Original subtitles

The defendant will rise.

Will the poor person please read the verdict?

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.

Request for the jury be pulled.

Juror number one.

Is this your recommendation?

Yes, it is.

Juror number two?

Yes, it is.

Juror number three?

It is, Your Honor.

Juror number four?

Yes, Your Honor.

Juror number five?

It is, Your Honor.

Juror number six?

Yes, Your Honor.

Juror number seven?

Yes, Your Honor.

Juror number eight?

Yes, it is, Your Honor.

Juror number nine?

It is, Your Honor.

Juror number ten?

Yes, it is.

Juror number eleven?

It is, Your Honor.

Juror number 12.

Yes.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury.

Mr. Spankler, based upon the jury recommendations and my review of the

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

under the laws of the state of Georgia. Set 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.

How could you let this happen?

The DA rested his case on the testimony of one witness? On what some crutch the

old lady thinks she saw? And you couldn't get me off?

You have no one to blame but yourself.

You're right for hiring an incompetent jerk like you.

It all boiled down to her word against yours.

You got on the stand.

When you had one chance to make them believe you instead of her rolled

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 have never 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.

Very sorry.

Enter.

Oh, come on.

I said cut that out.

Well, Detective Bichard, what a surprise. Come in, come in. Sure it's

mean, if you're busy, I can come back. Oh, no, no. I got myself one of those

personal computers, fella, I know.

You 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 did 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 the lineup and everything.

This 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

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

Ben, you of all people know how unreliable that kind of testimony can

The jury's convinced.

Now, 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

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

witness said he wasn't wearing gloves.

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

housekeeper friends, anybody.

What about the murder weapon?

The 9mm Makarov. Never recovered.

What's his story?

Says it was never there.

No alibi?

No.

I just got this feeling in my gut.

Your gut, huh?

So you'll talk to him?

I think you guys always get me into this kind of stuff.

Thanks, Ben.

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

He's just no murderer.

I'm going to hate him.

No, he's going to be perfectly charming and you're going to love him.

It's when you realize that 99 % of what he says is absolute bull.

That's when you're going to hate him.

The script of your trial.

I read it last night.

I can certainly see how you got convicted. You can't open your mouth

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.

And sure is.

Campbell Bouchard.

He poised your mind about me, now didn't he? I wouldn't be too hard on old

Campbell.

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

Well, here's the way I see it.

You've got a fair trial with no procedural errors.

And that means that whoever handles your appeal is going to 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 got to hear it

right now.

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.

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

I lied out of habit.

But that 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.

Well, earlier that day, I was in this pawn shop a friend of mine owns.

And pretty soon this woman comes in with some jewelry.

Family heirlooms.

Really nice stuff.

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

So I followed her.

And it turns out she lived just up the street.

Why'd you follow her?

Sort of scoping her out.

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

house real good.

Got some tools. Came back. Waited for her to leave. And when she did, I went

work. How'd you get in?

Just picked the lock on the front door.

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

Well, then, yeah. But not later. I swear, I made a beeline to the bedroom,

when I didn't find jewelry in the jewelry box, I looked around the closet

some kind of safe.

Sure enough, I found it.

Or gloves.

Of course.

I remembered that there was this key in the jewelry box, so I tried it in 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, a little -known fact.

You fenced the jewelry that night?

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

Anybody with you that night?

Just him and me.

What's his address?

A pawn shop in the 2300 block of East Monroe.

Oliver Serling.

Well, I'll give it a shot.

Matlock.

Captain Onya.

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 the 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

Leroy Neimans and their Wedgwood because they know I'm going to give them a fair

shake.

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

Kaput. Through.

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

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, do you recall?

I was in the pawn shop I own.

Doing what?

Buying several pieces of jewelry from Adam Spangler.

You sure?

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.

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.

That's pretty.

Is it valuable?

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

was discovered in 1922.

These are some 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 I can't be positive, but I think I may have bought

a couple of those other pieces that night.

What happened to them?

Well, when I read the paper the next day, I saw that the lady who'd been in

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 it scared?

I didn't have the heart to destroy it.

One more time. Are you sure the defendant, Adam Spangler, was with you

minutes after 10 the night of the murder?

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.

Miss Harrington, rebuttal witnesses?

Thank you, Your Honor.

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

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. And

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.

Object.

Irrelevant. Fake or real, that's still the same brooch my client was selling

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.

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 of the alloys in this gold were used was in the late 1960s.

My guess is that this reproduction, as good as it is, was made recently.

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

This is a first for me, you know that.

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'd say or do anything to save your skin.

Well, wouldn't you?

You're telling 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.

Don't lose me.

You don't even know what happened that night. You can't tell the truth.

God's honest truth.

I saw that woman at the pawn shop, and

I followed her home. I caved the place, got the tools, and waited for her to

leave. 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 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?

S .O .P. I travel light and low profile. No guns, no drugs, no contraband, ever.

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?

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.

You might explain that broken window.

He probably broke it. Just to throw us off.

You could explain that set of friends 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. A drink?

You're buying me a satin court dinner.

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

Please come in. Thank you. Detective Bouchard, how nice to see you again.

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.

Oh, sit down, please.

Well, would you like some tea?

No, thanks. I'm fine. Me too.

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

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.

Now, before you and old Campbell here start going round and round on that,

me again what happened that night, what you saw, where you were when you saw it.

Well...

I was doing my laundry downstairs like I do every Wednesday night.

And then I came up here. It was about a quarter of ten.

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 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 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 then just

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?

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 grabbed it from her.

Took a step back.

Raised a 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.

And he came out of the closet, and he was holding a lot of jewelry in his

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 know.

There's not It was him

You happy no, but I guess I'm satisfied

and real hungry

Hi, Ben.

Campbell Bouchard.

Yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it?

How you doing?

I never do good at 4 o 'clock 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.

I'll go back to bed now.

Wait a minute.

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

we never could account for?

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

No.

Yes.

Adam Spangler is innocent.

Hello, Ben.

Long time no see.

Who's this pretty lady?

It's my daughter, Leanne McIntyre. She's a lawyer, too. We've been partners for

over a year.

Well, then, that must mean you're every bit as talented as you are beautiful.

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

Losing my touch.

That's all.

Three years on 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

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.

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

coincidence for it to be a random burglar.

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

and have better luck.

Who knew you were going to steal that jewelry?

We'll see.

Well, I told Serling because I wanted to make sure that he'd buy the stuff once

I got it.

And 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?

Hawk.

I don't know his real name.

What does he look like?

About my height.

He didn't build.

I met him out 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 Hawk knew what you were planning to do that night.

Well, it couldn't be Serling. He was going to end up with the stuff anyway.

It's got to be this Hawk guy.

Time's up.

Uh, Beth might have told somebody.

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

She loved me.

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.

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

It hurts thinking about him.

I wouldn't ask him if I thought it would help.

See that guy in the blue T -shirt?

That's Paddy McCord.

He and my brother were Marines.

Paddy lost the use of his legs and my brother died when their barracks were

bombed by terrorists in Lebanon.

Paddy promised my brother that he'd wash 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 Hawk's his friend, not yours.

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

Hi,

Beth.

Did you see that shot?

Nothing but net.

Guess it can't be the shoes.

No wonder I don't get any endorsements.

Patty, this is Leanne McIntyre. Hi.

How you doing?

She's one of Adam Spangler's lawyers.

She needs to talk to you about Hawk.

Come on, Beth.

You know better than that.

Patty, please. It's important.

Forget it. Mr. McCord, I just want to talk to you. It could save his life.

No way.

Patty, wait!

Mail here.

Dad.

Did you get a computer?

Where's the monitor?

Don't use it.

Why not?

It doesn't like me.

I don't roll over on people.

It's a thing with me.

Her brother was my best friend.

This is important to her.

What do you want to know?

Who is this guy, Hawk?

He's a thief.

Minor league.

Breaking in during 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?

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

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

Where can we find him?

Patty, please?

Please?

All those detectives, Harris and Lieberman.

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

Yeah, but where's Hawk?

Any minute now.

What if this is another one of Adam Spangler's scams? I mean, we both know

not much for telling the truth.

What if he got Beth to get Patty to make up this whole Hawk thing? Now, if he

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

What?

That guy over there.

He's the right size, height, wearing gloves, cigar, got a bag.

It's him.

Yeah, but he's going the wrong way.

He knows something's up. I'll follow him. You get him.

There.

All units, he's heading for the playground.

All the way down.

All the way

down.

Sandwiches.

I don't understand.

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

right up until I 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.

Oh, Miss Payson, in thinking back of what you told me before, there's

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

And the first thing you did when you came back up here, opened the window.

And then you said 20 minutes later you closed it again. Why?

I don't know what I did.

Oh, cigar smoke.

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

What?

I smelled cigar smoke that night.

That's why I closed the window.

Miss Payson, it's possible. Just possible.

If somebody was standing down there between the houses, watching Adam

enter their 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?

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.

You've read the written declarations I've submitted, but those are just

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 a crime of murder, well,

emotions just naturally get in the way.

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 versus

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.

The truth of the matter is, the crime for which Adam Spangler is to be

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

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 interest of justice, to at least stay

execution of Adam Spangler till this man can be found.

To that end, petitioner calls Detective Campbell Bouchard to the stand.

That won't be necessary, Mr. Matlock.

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

Honor... 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.

The 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.

But if you could just suggest to your viewers that they call their assembly.

Well, yes, sir. I'm sorry. I do know it's late. I was just wondering, did you

consider staying? No. I understand.

Judge.

Dad, did you hear back from the U .S. Supreme Court?

Refused our petition.

Did you ever hear back from Patty?

He said he would call us as soon as he gets the slightest tennis to where Hawk

is.

There's no time to be playing with a computer.

I'm not playing with a computer, Dad. I have the phone number of every judge in

the state of Georgia in here.

Yeah?

Yeah. Man, it's Campbell. We just picked up the second story man who might know

something about this Hawk guy.

What'd he say?

Nothing yet. Hasn't been Mirandized.

Where are you going to be in case we might shake something out of this guy?

Leanne will be right here. Call her the second you got anything. I'll be out at

the prison.

Still a chance.

Well, I took Beth up to a great friend one weekend.

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

It's a picture of Bush.

Yeah, he must have been moving.

Cameron when he pushed the button.

Pictures never did Beth justice anyway.

She's always prettier in real life.

happening for a reason, you know?

It's gotta be.

I just wish I knew what the hell it was.

I understand that, Your Honor.

Yes, okay, Judge Katz. Thanks anyway.

Bye.

Hello? Yeah?

Oh, great.

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

Okay.

Bye.

One. One more.

Yes.

Daughter just called. Said police had an address for him.

Hawk somebody.

He's on the way there now.

Do they have him yet?

Not yet. Officers just went in. They know they've got to take him alive,

They know.

He's under the fire at the gate.

Campbell, no guns.

He's dead.

Nine millimeter macro.

It's time.

Yes.

Yes.

They found the murder weapon.