Original subtitles

Previously on The Practice.

I shot him, and I watched his neck explode. And it was joyous.

If I had a daughter and somebody killed her, I'd want him dead.

You think the jury will think like that? I do.

My advice-- temporary insanity.

Your daughter was murdered. The pressure of the trial topped off with an acquittal.

- You snapped. - I knew what I was doing. I won't pretend otherwise.

Gerald-- No!

If Gerald Braun came to you before and said, "Oh, by the way,

I'm going to kill Ronald Martin," I hardly think you'd give him your moral blessing.

Well, you would be wrong, Mr. Goode,

because Dr. Braun did come to me, and I did give him my blessing.

You encouraged Dr. Braun to commit a homicide.

This is not an appropriate thing rabbis should do with their congregants.

Mr. Warner? Yes?

Detective Belle, Boston Police. Would you place your hands behind your back please, sir?

Don't you think you gave him the righteousness he needed to see it through?

Let's not kid ourselves.

Ronald Martin is dead in large part because of you.

Notice of appearance of a new D.A. in the Braun trial.

Asher Silverman? What? You know this guy?

Asher Silverman is a legend. He has never lost a murder trial.

That was the sanest moment of my life. I'll get right on that stand and say so.

Say it like that and wave bye-bye to your wife and world.

-Who the hell's side are you on? -This D.A. isn't good. He is great!

And if he can convince those jurors to ignore the cheering and the sympathy,

you both go away!

Commonwealth versus David Piper. Sexual intercourse with a minor.

Eugene Young for the defendant. We'll waive reading, plead not guilty.

As for personal recognizance, no priors.

- You askin' bail? - No.

[ Judge Zisk ] How old is the girl? Thirteen, Your Honor.

Trial date, June the 20th. See Probation.

[ Gavel Raps ]

So where's Mr. Donnell? He's in trial this week.

Can you come by the office? This report is a little sketchy, and I need more information.

What's gonna happen to me? Well, I won't say nothin', David.

A 13-year-old girl. I mean--

She's 14 now, and she consented.

That doesn't matter when it's statutory rape.

Statutory rape.

She was 13. That sink in at all with you?

I fell in love with her, man. And what?

Did she report you? Was it her parents? I think it was her doctor.

Her doctor? Did she get hurt?

No, man. She got pregnant.

[ Line Ringing ]

[ Cell Door Opens, Closes ]

[ Sirens Wailing ]

Mr. Berluti, what can you tell us?

- We expect to show he didn't do it. - But he said he did it.

He only admitted to shooting the guy in the head, causing his death forthwith.

That isn't necessarily murder when there are mitigating circumstances.

[ Voices Overlapping ] Like what?

The guy had it comin'! No comment. Good-bye.

Were you talkin' to them?

Sound bites. Nothing of substance. [ Man ] Rabbi?

- [ Woman ] Rabbi Silverman, what is your position? - There.

Rabbi Silverman, what is your position?

He looks like a corpse.

The judge gonna let him wear the little cap?

Jury nullification basically means...

telling the jury to acquit even though the defendant is guilty.

Lawyers aren't technically allowed to make this argument,

but they invariably find a way to do it anyway.

Watch it. And Bobby Donnell is expected to do it here. He'll be saying,

"Hey, whatever the law says, you can't put Gerald Braun in jail."

It can be effective with sympathetic defendants, and the prosecution knows this.

That's why they brought in Asher Silverman.

If the defense takes a holier-than-thou position,

you can bet Rabbi Silverman will have something to say about it.

How old are you, David? I'm 19.

Nineteen. Okay.

And the victim, Melanie White-- Are you two still on good terms?

Yeah.

What about her parents? Any chance they don't hate you?

She's only got her mother, and I don't think she's too happy.

But she ain't threatening to kill me or nothin'.

Is there any chance that Melanie or her mother would speak on your behalf?

Hey, this is all gonna come down to sentencing, so whatever help we can get--

I don't know about Mrs. White, but I know Melanie would come. She's with me now.

What? Yeah, she's out there waiting.

Well, she can come in.

Come on in, baby.

Mr. Young, this is Melanie. Melanie, Mr. Young.

Hi. Hi.

So, you two are on good terms?

Didn't you tell him?

Look, Mr. Young, we love each other, all right?

And we both wanna have this baby.

[ Electronic Humming ]

[ Chattering ]

[ Woman ] Let's get some seats in the back. [ Man ] All right.

[ Sighs ] Last chance.

We'll still take manslaughter-- voluntary.

I think not.

He could walk. I think not.

- It's an honor to be up against you. - Jimmy.

- But we're not afraid. - [ Man ] All rise.

The State of Massachusetts versus Gerald Braun.

Our sources say the prosecution will first be putting up...

an eyewitness by the name of Chris Varley,

who was out walking his dog that day and saw Dr. Braun shoot Mr. Martin.

The medical examiner is scheduled to follow. You believe this?

Every station is covering it. This will definitely put us on the map.

Yeah. Nice map.

[ Varley ] He just walked up real calm, raised the gun and shot him.

What did you do, sir?

Well, I just kind of froze up.

There was blood coming out of the guy's neck.

And then, uh, he took, like, two steps,

pointed the gun again...

and shot him in the head, and that was it.

Did you have opportunity to observe the demeanor of the defendant, sir?

He seemed as calm as he could be. Hmm.

What happened after the shooting, Mr. Varley?

Well, he looked up, said to me,

"I suggest you notify the police."

Just like that. Real calm.

"I suggest you notify the police,"

like it wasn't even a 911.

The first shot wasn't fatal. You can see...

it only nicked the carotid sinus at the bifurcation.

What about the second shot? Your Honor, I renew my objections to these photos.

- Overruled. - Any probative value they might have--

- Mr. Donnell-- - We'll stipulate the injuries were both bloody and fatal.

Mr. Donnell, the court advises you to take your seat. Now!

Thank you.

Mr. Silverman, you may proceed. What about the second shot?

[ Woman ] The bullet entered the temporal lobe just above the eye socket,

causing a pressure explosion of the upper brain and skull.

Do you have a medical opinion as to how long it took Ronald Martin to die?

[ Woman ] From the time of the first wound, probably about 30 to 40 seconds.

Do you have an opinion as to whether the victim suffered?

For 20 seconds or so, he was drowning in his own blood.

I would consider that suffering.

I thought it went very well. [ Braun ] "Well"?

- That was well? - Dr. Braun, you gotta expect--

The prosecution's gonna try to make you look like Charles Manson or something.

I think so far, you're comin' off a normal killer.

- And now, we put on our case. - Which is just the three of us?

No.

It'll just be you.

I thought I was first?

If I put you on that stand, Mrs. Braun,

they can get it out on cross how calm Gerald seemed before he left.

Your being in the courtroom is enough. I think it shows you support him.

- What about me? - Too dangerous.

[ Danny ] But the whole point is to show Gerald had some moral empowerment.

If I don't take the stand--

If I put you in that chair, Asher Silverman can blast away...

at our moral justification theory with no risk to alienating the jury.

With Jerry, he has to tiptoe. The jury feels sorry for Jerry.

- He's a victim. You're not. - Even so, I can support Gerald's state of mind.

I don't want our case depending on the jury...

liking or accepting you, because they won't.

Why don't we just argue temporary insanity?

No! They'll let you go.

I wasn't insane. I won't say that I was, damn it.

Are you ready with your testimony?

Yeah. I'm ready.

Mr. Donnell, you may call your first witness.

Thank you, Your Honor.

The defense calls Dr. Gerald Braun.

[ Spectators Murmuring ]

I'll remind the gallery to stay silent.

Raise your right hand, please.

Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

So help me God.

No comment. This was not new information they put on.

I can't respond. We all know Dr. Braun pulled the trigger.

So what's the point of the eyewitness? No comment at this time. Sorry.

And it's no secret that the guy's head and neck kind of exploded.

This was all stipulated to. They were just trying to be inflammatory with those photos.

How many times do I gotta say "no comment"?

- Mr. Donnell, what is your comment? - Sound bites, nothing more.

Mr. Donnell, what is your comment? We need to find out--

The defense wants to prove heat of passion, but this is where it gets tricky.

Normally, heat of passion means a flash of rage,

or that the defendant somehow lost control.

But here, we have eyewitness accounts as to how calm Dr. Braun was.

The defense is basically arguing that the passion here is moral passion--

that Dr. Braun was compelled by an overwhelming moral force that made him pull the trigger.

A stretch? Maybe. But remember,

if the defense can prove heat of any passion,

Dr. Braun will walk completely free,

because manslaughter is not an option for the jury here.

The prosecution is gambling, and they are going all or nothing.

[ TV Shuts Off ] Wow.

Why did you want off this case? Any lawyer would want in on this.

Heat of passion? Please.

I'm all for representing a client zealously,

but arguing the morality of murder really isn't my niche.

A defense is a defense, Ellenor.

If memory serves me correctly, you had a client who said the devil made him do it.

- You had no problem arguing that. - What's your point?

My point is, I think you're taking offense here...

as a Jew and not as a lawyer.

And I'm not allowed to do that?

Well, there is that "separation of church and state" thing, remember?

Yeah, but what I do as a lawyer isn't state action, Lindsay.

Oh, please. [ Rebecca ] Whoa.

I think we should change the subject.

Exactly why did you go to Rabbi Warner that night?

Well, because I was in tremendous,

I guess, rage,

and because...

I could think only of killing Ronald Martin.

Did you expect to change your mind?

No. No, uh, it's not what it was about.

[ Bobby ] What was it about?

I wanted to know if I was evil for wanting to kill Ronald Martin.

I-I wanted to know if God would understand.

And how did Rabbi Warner respond?

He said that God would understand.

[ Bobby ] Did he say anything else?

[ Braun ] He said that between Ronald Martin going free...

and Ronald Martin being dead,

it was more moral for him to be dead.

Mrs. White, thanks for coming. What's this all about?

Uh, this is gonna sound a little bit out there, but just the same, we, uh--

You know, David and Melanie, maybe it would be best for you two...

to wait outside at first.

And I'll call you back in later, okay?

Okay.

It's gonna hit the fan in there now. Yeah, I know.

How are you feeling? Oh, I'm good.

Long as I sleep on my side and he doesn't start kicking at night--

I hate the heartburn. Some people say that means he's gonna be born with hair.

Oh. [ David ] You hope it's just hair.

We should have done that amnio thing.

So do you have kids?

No.

I got out of the car.

I started walking toward him with the gun in my hand.

- So you went there to kill him? - Yeah.

And I hoped I would.

But, uh, I also knew the reality of going through with it.

And, um, as I approached him,

I became less and less sure that I would.

Less sure? How?

I kept expecting this impulse...

to, um, suddenly, uh--

to suddenly tell me that I was about to do evil.

I-I-I half expected something in my brain...

to say, "Stop. This is wrong."

Did that impulse come?

No.

And as I got to him,

the sensation that I felt was that, um,

this was right.

Ronald Martin should be dead.

And as I raised the gun and-and-and pointed it,

I knew it more.

My-My hand didn't shake.

It was steady.

When I pulled the trigger,

I saw the blood shoot out from his neck.

I, um--

I aimed for his head, but I shot him in the neck--

in the throat.

And, um, I heard him choking,

and, uh, I remember thinking...

this is godly,

because, um,

this man had strangled my daughter.

How fitting that, um, he should choke.

That seemed to be...

the most godly thing in all of this.

And, um,

then I pulled the trigger again.

I fired the gun, and he was gone.

Do you regret killing Ronald Martin?

I, um--

I regret the pain I brought his family.

I know their pain.

But...

I believe it is just for him to be dead.

I-- I do. I--

I believe I owed it to my daughter to kill him.

And, um, I pray to God...

that she knows.

Did you actually expect me to go along with this?

Mrs. White, I don't know you, and I have no expectations whatsoever.

I'm just saying that they say they love each other.

They say they plan to be married one day. I'm saying...

he has a better chance of staying out of jail if they get married now.

Do you even see how despicable this is?

This may be in your daughter's best interest.

I've spoken to a social worker, and all I ask is that you meet with her--

Oh! so that we can--

Mrs. White!

I have a son who's a few years younger than your daughter.

I know. Now, meet with the social worker.

If you're still against it, I'll respect that and back off.

But your daughter wants to keep her baby,

and this is more complicated than you know.

I just ask you to meet with the social worker.

Please?

You did great. But now is where it gets tough.

Let me tell you a few things about Silverman. He stays still, almost motionless sometimes.

He'll slowly move towards you. He won't shout or thump his chest.

He just moves in very slowly, trying to intimidate you.

They call him the picker-off, 'cause he stands still, then he strikes.

You just speak from what's in there.

Don't fall for word games.

Don't try to make the jury think you're smarter than him.

You don't have to be careful here.

Everybody knows what you did, and we're not hiding anything.

[ Knocking ] We're back.

- All right. - Thanks, Bobby.

[ Danny ] Let's go.

I don't mean to be harsh with you, Danny. Understand.

I got a defense here-- I understand you perfectly.

She'll be here any second. I just called their office again.

Okay. Thank you. Ooh!

There he goes again. Feel.

He's a little rascal, isn't he?

Yeah. [ Groans ]

That one kind of hurt. Mama?

I really wanna keep my baby.

I know that I can take care of him. I know I can.

We've talked about this before, Melanie. You're 14 years old.

You have school and you have your life ahead of you.

Mommy, this is my baby.

[ Knocking ]

Hi. Uh, are you Melanie?

[ Judge Vinocour ] Mr. Silverman, you can begin.

You were aware of what you were doing when you killed Ronald Martin?

Acutely.

And you felt God would understand your doing this?

I wasn't sure. That's why I went to my rabbi.

Is it your thinking that one may commit a premeditated murder...

so long as he gets a note from his rabbi?

The jury heard my thinking, Mr. Silverman.

Is it your belief,

sitting here today in this courtroom,

that God would embrace your bloodletting?

It is.

Would you care to offer authority for this position?

Exodus:

"He who fatally strikes a man shall be put to death."

Genesis: "Whoever sheds the blood of a man,

by man shall his blood be shed."

Then according to Exodus and Genesis,

should you now be put to death?

I didn't take an innocent life. According to the Torah,

Ronald Martin had forfeited his right to live...

by murdering an innocent person.

- I had a Jewish right to do what I did. - Jewish right?

A Jewish right.

I'll assume you're aware of the Talmud's view on capital punishment?

I'll assume you're aware that when Eichmann directed the murder of six million people,

we kidnapped him, brought him to Jerusalem and hanged him.

- And then we cheered. - Eichmann was responsible for mass murder.

Are you comparing Ronald Martin to Eichmann?

I'm suggesting that sometimes, vengeance is right.

And I won't let you stand up there as a rabbi--

- Move to strike. - This is my day in court, Rabbi, not yours!

[ Gavel Banging ] [ Judge Vinocour ] All right! Silence!

Be quiet. The witness may finish.

You come into this room wearing your yarmulke...

to send a message to that jury that you condemn me as a Jew.

No, Dr. Braun.

I condemn you as a murderer.

But, Rabbi, you're in here as a Jew.

And you're testifying as a Jew...

that you had the right to commit a religious murder?

- Because to forgive a murderer is not the Jewish way. - You mean, it's not your way.

When God confronted Cain after the murder of Abel, he didn't forgive him.

He shouted out to him, "Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground."

- God shouted that! - And God shouted out to you?

No! My daughter did!

Her blood cried out to me!

Her blood!

And that's the real truth, isn't it, Dr. Braun?

When you raised that gun,

you didn't hear Exodus or Genesis.

You didn't hear the Talmud or the Torah. You didn't see God.

You only saw your daughter's blood.

And that's the real truth.

[ Woman ] This isn't just changing diapers or taking care of a baby.

This is raising a child. Do you think you really know what that entails?

Probably not, but, um, we're ready to learn.

Forget the "takes a village" crap. The village is out of order.

The child needs parents.

Look, we'll do whatever we have to.

How long have you two been together?

Will they arrest me again if I tell?

No.

Almost two years.

[ Woman ] Do you have a place of dwelling? Yes.

I have a two-bedroom in Brighton. We plan to turn the extra room into a nursery.

- [ Sighs ] How much money do you make? - 660 a week.

But I'm supposed to be promoted to foreman in October,

which takes me to 725.

- Plus, I get insurance for Melanie and the baby. - And I'm not covered right now.

Hmm.

Uh, do you work, ma'am?

I work for a courier service.

And how much do you make? 490 a week.

Danny.

It's 10:30.

Couldn't sleep.

- Closing arguments? - Yeah.

Look, Bobby, I--

You and I go back to high school together.

I understand Gerald doing what he did.

But you, I--

Say what you have to say.

You know Gerald Braun like you know me.

You had to know he was considering to go out and shoot Ronald Martin.

You may not have thought he was going to, but you knew there was a possibility, Danny.

You think I wanted him to execute Ronald Martin?

I think that you could have stopped him, and you didn't.

Guilty by commission or omission, it doesn't matter.

But invoking God to excuse you, Danny?

It just-- It-- It makes me ill.

This from a man who routinely defends murderers.

We both chose our professions. I'm a criminal defense attorney.

They see me coming. You're a rabbi.

When Donna Braun was murdered,

Jerry--

Jerry, he-he became lost.

And so did you.

There's an ancient custom in Jewish law.

[ Speaks Hebrew ]

Translated, it means if a Jew is found murdered,

let him be buried in his bloody clothes.

We bury him as we found him...

to provoke in people fury and the desire to avenge.

Donna Braun was buried...

in the clothes she was strangled in.

Does this make vengeance right? Of course not.

But it does help explain the mind-set of Gerald Braun.

Filled with the rage over his daughter's murder,

instilled with the religious doctrine...

that anyone who takes an innocent life...

must forfeit his life,

it becomes easy to see why Gerald Braun...

was so impassioned to believe he was right.

He went to his own rabbi,

who compounded this passion...

by saying it was more moral for Ronald Martin to be dead than free.

In the mixture of this religious influence...

and his own rage and religious pain,

he marched toward Ronald Martin with a loaded gun in his hand.

And with each step, as he got closer and closer to the man...

who choked the life out of his only daughter,

he waited for the impulse to tell him, "Stop!"

Instead,

he saw Donna's face.

He heard the passages...

from Exodus and Leviticus.

"Eye for an eye." "He who sheds the blood of man."

"Vengeance is mine." God said that.

"Vengeance is mine!"

And suddenly that night, vengeance was Gerald Braun's.

In the heat of moral and religious passion,

in the heat of horrible grief,

vengeance became his.

Was he right?

No.

Does this man belong in prison?

Of course not.

For whatever reason, Gerald Braun felt...

he was in God's hands that night.

But there's no doubt, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

today...

he's now in yours.

I ask not that you abandon your compassion for this man.

I ask simply that you not be blinded by it.

We could pass a law permitting parents...

to avenge the deaths of their murdered children.

We choose not to.

We could pass a law permitting religion...

to be an excuse for certain types of homicides.

We choose not to.

We could live in a society...

that considers revenge murder to be moral.

We choose not to.

Now, this man by his own admission...

knowingly and reflectively executed another human being.

You heard that defendant accuse me...

of being here both as a rabbi and a district attorney.

In truth, I am here threefold--

a lawyer, a rabbi and a man.

And when he suggests to this jury...

that you ignore the clear intent of law,

he offends my sensibilities as a district attorney.

And when he champions...

revenge murder as being in keeping with Judaism,

he offends me as a rabbi!

And when he claims that...

what he did was moral,

he offends morality itself.

And I take it personally as a man!

It will be a great insult to human nature...

not to understand why he did this,

but it is an even greater outrage to mankind to tolerate it.

Any and every trial...

ultimately...

becomes about...

the truth.

And the truth...

which each and every one of you swore to...

was to uphold the law.

You are proposing instead of Mr. Piper going to jail for statutory rape,

he should be allowed to go free so he can marry the victim?

Uh, Your Honor, I would ask you to consider the following--

I won't consider anything that escapes your mouth, counselor.

You're here representing him. I'm more concerned about her.

She's 14 years old, for God's sake.

Which is why I've brought Cindy McGuire from Child Welfare.

[ Sighs ] You're recommending this?

The idea makes me nauseous,

but my concern is for the girl and for the baby.

- And? - This man seems able to provide a home.

If he goes to jail, we're likely looking at a foster home for the child. Plus--

- What about the grandmother? - Well, then we're looking at welfare.

She can't afford to take care of a baby.

With all due respect to my bias, Your Honor, this isn't unprecedented.

These kinds of marriages have been recommended before with minors...

when the sex is consensual, both partners are committed to marriage,

and the father is the only real means of financial support.

That's what we've got here.

That doesn't make it any less putrid.

What the hell kind of message does this send?

You can commit statutory rape so long as you marry the child after?

Okay, look. There are a hundred reasons to condemn the idea.

But the fact is, I'm not here to send a message to society.

I've got a pregnant 14-year-old girl.

I'm trying to figure out what's best for her,

what's best for this one particular baby.

My recommendation is that you give them a chance.

Mrs. White?

My daughter wants to, uh, raise her child, Your Honor.

She wants her baby to have a father.

And they love each other.

So-- I'm not a judge.

I-- I don't know.

Something tells me I'm gonna wake up tomorrow morning feeling sick about this,

but for now, I'm going to accept Miss McGuire's recommendation...

conditioned on marriage counseling to begin immediately.

[ Groans ]

You may not like it, young lady, but believe it or not,

14-year-olds still have things to learn.

I'm not groaning about that, Your Honor. [ Groans ]

Oh! I think my water just broke. What?

Adjourned. Go! Go, go, go! Somebody call 911!

It's gonna be okay. Bailiff?

The jury has come back with a question.

They want to know if manslaughter is an option,

which means that they don't want to find him guilty of murder.

But nor do they want to see him walk free.

Now, which prospect they dislike more, that's anybody's guess.

So who's gonna blink?

I would be open to a plea bargain for manslaughter.

No.

If they come back guilty, you are going away for a long time, Jerry.

Manslaughter, I can get most of all of it suspended.

If Silverman's offering it, he probably thinks he's losing.

[ Sighs ] Dr. Braun, listen to me.

There's no possible way to tell on this.

I think that you should take it.

No.

Gerald, please. I said no.

Damn it! This isn't just about you.

What am I going to do if you go away?

I don't know how we're gonna get through any of this.

But if we're not together, we don't have a chance.

Damn it. Jerry--

I could survive being found guilty.

I could survive being exonerated.

But in-between--

I don't think I could survive that.

Yes.

I know that's hard to understand,

but I can't accept manslaughter.

[ Woman On P.A. ] Dr. Robalar, call Labor and Delivery,

extension 216.

Dr. Robalar, pick up extension 216. Hey.

Hey. Fully dilated.

Any minute. All right.

How'd it go in court?

Great. Judge is gonna let them marry.

What the hell am I doin', Beck?

She's 14. I'm askin' a judge-- What the hell am I doing?

She's trying to keep her family together.

She's 14. What does she know?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I got pregnant when I was 15.

And?

Mm-hmm.

For me, it was the right decision.

I mean, I was 15. What was I gonna do with a baby?

But not a day goes by that I don't think about it.

Yeah, Beck.

But she's 14, having a baby...

and planning to get married.

Yeah, but she's a girl...

who's listening to some voice inside...

telling her what she thinks is right.

And I don't know, Eugene. Maybe she is right.

I hope she is.

[ Sighs ]

Will the defendant please rise?

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict?

- We have. - Please proceed.

On the charge of murder in the first degree,

we find the defendant, Gerald Braun, not guilty.

On the charge of murder in the second degree,

we find the defendant, Gerald Braun, not guilty.

- [ Spectators Murmuring ] - Yes!

[ Judge Vinocour ] Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you are dismissed.

- Thank you. - [ Reporters Shouting Questions ]

Danny.

[ Man ] We want to ask you a few questions.

[ Jimmy ] There's no cause to celebrate a situation like this. Please.

It's a great, great day. One at a time. Counselor, what do you do--

You did it.

Uh, actually, you did it, Danny.

Credit should go to you.

We went with your theory, and-- and the jury agreed.

The execution was moral.

The accessory charge against me-- It still stands?

That-- That'd be tough to make now. I wouldn't worry about it.

I was, um--

I was thinking about maybe getting another lawyer to handle it.

I figured you gotta be fried now.

Maybe somebody else should handle it.

That-- That's probably best.

Well, again, great job.

Thanks.

Danny?

Go with God.

Yeah.

You too.

Wow.

Isn't he beautiful?

Hmm. Oh, yeah.

So much hair.

How about that, huh? [ Cooing ]

Yeah. How about that?

[ Cooing Continues ]

[ Woman ] You stinker!