Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 8, Episode 1 - Thrill - full transcript

Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the shooting death of a young fast food delivery man, Matthew Wheeler. The investigation reveals that someone phoned several fast food outlets late that night requesting deliveries to what is now a boarded up store. Only one restaurant agreed to the delivery. From the information they've been able to gather two young men, eventually identified as Joey Timon and Dale Kershaw, had talked about randomly shooting anyone just for the thrill of it. They are eventually arrested but the DA's office has a dilemma - which one of them actually pulled the trigger.


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.

(MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO)

MATT: Sure I can afford it.

Mr. DeLuca, he knows
one of the waiters.

So, he's going
to call him up

so we can get
served wine.

(CHUCKLES)



Well, they got... They got table cloths.
They got candles.

Yeah, and they sing opera.

Well, you know, maybe I can get them
to sing Happy Birthday for you.

Hey, look, I think I'm
coming up on the address.

Let me call you
when I get home, all right?

Yeah. I love you, too.

(BRAKES SQUEALING)

Hey, excuse me.
I'm looking for number 127.

Do you know
which door that is?

(RATTLING)

(GUNSHOT)

(WOMAN CHATTERING
OVER POLICE RADIO)

CSU TECH: He was tapped once in the
back of the head, .25 caliber.

We got three casings
in a group back there,



and four more spread out
along the sidewalk.

The shooter was running
after the van.

Yeah. The kid
tried to get away.

Matthew Wheeler,
20 years old last month.

It's his van.

BRISCOE: He was just like this?
Uh-huh.

The perp must
have pulled him out.

Yeah. He left the cash.
And the watch.

And the four buckets
of chicken.

CSU TECH: DeLuca's,
41st and Sth.

BRISCOE: Good place.

They make their
own chicken soup.

I never saw
this kid there.

Detective, this is Mr.
Sheehan. He saw it happen.

Well, not the whole
thing, actually, l...

Well, we'd appreciate
anything you can tell us.

I was walking along the
street here, going home,

when I heard
three shots.

So I looked up
to the corner here,

and I saw this van here
roll by the intersection.

There was somebody running
along the passenger side

shooting into the van.

Can you describe
this somebody?

Well, I didn't run up to get a good look.
I was pretty scared.

And then what?

Then nothing.
I ran home.

Until I heard
the sirens.

Okay. The detective will
take your statement. Thanks.

Lennie, the address on
the delivery ticket, 127.

You want to
deliver the chicken?

127 is an empty store.

I should've never
sent him out this late,

but four
large buckets...

You got to make a living.
(SIGHS)

He was only working
here a couple of weeks.

Nice kid. (SIGHS)

This is really screwed up.

CURTIS: Who took the order?

He did.

We didn't find a phone number
on the delivery ticket.

I told him to
always get a number.

Come on. Come on.

I'm sure it's here.

Why don't we check the caller ID box?
They save the numbers.

Oh, right. I forgot.

The call came in
right after 10:00.

The early news
just started...

Here. it's this one.

Mr. DeLuca, you been having
any trouble with anybody?

You know, maybe
somebody you pissed off.

Or maybe you buy your chickens
from the wrong supplier?

Nothing like that. Why?

Well, the phony address.
No sign of a robbery.

Almost looks like somebody's
trying to send you a message.

Hey, I pay my bills,
I don't owe no Shylock.

(SCOFFS)

And I get my birds
from the right people.

He's a good kid.
He never hurt anybody.

What kind of a sick bastard
would do this?

We'll get him.

Can you think of anyone who
might've wanted to hurt him?

No. He got along good
with everybody.

I don't mean
any disrespect,

but was he ever mixed up
with a gang or with drugs?

No. He told me
that he tried pot.

But, I mean, show me
a kid that doesn't.

Oh, God,
I should call Lauren.

BRISCOE: Lauren?

Yeah.
That's his girlfriend.

He met her
at City College.

He goes there part time.

We're going to
need to talk to her.

Yeah.

I'll get the address.
(PAGER BEEPING)

Excuse me,
it's Profaci.

MR. WHEELER:
I'm telling you right now,

the son of a bitch
who killed my boy,

you better pray
you find him before I do.

The call to the chicken
place came from here.

I got people canvassing.

Two witnesses in one day?
We should be so lucky.

You checking that
for prints or what?

Soon as I take it
back to the lab.

This year?

It's up to him.

I can't just
disconnect a payphone.

I have to have a work order
from my supervisor.

And he needs a paper
from his supervisor,

who needs a paper
from the city.

Tell you what.
I'm going to give you a piece of paper.

Now, this is
my card, see.

I'm going to write
a little note on it.

And the next time you get
stopped for speeding,

you just show this
to the officer. Deal?

Yeah? Okay.

Check the coins,
too, huh.

We got a match from a
thumbprint on two shell casings

to partials on five coins
in the phone.

So the shooter
made five calls.

Looks like.

There was a second set of
thumbprints on the casings.

Can you put a face
to the prints?

They're not
in the system.

You get any more good news,
you hurry on back.

We talked to the victim's
girlfriend, to his friends.

The kid was the boy wonder.
I don't see any motive here.

People don't kill
for no reason.

This doer made a phone
call from Central Park

for a delivery
40 blocks away.

He wanted
a nice, quiet street.

There are quiet streets
closer to the park.

Tell me about
this bogus address.

Repair shop
for small appliances.

Went out of business
about 14 months ago.

So our suspect
knows that

because he lives
in that neighborhood.

Yeah. Along with
40,000 of his neighbors.

I got the dumps
from the payphone.

Twenty-three calls made in the
hour and a half before the murder.

Six to take-out places, including
the last one, DeLuca's.

Five coins, five calls.

He was trolling
for victims.

Until he found
a place that delivered.

Would be nice to find someone who
actually talked to this person.

Okay. I got
this covered.

I'll pick you up
around noon?

Yeah,
we'll be out front.

Oh, they were calling
from a phone booth.

It didn't sound
on the up-and-up.

There were two of them?

Yeah. First the one guy
orders the buckets,

then the other guy gets on
to give me the address.

Young, old?

Young, I think.

The first one talked through his nose.
White guys.

They wanted
two large buckets.

Yeah. They ordered
four buckets from DeLuca.

Four? Yeah, for four I
would've gone out myself.

I'm really scared, Rey.

I know you are, baby.

But you're going
to be all right.

I'm sure it's nothing.

See you tonight,
all right?

I love you.

BRISCOE: So?

She's got to come back
for more tests.

What's wrong with her?

She's got some numbness in her right foot.
It comes and goes.

They just want to
rule some things out.

So, what's up
with our shooter?

Well, there might've
been two of them.

Young, probably white.

They called four
other take-out places.

The other two calls
were legit orders.

That accounts for
four of the coins.

Might've used the fifth to
call a number on the list.

Well, here's the LUDs.
Take your pick.

MRS. HEMMERICK:
It was him who called me.

He forgot what he was supposed
to get from the store.

He never
remembers anything.

MR. HEMMERICK: I remembered
our phone number.

You had it written down
in your wallet.

BRISCOE: Mr. Hemmerick.
Yeah?

Did you see anybody
hanging around

the phone booth
the other night?

Maybe a couple of kids?
They might've been white.

Yeah, sure. Two boys,
they was laughing it up.

One of them looked
a little Puerto Rican.

BRISCOE: They were
laughing it up about what?

I wasn't listening to them.
I was listening to her.

What did they look like?

Maybe one of them
had red hair.

I didn't get
a good look.

He can't see at night.

I see just fine!

They had
loose-fitting clothes,

and one of them
had skates

with those
plastic wheels.

You mean roller blades.

That's right.
Roller blades.

With green wheels.
Lime green.

That was me
who used the phone.

I called home
to check my messages.

Did you notice any kids
waiting to use the phone?

One of them might've
been on roller blades?

Yes, I did, and in fact, I
borrowed a quarter from them.

That explains that.

Betty, could you make sure that the
legs go out to ortho by Friday?

Explains what?

Nothing.

SHUSTER:
Please, sit down.

Can you describe these kids?
Sure.

I've seen them before
in the park. At night.

CURTIS:
When was that?

In the past month,
on three or four occasions.

A couple of times, they were
with a young girl. Adele.

CURTIS: Adele who?

Oh, I don't know.

She goes to a prep school.
I don't remember the name.

But they wear blue blazers
with gold trim.

BRISCOE: Do you go to the
park very often at night?

Yes. Yes, I do.
I find it very relaxing at night.

What do you do there,
Mr. Shuster?

I drink.

With teenage girls?

And middle-aged women,
college kids,

lawyers, waiters,
off-duty cops.

Everyone's welcome.

I bet.

Listen, we'd like you to come
down to the station house with us

and talk to a sketch artist
about those two boys.

Right now?

Right now.

(BELL RINGING)

HEADMISTRESS: Is she in trouble?
CURTIS: No.

But she might be
a witness to a crime.

(SIGHS) Adele does
have a knack for being

in the wrong place
at the right time.

And with the wrong people.
So we've heard.

She's a challenge,
no doubt about it.

I don't know if she'll be home yet.
School just let out.

Could she still
be here?

Susan? Have you
seen Adele Green?

She left.

But you could try the
bodega on 81st and 3rd.

Whoa, Adele, police.

Let me go.

Just take it easy.
What do we have here?

A big forty.
That's the good stuff.

Supplying alcohol
to a minor.

That's a $5 fine.
Get out of here.

Take your hands off me!
You're hurting me!

Stop moving,
we stop hurting.

Let's go.

I want to call
my parents.

You can call them
from the station house.

CURTIS: We found this stuff
in her backpack, Mrs. Green.

We're not making it up.

Fingerprinting her
like a common criminal.

Don't you have
anything better to do?

Doesn't this worry you?
Drugs, booze, condoms.

I mean, she had the whole
James Dean fun pack with her.

Well, that's no reason to
scare the wits out of her.

You're scared, Adele?

I wasn't hurting anybody.

And what's this for?

You open a lot of boxes
at your prep school?

I need that because of
all the creeps out there.

You mean, the creeps you hang
with in the park at night?

That's none of
your damn business.

Adele...

Well, these two are our business.
Do you know them?

No.

Think harder, Adele, somebody
saw you with these guys.

It wasn't me.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

This is
Ms. Green's lawyer.

You mind?
Five's a crowd.

At most she knows
these mutts.

But we don't figure she's
involved in the murder.

Are you sure
about that?

We're ready.

First of all, she was at her
relatives in Brooklyn Heights

the night of this murder.
Ten people can alibi her.

Second, she's never seen
either of these individuals.

Mmm-hmm.

Then maybe she can
tell us why we found

her thumbprint on a shell
casing at the homicide scene?

Oh, my God.
That's not possible.

VAN BUREN:
I'm afraid it is.

You're implicated
in a murder, little girl.

So cut the bull.

GILL: Lieutenant, please.

(WHISPERING)

But I didn't.

Okay, so I know them.

They bought a little gun
last week, a .25 auto.

They didn't know how to load
the mag, so I showed them how.

And just where did you
pick up this knowledge?

Around.
These guys are clowns.

One of them
is always talking about

how he wants to be
some major gangster.

Names and addresses.

Joey and Tagger.
I don't know where they live.

How do you get
in touch with them?

I see them
when I see them.

In the park.

I'm supposed to hook up with them
at the fountain around 7:00.

Did they tell you they were
planning to kill a delivery man?

They just said they
wanted to kill someone.

They were always
talking about doing that.

VAN BUREN: Why?

Just to see
what it feels like.

A thrill killing.
I take it back, Lennie,

some people
don't need a reason.

Guess the Macarena wasn't
exciting enough for them.

Profaci, we're getting up a
team to stake out the park.

The chicken guys?
Yeah.

Our informant says
that one of them

has a job that keeps
him busy till 6:30,

so we're not expecting
them till after that.

Let's keep it small.
Maybe a half a dozen guys.

We don't want to
spook the locals.

How about taking the
girl along to ID them?

No. I don't trust her.

Well, there's Shuster,

spare parts salesman
by day, drunk by night.

(SIREN WAILING)

BRISCOE: Okay.
So the Rumble in the Jungle.

The night before, Angelo
Dundee gets a big wrench

and goes around all four
corners and loosens the top.

That's the rope-a-dope!

VAN BUREN: But it was
Muhammad Ali

who did the floating
and the stinging.

The man was sweet.
A poet.

A real poet is Milton.

You want to understand the ways
of God, Milton's your boy.

When it comes to understanding
the ways of God,

I prefer malt
to Milton.

I know!
That's right!

(ALL LAUGHING)

Hey. Over there.

Straight down the path.

KID: Raise up! Five-O!

BRISCOE: Hey, stop!

Hey, police!

(PANTING)

You okay?

Just shoot me,
will you?

We got the other guy.

Well, Joey, you think about
what we talked about before?

I don't know
what I'm doing here.

Same old song, huh.

He says he was in the park
all night on Tuesday.

CURTIS: Except we found his prints
on coins in a payphone on 71st.

And on the bullets that
killed the delivery guy.

No, you didn't.
Mr. Timon...

No. You can't
get fingerprints...

Mr. Timon, be quiet.

Okay by us. We'll just go
talk to your buddy, Tagger.

A little bird told me this
alleged buddy got away from you.

If you want Mr. Timon
to help you find him,

it's going to
cost you big.

Yeah. Right.

Like he's getting a free
trip to Disney World.

Then find
the accomplice.

Unless you want to be somebody's
punk for the next 25 years.

It's a mistake.
My son goes to Saint Pete's.

He has a part-time job.
He's not a killer.

Maybe it's
his friend, Tagger.

You know him?

I don't know
his friends.

They don't stop in here
for cookies and milk.

That kind of attitude won't
help your son, Mrs. Timon.

I'm sorry,
this is very upsetting.

Did Joey ever talk about knowing
anybody in Hell's Kitchen?

He don't know those
people over there.

He goes to school,
he goes to work.

He comes home.
He's not some gypsy.

And I guess he's never been to
West 23rd Street Electronics, huh?

No. I don't know
where that came from.

I remember him.

He ran off with the CD
player about two weeks ago.

CURTIS: Was there
anyone with him?

A kid with red hair,
maybe?

Yes, there was
another kid.

He was at the counter filling
out a job application.

I was helping him when the other one...
Oh, I see.

I'm so stupid.
I can't believe it.

That's okay. A lot of merchants
fall for that trick.

This other kid with red hair,
have you seen him since?

No. He took
the application home.

So no name,
no phone number?

No. He said he used to work
at a repair shop on 11th.

A repair shop for
small appliances?

Yes. He said they went out
of business last year.

The only employee I had
was Jose Martinez,

and right now he's drinking
Cuba Libres in Miami.

Well, maybe this kid worked
a couple of weekends.

No. I could hardly
afford to pay Jose.

Nobody gets things
fixed anymore.

It's cheaper
to throw it away.

And then
those rotten kids...

What kids?

That was the straw
broke my back.

They burglarized me, vandalized
the place, broke my tools.

What were they
looking for? Toasters?

They get caught?

Yeah. The judge
ordered restitution.

I got a check for $17.00
from one of them.

I didn't even have insurance.
Rotten kids.

One of them's on a full scholarship
to Attica, another to Elmira.

The other two are
keeping low profiles.

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Curtis. Yeah.
Hold on, got to get this.

You got any photos
or fingerprints?

No, not anymore.

Juvie court waved a magic
wand when they turned 18.

We got Robinson and Sloane,
the two I told you about,

and Dale Kershaw
and Neal Behrens.

The hole-in-the-head gang,
we called them.

Real bright bulbs.

Last knowns?

Kershaw lives on 36th
with his brother.

Behrens is on 43rd.

The other three fingered
Kershaw as the ringleader.

Okay.
We'll start with him.

I'll get you
some backup.

Thanks.

First stop is Dale Kershaw,
West 36th Street.

Byrne's getting us
backup. You okay?

Yeah. That was Deborah.

Her doctor got the result of
the MRI, and she has a...

She has a type of MS.
I wrote it down.

It's Relapsing-remitting chronic
progressive multiple sclerosis.

That's why
she had the numbness.

Rey. I'm sorry.

Listen, why don't you go home?
I'll call Profaci.

She's okay.
She's going to...

She's going to take the kids
to their swimming lessons.

Let's get this rolling.

We're not saying your kid
brother did anything.

We just need
to talk to him.

He's got a girl upstairs.
That's where he is.

This is
a bad situation.

I got to tell
our mother.

Mr. Kershaw, if you know
something that we don't...

You don't understand
about Dale...

Lennie. In a paper bag in
the kid's closet. .25 auto.

Aw, jeez.
I tried telling him.

All that big talk about being
a gangster, like the Westies.

What are you
going to do to him?

Don't kill him! Please!
Dale! I love you!

DALE:
Shut up, Marlene!

Dale! Now, let's do this
the easy way, all right?

Just open the door and
come out nice and slow!

DALE: (STUTTERING)
I can't.

We're not going
to hurt you.

I got no pants.

It's just us guys
out here, Dale.

Nothing we haven't
seen before.

Either I get my pants
or I don't come out.

All right, Dale.
Here. Here.

Look out
the keyhole now.

See?
Here's your pants.

Now I'm tossing them
to you.

All you have to do is
reach out and grab them.

Go ahead.

DALE: Okay.
I'm opening up the door.

(DALE SCREAMS)

No! Liar!
I want my pants!

Why, Dale? I don't see anything
here worth covering up.

BRISCOE: There he is, the criminal
mastermind, Dale Kershaw.

A.K.A. Tagger.

(DOOR OPENS)

This is from ballistics.

And this is
Mr. Shatenstein.

Stan Shatenstein.
From the 18B panel.

I'm looking for
a Dale Kershaw.

That's my client?

In all his glory.

Why is he handcuffed?
I thought this was just a weapons charge.

Well, that's
about to change.

The gun had prints
from him and Timon.

And it matched up
to the slugs.

I'll amend the charge.

CURTIS: Nap's over, hump.

BRISCOE: Get up!
What's going on?

CURTIS: Dale Kershaw,
you're under arrest

for the murder of
Matthew Wheeler.

Congratulations, Dale,
you made your bones.

You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say

can and will be used against
you in a court of law.

(GATE BUZZING OPEN)

You know, you make fun of my
case and I make fun of yours,

but at the end of the day,
you still have a problem.

Then, funny
how you came to us.

Under the circumstances,
murder two,

20-to-life
is generous.

Your eyewitness
only saw one shooter.

The jury will
want to know,

was it Mr. Timon
or Mr. Kershaw?

Our position is
they were both there.

Anyway,
it doesn't matter.

They're accomplices,
they're both liable.

And what accessorial conduct
is my client guilty of?

He called the restaurant.

He put the bullets
in the gun.

Based on a six-point
fingerprint match.

That's hardly conclusive.

At most, he's guilty of touching a
gun a few days before the shooting.

Ms. Tyrell.
Give the jury some credit.

Even if your
brilliant presentation

of the evidence
convinces them that

Mr. Timon and Mr. Kershaw
planned this crime together,

my client will testify that he
changed his mind at the last minute.

He stayed in the park

while Mr. Kershaw went
to shoot the delivery boy.

And my client will say that
he's the one who backed out,

and it was Timon
who did the shooting.

That's reasonable doubt,
Mr. McCoy.

The gun
was in his room.

Timon gave it to him
the day after.

At worst he pleads
to facilitation.

He points at Timon,
and Timon points at him.

That's a very dangerous
defense strategy.

I've seen it work before.
People v. Wong.

And I've seen it not work.
People v. Benzinger.

I don't know that case.
I'll look it up.

Ms. Tyrell has shown me jury
verdicts in cases like this.

Two defendants but only
one possible shooter.

The odds are
on our side, Mr. McCoy.

Murder two, 20-to-life.
That's still our only offer.

You think about it and give us a call.
We're done.

They couldn't even load
a gun by themselves?

Clarence Darrow got Leopold and Loeb.
Who do we got?

Beavis and Butthead.

United they stand.

I read the jury studies.

If we try them together, the
percentages are against us.

Any grounds to
sever the trials?

No legal grounds.

No judge will do it just
to make our lives easier.

Then the answer's no, unless the
defense wants separate trials.

The eyewitness.

Couldn't pick them
out of a lineup.

We suck it in and
offer one of them

a deal to
implicate the other.

Yes. And if we
choose the wrong one?

So we take our chances
at trial.

Until you can tell a jury
which one pulled the trigger,

you don't go
near a courtroom.

You mean because the eyewitness only
saw one guy shooting at the van,

they could
actually get off?

Good chance the jury
acquits or hangs.

In other words, we're better
off without an eyewitness.

I can't believe these two
stumbled into the perfect crime.

You canvassed the subway?

Hey, we had people
at the 34th Street station

at 10:00 every night
for a week

passing their
pictures around.

We checked with bus drivers, cabbies...
Nobody remembers them.

This was the biggest thrill
of their lives.

They must've
bragged about it.

BRISCOE: Not to the
people we talked to.

Maybe you didn't talk
to the right people.

CURTIS: Hey,
we got to everybody.

We even got a list of
their visitors at Rikers,

parents, aunts, uncles,
Kershaw's girlfriend.

Yeah. I'd love to hear
these two mutts explain

how the whole thing was a
case of mistaken identity.

So would I.
Can we bug their conversations?

Won't work. Timon and Kershaw
are in the general population.

They see visitors
in a common room.

Some of my friskier clients were
held at Rikers in isolation.

I had to talk to them through a
glass divider over a telephone.

After Jamie had Rikers
move them into isolation,

she got a court order
to record their visits.

This was taped
yesterday morning.

The visitor
is James Galva,

Timon's uncle on
his mother's side.

TIMON: (SOBBING) I can't
sleep, I'm so scared.

You don't know what happens
in this place, Uncle Jim.

You got to
get me out of here.

GALVA: We'll do what
we can, Joey.

But if you did this killing
there's only one way out for you.

You have to
take responsibility.

You have to admit
what you did.

I want to.
Oh, God.

Just tell me
the truth, Joey.

(TIMON CRYING)

I walked up on the driver's
side and I shot him.

Oh, God, Uncle Jim,
I'm sorry.

That's okay, Joey.

I'm just no good.

Don't say that.
God forgives you.

He loves you,
and so does your family.

I don't want
Mom to know.

You tell her
when you're ready.

Right now,
it's just between us.

And the People of
the State of New York.

Does he implicate
his accomplice?

Never mentions him.

We sent a transcript to Timon's
lawyer this afternoon.

She'll be happy.

What the hell
were you thinking?

Do you have tapes of my
meetings with him, too?

ROSS: Except for
his conversations with you,

Mr. Timon has no expectation of
privacy while he's at Rikers.

What Joey said to me
is protected.

Mr. Galva, you should've read the
advisory when you signed in.

"All conversations
may be monitored."

I read it.
And it's Father Galva.

You're a priest?

TYRELL:
A Jesuit priest.

And this is
a confession protected

by the priest-penitent
privilege.

He didn't identify himself as a
priest on the sign-in sheet.

Well, now you know.

He's been Joey's spiritual adviser
since his first communion.

Well, it hasn't been
a screaming success.

Ms. Tyrell,

what I heard didn't sound like a
confession the way I remember them.

Look, he could've
set it to music.

It's still privileged
and you can't use it.

I've searched Westlaw.

I haven't found any New
York cases on point.

How about
in other states?

The New York
statutes only say

we can't compel a priest to reveal
the contents of a confession.

Nothing prevents us
from taping one.

In other words, we can
start bugging churches.

I wouldn't go that far.
Jack, like it or not, we have the tape.

We should use it.

I wish it were
that simple.

That makes two of us.

Temporary restraining order to
keep the tape out of court.

Timon?

No. The Archdiocese.

If people don't feel safe
talking to their priests,

the church can't minister
to its flock.

Simple as that.

The sacrament of penance
is one of the pillars

of our religion,
Mr. McCoy.

As a catholic,
you know this.

And as an Assistant
District Attorney

I have a duty to
prosecute murderers

within the bounds
of the law.

We understand
and we concede

that the recording
was a good faith mistake.

You also have to concede that it's
a very unorthodox confession.

REV. GERVAIS: Joey Timon
confessed his sins,

and Father Galva
gave him absolution.

That's all we require.

We ask you not to oppose
the restraining order.

And to destroy the tape.

Are you asking me
as a catholic

or as an officer
of the court?

As someone who's sworn to
uphold the Constitution.

Including
the First Amendment

and the free exercise
of religion.

I can't promise anything.

This tape is the best evidence we
have against Timon and Kershaw.

Violating the sanctity
of the confessional

interferes with the practice
of religion, Mr. McCoy.

It's not only unconstitutional,
it's immoral.

ROSS: And protecting
two killers isn't?

Do you want to see what they
did to Matthew Wheeler?

They spilled his brains on
the street just for kicks.

We don't condone
what they did, Ms. Ross.

But when people
confess their sins,

it's an article
of our faith.

They're speaking to God
through a priest.

In plain English,
you fool with that,

you fool
with God's work.

I read it in the paper.
I couldn't believe it.

How can the church
do this?

How can they stand up for that scum?
They're not even human.

Matthew was
an altar boy.

Why don't they
stand up for him?

It's just not right.

Have you talked
with your priest?

MR. WHEELER: Our priest!

He said the church has to do
this to protect the sacraments.

The hell with the sacraments.
I want those punks to pay.

We'll do whatever we have to.
You leave that to us.

You know, the church says God
forgives even the worst sinners.

Well, maybe God can.

But we can't.
Not ever.

How they holding up?

About what you'd expect.
They got thrown a curve. How's Deborah?

She's okay. That problem
with her leg is clearing up.

The doctor says
to expect that,

symptoms
will come and go.

Oh, I talked to my
daughter at the hospital.

She gave me the names
of some specialists.

And a support group.

They've got support groups
for everything now.

Yeah, we got one
at our church.

But thanks, Lennie.
I'll pass it on to Deborah.

I haven't decided
what I'm going to do.

CURTIS: I've got to say, I have
to side with the church on this.

The case isn't easy to make
without the confession.

I don't want these guys
to walk either.

I want justice for the
Wheeler kid and his parents.

But this isn't
the way to do it.

Because it offends
your religious beliefs?

(SCOFFS) Even my own?

I'm not sure
that's a reason.

Give Lennie and me
some more time.

We'll make the case.

From what I hear, you've
already exhausted your leads.

Look, Detective,

I appreciate the input,
but it's out of your hands.

You're a catholic.

Not when I'm at work.
I'm sorry.

You know, so am I.

What you believe in,
your faith,

sometimes that's all
you have to go on.

You can't just forget about
it whenever you like.

Everybody's staking
out their territory.

You can't make
them all happy.

You want to weigh in?

Until I can figure out which
constituency to alienate the least,

it's your call.

Thanks.

And I have to
figure out

which clause of the First
Amendment I like the most,

the separation
of church and state

or the free exercise
of religion.

So for you it's
a constitutional issue.

Not entirely.

Well, you're the last person I
expected to have a problem with this.

No one's more surprised
than me.

Who knows what'll happen
to that tape.

Right now,
it's leverage.

Use it
before you lose it.

I've read this.
Ms. Tyrell gave me a copy.

It doesn't say anything
about my client.

That's right, but it's the nail in Mr.
Timon's coffin.

Once we get the
restraining order lifted

and we're free
to use his confession,

he'll be begging us
for a deal.

And he might get one unless we already
have a deal with your client.

Ms. Tyrell and I have
already discussed this.

I wouldn't put all your eggs
in Ms. Tyrell's basket.

What kind of deal
are we talking about?

I'll start the bidding
at twenty to life

in exchange
for his testimony.

I only need one
of you, Mr. Kershaw.

I don't care which.

You're going to
get nothing.

Talk to your lawyer
before...

I don't need this
pencil-neck here

to tell me
what time it is.

I talked to my man Joey.

He's got you beat
on this confession deal.

So we got nothing
to worry about.

Thank you, Mr. Kershaw.
You just made up my mind for me.

HOGAN: The suspicion that any
freely-confessed sin might become public

is a deterrent
to participating

in the sacrament
of penance.

This tape makes it impossible
for clergy like Father Galva

to minister to those who
arguably need it the most,

people like
Mr. Timon.

Your Honor, if you don't
allow us to use this tape,

you're placing
the church's claim

above the authority
of the state.

This violates the separation
of church and state

envisioned by
the Founding Fathers.

So under your analysis, the
church has less protection

because it is
a religious establishment.

Doesn't that stand freedom
of religion on its head?

With all due respect, Your
Honor misses my point.

I don't expect this court to
afford the church less protection.

I'm just saying
that Your Honor

shouldn't give it more than that
enjoyed by your average citizen.

That's what
the Constitution demands.

Your Honor...
I've heard enough.

Sit down, Mr. McCoy.

The clergy-penitent relationship
is one of the most sacred

recognized
by this nation.

As such, Mr. Timon and Father
Galva were reasonable in relying

on the laws of New York and this country's
respect of religion in general,

to protect their
private communications.

Mr. McCoy,
you've cited no case

in which a court
has approved

the invasion of
the rite of confession

by any agency
of the government,

and my own research
has found none.

For these reasons, I'm enjoining
the District Attorney

and all parties hereto
from using in any trial

or disseminating
by any fashion

the contents
of this confession.

No. No. This isn't justice.
That animal killed my boy!

JUDGE MICKERSON: Sit down!
How can you protect him?

This can't be
what God wants!

Officer, remove that man.

MR. WHEELER: This isn't
fair, how can you do this?

He killed my boy!
He killed him!

Oh, God,
my boy's dead!

Your Honor,
for the record,

I intend to serve
a notice of appeal

on grounds that
your blanket injunction

isn't in the interest
of justice.

I think I've addressed
that issue, Mr. McCoy.

I don't believe
you have, Your Honor.

You've completely ignored the impact
of your ruling on third party action.

For example,
the victim's family

bringing a wrongful death
suit against Mr. Timon.

JUDGE MICKERSON:
Mr. McCoy...

This tape has probative

and exculpative value Your
Honor has simply neglected.

Your Honor, if I may.

I'm counsel for Mr.
Timon's co-defendant, Dale Kershaw.

This tape may very well
prove my client innocent

from having participated
in this crime.

In this narrow instance,

the exculpative value
of evidence

must supersede the
priest-penitent privilege.

Please, sit down.
Sit down!

Mr. McCoy,
you see what you started?

This isn't what
I had in mind.

No? Tell you what,
Mr. McCoy,

I'm going to
amend my decision.

You're still enjoined from using
the confession against Mr. Timon.

But Mr. Kershaw may use it in
his own defense. Adjourned.

Your Honor,
you can't allow the...

I said we're adjourned.
(GAVEL POUNDING)

Nice going.

I thought it went
pretty well, considering.

You just handed
Kershaw a gift.

He'll use the confession to
prove Timon did the shooting

while he was off roller-blading
in Central Park.

Not unless he severs
his trial from Timons.

Once they're
tried separately

their little finger-pointing
routine won't work.

The federal judge ruled

the confession tape can't
be used against Mr. Timon.

Now, if Mr. Timon and my
client are tried together,

that means that
the jury will be barred

from hearing
the only evidence

that exonerates
my client.

Because the confession
exculpates your client

while implicating
Mr. Timon.

SHATENSTEIN:
Yes, Your Honor.

That's why you must
sever the trials,

so that my client can
present the tape to a jury

without violating
the federal court order.

All right. What Mr.
Shatenstein fails to appreciate here is that

this is just a ploy by
the District Attorney

to drive a wedge
between our clients.

JUDGE STEINMAN: And this is legal
grounds to oppose severance?

I don't think so,
Ms. Tyrell.

Mr. McCoy, do the People
take a position

on Mr. Shatenstein's
motion to sever?

No, Your Honor.
We'll rely on your good judgment.

Then the motion's
granted.

The defendants
will be tried separately.

TYRELL: Shatenstein
is an idiot.

I told him
it was a sucker play.

JACK:
You're imagining things.

My imagination
put me through B.U.,

playing the ponies
at Suffolk Downs.

Jack, I just realized we are
better off with two trials.

It's very cute.
There's still only one shooter.

You try Kershaw first
and convict him,

you give my client
the perfect defense.

You try Timon first,
Kershaw's off the hook.

That's a tough
decision, McCoy.

Odds are still
on our side.

I won't have to
flip a coin.

While I'm arguing to a jury
is that your Mr. Timon

fired the bullet that
killed Matthew Wheeler,

Ms. Ross will be down the
hall telling another jury

it was Mr. Kershaw.
See you at the track!

Simultaneous trials?

Otherwise,
whoever's tried first,

the other one
gets a walk.

I want them
both convicted.

Of firing
the same bullet?

You familiar with
the laws of physics?

JACK: I'm familiar with the
laws of the state of New York.

I'm playing legal tiddly-winks
with these punks.

What I'd really
like to do is

take them out
to Battery Park

and hang them
by the scrotum.

Understandable sentiment.
But stick to tiddly-winks.

(SIGHS) it's from Tyrell
and Shatenstein.

Motion opposing
simultaneous trials.

I guess you're going to
find out what the law thinks.

Look, he can argue Timon was
the shooter or Kershaw was,

but he knows damn well
it wasn't both of them.

Your Honor,
in each trial

I'd simply be arguing from
the facts in evidence,

and the facts permit the
reasonable inference, in one case,

that Timon
shot the victim,

and in the other,
that Kershaw did.

How can he say that two different
people fired that bullet?

It doesn't make sense.

Nothing in the law prevents me
from simultaneously arguing

different facts to different
juries in the same case.

He's absolutely right.

It doesn't stand up
to logic.

Welcome to
the judicial system.

Your Honor,
how's it going to look?

Come on.
You let him do this,

it's going to undermine public
confidence in the court.

Nothing undermines
public confidence

like seeing two cold-blooded
killers walk free.

Yes, yes, Mr. McCoy. Ms.
Tyrell, Mr. Shatenstein,

regardless of what
a logician might think,

Mr. McCoy can in fact
present two separate

and mutually exclusive
theories of the crime

to two different juries
in concurrent trials.

In short,
your motion's denied.

SHATENSTEIN: Your Honor,

I move to
un-sever the trials.

(STUTTERING) In light
of your decision,

our clients should
be tried jointly.

Mr. Shatenstein you have
a strange sense of humor.

You all have a nice day.

Frankly, I don't know
what an appellate court

would do
with a conviction.

Not that my client's
eager to find out.

My offer hasn't changed, Mr.
Timon. Twenty to life.

(SIGHS)

I'm so tired.

I can't take not knowing
what's going to happen to me.

You know you'll have to get up in
court and testify against Kershaw.

Yes, ma'am.

You'll have to say
what the two of you did.

I know.

I got one thing.

I want to be in a prison
close to the city.

So my mom and uncle
can come visit.

We can arrange that.

JACK: And after you ordered
the food, what did you do?

TIMON: We took the subway
to 34th Street

and then we walked to the
address that Dale told the guy.

JACK: Who had the gun
at this point?

I did. But Dale
wanted to go first.

What do you mean
"go first"?

To shoot first.

How did you decide
who'd go first?

Well, we went
odds-evens,

you know, like,
with our fingers.

And who won?

I did.

What happened next?

Well, we waited
for the guy.

He drove up real slow.

Then he called over
to Dale.

What did you do?

I came up behind him.

He must've heard me.

He turned around
and he looked at me.

I started shooting.

How many shots?

Three.

And then?

And then he drove away.
So Dale took the gun from me,

ran after him,
shooting at him.

Then the van rolled
into a street light.

And what did Mr. Kershaw
do after that?

He opened the door.
The guy had his head on the steering wheel.

There was blood
coming out of his ears.

Dale and me,
we pulled him out.

He was just laying
on the street,

looking up at
the street light.

He was still alive?

Yes, sir.

He was hardly
breathing.

We stood there
and we watched him die.

Then we ran off.

I'm real sorry.

Before I pronounce sentence,
pursuant to statute,

the family of the victim has an
opportunity to address the court.

Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler,
you may step forward.

Here, Your Honor?

Yes, that's fine.

Whenever you're ready.

I just want to say
that my life...

My life stopped
when Matthew died.

Nothing's the same.

I can't...

(EXHALES)

You...

(WHISPERING)

I'm sorry
for losing my son.

I'm sorry
you killed him.

I'm sorry
you're going to spend

the rest of your life
in prison.

You made a bad choice.

You broke the golden rule.

To love other people
like you love yourself.

For the last four months,
I have tried to hate you.

But I can't.

I just can't hate you.

The church is right.

Even you and your friend deserve
God's love and protection.

So I'm going to pray
that God watch over you

in that terrible place
you're going.

Mr. Kershaw,
please stand up.

A jury having
found you guilty

of Murder in
the Second Degree

and criminal Possession of a
Weapon in the Second Degree,

this court sentences you to a
term no less than 30 years

and no more than the term
of your natural life

to be served
at a facility

to be determined by the
Department of Correction.

(GAVEL POUNDS)

Thrill-killers are
protected by the church.

The law says two people
can fire one bullet.

And now the victim's
mother forgives them.

You figure it out.

You don't think you could?
Forgive them, I mean?

No.

Neither could I.

What does that say
about us?