Original subtitles

I thought they said 9 o 'clock.

They did.

Do we really think they're going to settle now, 12 hours before we start?

That's when they all settle.

Maybe we should put our jackets on.

I read an article.

Lawyers look more formidable in their coats.

Jimmy, they're coming in here to either settle or not. I doubt it'll turn on

whether or not we're wearing jackets.

They're here.

Show them in.

Sorry we're a little late. It's okay.

Please.

We're declining to make an offer.

Any offer?

Look, how you got past summary judgments still remains a mystery. The point is,

we did.

Eugene, you would have rejected the number we were toying with anyway.

But the feeling is that the precedent of any number would be exponentially

devastating.

If every problem drinker starts suing us... This problem drinker is dead.

Rebecca, it's not that we don't sympathize. You just won't cough up a

Look me in the eye and tell me that you would advise my client to settle here.

All right.

Look, you came all the way over here at 9 .30 at night.

Is there room for negotiation or are you just messengers for bad news?

The latter.

$125 ,000 sealed.

No admission of liability.

We can't, on principle.

This was a kid.

He died of alcoholism. Your client bears some responsibility, and you won't take

it on principle?

Okay, look, this need not get ugly.

We'll see you tomorrow.

Do the research on us, Mark, would you?

Meaning?

When we try cases, it gets ugly.

Eugene, this isn't criminal. This is a civil case.

Lawyers tend to be... What's the word?

civil.

I don't think you're scared, though.

He began to have a problem in high school in his senior year. A drinking

problem? Yes. I mean, it wasn't that he was terribly into parties.

Michael was an athlete.

But it started with beer, and it sort of shifted into hard alcohol.

His mother and I got him into a treatment program.

Was this successful?

Yes, for a year or two.

But then in college, he got into the frat scene. There was a... What

His grades suffered. He didn't graduate.

His friends abandoned him. We did an intervention in 1999.

In April 2000, he was released.

He spiraled down from there. He was living on the streets.

He died of alcohol poisoning that spring.

And you're blaming Portis Brewery for your son's death?

He primarily drank their beer in high school.

I'm certainly aware that there were other beers, but for the most part, it

Portis.

Did he have other difficulties?

None. Michael was an athlete.

He admired athletes.

He watched all those beer commercials they run during the games.

He saw his favorite ballplayers endorsing Portis and other beers like

nutrition drinks.

These companies targeted my son and other young kids.

Drinking is cool?

Drinking will get you girls?

Well, it is not cool.

Drinking killed my son.

Is it your testimony, sir, your son thought beer was a nutritional drink

began consuming it? That question reflects the very arrogance of your

refuses to take responsibility for contributing to a young man's death.

Do you take any responsibility, Mr. Berry?

Your son was underage, drinking illegally.

Let me ask you, do you drink?

In moderation.

Responsibly? Yes. Your son was raised in a household where his parents drank

moderately and responsibly?

Yes. And when your son entered his high school years did you ever talk to your

son about the dangers of drinking?

Many times.

You feel you adequately informed him as to all of the risks?

Look, no matter what parents say it is hard to compete with the images of fun

and social acceptance that is being marketed by the alcohol industry.

My question is, do you feel you adequately informed your son as to the

risks of consuming alcohol?

Yes.

Thank you, sir.

And I'm very sorry for your loss.

I thought alcohol companies were exempt from these lawsuits.

No one is exempt from fraud.

They lie when they say they don't market to kids.

Can I help you? Yeah.

I'm looking for Eleanor Frett.

I'm Eleanor Frett.

Hello. My name is Stephen Marshall.

I'd like to hire you.

Is there some place we can talk?

I guess I should just get right to it.

I'm the warden of Goffstown Correctional Facility in New Hampshire.

One of my inmates is Denise Freeman. She shot two young boys who were playing in

the park.

She's scheduled to be executed next week.

It's the first execution in New Hampshire in many years, so maybe you

it. I hadn't, actually.

How can I help?

I'd like you to stop it.

Her execution?

Yes.

I read where you got a death sentence overturned several years ago.

I drove down here on the chance that you could possibly work your magic again.

You're the warden trying to halt the execution?

Yes.

Are you against the death penalty?

No, not at all.

In fact, I think we should employ it more often.

But we shouldn't be killing Denise Freeman.

She's not the same person who committed those crimes.

I know they all claim that, but she really isn't.

That's why I drove down here.

To convince you to help save an extraordinary woman.

Oh, don't you even dare. This is Sheila Barry. She was just awarded Sister of

the Year.

Shut up. North America only. She competes for World Sister of the Year

month. Yeah, and I score special endurance points for having you as my

brother. Let me tell you a little bit about Sheila. Let's not. She makes up

own words playing Scrabble. No, I don't.

That was your brother, Michael?

Yes. Does that video fairly reflect his personality?

He had an amazing sense of humor.

He was shy. You don't get that from the video.

He was very shy. I think that was one of the reasons he drank at parties.

Socially, he was a little uncomfortable until he got to know people.

When was the last time you saw your brother?

About a month before he died.

Where'd you see him?

My apartment.

He came to ask me for money.

He was living on the street.

Did you loan him money?

I told him he could move in with me if he wanted to, but I wasn't going to give

him money so he could just go buy liquor.

I begged him to get help, but he just walked away.

That was the last time I ever saw him.

I have nothing further.

No questions, Your Honor.

It isn't exactly great timing for us to be taking a pro bono case.

I'm not saying I definitely want to take it on, but...

I'd like to meet with her.

See who she is, what she is.

She's in New Hampshire?

Yes. I thought I would drive up there with Jamie this afternoon.

Evidently, she runs this talk straight program for troubled kids that... The

warden came here personally.

I really think I should go.

I'll say yes with one word of caution.

Protect yourself.

I'm sure there'll either be a guard or a partition or... I'm not talking

physically.

You're about to emotionally invest in somebody who, odds are, will be dead in

week.

I won't invest emotionally.

Right.

Protect yourself.

The cause of death was alcohol poisoning.

Dr. Michael Berry went in and out of many treatment programs.

Why couldn't he be cured? Because he was addicted.

You mean he lacked the will to stop?

That oversimplifies it.

People think alcoholics lack willpower. I wish it were that easy.

The brain chemistry is changed.

Telling a severely impaired alcoholic not to drink is like telling someone not

to go to the bathroom. We're talking about an overwhelming urge related to a

bodily function.

Come on, Doctor. It's not like he had no choice here.

He chose to drink initially.

Of course he did. Like smokers choose to smoke, like people choose to use

cocaine. But once the addiction took hold, he was robbed of his free will.

That kid was dying on the street.

Homeless, for God's sake. Does anybody think he chose that?

Many alcoholics do recover.

As do many smokers.

That doesn't mean the addiction's not real.

But doctor, you make it sound like an involuntary affliction.

When in fact... I make it sound like a disease, counsel.

The very definition of disease is an involuntary disability which Michael

had. May I be allowed to finish my questions?

You may, but if you wrongfully restate my answers, I'll interrupt.

Doctor, this isn't a rugby match.

What is the likelihood, if one drinks moderately, that he or she will become

addicted to alcohol?

I can't answer that. No one can.

Alcohol affects people differently. We need to do more studies, which they

haven't done. In your experience, if someone drinks moderately, how likely is

it... It's extremely likely that young kids won't drink moderately. If a person

drinks responsibly in moderation, he or she is not likely to become addicted.

That would be fair.

Thank you.

I need you to look at me, Janice.

You see, we're on a bit of a

time crunch here.

I'm scheduled to be killed next week, and I'm going to help you. I need to

fast progress.

How about we...

Let that anger give way to greed, then.

You will probably be the last person who gets to talk to me.

You could write an article.

Get paid for it.

Lots of good things that come from you talking to me.

Janice, it all starts with your eyes finding mine.

I can't tell you how many kids whose lives she's rerouted.

She connects with every single one.

She'll get to this one, too. You watch.

All the appeals are exhausted?

Every one.

There's a petition for a stay with the Supreme Court.

That's not going to happen.

Look, as I said, I'm pro -death penalty.

But this one... She's something.

The problem is I am also a murderer.

At least I was before I got on the medication.

I shot a 13 -year -old boy playing on a jungle gym.

And then I pointed the gun and shot his 11 -year -old brother.

I was every bit the monster the prosecution made me out to be. You need

clear about that.

You mentioned medication.

What medication?

I've been on an icotropic cocktail for the last eight years.

And before you took it?

Monster.

You weren't listening.

Did you argue diminished capacity at the trial?

Yes. It failed.

The jury saw me sane since I was medicated for the trial also.

Forced? Sorry? The medication you took for the trial, was it forced?

It had to be. I had no capacity to consent.

Why?

I'm just...

searching for an angle well the insanity one's been tried we need to come up

with something else you seem well most death row inmates

have a little desperation going especially as the day gets closer is

you want me to act no but you know the funny thing is there is a

calm that comes with it

Actually, I'm a prolific warrior.

But now, you know, I'm not afraid of getting cancer, financial

security, problems in the Middle East. None of that gets to me.

I'm going to be dead in a week.

There's a calm that comes underneath the cool.

I'm going to be dead in a week. Do I really need to make a showing of

desperation?

Alcohol addiction is both genetic and social.

Some of the predisposition is in the brain chemistry.

Some of it obviously is environmental, how a person lives.

But doctor, my question is, is it possible...

A person can become addicted to alcohol without drinking excessively. We have

not proven it, but my opinion is it's absolutely possible.

How?

Well, the limbic system in the brain is very different in people who suffer from

alcoholism. How do we know this?

Autopsies. Problem is, we can't be sure what came first.

Is it the alcoholism that altered the brain, or...

Is it the abnormal brain that caused the alcoholism?

It may very well be that many people are born alcoholics waiting to happen.

Michael Berry could have been one of them.

Have you found a single person who became an alcoholic who didn't drink

excessively? No.

But the reason he drank heavily could be the genetic makeup of his brain.

That's what people don't get.

Did you study the brain of Michael Berry?

No, because no autopsy was ever done.

So you have no idea as to the genetic makeup of the plaintiff?

That's correct.

Hey, how's it going?

So far, so good.

Case is still a long shot, but we'll see.

Your brother?

Yeah.

Hard to believe, almost nine years since he died.

He was an alcoholic.

Is that in play at all?

Did you come in to check on the case for me?

I know you fully appreciate the difficulty of the case. I do wonder

appreciation could get blurred by a sense of... mission.

i'm not on a mission did alcohol help kill my brother yes but that hardly puts

me in a small group half the adult population in this country has

their family that's a point worth arguing i plan to eugene i feel like

getting harder and harder for you and me just to have a conversation bobby you

didn't come in here to have a conversation you came in here worried

objectivity because of how my brother

Like you say, I have a full appreciation of the difficulty of the case, and if

an offer does come in, I'll recommend settlement to the client.

Okay.

I think the biggest problem with my insanity defense was that it played so

stereotypically. I heard voices. I thought they were a mandate from God.

know, there's somebody like me on Dateline once a week. I think the jury

went, yeah, yeah, next.

And the actual diagnoser?

Paranoid schizophrenia.

Do you have a memory of the killings?

They haven't found the medication yet to erase memory.

Can you tell me what you remember?

Can you tell me how that's relevant?

Denise, as you said to that young girl, we're a little crunched for time.

So I need you to let me be the lawyer and trust me to decide what's relevant.

If the memory is vivid, I want to know.

If not, I want to know that too.

Tell me what you remember.

In the moment, time slowed down.

I saw the bullets travel.

I saw them floating through the air like feathers.

They hit the skulls.

Two incredibly sweet little boys.

These floating feathers just made their heads go...

Wasn't vivid enough.

Alcoholism is something we all need to be concerned with. And we are at Portis.

I guess the question becomes, how do you manifest that concern?

First, by putting warnings on every single one of our products.

But I'll tell you something. We probably should do a better job of publicizing

the health benefits.

The benefits?

Absolutely. Studies now show that having a drink or two of alcohol every day can

help fight heart disease.

Evidence is now coming in that it can even promote mental health and possibly

prevent Alzheimer's. Some doctors are recommending to their patients that they

consume moderate amounts of alcohol to promote general health, well -being, and

longevity. Is the defendant testifying in the narrative?

Mr. Carroll, a young man died here.

And it's a tragedy. My heart goes out to his family.

I had a nephew who was killed by a drunk driver, and I'm angry about it to this

day. But I'll tell you, this country as a whole is vigilant about this.

We have mothers against drunk drivers. We have PSAs on every channel. In our

advertisements, we warn about drinking and driving. This isn't some obscure

latent peril lurking in the bushes. The message on irresponsible drinking is out

there, and it's been out there for many, many years.

Our industry has spent millions of dollars on that message, and I'll tell

something else.

The majority of Americans get it.

Objection, Mr. Grundle.

You need to ask your client a question. He only need respond to that question.

Mr. Carroll, what about the specific problem of underage drinking?

We fund numerous educational awareness programs, more than any other industry.

We pay to train vendors not to sell to kids.

We agree with the law, which raises the legal drinking age from 18 to 21, and

let's think about that.

You can vote.

You can fight in a war.

You're considered an adult for the purpose of the law in every single way

age of 18.

And we still say, well, we're going to make you wait an additional three years

before you can drink.

Why?

Because we recognize the need for maturity and responsibility.

In fact, the only thing left for us to do would be to ban alcohol altogether.

We tried that in this country once, and it didn't work.

Run that by me again. It's not as crazy as it sounds. Just the same once more.

Okay. She stops taking the meds, in which case she regresses quickly, I

add, according to the doctors.

Once she becomes schizophrenic again, we get the diagnosis of insanity.

Supreme Court has expressly held the Eighth Amendment prohibits executing the

insane. They also held you can force Medicaid to make a person sane.

They upheld forced medication to make a defendant competent for trial, not

necessarily for punishment.

Bobby, I can't think of anything else.

You want to take her off the meds? And try and stop the execution on the

that she's insane.

At a minimum, it could buy us time.

The death penalty is vulnerable.

Time is time.

What do we have to lose?

How much money does the alcohol industry make per year? A lot.

You're a major manufacturer. I'm sure you can get more specific than a lot.

Can't you, Mr. Carroll?

It's in the billions.

It's close to $120 billion a year.

$120 billion.

Which contributes to a healthier U .S. economy, Mr. Young, and employs hundreds

of thousands of Americans.

Thank you for that.

And how much money does your company spend to build or contribute to

facilities for alcohol abuse?

We make beer, Mr. Young. We're not in the hospital business.

The answer is zero. No, it is not. We donate a great deal of money to

programs. A great deal?

More or less than 1 % of what you spend promoting alcohol use?

Hey, since it's voluntary... Less than 1 %?

I'd have to check the figures.

Well, I have some figures.

Your industry takes in 120 billion a year. 15 million Americans struggle with

alcoholism. Look, our product is only dangerous when used excessively. So is

aspirin, for that matter.

Aspirin? You're just like aspirin? You understand my point, counsel.

When used responsibly... You advertise to young people? Not underage, we don't.

Your key target demo is 21 to 25 -year -olds, isn't it? Which is perfectly

legal. What research do you do to make sure those ads intended for 21 -year

-olds don't influence 19 -year -olds? Look. Are you aware, sir, that underage

kids are drinking your beer?

We take every step to ensure that doesn't happen, but parents have to take

responsibility. You're aware.

Minors drink your beer.

We're aware that it happens sometimes.

Sometimes? You're aware.

Underage kids are responsible for 12 % of the consumption of all your beer,

aren't you? That figure is debatable. And that over 90 % of all the alcohol

consumed by underage drinkers is for binging. Is that debatable? We do not

target underage drinkers. Well, according to the Surgeon General, over

all high school juniors and seniors drink, but you don't target them. We

our business to curtail underage drinkers. Really?

Besides those sex and alcohol commercials, what else?

Objection. What the hell do you do to curtail it?

Objection. Two -thirds of underage drinkers buy their own beer, Mr.

That's a vendor problem. Oh, I see. It's not your problem? You just make the

stuff and put the logo on blips?

Objection. Mr. Young. This kid couldn't so much as watch a baseball game without

hearing your jingle, Mr. Carroll, and he's dead.

He's dead. Mr. Young, that's enough.

And you sit here testifying nothing you can do.

Nothing you can do for Michael Berry.

Go off my medication?

The Supreme Court has said we can't execute the insane.

It's our last, best shot.

Up until now, we have argued, don't kill her, she's not the monster she used to

be, and now you want me to go off my medication so that you can argue, don't

kill her, she is the monster she used to be?

Yes.

And then after that, we'll argue that it's cruel and unusual to keep you

and we'll hopefully get you on the meds again.

That was perverse.

It is.

And they will no doubt try to force medicate you. It's been upheld in the

but I have a better chance at beating it.

How long after you stop taking the medication before?

It won't take long.

Okay.

I'm going to draft up the document stating your intent.

I'm going to need you to find them while you're still competent.

My intent being?

You don't want the meds under any circumstances.

I will go crazy, Eleanor.

You do realize that.

Alcohol is part of the American culture.

I know it.

I get it.

We indulge openly, proudly even. We toast at weddings.

We drink to our health. We drink in front of our kids, be it eggnog at

Christmas, mint julep at Kentucky Derby parties, St. Patrick's Day.

And we romanticize it, don't we?

Win a World Series or a Super Bowl.

Out comes the champagne on national television.

Our best athletes, role models for physical fitness. Watch them drink. Hey,

our culture. Like I said, I get it.

But you know what?

They never really warn you about the downside.

15 million Americans are alcoholics.

15 million.

And the statistics, they go on and on. It's the number one teenage drug

The number one drug problem in college.

One quarter of all emergency room admissions.

Almost a third of all suicides. One half of all homicides, rapes. One third

of traffic fatalities, alcohol related. It is the leading cause of mental

retardation. Fetal alcohol syndrome.

The cost to us.

The taxpayer and our economy, over $185 billion in lost productivity,

health care expenses, crime, car crashes, and other costs. The cost to

and Joshua Berry, their son.

The cost to Sheila Berry, her brother.

This was a decent kid.

Beat student, shy, good athlete, who started having a few beers with his high

school buddies, who developed an addiction to a drug that ended up taking

life.

This industry makes upward of $100 billion a year, a lot of it coming from

children, and however much they deny it, they target those kids with their

advertising. They buy time.

On the programs these kids watch, we've all seen the ads. They're funny.

Drinking is hip. It's cool. It's now. It kills.

It kills.

And they just take the money.

A lot of it.

During the course of this three -day trial, the alcohol industry made another

billion dollars. Now, we're a capitalist society.

Like I said, I get it.

But when you contribute... To the death of human life. Over a hundred thousand

lives every year. How can you not take some responsibility?

It can't always be about the money.

That's what I don't get.

Mr. Young says we've committed fraud.

He's wrong.

We sell an honest product honestly.

We are not tobacco.

Tobacco company lied about the risks associated with smoking.

The risks of drinking have been known for thousands of years.

And so have the benefits.

We drink with our friends to relax, to celebrate. There are social benefits to

responsible drinking, and we all know it.

The problem is with alcohol abuse.

And the question...

is what do we do about it?

What we've done so far is to pass a multitude of regulations. My client has

complied with every one of them. We have raised the drinking age. We've mandated

warnings on every bottle of beer. We now have dram shop acts, making people

liable who serve alcohol.

You could be sued today just for throwing a party.

We have done everything humanly possible.

In truth, the only thing left to do is ban alcohol. And we've already tried

once with spectacular failure.

Because, as Mr. Young correctly points out, drinking is in our culture.

We're always going to have that cocktail.

And no jury, no act of Congress, will ever, ever prevent it.

I'll say this.

Mr. Young is disingenuous when he says that we're all about money and they're

not. They are in here today asking you to award them money.

Well, I won't be disingenuous. We're a business.

Lawsuits, judgments, they become a cost of doing business.

And I don't have to tell you who that cost always gets passed back to.

You can't bring back Michael Berry.

I so wish you could.

But all you can really do, unfortunately, is raise the price of

Because, like he told you, it's our culture.

Will you go to the court when?

Next week.

Obviously, the more you regret, the better our chances.

And if we lose, it's better to die crazy than sane. Yes.

Listen, given that, I probably should put in my goodbyes to people now, right?

Assuming that by this time next week, I may not even know who my friends are.

How are you feeling now?

Anxious, a little.

Nervous, I guess.

I'm not sure what from.

I don't know if it's because I have come off my medication or whether it's

because I'm getting closer to a lethal injection, but either way, it's worse

than the root canal, isn't it?

You already seem hyper.

That's the first stage.

You know, oddly, I talk a lot more in the beginning, and then I become

withdrawn. This is my nervous stage.

The good news is that there is a heightened clarity that comes with it,

Okay.

These are the documents.

It's basically the same as a living will. It expresses your intent not to be

given the psychotropic drugs under any circumstances.

I need you to sign it and date it.

Okay.

Shouldn't this be notarized?

It isn't necessary. If they argue you lacked capacity, it just plays into our

claim of incompetence.

Okay. If we win, how are you going to get me back on the drugs?

Assuming I want to go back on the drugs.

Why wouldn't you want to go back on the drugs?

Well, I have to admit, I feel dull.

But you said when you really regressed.

True, true.

I guess what I would like is an adjustment in the meds to keep me where

now. I mean, this is a good state where I am now.

I feel more clear.

Denise, first.

Let's work on keeping you alive.

Yuri's back.

What?

They have a verdict.

What's wrong?

They could never have computed the damages in an hour. Which means?

They didn't have to.

They found no liability.

Maybe they're just angry enough they picked a big number and said screw them.

Let's go.

Members of the jury, you have reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor. Your Honor, could I have a two -minute recess? We have an

offer we'd like to propose to the plaintiff.

Your timing is curious, Mr. Grundle. Until that verdict is entered, this case

isn't decided.

It's Friday.

I'm not bringing this jury back.

You have two minutes.

I'll confer with my client. It's got a two -minute clock, Eugene.

And it's final.

Excuse me.

Please.

Don't anybody scream.

1 .6 million.

Why? What?

He must have been authorized to settle if he didn't like the faces of the jury.

Something tells him we've won.

And a verdict against them is too devastating, even if it's overturned on

appeal. Should we take it? It's a lot of money.

Let's take our chances.

What? You said that they couldn't possibly have computed damages so fast.

Maybe they did pick a big fat number, and if we got them, we'll let them off.

.6 is a lot to walk away from. Not enough to make them hurt.

Excuse me one second.

What are you doing?

This is a verdict that could send a message, Jimmy. We're this close. It's

about sending a message.

It's about getting a result for our client. And 1 .6... The faces are not

We don't know what those faces mean.

I realize you may want to stick it to the alcohol.

I'm only thinking about the client. He's got nothing. What is going on?

We're divided.

I think you should take it.

Eugene votes to reject it.

I have a feeling that's all I can say. It's not a science.

Let's hear what the jury says.

Joshua. Eugene.

If you want to make them pay, 1 .6 is a drop in the bucket.

Let's reject it.

The offer is rejected, Your Honor.

Very well.

Mr. Foreman.

What say you?

In the matter of the estate of Michael Berry v. Portis Brewery on the count of

wrongful death, we, the jury, find in favor of the plaintiff and order the

defendant to pay compensatory damages in the amount of $700 ,000.

We further order the defendant to pay punitive damages in the amount of $125

million.

Defense moves for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict.

Denied. We appeal.

So noted.

Members of the jury, thank you for your service.

You're excused. And this matter is adjourned.

This will be appealed.

It'll be a long time before you see any money but this.

This is a good start.

I don't know what to say.

And do I.

I tried to persuade her to come to the visiting room.

It's okay. Is she all right?

I think so. She just doesn't want to come out, and I didn't really want to

her.

Denise?

Hi. I'm sorry. I didn't feel safe.

I know it's not rational, and I realize that I am just a couple of pills away

from feeling better, but...

Even so, do you mind? I just feel more comfortable in here. No problem.

What's the news?

There is no news. I just came by to tell you that all the doctors are lined up,

the appeal is being drafted, and we're ready to file as soon as... As soon as I

arrive at my destination?

Basically.

How are you doing?

I'm okay. I'm okay.

I'm heading into that... I don't feel like being inside my skin part, but I'm

all right.

Listen. I'm going to stop by daily and check up on you, okay?

You know where to find me. I don't travel much.

This as well is not safe, is it?