Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 1, Episode 12 - Life Choice - full transcript

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.

Protesters: Don't kill your
baby! Abortion is a sin.

Don't kill your baby!
Abortion is a sin.

Don't kill your baby!

Abortion is a sin...

Do they ever get bored?

The True Believers?



Not on your life.

.. Abortion is a sin!
Don't kill your babies!

Abortion is a sin!
Don't kill your babies!

Abortion is a sin!
Don't kill your babies...

woman: Past 24 weeks?
We can't help you.

well, I'm not sure.

Okay...

fill this out and you
can see the nurse.

women's Choices.

God, not again.

So my father says,

"If you weren't a cop
you would get a husband.

who told you to be a cop?"

My mother says,
"I told her to be a cop



so she wouldn't worry
about getting a husband. "

You could always marry me.

You're not what my father
had in mind.

Radio: 29 Adam,
respond to 312 West 19th

Chelsea Women's Choices
regarding bomb threat; advise.

we are at that location
and will advise further.

Man:
Come on, let's go.

Easy, easy, easy.

Don't panic.
It will be all right.

Take it easy.

Out now!

That's everybody.

Man:
Come on, let's go.

Officer:.
Stay behind the barrier.

I'm asking if you saw anybody
carrying something-

knapsack, package,
a large bag-

anything out of the ordinary.

Max: Yo!

Good morning, Vietnam.
what do we got?

Your garden-variety lunatic

blowing up a room
with a lot of ladies in it.

The bomb.

Your basic type.

Fertilizer and diesel?

You got it. Amateur hour.

The only thing I like more
than a bomber is an amateur bomber.

Timer?
Quartz alarm clock.

Straight out of
"The Revolutionary Cookbook. "

If that's the main course,
I can't wait to see dessert.

Yeah, well, there won't be
any dessert for this one.

Student ID.

"University of Manhattan. "
Sandra Turner.

21-22, maybe.
She was in the bathroom.

was she here for an abortion?

Doesn't play that way.

She didn't sign in.
Nobody saw her.

It looks like she was
the delivery girl,

but she didn't get out
quick enough.

Put her right through the wall.

we get calls all the time-

false alarms, but still
we get everybody out.

Did you recognize the voice
on the phone before?

She only said "bomb. "
How could I recognize her voice?

what about the girl
in the bathroom- Turner?

Did she fill out a form?

No way. I didn't see her.

She wasn't a patient.

They can't wait to talk
to somebody.

She must have carried
the bomb in.

what is wrong
with these people?

Sooner or later,
it had to happen.

As long as the courts
refuse to act against abortion,

there are going
to be individuals-

Are you defending these nuts?

Come on.
This ain't lone justice.

It's a conspiracy.
They can't stop abortion

through the courts,
so they'll bomb a few clinics.

we don't know that.

we don't? I don't remember
reading anything

about a cellular phone
in the bathroom.

Somebody called in a warning.
Two people make a conspiracy.

Look, all I'm saying is

I understand
why they're frustrated.

Max, a girl is dead.

She was 22 years old.

Tell them to write their congressman,
not throw bombs.

I'm only saying they believe
in something and they're angry.

They're angry? So they send
a girl in there with a bomb?

In my book that is
not frustration, that's murder.

Eight bombings
in the last seven months,

all of them at night.

None of them happened
in the daytime.

Nobody was hurt before either.

we've got six active
anti-abortion protest groups

with offices in Manhattan.

Let's see if the ME's
got an ID,

then we'll start on these.

whatever she used
did a real job on her.

Anybody come to ID her?

Nah.
Logan: No prints?

Epithelial layers gone.

I could get better prints
from charcoal.

You'll have a preliminary
report tomorrow,

but there's not much doubt
about the COD.

That's it?
Cash- no wallet?

Just the university ID.

Nobody on this student number.

Logan:
Try Tumer, Sandra.

we haven't had
six digit IDs in two years.

Tumer, Samuel...

Turner, Sheila...

No Turner, Sandra.

But this is
the university's card?

No, it isn't.

This picture is... glued on.

It's a fake.
The real one's like a license,

all one piece.

Back to square one.

Let's hit some of those
anti-abortion groups.

0 for three. Number four
- "women for Life,"

headed by
Rose Schwimmer.

Our battle isn't about
restoring Central Park,

or a 15C increase
in the subway fare,

or separating cans and bottles
from our trash.

It's about human life.

Sometimes people go
out of bounds.

Do you ever go out
of bounds?

All the time.

That's why I'm here.

You're here
to break the law?.

I'm here to stop
the murder of babies.

Look, let's get this clear.

Abortion is a right
in this country!

That clinic was performing
a legal and medical procedure.

They weren't murdering anything.

Mrs. Schwimmer...

a girl is dead.

The clinic's just a couple
of minutes from here.

I'm horrified
by what happened.

But you sympathize,
don't you?

I mean, with people
who bomb abortion clinics.

I don't condone violence,
but I understand.

Does a woman
named Sandra Turner

belong to your group?

would hand me
that folder there, please?

we have over 2,000
active members.

And a couple thousand more
come to our vigils,

and send contributions.

No Sandra Turner.

Where were you
when the bomb went off?

why?

People from your group
were picketing that day.

Am I a suspect, Detective?

Lazy Jane's around the corner
having tea.

I guess when you go against
the system the way we do,

you're guilty
until proven innocent.

She comes
every wednesday-

Rose Schwimmer.

She came in between
10:00 and 11:00.

Are you sure of the time?

why do you think
it's called Lazy Jane's?

I don't get in until 10:00.

So what?
She came right after you?

15, 10:30.

Her friend came in
a couple of minutes later.

The friend a regular, too?

Semi- a couple times a month.

You know the look-

Raggedy Ann
with a Bendel's charge card.

She's a real pro-shopper.

She had this big box with her.

A box? She put right on the table.

Can you believe that?

I mean, it was
the size of a toaster oven.

I put it on the chair.

This isn't a dinner.

watch- five years
they'll legalize drugs.

Pfft! Maybe, maybe not.

It's a great country, Max.

You can do what you want,
when you want,

with who you want.

which means if a woman
wants an abortion,

she can get one.

Just because she was
careless enough

to get knocked up
in the first place?

what are you against,
abortions or sex?

Abortions. I like sex.

So a 17-year-old should louse up
her whole life by having a kid?

17-year-olds shouldn't
be doing what makes babies.

And crooks
shouldn't have guns.

Get real. what they
should be is more careful.

Kids aren't careful,
that's why they're kids.

Mrs. Schwimmer didn't
mention that she had tea

with Ms. Toaster Oven.

I get it. Now every pro-life
protestor is a bomber.

You agree with them,
don't you?

Okay, Don Juan...

any of your girlfriends
ever have an abortion?

One ex-girlfriend, who's
now married with two kids-

neither of them mine.

I really don't have
time for this.

I hate to bother you, but it
is weird that no one saw her.

Really? If I was
planting a bomb,

I'd sure try to be invisible.

That's all the cards.
There's no Sandra Turner.

I told you-
she didn't sign in.

How much does
an abortion cost?

$300.

$300- the price
of a cheap mob hit.

Hey, Max, look at that.

Max: Yo! How many
did they take away?

12, 15.

Let's go to
the property clerk's office,

and pick up
the dead girl's keys.

we got two right here.

Ooh! whoa!

How sweet it is.

I could get used
to driving this.

On your salary you couldn't
afford the repairs.

On my salary I couldn't
even afford the insurance.

Bingo!

"Chelsea women's
Choices Center. "

Let's get the Crime Scene
Unit down here.

Maybe we'll get lucky
and pull some prints.

Yeah.

Come on. Don't give
yourself an ulcer.

422.

Mr. Donovan?
Yes.

Sergeant Greevey,
Detective Logan.

when she didn't
come home last night

we tried to file
a missing person report.

They wouldn't take it.

They said we had
to wait two days.

Our Father
who art in heaven,

hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done

on earth as it is heaven.

Give us this day
our daily bread,

and forgive us, we forgive
those who trespass against us.

You daughter, did she belong
to a right-to-life group?

The thing about Mary-

she loves kids.

That's why she teaches.

Did Mary ever mention
women for Life?

Mr. Donovan: She was sympathetic
to their work, ideals.

we all are. Did anyone call
the school and tell them that-

Mary wouldn't be in
today? It's okay, Barbara.

Couldn't Mary have,
without your knowledge-

Mary didn't keep
secrets from us.

we know how hard it is,

but we'd like to look
at Mary's room.

Mary has a thing
about privacy.

Barbara...

it doesn't matter if
they go into her room now.

"The Lives of The Saints. "

22 years old.

who sends a kid
to deliver a bomb?

Maybe it was
her own idea.

Yeah?

who taught her how
to make one?

whoever it was,

they should have
taught her about timers.

The mother seems to be
taking it pretty hard.

It's gonna take awhile.

what? To realize
that her daughter is dead?

To realize
she didn't die with her.

The father doesn't seem
to be having that problem.

That's because...

he didn't lose a daughter,

he gained a martyr.

Hey.

Looks like the brother owns
a lumber company.

Lumber- construction.

Construction- explosives.

Anything you can tell us
about Mary's friends,

teachers she was close to?

My father...

poured himself a cup
of coffee this morning.

Put in milk, sugar,
walked over to the sink,

poured it down the drain.

He didn't knowwhat
the hell he was doing.

I got on the West Side
Highway on my way here-

I forgot to get off.

went the whole way
to 96th Street.

Just like that, I had a sister

and now I don't.

Is there only
the two of you?

Mary always said
she would have a big family.

what about these
anti-abortion groups?

She loved kids.

Did she belong
to any organized groups?

Mr. Donovan,

bombing is a felony.

Fine! I think Mary's paid
for her crime in full,

don't you, Detective?

we don't happen to think
she was in this alone.

Don't you want the people

who helped to kill
your sister to pay, too?

If she was
the member of a group,

she never
mentioned it to me.

They might know more at school-
Saint Aloysius.

Some people take
a long time to grow up.

Have a seat.

They still believe
in hearts and flowers,

and Mom never looks
at another guy-

Dad doesn't cheat
on his income tax.

For 22, Mary was... young.

Young enough to let somebody
talk her into throwing a bomb?

Gentlemen,
a parochial school like this-

it's another century.

Mary was a sweet kid.

She believed the whole world
was parochial school,

that all the problems
could be solved

with pure thoughts
and a rosary.

Logan: Did, uh...

did you know she wasn't
gonna be here yesterday?

Day off.

Regular day off?

No. Do you know
how hard it is

to get good teachers
these days?

They ask for a day off,
they get it.

Did she happen
to tell you why?

well, she had been upset.

I figured it was her boyfriend,
Patrick Dunn.

He teaches here,
eighth grade Latin.

Last week they had
an argument in the hallway

in front of the kids.

I had to tell them "This is not
appropriate behavior. "

She shouldn't have been there.

It's crazy.

So, Patrick...

this fight you had last week,
what was that all about?

Some article in "The Times. "

Connecticut's abortion law...

Mary hated abortion.

Hated it.

You?

why?

Personally,
I think it's a sin,

and I think it's immoral.

But I live in the real world.

Did she ever mention a woman
named Rose Schwimmer?

women for Life.

Everyone knows who she is.

If you're asking whether
I carry false identification, Detective,

the answer is no.

I'm proud of what I do.

Anybody in your group
have any?

Please.
Thank you.

This movement attracts

deeply committed individuals.

They get arrested.

Some carry false identification
and jump bail.

And Mary Donovan?

Obviously, deeply committed.

But you didn't even know her.

No, I didn't.

But what I do know is
Mary Donovan,

whoever she was,
sacrificed herself to save the unborn.

Hundreds of them.

I don't approve
of her methods,

but I applaud her results.

The day of the bombing
when you had brunch,

you didn't mention
someone else being there...

who happened to be carrying
a large package.

This morning I had breakfast
with my sister.

She carried an umbrella.

I didn't tell you that either.

we're just trying
to do our job here.

we have to verify alibis.

I had brunch
with an associate,

Celeste McClure.

Um, this Ms. McClure,

you knowwhere
we can find her?

Today?

Probably at
the community garden,

near the stables
on 89th Street.

Just came from the printer.

Great, isn't it?

It's wonderful.

Depends on what
you're selling.

You're mistaken, Detective.

I didn't know Mary Donovan.

But I wish I had.

what she did
makes me proud.

Throwing a bomb?

Innocent people
could have been killed.

In that building

before Mary Donovan
threw that bomb

unborn babies were
being killed every day.

At Lazy Jane's, when you had
brunch with Rose Schwimmer,

what was in the box
you had?

Leaflets...

for protestors.

I'm trying to save lives.
You're supposed to save lives.

we're investigating-

A woman who gave her life
in the only cause that counts!

Nobody's-
You wear a wedding ring.

Do you have children?

would you want your daughter
or your wife

to have an abortion?

No.

But I wouldn't want them
tossing bombs either.

If you don't have
any more questions,

I have work to do.

Hmm, ammonium nitrate.

Now, all she needs
is the diesel fuel.

Hey, you know, that's a good question she
asked about your daughter.

Suppose some boyfriend
knocked her up?

Look! we are not
investigating my daughter,

my sex life with my wife,
or my opinions on contraception.

we are investigating the bombing
of an abortion clinic.

Let's just stick to the job,
all right?

Peterson's 121 nitrate.

where did you get that?

what, I don't look like I have
a green thumb to you?

You must be one hell
of a gardener.

Do you grow palm trees
in your backyard?

This stuff is
for tropical plants.

New York?

A big item in Hawaii.

Quite a record
Mrs. Schwimmer's got here.

Trespassing,
disturbing the peace...

harassment.

For such a non-violent person

she sure does get around.

I've seen armed robbers
who've got shorter rap sheets than this.

McClure's got nothing but
a dismissed trespass.

It's a big step from there
to armed robbery.

Yeah, well, Donovan's
completely clean.

She doesn't even have
a traffic ticket.

But she was willing to go
all the way up to arson and murder

even with Mr. Clean
for her boyfriend.

The methods are wrong,
but they're trying to prevent murder.

Spare me the rhetoric.

I don't consider abortion murder.

If a woman wants one,
that's her right to choose-

not yours, not mine and certainly not Ms.
Rose Schwimmer.

I don't care what you believe,

trying to prevent abortions
by bombing goes way too far.

I don't even know how
you can sit here and defend it.

You and I both know
they didn't mean to hurt anybody!

No, I don't know that, okay?!

Only an idiot thinks
bombs don't hurt people.

Come on,
tell me more!

Lab report just came in.

Fertilizer's a match
on the bomb

and they got a bunch
of good latent prints on the bag-

all the same woman.

And they're a match for the parcel
on the bomb fragment.

If you two could manage
not to kill each other

maybe you could pick up McClure
and see if her prints match.

we're not saying
it's a slam dunk.

Slam dunk? A bag of fertilizer
and a couple of prints?

Right now,
I'd have a hard time

of convicting Celeste McClure
of bad gardening.

I'm trying to make this work
beyond just an indictment.

You don't like it?
Don't file.

That's just fine with me.

Are you in favor
of people planting bombs, Sergeant?

Careful, Counselor.

All I'm saying is that
these women are true believers.

And so far, they've hurt no one
but each other.

Yeah. Talk about dumb luck.

Gentlemen.

McClure made the bomb.
Donovan muled it.

Schwimmer ordered it.

You want my advice?

Offer McClure a plea.
She'll take it.

She wants to be a martyr.

Man:
Celeste McClure, the charges are

conspiracy in the third degree,

reckless endangerment
in the second degree,

arson in the second degree.

How does the defendant
plead on the first count?

Not guilty on all counts,
Your Honor.

we request release of the
defendant on her own recognizance.

Based upon what, Mr. Ballard?

These are two serious
felony charges here.

Based on the fact that this
is a political prosecution.

You're not on trial yet,
Counselor.

Your Honor,
if it please the court,

Ms. McClure is a young woman
with no previous criminal record

and close ties to the community.

Mr. Stone?

The People have no objection
to minimum bail, Your Honor.

Then bail is set at $10,000
cash or bond.

Short date.

Ballard:
Thanks for the bail recommendation.

Stone:
Not at all, sir.

Martyrs don't run.

Ballard: How can you allow
yourself to be used like this?

If you're gonna stick your finger
in my eye, Mr. Ballard,

clean your own nails first.

It seems to me the only reason
for this prosecution

is to make the right-to-life
movement look bad.

That'll get you
in the papers,

but it won't help your client
and it's not true.

McClure didn't plant
that bomb,

Mary Donovan did.

McClure made the bomb.

The best you can get,
if you believe she's guilty-

j j conspiracy six, arson four.

Are you accusing me
of filing inflated charges?

I'm only saying you're gonna
cost the state a lot of money

merely to get her
on probation.

If probation will keep a bomb out of
that woman's hands, it's worth the money.

These people aren't
criminals.

what are they,
Mary Poppins, Mother Teresa?

They are exercising their right
of free speech.

Throwing a bomb
is a little non-verbal

to qualify as speech, sir.

Are you sure you don't want
to recuse yourself?

That's insulting.

I'm personally against abortion
means I can't prosecute a bomber?

what I believe doesn't matter.

I represent the law.

Amazing.

I'm getting angry.

The most emotional issue

that the law has dealt with
since suffrage.

Look at us. Three men...

talking about what rights
women should have

over their own bodies.

Doesn't that strike you
as a little one-sided?

Adam, I have already told you

my personal feelings have no impact on
my ability to prosecute a criminal case.

And I have never said that a woman
does not have the right to choose.

Adam:
Fine. Wonderful.

Are you feeling shaky
on that conspiracy charge?

You better tie the bomb maker
to the bomber

with a little more than
what you got there.

we prove McClure
made the bomb,

Donovan delivered it.

what about Schwimmer?

That's flimsy.

And it's risky. we tie her into
the picture, it doesn't work-

I wouldn't go even for an indictment
with what we got now.

But? It is a conspiracy,
and I want to make it stick!

Forensics ever send over
a print report?

Finally. There's another
set of prints

along with Mary Donovan's
on that counterfeit ID card.

we don't figure out
who they belong to,

Ballard will say someone else
was in league with Mary.

Get a print work-up
on everybody who knew her.

You argue with Schiff
a lot on this.

Yeah. Do you agree with him?
That's not an issue for me.

I'm not for abortion,
I'm for birth control.

I got your fertilizer.
Make me happy.

McClure bought one bag
from the same supplier

who sells to
the community garden.

Ordered it herself. She
didn't happen to sign...?

You just made me
very happy.

The only deal
we're interested in

is you drop everything.
Don't even go to the grand jury.

Put your emotions in your briefcase
for a couple of minutes.

This case is about emotion.

I hope you know your law
better than that, Mr. Ballard.

I know juries are
swayed by it.

It's your gamble, Mr. Ballard.

Ms. McClure, you and Mary Donovan
bombed a clinic.

Mary Donovan is dead
and you're not.

She's a nice, young lady.
She made a mistake.

I hope you're not going to let her
take the fall all by herself.

All she has to do is
name who ordered it.

It doesn't matter
what happens to me.

The babies matter.

Arson in the second degree
is a class "B" felony.

I assume Mr. Ballard told you
the sentence if you're convicted?

Six years in jail.

Six years in prison,
Ms. McClure.

May we leave now,
Mr. Ballard?

23 years old.

She can't even imagine
what six years of hard time is like.

Somebody's using her.

Schwimmer?

An hour ago, I didn't know,

but now, even money.

Still, it usually doesn't
work this way.

Usually the criminal
doesn't want to go to jail.

McClure does.

She'll become a martyr.
She'll never give up on Schwimmer.

She won't give anybody.

Except herself. It's about morality
for her, not legal compromise.

So why don't we turn
this thing around?

Let's try a reverse.

I'm not part of any conspiracy,
Mr. Robinette.

You understand,
Ms. Schwimmer,

we're going to request the maximum
sentence for Celeste McClure?

You might ask your attorney
what that means.

First you have to get
a conviction-

with very thin evidence.

Evidence we think
a jury will find convincing.

Celeste McClure will
go to prison

for a long time.

Lawyer:. People in this
state would never forget her.

Fine. Make her a martyr.

But Celeste McClure is a young kid.

Are you going to let her
rot behind bars?

Rose, don't say anything
until we've talked.

This meeting is over.

Robinette: You never heard
their names mentioned?

Schwimmer or McClure?

Never.

Anything you remember about
the day of the bombing?

Anything you've thought about
since you talked with the police?

Barbara: Mary said she
was taking the day off-

shopping.

Patrick, her boyfriend,
he came to drive her to school.

They had an argument outside.

Couples have arguments.

It was serious enough, Jeffrey,

for Kevin to try to break it up.

Your son here
that early in the morning a lot?

Jeffrey:
He stops by occasionally.

Not that often.

What was
the argument about?

Something Patrick
had with him.

Nothing.

An envelope.
Nothing?

So why did
we hear them yelling?

Our daughter did
what she did

out of her own conscience.

we can live with that.

You can live with that, Jeffrey!

A martyr will never
be able to tell me

what a wonderful day she had
at school yesterday.

A martyr will never
have a wedding.

A martyr will never
have children.

I wanted to go
to Barbados.

I brought her a brochure.

I thought it would
convince her.

That's what was
in the envelope.

That's all it was about?
Her parents-

She felt it would
look bad

if we went together
not married.

She said I was being
insensitive to their feelings.

I had it all planned.

A romantic place-

it's stupid.

I guess I felt I needed
the right setting.

I was going to ask her
to marry me.

It wasn't that big a fight.

So why did you
get involved?

I went out to talk to them.

Your mother heard
you yelling.

Patrick said your sister
was upset.

There was no fight.

You're lying, Kevin!
what are you gonna do?

You want to charge me
with the bombing of the clinic?

You can count on it,
if I find you're covering up a crime.

I don't know anything
about the bombing.

we'll call you
if we need you.

The Donovan ID?
The other fingerprints?

Got a match? Just came
in from washington.

He'd been in the army.

who?
The boyfriend-

Patrick Dunn.

By themselves,
the fingerprints aren't proof.

She could have
shown him the card...

without telling him she was
gonna use it to plant a bomb.

we need something else.

Yeah. The brother
has a story,

boyfriend another.

what about
if we arrest Patrick

as a co-conspirator?

Based on the prints?

I don't want him arraigned
if you don't think he's guilty.

I don't know if he's guilty,
but let's arrest him anyway,

not arraign him till tomorrow,
put him in a room with Kevin-

And see what shakes loose. Yeah.

The charge is arson
and conspiracy.

I'm not involved
in that bombing.

You can call your lawyer
in a few minutes.

This is unbelievable.

What's he doing here?

Is he being arrested too?

Arrested?
Mary's false ID card.

Patrick's fingerprints
are on it.

Did you get it for her
so she could do the bombing?

Makes you co-conspirator.

I'm not going to jail, Kevin.

I can prove I wasn't involved.

Mary wasn't involved either.

Shut up! Shut up!

Stone: Hey!

All he wanted was
for her to be a martyr

instead of a sinner.

She didn't go there
to bomb the clinic.

She was pregnant.

She was there
to have an abortion.

She was there
to kill our baby.

She was ashamed.

She thought if her parents
found out-

You wanted to marry her. That
would have solved everything.

It doesn't matter.

The baby comes early,
everybody knows.

So, under a false name
she'd have an abortion.

That morning

I gave her the ID
and the money

so that she could...

I pleaded with her
to at least let me take her.

I pleaded.

with arson you could
be a martyr.

with conspiracy you could
still be a martyr.

But Ms. McClure, now-
nowwe are talking about murder.

I didn't kill anybody.

Mary Donovan did not
get hit by a car.

Tell her, Mr. Ballard.

It's not six years
in jail anymore.

Ballard: You'll never
get her for manslaughter.

Manslaughter? we are now talking
about murder in the second degree-

depraved indifference
to human life.

You're out of your mind.

Stone: 15 years to
life behind bars.

I don't want to put
i i you in prison,

but somebody killed
Mary Donovan.

An innocent woman died.
That is murder.

That makes you no better
than the people you oppose.

Counselor, she's a kid.

You said so yourself.

Mary Donovan was a kid, too.

Ask her parents.

She pleads on all three counts
outstanding.

You recommend
minimum sentences.

She testifies against nobody.

If this was Schwimmer's idea,
she testifies against her.

we drop down to conspiracy six,
arson four.

She pleads to criminally
negligent homicide.

She does six months.

Celeste, do you understand?

If I thought anyone
would get hurt,

I wouldn't have
given Rose the bomb.

The charges here are conspiracy
in the second degree,

arson in the second degree,
murder in the second degree.

Does the defendant wish
to enter a plea?

Not guilty, Your Honor.

If it pleases the court,
we're requesting bail.

Mr. Stone?

Ms. Schwimmer has been convicted
of several misdemeanors,

and has made
every court appearance,

however, j j in our experience,

activists accused
of more serious crimes

have sometimes decided
to work for their cause

from behind the scenes-
far behind.

Therefore,
the people recommend

the defendant be held
without bail.

Your Honor, there's no reason to
believe the defendant is a flight risk.

Mr. Stone, I'm inclined
to agree with Mr. Malloy.

What applies generally may not
apply specifically to this defendant.

I understand.

But this is a homicide,
Mr. Malloy,

with two additional
felony charges.

Bail is set at...

$300, 000.

Stone: Regardless of
your personal feelings,

you are not being asked
to decide a moral issue.

You are being asked
to decide a legal issue.

The crime is the murder
of a young woman

by an exploding bomb.

And that woman,
Ms. Rose Schwimmer,

is accused
of placing a bomb

with depraved indifference
to human life-

indifference to anyone
it might hurt.

You may hear the arguments
that the ends justify the means,

that an illegal act is
somehow justified

by a moral cause.

If you're even tempted
to agree with that argument,

please remember,

killing is not only
against the law,

it is also immoral.

And if anyone
suggests to you

that morality and law
are somehow in conflict,

I ask you to remember that.

Stone:
Is fertilizer and diesel fuel

a commonly known explosive?

They blow mountains
apart with it.

Did you find
actual pieces of the bomb?

That's correct.
Fragments of it

were coated with
the fertilizer compound.

Did you make a comparison
between that compound

and the fertilizer taken
from the community garden?

I did.
What were the results?

They were chemically identical.

Thank you.
No further questions, Your Honor.

Mr. Oliver,

is the chemical
in the fertilizer in question

available as a chemical
other than in that particular fertilizer?

Yes. Other manufacturers
make the same formulation.

And is it also available
just as a chemical compound

that has nothing to do
with fertilizer?

Yes.

So the nitrate in the bomb could
have come from somewhere else?

It's remotely possible.
One in a million.

Thank you.
No more questions.

Reporter:. Demanding police
protection for abortion clinics,

an estimated 10, 000
pro-choice demonstrators

marched down 1 Oth Avenue.

It's only going
to get worse.

Luckily, that ain't
my problem.

we're willing
to consider a plea.

Manslaughter two.

Mary Donovan was
the perfect martyr.

You should have
left it that way.

And you, hiding behind
a dead woman?

I don't think the jury
will like that.

Mary Donovan was ready
to kill her baby.

will the jury like that
any better?

Mary Donovan is not
on trial here.

She will be.

She conspired
to commit murder.

Are you admitting that
Mary didn't plant the bomb?

In this state, capital punishment
is against the law.

Yet, you're ready to risk
your own form of capital punishment

against people you consider
deserving of it?

They do deserve it.

This isn't
getting us anywhere.

Come on, Rose.

Ms. Schwimmer?

I think you should
reconsider.

I don't make deals
with the devil.

Stone:
Two and a half months ago,

did Ms. McClure
come into your store

and place her usual order?

Yes, she did.

Did she add
anything unusual to it?

Objection. Characterization.

Sustained.

Did Ms. McClure's
purchases include

anything she did not make
on a regular basis?

Yes. A 50-pound bag
of fertilizer

with a special nitrate formula.

Did that strike you
as strange?

It's used mostly
for palm trees.

I told her
it would kill her plants.

I had to special order it.

On that day when Ms. McClure
ordered the fertilizer,

was anyone with her?

Yes.

Is that person
in this courtroom?

Yes.

would you point
that person out for the jury?

She's sitting
right over there.

Stone: You Honor,
may the record show

that she's pointing
to the defendant?

Judge:
Let the record so indicate.

Rose said...

talking, marching...

it wasn't stopping
the abortions.

She was right.

Every day, more babies
were being murdered.

Did Ms. Schwimmer talk
about the bombings

in front of the other members
of women for Life?

She said they
wouldn't understand.

And...

that if it was
just the two of us,

nobody would find out.

when did you give
Ms. Schwimmer the bomb?

I met her for brunch
that morning,

at Lazy Jane's

on 7th Avenue.

Stone:
Tell the jury what happened then.

Ms. McClure?

Rose...

said she would
go out the back door.

It's next to the ladies room.

She said...

she could
get down the alley

and back within 10 minutes.

She told me to wait
for five minutes,

and then call the clinic
and warn them.

Did you make the call?

Yes.

Your Honor, I would like
to enter into evidence

telephone company records
showing calls

made from the pay phone

of the Lazy Jane Restaurant
on the day of the bombing.

No further questions,
Your Honor.

Is defense ready
for its summation?

Your Honor, at this time,

against advice of counsel,

the defendant wishes
to testify in her own behalf.

Judge:
Ms. Schwimmer,

you realize you'll be subject
to cross-examination?

I do, Your Honor.

I urge you
to reconsider.

Listen to advice
of counsel.

However, I won't prevent you
from testifying.

Do you swear to tell the truth,
so help you God?

I certainly do.

Ballard:
Ms. Schwimmer,

did you conspire
with Celeste McClure

to bomb the Chelsea
women's Choice Center,

as well as seven
other abortion clinics?

Yes, I did.

Then you're guilty
of the charges leveled against you?

Not before God.

Can you explain
why you're innocent before God?

Objection, this case is being judged
on the temporal plane, Your Honor.

Sustained.

How dare you object,
Mr. Stone?

we've done our homework.
You were baptized.

You go to communion, and you
prosecute me?! Judge: That's enough.

All the abortions in that clinic
are murder, and you know it.

Your Honor?
It must stop!

Mary Donovan's death
was tragic,

But if it prevents one abortion,
the scales are balanced.

Abortion must end!

Ms. Schwimmer, that will
be all! Are we a nation

who can tolerate the abortionist
sticking his hand

in a mother's womb
and strangling God's creation?

The court officer will
remove Ms. Schwimmer!

Your Honor, I have only one question
to ask of the defendant.

which is?

If abortion is murder, no matter
how you feel about Mary Donovan,

aren't you guilty of the murder
of her unborn child?

Judge: On the first
count in the indictment,

the charge of conspiracy
in the second degree,

how do you find?

we find the defendant guilty.

On the second count,

the charge of arson
in the second degree,

how do you find?

we find
the defendant guilty.

The third count,
murder in the second degree,

how do you find?
We find the defendant guilty.

Stone:
what do we say to people

who know she committed a criminal act,
but don't think she's a criminal?

That's easy. A criminal is
someone who commits a criminal act-

for any reason.

But up until Roe v. wade,
the abortionists were the criminals.

If the law hadn't changed,
there never would have been a bombing.

If the law hadn't changed,
I'd be a slave.

You can't turn back
the clock.