Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 5, Episode 12 - Progeny - full transcript

Detectives Briscoe and Logan investigate the shooting death of Dr. Eleen Reed who worked at a family planning clinic and had been targeted by anti-abortion groups. She had received many threats and there is a permanent group of protesters outside the clinic where she worked. The investigation leads them to Drew Seely, a defrocked minister who is clearly seeking a podium for his anti-abortion views. Seely ordered the hit but both he and the actual shooter refuse any deal ADA McCoy may put on the table. In the end, McCoy outwits him when on the stand.

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.

Yeah, I get a pain. Only
when I do my jump shot dunk,

bang, and that's when
I start feeling pain.

Another guy, he
makes the shots for me.

All I'm saying is...

Jamal, Jamal!

Yeah? Get her car.



Oh, no, Frank is getting it,
man. Frank is gonna get it.

So, listen, you think I
should work it off, you know...

You know, I'm really
not that kind of a doctor.

I could recommend somebody
to see you. Call my office, okay?

MAN: Hey, don't
block it in, all right?

Thanks.

Big help, you know
what I'm saying?

She gonna pay
the bill, too, man?

You get cars here,
Jamal, not Medicare!

Oliver, you saying I
can't talk to customers...

No... now and
then? Come on, man.

What, you making up
rules on me, Oliver?

(GUN FIRING)

(THUD)



(CAR HORN BLARING)

What is it? What's going on?

What happened?
Don't touch this, man.

Two 9 millimeter shell casings.

One here, one there.

And one slug is in that Toyota,

and the other one
blew through her head.

Okay, so the shooter was
standing where, about here?

Car comes around
the corner, bang, bang.

And then he's out that door.

Anyone see anything outside?

Yeah, everybody saw a
lot of people. Midtown, noon.

But nobody running,
nobody waving a gun.

Well, this guy just walked away.

This looks like a hit.

What, on a nice lady doctor?

Look at this.

BRISCOE: A nice lady doctor
wearing a bullet-proof vest.

I didn't realize the health
care debate was so heated.

It was for her.

"Wanted, Dr. Eileen Reed,
abortionist, for mass murder. Reward."

Reward?

"God's eternal grace."

Holy Mother.

Two doctors shot
dead in Florida.

And one in Buffalo
six weeks ago.

Those are just out-of-town
tryouts. Now the show's in New York.

The Florida shooters
were picked up at the scene.

So was the guy in Buffalo.

Harold Malcolm.

He was standing over the
body handing out leaflets.

Well, there's a lot more
where those three came from.

Before we start
sorting through the nuts,

are we sure this doctor's murder
is related to her line of work?

Well, the wanted
poster is kind of a hint.

The wanted poster
didn't pull the trigger.

Our lives will be a lot easier

if she was killed over a love
triangle or a gambling debt.

We'll go see the husband.

Maybe we'll get
lucky and he'll confess.

I met Eileen in medical school

during a pediatrics rotation.

Even then, she was working
six hours a week at a free clinic.

Dr. Reed,

did your wife ever have any trouble
with any of her patients or colleagues?

No. And the two of you?

Any marital problems?

I loved her. She loved me.

We just started
trying to have children.

Is there some reason
you're avoiding the obvious?

Eileen didn't need
to get involved,

but she believed that all women
deserve good medical care,

so she performed abortions two
afternoons a week at a women's clinic.

That's where she was
going when she got shot?

That's why she was
wearing a bullet-proof vest.

The clinic is
surrounded by zealots.

The doctors working there
get death threats all the time.

Like the one she
had in her purse.

That was a mild one.

She was gonna send it to the
police. They send them all to the police

so that maybe you can find
these people before they...

The paper's long grain,
twenty pound bond.

Only a few billion sheets
a year sold in this country.

Any fingerprints? Yours.

And the victim's.

It's a photocopy,

from a machine with some dirt
on the drum. See these specks?

If you get me the machine
and it hasn't been serviced,

I can maybe do a
positive I.D. Oh, great.

We'll organize a line-up
of Xerox machines.

Well, what about other
threats that she got?

These arrived at the clinic
over the last six months.

Any particular one
you want me to look at?

Well...

Maybe we'll just go there in person and
see who's been delivering their messages.

(PEOPLE SHOUTING)

MAN: Don't kill that baby!

(PEOPLE SHOUTING)

Those are the regulars.

And that's Mark Bryant.

KATHERINE: He's the
pain-in-the-ass in chief.

This guy, Bryant,
he's a photographer?

Faces and license plates.

He tries to get
everybody coming in

so he can track them
down and counsel them,

which means harass them.

LOGAN: You telling me
Dr. Reed had to go through this

every time she showed up?

We do what we can
to protect the doctors.

We never even
release their names.

But Bryant, was he
here when she was here?

Bryant is always here.

BRYANT: If your wives
are in there, drag them out!

Be a man. Protect your children.

We're the police,
Mr. Bryant. Good.

They're committing murder
in there. Do your duty.

Yeah, well, we're investigating
the murder of Dr. Eileen Reed.

And you're looking at us?

Hey, you people aren't exactly
handing out bouquets to these doctors.

Listen, yesterday I had
twice as many rescuers here.

Every time someone
fires a shot in our name,

it smears us and
reduces our numbers.

Well, sure, nobody wants to
get in the way of a stray bullet.

Nobody wants to be
associated with killing.

We're here to prevent killing.

Do you know what's
going on in there?

Hey, what's going
on in there is legal.

We got a dead 35-year-old
woman on our hands.

And we mourn her.
Violence begets violence.

We want it all to stop.

Hey, Bryant, how's your hobby?

You get any good
pictures of Dr. Reed?

Several.

But I didn't know her name
until I saw it on the news.

Well, they make a lot
of noise on the sidewalks

and try to convince the women
going in to change their minds.

Then they refer them to a
pro-life pregnancy crisis center.

Pro-life?

You ever notice how some
people's concern for life stops at birth?

They want those
babies to come out.

After that, they don't give a
damn what happens to them.

Well, they seem to give a damn
about what happened to Dr. Reed.

Their official policy
is anti-murder.

Apparently while the doctor
was across town getting shot,

Bryant and his people were
waiting for her at the clinic.

All of his people?

BRISCOE: Hey, they claim
they didn't even know her name.

Whoever shot her knew her name,
her address, and her office hours.

Well, the clinic kept
that information secret.

Her private patients
knew where to find her.

Her patients are calling.

Half of them are
about to give birth.

The insurance companies
are driving me crazy.

Did Dr. Reed perform
abortions here?

A few.

Most of her patients
wanted to be pregnant.

Did she have any new
patients the last few weeks?

YVONNE: She wasn't taking any.

But there was one.

Laura Lee.

She called a few days before, said
she'd seen the doctor at the clinic.

BRISCOE: What,
she had complications?

It was only a consultation.

She wanted the follow-up here.

She asked for the last
appointment, whenever that was.

That would be right before
Dr. Reed left for the clinic.

Yes, but she didn't show up.

BRISCOE: You have
her number? Here.

You got anything else on her?

The clinic sent
over her paperwork.

Dial-A-Prayer.

We're gonna keep this, okay?

Laura Lee. Initials L-L.

Like one of
Superman's girlfriends.

He won't be dating
her. She doesn't exist.

Oh, Lois Lane does?

(CHUCKLES)

Have you got prints on
those forms, or what?

A lovely set belonging to
one Ms. Nancy Gunther.

Arrested four months ago in
Schenectady for trespassing.

Trespassing?

Sitting in at a Planned
Parenthood clinic.

You see, Miss Gunther, you
being such a pro-life activist and all,

we're wondering why
you showed up at a clinic

asking about ending
your pregnancy.

I never said I
wanted to do that.

You never said your
real name, either.

A lot of people give false
names. It's very personal.

You gave a false name, but you
picked up a real one. Eileen Reed.

The only people they tell the
doctors' names to are the patients.

Yeah, you called and made an appointment
with her, but you never showed up.

I changed my mind.
I'm keeping my baby.

You were always gonna
keep it, weren't you?

You asked for the last
appointment of the day

so you'd know exactly when
she was leaving the office.

Who'd you tell, Nancy?

If you told the shooter,
that's conspiracy to murder.

You better help us out, Nancy,

or you're gonna be raising your
baby in a cell block at Bedford Hills.

If that's God's will.

She's got nothing to say.
She asked for a lawyer.

Hey, let's arrest her for
murder. That might motivate her.

There's not enough to hold her.

Her lawyer will say the missed
appointment's a coincidence.

Oh, how's this
for a coincidence?

That protest in Schenectady
where she was arrested,

27 people were taken in,

including her and
Harold Malcolm.

What, the guy who shot
the doctor in Buffalo?

Yeah, two months later.

The protest was led by a
Drew Seeley of Manhattan.

Oh, boy, this one's a real nut.

Defrocked priest.
Listen to this.

The Diocese of Schenectady
has a restraining order on this guy.

He can't come within 100
yards of any of their churches.

Well, maybe he'll think
confession's still good for the soul.

Oh, yes, I know Nancy.
She's a fine Christian woman.

And you know
Harold Malcolm, too?

I've prayed with him often.

Yeah, well, the reason we're
here is that some of your people

have been doing
un-Christian things.

What do you mean?

Well, Malcolm blasted a
doctor with a shotgun in Buffalo.

We think Nancy Gunther might be involved
in the murder of a doctor in Manhattan.

Yes, the abortion doctors.

Four dead.

Isn't that wonderful?

Come in, come in.

Those doctors were
committing a holocaust.

And your solution is murder?

What ever happened to
turning the other cheek,

loving thine enemy?

I will love my enemy.

But a child in the womb
doesn't have that opportunity.

SEELEY: Please.

The Bible commands
us... It commands us

to protect the weak
and the powerless.

Well, the State of New
York commands us not to kill.

I think that's also mentioned
in the Bible someplace.

My only goal here
is saving lives.

You tell your followers
to shoot doctors?

They draw their own
conclusions. They don't need me.

You happen to know who drew
a conclusion to shoot Dr. Reed?

No, I don't.

Or who talked to
Nancy Gunther lately?

Nancy.

Nancy gathered some
information on Dr. Reed for me.

I wanted the doctor's name and
address to try to persuade her to stop.

Persuade her how?

Well, I tried to call her and
I sent her some literature.

A "Wanted" poster.
Yes. That was mine.

So you think that calling her a
criminal is going to persuade her?

Well, nothing else had.

Where were you around
noon on Tuesday?

Well, I was at a conference
of the Council on Choice.

He was here, all right, throwing
fake blood on the speakers.

We filed a complaint.

I take it you don't see
eye-to-eye with Seeley.

He thinks I should be murdered

because I advocate
reproductive freedom for women.

I think he should be in jail.

For advocating murder?

If all he does is talk about it,
there isn't anything we can do.

You got anything more specific?

He used to wave
signs and sit in.

Now he incites his
followers to kill people.

Because of people like him,

in 85% of the counties
in the United States,

there's not a single doctor
willing to perform abortions.

Well, don't some
doctors just prefer not to?

Yeah.

And a lot of doctors prefer
not getting shot in the head.

If you believe this
crap of Seeley's,

you can understand why
the guy pulled the trigger.

That's the problem
with fanatics.

You get their followers
in the right frame of mind,

the next thing you know,
they're chugging Kool-Aid.

I've got Drew
Seeley's arrest reports.

When he went from
sitting in to inciting murders,

I bet he lost a
lot of supporters.

Right, we'll look and see
who used to get busted

at Seeley's sit-ins and
who doesn't anymore.

You know why America
had a recession, detective?

Something to do
with interest rates?

And crime, drought, earthquakes.

Father Seeley says we're
being punished for our sins.

If we don't get right with the Lord,
the United States may cease to exist.

Well, Seeley's not
a Father anymore.

To me, he is. The
man's a prophet.

Well, how come you're
not still out there with him?

I would be, but my
husband got sick.

I have to run the store.

I marched against
the war in Vietnam

and against the
nuclear arms race.

Now I march for life.

I didn't think there was much
crossover between those movements.

It's all about respect
for human life.

Seems pretty clear to me.

Is that why you stopped
marching with Seeley?

Abortion doctors are
a form of human life.

Seeley and I parted
ways on that point.

Can you think of anybody who
might have taken Seeley's advice

a little too seriously?

And shot that doctor?

Believe me, if I
knew, I'd tell you.

Now, excuse me. I
have a customer waiting.

Well, either they're still in love with
Seeley, or they haven't got a clue.

Who's next?

Randall Jenkins,
432 Canal Street.

Oh, good. Then
we can eat Chinese.

Randall doesn't
live here anymore.

LOGAN: But he is your husband?

We're getting divorced.

Oh. Do you know
where we can find him?

We really don't
keep in touch much.

Do you know why he stopped
hanging out with Drew Seeley?

He didn't.

He still sends me literature
about saving my soul.

Is there a return
address on the literature?

I didn't check.

Look, we... We just
had some problems.

If you see him, don't even
say you saw me, all right?

She's scared of the guy.

He still follows Seeley, but he
stopped getting busted at the protests.

Randall Jenkins.

Eight months ago he burst into
a women's clinic on Long Island

and started roughing people up.

He was arrested for assault
and sentenced to probation.

Right. So he gets arrested
again, even for trespassing,

he goes straight to the joint.

And he's not afraid
of getting physical.

Well, maybe he needed to stay out
of jail to do something more important

like kill a doctor.

From Jenkins' probation officer.

His new address and
place of employment.

Hey, Silkowitz!
It's not insured.

I don't expect them
to be geniuses.

Keep the mustard
out of the ketchup

and don't bang
the carts into walls.

Plus, they have to master the
recipe of boiling hot dogs, right?

Right.

We're looking for a guy named
Randall Jenkins. Is he back yet?

Jenkins.

He fills his cart half with
dogs, half with pamphlets.

Now I got the only pro-life
frankfurters on the West Side.

So where is he?

He took Tuesday off.
Never did come back.

Tuesday. Let's get a warrant.

What are you doing?
Come on, just open it.

He is not dangerous, is he?

Dangerous? You got the
whole police department here.

Just tell him you gotta
fix the radiator. Come on.

(KNOCKING)

Mr. Jenkins!

Whoa, whoa, whoa.
All right? Thanks.

"Blood pollutes the land,

"and no expiation can be made except
by the blood of him who hath shed it."

Numbers 35.

Yeah, Old Testament.
Blood and guts.

(PAGER BEEPING)

Van Buren.

BRISCOE: Yeah, it's Briscoe.

He's got Jenkins?

Okay.

Seeley called. Van Buren
wants us to go pay him a visit.

Praise the Lord and pass the
ammunition. It's a 9 millimeter.

Looks like he called the
networks before he called us.

I hate this.

Yes, of course we pray
for the soul of Eileen Reed,

as we pray for the souls of
those children she murdered.

Here comes Caesar's
policemen now.

I really hate this.

Let's just try to do it fast.

All right, excuse us.
Police. Excuse me.

Mr. Randall Jenkins, gentlemen.

The most righteous
man you'll ever arrest.

In the eyes of God, I
declare I shot Dr. Reed.

You're kidding.

JOURNALIST: Mr. Jenkins.

Jenkins, you're under arrest
for the murder of Eileen Reed.

You have the right
to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will
be used... I am right with God.

Nothing else matters.

You have the
right to an attorney.

"Docket number 6-5-4-7-4.

"People v. Randall Jenkins.

"The charge is murder
in second degree."

(GAVEL BANGING)

The bailiff will eject
anyone from this courtroom

who thinks his opinion
should compete with mine.

Do we have a plea?

I committed no crime
in the eyes of the Lord.

I'll call that a "not guilty."

Ms. Kincaid?

Other physicians'
lives are at risk

if Mr. Jenkins is
allowed bail, Your Honor.

It's babies who are at risk.

Mr. Jenkins surrendered as soon
as he became a suspect, Your Honor.

He's not likely to flee now.

Flight's not what I'm
worried about, counselor.

On behalf of the babies
who grow up to be doctors,

bail is denied.

A trial seems like a waste
of the taxpayers' money.

We've got the gun,
your client's confessed.

Are you so afraid to confront
Biblical law in a courtroom?

What is he doing here?

Mr. Jenkins has
asked Father Seeley

to be in attendance
as his spiritual advisor.

Well, in your capacity
as his legal advisor,

would please tell
his spiritual advisor

that Mr. Jenkins has a 100%
chance of being convicted?

And you can drop the
honorific. He's no longer a priest.

Our defense will
be justification.

Justification?

That was laughed
out of court in Florida.

Maybe New York judges
are more sophisticated.

You're getting lousy advice from both
heaven and earth here, Mr. Jenkins.

If you go to trial and lose,

you'll draw a maximum sentence.

"Then Peter and the
other Apostles answered,

"'We ought to obey
God rather than men.'"

He'd do better
pleading insanity.

It's Seeley sitting
there pulling the strings.

All we know that he actually
does is congratulate the murderers.

We ought to be looking
at him for conspiracy.

Oh, you want to revoke
his right to free speech?

He's trying to revoke a woman's
Constitutional right to choose.

Oh, so two wrongs make a right?

Is that what they taught
you in Harvard Law School?

Maybe we'd be better off
sticking to the case at hand.

Case? What case?

Justification can
only be claimed

if the killer reasonably believes
they're protecting a human life

from imminent deadly force.

So Jenkins will claim that
he was protecting human lives

from being terminated by Eileen
Reed when she got to the clinic.

First trimester embryos.

He'll be flying in the face
of statute and case law.

And his attorney will say

that all that matters is what
Randall Jenkins reasonably believed.

ADAM: Nope.

What matters now is what
Judge Newfield believes.

JACK: Justifiable force can only be
claimed in defense of a person, Your Honor.

Under New York law,
a fetus is not a person.

That definition is explicitly
limited to the homicide statute.

Fine. If there was no threat of homicide,
then Mr. Jenkins had no justification.

In the matter of Danielle
Smith, Your Honor.

A court in this state ruled that

an unborn child is a person for the
purpose of being protected from abuse

by its mother's drinking
during her pregnancy.

The context is very
similar to the present case.

That mother's actions
were irresponsible.

Dr. Reed's actions were protected
by the United States Constitution.

Mr. Jenkins has to show
he reasonably believed

the fetuses he was protecting
from Dr. Reed are persons.

This decision makes
that view seem

very reasonable.

Mr. Jenkins cannot
reasonably believe

that a fetus is a person
in the context of abortion

when the Supreme
Court has ruled that it isn't.

Don't you ever disagree with
the Supreme Court, Mr. McCoy?

(SCOFFS)

NEWFIELD: The reasonableness
of Mr. Jenkins' views

is a question of
fact, not of the law.

I'll let it go to the jury.

If, in the course of the trial,

the defense
satisfies its obligation

to establish the other statutory
requirements of justification.

Judge Newfield's
playing politics.

He's courting the pro-life vote.

Maybe he's just pro-life.

Jack, you say that like
he's pro vanilla ice cream.

Claire, if we make this
trial about feminism,

we'll be taking the bait and
arguing the wrong issues.

Eileen Reed died

because she was protecting a
woman's legal right to choose.

Eileen Reed died

because Randall Jenkins
put a bullet in her head.

The bullet entered the skull two
centimeters above the left orbit.

It passed through the
frontal and parietal lobes

and exited through
the occipital skull.

That gunshot was
the cause of death?

Yes.

Nothing further.

Have you ever conducted an autopsy
on a pregnant woman, Dr. Rogers?

Objection. Beyond
the scope of cross.

This witness was called as
an expert on life and death.

Dr. Reed's death.

That's quite a narrow
medical specialty, isn't it?

I'll allow the question,
Mr. Garnett, despite the sarcasm.

Yes, I have conducted
autopsies on pregnant women.

GARNETT: Does the fetus always
die at the same time as the mother?

Different parts of the body
often die at different times.

Have you ever heard
the phrase "brain dead"?

That's not what I
asked you, Doctor.

Fine. You like
this answer better?

I've autopsied gunshot victims
where the fetus died first, then the brain,

and the rest of the body's been
kept alive on life support for a week.

Your question is moot, sir.

NANCY: Well, I got Dr. Reed's
name when I went to that clinic.

I used it to get her address.

It wasn't that hard.

And the information you obtained
about her, you gave it to Randall Jenkins?

Well, I gave it to
Father Seeley first.

Then Randy asked about it.

I didn't see any
harm in telling him.

When you went to the clinic,

pretending you wanted to
terminate your pregnancy,

what did Dr. Reed do?

Did Dr. Reed give
you an abortion?

I didn't want one.

But Dr. Reed didn't know that.

Did she start preparing
to give you one?

No.

Why not?

She said I seemed unsure.

She wanted me to take a
few days to make up my mind.

So your pregnancy wasn't in
any imminent danger, was it?

No.

When Mr. Jenkins

asked you for
Dr. Reed's schedule,

why did you give it to him?

Why not?

I knew Randy.

He devoted his
life to the pre-born.

How else did he
show his devotion?

NANCY: Randy mailed out letters,

he handed out flyers,

he did sidewalk
counseling outside of clinics,

he sat in.

He chained himself to clinic
doors so they couldn't be opened.

So, shooting Dr. Reed

wasn't the first thing he did

in his efforts to
save the pre-born?

No.

No, he tried non-violence.

It didn't work.

GARNETT: Thank you.

She's not just testifying
for him, she's lying for him.

Jenkins was violent at least once
before at that clinic on Long Island.

Maybe she didn't know.

He ran amok in
an abortion clinic.

That's a badge of honor
among these people.

Why wouldn't he tell her?

It might've even
helped the defense show

that Jenkins tried other lesser
means before resorting to murder.

Find out why he
kept it to himself.

They sneak up to the
window sometimes.

There'll be a scared college
girl waiting for the procedure,

and some creep will be going,
"Save a life, don't take one."

I got the impression Randall
Jenkins did a lot more than that.

Oh, yeah.

I'd like to find out when
he's having a prostate exam

and pull him off the table.

He got into an examining room?

Knocked over two secretaries
and a nurse to get there.

He seemed to be
after a particular patient.

But none of the patients
testified against him.

She was gone by the time the police
arrived, and she never came back.

Joan Smith. In the city.

432 Canal Street.

JOANNA: Yes?

Miss Smith?

Or should I say Mrs. Jenkins?

When Randy asked me to marry
him, I thought that was what I wanted.

People make mistakes.

They grow.

Randy doesn't grow.

He never changes.

No matter what happens, he
stays precisely, exactly the same.

But you changed.

When I found out I was pregnant,

it meant I either had
to stay with Randy

or raise the baby by myself.

I don't have any money, I...

It was so hard to
decide what to do.

Randy followed
you to the clinic?

Yeah.

I ran away.

Two weeks later, I went
to a clinic in New Jersey.

I told him I had a miscarriage.

He didn't believe me.

Do you think he told his
friends what happened?

How could he?

He's so pro-life.

He tried to make me say where
I had it done, but I never would.

Why do you think
he wanted to know?

Well, he wanted to
get even with them.

Your wife wouldn't tell you
who performed the procedure,

so you just shot the
first doctor you could find.

She was doing abortions
every Tuesday and Thursday.

But you didn't kill her to stop
those abortions, Mr. Jenkins,

you killed her for revenge.

Your justification
defense just evaporated.

This time it was mine.

I never got to know him.

Why isn't anybody
mourning for him?

Give us a few minutes,
would you, please?

He could still take the stand
and try to talk his way out of it.

Seeley is probably in there
writing a new press release.

We're ready.

My client will take a
plea. Manslaughter one.

In exchange for what?

The guilty party.

He didn't shoot her?

He shot her.

But someone else tracked her
down, gave Mr. Jenkins the gun,

drove him to the garage,
pointed out Dr. Reed,

told him to shoot her,
then drove him away.

I see.

You promised Jenkins
he'd get off, but he won't.

So now you're handing
over another fall guy.

That's right, Mr. McCoy.

Me.

Seeley wanted to
put abortion on trial,

but Jenkins' revenge
motive muddied the waters,

so now Seeley steps
up as the ideal defendant.

Didn't he tell the
police he had an alibi?

Now he says he caused a
ruckus at the pro-choice conference

but slipped away early.

I talked to the
conference organizer.

She now says she's
not sure what time he left.

So he changes his story
because he wants his show trial.

And our organizer
lady changes her story

because she
wants Seeley in jail.

And is there anyone in town

who is not using this office

for their own personal agenda?

JACK: I'm giving
Jenkins his deal.

We try Seeley for murder.

Why? You like being used?

Seeley is more dangerous
than a dozen Jenkinses.

Isn't justice served by
putting them both behind bars?

For the greater good, huh?

Sounds like one of
Seeley's arguments

which you are about
to hear most eloquently.

He's representing himself.

Well-meaning
people can disagree.

Especially about the most emotionally
divisive issue to confront this country

in this century.

Drew Seeley

has an opinion
about abortion, too.

He thinks his opinion
entitles him to kill people.

He will tell you that he had a
good reason to do what he did.

This is what he did.

He hunted down a
woman named Eileen Reed.

He handed Randall Jenkins a gun.

He told Randall Jenkins to
shoot Eileen Reed in the head,

and he did.

Drew Seeley

is a self-appointed executioner.

If you let him get away
with it, you better pray

that people like him don't
find some fault with you.

A hundred and fifty years ago,
you weren't considered a person.

Or you.

Or you.

A man named John Brown
thought that was wrong,

so he took violent action

to liberate black
American slaves.

Well, he was arrested
and brought to trial

because slavery was legal.

And the law said... The law said

that slaves were not persons
deserving of protection.

He was convicted
and he was hanged.

But you know what?

John Brown was right,
and the law was wrong.

And now John Brown
is considered a hero.

Today abortion is legal.

But I say to you,

that law is wrong.

And like John Brown, I follow...

a higher law.

I ask you

to do the same.

My wife got a call.

The man did not
identify himself.

He said he wanted to rip
her limbs out of their sockets

just like she did every
Tuesday and Thursday.

I call your attention to
People's Exhibit Four,

stipulated as originating on
Mr. Seeley's Xerox machine.

Do you know how this came
into your wife's possession?

Yes.

That was the first one she
ever got with her name on it.

A few days before she was killed,
it was sent to her private office.

JACK: Did your wife try
to keep her name a secret

from people who
opposed her activities?

SIMON: Yes.

Some of these people are crazy.

She was always afraid that one
of the real nuts would find her.

Thank you.

Dr. Reed, your wife was upset

to receive these
calls and letters?

Of course.

SEELEY: But she didn't stop
performing abortions, did she?

No.

I told her it wasn't worth it,

but she said she
wouldn't allow women

to be deprived of
their right of choice

by people threatening her life.

Did you want her to stop?

I wanted her alive.

So we both tried to stop her.

But nothing would make
her stop as long as she lived.

JACK: Objection!
You son of a bitch!

SEELEY: Nothing
further. Mr. Seeley!

Nothing further!

JACK: Please tell us
your occupation, Dr. Moran.

I'm an obstetrician, and I frequently
write and lecture on medical ethics.

You've also been an advisor
to Mr. Seeley, haven't you?

Some of my work has contributed
to his opposition to abortion, yes.

Does any of your expertise in this
area derive from your own experience?

Yes.

I used to perform them myself

until I awoke to the
fact that they are wrong.

When you were
still performing them,

would Mr. Seeley have
been justified in killing you?

(SIGHS)

Yes.

I was, in effect,
committing murder.

In effect?

I was committing murder.

Fine.

Would you please stand up?

Officer, arrest this woman.

Mr. McCoy.

We've just heard a confession
of murder, Your Honor.

Officer... I'm not
amused, Mr. McCoy!

How many counts of murder should
we charge you with, Dr. Moran?

SCARLETTI: Mr. McCoy!

May I remind you
that abortion is legal?

Thank you, Your Honor.

"The Lord said unto Jeremiah,

"I knew you when
you were in the womb."

I tried to stop the abortionists

by marching, by
sitting in, by threats.

I even called the police to
report murders in progress.

They laughed,

and the death camp
clinics kept on working.

I did the only thing

that was left for me to do.

I am before you
as a servant of God.

I'm ready for your questions.

So, Mr. Seeley,

you believe

that doctors who terminate
pregnancies should be killed?

Yes, I do.

JACK: And your
reasons for doing this

are grounded in the
Bible? SEELEY: Yes.

Do you do everything
that the Bible tells you?

I try to.

Well, do you keep slaves?

Ephesians 6:5,

"Slaves, obey your worldly
masters with fear and trembling."

No, Mr. McCoy.

The Bible simply recognizes
a practice of ancient times.

Without condemning it.

Does the Bible specifically
condemn abortion?

No. JACK: No?

So, have you been
reading God's mind?

"Rescue the weak and the
needy." Psalm 82, Verse 4.

Is that what you do?

Yes, I do.

You don't rescue the weak,

you manipulate the
weak to kill people for you.

Randall Jenkins
followed God's word

and performed a righteous act.

Did he?

If it was so righteous,

why didn't you do it yourself?

My God-given gift

is to organize and lead. Oh.

When you were drafted in
the Vietnam War, did you go?

Yes.

As a non-combatant
conscientious objector.

Yes.

So that you wouldn't have to
shoot anyone, isn't that correct?

Oh, I would have shot, if
necessary, to protect others.

But you didn't do it.

Well, I wasn't called upon.

There were plenty of
other men with guns.

And then in the 1970s,

you were active in a campaign
against capital punishment?

Capital punishment is revenge.

I killed Dr. Reed to prevent
deaths, not to avenge them.

You believe that killing is
wrong, don't you, Mr. Seeley?

Of course.

Does the Bible specifically
condemn murder?

Yes. "Thou shalt not kill."

That's why I oppose abortion.

And that's also why
you don't shoot doctors

who perform abortions.

No.

I just told you,

others do that so that I can stay out
of jail and keep the movement alive.

Well, but you're
ready to go to jail now.

You never would
have been arrested

or brought to trial if
you hadn't confessed.

The Lord called
me to come forward.

And it's a sin to
disobey God, isn't it?

Yes, it is.

Are you a sinner, Mr. Seeley?

I fear that all men are
sinners, Mr. McCoy.

And what is your sin?

This is neither the
time nor the place.

On the contrary, this is
exactly the time and the place.

God calls you to
organize murders,

God calls you to take
credit for murders,

but God never calls on
you to pull the trigger?

Each of us has a role.

You can't do it, can you?

You can't bring yourself
to shoot someone,

even though you think
God is telling you to do it,

you can't do it.

I put the gun in Randall's hand!

I told him where to point it!

You can't point a gun
at another human being,

even an abortion doctor,
and pull the trigger,

because in your soul
you know it's wrong!

God says it's right!

You don't believe that.

I believe in the Lord my God...

Your defense is a lie!

No, what is a lie is the arrogant
belief that what you're doing here

furthers justice! Answer
my question, Mr. Seeley.

You are unable to
shoot doctors yourself

because in your soul

you know it's wrong.

You took an oath on the
Bible to tell the truth here.

We're waiting.

He's badgering me, Your Honor.

I'll instruct him to
lower the temperature,

but you still have to
answer the question.

We're waiting.

If he doesn't believe his
own defense, Your Honor,

there's no way you
can send it to the jury.

He's right, Mr. Seeley.

The heart of the
justification defense

is what you believe.

If you're not prepared to say you
believe this killing was justified,

I cannot let the jury
consider the defense.

I believe killing
abortionists is moral.

But you won't tell us why you
don't pull the trigger yourself.

That is between me and my God!

And me, Mr. Seeley.

If you won't
answer the question,

I will order the jury not to
consider the justification defense.

That means you have no defense.

If Mr. McCoy is willing to offer
you any kind of plea bargain,

I suggest you take it.

Seeley pleaded to murder two.

We made it 20-to-life
instead of 25.

One for the books, I tell you.

Make it clear that
you can't kill anyone,

and that's what
nails him for murder.

It's in his own mind, too.

He felt guilty 'cause
he didn't kill the doctors.

Yeah.

He says God wants him to go to
prison and minister to souls in chains.

Don't you love it when
everybody's happy?