All language subtitles for Picket Fences S01E08 Sacred Hearts 1080p DSNP WEB-DL AAC2 0 H 264-WELP_track4_[eng]

JILL: You must be getting tired, Zack.

Do you want me to push you now?

No. Why do I always have to come?

I don't really like Mrs. Pilsner.

Well, never mind, honey. She adores you.

You're the grandson she never had.

MAN: Hello.
She always pinches me on the cheek.

And when she goes to kiss me,
her teeth fall out.

It doesn't hurt you
to be nice once a month.

You can do that.

JILL: Margaret?

What's she doing?

Margaret?

She looks funny.

Zachary, do me a favor.
Wait outside, okay, sweetie?

Why?

Please, now, honey.

I've gotta treat Mrs. Pilsner. She's...

Please, honey, wait outside.

You can't treat her, Mom. She's dead.

Howard Buss said
she was still alive at 8:00

when he came in to pick up her tray.

My God, why is there fruit
wedged in her mouth?

It doesn't look like
she actually bit it.

I think it was natural causes.

OSLO: Natural causes?

The woman has an orange
stuffed in her mouth.

She could have been killed with it.

Well, there's no sign of asphyxiation
or bruising around the neck.

It's possible she had a small seizure
while eating the orange

and her mouth just convulsed on it.

This orange isn't peeled.

She wouldn't eat it unpeeled.

Her hands were too brittle to peel it.

She was probably trying to
pierce the skin with her teeth when...

If you want it, Mike,
we can order an autopsy.

No. No, I... No.

It's probably a blessing, Mike.

The leukemia was pretty advanced.

I know.

It's just...

I was her only nephew, you know?

Her only relative.

Let's just put her at peace.

Okay.

(WOMAN CHATTERING ON PA)

Good-bye, Aunt Margaret.

I killed her.
Come on, Howard.

I picked up that orange,
and I stuffed it right down her throat.

It was vicious.
When I came in the room,

the angel of mercy
was right at the window,

a black angel
and a sharp dresser.

You can go.

What a mouth on Margaret.

I could have used a grapefruit.

What's going on?

I killed Mrs. Pilsner. Vicious.

An autopsy?

The man confesses to everything.

It's not that we believe Howard,
but her death was suspicious,

and we have a confession on record,
no matter how silly.

She's supposed to be
buried today, for God's sakes.

And now you're going
to send her to Carter Pike?

He'll spend a week looking for semen.

It's not going to be like that.
You people are ridiculous.

Two weeks ago you combed my head
looking for papaya

because you thought I was a serial bather,

and now you want to chop up my aunt

just because that idiot Howard

sticks an orange in her mouth!

It won't take long.
Ridiculous!

It won't take long.

(THUNDER CRACKING)

Help! Help!

(PANTING)

What? Zachary, what?

She dragged me into a black hole.

Who?

Mrs. Pilsner. She stuffed
an orange in my mouth

and dragged me into a big black hole.

Oh, honey. Now, it was just a dream, baby.

She said I was going to die.

Dreams don't lie, Mom.

Matthew. Kimberly, take him back to bed.
Go on, now. Get out.

Come on.

Buddy, you're not going to die.

Mr. Banks died. Mr. Pankow died.

Mrs. Pilsner died. Everybody dies.

Now, Zack, you're a young man.

You have a long,
long life to live, honey.

Joey Petrie died. He was only four.

Zachary.

Daddy?
What?

After you die, what happens?

KENNY: What is this?

Security camera's videotape outside
the convalescent home.

You see this dark blob?

Yeah.

It looks like a body.

And you see this white thing
up near the head?

That could be a habit. I think it's a nun.

On the side of a building?

Well, this line here
is probably a rope.

She's climbing out a window.

You're on drugs.

No, look. See, if you look closely,
you can see that the blob

has moved down the side of the building.

It's a shadow.

(THUNDER CRACKING)

Get this, Kenny.

Five other terminal patients in Wisconsin

have mysteriously died
at night in the last year,

supposedly with no one at their bedsides.

And all of them were visited by a nun
within two weeks of their deaths.

So what?

Nuns visit dying people
all the time. That's what they do.

Yeah, well, this nun has been doing
a lot more than just visiting.

She sings to the patients,
then puts them out of their misery.

Max, stop with this stuff.

This is a singing, serial mercy killer.

I'm calling the F.B.I.

You're not calling the F.B.I.

Jimmy.

A killing nun.

They can be repressed people.

The dress code alone can flip them out.

Will you listen to yourself?

I called the other hospitals
where patients died.

Three of them reported hearing soft,
gentle singing coming from the rooms,

sounding like Roberta Flack.

She sings to them, then she kills them.

Roberta Flack?

The nun.

All right. We got a nun here,

who's going around putting people
out of their misery with an orange.

Not with an orange.

With thiopental sodium
and potassium chloride.

Excuse me?
Carter finished the autopsy.

Margaret Pilsner was poisoned.

I knew it.

KENNY: He's positive.

It's a serial mercy killer.

I knew it. Can I call the F.B.I.?

No. Jill said it was natural causes.

Well, she was wrong.

Well, I was wrong.

It says here Carter Pike
autopsied the orange, as well.

It contained a saltwater solution.

Does that mean anything?

I don't know.

Oranges and grapefruits are used by
nursing and medical students

to practice giving injections.

So, maybe Margaret
was practicing on the thing.

You think she gave
the injection to herself?

She didn't want to live.

She always talked about suicide.

So, it's possible.

So, there's no killing nun?

Well, there's somebody.

She couldn't have
gotten a hold of the drugs by herself,

and even if she did
give herself the injection,

she certainly didn't have the dexterity

to fill and handle the syringe.

So, somebody helped her.

I did not mercy-kill my aunt.

I can't even look at a needle
without getting vasovagal.

Someone jabbed her, Mr. Oslo.
Well, it wasn't me.

Who, then?
I don't know.

What, you don't even stop to think?

It's your own aunt and you
don't take time out

for one second
to consider the question, "Who?"

You just knee-jerk out, "I don't know"?

You do know.
You know who visits your aunt.

She told you stuff.

Did she get visits from a nun?

Aiding and abetting, Mr. Oslo.

I'll book you right now.

I'll even go for conspiracy.

When was the last time
your aunt saw the nun?

Far as I know, two days ago.

And you didn't tell us this?

What are you doing?

The woman was suffering.
If anyone helped her...

Who are you trying to serve here?

Naturally, we're concerned.

If there's a Catholic out there
killing Episcopalians,

we have to take it seriously.

Do you think they are
really mercy killings

or are they religiously motivated?

Well, mercy killings or not,
they're still taking a human life.

You realize that the Catholic Church
rejects active euthanasia.

Well, there's at least one woman
out there wearing a habit,

that didn't get the message.

The Vatican has been
so controversial on this

and the parishioners are upset.

Now, I have nothing more to say.

No comment. Except I hope this
killing nun is stopped. Now, that's it.

(REPORTERS CLAMORING)

Zachary?

(ORGAN PLAYING)

What are you doing here?

I need to talk to God.

About what?

About what happens when you die.

Can I talk to him?

Of course you can.

What would you like to know?

Heaven. Is it a big, black hole?

No. Certainly not.

Well, what is it, exactly?

Well, my friend,

heaven is in the realm of the mind
and the spirit, where the...

redeemed keep company
with God and Jesus Christ.

Well, there's no big, black hole?

(LAUGHS) No.
No big, black hole.

You know, that sounds to me
like a place for Satan.

Name is Sister Nancy Kray.

She was busted for breaking
into a hospital room

of a terminal patient in Camden.

She has a record.

Plays the guitar and sings.

I think she's the serial mercy killer.

Did you contact her convent?

Yes, St. Thomas. And get this.

She used to be a nurse
and she climbs mountains.

It's gotta be her.

We also tracked her license plate.

She was staying in Emerou's Hotel
in Sebego, next town over.

She just checked out.

Let's get her.
I think we should call the F.B.I.

Will you forget the F.B.I.?

Well, she could have killed
across state lines.

No. Just bring her in for questioning,
or go get your vests on.

For a nun?

We don't know
what she's like, Kenny.

Please, get on
your vests and be careful.

Come on.

Criminal act, Joe. It was simple as that.

So is inciting a riot.
I can file charges, too.

NOVOTNY: I did not incite any riot.

What's going on?

This priest just charged into my office
and punched me in the nose.

Did you hear what
he said to the press?

He made it sound like the Catholics
are running around killing Protestants.

I didn't say that.

I'm not a violent person, Jimmy.

But this persecution
has just gone too far.

What persecution?

First, the Lutherans
lobby the zoning board

to deny us the variance we need
to build our new church.

Weekly bingo gets
shut down by referendum.

It's a conspiracy. The Methodists,

the Congregationalists
and the Episcopalians

are all out to stop Catholicism

from growing in Rome, Wisconsin.

Look, your membership is rising.

How can you make
a statement like that?

And that's what scares you.
So you start sputtering to the media

that the Catholics
are confused over euthanasia.

You are confused.
Listen to the Protestant.

How can you justify any stand
on euthanasia...

You've got more different ways
of talking to people...

...with the way you stand on abortion...
...and more denominations...

You're a religious leader, Father.

You don't react with violence.

Where have you been?

Every war in the world
is based on religion.

There's no greater source of violence.

Well, in America, religion is
supposed to stand for peace,

for goodwill to God, to mankind,

and I would like to keep it that way
in Rome, Wisconsin,

if you don't mind!

We don't need the helmets.

Jimmy said, "Be careful."

They're off to bust a nun.

I even passed the lie detector.

That proves it.

All that proves, Howard,

is that you believed
you were telling the truth.

But that wasn't the truth, Howard.

Margaret Pilsner did not die
by being struck by an orange.

And an angel of mercy was probably
not flying around that room,

although on that, I can't be sure.

Howard, you know those tests we did?

It appears you have
Alzheimer's disease.

It's a form of dementia.

It affects more than 15% of the people
over 65, and it's affecting you.

I'm crazy?

No, you're not crazy. But your brain
is being deprived of glucose,

and your memory and your judgment
are already impaired.

So is your sense of reality.

I see.

Can you fix it?

Well, I'm going to prescribe
some medication. It's called Cognex.

And what...
Can you fix it?

No. It's not curable.

Do you have any materials about this?

I'd like to read up on it.

Okay. I can give you some articles. Sure.

I didn't kill Margaret Pilsner?

No, you didn't.

(SIREN WAILING)

MAXINE: Pull the car over,
or we will shoot.

KENNY: I can't believe she's running us.

What kind of a nun is she?

MAXINE: One that expects leniency

from the courts on up. Take her!

KENNY: Hold on!

Freeze!

Hands up!

Out of the car. Now.

Keep your hands up.

Come on, let's go. Face the hood.
Bend over, Sister.

MAXINE: You have the right
to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will be
used against you.

How many times do I have to say it?
Zachary came to me.

That doesn't mean you can fill him up
with talk of the Devil.

I didn't fill him up with anything.

He asked about heaven.

I gave him the best answer I could.

Well, he is confused.
Well, naturally.

That's why he sought me out.

What answers
does he get at home?

Jimmy, do you talk
to your kids about God?

Do they know what
your religious beliefs are?

My beliefs
are not at issue here.

Well, maybe they should be.

Do you believe
in Jesus Christ?

Yes...
That his was a virgin birth?

Henry.

Why don't you ever eat the wafer
at communion?

Will you stop it?

Don't make this about me.

But it is about you.

You're a religiously
confused man, Jimmy.

You always have been.

You have this
laissez-faire attitude

that if God
lets you be the sheriff

and you let him be God,
everything will be fine.

That's not it at all.

Look, if you don't want to understand
religion, that's fine.

It's a choice.

But don't you blame me when your kids
walk into my church confused.

I blame you because they're confused
when they walk out!

KENNY: Move it, Sister.

MAXINE: Okay, let's go.

Max and Kenny
caught the killer nun.

The guitar and rappelling spikes
were found in the trunk.

You read her rights?

Yep.

Let's go.

JIMMY: Oh, boy.

Well, at least that's one
menace off the street.

Don't you start making
inflammatory remarks

about the Catholics, now.

I haven't got anything
against the Catholics.

My sister's married to one.

They've got nine kids.

Thank God she got the clouded conscience
or they'd have had two dozen.

Oh, never mind.

(NUN SINGING)

♪ To the dark

♪ And the empty skies

♪ To the dark ♪

What's going on?

She said she didn't
want a lawyer, Jimmy.

Why is she singing?

Several of
the witnesses reported

hearing singing,
Roberta Flack songs.

I'm going to use this
for voice identification,

see if we can match it.

She comes up
with these ideas.

It's fun to go with them.

I don't mind singing, Sheriff.
I love to sing.

You have a right
to an attorney.

I know Miranda.
I waive my rights.

I did not kill
Margaret Pilsner.

I did, however,
afford her with a syringe

containing thiopental sodium
and potassium chloride.

She gave herself
the injection.

You realize, ma'am,

that aiding and abetting
a suicide is illegal.

I opted for morality
over legality. Silly me.

Do you want me
to finish the song?

You can forget the song, Sister.

You're in a lot of trouble.

You've arrested a nun.

I think you
could be in trouble.

(PEOPLE CHANTING)

JILL: Well, we got
some problems here, too.

Honey, Zachary got sent home early
from school today.

He was telling
the other kids about Satan.

Yeah?

Apparently
an older boy told him

that Satan's code
name is Yom Kippur.

Really?

Yes, and so Zachary
told Mr. Greenberg

that Yom Kippur sucks people
into big, black holes

and burns
all their flesh off.

So, Mr. Greenberg felt it was best
to send him home.

Well, we're going to have to
sit those boys down

and have a talk about
religion with them.

We're going to
have to do that.

I agree with you,
but what are we going to say?

It's not as if
we're exactly clear

on the subject ourselves,
you know.

What did we do
with Kimberly?

We didn't. We took her to church
until she was 15,

and then we let her choose.

It worked, I guess.

You seem to have
a general grasp of it.

A grasp of what?
Hi.

Honey,
do you believe in God?

I thought you said
that was a personal thing.

All right, so I'm asking you
a personal question.

Do you believe in God?

I believe in God.
I also doubt him.

Why do you doubt him?

It's not so much doubt
as confusion, I guess.

Well, I think
we all have confusion,

but I think we should
still have faith in him.

I have faith.

I have faith that he didn't choose
to have a Holocaust.

That he doesn't want millions of people
to starve in Somalia.

That he never meant
for AIDS to happen.

Do you know how hard I prayed
the night before Mr. Pankow's operation?

Now, maybe he heard,

maybe he didn't.

I believe in God, a lot.

But I don't understand him.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

A singing,
serial killer nun.

I have to admit, at first I thought
it was fun.

You know, we probably have more
in common than not.

We both chose
professions to protect

people who need
protection, I guess.

We each have our ways.

Yeah.

Well...

Our case comes down to nothing
more than your confession.

We have the eyewitness
testimony of an old man

who thought you were flying.

(CHUCKLES)

Thinking back,

I'm not 100% sure
I gave Miranda properly,

and it occurred to me, maybe I should redo
Miranda and you could...

Well, you'd have to
redo your statement.

Why exactly
did this occur to you?

Law enforcement officers are supposed
to keep the peace, right?

If we bring you up
on murder charges,

something tells me
there could be trouble.

Sometimes trouble
serves a purpose.

I've made my statement, Deputy.

And it's time that it was heard
more loud and clear.

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

BAILIFF: Case Number 32711.

People of Wisconsin v.
Sister Nancy Kray.

Douglas Wambaugh appearing
for the Catholic, Your Honor.

Waive reading,
move to dismiss.

Your Honor, I just arrived
in Rome this morning.

I'm filling the breach while the office
looks for Barnaby Wood's replacement.

I haven't yet had an opportunity
to look at the files.

My client, the nun, has been charged with
poisoning an old person.

We can plead it
out right here.

LYONS: Your Honor.

Your Honor,
this man does not represent

the Catholic Church,
nor does Sister Kray.

Sit down, Joe.
I won't sit down.

I want to make a statement.
That man over there

suggested that the Vatican
condones active euthanasia...

I never said that.
I didn't.

...when the Church totally rejects
what Sister Kray did.

DOUGLAS: I move for an
immediate dismissal, Your Honor.

The priest
has prejudiced my client.

Wambaugh...

He's still mad about not getting
the bingo referendum.

Yesterday, he hit Henry.

BONE: Did you hear
me say, "Shut up"?

This is not
an excommunication council.

It's a court of law.

She's charged
with a state crime.

I don't care
what the Church thinks.

Now, you two take
your religious debate outside

or you can continue
it in a jail cell.

Your Honor, I would like the charges
to be dropped.

What the hell?

I believe
I may have killed my aunt.

I beg your pardon?

I had the needle
in my hand

and maybe I accidentally
gave her the injection.

BONE: Maybe you
gave her an injection?

You're just
not quite sure, huh?

And where did you get
the potassium chloride?

I plead the Fifth.

Permission to
represent him, Judge.

Quiet.

Who do you think
you're kidding?

You're trying
to take her off the hook.

My aunt was in the last stages
of leukemia.

She was in
indescribable pain.

Sister Kray relieved that misery,
and the only crime now

would be for this court to punish her
for having the guts

to be humane

when the rest of us didn't.

She committed an illegal act.

She saw suffering
in an elderly person

and she performed
an act of mercy,

and how dare you
or anybody else condemn her?

Damn it. I do not
want to be doing this.

I don't see
how you can kick it.

I mean, aiding and abetting a suicide.
It's against the...

Don't be an idiot.
If you prosecute this nun,

the gentiles
will go ballistic.

They'll lynch you
for arresting her

and you for letting
this trial happen

and you for being
new in town.

Offer a reduced charge.
Plead it out.

She'd rather be a martyr.

She knows she's got sympathy
on her side.

And you had to handcuff her.

It's procedure.
I had to arrest her...

Look, there's a lot of people
who don't support mercy killing.

You dismiss this outright,
you're going to be hearing from them, too.

Get the Father in here.

Father?

All right Joe, give me the company line
on euthanasia. Make it fast.

The Church is against
active euthanasia.

Passive euthanasia is okay.

And how do you
define passive?

Pulling of a respirator plug,

withholding of extraordinary
lifesaving measures.

And what Sister Kray did?

Extremely active. She'll probably be
expelled from the Church.

And elected saint.

Listen to me, Joe.

If she's prosecuted,
this town will explode.

I don't know what
I'm going to do yet.

But if I make
her stand trial,

I want the complete
support of the Church

and I mean complete.
Do you hear me?

You've got it.

We'll reconvene tomorrow.

She can stay out OR.

Damn it.

Of course not. Death is not an end.
It can be a beginning.

Excuse me. What are you talking about?
I see.

Well, I believe it's personal.

And who might you be?

I'm this man's doctor.

May I speak to you
alone for a moment?

Certainly.

Howard Buss is in
a fragile mental state.

I would appreciate
your not talking to him.

Why?

I have some problems with
your philosophy, Sister.

Let's just leave it at that.

I know who you are,
Dr. Brock.

You were treating
Margaret Pilsner.

And, believe me, you of all people
have no right to judge me.

You're here
to be judged by the court

because you took it upon yourself to end
a person's life when...

I'm here because
the medical profession

refuses to adopt
a humane position.

The medical profession refuses
to play God,

and so should nuns.

There are doctors who do
exactly what I do, and you know it.

They prescribe a whole week's worth
of morphine

and, with a wink, say,

"Don't take it all at once.
You'll die."

It goes on a lot.
Not with me.

No, of course not.

It's not acceptable
medical practice.

Why risk humanity?

Your insurance
premiums could soar.

This has more to do with ethics, Sister,
than premiums.

There is nothing ethical
about making the elderly suffer

the indignity of their organs
shutting down.

That's what
the doctors are doing.

That's what you did
with Margaret Pilsner.

You stay away
from my patients, Sister.

Thanks, but I'll
talk to God on this one.

Fine.
I'll talk to the Sheriff.

Okay, come on in, boys.
We're going to be late for practice.

It'll just take a minute.
Just put your bags down.

Whatever happened,

I didn't do it.

You're not in trouble, guys.
This is...

You come home in the afternoon,
something's going on.

Is it Satan?

No. No. Sit.
Well, actually...

Yes, in a way. Yes.

Your mother and I...

Well, your mother and I
have wanted to talk to you

about this for a while,
about religion, what it is,

what God represents.
Now, I know you go to Sunday school,

and you probably have learned a lot
about this already...

Nothing about killing nuns.

Or big, black holes.
Boys, please.

I think the best way
to get through this

is for you just to let me talk on
a bit about it, okay?

Now, Christianity is...

First, let me...

Maybe I better start
with the foundation of faith.

Dad, practice
starts in 20 minutes.

You're going to start with
the foundation of faith?

Matthew.

Let's just crunch a few numbers
and move on.

Christianity.
You've got 12 apostles,

four evangelists,
seven deadly sins,

seven holy sacraments,
ten commandments,

six days of creation
and the big three.

The big three?

Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

What ghost?

Never mind.

How do you know this?

I read the Bible
and my Sunday school books.

What's this
about a ghost?

How come
I don't know this?

Dad,
you're not very religious.

I mean, you've broken most of the
commandments, so...

That's not true.

Number three.

"Thou shalt not use
the Lord's name in vain."

You ever hear him swear
with the God word?

Yup.

Number four.
"Keep the Sabbath holy."

Well, you don't go to church much,
so that's a loser.

Number six.
"Thou shalt not kill."

You've killed people
with your gun.

Well, as a sheriff, I...

Number five.

"Honor thy mother
and father."

You've heard some of the stuff
he says about Grandma.

Number seven. "Thou shalt not
commit adultery."

Oh, boy.
Never mind.

Oh, boy.

He could end up
on fire with Yom Kippur.

Go play hockey.

(PEOPLE PROTESTING)

You want to lie down
in the middle of the street?

Another one?

This is what you get.

She's a murderer
and you put her back

on the streets just
because she's a nun.

Shut up!
Murderer!

Which cell is which?

Operation Life. First cell.

Killing old people's worse
than killing babies.

(THUNDER CLAPPING)

Do you ever pray?

I'm sorry. What?

I never hear you pray.

I thought maybe you
do it privately or...

I know you don't.

You do.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Not as often
as I probably should.

Zack codes them.

He what?

His prayers.
His logic is something like,

God is busy,
so to save time

he gives different prayers
different codes,

and since God is God,
he'll know which is which.

Does he really do that?
Yeah.

And some of these codes
get longer than the prayers. Like,

"God, please protect my friends,"
16B23/5.

Wow.

(LAUGHS)

Kids.

Yeah.

Kids.

(DOORBELL RINGS)

(GROANS)

Oh, boy.

Howard?

Howard.
Hello.

Am I late?

For what?

Well,
we weren't expecting you.

Then I'm early.
How delightful.

Can I see you alone?

I'll wait upstairs.

Come on in, Howard.
Let me take your things.

I was reading about
this Alzheimer's thing.

It's going to turn me
into a child, isn't it?

Well, the progression
varies with people.

It will steal my mind.

I'll end up not knowing my own name,
not recognizing anybody.

Stu Henley had it.

He didn't even know
his own wife, at the end.

They were married 60 years.
He didn't know her.

That doesn't mean that's
going to happen to you...

Jill, I...

I know I've already
turned senile,

thinking I've done things
I didn't do.

I've also been thinking about
what everybody's saying lately.

You know,
about dying with dignity.

Maybe this...

Maybe I should
think about that.

God, Howard, you have a happy life.
You have your family.

You have people who love you.

People who I'm going to
be a burden to.

I can't bear the thought
of that happening.

Howard, we're not going to sit here
and discuss you dying.

I won't be able
to dress myself,

control my bodily functions.

I won't be able to think.

Why should I be forced
to endure that?

I've had a good life.

People think of me
and smile.

I want them to always
remember me the way I lived,

not the way I became.

I should be able
to control that.

CHOIR:
♪ Loose those chains

♪ And set her free

♪ Just let her go

♪ Right now

♪ Now, we have faith

♪ We have faith

♪ Set her free ♪

Well, there's no question.
She will be expelled.

See, life is God's
greatest gift.

Sister Kray
has forgotten that.

My major problem
with Catholicism

is a lack of separation
of church and state.

A nun should be better indoctrinated
to stay out of politics,

particularly
health care.

Wow, nothing like
an outbreak of compassion.

This isn't
a case of Catholics

running around
killing Episcopalians.

This is about mercy.

Mercy made Sister Kray
come to Rome.

Mercy made the Baptist choir
show up today at our courthouse,

singing a gospel tune
to plead for your mercy

for this angel of sympathy.

All right,
Wambaugh, that's enough.

I'm just getting to
the good part, Judge.

It's unnecessary.
I'm prepared to rule now.

Go sit with the nun.

(CROWD MURMURING)

BONE: Ladies and gentlemen...

Could I say something?

No. Sit down.

Excuse me, Your Honor, but...

I know I'm not a lawyer,
but I'm a doctor.

Can't I make a statement to the court
as a friend of the court?

I hear that's something
that's been done.

Yes. Yes,
when the court asks for it.

I didn't.

Yes, but you let Father Lyons
speak yesterday. I'll try to be brief.

Go.

Thank you.

I'm sure that
Sister Kray relieved

Margaret Pilsner
of great suffering,

and her accusation
that the medical community

can't respond to the needs
of terminal patients, that's true.

I've seen old people
linger in misery.

We have the means
to humanely put them at rest,

but, instead,
we force them to exist

in tremendous pain.

This seems indefensible.

But this woman, she has no business
aiding suicide, Your Honor.

If you want to
change the law,

make euthanasia legal,
that's one thing.

The state of Washington has proposed
physician-assisted suicide.

So has California.

Wisconsin could do so,
as well.

But for God's sake,
we can't have individuals

running around our hospitals,
doling out syringes,

deciding who's a candidate
to die and who's not.

She says it's
the patient's decision.

How do we know the patient
was of sound mind?

How do we know this wasn't just
a temporary depression?

How do we know the patient
wasn't influenced by a godly nun?

Where's the line between
medically-assisted suicide,

then medically-encouraged,
and, finally, medically-pressured?

I never pressured anybody.

I'm sure you didn't,

but the next angel of mercy
may not be as clearheaded as you.

Your Honor,

implement a system of second opinions
and checks and balances.

Make it the law and then give it
to the medical community to supervise.

You can't just leave this to a posse
of good Christians on the loose.

The medical community
has had opportunity

to deal with this issue,
Doctor. You don't.

Well, then,
kick us in the ass

if the alternative is doing
what she's doing.

I had a patient walk into
my house last night

and ask me
about suicide,

a man whom I know
cherishes life,

a man who radiates
at the smile of a child

or the smell of a flower,

a man whom I know
fundamentally still clings

to the joy of living.

He's suddenly thinking about suicide,
and do you know why?

JILL: Because he's
seen it romanticized.

He's seen it portrayed as an acceptable,
if not noble, alternative.

If you permit
what she's doing,

then you make suicide
a little easier,

a little more accessible,
a little more imaginable,

to the elderly, to teenagers.

As a doctor and as a mother,
I beg you not to let that happen.

When I came in today,
my mind was made up.

Now, I need more time.

We're adjourned. One hour.

(CROWD CHATTERING)

All right. What's the matter?

It's about your aunt,
Mrs. Pilsner.

What about her?

Is she with God?

Now listen to me, young man.

I will not sit here
and be pestered

with a lot of questions
I cannot answer.

We're alive, we are living,

and we're not supposed to know
what comes after death.

So, don't you be spending time
thinking about death

when you could be
concentrating on your math.

But what if heaven
is a big, black hole?

What if you just have to lie there forever
and ever in the dark,

in a little ball,
with nobody else around,

and even after 1,000 years
you still have to lie there,

'cause 1,000 years is just the beginning
of forever? What if?

Try to understand this.

You will likely get to the fourth grade
before you get to heaven,

and the fourth grade
will be much harder.

You'll have to be able
to multiply and divide

and learn capitals
of states.

It will be very difficult,
and it's coming soon.

The last thing you
need to concern yourself

with right now is heaven.

Now, go back to class.

Zachary.

I can't tell you how I know,
but I do know.

Heaven,
it's a very good place.

Really?

Really.

And Mrs. Pilsner is there?

(LAUGHS) Yes, she's there.
Now go.

Did her teeth fall out
when she kissed you?

Run away.

(GAVEL POUNDING)

BONE: Settle down.

Everybody quiet.

Sister Kray,
on your feet, please.

As I said,
when I came in this morning,

I thought I knew
what I was going to do.

But then, three years ago,

I watched my older brother
die of stomach cancer.

He went into a coma.

He wasn't on life support.

There was no plug to pull.

The only thing we could do
within the bounds of the law

was to disconnect the G-tube
that gave him food and water.

We sat back

and patiently waited
for him to...starve to death.

That was the only
legal option available.

It was more humane

than letting him
suffer in perpetuity,

but it certainly
was not humane.

As a judge, I am repulsed
by the response of this society.

But even though

the medical
and legal communities

have so reprehensibly
dropped the ball,

I cannot pass it off to the well-meaning
but renegade nuns.

Sister,
you committed a crime.

The only way
I can set you free

is to declare as invalid
the law you broke.

This is your lucky day.

(CROWD EXCLAIMING)

Your Honor, are you aware of what
you're doing?

This kind of precedent...

Sit down, Counsel.

I have never been so
self-aware in my life.

The Constitution recognizes
a right to privacy,

the right to control
our own destiny.

The right to choose to die,
in my view,

falls within that
constitutional protection.

Since suicide is, therefore,
a protected right,

aiding and abetting a suicide
cannot be illegal.

(CROWD MURMURING)

Now, Sister, listen to these
next words very carefully.

As far as I know, I'm the first judge
to make this ruling.

I could be the last.

I will almost certainly
be overturned on appeal.

The bottom line is, this time,
you get away with it.

Next time, you might not be so fortunate.

This case is dismissed with prejudice.

(GAVEL POUNDING)

That's all. We're adjourned.

♪ I won a victory today

♪ I won a victory today ♪

I can come by the station and pick up
my guitar and my things?

Yes, you can. Yes.

I guess this is good-bye,
then.

You'll do it again,
won't you, Sister?

You heard the judge.

Yes, I did.
I listened very closely.

Either he set me free because he figured
I wouldn't do it again,

or maybe he figured I would.

Go with God, Doctor.

You, too.

CHOIR:
♪ I won a victory

♪ Got no time to wait and see

♪ I won a victory today

MAN:
♪ I won some freedom

CHOIR:
♪ I won some freedom now ♪