Matlock (1986–1995): Season 8, Episode 7 - The Capital Offense - full transcript

JUDGE: Defendant will rise.

Will the foreperson
please read the verdict?

FOREPERSON: It is the
recommendation of this jury

that in view of the
aggravated circumstances

under which this
murder was committed,

the defendant, Adam Spangler,

be given punishment by death.

[CHATTERING]

LAWYER: Request
that the jury be polled.

JUDGE: Juror number one,
is this your recommendation?

JUROR 1: Yes, it is.
JUDGE: Juror number two?



- Yes, it is. JUDGE:
Juror number three?

JUROR 3: It is, Your Honor.

JUDGE: Juror number four?

JUROR 4: Yes, Your Honor.

JUDGE: Juror number five?

JUROR 5: It is, Your Honor.

JUDGE: Juror number six?

JUROR 6: Yes, Your Honor.

JUDGE: Juror number seven?

JUROR 7: Yes, Your Honor.

JUDGE: Juror number eight?

JUROR 8: Yes, it is, Your Honor.

JUDGE: Juror number nine?

JUROR 9: It is, Your Honor.



JUDGE: Juror number 10?

JUROR 10: Yes, it is.

JUDGE: Juror number 11?

JUROR 11: It is, Your Honor.

JUDGE: Juror number 12?

JUROR 12: Yes.

JUDGE: Thank you, ladies
and gentlemen of the jury.

Mr. Spangler, based upon
the jury recommendations

and my review of
the probation reports,

it is the sentence of this
court that you will be executed

under the laws of
the state of Georgia.

Said execution to take place
at a time to be determined

by the Commissioner of the
Department of Corrections.

May God have mercy on your soul.

[GAVEL BANGS]

[CHATTERING]

How could you let this happen?

The DA rested his case on
the testimony of one witness,

on what some crotchety
old lady thinks she saw,

and you couldn't get me off?

LAWYER: You have no
one to blame but yourself.

Ha. You're right. For hiring
an incompetent jerk like you.

It all boiled down to
her word against yours.

When you got on the stand,

when your one chance
to make them believe you

instead of her rolled
around, you blew it.

You smiled, you laughed,
you were charming...

I'm innocent, damn it.

I didn't do it.

The jury didn't
believe you, Adam.

They saw you for the
two-bit con man you are.

I should never
have listened to you.

I did the best I could.

Oh, yeah? Then how come I
just got sentenced to death?

I didn't kill that woman.

I'm innocent.

Remember that while you're
teeing off this afternoon.

I'm very sorry.

[BETH SOBBING]

Adam.

Here. Here.

"Press enter."

Mm.

[COMPUTER BEEPS]

Oh, come on.

Okay.

[MUTTERING]

[COMPUTER BEEPS]

Now, cut that out.

[MUTTERS]

Okay. Okay. Hm...

[COMPUTER BEEPING]

I said cut that out.

[COMPUTER WHIRRING]

[DOORBELL RINGS]

[COMPUTER BEEPS]

[DOORBELL RINGS]

Well, Detective Bouchard, what
a surprise. Come in. Come in.

Sure it's okay? If you're
busy, I can come back.

Oh, no, no. I got myself one
of those personal computers.

Fella I know gave
me a good deal on it.

- You're setting it up yourself?
- Yeah. He said it'd be a piece of cake.

Tough piece of cake.

See you're not
missing any meals.

Not meals, Ben. Just sleep.

Guilty conscience?

In a way.

They sentenced Adam Spangler
today. Got the death penalty.

I never knew anything like
that to bother you before.

No, don't get me wrong.
I'm all for the death penalty.

Hey, I think murderers should die the
same way they made their victims die.

As far as I'm concerned, that would
be justice. And a hell of a deterrent.

Then, why...? I mean, what's...?

I'm not sure he did it.

Well, they had an eyewitness.

Picked him out of a
line-up and everything.

A 70-year-old lady.

Said she saw Adam Spangler enter
the victim's house, burglarize the place,

then shoot the victim in cold
blood when she walked in on him.

But the witness saw all this through
a window in the house next door,

and, Ben, you of all people

know how unreliable that
kind of testimony can be.

Well, jury's convinced.

Just listen to this.

Adam Spangler was seen entering
through the front door of the house,

and a window was broken
in the rear of the house,

so everybody figures
that's the way he went out.

But Spangler did not know
anybody was watching him.

So why didn't he just go
right back out the front?

And we didn't find any of his
fingerprints there. None at all.

Even though the witness
said he wasn't wearing gloves.

And we did lift a set of prints that
didn't match the victim, her relatives,

her housekeeper,
her friends, anybody.

What about the murder weapon?

A 9 mm Makarov, never recovered.

MATLOCK: Huh.

What's his story?

- Says he was never there.
- Huh.

No alibi?

- No.
- No.

- Heh-heh-heh.
- Ah, I just got this feeling in my gut.

Your gut, huh?

[CHUCKLING]

So you'll talk to him?

Why are you guys always
getting me into this kind of stuff?

Heh-heh. Thanks, Ben.

Oh, uh, now, remember, I'm not
saying this guy's a saint or anything.

He's just no murderer.

I'm gonna hate him, ain't I?

No. He's gonna be perfectly
charming, and you're gonna love him.

It's when you realize that 99 percent
of what he says is absolute bull,

that's when you're
gonna hate him.

Mm.

MATLOCK:
Transcript of your trial.

I read it last night.

I can certainly see
how you got convicted.

You can't open your
mouth without trying to scam

whoever you're talking to.

- What do you mean?
- You're a grifter,

right down to the
soles of your shoes.

But you're no good at it.

Everything that comes out of your
mouth sounds like a lie. Juries...

[CHUCKLES]

It's Campbell Bouchard.

He poisoned your mind
about me, didn't he?

I wouldn't be too
hard on old Campbell.

He's about the only
friend you got right now.

Well, here's the way I see it.

You got a fair trial with
no procedural errors,

and that means that whoever handles
your appeals is gonna be denied.

And that means the only
hope you have is for a new trial.

And that means
somebody like me has to file

what's called an
extraordinary motion.

And I can't do that unless I have
concrete proof that you're innocent.

So if the truth is something
other than you told that jury,

I've got to hear it right now.

[SIGHS THEN CHUCKLES]

Well, I wanted
to tell the truth,

but that shyster lawyer
of mine wouldn't let me.

Why not?

Well, first I kind of
denied everything

and said I was never in the
house. I said I didn't know the victim.

- I lied out of...
- Habit?

[CHUCKLES]

But that, uh, lawyer of mine said
that if I suddenly changed my story,

what little credibility I did
have would be shot to hell.

So you were in
that house that night.

[CLEARS THROAT]

Well, earlier that day I was in this
pawnshop a friend of mine owns,

and pretty soon this, uh, woman
comes in with some jewelry.

Family heirlooms,
uh, really nice stuff.

Well, she didn't like what he said
he was gonna give her for it and left.

So I followed her, and turns
out she lived just up the street.

Why'd you follow her?

I was sort of scoping her out.

I figured she lived alone and
a little burglary was in order.

So I cased her
house, uh, real good,

uh, got some tools, came back,

waited for her to leave, and
when she did, I went to work.

How'd you get in?

Just picked the lock
on the front door.

So you were the one the witness
saw in the house that night.

Well, then, yeah, but not later.

I swear, I made a
beeline to the bedroom,

and when I didn't find any
jewelry in the jewelry box,

I looked around the
closet for some kind of safe.

Sure enough, I found it.

You wear gloves?

Of course.

Anyway, um,

I remembered that there
was this key in the jewelry box.

So I tried it in the
safe, and bingo.

I cleaned out everything
that was in there,

waltzed right back
out the front door

and went straight to my
friend, the pawnbroker.

See, he's also a
fence. Little-known fact.

You fenced the
jewelry that night.

That's where I was at
the time of the murder.

Fencing the jewelry.

Anybody...? Anybody
with you that night?

Just him and me.

What's his address?

The pawn shop's in the
2300 block of East Monroe.

Oliver Serling.

Well, I'll give it a shot.

ADAM: Mr. Matlock,

I'm counting on you.

Trial's over.

With new evidence, I
can get him a new trial.

Can you guarantee my
testimony will get him off?

No, not your
testimony alone, no.

But if you could help us recover
some of this stolen jewelry,

even one piece, I can
almost guarantee it.

I run a respectable
business here.

Most of my clients are overextended
yuppies who bring me their Rolexes

and their LeRoy Neimans
and their Wedgwood,

because they know I'm
gonna give them a fair shake.

Now, if I suddenly copped to
receiving stolen goods, I'm finished,

kaput, through.

If you don't cop to it,
Adam Spangler is dead.

MATLOCK: Mr. Serling,
according to Irene Payson,

who witnessed the
murder, and Dick Osmond,

the 911 operator
who took her call

while the murder
was being committed,

the victim died at 11 minutes
after 10, May 21, 1988.

Where were you at
that time? You recall?

I was in the pawn shop I own.

MATLOCK: Doing what?

Buying several pieces of jewelry

- from Adam Spangler.
- You sure?

SERLING: I'm positive.

Was this one of the
items you bought?

That's why I remember
where I was that night.

- I liked that piece so much,
I kept it. MATLOCK: Ah.

Had you ever seen
it before that night?

A lady came in that afternoon
wanting to pawn it and some other stuff.

We couldn't come
to terms, so she left.

Did you ever see the lady again?

Not alive, no.

Ah.

That's pretty.

- Is it valuable? SERLING: Very.

I had it authenticated, it's
from the 1920s. It's a scarab.

A lot of Egyptian-themed
pieces like that

were made right after King Tut's
tomb was discovered in 1922.

These are some, uh, photos
that were taken by the company

that insured the victim's
jewelry prior to her death.

Do you recognize these photos?

Well, there's the scarab,

and, uh, heh, I
can't be positive,

but I think I may have bought a
couple of those other pieces that night.

MATLOCK: What happened to
them? SERLING: When I read the paper,

I saw that the lady who had
been in the store was murdered,

I figured the jewelry
was too hot to handle,

so I took out the stones and
melted it down and sold it off that way.

- But you kept the scarab?
- I didn't have the heart to destroy it.

MATLOCK: One
more time. Are you sure

the defendant, Adam Spangler,

was with you at 11 minutes
after 10 the night of the murder?

SERLING: Absolutely.

You see, he caught me
just as I was about to lock up,

which I always do at exactly 10 p.m.,
and he stayed for a good half hour.

Thank you.

JUDGE: Miss Harrington.

Rebuttal witnesses?

HARRINGTON:
Thank you, Your Honor.

Just one. The state calls
Mr. Donald Beach to the stand.

BEACH: Yes, I am
a certified gemologist

and metallurgist,

as well as curator of the Jewelry
Division of the Museum of History.

And you can tell if that scarab
is genuine just by looping it?

No, no. By assaying the gold.

You see, pure gold is very soft.

It must be mixed with an alloy
before it can be used to make jewelry.

Different alloys have been
used in different decades.

If this scarab was
indeed made in the 1920s,

then a drop of this chemical
will react with the gold

to produce no foam, nothing.

If there is foam,
this jewelry is fake.

Objection. Irrelevant.

Fake or real, that's
still the same brooch

my client was selling Mr. Serling
at the time of the murder.

Mr. Serling testified under oath
that he had this piece authenticated.

Now, if it turns
out to be a fake,

it means he not only makes
money illegally, but he's a liar as well.

- Objection overruled.
HARRINGTON: Go ahead, Mr. Beach.

Very well, I'll place
a drop right here.

There's no way this
jewelry was made in the '20s.

The very earliest the alloys in this
gold were used was in the late 1960s.

My guess is that
this reproduction, hm,

as good as it is,
was made recently.

HARRINGTON: So much for
Mr. Serling's testimony. Thank you.

MATLOCK: This is a
first for me, you know that?

I wish I'd never
laid eyes on you.

You're the first
person I ever heard of

to get the death penalty
twice for the same crime.

- I'm still innocent.
- Innocent.

You manufactured evidence,
and then you got somebody

even dumber than you are to
commit perjury. You call that innocent?

You must really have
something on that guy.

I don't want to know about it.

I didn't kill that woman.

You would say or do
anything to save your skin.

Well, wouldn't you?

You tell me my only chance
of getting off is to find evidence.

There isn't any.

So I made it up. It's not
like I have a whole lot to lose.

Gonna lose me.

You don't even
know what happened.

You can't tell the truth.

God's honest truth.

I saw that woman at the
pawnshop and I followed her home.

I cased the place,
got some tools,

waited for her to leave,
and when she did,

I picked the lock, went
inside, looked around.

I found the safe, but
I didn't find no key.

So I left.

You couldn't pick it?

No.

You didn't take anything?

There was nothing to take.

All the valuables must
have been in that safe.

Believe me, I looked.

Before, you told me
you took the jewels.

I lied.

I got nothing.

Afterwards, I hit
a couple of bars.

Around midnight I
ended up at Roy's Tavern.

I sold my tools to some kids
and went home with Beth.

She was my girlfriend at
the time. She tends bar there.

Why'd you sell the tools?

SOP. I travel light
and low-profile.

No guns, no drugs,
no contraband, never.

When did you get the tools?

That night. I bought them on the
street right before I went to the house.

Somebody must have been right
there and gone in right after I left.

That's all I can figure.

So do you believe me?

[BANGS ON DOOR]

Ben.

I'm sorry for dragging
you into this, Ben.

He's an ungrateful, two-faced,

lying little snake who's
about to get what he deserves.

I guess.

He said somebody must
have come in after he left.

He's lying.

Might explain that
broken window.

He probably broke
it just to throw us off.

Could explain that set of prints

that have never been identified.

Probably belonged to the
victim's long-lost Uncle Harry.

Forget about him.

- Come on. I'll buy you a drink.
- Drink?

You're buying me a
seven-course dinner.

Let's just make one little
stop so I can sleep tonight.

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

PAYSON: Please come in.
- Thank you.

Detective Bouchard,
how nice to see you aga...

[PAYSON SNIFFING]

- Don't tell me you still smoke.
- Afraid so.

Well, don't even think
of lighting up in here.

Your clothes alone are enough
to make me start sneezing.

Yes, ma'am. Sorry.

PAYSON: Oh, sit down, please.

Well, would you,
uh, like some tea?

- Uh, no, thanks. I'm fine.
- Me too.

Not that I mind the company, but I
should think you would have come by

before the trial, not after.

Well, the fact is, I was
sure I could get an acquittal

based on what I thought
was new evidence.

Now I guess I'm just
trying to ease my mind.

I know what that's like.

If I'd known that my testimony was
going to send that man to his death,

I would never have
opened my mouth.

What he did was horrible,

but turning around and
doing the same thing to him

makes us no better than him.

[BOUCHARD CLEARS THROAT]

Now, before you
and old Campbell here

start going round
and round on that,

tell me again what
happened that night.

What you saw, where
you were when you saw it.

Well,

I was, uh... I was
doing my laundry,

downstairs, like I do
every Wednesday night.

And then I came up here.

It was about a quarter of 10.

It was real muggy outside,

so the first thing I did was walk
over to this window and open it.

And that's when I
saw Adam Spangler

coming up the front walk
to the house next door.

You're sure it was him,
even though it was dark?

Oh, yes, the porch
lights were on.

I got a real good look
at him at the front door.

But he was so nonchalant
about it, I didn't think anything of it.

So he went into the house, and then
I went on about my business up here.

Doing what?

Well, let's see, I, um...

I put away the
laundry, I ran my bath,

I made some tea.

And I didn't even look
out the window again

until I went to close it
about 20 minutes later.

And that's when I saw

that he was in her bedroom,

just tearing everything apart.

You're sure it was the same man?

Oh, absolutely.

The light was on.

I saw him plain as day.

He was pulling out the
drawers and rifling through them

and just tossing them aside.

And then all of a sudden, he
stopped like he'd heard something,

and he ran toward
the light switch.

No sooner had the
lights gone off in there

than a lamp came
on in the front room,

and I suddenly realized that
while I'd been watching him,

the woman who owned
the house had come home.

I didn't know what to do,

but she went out of sight

into the back of the house.

And then

the bedroom lights
went on again.

And I saw her walk through
the door and stop suddenly,

because there he was,

with a gun pointed at her.

Was he wearing gloves?

PAYSON: I don't think so, no.

And then I saw him
say something to her,

and she said something to him.

And then she held
out her key ring.

He... He grabbed it from her,

took a step back, raised the gun

and just shot her.

And then he went
into the closet,

without even giving
her a second glance.

By that time, I'd reached 911 and I
was crying hysterically at the operator.

He came out of the closet

and he was holding a
lot of jewelry in his hands,

and then he ran out of the room.

And there's not a
doubt in your mind

the man you saw that
night was Adam Spangler?

I wish there was.

But God help me, no.

There's not.

It was him.

You happy?

No, but I guess I'm satisfied.

And real hungry.

[DOORBELL RINGING]

[MATLOCK MUTTERING]

MATLOCK: I'm coming. Oh!

[DOORBELL RINGS]

Yeah, I'm coming.

[MUTTERING]

- Ah.
- Hi, Ben.

Campbell Bouchard.

Yeah, it's been a while,
hasn't it? How you doing?

I never do good at 4:00 in the
morning. Put that cigarette out.

Listen, I'm sorry, but I
figured you'd want to hear this.

- What?
- A home out in Hillsdale

was burglarized tonight. Somebody
broke the downstairs window,

entered the house,
stole a bunch of jewelry

and climbed back out the
same window without being seen.

- Can I go back to bed now?
- Wait a minute.

Remember that set of fingerprints
we found in the Adam Spangler case,

- the ones we never could account for?
- Yeah.

Ben, we found that same set of
prints at the house in Hillsdale tonight.

No.

Yes.

Adam Spangler is innocent.

ADAM: Hello, Ben.
Long time no see.

Who's this pretty lady?

MATLOCK: This is my daughter,
Leanne Mclntyre. She's a lawyer too.

We've been partners
for over a year.

ADAM: Well, then that must mean

you're every bit as talented
as you are beautiful. Heh-heh.

And you are every bit as
full of it as Dad said you'd be.

[MATLOCK CHUCKLING]

Losing my touch,
heh, that's all.

Three years on, uh, death
row will do that to you.

So, what's this
about new evidence?

A home out in Hillsdale
was burglarized last night.

Police lifted a set of prints

that matched those they
could never identify in your case.

Then there was somebody
there that night after I left.

Well, have they found him
yet? Do they know who he is?

The prints are not
on file anywhere.

They were a partial set,
just like the set in your case,

which leads the
police to believe

that this guy may be
missing a couple of fingers.

So, what happens next?

Keep filing appeals
till he's found.

More appeals.

Ah, Ben, they keep
getting rejected.

Look at it this way,

they're keeping you alive.

You know, the fact that
somebody went in that house

after you came out is
too much of a coincidence

for it to be a random burglary.

Somebody must have
known about those jewels,

and maybe he was
planning to rob you,

like you robbed that woman.

When he saw you come out
of the house empty-handed,

maybe he figured he'd
go in and have better luck.

Who knew you were
gonna steal that jewelry?

Let's see...

Well, I told Serling, because
I wanted to make sure

that he'd buy the stuff
once I got it. And, uh, Beth.

Beth Newton. She was
my girlfriend at the time.

In fact, she set
me up with the guy

I bought the tools from
that I used that night.

What's his name?

Hock.

Don't know his real name.

What does he look like?

ADAM: About my
height, medium build.

I met him under the pier at
the amusement park that night.

It was dark. I didn't
get a good look at him.

He was smoking a
cigar, I do remember that.

So Serling and Beth and Hock

knew what you were
planning to do that night.

Well, it couldn't be Serling.

He was gonna end up
with the stuff anyway.

It's gotta be this Hock guy.

[DOOR OPENS]

Time's up.

LEANNE: Uh, Beth
might have told somebody.

Beth wouldn't have
double-crossed me like that.

She loved me.

I don't understand
why, but she did.

The worse he treated
me, the more I wanted him.

I was like a piece of gum
stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

I was always there,

until finally one night I
heard this knock on my door,

and there he was.

I'd worn him down. Heh.

He didn't move out until
they sent him to prison.

It hurts thinking about him.

I wouldn't ask unless
I thought it would help.

[CHATTERING]

BETH: See that guy
in the blue T-shirt?

That's Patty McCord.

He and my brother were Marines.

Patty lost the use of his
legs and my brother died

when their barracks were
bombed by terrorists in Lebanon.

MAN 1: Shot's up!

Patty promised my brother
that he'd watch over me.

He's a really nice guy. He
gets along with everybody.

He has a lot of
connections on the street.

Like when I told him Adam
needed some tools for that night,

he just said no problem, and
arranged the meeting under the pier.

So Hock's his friend, not yours.

I wouldn't know
Hock if I fell over him.

Ball!

Hey!

[CHEERING]

[CHATTERING]

Patty.

Hi, Beth.

MAN 2: Out on the
wing, I'm over here.

Hey. Did you see that shot?

Nothing but net.

Ah. Guess it can't be the shoes.

No wonder I don't
get any endorsements.

- Patty, this is Leanne Mclntyre.
- Hi.

How you doing?

She's one of Adam
Spangler's lawyers.

She needs to talk
to you about Hock.

Come on, Beth, you
know better than that.

Patty, please, it's important.

- Forget it.
- Mr. McCord, I just want to talk.

It could save his life.

No way.

Patty, wait.

- Mail's here. MATLOCK: Mm.

Dad,

did you get a computer?

Where's the monitor?

Don't use it.

- Why not?
- It doesn't like me.

[DOORBELL RINGS]

I don't roll over on people.

It's a thing with me.

Her brother was my best friend.

But this is important to her.

What do you want to know?

Who is this guy, Hock?

He's a thief. Minor league, breaking
and entering, a couple of car heists.

Never been caught.

He thinks that's really cool,
considering he's more or less disabled.

What do you mean?

McCORD: He's only got
three fingers on his right hand.

Blew them off playing with
cherry bombs when he was a kid.

Where can we find him?

Patty, please?

Please?

[LAUGHING AND CHATTERING]

Oh, there's Detectives
Harris and Lieberman.

[CHATTERING]

There's Detective O'Doyle
and there's Campbell.

LEANNE: Yeah, but where's Hock?

Any minute now.

What if this is another one
of Adam Spangler's scams?

I mean, we both know he's
not much for telling the truth.

What if he got Beth to get Patty
to make up this whole Hock thing?

Now, if he did,

I'll save the state some
money and kill him myself.

[LEANNE CHUCKLES]

What?

MATLOCK: That guy over there.

He's the right size, height,

wearing gloves,
cigar, got a bag.

It's him.

LEANNE: Yeah, but
he's going the wrong way.

He knows something's up. I'll
follow him, and you get Campbell.

[CHATTERING]

Where is he?

There.

All units, he's heading
for the playground.

Hold it right there!

[GRUNTING]

[MAN SPEAKING IN PORTUGUESE]

LEANNE: Sandwiches.

[SPEAKING IN PORTUGUESE]

PAYSON: I don't understand.

You mean, there's still a
chance he won't be executed?

There's always a chance, right
up until they throw the switch.

- How much time does he have left?
- That depends.

I'm looking for a reason to file
what's called a writ of habeas corpus,

so I can get the state supreme
court to hear new testimony.

I don't have
anything new to say.

Well, Miss Payson, in thinking
back on what you told me before,

something I couldn't quite understand.
You said it was muggy in here,

and the first thing you did
when you came back up here

was open the window.

Then you said 20 minutes
later, you closed it again. Why?

I don't know why.

[SNIFFING]

Oh. Cigar smoke.

If I don't close this, I'll
have a sneezing fit for su...

What?

I smelled cigar
smoke that night.

That's why I closed the window.

Miss Payson, it's
possible, just possible,

that somebody was standing
down there between the houses,

watching Adam
Spangler enter the house,

just like you were from up here.

And when you walked
away from the window,

he threw his cigar down and
entered the house after Adam had left,

and that's the person who killed
your neighbor. Isn't it possible?

Well, if he looked enough
like Adam, I suppose so.

Yes.

That would explain
the cigar smoke.

Leanne!

We have cause to file a writ.

Put that thing out
and come up here.

MATLOCK: You've read the
written declarations I've submitted.

But those are just words.

This case is about emotions.

The emotions of an eyewitness,

the emotions of a jury.

Human memory is a
fragile thing to begin with,

and when enlisted to
recall something as horrible

as the crime of murder, well,
emotions just naturally get in the way.

Some events are heightened,

some suppressed to the point

of being forgotten,

and I submit to you that
that's what happened

in the case of Spangler
v. The State of Georgia.

Adam Spangler is a con man
who tried to con a jury and failed.

Irene Payson is an
eyewitness to murder.

But it so upset
her that later on,

she wasn't so much able to
remember what happened,

as to assume what happened.

The truth of the matter is

the crime for which Adam
Spangler is to be executed

was committed by another man.

A burglar whose fingerprints

were found not only at
the scene of the crime,

but at another burglary as well,

a fact to which Detective
Bouchard will soon attest.

A man who smokes a cigar,

who smoked a cigar outside the
victim's house the night of the murder,

as Irene Payson
will soon attest.

This man whom we
are still trying to seek out

is the real killer.

I've come here to convince
you in the interests of justice

to at least stay the
execution of Adam Spangler

till this man can be found.

To that end, petitioner calls

Detective Campbell
Bouchard to the stand.

JUDGE: That won't be
necessary, Mr. Matlock.

This court was convened to hear
oral arguments, not new testimony.

- But, Your Honor...
JUDGE: Mr. Matlock,

the declarations that you've made here
haven't brought us any new evidence.

In fact, all you've submitted
here is speculation.

It's not our place or our purpose
to weigh arguments based on such.

Your appeal is denied.

Petitioner, Adam Spangler,

will be put to
death as sentenced

at 2 a.m. two weeks from today.

No. No, we don't
have new evidence.

- Judge Garrison, hi, Leanne Mclntyre.
- But if you could just suggest

to your viewers that they
call their assemblyman...

Well, yes, sir, I'm
sorry, I do know it's late.

I was wondering, could
you consider staying...?

I understand.

Judge?

Oh... Dad, did you hear back
from the U.S. supreme court?

- Refused our petition.
- Oh.

Did you ever hear
back from Patty?

He said he would call us as
soon as he gets the slightest hint

- as to where Hock is.
- Mm.

[COMPUTER BEEPS]

No time to be playing
with the computer.

I'm not playing
with the computer.

I have the phone number of every
judge in the state of Georgia in here.

Yeah?

[PHONE RINGS]

- Yeah?
- Ben, it's Campbell.

We just picked up
the second-story man

who might know
something about Hock.

What'd he say?

Nothing yet. Hasn't
been Mirandized.

Where you gonna be in case we
shake something out of this guy?

Leanne will be here. Call her
the second you got anything.

I'll be out at the prison.

There's still a chance.

What's that?

I took Beth up to
Graceland one weekend,

gave my camera to some
guy to take a picture of us.

It's a picture of a bush.

[CHUCKLES]

Yeah, he must have
been moving the camera

when he pushed the button.

Yeah, pictures never
did Beth justice, anyway.

She was always
prettier in real life.

[SOBBING]

[EXHALES SHARPLY]

I figure this is happening
for a reason, you know?

It's gotta be.

I just wish I knew
what the hell it was.

[TICKING]

I understand that, Your Honor.

Yes. Okay, Judge Katz.
Thanks, anyway. Bye.

[PHONE RINGS]

Hello?

Yeah?

Oh, great.

Great. Yes. Campbell,
I'll be right there.

Okay.

Bye.

[DOOR BUZZES]

[DOOR BUZZES]

MATLOCK: The phone work?

[DOOR BUZZES]

[DOOR BUZZES]

Warden, the phone work?

Yeah. Your daughter just called.

Said police had an
address for Hock somebody.

She's on her way there now.

[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER]

- Do they have him yet?
- Not yet. Officers just went in.

- They know they gotta take him alive?
- They know.

COP 1: He's on the fire escape!
- Campbell, no guns.

[COPS SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

COP 2: He's coming down!

[PANTING]

[GUNSHOTS]

COP 3: Stay down!

He's coming back!

[COPS YELLING]

[HORN HONKING THEN HOCK YELLS]

No!

He's dead.

[SIGHS]

9 mm Makarov.

It's time.

[PHONE RINGS]

Yeah?

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

They found the murder weapon.