soldier someone he knew? His son.
Teague wasn't even here about renaming the street.
He was just dropping off an anti-war petition.
What happened? He got up and made a speech.
It was incredibly insensitive.
He didn't understand the situation.
Which was? We gave Silva the floor, let all his friends speak.
Figured, in a way, it could be our own community tribute to his son.
As for renaming the street, practically speaking, that was never gonna happen.
City bureaucracy? To begin with.
And then there are just so many people to pay tribute to, the cops and firefighters from 9/11 at the top of the list.
I figured the least we could do was to hear a grieving father out.
Everybody gets to say what a good boy this Silva kid was, how much he deserves to have a street named after him? But then this Teague kid gets up and starts condemning the war.
People were mortified.
It was so inappropriate.
What did Silva do? I thought he was gonna have an aneurysm.
He thinks this kid is attacking the soldiers and spitting on the memory of his dead son.
He wasn't? No.
He kept saying he wanted to bring the troops home.
That they shouldn't have to die for oil, that kind of stuff.
Which only made matters worse.
Sure.
What Kenny heard was this guy saying his son died for nothing.
Made him crazy.
It got ugly.
We had to separate them.
I was just glad his wife was there to calm him down.
His wife? Ex-wife.
She spoke, too, about their son.
It was heartbreaking.
Matt was two weeks shy of coming home, and his helicopter gets shot down by a Taliban missile.
Kenny had his heart set on having a street named after our son in our neighborhood.
The board president said it was a long shot at best.
I know.
But I encouraged Kenny anyway.
He's been a shell of himself since Matt died.
I thought it would give him something to live for.
He's been depressed? We both have.
Our only child.
You have no idea how much it hurts.
I'm sure I don't.
But Kenny even more than me.
They were so close.
Fathers and sons, you know? I knew it wasn't gonna happen.
But your ex-husband still blamed Brian Teague.
Twenty people spoke for us at that meeting.
And that kid, he gets up and he starts in.
A rich kid who's had everything in his life handed to him, and he calls my baby a murderer? I can certainly understand why your ex-husband would be bitter.
I think Kenny would have gotten over it.
It was Ronnie who wouldn't let it go.
- Ronnie? - Kenny's best friend.
Ronnie Gibbons.
My client's already pleaded to criminal mischief and paid his fine.
What more do you want? I told the detectives everything I know.
You never mentioned your friendship with Kenneth Silva, the man charged with killing the driver of the car you vandalized on the day he was murdered.
You lied to the police about your whereabouts that night.
And your fingerprints are on the victim's car.
He cooperates? Full immunity for his testimony against Mr.
Silva.
I can't rat out a friend.
Mr.
Gibbons, you're facing an indictment for murder if you don't.
Ron, you need to consider this.
All right, I keyed the kid's car, okay? I slashed his tires.
Stupid, but I was pissed.
How did you know it was his car? Kenny pointed it out.
Said he'd seen the kid pull in and park earlier that day.
And then, when-when Teague walked into Mac's, we couldn't believe it.
It was like wavin' a red flag in front of a bull.
You'd both been drinking.
You were angry.
Guys like Brian Teague make me sick.
Carrying picket signs in the back of their daddy's S.
U.
V.
, calling us murderers, ragging on the military.
Brian Teague called you and Mr.
Silva murderers? Not in so many words.
So that isn't what he said? I knew what he meant.
What happened after Brian Teague left the bar? Kenny had another drink, thought it over and decided he needed to have another word with the kid.
He went after him? By the time I found him, it was over.
Kenny was just sitting there on the curb crying his eyes out.
Did he tell you what happened? All he kept saying was, "What have I done? What have I done?" Oh.
Thank you.
Your client's self-defense claim just went up in smoke, counselor.
We've got him lock, stock and eyewitness.
Teague walked into that bar and tried to provoke my client eh, baited him.
An ongoing grudge, an escalating pattern of intent to harm Brian Teague and the use of a lethal choke hold.
Adds up to murder two to me.
New math he'll take man one.
Not interested.
Well, you're forcing my hand then, Jack.
We'll be asserting an E.
E.
D.
Defense at trial.
Come on.
Extreme emotional disturbance? Teague got right up into Kenny Silva's face and trashed everything that that man believes in, everything that his son sacrificed his life for.
If he had attacked him in the bar in the heat of the argument, maybe.
But your client had time to think it over, have another drink.
Instead of staying on his barstool or going home, he chose to follow the victim outside and reignite the altercation.
He snapped.
Kenny Silva didn't snap.
He made a choice.
You can't imagine the father reacting out of grief and anger, Jack? Why not drop it down to manslaughter? There's no extreme emotional defense here.
Silva pursued Brian Teague, Arthur.
He made it murder two when he walked out of that bar a full 20 minutes after Brian Teague left.
Oh, still, a sleeper hold.
Way I understand it, it's meant to subdue someone, not necessarily to kill them.
I mean, things backfired.
A good man went too far.
Believe me, I'm not thrilled at having to prosecute a decorated veteran.
Well, Chiles will make murder two a tough sell to a jury.
What are you worried about, Arthur? Man one will be included in the final charges, if the judge buys the E.
E.
D.
So it's win-win? And you're set on murder two? We have to draw the line somewhere.
We do every time we indict someone.
Brian didn't even know who Matt Silva was.
He just he just felt that naming a street after a soldier, any soldier, was-was endorsing a completely unjust war.
You were at the community board meeting.
Did Brian Teague ever verbally assault Mr.
Silva or his son? No.
Did he ever mention Mr.
Silva or his son by name? No! Did he ever say anything derogatory about the men and women in our armed forces? No.
Nothing further.
Brian was against the war, not soldiers.
Exactly.
I mean, you hear that a lot.
That's what people say.
That's the truth.
Is it? Or is it just what we've learned to say after Vietnam? I was born after Vietnam.
Uh-huh.
Do you know anyone in the military? No.
Did Brian? - Not that I know of.
- The all-volunteer army.
People like you and Brian don't have to serve in the military these days, do you? - Objection.
Relevance? - I'll allow it.
But let's not dwell on this, counselor.
You don't have to serve.
We wouldn't, even if we did.
We're pacifists.
Ah.
Easy to be when you have other options.
Your Honor? Withdrawn.
Six months ago, Brian Teague, this committed pacifist, was charged with assault.
The W.
T.
O.
Rally? No, the security guard attacked him first.
Brian was just defending himself.
Four months ago, resisting arrest.
- For swearing at a police officer.
- And would it be fair to say, Miss Khemlani, that Brian Teague was not only a pacifist, but he was a militant, dedicated activist? Brian was just trying to have an effect.
And he was good at pushing people's buttons, getting them all riled up.
Sometimes you just have to make a lot of noise to get people to listen.
Did Brian Teague seriously think that Kenneth Silva would listen to him after he desecrated the legacy ofhis son? Someone said, "What's the matter, kid, car trouble?" They were all kinda laughin' at him, snickerin', you know? Well, that's when he got really mad.
Called Kenny a coward and gave him the finger as he stomped out.
How did Kenny Silva react? Did he follow him out of the bar? He, uh, cursed him, had another drink.
I see.
When did Kenny Silva leave the bar that night? About 15, 20 minutes later.
Did he say why he was leaving? He said he was gonna go straighten him out.
Brian Teague? Yeah.
You know Kenny Silva.
- How upset was he after his encounter with Brian Teague? Oh, I thought he was gonna have a heart attack.
It was awful.
Did anyone try to calm him down? Well, sure.
We all did.
But hejust kept getting more and more agitated.
When he left, how did he seem? Calm? Under control? Hardly.
He was shaking all over he was so upset.
I mean, the guy was a wreck.
Thank you.
Matt was 10 when Kenny got sent to the Gulf.
He kept a toy soldier by his bed.
He watched the news every night.
He was so proud of his dad.
He wanted to be just like him.
Did your husband change after the death of your son? He got very depressed, withdrawn.
He wasn't the man I married.
Is that why you divorced him? We fought all the time over Matt.
Take your time.
Thank you.
I didn't want my son to enlist.
He got good grades.
He played sports.
He could've been the first one in our family to go to college.
- What did his father want? - Kenny wanted him to go.
He said the army would pay for college.
I told him he could get a scholarship.
What did Matt want? To be a soldier, like his dad.
Did you blame your husband for Matt's death? But not as much as he blamed himself.
Thank you, Mrs.
Silva.
Losing a child.
Nothing harder.
No.
Your ex-husband was depressed.
Yes.
Very.
Understandable.
Did he start drinking more heavily? No.
Using drugs? No.
Did he ever strike you? Use violence against you? Lose his temper? Kenny? No.
Did he lose his job? Oh, no.
Kenny went to work every day.
He worked even harder.
Holidays, overtime.
He threw himself into his work? Yes.
He coped.
Of course.
Sounds like a strong man.
Yes.
A hero.
He is.
I came with nothing to this country.
No money.
No education.
I didn't know anybody.
I didn't even know how to speak English.
The army gave me everything an education, a career.
I love this country, and I raised my son to love it too.
And when he died We've heard testimony from your therapist that you were depressed.
He put me on some pills.
Uh, serotonin something.
Did they help? I stopped taking them.
I didn't like the way they made me feel.
I just didn't feel like myself.
Why did you leave the bar that night? I wish to God I hadn't.
But you did.
Did you intend to hurt Brian Teague? L- I just wanted to tell him something, but he wouldn't listen.
He just kept saying, "You're thugs.
You're animals.
You and your son.
" That night was not the first time you and Brian Teague had words.
No.
The difference being that this time, outside the bar, you had him all to yourself.
I did not plan it like that.
It just happened.
It just happened that you waited It just happened that you waited for the tow truck to leave? It just happened that you grabbed him around the throat? I was talking to him, and he turned his back on me and started to walk away.
You got him in a lethal choke hold.
He passed out and died within seconds.
I didn't mean to.
It just happened so fast.
L I just wanted him to say he was sorry for what he said about my son.
Nothing further.
No redirect.
The defense rests, Your Honor.
The witness is excused.
May we approach, Your Honor? Step up.
For the record, Your Honor, there is insufficient evidence of extreme emotional disturbance.
You can't let the lesser charge go to the jury.
Contrary to my colleague's narrow reading of the law, we think we've made our case.
We request that you instruct the jury to consider the affirmative defense of E.
E.
D and give them the option of finding my client guilty of the lesser manslaughter charge.
I'm inclined to agree with you, counselor.
I think there's been enough testimony for the jury to consider E.
E.
D.
Your Honor We'll adjourn for the day.
Summations first thing tomorrow.
Court is adjourned.
Thank you, Your Honor.
If Matt Silva had lived, he'd be 23 years old, the same age as Brian Teague.
But Brian Teague was nothing like Matt Silva.
Brian Teague knew nothing of service and sacrifice.
Brian Teague let others bear that burden for him, and then he would insult and belittle them for it.
That night, Kenny Silva was virtually beside himself with grief and loss and anger.
And he lashed out at his tormentor.
This was not some heinous, premeditated murder.
This was a momentary lapse by a grieving father, a decorated war hero, a grateful citizen of his adopted country who is counting on you, his fellow citizens, to show him that our system is not only just, but merciful.
Mr.
Silva's lawyer wants you to believe that his client lost control that night.
The evidence does not bear him out.
Mr.
Silva's actions were too deliberate, too controlled.
The very qualities that made him a good soldier put to murderous use.
In fact, Kenneth Silva used his military training to strangle to death a young man he thought had insulted him.
The truth of the matter is that Kenneth Silva bore a grudge against Brian Teague.
And it was that grudge not his despair, not his grief, not his anger that made him put down his beer and make the hard, cold, brutal decision to walk out of that bar and confront Brian Teague out of the light, away from witnesses, where Brian Teague was alone and defenseless.
Ladies and gentlemen, have you reached a verdict? We have.
On the first count of the indictment, murder in the second degree, how do you find? We find the defendant, Kenneth Silva, not guilty.
On the second count of the indictment, manslaughter in the first degree, how do you find? We cannot reach a verdict, Your Honor.
We've tried.
Chambers, Your Honor, please.
The defendant's admitted the underlying acts.
The jury should be instructed to deliberate further, Your Honor.
Thejury cannot reach a verdict, Your Honor.
It's time to declare a mistrial.
I'm not prepared to do that yet, counselor.
I'll enter the acquittal on the murder and give them an Allen charge.
That's inappropriate, Your Honor.
Don't get greedy, Mr.
Chiles.
You already have your acquittal on murder two.
Members of the jury, I'm going to ask that you continue your deliberations.
It is your duty to agree upon a verdict if you can.
Of course, nojuror should feel compelled to abandon any conscientiously held beliefs.
On the other hand, if a substantial majority of your number are in favor of a conviction, those of you who disagree should reconsider whether your doubt is, in fact, a reasonable one.
I thought the Allen charge would break the stalemate.
It must be some hard-core deadlock.
They're polarized just like everyone else in the country.
Chiles has them debating the war instead of the murder of Brian Teague.
Six hours.
Another two and it'll be tune in tomorrow.
I wish I knew what they were stuck on.
Maybe I'll go nose around.
Haven't heard a word.
Sorry.
Trying to find out which way the wind is blowing? Not at all.
Me too.
Worried? Not particularly.
I'm thinking hung jury.
We'll retry the case.
Maybe even acquittal.
Jury nullification? You're dreaming.
The hardheads, they'll come around.
Indeed they will.
My way.
Mine.
Have you reached a verdict? No, Your Honor.
- Are you sure that no further deliberation would break the logjam? - We're deadlocked, Your Honor.
I have no choice but to declare a mistrial.
Thejury is dismissed.
No surprise the jury hung.
We'll try him again.
Your problem was too many blue-collar jurors.
They identified with Kenneth Silva.
How do you know who the holdouts were? The people who escape jury duty? Same people who escape active duty.