Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 1, Episode 3 - The Reaper's Helper - full transcript
Greevy and Logan investigate the shooting death of Bobby Holland who is found on the floor in his apartment. The scene has several characteristics of a burglary gone bad. The apartment is a mess but strangely, money was left in the dead man's wallet. From all accounts, the Holland was well-liked. They also learn that he was gay and had been meeting a man several times before his death. That man is Jack Curry who freely admits shooting Holland but claims that it was an assisted suicide as Holland had AIDS and had chosen to end his life. The case presents a dilemma for ADA Stone who isn't unsympathetic with the killer or the victim.
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.
Upstairs neighbor
complained about the smell.
Don't worry, Max. It's
just three more flights.
Didn't somebody
find the coffee yet?
Max: Whew.
Yo, Profaci!
Hey, Mikey.
Holland, Bobby. 26, 27?
Shot in the back of the
head. Probably two days.
Ask me, it was
probably a dealer.
Weapon? Still looking.
Who shoots in the
head besides dealers?
A robber who gets surprised?
A burglar so surprised...
he leaves behind a full wallet?
(theme music playing)
Man: It needs a paint job.
The guy's dead. If they had
a decent door downstairs.
I'm below him. In 2A.
Did you ever talk to him?
He listened to sad music.
Piano stuff. Gershwin.
Left early. Came home late.
You see anybody with
him Saturday night?
Saturday night, about 1:30
I'm coming back from
Symphony Space.
This guy tears past me.
You get a good look at him?
1:00 a.m., guy goes running
down the steps in this city?
I've learned not to look.
Brownstones, they're
invitations to get robbed.
How many sets of
prints have you got?
I've got partials from
about a dozen people.
It's what you'd expect.
Unless somebody
wiped the place down.
You run them? No match.
None of his friends had records.
Neither did he.
Man: What'd they used to say?
"Live fast, die young,
leave a beautiful corpse."
Whoever shot this one,
didn't care about beautiful.
You should have
seen the apartment.
It was more trashed
than the victim.
Not to boil your coffee
or anything, but...
a guy fights with a burglar.
He gets banged up.
Not the late Mr. Holland.
Not a bruise, not a mark,
not a scratch on the body,
just a nice, clean
.38 entrance wound.
Close range? A foot,
maybe 18 inches.
Powder burns, stippling.
Check both hands? They're clean.
Not a trace of powder.
The guy didn't shoot himself.
That's dead certain.
Mrs. Holland:
Bobby was big. He...
When he was born he
was over 1 1 pounds.
He was... he's always been big.
They...
Don't attack big people.
I read it in "The Post."
Could you tell us
about your son's friends,
places he used to hang out?
He... he...
He kept to himself... a lot.
He didn't have a lot of friends.
I should go get his mail.
Bobby have any... brothers?
Sisters?
After Bobby, we
didn't have anymore.
He was a very difficult birth.
I'm... I had...
Well, there was just...
I've no more children.
And now we've lost him.
Mr. Holland: We lost him
when he moved over the bridge.
(gasps)
Max: Personal possessions.
Things they found on him
when he was brought in.
Would you sign for them, please?
Took the watch, huh?
An Omega, big heavy job.
Steel.
High school graduation,
it cost me a week's pay.
The band?
It had links. Tight.
Steel, too. He wore it
to work without worry.
When he first moved to
the city I bought him a gun.
A pistol? A.38, it was licensed.
I told him, "Keep
it next to the bed."
Why didn't he defend himself?
You got a big tough
guy, big enough
to toss most people
around like a pillow.
There's always somebody bigger.
The apartment
looked like Beirut.
And our vic, not
a bruise or a cut.
You fight with a crackhead,
you'll get hit, something.
A bullet in the head
is not something?
How'd the perp
get in? Fire escape.
Nope. One door, no fire escape.
Then, maybe we're
talking about a friend here.
A friend with a grudge?
You got something better?
Maybe you should go out, shake up
the ground a little, see who he knew.
(engine running)
Workman: Drop that rope!
Mark it down-side off.
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Right there! Hold up!
I hope to God
you get who did it.
Bobby was a good man.
Women problems?
Bobby didn't cat around.
Gamble?
Not even a football pool.
Bobby Holland
hang out after work?
Didn't even come
to union meetings.
Mr. Massacio, come on, he must
have hung out with somebody.
Go ask Suarez...
Angel. Sometimes
they had lunch together.
Thanks.
Angel Suarez?
Detective Logan.
Sergeant Greevey.
I already heard about Bobby.
Were you a friend of his?
I knew him. Real broken up, huh?
If I knew who did
him I'd let you know.
Where were you Saturday night?
In San Juan,
visiting my parents.
I got back Sunday night.
You want to see my plane ticket?
We're talking murder, here.
Look, the night Bobby
got it he was having a drink
with a friend... Lois Rivera.
She has a gourmet sandwich
cart on the Upper West Side.
If you guys find the killer
and wanna save the state
the price of a trial, gimme a call.
Thanks.
That night, before
I met my sister,
I had a drink with Bobby.
We talked a while
about nothing really.
I just told him he
should go back to school.
City College, part-time.
Bobby was real smart.
He knew a lot about music.
He read a lot of books.
Anybody want to hurt him?
No. Nobody I could think of.
Where'd he go after he left you?
It's Lois, right?
Listen.
Somebody blew your
boyfriend's brains out
with a.38, okay?
He went to a bar
downtown, Paradise Lost.
Look, I really
wasn't Bobby's girl.
Just a good friend.
Bobby was gay.
You couldn't miss the
guy. Logan: Why not?
The kind of crowd we get.
You know, average guys.
Construction workers.
Grad students from NYU.
Easy mix. Neighborhood.
So here's this character
dressed kind of charivari.
Black t-shirt, gray silk jacket.
You know the look,
"I'm cool and you're not."
You ever seen him
with Holland before?
Bobby doesn't
come in a lot, lately,
more like after
work for a Michelob.
The silk jacket and Bobby
were sitting over there.
Couldn't hear them,
then they were gone.
Silk jacket... Want
to know the truth?
I thought he was a hustler.
Something about
him. I don't know.
I don't know.
Logan: So he was rough trade.
So they do their thing.
Mr. Silk Jacket does it all.
Sex. Kills the guy.
Then trashes the place
looking for something to take.
Yeah, and the
odds on finding him?
About as good as finding
true love at Paradise Lost.
Max: I don't know.
His parents, his boss,
his coworkers, his neighbors...
No one knew this guy was gay.
They're out there, I
don't see them either.
Think a lot of cops
are gay? No way, man.
Department's got a special test.
They look you in the
eye, if your left eye blinks
before your right eye
they know you're gay.
(Logan laughs)
They say one in 10, Max.
That's a lot. They just fade in.
Silk Jacket? Five to one
he's not in any of these.
Good news and bad news.
The good news is somebody
just walked in and confessed?
The good news is
they found the gun.
Empty lot, six blocks away.
Bad news, wiped clean.
Registration? You're
gonna love this.
Your vic, Bobby Holland.
Terrific.
Bobby was always
popular with the girls.
He was a halfback
on the football team.
He was on the student
council. He was king of the prom.
He hid his magazines
under the mattress.
"Playboy."
My son was not homosexual!
She knows. She
just can't admit it.
Can you? Bobby had
everything going for him.
Any girl he wanted.
His friends would come
over, hang out in the yard...
Just to be around him.
Have him throw
the football, like that.
When he dropped his
high school girlfriend...
Beauty. She was a beauty.
Gorgeous.
He moved to Manhattan.
I go to visit him in the city.
Sometimes... I...
I just stare.
He looked like everybody else.
He talked like everybody else.
Max: Do you know if he
brought people home a lot?
I told him,
"You don't know what
kind of nuts you're meeting.
There's all kinds
of loonies out there."
That's... that's when
I bought him the gun.
Logan: What about boyfriends?
He ever tell you anything
about any of them?
What'd I want to hear?
Want to rub my nose in it?
He mentioned one guy.
A... Angel.
Angel... somebody.
Denny Massacio in there,
what do you think he'd say,
you told him Bobby was
gay? Or that you are?
He'd never believe
it. He'd laugh.
And that's how I want it.
What about you
and Bobby Holland?
I used to hate being gay.
I used to make fag
jokes all the time.
You know, the way blacks
call each other nigger?
Anyway, Bobby would
never let me get away with it.
I was in love with Bobby.
So you take a
weekend out of town,
and he picks up
somebody else, huh?
Six, eight weeks ago he
started seeing somebody new.
We were over.
I don't know what this guy had
for him, but they met at the gym.
You know his name? He lives
somewhere on the East Side.
Jack.
I don't know his last name.
Gray silk jacket named Jack.
Great.
A bullet to the head.
This case, I heard
about it before.
What are you a psychic now?
A month ago, maybe two.
The same kind of killing.
Gay bashing? I read about it.
"Time," "Newsweek," last
week or the week before.
You sure you didn't read
about this in your dreams?
"California."
"Redwoods."
"Michelle Pfeiffer."
One of them interests you.
"Earthquakes."
And murder.
Max: No prints here either.
Gun was found in an
empty lot, wiped clean.
Burglary?
Uh-huh.
Ripped the place apart.
A week later, another
one just like it in LA.
The vic's address book?
Can you fax it?
212-555-8342.
Yeah, all right.
Thanks.
He's faxing it.
Call Sheriff's Homicide in LA.
Lead investigator's
name is Sam White.
They're not as
friendly in Los Angeles.
Too much sun makes 'em crazy.
Am I sure it's a similar case?
I'm as sure as I can be,
not looking at the bodies.
Right.
Mm-hmm.
The victim had no address book.
Just a lot of phone
numbers on scraps of paper.
Copies?
Oh, an open homicide
investigation?!
What do you think we're
doing, getting cats out of trees?
Look, we link the victims,
we got a case, okay?
Now if you can just send us...
Nobody's asking
for the originals!
Just fax us whatever
you got, okay?
What? Fax you, okay?
"In an open investigation
we do not release evidence
under any circumstances."
You know how some people
gotta give you a hard time
just to feel like they're alive.
Let's give 'em a hard time back.
Look, do they want
an arrest or what?
You put the fire out
and I'll settle this thing.
Yes. Yes, Captain. Mm-hmm.
Yeah, if it's their collar.
Of course we understand.
Detective Logan has...
been under a little
pressure on this case.
Pressure?
Yes, yes, we would
appreciate that very much.
A courier?
Well, the city is
bankrupt, but...
yes, I think we could
"spring" for a courier.
Uh-huh. Yeah.
No, no, no. Thank you, Captain.
You believe that?
They don't want to lose
even a copy of this stuff.
What's with them?
You know, fellas,
at what this courier is
going to cost the city,
I hope this works.
Logan: You can cross out
Jack E. In San Francisco.
He still lives there,
hasn't left town.
That's all the
Johns, Jays, Jacks.
All the last names
with no first initials.
Anybody in San
Francisco, LA or New York.
I got San Francisco, start
with Holland's address book.
Read me off the last four digits
of any of the ones
with telephone numbers.
"Albano. 4512.
Altman. 1 763.
Berry. 9808.
Curry. 4212.
Delorman. 78..."
Wait a minute, hold it.
That's Holland's "J. Curry."
San Francisco's got "John C."
who lives in New York, and
has the same phone number.
Yeah.
And LA's got...
"J.R.C."
New York.
Same number.
You got the odds on
three murder victims
knowing the same guy?
He was in San Francisco and
LA when the others were killed.
Same days? And
one on either side.
And all three of them had his
name in their address book?
Not to mention Bobby Holland's
new boyfriend's name is Jack.
Enough?
Pick him up.
Bust the door and
then stand back.
My partner and I will
go in first. It's our collar.
(classical music playing)
That's funny. I
figured Def Leppard.
Maybe Motley Cr e. Ready? Go.
Police! Which one
of you is Jack Curry?
I'm Jack Curry. You're
under arrest for the murder
of Bobby Holland! Put
your hands on your head!
But I didn't... Max: Now!
Check it out. Get up!
(music stops)
Spread your legs! You
have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say may be used
against you in a court of law.
Hands down! Get your hand down!
You have the
right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford an attorney,
one will be provided for you at no cost.
Let's go.
Max: His lawyer's already here.
Julia DeBakey.
Great. What? Who's she?
Probably the toughest civil rights
lawyer since William Kunstler.
Paul Robinette. Julia DeBakey.
Your cops put my
client in a holding cell
with a bunch of drug addicts.
Jeez, we tried to get
him a private suite.
Eh, he looks like he survived.
Counselor, this case, it
isn't exactly your ballgame.
Oh, how wrong you
are, Mr. Robinette.
We're building a whole
new ballpark with this one.
I'll allow my client
to answer questions
but I may cut this
off at any time.
Logan: Let's start with
the wristwatch, Jack.
Engraved to Bobby
Holland on the back.
Bobby gave it to
me as a present.
Just before you
blew his head off?
To thank me for helping
him to shoot himself.
You want to run
that by us again.
Bobby wanted help...
To commit suicide.
Look, he had AIDS.
He wanted it to look like a robbery
so his mother wouldn't know.
And when you went to visit
Uncle Joe in Los Angeles?
And Aunt Millie
in San Francisco?
You know about them?
Look...
if you commit suicide
you don't get the insurance.
Those men...
Forest? Dodge?
Yes, they pulled the
triggers themselves.
And you just wipe the gun clean?
My client has nothing
to say about those cases.
What about Bobby Holland?
Do you know what
AIDS looks like?
Have you seen Kaposi's Sarcoma?
Do you know what
pneumocystis does?
What it's like when
you can't breathe?
Dodge won a
silver metal in Seoul.
Forest, used to be a
professor out at UCLA,
PhD in Linguistics.
The last month of his life
he forgot how to tell the time.
Did you shoot Bobby Holland?
Bobby didn't want to waste away.
Who pulled the trigger?
I held the gun.
Bobby wrapped his
hand around mine.
He said he wanted to die.
I helped Bobby
do what he wanted.
I didn't... I didn't
wanna do it,
but I wasn't considering myself.
It's called Mercy Killing.
You have 48 hours to
arraign him or let him go.
Ask the medical examiner
if Holland did have AIDS.
You'll get answers
faster than I will.
And if Holland did? Find out about
the victims in LA and San Francisco.
What if they had AIDS, too?
We'll need answers to questions
we haven't even thought of.
Logan: The guy's
jive. I'm telling you.
A jury might not think so.
What's a jury going
to think when they hear
Holland never even
touched the gun?
No powder residue on his hands.
Holland had AIDS. So
did San Francisco and LA.
So Curry's telling the
truth. Or part of the truth.
You say it's a mercy
killing, you don't do 15-to-life.
Because somebody has AIDS,
doesn't mean he can't be murdered.
Where's that get us? He's killing
these AIDS patients for kicks?
I hated Bobby being
that way. I hated it.
People he hung out with... I
hated the way he lived his life.
But this guy, Curry, you
shouldn't put him in jail.
He shot your son.
You read the
articles? Newspapers?
Not an easy way to go.
Bobby wanted to die.
You can't be sure of that.
Yes, I can.
Bobby asked me...
to shoot him first.
I knew Bobby was gay.
We just couldn't talk about it.
I'll never have that chance now.
That bastard, Curry...
killed my son.
You have to put
that man in jail.
The defense is going to
make a very strong case
that your son intended to die.
I've been getting Bobby's mail.
This letter.
"Gay Men Allied Against Aids."
Bobby had an
appointment with someone
to talk about taking AZT.
My son wanted to live.
Judge: The charges are:
murder in the second degree;
conspiracy in the first degree;
manslaughter in
the first degree;
criminally negligent homicide;
promoting a suicide attempt;
and reckless endangerment
in the second degree.
Does the defendant
wish to enter a plea?
Yes, Your Honor.
Not guilty on all counts.
Do the people have a bail
recommendation, Mr. Stone?
This case is a
homicide, Your Honor.
Despite the circumstances we
feel that some bail is necessary.
Personally, I'm uncomfortable
releasing any homicide defendant
without substantial bail,
but I do not feel that this
defendant is a major flight risk.
$50,000. Short date.
Our government is
killing us through neglect.
The mayor, the governor, the
president, they have blood on their hands.
While we're dying, they're
prosecuting Jack Curry.
Take the money from
the District Attorney
and give it to the
Health Department.
Mr. Gordon, do you
think the prosecution
has hustled the
people with AIDS?
If Bobby Holland was
dying of Alzheimer's
and Jack Curry wasn't gay,
would they charge him with murder?
(switches TV off)
Every gay activist in the
country is going to be after us.
I understand, Adam, but
gay/straight is not the issue,
murder masquerading as
assisted suicide is the issue.
Let's say we drop the charges
and go for a misdemeanor,
we're not ignoring the
gay/straight question,
we're making it the only question.
And you know what that is?
Good politics. Yes, and bad law.
It's not compassion.
It's pity for gay people.
And pity is one step
away from ridicule.
Now what if Bobby
Holland wanted to die?
How does anybody know what
went through Bobby Holland's mind
five minutes before he
died? Or two minutes?
Or 20 seconds? Or one second?
And Jack Curry, who's
done this twice before,
did he talk him into it?
Can't change the fact
that Holland was
gay and Curry is gay.
What I can't change
is that Jack Curry
didn't bring pills
and leave them.
He didn't bring a
gun and leave it.
He pulled the trigger.
Bobby Holland didn't
need an angel of death.
I mean, he wasn't that sick yet.
Did he want to die?
Look, you're HIV positive,
if you think you'll hang around
till you get sick, you'll
start to feel lousy,
it's hardly unusual
to think about suicide.
Bobby wanted to kill
himself. I told him not to.
And?
He said he'd think about it...
Going on AZT, trying
experimental drugs.
I saw Conrad Gordon on TV.
Anybody want to
call Jack Curry a hero,
I tell 'em to look at me.
I was diagnosed
with AIDS when it was
still called GRID,
for God's sake.
I'm still here.
Curry had no right...
to shoot Bobby Holland.
Okay. Thanks.
You're saying Bobby Holland
might have reconsidered.
If he'd reconsidered, my
client wouldn't be here.
You don't know
that. I don't know that.
And even you don't
know that, Mr. Curry.
You were involved in
those cases in California,
do you have a stake in
getting these people to die?
No, Mr. Stone, I don't.
Did you try to talk
Bobby Holland out of it?
Several times,
over several hours.
He didn't want to
turn into a zombie.
What if it were
your son, Mr. Stone?
If it were my son?
I'd take him to every hospital
in America and try to save him.
We'll plead to
promoting a suicide.
Stone: You'll plead
to manslaughter one.
We'll... drop the other charges
and make a sentencing
recommendation.
Bobby Holland
intended to shoot himself.
Manslaughter one is an admission
my client intended to shoot him.
He didn't shoot
him full of penicillin.
We're finished here, Jack.
Look, Mr. Stone,
I hope you never have to
face these choices yourself.
I hope you never
see anybody dying,
the way I've seen people dying.
But if you do,
I hope you have
the courage to do
whatever has to be done.
DeBakey: What is your position
at the hospice, Mr. Wellman?
Wellman: I counsel
people with AIDS.
Over the past year, how many
people have you counseled?
Short term, over 100. Long
term, perhaps two dozen.
And how long have
you worked there?
1 1 years.
And everyone you
care for is dying?
We're all dying, Ms. DeBakey.
I mean, the people in the
hospice are terminally ill.
Most of those who come
to us will die within a year.
Isn't it true that
many cancer patients
experience excruciating pain?
Yes, that's common.
You ever counseled
anyone to commit suicide?
Objection, relevance.
This trial isn't about
the right to die.
It's about whether the
defendant shot Bobby Holland.
The issues
surrounding "right to die"
are murky in this
state, Mr. Stone.
The testimony
seems to me relevant.
The witness will continue.
I've counseled
people on suicide, yes.
We call it, "Letting
yourself be snowed under."
And what do you counsel them?
We suggest they go to England
where doctors have the
right to assist in dying.
Thank you.
Mr. Wellman, have you ever
given to anyone in your hospice
lethal chemicals, a gun...
Any device that might
help them commit suicide?
No? Why not?
I've been told it's
against the law.
Gordon: We've established a hotline
to answer questions about AIDS.
How many of those calls
have you answered personally?
Thousands.
I volunteer three nights a week.
I've been doing it seven years.
Do the callers ever
ask you about suicide?
Frequently. And
what do you tell them?
That dying of AIDS
is a difficult death.
And that they have the
right to take their own life
when the pain becomes too great.
Your witness, Mr. Stone.
Now, Mr. Gordon,
as a gay activist,
you're familiar with the current
state of treatment for AIDS?
Reasonably. And you're
aware that AZT and other drugs
have prolonged the life
of these patients? Yes.
And that people have lived
with AIDS for several years?
Yes, I know that.
But I also know that in the
end it's a gruesome death.
People with AIDS do not "go
gently into that good night."
You also know that some gay
men, out of embarrassment,
might not seek treatment
and commit suicide instead.
Are you in favor of that?
I'm in favor of gay men
taking power over their lives.
No more questions, Your Honor.
Excuse me. Are you
Ben Stone? Yes, sir.
You gay-bashing son of a bitch!
Leave us alone to run
our own lives and deaths.
(elevator dings)
Adam: It could get worse. What,
you think I need a police guard?
Why, you think it's a joke?
Gay activists don't shoot people.
I wouldn't be so
sure you're safe, Ben.
Jack Curry has AIDS.
Julia DeBakey just released it.
It's time to bail out of this.
Stone: It just seems
like revenge at this point.
Find us something. Anything.
Tonight? Go back
over the evidence.
Give us a reason to drop
the charges against Curry.
(sighs)
Anybody got any idea
what we're looking for?
Remeasure everything...
Distance of the
body from the bed,
blood markings. All of it.
And redust for prints.
Make a map of where
you get every print.
How's the jaw?
It only hurts
when I prosecute...
So keep me out of court
until the swelling goes down.
Two bookcases were turned over.
Pushed from behind.
Yeah, we redusted.
Full palm prints
on the back of both.
Max: Both sets of prints
belong to Bobby Holland.
Curry's prints weren't on them.
Which means Holland
trashed the place himself
to make it look like a burglary.
Which means he wanted to die.
Well, maybe to us. Max: Meaning?
It's convincing
emotionally but not legally.
The prints could have
been put there a year before.
And as to state of mind,
he could have changed it
the microsecond before
Curry pulled the trigger.
But does it convince you?
Curry's already under
a sentence of death.
That's as much payment
as anyone could ask for.
Drop it completely?
It's the right thing to do.
He pleads to
promoting a suicide?
He does no time.
(intercom buzzes)
(intercom buzzes)
Yeah?
You got a copycat.
A woman from Queens
just shot her retarded son.
She says she got the
idea of a mercy killing
from the Holland case.
Well?
I've got no choice.
We keep going.
This morning I was
just another ruthless DA,
now I'm running the Inquisition.
Gordon: Mr. Stone, why do you
want to put a dying man in jail?
Mr. Stone, if you
were dying of AIDS
would you want someone
to end your misery?
Mr. Gordon asks, do I want
to put a dying man in jail?
The answer is no. But we're
asking a more important question.
Does Jack Curry have the right,
all by himself, to put a
dying man in his grave?
DeBakey: You allow regular
customers to charge their drinks?
Bartender: Well,
not exactly charge.
You got to make a payment on
your tab every once in a while.
Did Bobby Holland
pay his bill regularly?
He ran a tab, on and off
for the last two or three years.
Paid a little on
it now and then.
Never let it get much
over a hundred bucks.
Did that change, Mr. Roland?
A couple...
a couple of weeks
before Bobby died,
he comes in and he lays
$120 on the bar and says
this is for the bill,
plus a tip for me.
I said, "Bobby, what?
You hit the lottery?"
He said, "No...
I just wanna pay my bill."
And after that, he paid cash.
Your own son...
he handed you the gun...
what did you say?
I told him I didn't think I
could go through with it.
And what did he say?
What words did he use?
He said, "Dad...
if you ever wanted to
do anything for me...
do this."
Thank you.
No more questions.
Mr. Holland, I know this
is difficult, so bear with me.
You testified that your
son wanted to shoot himself.
He had a gun, why didn't he?
Were his reasons religious?
No.
Was he worried about the
pain he'd cause other people?
No.
Then why do you think your
son was unable to take his life?
He said he was afraid to die.
Thank you, sir.
Robinette: Ben!
Ben, DeBakey's putting
Curry on the stand.
Tough to win the hearts
and minds of a jury
by cross-examining
a guy dying of AIDS.
It's still a trial.
DeBakey: And
early in the disease
what symptoms have
you personally witnessed?
Exhaustion, dizziness,
the inability to hold down food,
loss of weight
would be the most visible
symptom. Later in the disease?
A friend of mine... I'd
gone to college with him...
He went blind.
And then he got pneumonia.
Have you ever heard
what it sounds like
when somebody is drowning?
That's what he sounded like.
For six weeks.
You have been diagnosed
with AIDS, is that correct?
Yes.
What do you hope for?
A cure.
And if one does not
come along soon enough?
Hope I'll be lucky
enough to find someone
who'll help me commit suicide.
No more questions. Your witness.
Mr. Curry...
who pulled the
trigger on the gun?
Answer the question,
please, Mr. Curry.
It was me.
Did Mr. Holland have
his hand on the gun at all?
N-no.
(crowd murmuring)
No more questions, Your Honor.
Judge: You may
step down, Mr. Curry.
Your Honor, on the
basis of new information
the defense would like to
call an unscheduled witness.
Detective Michael Logan.
Mr. Stone?
No objection, Your Honor.
She has very good sources.
I'd like to know who they are.
Do you swear to tell the
truth and nothing but the truth
so help you God? I do.
State your name. Michael Logan.
Your Honor, I would like Detective
Logan treated as a hostile witness.
So noted.
Tell the jury your
profession, please.
I'm a detective with the New
York City Police Department
Detective Logan,
shortly after this trial began,
did you have a conversation
with Assistant District Attorney
Ben Stone about this case?
Yes, I did.
Tell us the substance
of your conversation.
Do I have to answer that,
Judge? Yes, you do, Detective.
Judge: Answer the
question, Detective.
Mr. Stone said that he thought
continuing the prosecution
seemed like revenge to him.
DeBakey: And what
was his solution?
Mr. Stone directed myself
and Sergeant Greevey
to find a reason
for him to drop the
charges against Jack Curry.
Will the defendant please rise?
Judge: On the first
count of the indictment
the charge of murder in the second
degree, how does the jury find?
Not guilty. (crowd cheers)
On the second count,
the charge of conspiracy
in the first degree,
how does the jury find?
Not guilty.
On the third count,
manslaughter in the first degree,
how does the jury
find? Not guilty.
On the fourth count,
the charge of criminally
negligent homicide,
how does the jury
find? Not guilty.
On the fifth count,
promoting a suicide attempt,
how does the jury
find? Not guilty.
On the sixth count, reckless
endangerment in the second degree
how does the jury find?
Guilty.
I'll catch up with you.
Adam: Some people
aren't gonna be happy.
Depends on what you
want... Vengeance or justice.
Curry: Stone.
Did you really think that
I was guilty of murder?
We bring the charge when
they should be brought
and let the people decide.
I may not have a
very long life left
but it is my life.
This wasn't a prosecution,
this was a warning, wasn't it?
To anybody else thinking
about a mercy killing.
What gave you
the right to use me?
Unfortunately, you did.
Not once, not twice,
but three times.
Thanks, Adam.
DeBakey: After all
that, misdemeanor.
Six months suspended
with probation.
No judge will put
Jack Curry in jail.
If you'd gone only
for manslaughter one,
the jury probably would
have found him guilty
and he'd have done time.
I wonder who told a
secretary in your office
to call me about your
conversation with Logan.
I'll have to look into that.
(theme music playing)
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.
Upstairs neighbor
complained about the smell.
Don't worry, Max. It's
just three more flights.
Didn't somebody
find the coffee yet?
Max: Whew.
Yo, Profaci!
Hey, Mikey.
Holland, Bobby. 26, 27?
Shot in the back of the
head. Probably two days.
Ask me, it was
probably a dealer.
Weapon? Still looking.
Who shoots in the
head besides dealers?
A robber who gets surprised?
A burglar so surprised...
he leaves behind a full wallet?
(theme music playing)
Man: It needs a paint job.
The guy's dead. If they had
a decent door downstairs.
I'm below him. In 2A.
Did you ever talk to him?
He listened to sad music.
Piano stuff. Gershwin.
Left early. Came home late.
You see anybody with
him Saturday night?
Saturday night, about 1:30
I'm coming back from
Symphony Space.
This guy tears past me.
You get a good look at him?
1:00 a.m., guy goes running
down the steps in this city?
I've learned not to look.
Brownstones, they're
invitations to get robbed.
How many sets of
prints have you got?
I've got partials from
about a dozen people.
It's what you'd expect.
Unless somebody
wiped the place down.
You run them? No match.
None of his friends had records.
Neither did he.
Man: What'd they used to say?
"Live fast, die young,
leave a beautiful corpse."
Whoever shot this one,
didn't care about beautiful.
You should have
seen the apartment.
It was more trashed
than the victim.
Not to boil your coffee
or anything, but...
a guy fights with a burglar.
He gets banged up.
Not the late Mr. Holland.
Not a bruise, not a mark,
not a scratch on the body,
just a nice, clean
.38 entrance wound.
Close range? A foot,
maybe 18 inches.
Powder burns, stippling.
Check both hands? They're clean.
Not a trace of powder.
The guy didn't shoot himself.
That's dead certain.
Mrs. Holland:
Bobby was big. He...
When he was born he
was over 1 1 pounds.
He was... he's always been big.
They...
Don't attack big people.
I read it in "The Post."
Could you tell us
about your son's friends,
places he used to hang out?
He... he...
He kept to himself... a lot.
He didn't have a lot of friends.
I should go get his mail.
Bobby have any... brothers?
Sisters?
After Bobby, we
didn't have anymore.
He was a very difficult birth.
I'm... I had...
Well, there was just...
I've no more children.
And now we've lost him.
Mr. Holland: We lost him
when he moved over the bridge.
(gasps)
Max: Personal possessions.
Things they found on him
when he was brought in.
Would you sign for them, please?
Took the watch, huh?
An Omega, big heavy job.
Steel.
High school graduation,
it cost me a week's pay.
The band?
It had links. Tight.
Steel, too. He wore it
to work without worry.
When he first moved to
the city I bought him a gun.
A pistol? A.38, it was licensed.
I told him, "Keep
it next to the bed."
Why didn't he defend himself?
You got a big tough
guy, big enough
to toss most people
around like a pillow.
There's always somebody bigger.
The apartment
looked like Beirut.
And our vic, not
a bruise or a cut.
You fight with a crackhead,
you'll get hit, something.
A bullet in the head
is not something?
How'd the perp
get in? Fire escape.
Nope. One door, no fire escape.
Then, maybe we're
talking about a friend here.
A friend with a grudge?
You got something better?
Maybe you should go out, shake up
the ground a little, see who he knew.
(engine running)
Workman: Drop that rope!
Mark it down-side off.
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Right there! Hold up!
I hope to God
you get who did it.
Bobby was a good man.
Women problems?
Bobby didn't cat around.
Gamble?
Not even a football pool.
Bobby Holland
hang out after work?
Didn't even come
to union meetings.
Mr. Massacio, come on, he must
have hung out with somebody.
Go ask Suarez...
Angel. Sometimes
they had lunch together.
Thanks.
Angel Suarez?
Detective Logan.
Sergeant Greevey.
I already heard about Bobby.
Were you a friend of his?
I knew him. Real broken up, huh?
If I knew who did
him I'd let you know.
Where were you Saturday night?
In San Juan,
visiting my parents.
I got back Sunday night.
You want to see my plane ticket?
We're talking murder, here.
Look, the night Bobby
got it he was having a drink
with a friend... Lois Rivera.
She has a gourmet sandwich
cart on the Upper West Side.
If you guys find the killer
and wanna save the state
the price of a trial, gimme a call.
Thanks.
That night, before
I met my sister,
I had a drink with Bobby.
We talked a while
about nothing really.
I just told him he
should go back to school.
City College, part-time.
Bobby was real smart.
He knew a lot about music.
He read a lot of books.
Anybody want to hurt him?
No. Nobody I could think of.
Where'd he go after he left you?
It's Lois, right?
Listen.
Somebody blew your
boyfriend's brains out
with a.38, okay?
He went to a bar
downtown, Paradise Lost.
Look, I really
wasn't Bobby's girl.
Just a good friend.
Bobby was gay.
You couldn't miss the
guy. Logan: Why not?
The kind of crowd we get.
You know, average guys.
Construction workers.
Grad students from NYU.
Easy mix. Neighborhood.
So here's this character
dressed kind of charivari.
Black t-shirt, gray silk jacket.
You know the look,
"I'm cool and you're not."
You ever seen him
with Holland before?
Bobby doesn't
come in a lot, lately,
more like after
work for a Michelob.
The silk jacket and Bobby
were sitting over there.
Couldn't hear them,
then they were gone.
Silk jacket... Want
to know the truth?
I thought he was a hustler.
Something about
him. I don't know.
I don't know.
Logan: So he was rough trade.
So they do their thing.
Mr. Silk Jacket does it all.
Sex. Kills the guy.
Then trashes the place
looking for something to take.
Yeah, and the
odds on finding him?
About as good as finding
true love at Paradise Lost.
Max: I don't know.
His parents, his boss,
his coworkers, his neighbors...
No one knew this guy was gay.
They're out there, I
don't see them either.
Think a lot of cops
are gay? No way, man.
Department's got a special test.
They look you in the
eye, if your left eye blinks
before your right eye
they know you're gay.
(Logan laughs)
They say one in 10, Max.
That's a lot. They just fade in.
Silk Jacket? Five to one
he's not in any of these.
Good news and bad news.
The good news is somebody
just walked in and confessed?
The good news is
they found the gun.
Empty lot, six blocks away.
Bad news, wiped clean.
Registration? You're
gonna love this.
Your vic, Bobby Holland.
Terrific.
Bobby was always
popular with the girls.
He was a halfback
on the football team.
He was on the student
council. He was king of the prom.
He hid his magazines
under the mattress.
"Playboy."
My son was not homosexual!
She knows. She
just can't admit it.
Can you? Bobby had
everything going for him.
Any girl he wanted.
His friends would come
over, hang out in the yard...
Just to be around him.
Have him throw
the football, like that.
When he dropped his
high school girlfriend...
Beauty. She was a beauty.
Gorgeous.
He moved to Manhattan.
I go to visit him in the city.
Sometimes... I...
I just stare.
He looked like everybody else.
He talked like everybody else.
Max: Do you know if he
brought people home a lot?
I told him,
"You don't know what
kind of nuts you're meeting.
There's all kinds
of loonies out there."
That's... that's when
I bought him the gun.
Logan: What about boyfriends?
He ever tell you anything
about any of them?
What'd I want to hear?
Want to rub my nose in it?
He mentioned one guy.
A... Angel.
Angel... somebody.
Denny Massacio in there,
what do you think he'd say,
you told him Bobby was
gay? Or that you are?
He'd never believe
it. He'd laugh.
And that's how I want it.
What about you
and Bobby Holland?
I used to hate being gay.
I used to make fag
jokes all the time.
You know, the way blacks
call each other nigger?
Anyway, Bobby would
never let me get away with it.
I was in love with Bobby.
So you take a
weekend out of town,
and he picks up
somebody else, huh?
Six, eight weeks ago he
started seeing somebody new.
We were over.
I don't know what this guy had
for him, but they met at the gym.
You know his name? He lives
somewhere on the East Side.
Jack.
I don't know his last name.
Gray silk jacket named Jack.
Great.
A bullet to the head.
This case, I heard
about it before.
What are you a psychic now?
A month ago, maybe two.
The same kind of killing.
Gay bashing? I read about it.
"Time," "Newsweek," last
week or the week before.
You sure you didn't read
about this in your dreams?
"California."
"Redwoods."
"Michelle Pfeiffer."
One of them interests you.
"Earthquakes."
And murder.
Max: No prints here either.
Gun was found in an
empty lot, wiped clean.
Burglary?
Uh-huh.
Ripped the place apart.
A week later, another
one just like it in LA.
The vic's address book?
Can you fax it?
212-555-8342.
Yeah, all right.
Thanks.
He's faxing it.
Call Sheriff's Homicide in LA.
Lead investigator's
name is Sam White.
They're not as
friendly in Los Angeles.
Too much sun makes 'em crazy.
Am I sure it's a similar case?
I'm as sure as I can be,
not looking at the bodies.
Right.
Mm-hmm.
The victim had no address book.
Just a lot of phone
numbers on scraps of paper.
Copies?
Oh, an open homicide
investigation?!
What do you think we're
doing, getting cats out of trees?
Look, we link the victims,
we got a case, okay?
Now if you can just send us...
Nobody's asking
for the originals!
Just fax us whatever
you got, okay?
What? Fax you, okay?
"In an open investigation
we do not release evidence
under any circumstances."
You know how some people
gotta give you a hard time
just to feel like they're alive.
Let's give 'em a hard time back.
Look, do they want
an arrest or what?
You put the fire out
and I'll settle this thing.
Yes. Yes, Captain. Mm-hmm.
Yeah, if it's their collar.
Of course we understand.
Detective Logan has...
been under a little
pressure on this case.
Pressure?
Yes, yes, we would
appreciate that very much.
A courier?
Well, the city is
bankrupt, but...
yes, I think we could
"spring" for a courier.
Uh-huh. Yeah.
No, no, no. Thank you, Captain.
You believe that?
They don't want to lose
even a copy of this stuff.
What's with them?
You know, fellas,
at what this courier is
going to cost the city,
I hope this works.
Logan: You can cross out
Jack E. In San Francisco.
He still lives there,
hasn't left town.
That's all the
Johns, Jays, Jacks.
All the last names
with no first initials.
Anybody in San
Francisco, LA or New York.
I got San Francisco, start
with Holland's address book.
Read me off the last four digits
of any of the ones
with telephone numbers.
"Albano. 4512.
Altman. 1 763.
Berry. 9808.
Curry. 4212.
Delorman. 78..."
Wait a minute, hold it.
That's Holland's "J. Curry."
San Francisco's got "John C."
who lives in New York, and
has the same phone number.
Yeah.
And LA's got...
"J.R.C."
New York.
Same number.
You got the odds on
three murder victims
knowing the same guy?
He was in San Francisco and
LA when the others were killed.
Same days? And
one on either side.
And all three of them had his
name in their address book?
Not to mention Bobby Holland's
new boyfriend's name is Jack.
Enough?
Pick him up.
Bust the door and
then stand back.
My partner and I will
go in first. It's our collar.
(classical music playing)
That's funny. I
figured Def Leppard.
Maybe Motley Cr e. Ready? Go.
Police! Which one
of you is Jack Curry?
I'm Jack Curry. You're
under arrest for the murder
of Bobby Holland! Put
your hands on your head!
But I didn't... Max: Now!
Check it out. Get up!
(music stops)
Spread your legs! You
have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say may be used
against you in a court of law.
Hands down! Get your hand down!
You have the
right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford an attorney,
one will be provided for you at no cost.
Let's go.
Max: His lawyer's already here.
Julia DeBakey.
Great. What? Who's she?
Probably the toughest civil rights
lawyer since William Kunstler.
Paul Robinette. Julia DeBakey.
Your cops put my
client in a holding cell
with a bunch of drug addicts.
Jeez, we tried to get
him a private suite.
Eh, he looks like he survived.
Counselor, this case, it
isn't exactly your ballgame.
Oh, how wrong you
are, Mr. Robinette.
We're building a whole
new ballpark with this one.
I'll allow my client
to answer questions
but I may cut this
off at any time.
Logan: Let's start with
the wristwatch, Jack.
Engraved to Bobby
Holland on the back.
Bobby gave it to
me as a present.
Just before you
blew his head off?
To thank me for helping
him to shoot himself.
You want to run
that by us again.
Bobby wanted help...
To commit suicide.
Look, he had AIDS.
He wanted it to look like a robbery
so his mother wouldn't know.
And when you went to visit
Uncle Joe in Los Angeles?
And Aunt Millie
in San Francisco?
You know about them?
Look...
if you commit suicide
you don't get the insurance.
Those men...
Forest? Dodge?
Yes, they pulled the
triggers themselves.
And you just wipe the gun clean?
My client has nothing
to say about those cases.
What about Bobby Holland?
Do you know what
AIDS looks like?
Have you seen Kaposi's Sarcoma?
Do you know what
pneumocystis does?
What it's like when
you can't breathe?
Dodge won a
silver metal in Seoul.
Forest, used to be a
professor out at UCLA,
PhD in Linguistics.
The last month of his life
he forgot how to tell the time.
Did you shoot Bobby Holland?
Bobby didn't want to waste away.
Who pulled the trigger?
I held the gun.
Bobby wrapped his
hand around mine.
He said he wanted to die.
I helped Bobby
do what he wanted.
I didn't... I didn't
wanna do it,
but I wasn't considering myself.
It's called Mercy Killing.
You have 48 hours to
arraign him or let him go.
Ask the medical examiner
if Holland did have AIDS.
You'll get answers
faster than I will.
And if Holland did? Find out about
the victims in LA and San Francisco.
What if they had AIDS, too?
We'll need answers to questions
we haven't even thought of.
Logan: The guy's
jive. I'm telling you.
A jury might not think so.
What's a jury going
to think when they hear
Holland never even
touched the gun?
No powder residue on his hands.
Holland had AIDS. So
did San Francisco and LA.
So Curry's telling the
truth. Or part of the truth.
You say it's a mercy
killing, you don't do 15-to-life.
Because somebody has AIDS,
doesn't mean he can't be murdered.
Where's that get us? He's killing
these AIDS patients for kicks?
I hated Bobby being
that way. I hated it.
People he hung out with... I
hated the way he lived his life.
But this guy, Curry, you
shouldn't put him in jail.
He shot your son.
You read the
articles? Newspapers?
Not an easy way to go.
Bobby wanted to die.
You can't be sure of that.
Yes, I can.
Bobby asked me...
to shoot him first.
I knew Bobby was gay.
We just couldn't talk about it.
I'll never have that chance now.
That bastard, Curry...
killed my son.
You have to put
that man in jail.
The defense is going to
make a very strong case
that your son intended to die.
I've been getting Bobby's mail.
This letter.
"Gay Men Allied Against Aids."
Bobby had an
appointment with someone
to talk about taking AZT.
My son wanted to live.
Judge: The charges are:
murder in the second degree;
conspiracy in the first degree;
manslaughter in
the first degree;
criminally negligent homicide;
promoting a suicide attempt;
and reckless endangerment
in the second degree.
Does the defendant
wish to enter a plea?
Yes, Your Honor.
Not guilty on all counts.
Do the people have a bail
recommendation, Mr. Stone?
This case is a
homicide, Your Honor.
Despite the circumstances we
feel that some bail is necessary.
Personally, I'm uncomfortable
releasing any homicide defendant
without substantial bail,
but I do not feel that this
defendant is a major flight risk.
$50,000. Short date.
Our government is
killing us through neglect.
The mayor, the governor, the
president, they have blood on their hands.
While we're dying, they're
prosecuting Jack Curry.
Take the money from
the District Attorney
and give it to the
Health Department.
Mr. Gordon, do you
think the prosecution
has hustled the
people with AIDS?
If Bobby Holland was
dying of Alzheimer's
and Jack Curry wasn't gay,
would they charge him with murder?
(switches TV off)
Every gay activist in the
country is going to be after us.
I understand, Adam, but
gay/straight is not the issue,
murder masquerading as
assisted suicide is the issue.
Let's say we drop the charges
and go for a misdemeanor,
we're not ignoring the
gay/straight question,
we're making it the only question.
And you know what that is?
Good politics. Yes, and bad law.
It's not compassion.
It's pity for gay people.
And pity is one step
away from ridicule.
Now what if Bobby
Holland wanted to die?
How does anybody know what
went through Bobby Holland's mind
five minutes before he
died? Or two minutes?
Or 20 seconds? Or one second?
And Jack Curry, who's
done this twice before,
did he talk him into it?
Can't change the fact
that Holland was
gay and Curry is gay.
What I can't change
is that Jack Curry
didn't bring pills
and leave them.
He didn't bring a
gun and leave it.
He pulled the trigger.
Bobby Holland didn't
need an angel of death.
I mean, he wasn't that sick yet.
Did he want to die?
Look, you're HIV positive,
if you think you'll hang around
till you get sick, you'll
start to feel lousy,
it's hardly unusual
to think about suicide.
Bobby wanted to kill
himself. I told him not to.
And?
He said he'd think about it...
Going on AZT, trying
experimental drugs.
I saw Conrad Gordon on TV.
Anybody want to
call Jack Curry a hero,
I tell 'em to look at me.
I was diagnosed
with AIDS when it was
still called GRID,
for God's sake.
I'm still here.
Curry had no right...
to shoot Bobby Holland.
Okay. Thanks.
You're saying Bobby Holland
might have reconsidered.
If he'd reconsidered, my
client wouldn't be here.
You don't know
that. I don't know that.
And even you don't
know that, Mr. Curry.
You were involved in
those cases in California,
do you have a stake in
getting these people to die?
No, Mr. Stone, I don't.
Did you try to talk
Bobby Holland out of it?
Several times,
over several hours.
He didn't want to
turn into a zombie.
What if it were
your son, Mr. Stone?
If it were my son?
I'd take him to every hospital
in America and try to save him.
We'll plead to
promoting a suicide.
Stone: You'll plead
to manslaughter one.
We'll... drop the other charges
and make a sentencing
recommendation.
Bobby Holland
intended to shoot himself.
Manslaughter one is an admission
my client intended to shoot him.
He didn't shoot
him full of penicillin.
We're finished here, Jack.
Look, Mr. Stone,
I hope you never have to
face these choices yourself.
I hope you never
see anybody dying,
the way I've seen people dying.
But if you do,
I hope you have
the courage to do
whatever has to be done.
DeBakey: What is your position
at the hospice, Mr. Wellman?
Wellman: I counsel
people with AIDS.
Over the past year, how many
people have you counseled?
Short term, over 100. Long
term, perhaps two dozen.
And how long have
you worked there?
1 1 years.
And everyone you
care for is dying?
We're all dying, Ms. DeBakey.
I mean, the people in the
hospice are terminally ill.
Most of those who come
to us will die within a year.
Isn't it true that
many cancer patients
experience excruciating pain?
Yes, that's common.
You ever counseled
anyone to commit suicide?
Objection, relevance.
This trial isn't about
the right to die.
It's about whether the
defendant shot Bobby Holland.
The issues
surrounding "right to die"
are murky in this
state, Mr. Stone.
The testimony
seems to me relevant.
The witness will continue.
I've counseled
people on suicide, yes.
We call it, "Letting
yourself be snowed under."
And what do you counsel them?
We suggest they go to England
where doctors have the
right to assist in dying.
Thank you.
Mr. Wellman, have you ever
given to anyone in your hospice
lethal chemicals, a gun...
Any device that might
help them commit suicide?
No? Why not?
I've been told it's
against the law.
Gordon: We've established a hotline
to answer questions about AIDS.
How many of those calls
have you answered personally?
Thousands.
I volunteer three nights a week.
I've been doing it seven years.
Do the callers ever
ask you about suicide?
Frequently. And
what do you tell them?
That dying of AIDS
is a difficult death.
And that they have the
right to take their own life
when the pain becomes too great.
Your witness, Mr. Stone.
Now, Mr. Gordon,
as a gay activist,
you're familiar with the current
state of treatment for AIDS?
Reasonably. And you're
aware that AZT and other drugs
have prolonged the life
of these patients? Yes.
And that people have lived
with AIDS for several years?
Yes, I know that.
But I also know that in the
end it's a gruesome death.
People with AIDS do not "go
gently into that good night."
You also know that some gay
men, out of embarrassment,
might not seek treatment
and commit suicide instead.
Are you in favor of that?
I'm in favor of gay men
taking power over their lives.
No more questions, Your Honor.
Excuse me. Are you
Ben Stone? Yes, sir.
You gay-bashing son of a bitch!
Leave us alone to run
our own lives and deaths.
(elevator dings)
Adam: It could get worse. What,
you think I need a police guard?
Why, you think it's a joke?
Gay activists don't shoot people.
I wouldn't be so
sure you're safe, Ben.
Jack Curry has AIDS.
Julia DeBakey just released it.
It's time to bail out of this.
Stone: It just seems
like revenge at this point.
Find us something. Anything.
Tonight? Go back
over the evidence.
Give us a reason to drop
the charges against Curry.
(sighs)
Anybody got any idea
what we're looking for?
Remeasure everything...
Distance of the
body from the bed,
blood markings. All of it.
And redust for prints.
Make a map of where
you get every print.
How's the jaw?
It only hurts
when I prosecute...
So keep me out of court
until the swelling goes down.
Two bookcases were turned over.
Pushed from behind.
Yeah, we redusted.
Full palm prints
on the back of both.
Max: Both sets of prints
belong to Bobby Holland.
Curry's prints weren't on them.
Which means Holland
trashed the place himself
to make it look like a burglary.
Which means he wanted to die.
Well, maybe to us. Max: Meaning?
It's convincing
emotionally but not legally.
The prints could have
been put there a year before.
And as to state of mind,
he could have changed it
the microsecond before
Curry pulled the trigger.
But does it convince you?
Curry's already under
a sentence of death.
That's as much payment
as anyone could ask for.
Drop it completely?
It's the right thing to do.
He pleads to
promoting a suicide?
He does no time.
(intercom buzzes)
(intercom buzzes)
Yeah?
You got a copycat.
A woman from Queens
just shot her retarded son.
She says she got the
idea of a mercy killing
from the Holland case.
Well?
I've got no choice.
We keep going.
This morning I was
just another ruthless DA,
now I'm running the Inquisition.
Gordon: Mr. Stone, why do you
want to put a dying man in jail?
Mr. Stone, if you
were dying of AIDS
would you want someone
to end your misery?
Mr. Gordon asks, do I want
to put a dying man in jail?
The answer is no. But we're
asking a more important question.
Does Jack Curry have the right,
all by himself, to put a
dying man in his grave?
DeBakey: You allow regular
customers to charge their drinks?
Bartender: Well,
not exactly charge.
You got to make a payment on
your tab every once in a while.
Did Bobby Holland
pay his bill regularly?
He ran a tab, on and off
for the last two or three years.
Paid a little on
it now and then.
Never let it get much
over a hundred bucks.
Did that change, Mr. Roland?
A couple...
a couple of weeks
before Bobby died,
he comes in and he lays
$120 on the bar and says
this is for the bill,
plus a tip for me.
I said, "Bobby, what?
You hit the lottery?"
He said, "No...
I just wanna pay my bill."
And after that, he paid cash.
Your own son...
he handed you the gun...
what did you say?
I told him I didn't think I
could go through with it.
And what did he say?
What words did he use?
He said, "Dad...
if you ever wanted to
do anything for me...
do this."
Thank you.
No more questions.
Mr. Holland, I know this
is difficult, so bear with me.
You testified that your
son wanted to shoot himself.
He had a gun, why didn't he?
Were his reasons religious?
No.
Was he worried about the
pain he'd cause other people?
No.
Then why do you think your
son was unable to take his life?
He said he was afraid to die.
Thank you, sir.
Robinette: Ben!
Ben, DeBakey's putting
Curry on the stand.
Tough to win the hearts
and minds of a jury
by cross-examining
a guy dying of AIDS.
It's still a trial.
DeBakey: And
early in the disease
what symptoms have
you personally witnessed?
Exhaustion, dizziness,
the inability to hold down food,
loss of weight
would be the most visible
symptom. Later in the disease?
A friend of mine... I'd
gone to college with him...
He went blind.
And then he got pneumonia.
Have you ever heard
what it sounds like
when somebody is drowning?
That's what he sounded like.
For six weeks.
You have been diagnosed
with AIDS, is that correct?
Yes.
What do you hope for?
A cure.
And if one does not
come along soon enough?
Hope I'll be lucky
enough to find someone
who'll help me commit suicide.
No more questions. Your witness.
Mr. Curry...
who pulled the
trigger on the gun?
Answer the question,
please, Mr. Curry.
It was me.
Did Mr. Holland have
his hand on the gun at all?
N-no.
(crowd murmuring)
No more questions, Your Honor.
Judge: You may
step down, Mr. Curry.
Your Honor, on the
basis of new information
the defense would like to
call an unscheduled witness.
Detective Michael Logan.
Mr. Stone?
No objection, Your Honor.
She has very good sources.
I'd like to know who they are.
Do you swear to tell the
truth and nothing but the truth
so help you God? I do.
State your name. Michael Logan.
Your Honor, I would like Detective
Logan treated as a hostile witness.
So noted.
Tell the jury your
profession, please.
I'm a detective with the New
York City Police Department
Detective Logan,
shortly after this trial began,
did you have a conversation
with Assistant District Attorney
Ben Stone about this case?
Yes, I did.
Tell us the substance
of your conversation.
Do I have to answer that,
Judge? Yes, you do, Detective.
Judge: Answer the
question, Detective.
Mr. Stone said that he thought
continuing the prosecution
seemed like revenge to him.
DeBakey: And what
was his solution?
Mr. Stone directed myself
and Sergeant Greevey
to find a reason
for him to drop the
charges against Jack Curry.
Will the defendant please rise?
Judge: On the first
count of the indictment
the charge of murder in the second
degree, how does the jury find?
Not guilty. (crowd cheers)
On the second count,
the charge of conspiracy
in the first degree,
how does the jury find?
Not guilty.
On the third count,
manslaughter in the first degree,
how does the jury
find? Not guilty.
On the fourth count,
the charge of criminally
negligent homicide,
how does the jury
find? Not guilty.
On the fifth count,
promoting a suicide attempt,
how does the jury
find? Not guilty.
On the sixth count, reckless
endangerment in the second degree
how does the jury find?
Guilty.
I'll catch up with you.
Adam: Some people
aren't gonna be happy.
Depends on what you
want... Vengeance or justice.
Curry: Stone.
Did you really think that
I was guilty of murder?
We bring the charge when
they should be brought
and let the people decide.
I may not have a
very long life left
but it is my life.
This wasn't a prosecution,
this was a warning, wasn't it?
To anybody else thinking
about a mercy killing.
What gave you
the right to use me?
Unfortunately, you did.
Not once, not twice,
but three times.
Thanks, Adam.
DeBakey: After all
that, misdemeanor.
Six months suspended
with probation.
No judge will put
Jack Curry in jail.
If you'd gone only
for manslaughter one,
the jury probably would
have found him guilty
and he'd have done time.
I wonder who told a
secretary in your office
to call me about your
conversation with Logan.
I'll have to look into that.
(theme music playing)