Picket Fences (1992–1996): Season 4, Episode 10 - Dem Bones - full transcript

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[Zack] Okay, boy, ready?
Go get it!

Go on.

‐[dog barking]
‐That's it. Come on.

Yeah! Bring it down here,
Sheltie. Good boy!

[sighs] Good boy.

‐[whimpering]
‐Okay, Sheltie.

You ready to go deep?

‐Go get it!
‐[barking]

Go on, Sheltie.
Chase it down there.

Come on, Sheltie.
Bring it back to me.

Good dog.



Whoa, where did
you get this, boy?

[whimpering]

[barking]

[whimpering]

[gasps]

Dad!

[Sheltie barking]

[theme music playing]

[theme music ends]

[camera clicking]

[indistinct conversations]

Okay, we got
upper torso to the left,
lower extremities to the right.

You can leave
your textbook in there,
you won't need them here.

Keep the earth samples
separate, please.



We don't want
any contamination.
This is not the LA crime lab.

Left fibula,
deposition is 10 degrees,
tightly flexed.

Excellent.

Okay, could you
get the camera, please?

‐[Jimmy] Carter...
‐Just a minute, Jimmy.

‐Who are all these people?
‐Grad students from Madison.

I asked the anthro department
to send me over

doctoral candidates
with a background
in field excavation.

Give them strict instructions
in forensic procedure,

‐and voila!
‐So, they're volunteers,
right?

Well, I vouch
for their expenses.

‐You did?
‐It's the least the county
can do, Jimmy.

‐Somebody here
order a bulldozer?
‐[Carter] Yo!

Bulldozer?

Elevated scraper,
actually.

Thank you.
Standard procedure.

We don't know what we're
dealing with here, Jimmy.

A historical burial site,
random accident, serial killer.

Whatever happened
to pickaxes and shovels?

In the middle of winter?

‐All right, so what
have we got?
‐Oh, boy.

I won't even hazard a guess.

You said you were close.
"Minutes away," you said.

Hey, there are
rigid parameters

for the excavation
of skeletal remains, Jimmy.

Cataloging, filing,
morphologies, depositions.

I won't be rushed into
premature speculation.
Somebody label this.

That's never
stopped you before.

I won't even dignify that
with a response.

So, what do I say
to the reporters?

This is going
over the wire service.
What do I tell 'em?

Tell them
to kiss my sacroiliac.

‐[reporters clamoring]
‐Sheriff Brock will comment
on the bones shortly.

‐Can you tell us
how old they were?
‐Please be patient.

‐Thank you. Thank you very much.
‐Were the bones of a man
or a woman?

[Kenny] Your husband's
buried in Hogan County,
Lorraine.

No, no, no, no.
I donated his eyes
and now he wants them back.

Lorraine, how can he be back
if he can't see
where he's going?

Oh, good point.
Oh, good point, Kenny.

Oh, thank you.
Thank you, Kenny.

‐Okay. Okay.
‐[Kenny] Anytime.

[Lorraine sighs]

All this hoopla over
a bunch of bones.

You know, I bet
it's a hiker that froze
to death years ago.

My guess, it's a Viking.

You know, Leif the Lucky,
Eric the Red?

You been in the fingerprint ink
again, Skeeter?

No, no, see,
I study this stuff.

Vikings used floating
funeral pyres.

North Atlantic current
picks one up,
drops him here. Bingo.

It's a theory, you know.

‐Those bones belong to us.
‐I'm not saying
they don't, Joe.

The Chippewa have held
those lands sacred
for generations.

Those remains were placed there
long before your people arrived.

The bones are Chippewa.

Actually, they aren't.

Discriminant function
analysis suggests

the bones belong
to the European
population cluster.

The victim was a 6'1" male
in his late twenties.

Left‐handed, walked
with an external gait
due to the bowing

‐of the right tibia.
‐Wait a minute.
You said victim?

That's right. This man
was murdered, Jimmy.

[both] What?

You can tell this from bones?

Bones and this.

Knife tip. Lodged in
the thoracic vertebrae.

And 30 yards away
we found this.

So, the guy was stabbed
in the Highland Woods.

Wrong. He was killed
somewhere else.

I detected traces of clay
by the feet.

More like what
we find near town.

My guess is,
he was stabbed here,

then taken to the woods
and buried.

[Kenny] How long
has he been there?

[Carter] Can't be sure
without radiocarbon dating.

But not long,
archaeologically speaking.

I'd say 50 years,
give or take five.

Fifty years ago.

How come no one
found him before?

Highland Woods was
in the middle of nowhere

till they started
cutting it down
for development.

[Carter] Whoever killed this guy
wasn't worried about visitors.

The body was only buried
a few feet deep.

Over the years, frost heaves
brought it to the surface.

I want a full investigation.

I really should be
deputized on this one,
Jimmy, really.

[sighs]

[opens drawer]

You won't regret this.

I want a positive ID
on those bones.

How do you handle
a 50‐year‐old murder
anyway?

Oh, the same as
any other investigation.

There's no statute
of limitations
in homicide.

But finding someone
who can help...

I'm not optimistic
about that.

‐Quite the mystery.
‐Yeah.

You should see Carter.

Short of a UFO landing
in his backyard,

this is as exciting
as it gets.

[chuckles] Matthew.

Louis White said
that the dead guy
is Jimmy Hawk.

He's called
the National Globe.

Well, Louis White
has a very active
fantasy life.

In a few days,
a panda will give birth

in a zoo somewhere,
and this will all
be forgotten.

‐[door opens]
‐Hot off the presses!

‐Get out!
You made the paper?
‐Look at that.

‐Just the front page. [laughs]
‐Oh, would you look at that.

‐That's a good picture.
‐[Matthew] Hey, Sheltie
never looked better.

[chuckling]

So, you think I should
get an agent?

‐What?
‐[Jimmy] Huh?

For the TV rights.

[Jill sighs]

[Matthew] Yeah, right!

Hey, this could be
my 15 minutes.

For God's sake, Carter.
What the hell
is going on here?

Here me out, Judge.

Is that a hand
on my piano?

Only partially.
I'm missing the
upper‐middle phalanges.

‐Get it out of here.
‐You're upset, aren't you?

Get it out of here.
Get it all out of here now.

Slight problem
at the morgue, Judge.

Bunsen burner set off
the sprinkler system.

I thought I'd bring
a little work home until...

‐That's my poker table.
‐You won't even know
that I used it.

Except for
the acetic acid stain,

which is so infinitesimal,
really.

What stain? Where?

I've been deputized, Henry.

It's my responsibility
to ID the victim.

A 50‐year‐old murder case.

I can break it.
Justice for this man
may ride on my shoulders.

Well... Mmm.

All right. We have
the poker game
on Saturday.

I don't want any
upper‐middle phalanges

‐in the bean dip.
‐Thank you.

‐Fifty years ago, you say?
‐More or less.

Hmm. Seems I recall something
about a man disappearing here.

It was during the war.
A German fella.

And it was in
the Hogan County Herald.

[Douglas] This is
completely ridiculous!

‐Doug...
‐Don't believe it, Jimmy.
Not a word.

What are you
talking about?

‐You mean he hasn't
been here yet?
‐Who?

[Carter] Jimmy!

‐Oh, him!
‐I've got it.

The ID of the victim
and the murderer.

I was having breakfast
till this nut interrupted me.

Will you just shut up?

I can't shut up
in the face of insanity.

The dental records
check out, Jimmy.

The victim was
one Gustav Braun, aged 24.

A Nazi.

Technically, he wasn't a Nazi.

He was a member of
the German American Bund.

‐A Nazi!
‐Out.

All right, all right.
I'll be good.

I'll be good.
Maybe.

Apparently,
Braun and his friends were into
some pretty ugly things, Jimmy.

Harassing Jews,
hate‐mongering.

Ooh, lovely people.

Braun's group was suspected
in the beating of an old
Polish butcher

named Ezra Levine,
but a case couldn't be made.

Levine's son vowed revenge.

He was arrested subsequently
for assaulting
one of Braun's friends.

Few nights later,
Braun didn't come back
from work.

That was 53 years ago.

Was there
an investigation in this?

Police interviewed Levine.

Sure, blame it on the Jews.
What else?

But there was no body,
no murder weapon,

and Jacob had an alibi.
He was with friends.

So what do you
want from him?
He's an old man.

But now we have the body,
the weapon, the motive,
and we have this.

‐Fingerprints.
‐What?

You lifted
50‐year‐old prints
off that knife?

Fairytales.
It's The X‐Files.

[Carter] Took the knife
to the Warsaw Crime Lab.

We used laser technology
to lift several prints,

ran it through
the AIFS database, which
had Levine's print on file

from his earlier arrest.

Perfect match, Jimmy.
Prints on that knife
belong to Jacob Levine.

‐You're certain of that?
‐Dead certain.

Conjecture. Speculation.

The man's still alive.

Jimmy.

‐[reporter] Mr. Wambaugh!
‐[Douglas] No comment.

All I can say to you
is that Jacob Levine
is innocent.

They're putting me
in jail, Doug.

‐Don't worry. I'll handle it.
‐I didn't do anything.

I'll have you out
in a few hours, Jacob.

‐[Jacob] They're
putting me in jail.
‐Shame on you.

A 70‐year‐old man
with a bad heart,

‐on circumstantial evidence,
no less...
‐Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I just spoke
with the new DA.

He says we have
a solid case.

Oh, really?
So, where is this pillar
of social justice?

‐I'd like to tell him
what I think of this case.
‐He's right over there, Doug.

‐Hey, you, Mr. Big Shot.
‐No, that's it. Thank you.

David.

Hiya, Pop.

[Douglas] It's a mockery.
A sham, I tell you.

‐Shut up.
‐[Douglas] He should
be disqualified.

Any precedent
you wanna cite?

Yes. I was here first.
Kick him out.

[David] Dad, I was assigned
the case.

You could have refused.

I didn't know
you were defending.

Now you do. Drop out.

Why? It's a solid case.

A conflict of interest.

‐Whose interest?
‐Yours. It should be anyway.

‐Wambaugh?
‐[both] Yes.

Just what I need.
Stereo Wambaugh.

Douglas, I don't see
any conflict of interest here.

The State is free
to appoint whoever it wants.

‐Except him.
‐Why?

Because I'm a Jew,
or because I'm your son?

If you're so concerned
about compromising
your client's interest,

maybe you should
remove yourself, Doug.

Never. Levine deserves
the best.

So, you admit
we have a case?

Case shmase.

A publicity campaign,
that's what you got.

Prodigal son returns
to stick it to his father.

Is that what you think?

‐[Judge] Wambaugh?
‐[both] What?

Both of you, get out.

[Douglas] Didn't know
I was defending, right?

Okay. But that's not why
I took the case.

‐Why did you?
‐Because it was
an opportunity.

Opportunity for what?
To betray your people?

Oh, come on!

Pop, I'm not
betraying anybody.

It's a murder case,
plain and simple.

If that's what you think,
then I failed you.

‐Dad...
‐It's a Pandora's box
you've opened.

Look, somebody from
the DA's office was
gonna try this case.

Why not me?

You didn't build your career
taking pro bono cases

for little old ladies,
as I recall.

I didn't do it
by supporting
the Nazis either.

Nice to see you, too.

[Jacob] What kinda son
did you raise?

Let's stick to the case,
shall we?

Doesn't he understand
what went on?

How it was?

Well, young people today,
they'd rather forget.

You should see what they did
to my father.

Then he changed his tune.

They deserve to die.

Not that I killed Braun.
Understand?

But whoever did,
it was a mitzvah.

Jacob...

Let me have the photo.

My father was never the same
after that beating.

Lost hearing in his left ear.

He...

...died two years later.

Those animals who did this,

how come they were
never prosecuted?

My father didn't know
who jumped him.

He had such a concussion

he couldn't
remember anything.

But I knew.

The town knew,
but nobody did anything.

Just like Europe.

[sighs]

I had relatives in Krakow.

I knew what was going on.

I knew.

We've been friends
for 20 years, Jacob.

How come I never
heard you talk about this?

Your parents were gassed
in Buchenwald, weren't they?

I've never heard you
talk about that either.

You push it down,
but it's always there.

The hurt,

the hate...

And it never goes away.

Never.

[Jimmy] Fourteen hundred
dollars.

‐[Jill] Oh, yeah!
‐[Matthew] Oh, yes!

Oh, 1,400 big ones.

Gasp, choke, I can't.

Here you go, Zack.

How did your photo
go over in school today?

Oh, fantastic!

My popularity ratings
are up four points.

Almost where
it was last year.

We had this big discussion
on Schindler's List
in homeroom today.

‐You know?
Because of the bones.
‐Yeah.

Doris said the Jews
made the whole thing up.

What, the movie?

No, the Holocaust.

She said they did it
so people would
feel sorry for them.

‐[scoffs] Matthew,
that's terrible.
‐You shouldn't believe that.

I know. Miss Beckman
didn't like it much either.

She made Doris go out
for detention.

But I heard
some other kids
say the same thing.

Pretty crazy, huh?

Myriam.

I... I know you're
very busy, so...

Oh, no, no, no.
Please sit. Sit.

No, I'll just be a moment.

What's the hurry?
Sit down, Myriam.

Come on, sit down.

So...

[chuckles] So...

He looks good,
don't you think?
Bit thin maybe, but...

Well, wait a minute.
What happened to that woman

he was living with
in New York?

‐The magazine editor.
‐Well, they broke up.

I mean, I think that's why
he left New York partially.

It's to get over it.

They'd been talking
about marriage, you know?

How should I know?

I speak to him
twice a year, maybe.

Myriam, did you know
he was coming?

Only last week.
It happened so quickly,

and he thought
he'd surprise you.

Ambush is more like it.

Come on, Douglas.

Out of the blue
he gets a call from
an old friend of his

and then this case
falls into his lap.

What "falls"?

He jumped at it.

Douglas, regardless of
what you might think,

David's sole purpose in life
is not to spite you.

Could have fooled me.
He refuses to join my firm,

he moves to New York.

Becomes a prosecutor.

Douglas, he admires you
tremendously.

But let's face it,
you've never been
an easy act to follow,

and he needed
to spread his wings.

For 20 years
he needed to fly around.

Even pigeons
come home eventually.

I think he came back also
to make things right with you.

Oh, sure.
By opposing me in court.

Shaming the memory
of his grandparents.

Douglas, our son
has come back.

Can't you at least
be thankful for that?

Yeah. You're right.
You're right.

I... I thought we'd have
dinner tomorrow night,
the three of us.

Family, huh?

Well, I think we're capable of
putting aside our differences
for one night

to be with our son.

‐You're cooking?
‐Yeah.

I'll come anyway.

[Judge] People versus Levine.

‐Are we ready?
‐[Douglas] Yes, Your Honor.

‐How does your client plead?
‐He doesn't.

I move for immediate
dismissal of all charges.

‐What?
‐On what grounds?

On the grounds that
the People have nothing more

than a bag of bones
and some wartime gossip.

Objection, Your Honor.
There's plenty of
circumstantial evidence

‐to support the charges.
‐So you say.

All right, all right.
Motion denied.
What's your plea?

Take a guess.
Not guilty.

‐Fine.
‐Question the bail?

‐Yes, Your Honor.
‐What?

This is a murder case,
and the accused
presents a flight risk.

What risk? This man
is gonna run away
on two hip replacements?

‐I'm not finished.
‐Oh, yes, you are.

‐Wambaugh.
‐Is he always like this?

No, it gets worse.

Thank you, Your Honor.

[Judge] Continue,
Mr. Wambaugh.

Not you. Him.

The defendant can
flee the country

using not inconsiderable assets.

He's lived here
all his life.

Your Honor, would you please
shut him up?

[Douglas] You're trying to
deny bail to a 70‐year‐old man

and you expect me
to shut up?

‐[bangs gavel]
‐That's it.

You're both fined $100.

‐What?
‐What? For what?

If anybody should be fined,
it should be him.

‐Breach of character.
‐That's $200. Care for more?

I'm warning you both.

I don't know
what little family drama
is being played out here.

Frankly, I don't care.

Leave your differences
outside my courtroom,

or you'll be arguing
this case from jail.

Fifty thousand cash bail.
We're done. Now, get out.

I'm looking for
Attorney Wambaugh.

Right there.

‐Mr. Wambaugh?
‐Yes.

I wanted to thank you
for taking on this case.

Well, one does
what one can.

My father may not
have been a saint,

‐but he's entitled to justice
like everyone else.
‐What?

My mother went to her grave
without ever knowing what
would become of my father.

I thought it was gonna
be the same for me.

Oh, forgive me.
I'm Jonathan Braun.
Gustav Braun was my father.

Wrong Wambaugh.
You want him.

David Wambaugh.
Acting DA.

‐And that was?
‐My father.

He represents the accused.

Oh, I see.

It's confusing.

Isn't it?

‐Thank you.
‐You're welcome.

Mom, enough.

Come on, a couple more
won't hurt you.

Oh, hey, they put in
a new traffic light
on Third Street?

Oh, yeah. When was that,
around May or something?

I can't believe
I shook his hand.

‐Who?
‐The German.

He's got a name, Dad.
Braun. Jonathan Braun.

We agreed that we weren't
gonna discuss this, right?

He also has three children
that never knew
their grandfather.

Well, that's something
you have in common
with them.

Come on, Douglas.
Come on.

It's a bad time
to be attacking Jews is all.

[scoffs] I'm not
attacking anybody,
I'm representing the State.

Your blood comes first.

Mmm, really?
I always thought
the law came first.

It's bad enough we've
always faced eradication

from without,
now we face from within.

This from the man
who was almost booted
out of his own congregation.

I never turned on my people.

You take the side
of our enemies
by building a case

on the bones of those
that have murdered
your grandparents.

Our enemies.
Dad, the war's over.

Well, I'm sorry
about what happened,

but that's not gonna bring
my grandparents back.

Gustav Braun may
have been a bad man,

but that doesn't mean
that somebody
has the right to kill him.

‐He deserves justice.
‐He got his justice.

If you had any sense
of history at all,
you'd know it.

‐I can't believe
I'm hearing this.
‐[Myriam] Douglas...

They murdered
six million Jews.

Dad, come on,
you're a lawyer.

If you defend a hate crime
and call it justice,

then you...
you're no better
than the Nazis.

[grunts]

Excuse me.

‐[crowd chanting] Never again!
‐[Timothy] The ongoing murder
trial of Jacob Levine

has galvanized both
Jewish activists
and neo‐Nazis

as the literal skeleton
in Rome's closet

has risen to resurrect
ancient hatred
in small town America.

Reporting live from
the Rome Sheriff Department,

this is Timothy Malone,
Midwest Cable News.

[chanting continues]
Never again! Never again!

Okay. [sniffling]

I think I'm ready.

Color‐coded the lab reports
for easy reference.

Fingerprints, red.

Solvent analysis, green.
Radiocarbon dating, blue.

I'm sorry. What?

Color‐coding
for the lab reports.

I'm a little nervous.

‐You'll do just fine, Carter.
‐[sighs]

Can't believe what's
going on out there.

It's like
turning over a rock.

Skinhead Syndrome.

[crowd chanting]

You live a life in a town.
You think you know the people.

You'd like to believe
it's a good place, a safe place,

and then something
like this happens.

Well, they're from
all over the State, Jimmy,
not just Rome.

I know what you mean.

I wonder if it would have
been better if I'd never
identified those bones.

‐[crowd yelling]
‐[officer 1] Let's go.

[officer 2] Break it up.

‐[officer 3] All right,
that's enough!
‐[officer 4] Hey, knock it off!

All right, back it up!

What is going on?

Right, keep them outside
next time. They freeze,
that's their tough luck.

Get those reporters out!

Get out of here now,
all of you!

[indistinct conversations]

‐Hi.
‐Oh, hi, Mom.

‐Going well?
‐Oh.

I haven't really gotten
into the heavy stuff yet.

Oh, well, look,
if this is a bad time,
I can come back.

Oh, no, no, no, no.
We're on a two‐hour recess.

What's on your mind?

Well... [sighs]

David...

I'm worried
about your father.

And you, too.

If it's about last night,
that's my fault.

I shouldn't have
pushed him. I'm sorry.

No, it's more than
just last night.

It's the tension
between you two.

It's the competition.
I can't stand it.

You know, this is
a very tough time
for your father.

Ever since we separated,
he puts on a brave face,

but I know
he's feeling hurt.

There's a...

a hole in his heart.

Just as there's in yours, too.

Well, why else
did you come home?

There were lots of reasons.

Oh, David.

You and your father
are more alike than either
of you like to admit.

I know he wasn't
the easiest person
to grow up with.

[laughs]

But he was the best father
he knew how to be.

Why do you keep
punishing him for it?

You know why he's acting
this way towards you,
don't you?

He thinks
you don't love him.

Why would
he think that, Mom?

I never said that.

You don't have to say it.

It's what he feels.

Wha...

[sighs] What do you
want me to do, Mom?

I can't drop the case.

[sighs]

I just wonder

when the two of you will
finally forgive each other.

Objection.
That's inadmissible.

It goes to motive and intent,
Your Honor.

I'll allow it.

Sheriff Brock, what does
the police report say?

That in June 1943,

Jacob Levine was arrested
for attacking

a member of
the German American Bund.

And that was
just before the time of
Mr. Braun's disappearance?

Yes.

[David] Thank you.

Sheriff Brock, was my client
ever convicted of that attack?

No, he had an alibi.

‐Well, was he even charged?
‐Apparently not.

Now, Sheriff, did you find
any other police reports

from that time
concerning vandalism

of Jacob Levine's
butcher shop?

Uh, yes, there were
two reports on file.

One for vandalism.
The other for
stealing goods.

Were there any knives
listed as missing?

Butcher knives perhaps.

One report listed
several butcher knives

and cleavers
as stolen, yes.

So, then it's possible
that the knife used
to kill Gustav Braun

was, in fact, stolen
from my client's shop.

‐Yes.
‐Objection. Cause
for speculation.

I believe he just
answered, Judge.

The defendant's fingerprints
were embedded

in traces of animal blood
running along either side
of the murder weapon's handle.

This explains how the prints
could survive 50 years

wrapped in a newspaper
underground.

And was there significant
about the pattern of
the prints you found?

Yes. There was
no thumbprint.

Um, suggesting
the knife was gripped
thumb over knuckle

to make a downward
plunging motion.

You can't say when those
prints got on that knife,
can you, Dr. Pike?

‐Not exactly.
‐Or not at all, you mean.

Now, those prints

could have been made
a week or even a month
before the murder.

That's true, yes.

So, it's possible that
if the knife was stolen
from my client's shop,

his prints could have
remained on it

even though someone else
later committed the murder.

That's a nice theory,
but there were no other prints
on the the knife.

Are you saying
those blood traces

would have preserved
every fingerprint put on
that knife 50 years ago.

‐They preserve the defendant's.
‐Answer the question, Dr. Pike.

How could you say
there was no other prints
on that knife

at the time of the murder
some 50 years ago.

‐Well...
‐Ah, you can't
say that, can you?

Not to a certainty, no.

Ah! Now we're
getting somewhere.

Mr. Hoffstetter,

you were a member
of the Bund here
in Rome, correct?

Yes.

And you knew the deceased,
Gustav Braun?

[Hoffstetter] Very well.

‐He was our leader.
‐[Douglas] Ah.

And under his leadership,
what kinda things did you do?

Terrible things.

We broke windows
of Jewish businesses.

Painted swastikas.

[Douglas] Did you
ever beat people?

‐Objection. Irrelevant.
‐Overruled.

Yes.

More than one person?

A few Jewish people.

For example, Ezra Levine,
the accused father...

Did your group
beat him up?

Yes.

And Gustav Braun,
he was at these beatings?

[scoffs] He led them.

‐[scoffs]
‐[people murmuring]

Sounds like he made
a lot of enemies.

‐[David] Objection.
‐The point is,
any number of people

‐could have wanted
Gustav Braun dead.
‐Objection, Your Honor.

‐Wambaugh.
‐[Douglas] Withdrawn.

No more questions.

Mr. Hoffstetter...

I think the jury
would be interested
in knowing

why you came
forward today.

Why an ex‐Bund member

would voluntarily contact
the defendant's council?

Gustav Braun
was a hateful man.

I'm sorry I ever knew him.

After the war,
when I took Christ
into my heart,

I dedicated my life
to making up for
all my misdeeds.

And I'm sure
we all admire that.

But Gustav Braun didn't have
that same opportunity, did he?

Thanks to his murderer.

We'll never know
if he might have experienced

the same kind
of transformation you did.

Is there a question
somewhere in this speech?

Mr. Hoffstetter, do you know
who killed Gustav Braun?

No, I don't.

Those people you said
were beaten by Mr. Braun,

‐do you have proof that
any of them killed him?
‐No.

If you were beaten
by somebody, Mr. Hoffstetter,

do you think it would be right
to turn around the next day
and murder them?

No, of course not.

You yourself were
severely beaten

‐shortly before Mr. Braun's
disappearance, weren't you?
‐Yes.

Somebody jumped you
and smashed your face
beyond recognition

with a baseball bat.

Isn't that right,
Mr. Hoffstetter?

Yes.

[David] Did you see
your attacker?

Yes.

And was that person ever charged
with this vicious crime?

‐No.
‐Why not?

His friends gave him
an alibi.

Mr. Hoffstetter...

Is that person
in the courtroom today?

Answer the question, please.

‐Yes.
‐Where is he,
Mr. Hoffstetter?

‐It's him.
‐[people murmuring]

The defendant.

But I forgive him.

I forgive him.

[sighs]

I have nothing further.

[reporters clamoring]

[man] There he is!
The Jewish traitor!

[yelling]

[groans]

[all yelling]

‐Get off of me.
‐David!

Get him away from there.

Give me a hand.
Get him out of there.

Get him out of there.

David.

David, come.
Come, David.

What kinda Jews are you?

[mob yelling]

I'll give you some peroxide
to keep the sutures clean.

‐I'll wanna check them
in a few days, okay?
‐Okay.

Your ribs will be tender
for a little while.
You have a heating pad?

I've got one.

Gentle heat will help
that soreness.

Doug, you're white as a sheet.
Are you all right?

I'm fine. Fine.
David, let's go.

There you go.

‐Thanks, Dr. Brock.
‐Yes, you're welcome.

‐Thank you, Jill.
Come, come, David. Come.
‐Mm‐hmm.

[sighs]

I don't recognize
this world anymore.

Jews attacking Jews.

Just a few extremists, Dad.

Isn't there enough hate
in this world already?

We're supposed
to be messengers.

Maybe we forgot
the message.

Mmm.

I remember asking you
when I was a kid...

What's so important
about being a Jew?

Remember what you said?

When the world comes
looking for Jews,
you'll know.

I said that?

I thought it was
a pretty strange thing
to say at the time.

Not much to build
a life around anyway.

Maybe I understand
a little better today.

You ever think
about them, Pop?

Your parents?

I don't remember hearing
many stories about them.

I try not to think about it.

"Get on with your life,"
I've always told myself.

‐Hmm.
‐"Get on with it,
Wambaugh, get on."

[glass shattering]

Bastards.

God.

[David] Death cancels
everything but the truth.

And the truth,
ladies and gentlemen,
lies before you.

Jacob Levine murdered
Gustav Braun in cold blood.

The motive,
his father's beating.

The means,
a butcher's knife

with Jacob Levine's
own fingerprints on it.

And the opportunity.

No alibi from friends
dead or alive,

could hold up against
the weight of hard evidence
presented in this courtroom.

And yet, the defense
has insinuated

that even if Jacob Levine
did commit this murder,

it was somehow justifiable

because Gustav Braun
was a bad man.

He deserved to die.
So, why bother
who killed him?

It's a clever argument.

Judge the victim,
not the attacker.

Clever.

Very tempting
in this case.

And wrong.

It is not Gustav Braun
who's on trial here today

but Jacob Levine.

That man there
grew up without a father

because of what this man did
50 years ago.

And when we allow people
to get away with murder,
ladies and gentlemen,

regardless of the reason,

life everywhere becomes
a little cheaper.

We all have to start
looking over our shoulders

to make sure no one's
coming for us.

It is not your place
to judge the value
of a man's life.

But it is your
sacred responsibility

to determine
who took that life away.

The bones of Gustav Braun
cry out for justice.

I pray that
you hear that cry.

[people murmuring]

More than bones were buried
in this case, my friends.

Ancient prejudices
and yes, evils, too,
have been on earth.

So, please save room
in your prayers

for Ezra Levine,
the defendant's late father,

a citizen of Rome,
your neighbor,

and all others who
fell before the scourge
of Nazi hatred.

All right.

Let's examine
the prosecution's case.

Motive.

Did the defendant have reason
to despise Gustav Braun?

Yes, along with
every right‐thinking
person in this town.

Braun was a violent menace.

He preyed upon
innocent people,

any one of whom could
have wished him dead.

Means.

The prosecution's case
comes down to a single
piece of evidence.

A knife with Jacob Levine's
prints on it.

Yet, Sheriff Brock himself
has provided room to doubt

who plunged that blade
into Braun's neck
50 years ago.

Levine's butcher shop
was broken into.

And we have every reason
to believe

the murder weapon
was taken at that time

with Jacob's prints
already on it.

So, why were there
no other prints found
on the murder weapon?

The fact is,
we simply don't know how

that knife came to rest
in Highland Woods
more than 50 years ago,

or whether there are
other prints on it

that have washed away
by time.

Now, nobody can put
that man on the scene

at the night of
Braun's disappearance.

Jacob Levine did not
have the opportunity
to commit murder.

He was out with friends
that night,

and if they were still alive,
they'd tell you themselves.

Instead, we can rely on
Rome's sheriff's department,

which thoroughly investigated
Braun's disappearance

and saw no basis
to charge Mr. Levine
with anything.

If an alibi was good then,

why should it be bad now?

Because the prosecution
tells you so?

Because the witnesses
are dead?

Let me repeat

what the DA told you.

A phrase from Byron
that I taught him.

"Death cancels everything
but the truth."

You know the truth
about Gustav Braun,

and you know the truth
about Jacob Levine.

I implore you,

serve the truth.

[murmuring]

Relax, Jacob,
it could be days.

They wouldn't put me away,
would they?

Juror number four, the waitress,
she makes me nervous.

I was watching.
You did real good.

I think... I think
we got away with it.

Madam Foreperson,
has the jury
reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

Will the defendant
please rise?

What say you?

In the matter of the People
versus Jacob Levine,

on the charge of murder
in the first degree,

we find the defendant
not guilty.

[people yelling]

[gavel banging]

[man] Are you serious
with that verdict?

The defendant is free to go.

[gavel bangs]

[people yelling]

[reporters clamoring]

‐Murderer.
‐Hey, hey, hey.
Leave him alone.

I hope you rot in hell.

You deserve to die.

‐You all deserve to die!
‐You killed my father!

[groans]

[man] Oh, my God.
What is the matter?

‐Jacob!
‐Look, is he all right?
I didn't mean to...

‐Jacob.
‐Come on, let's get you
out of here.

Before somebody sticks
a knife in you. Come on!

Traitor! Traitor!

[grunting]

[yelling]

Get him an ambulance.
Get him an ambulance.

‐[cameras clicking]
‐[all yelling]

[knocking on door]

I'm sorry.

At least he died
with his name intact.

[sighs]

You argued
a hell of a case, Dad.

I didn't know
until right before the end.

Know what?

I swear I didn't know.

He was guilty.

I'm glad I'm an old man.

I've seen
too much craziness.

‐Pop.
‐I don't know
what's right anymore.

I don't know
anything anymore.

Well, if it's
any consolation...

I love you.

I don't know
why that's so hard to say.

As we lay Jacob Levine
to his final rest

Aleichem Shalom,
peace unto him.

may his goodness live on
in the lives of those
who know him.

And together let us say...

[all] Amen.

[speaking Hebrew]

Gustav Braun is now
in the company
of the living God,

who is love and light.

In the words of John,
we say...

"The hour has come

for the son of man
to be glorified.
Amen. Amen."

[theme music playing]

[theme music ends]