Just Mercy (2019) EN

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<font color="#00ffff">Subtitles by sub.Trader
subscene.com</font>

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All right, let's chop and load!

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Good evening now, Officer.

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Y'all need my license
or anything I got?

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No, that's not necessary.

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Some sharp-looking truck you got.

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Thank you.

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Those rims look like
they cost you a pretty penny.

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Who you've been working for?

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No, sir. I don't work for nobody.
I got my own pulpin' business.

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I clear all these trees around here.

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So ain't got no boss
to check in with, huh?

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That must be pretty nice.

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Free to roam up down the road

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wherever you want to,
whenever you want to in this fancy truck?

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Not if my wife got somethin'
to say about it.

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I heard that ain't stopped you
before though.

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Ain't that right, Johnny D?

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You wanna make a break for it?

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No, sir, I don't wanna do--

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'Cause after what you've done,
I'm looking for any excuse

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to get this over with
right here right now.

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Sir, I ain't did nothing,
and I think y'all got a wrong person in.

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Y'all got me confused
with somebody, and I think--

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I got you confused with nobody!

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I don't have anything
to do with this!

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<i>We all know Monroeville
as the peaceful town</i>

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<i>where Harper Lee
wrote To Kill A Mockingbird.</i>

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<i>But last year, that peace
was shattered by a brutal crime.</i>

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<i>On the 1st of November,</i>

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<i>18-year-old Ronda Morrison
was found dead at Jackson Cleaners.</i>

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<i>Morrison had been strangled
and shot by Walter McMillian,</i>

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<i>known locally as 'Johnny D.'</i>

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<i>McMillian was convicted by a jury
who recommended a life sentence.</i>

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<i>But today, Judge Robert E. Lee Key
overrode their decision</i>

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<i>and sentenced McMillian to death.</i>

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<i>We promised the community
that we would find him, and we did.</i>

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<i>You commit a crime like this in my town,
one way or another, you gonna pay for it.</i>

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<i>As McMillian awaits execution
at Holman Correctional Facility,</i>

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<i>a grieving community can take
some solace in knowing that today,</i>

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<i>justice has finally been served.</i>

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Thank you.

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You got one hour.

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Hi, Mr. Davis. I'm Bryan.

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Henry.

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I'm...

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The Southern Prisoners Defense Committee,
they sent me here to tell you that

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they don't have a lawyer for you yet,
but they hope to soon.

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You not a lawyer?

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No... I'm still in school.

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Just interning here for the summer.

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So, you can't tell me nothin'
about my case?

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I was supposed to tell you that...

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That you're not at risk of execution
any time within the next year.

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Can you say that again?

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That you're not at risk of execution
any time within the next year.

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That's the best news
that I've heard in a long time.

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I didn't want my wife with kids

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showin' up if I had
an execution date comin'.

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Now they can come visit.

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Thank you. Thank you.

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Serious, my ma made me join
our church choir when I was like four.

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I sang lead baritone
all through high school.

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I played piano at my church growing up.

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A.M.E.? God is good...

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All the time. All the time.

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A couple of A.M.E. choirboys
hangin' on death row.

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- My mom would gonna trip.
- Man, that's crazy.

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What school are you going to?

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I'm at Harvard.

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Seriously? You goin' to Harvard?
That's white-boy-status, bro.

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What the hell you doin'
slummin' it in here for?

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I'm in law school
'cause I just want to help people.

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Just haven't figure out
the best way to do that yet.

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Honestly, this internship
has been the best experience so far.

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Workin' on death row
has been your best experience?

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You need to get out more, bro.

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You should've been done
two hours ago.

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I'm sorry. I didn't realize--

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You're supposed to watch the clock.

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Sir, calm down!
He didn't do anything!

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- You need to shut your mouth!
- It's okay, Bryan.

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Don't worry about me.
You just come back.

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<i>♪ I'm pressing on, the upward way ♪</i>

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<i>♪ New heights I'm gaining, every day ♪</i>

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<i>♪ Still praying as,
I'm onward bound ♪</i>

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<i>♪ Lord, plant my feet
on higher ground ♪</i>

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Mom's still mad at you.

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For what?

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I don't know, maybe for rejecting
all those job offers

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so you can be poor in Alabama.

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And Howie telling her about
that lynching in Mobile didn't help.

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What?

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- I said it happened seven years ago.
- Yeah, that made it better.

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You two were supposed
to be on my side.

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Pop, how we looking up there?

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Just added three quarts of water,

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but you should check again
when you get there.

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All right. Thanks.

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You talk to your mom yet?

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What did those leaves do to you?

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You not gonna say bye to your son?

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I know you got your law degree now,
and you think you're grown,

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but you're still my child.

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And I'm the one that has to deal
with your funeral arrangements

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if you get killed down there.

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- Come on, Mom--
- You think this is funny?

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'Cause if you can't see the danger
in what you're doing,

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you need to ask Harvard
for your money back.

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You used to be smarter than that.

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The first time I visited death row,

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I wasn't expecting to meet
somebody the same age as me.

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Grew up on the same music,
from a neighborhood just like ours.

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It could've been me, mama.

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I don't wanna move far away
from you. I love you.

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But you always taught me to fight
for the people who need the help the most.

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I am very proud of you, son.

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I know your heart's
in the right place.

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But it's not that simple.

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What you're doing is gonna make
a lot of people upset.

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You better be careful.

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I will.

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I promise.

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Here she comes.

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You gotta be kiddin' me!

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We had an agreement
to rent this space for two years.

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You said it was a done deal.

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That was before I knew
what you were doing here.

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We are giving poor people
their constitutional right to counsel, Bill!

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Do you mind explaining to my son
what you think is so wrong with that?

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- Eva, what's up?
- Bryan, thank God.

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This is the Executive Director
of our organization.

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He just got here, he was expecting
to move into the office

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that you promised us.

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You said you were the director.

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00:12:15,621 --> 00:12:17,292
Director of operations.

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And you're making me look very bad
in front of my boss right now.

138
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She said you were a lawyer, but nobody
told me it was for murderers on death row.

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We're providing legal services
to people who need help.

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And you'll have to do it someplace else,

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'cause I can't have people
like that around here.

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Not everyone is in there
for a good reason, sir.

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Y'all have a good day now.

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What a piece of shit.

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I'm so sorry, this is not
how I wanted to welcome you here.

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I will find us an office, I promise you I will.
I just gotta change my tactics.

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It'll be fine, we can work from anywhere.

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Yeah, we'll just have Chris clean up
his toys in the living room, right Chris?

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- Oh, yeah?
- I'll think about it.

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- I'm sorry for cussing, baby.
- It's okay.

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He was a piece of shit, though.

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I was a psychology major
writing a paper on capital punishment

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00:13:06,464 --> 00:13:09,522
when I met my first
death row inmate, Wayne Ritter.

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He and his friend robbed
a pawnshop in Mobile.

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His friend shot the owner
and they both got death.

156
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Is he the reason
why you got into this?

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His attorney was openly in favor
of the death penalty.

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He thought mad dogs ought to die.

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A lot of folks on the row either had
shitty representation or none at all.

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So, I just started calling every law firm
in the Yellow Pages,

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00:13:33,294 --> 00:13:35,615
just trying to find anybody
that could help.

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I was averaging 20 rejections a day.

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She was pretty stressed out.

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I was just about to give up,
when I got a call from a Harvard lawyer

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saying that he had just passed
the Alabama Bar,

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and had federal funding to start
a legal center for inmates on death row.

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I was in before he even
offered me the job.

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And before you knew
I couldn't pay you anything.

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What's that?

170
00:14:01,202 --> 00:14:03,312
Yeah, Dough doesn't know
about that part yet.

171
00:14:03,801 --> 00:14:05,069
Sorry, honey.

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00:14:05,217 --> 00:14:07,476
How is going, son?
You seem tired.

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Okay, let's go brush your teeth.

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00:14:09,749 --> 00:14:11,634
Excuse us.

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00:14:12,673 --> 00:14:14,958
I'll make up the couch for you, Bryan.

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00:14:15,938 --> 00:14:18,353
I'm excited about what you're doing.

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00:14:20,037 --> 00:14:21,835
Me too.

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00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:40,834
I should be in the log.
I'm scheduled to see six clients today.

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00:15:42,850 --> 00:15:45,311
I ain't seen you before.

180
00:15:45,670 --> 00:15:48,220
It's because I just moved here.

181
00:15:50,143 --> 00:15:52,438
You really a lawyer?

182
00:15:53,706 --> 00:15:56,249
Yes, I am.

183
00:15:57,046 --> 00:15:58,825
Gonna have to search you.

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00:15:58,961 --> 00:16:01,811
Just go in that room there
and take everything off.

185
00:16:01,977 --> 00:16:04,943
Attorneys aren't strip-searched
for legal visits.

186
00:16:05,057 --> 00:16:09,535
You ain't gonna visit shit
unless you get in that room and strip.

187
00:16:10,371 --> 00:16:12,267
Let's go.

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Pants and underwear.

189
00:16:59,724 --> 00:17:02,005
Bend over and spread.

190
00:17:10,365 --> 00:17:12,291
You're clear.

191
00:17:44,118 --> 00:17:49,102
I f-fought in Nam,
First Cavalry Division.

192
00:17:50,552 --> 00:17:54,154
Saw a lot of f-friends die.

193
00:17:56,916 --> 00:18:01,419
Doctor said I g-got the PTSD.

194
00:18:04,614 --> 00:18:07,454
I did what they s-s-said I did.

195
00:18:10,514 --> 00:18:13,548
I put the bomb on her porch.

196
00:18:15,821 --> 00:18:18,189
I know it d-don't make sense,

197
00:18:20,265 --> 00:18:23,807
but I didn't mean to kill nobody.

198
00:18:27,897 --> 00:18:32,968
I think they gonna s-s-set
my execution soon.

199
00:18:33,704 --> 00:18:37,733
Last lawyer said
there ain't nothin' left to do.

200
00:18:40,104 --> 00:18:42,588
There's always something
that we can do.

201
00:18:43,442 --> 00:18:46,991
Whatever you did,
your life is still meaningful.

202
00:18:47,629 --> 00:18:51,268
And I'm gonna do everything possible
to keep them from taking it.

203
00:19:02,059 --> 00:19:04,182
Tell me everything that happened.

204
00:19:04,642 --> 00:19:07,006
I was given a court-appointed lawyer,

205
00:19:07,172 --> 00:19:09,375
and he was pretty pitiful.

206
00:19:09,509 --> 00:19:12,910
Never really talked to me
about setting up a defense.

207
00:19:13,046 --> 00:19:15,584
I probably met a dude for 30 times.

208
00:19:16,862 --> 00:19:18,234
Literally.

209
00:19:18,388 --> 00:19:20,724
He told me that it would be
in my best interest

210
00:19:20,836 --> 00:19:23,184
to plead no contest
to all of those charges.

211
00:19:23,238 --> 00:19:27,437
I plead not guilty, I said I didn't do it,
I didn't have nothing to do with that.

212
00:19:27,437 --> 00:19:31,304
You're 20 right now, if you take this plea
and you do the whole time

213
00:19:31,304 --> 00:19:33,814
you'll only be 45 when you get out.

214
00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:38,605
In the middle of my trial,
which only lasted 25 minutes till I out,

215
00:19:38,751 --> 00:19:40,092
which is unheard-of.

216
00:19:40,244 --> 00:19:42,145
He wouldn't let me take the stand,

217
00:19:42,260 --> 00:19:44,545
So, I ended up firing him
and deal with it.

218
00:19:44,667 --> 00:19:49,235
The judge laughed at me and said
rehabilitation was a 70-year-old joke.

219
00:19:49,392 --> 00:19:52,434
My lawyer... He was there,
but he wasn't there.

220
00:19:54,115 --> 00:19:56,408
It was like I was by myself.

221
00:20:12,849 --> 00:20:15,881
Last lawyer I had sat
where you sit and say...

222
00:20:16,905 --> 00:20:20,631
Johnny D, don't worry about nothin',
everything it will be aight.

223
00:20:23,251 --> 00:20:26,009
Then, they put
that death sentence on me.

224
00:20:27,546 --> 00:20:29,662
Family run out of money.

225
00:20:29,799 --> 00:20:32,395
Money run out, he run out.

226
00:20:35,180 --> 00:20:37,496
What you gonna do different?

227
00:20:40,138 --> 00:20:42,010
The first thing we can do
is apply for a re-trial--

228
00:20:42,010 --> 00:20:44,976
Already did that, they denied.

229
00:20:45,391 --> 00:20:48,118
It's right there in your file, so...

230
00:20:50,717 --> 00:20:54,158
Okay, then we can ask
for a reconsideration on that.

231
00:20:54,590 --> 00:20:56,376
Then, a direct appeal
to the Court of Criminal Appeals,

232
00:20:56,472 --> 00:20:58,892
and work our way up
to the State Supreme Court.

233
00:20:59,092 --> 00:21:01,443
If we get denied there,
we can file a Rule 32.

234
00:21:01,706 --> 00:21:03,442
Then, a federal habeas petition.

235
00:21:03,602 --> 00:21:04,975
And if all that fails, Mr. McMillian,

236
00:21:05,086 --> 00:21:06,823
we can take your case all the way
to the Supreme Court.

237
00:21:06,823 --> 00:21:09,673
You don't know what you're into
down here, don't you?

238
00:21:10,151 --> 00:21:14,208
You think all those fancy words is gonna
get you somewhere 'round here in Alabama?

239
00:21:15,236 --> 00:21:17,498
All they gonna do is eat you alive
and spit you out

240
00:21:17,498 --> 00:21:20,785
just like every other black man they do
when he stepped outta line.

241
00:21:20,900 --> 00:21:23,587
You come out in here
with them fancy suits.

242
00:21:23,861 --> 00:21:26,133
Talking like a white. These people
don't give a damn about that.

243
00:21:26,266 --> 00:21:29,721
The only suit they wanna see
a nigga in is the suit I got on.

244
00:21:32,031 --> 00:21:33,862
Mr. McMillian, I can see
how that be hard--

245
00:21:33,959 --> 00:21:35,785
No, you don't!

246
00:21:37,253 --> 00:21:40,027
No, you don't. No, you don't.

247
00:21:43,203 --> 00:21:46,507
You're rich boy from Harvard,
you don't what it is down here.

248
00:21:46,756 --> 00:21:49,824
When you guilty
from the moment you born.

249
00:21:52,305 --> 00:21:54,994
And you can buddy up with these
white folks, and make them laugh,

250
00:21:55,143 --> 00:21:57,124
and try to make them like you,
whatever that is,

251
00:21:57,124 --> 00:21:58,266
and you say "yes, sir", "no, ma'am",

252
00:21:58,423 --> 00:22:01,799
but when it's your turn,
they ain't gotta have no fingerprints,

253
00:22:02,186 --> 00:22:04,207
no evidence,

254
00:22:04,563 --> 00:22:09,024
and the only witness they got
made the whole thing up.

255
00:22:12,123 --> 00:22:14,507
And none of that matter
when all y'all think is

256
00:22:14,619 --> 00:22:16,689
is that I look like a man

257
00:22:17,623 --> 00:22:20,005
who could kill somebody.

258
00:22:22,344 --> 00:22:24,725
But that's not what I think.

259
00:22:30,056 --> 00:22:33,951
You know how many people
been freed from Alabama death row?

260
00:22:37,289 --> 00:22:39,277
None.

261
00:22:44,178 --> 00:22:46,949
What make you think
you gonna change that?

262
00:22:51,802 --> 00:22:53,831
I ain't doin' this shit again.

263
00:22:53,831 --> 00:22:55,604
- Guard!
- Mr. McMillian.

264
00:22:55,604 --> 00:22:57,286
We're done here.

265
00:22:57,286 --> 00:22:59,551
Mr. McMillian, please!

266
00:23:00,711 --> 00:23:02,744
I'm here to help.

267
00:23:06,971 --> 00:23:08,852
What's up Johnny D.

268
00:23:38,945 --> 00:23:40,913
Johnny D.

269
00:23:42,094 --> 00:23:43,533
Johnny D, you there?

270
00:23:43,831 --> 00:23:45,558
'Sup, Herb?

271
00:23:46,300 --> 00:23:48,502
Ray there?

272
00:23:49,941 --> 00:23:51,557
Ray.

273
00:23:52,437 --> 00:23:55,093
Unavailable at the moment.

274
00:23:56,057 --> 00:23:57,697
Where you at?

275
00:23:57,888 --> 00:24:01,484
Buckingham Palace.
I'm having tea with the Queen.

276
00:24:02,737 --> 00:24:06,330
She's a very nice lady.
I'll let you know when we done.

277
00:24:08,512 --> 00:24:11,691
Johnny D, what did you think
of the lawyer?

278
00:24:11,814 --> 00:24:15,758
I think he a kid, doesn't know
what he telling about.

279
00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:19,352
Makin' all of these promises
he ain't gonna be able to keep.

280
00:24:21,335 --> 00:24:23,258
I thought he was nice.

281
00:24:23,436 --> 00:24:24,900
Nice?

282
00:24:25,019 --> 00:24:27,602
What the hell you wanna
nice lawyer for?

283
00:24:27,870 --> 00:24:29,928
Nice ain't gonna get you shit!

284
00:24:30,047 --> 00:24:31,539
Look at Johnny D.

285
00:24:31,664 --> 00:24:34,338
Nice as a puppy,
yet he in here with us.

286
00:24:34,608 --> 00:24:37,090
I didn't know you thought
about me like that, Ray.

287
00:24:37,936 --> 00:24:41,402
You nice and everything.
You're not as nice as La Toya Jackson,

288
00:24:41,569 --> 00:24:43,958
but for old man
on the row, you aight.

289
00:24:45,152 --> 00:24:47,593
I thought you said
I was the old man.

290
00:24:47,733 --> 00:24:50,818
Johnny D is old, Herb,
you more ancient.

291
00:24:51,060 --> 00:24:53,270
Sorry to tell you.

292
00:24:59,515 --> 00:25:01,669
Herb, turn that music up.

293
00:25:01,819 --> 00:25:03,536
You got it.

294
00:26:24,348 --> 00:26:28,834
Bryan, did you get any sleep?

295
00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:33,777
I don't think McMillian did it.

296
00:26:34,807 --> 00:26:38,042
The State based its entire case
on a testimony of one man.

297
00:26:38,202 --> 00:26:39,896
Ralph Myers.

298
00:26:40,021 --> 00:26:42,252
Myers spent most of his life
in and out of prison.

299
00:26:42,378 --> 00:26:44,918
When he testified, he was on trial
for a different murder,

300
00:26:45,025 --> 00:26:46,839
which he ended up
getting 30 years for.

301
00:26:46,974 --> 00:26:48,456
Seems like a pretty good deal.

302
00:26:48,456 --> 00:26:51,401
In his statement, he said that Johnny D
approached him at a car wash

303
00:26:51,401 --> 00:26:56,035
and forced him at gunpoint to drive
to Jackson Cleaners because his arm hurt.

304
00:26:56,154 --> 00:26:57,513
That sounds logical.

305
00:26:57,513 --> 00:27:00,890
When they get there, Johnny D tells him
to wait in the truck while he goes inside.

306
00:27:01,022 --> 00:27:03,043
And while he's waiting for his kidnapper,

307
00:27:03,182 --> 00:27:05,224
he doesn't run,
he doesn't go to the police,

308
00:27:05,224 --> 00:27:08,091
instead he drives to the liquor store
for cigarettes,

309
00:27:08,319 --> 00:27:10,776
and then comes back
to the crime scene.

310
00:27:11,041 --> 00:27:12,036
Excuse me?

311
00:27:12,050 --> 00:27:14,165
Myers hears a gunshot, goes inside,

312
00:27:14,203 --> 00:27:17,447
and sees the body of Ronda Morrison
lying on the ground face-up

313
00:27:17,567 --> 00:27:19,684
and Johnny D standing
over her with the gun

314
00:27:19,816 --> 00:27:22,860
with some older white guy
who he claimed 'was in charge.'

315
00:27:23,061 --> 00:27:25,428
- Anyone tryna look for him?
- Exactly.

316
00:27:26,854 --> 00:27:30,070
They have one other witness
to back his testimony,

317
00:27:30,199 --> 00:27:31,861
a young black man named Bill Hooks.

318
00:27:32,016 --> 00:27:33,795
Says he saw Johnny D's lowrider truck

319
00:27:33,895 --> 00:27:36,307
leaving the cleaners
around the time of the murder.

320
00:27:36,435 --> 00:27:39,522
And that's it. That's all they have.

321
00:27:42,530 --> 00:27:46,138
So, an 18-year-old white girl
is murdered in broad daylight,

322
00:27:46,277 --> 00:27:48,398
and the Sheriff can't solve
the crime for how long?

323
00:27:48,512 --> 00:27:49,632
Almost a year.

324
00:27:49,841 --> 00:27:52,751
And then some other guy
who's charged with a different murder

325
00:27:52,932 --> 00:27:56,347
says that he can tell them who did it
if he gets a lower sentence.

326
00:27:56,589 --> 00:27:58,765
And the guy that he says did it,
happens to be

327
00:27:58,792 --> 00:28:02,738
a black man from a poor community
that no one would think twice about?

328
00:28:06,231 --> 00:28:08,598
There's gotta be more evidence than this.

329
00:28:09,617 --> 00:28:11,870
I wanna set a meeting with the D.A.

330
00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:15,323
Tommy Chapman just took over
for Pearson a few months ago.

331
00:28:15,628 --> 00:28:17,607
He used to be a public defender.

332
00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:20,171
Maybe he's not aligned
with the rest of them.

333
00:28:35,928 --> 00:28:38,401
You visit the Mockingbird Museum yet?

334
00:28:38,972 --> 00:28:40,113
No, ma'am.

335
00:28:40,247 --> 00:28:43,347
It's the old courthouse
Harper Lee's daddy used to work in.

336
00:28:43,706 --> 00:28:47,027
You can stand right
where Atticus Finch once stood.

337
00:28:50,316 --> 00:28:52,593
Mr. Stevenson? I'm Tommy Chapman.

338
00:28:52,752 --> 00:28:53,906
- Hey.
- You found us okay?

339
00:28:53,906 --> 00:28:55,916
- I did.
- Good, follow me.

340
00:28:56,115 --> 00:28:57,143
Thank you, Tracy.

341
00:28:57,405 --> 00:29:00,364
A lot of people are very keen
to meet you, Mr. Stevenson.

342
00:29:00,514 --> 00:29:01,208
Oh, really?

343
00:29:01,208 --> 00:29:04,144
Yeah, you're a Harvard lawyer
who's moved to Alabama.

344
00:29:04,271 --> 00:29:06,749
And now you start takin' on
all these capital cases.

345
00:29:06,891 --> 00:29:10,381
People just wanna know
what your intentions are, I guess.

346
00:29:10,595 --> 00:29:13,620
We're just tryna give legal assistance
to people who can't afford it.

347
00:29:13,748 --> 00:29:15,190
The legal assistance is one thing,

348
00:29:15,190 --> 00:29:19,457
but tryin' to put convicted murderers
back on the street is somethin' else entirely.

349
00:29:20,601 --> 00:29:23,269
Anyway, you didn't come
all the way down here to talk about that.

350
00:29:23,396 --> 00:29:25,144
What can I do for you today, Bryan?

351
00:29:25,324 --> 00:29:27,923
I wanted to speak to you
about Johnny D. McMillian.

352
00:29:28,097 --> 00:29:30,032
You know I wasn't part
of his prosecution, right?

353
00:29:30,032 --> 00:29:31,508
That was way before my time.

354
00:29:31,608 --> 00:29:33,805
And that's exactly
why I wanted to meet you.

355
00:29:33,805 --> 00:29:35,817
You see, I've read through the record
quite a few times now,

356
00:29:35,971 --> 00:29:39,576
and I have some serious doubts
about the reliability of his conviction.

357
00:29:41,142 --> 00:29:43,781
If you could take a look
at the sections I highlighted here,

358
00:29:43,919 --> 00:29:46,994
you'll see some problems
with Ralph Myers' testimony.

359
00:29:48,288 --> 00:29:53,771
Man, this is one of the most outrageous
crimes in Monroe County history.

360
00:29:54,796 --> 00:29:57,385
Your client made
a lot of people very angry.

361
00:29:58,107 --> 00:30:01,406
I understand that, but there are
some serious problems with this case,

362
00:30:01,532 --> 00:30:03,208
and I was hoping
that I could get your support

363
00:30:03,328 --> 00:30:05,589
to figure out what really happened.

364
00:30:06,100 --> 00:30:08,347
I already know what happened.

365
00:30:11,166 --> 00:30:13,736
Johnny D. McMillian
was convicted by a jury

366
00:30:13,877 --> 00:30:16,669
of brutally murdering
a teenage girl in my community.

367
00:30:16,826 --> 00:30:20,993
Man, it is my job to defend
the integrity of that conviction.

368
00:30:21,410 --> 00:30:24,735
Even if that conviction
is based on false testimony?

369
00:30:25,172 --> 00:30:27,289
You're the only one I know
who thinks that.

370
00:30:27,406 --> 00:30:29,341
Then I must be the only one
who read that record,

371
00:30:29,469 --> 00:30:31,674
because it's pretty obvious.

372
00:30:36,198 --> 00:30:41,374
That man caused a lot of pain,
a lot of pain for folks 'round here.

373
00:30:42,519 --> 00:30:44,982
And if you go diggin' in those wounds,

374
00:30:45,691 --> 00:30:48,890
you're gonna be makin'
a lot of people very unhappy.

375
00:30:49,974 --> 00:30:52,088
Well, it isn't my job
to make people happy,

376
00:30:52,216 --> 00:30:54,653
it's to achieve justice for my client.

377
00:30:58,886 --> 00:31:00,446
Well...

378
00:31:01,913 --> 00:31:06,733
Ralph Myers' two confessions,
and a statement from Bill Hooks.

379
00:31:08,389 --> 00:31:11,169
I asked for copies of all
the police and witness statements.

380
00:31:11,169 --> 00:31:12,396
And that's what you're holding.

381
00:31:12,396 --> 00:31:14,370
This is a joke.
Where's the rest of it?

382
00:31:14,513 --> 00:31:16,480
That's what's relevant
to McMillian's case.

383
00:31:16,599 --> 00:31:19,408
If you want more, you'll have to file
a discovery motion with the court,

384
00:31:19,553 --> 00:31:21,278
just like anybody else.

385
00:31:22,065 --> 00:31:25,137
Thanks for coming by today,
Mr. Stevenson.

386
00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:29,859
- Expect that motion soon.
- I'll look forward to it, Counselor.

387
00:31:30,472 --> 00:31:32,748
You wanna check out
the Mockingbird Museum

388
00:31:33,014 --> 00:31:34,783
on your way out of town.

389
00:31:34,928 --> 00:31:38,490
It's one of the great
civil rights landmarks of the South.

390
00:32:00,348 --> 00:32:02,443
Helping a black man convicted
of killing a white girl

391
00:32:02,566 --> 00:32:04,417
is political suicide in that county.

392
00:32:04,551 --> 00:32:07,491
I'm sure he's been reminded of that
by whoever got him his job.

393
00:32:07,491 --> 00:32:09,981
The way he was talking...
I don't even think he read the record.

394
00:32:10,077 --> 00:32:11,687
That doesn't surprise me.

395
00:32:11,830 --> 00:32:14,055
Hey, Chris. Bobby.

396
00:32:14,344 --> 00:32:16,355
- Come on in and get your snack.
- Okay.

397
00:32:16,553 --> 00:32:19,348
I'm gonna stop by Jackson Cleaners
on my way to meet his family.

398
00:32:19,621 --> 00:32:22,865
Okay. If I don't hear from you
by morning, I'll send a rescue party.

399
00:32:22,865 --> 00:32:24,589
I hope that's a joke.

400
00:32:24,805 --> 00:32:26,144
Me too.

401
00:32:26,309 --> 00:32:27,946
You just be careful, okay?

402
00:33:50,261 --> 00:33:51,748
You the lawyer?

403
00:33:51,748 --> 00:33:54,067
Yes, ma'am.
My name is Bryan Stevenson.

404
00:33:54,235 --> 00:33:56,195
I'm Johnny D's wife, Minnie.

405
00:33:56,394 --> 00:33:58,257
Pleasure to meet you.

406
00:34:02,528 --> 00:34:05,181
Thank you so much for drivin'
all the way out here.

407
00:34:05,419 --> 00:34:07,789
Most lawyers barely make time to call.

408
00:34:09,484 --> 00:34:11,805
This is our youngest son, John.

409
00:34:11,947 --> 00:34:13,439
A baby girl, Jackie.

410
00:34:14,382 --> 00:34:17,074
I hope you don't mind,
a few of our neighbors stopped by

411
00:34:17,162 --> 00:34:18,706
to hear what you got to say.

412
00:34:19,297 --> 00:34:20,995
Just a few?

413
00:34:21,516 --> 00:34:23,396
- Come on, you'll be all right.
- Okay.

414
00:34:30,387 --> 00:34:35,978
Hey, now! We ain't gonna get nowhere
with everybody quackin' at the same time!

415
00:34:36,620 --> 00:34:39,012
Let Mr. Stevenson talk.

416
00:34:41,808 --> 00:34:45,091
It's pleasure to meet... all of you.

417
00:34:46,661 --> 00:34:48,159
Thank you.

418
00:34:49,375 --> 00:34:51,510
Now I know you all have
a lot of questions.

419
00:34:51,655 --> 00:34:53,790
But I really would love
to hear from you guys first,

420
00:34:53,918 --> 00:34:57,405
just to get a better understanding
of your perspective on things.

421
00:34:57,652 --> 00:35:01,954
Our perspective is there ain't no way
Johnny D did this crime.

422
00:35:03,018 --> 00:35:05,061
The morning that girl was killed,

423
00:35:05,159 --> 00:35:09,306
we was all havin' a fish fry here
to raise money for the church.

424
00:35:09,306 --> 00:35:14,109
Johnny D was here, mornin' till night,
workin' on his truck with John.

425
00:35:15,918 --> 00:35:17,894
You were with your dad that day?

426
00:35:18,055 --> 00:35:20,809
Yeah, we was up at six in the morning
to put the truck on the rack.

427
00:35:21,004 --> 00:35:22,348
Jimmy was there, too.

428
00:35:22,348 --> 00:35:26,786
Yeah, we had that trendy
clean out by 9:30.

429
00:35:28,209 --> 00:35:29,999
How he supposed to go kidnap

430
00:35:30,238 --> 00:35:33,413
some crazy white man
all the way in Evergreen,

431
00:35:33,740 --> 00:35:37,983
then drive back to Jackson Cleaners
to kill that girl at 10:15

432
00:35:38,271 --> 00:35:40,806
if his truck ain't got no transmission?

433
00:35:43,966 --> 00:35:47,084
How many of you-all
were with Walter that morning?

434
00:35:55,138 --> 00:35:57,643
My husband could've never
done this, no kind of way,

435
00:35:57,878 --> 00:36:00,781
whether we was with him or not.
He is just not like that.

436
00:36:01,438 --> 00:36:04,256
Everybody know they went after him
'cause of that woman.

437
00:36:07,645 --> 00:36:09,697
Sorry, Minnie.

438
00:36:10,194 --> 00:36:11,897
It's okay.

439
00:36:12,738 --> 00:36:14,588
It ain't no secret.

440
00:36:16,525 --> 00:36:18,458
Few months before the murder,
Johnny D got caught

441
00:36:18,589 --> 00:36:20,816
messin' around
with a white woman in town.

442
00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:24,638
When her husband found out about it,
he made sure everybody knew.

443
00:36:24,847 --> 00:36:28,393
People started talkin',
and the stories kept growin'.

444
00:36:28,693 --> 00:36:33,586
He went from a cheat, to a drug dealer,
to head of the Dixie Mafia.

445
00:36:33,724 --> 00:36:35,641
So, by the time somebody
called him a murderer,

446
00:36:35,641 --> 00:36:37,626
ain't nobody thought twice about it.

447
00:36:37,825 --> 00:36:39,536
They can call it what they want.

448
00:36:39,669 --> 00:36:42,794
It's just another way
to lynch a black man.

449
00:36:44,941 --> 00:36:48,571
There ain't no excuse for what
my husband did to me and his family.

450
00:36:48,905 --> 00:36:50,992
Damn fool hurt me bad.

451
00:36:54,108 --> 00:36:56,500
But he still the daddy of my kids.

452
00:36:57,357 --> 00:36:59,297
And I really don't know
what I'm s'pose to tell them

453
00:36:59,421 --> 00:37:02,375
about stayin' out of trouble
when you can be at your own house,

454
00:37:02,490 --> 00:37:05,491
minding your own business,
surrounded by your entire family,

455
00:37:05,597 --> 00:37:08,140
and they still go and put
some murder on you.

456
00:37:10,447 --> 00:37:12,559
It's not just Dad.

457
00:37:13,790 --> 00:37:16,716
We feel like they put
us all on death row, too.

458
00:37:19,576 --> 00:37:22,846
I can only imagine the pain
that you're going through.

459
00:37:23,004 --> 00:37:24,421
But I'm gonna do everything I can--

460
00:37:24,421 --> 00:37:27,170
The last lawyers was talkin'
jus' as big as you,

461
00:37:27,870 --> 00:37:30,239
then they took
all our money and split.

462
00:37:30,694 --> 00:37:32,654
Why you different?

463
00:37:33,834 --> 00:37:35,195
Well...

464
00:37:35,482 --> 00:37:38,485
Our organization
will cover all legal fees.

465
00:37:38,834 --> 00:37:41,438
So, none of you
will ever have to pay a penny.

466
00:37:44,341 --> 00:37:47,428
It's clear to me that this trial
was constructed with lies.

467
00:37:48,048 --> 00:37:50,136
And based off everything
that I've seen,

468
00:37:50,495 --> 00:37:54,196
I think we could build a case
strong enough to bring Johnny D home.

469
00:37:54,756 --> 00:37:57,997
And I'm not gonna stop
until I've done that.

470
00:38:02,411 --> 00:38:04,940
Well, you seem like good people to me,

471
00:38:06,430 --> 00:38:09,483
but Johnny D is the one
you gonna have to convince.

472
00:38:12,841 --> 00:38:14,924
I don't know about the rest of y'all,

473
00:38:15,110 --> 00:38:18,308
but I was sold on
"y'all won't pay a penny."

474
00:38:26,869 --> 00:38:28,528
Mr. Stevenson?

475
00:38:28,666 --> 00:38:30,003
Call me Bryan.

476
00:38:30,695 --> 00:38:32,286
Okay.

477
00:38:33,618 --> 00:38:35,633
This is my friend, Darnell.

478
00:38:36,370 --> 00:38:38,764
He has something
he wants to talk to you about.

479
00:38:41,025 --> 00:38:42,476
Come on.

480
00:38:44,764 --> 00:38:47,556
I think I can prove he's innocent.

481
00:38:49,031 --> 00:38:50,916
You heard of Bill Hooks, right?

482
00:38:51,362 --> 00:38:52,450
Yeah.

483
00:38:52,562 --> 00:38:56,013
He testified that he saw Johnny D's truck
at the cleaners that morning.

484
00:38:56,141 --> 00:39:00,214
Bill didn't see shit.
He made the whole thing up.

485
00:39:01,462 --> 00:39:02,912
How do you know that?

486
00:39:02,912 --> 00:39:06,644
'Cause I was with him.
We was workin' at the shop together.

487
00:39:07,764 --> 00:39:09,404
The morning of the murder?

488
00:39:09,521 --> 00:39:12,267
Yes, sir, we was fixing
the head gasket on a Camaro

489
00:39:12,611 --> 00:39:15,968
from eight in the morning
till right after we closed at lunch.

490
00:39:16,269 --> 00:39:19,180
He was right next to me
when them sirens was goin' off.

491
00:39:20,499 --> 00:39:21,981
Why would he lie?

492
00:39:21,997 --> 00:39:24,396
'Cause the snitch
cut a deal with the cops.

493
00:39:25,063 --> 00:39:27,341
They had 'im locked up for burglary,
and the day he gave his statement,

494
00:39:27,474 --> 00:39:30,332
he walked out free,
all charges dropped.

495
00:39:30,604 --> 00:39:34,148
We told one of the other lawyers
and they do nothing about it.

496
00:39:35,613 --> 00:39:39,118
Would you be willing to sign
a statement we could use in court?

497
00:39:43,229 --> 00:39:45,705
Police would see my name?

498
00:39:47,761 --> 00:39:50,182
It would be on the record.

499
00:39:51,963 --> 00:39:56,368
Darnell, exposing yourself
like this is not easy.

500
00:39:57,148 --> 00:40:02,329
But with your testimony we can file
a motion to reopen Johnny D's case.

501
00:40:03,488 --> 00:40:07,934
Darnell, we need you.

502
00:40:13,047 --> 00:40:14,937
Okay, I...

503
00:40:17,951 --> 00:40:19,046
All right.

504
00:40:36,586 --> 00:40:39,310
- Good morning
- Good morning.

505
00:40:40,221 --> 00:40:42,494
Thanks for seeing me again.

506
00:40:44,687 --> 00:40:48,104
I know the last time we met
things didn't go quite the way I--

507
00:40:48,223 --> 00:40:50,679
I just can't believe
you met my family.

508
00:40:52,307 --> 00:40:55,478
Drove down that dirt road,
crammed up in that little house,

509
00:40:55,623 --> 00:40:59,149
talked to all of my people,
to say you gonna try to fight for me.

510
00:41:03,935 --> 00:41:06,011
That mean a lot.

511
00:41:07,933 --> 00:41:10,070
It meant a lot to me, too.

512
00:41:14,159 --> 00:41:17,043
Minnie wanted me
to give this to you.

513
00:41:20,106 --> 00:41:23,396
And if you don't mind,
I have something I wanna show you.

514
00:41:26,003 --> 00:41:28,314
It's a statement from Darnell Houston

515
00:41:28,452 --> 00:41:30,285
saying that he was with Bill Hooks

516
00:41:30,409 --> 00:41:32,661
three miles away
at the time of the murder.

517
00:41:32,785 --> 00:41:35,246
So, there's no way
he could've seen your truck there.

518
00:41:35,370 --> 00:41:36,728
That's good, right?

519
00:41:36,915 --> 00:41:38,050
It's very good.

520
00:41:39,045 --> 00:41:41,924
I'm gonna submit this
with a motion for a new trial.

521
00:41:49,682 --> 00:41:53,842
I know you talked to Minnie,
she told you what I did to her...

522
00:41:54,858 --> 00:41:58,850
I got no excuse for cheatin' on a woman.
'Cause I ain't good as she been to me.

523
00:42:00,795 --> 00:42:03,169
I don't know why she standin' by me.

524
00:42:03,403 --> 00:42:06,736
She's standing by you because
she knows you shouldn't be in here.

525
00:42:07,529 --> 00:42:09,590
And so do I.

526
00:42:10,999 --> 00:42:13,070
I know you didn't kill Ronda Morrison.

527
00:42:13,552 --> 00:42:16,691
And I can help you prove that
in court, if you'll let me.

528
00:42:24,401 --> 00:42:28,064
You met my whole family,
you know everythin' about 'em.

529
00:42:29,113 --> 00:42:31,311
I don't know nothin' 'bout you though.

530
00:42:31,579 --> 00:42:34,982
- What would you like to know?
- I wanna know it all, like why you...

531
00:42:35,508 --> 00:42:37,245
Why you doin' this?

532
00:42:37,552 --> 00:42:39,089
- Why am I a lawyer?
- No, no...

533
00:42:39,207 --> 00:42:40,755
Why is you a lawyer
down here in Alabama,

534
00:42:40,898 --> 00:42:43,926
taking these cases that ain't nobody
gonna pay you for?

535
00:42:52,060 --> 00:42:54,537
I grew up down a road
just like yours,

536
00:42:56,673 --> 00:43:00,912
playing soccer in a dirt field,
with the pigs and chickens...

537
00:43:02,073 --> 00:43:04,636
Used to pump sewage from my yard.

538
00:43:08,544 --> 00:43:11,195
When I was a teenager,
my grandfather was murdered

539
00:43:11,383 --> 00:43:13,666
over a black-and-white TV.

540
00:43:15,603 --> 00:43:18,683
We kept waiting for someone
to show up to help,

541
00:43:20,647 --> 00:43:22,565
they never did.

542
00:43:24,294 --> 00:43:29,524
And that's when I realized that
outside of my community nobody cared,

543
00:43:30,873 --> 00:43:35,132
because to them, he's just
another black man killed in the projects.

544
00:43:38,870 --> 00:43:41,648
I know what it's like
to be in the shadows.

545
00:43:43,686 --> 00:43:45,860
That's why I'm doing this.

546
00:43:49,299 --> 00:43:51,487
That's a pretty good reason.

547
00:44:00,651 --> 00:44:02,578
Okay.

548
00:44:04,514 --> 00:44:06,465
Okay..?

549
00:44:08,240 --> 00:44:10,746
Let's get to work.

550
00:44:13,024 --> 00:44:15,150
Okay.

551
00:44:30,858 --> 00:44:32,887
Yo, Johnny D.

552
00:44:33,667 --> 00:44:35,591
You signin' up with that lawyer?

553
00:44:35,812 --> 00:44:37,674
I'm gonna give him a try.

554
00:44:37,792 --> 00:44:40,794
Seems like everybody on the row
workin' with him now.

555
00:44:41,091 --> 00:44:43,446
I'm starting to feel left out.

556
00:44:44,319 --> 00:44:46,407
Is he really that good?

557
00:44:47,650 --> 00:44:49,172
I hope so.

558
00:44:49,577 --> 00:44:50,953
What you think, Herbert?

559
00:44:51,103 --> 00:44:53,982
Should I just dump my guy
and make the switch-over?

560
00:44:57,107 --> 00:45:00,478
Herb, you hear me? You there?

561
00:45:02,748 --> 00:45:04,745
I'm here.

562
00:45:05,643 --> 00:45:07,836
Herb, you okay?

563
00:45:12,461 --> 00:45:15,223
They s-set my d-date.

564
00:45:23,171 --> 00:45:27,193
Herb, don't you worry about nothin' that,
everything gonna be aight, okay?

565
00:45:27,415 --> 00:45:28,946
Ain't nothing over yet.

566
00:45:29,080 --> 00:45:31,513
You got Bryan working for you now.

567
00:45:33,294 --> 00:45:35,496
I-I ain't like you guys.

568
00:45:35,777 --> 00:45:38,123
I d-d-deserve what's comin'.

569
00:45:40,625 --> 00:45:42,852
There, you go talkin' out your ass.

570
00:45:44,227 --> 00:45:46,354
You fought for this country,

571
00:45:47,059 --> 00:45:49,566
and they do you in the bag,
like a trash...

572
00:45:50,732 --> 00:45:53,675
That war made you sick
in your head, man.

573
00:45:54,130 --> 00:45:56,414
You supposed to be in a hospital.

574
00:45:56,746 --> 00:45:58,555
Not here.

575
00:46:02,240 --> 00:46:05,403
When I told the cops
that stopped me I was innocent,

576
00:46:05,709 --> 00:46:07,936
do you know what they say?

577
00:46:09,545 --> 00:46:11,833
One of you niggers did it,

578
00:46:12,344 --> 00:46:17,002
and if it weren't you,
you take your one for your homie.

579
00:46:19,020 --> 00:46:22,727
Johnny D's prosecutor say
he know he killed the girl

580
00:46:22,849 --> 00:46:25,747
because of the way
he looked in his mug shot.

581
00:46:27,033 --> 00:46:30,907
You don't deserve this shit
more than any of us, Herb.

582
00:46:33,854 --> 00:46:37,165
A girl is dead because of me.

583
00:46:40,366 --> 00:46:43,534
That don't give nobody
the right to kill you back.

584
00:46:46,696 --> 00:46:49,113
Herbert was 18
when he went to Vietnam.

585
00:46:49,240 --> 00:46:52,956
He was the only survivor in an ambush
that killed his whole platoon.

586
00:46:53,393 --> 00:46:56,528
After that, he had a mental breakdown,
attempted suicide,

587
00:46:56,665 --> 00:46:58,947
and was sent home
on an honorable discharge.

588
00:46:59,103 --> 00:47:03,151
Back at home he continued
to suffer from nightmares, crying fits,

589
00:47:03,532 --> 00:47:07,424
running out of his house
screaming 'incoming' to his neighbors.

590
00:47:07,557 --> 00:47:09,254
His lawyer didn't even mention
military service

591
00:47:09,422 --> 00:47:11,174
or mental trauma to the jury.

592
00:47:11,331 --> 00:47:14,344
A few months after the trial,
he was disbarred for misconduct.

593
00:47:14,466 --> 00:47:16,529
Of course, he was.

594
00:47:18,314 --> 00:47:20,681
Okay, what can we do?

595
00:47:21,563 --> 00:47:23,944
Since he's already been
through the appeals process,

596
00:47:24,086 --> 00:47:27,631
the statutes of limitations are gonna
make it hard for a judge to listen.

597
00:47:29,817 --> 00:47:32,166
We will have to try and make them.

598
00:47:32,646 --> 00:47:34,567
I can start on a motion tonight.

599
00:47:34,693 --> 00:47:36,833
- Hello?
- Okay.

600
00:47:37,429 --> 00:47:38,973
It's for you, Mom.

601
00:47:39,358 --> 00:47:40,975
Thank you, sweetie.

602
00:47:40,975 --> 00:47:42,251
Hello?

603
00:47:42,251 --> 00:47:45,324
<i>You the bitch workin'
for that nigger lawyer?</i>

604
00:47:45,434 --> 00:47:46,788
Who the hell is this?

605
00:47:46,922 --> 00:47:50,235
<i>The guy who put the bomb under your house
that's gonna blow your family all to hell.</i>

606
00:47:50,359 --> 00:47:53,713
<i>if you don't stop workin'
for that nigger Johnny D.</i>

607
00:47:54,176 --> 00:47:55,666
Everybody out of the house!

608
00:47:55,793 --> 00:47:58,035
- What's going on?
- I'll tell you outside.

609
00:48:15,988 --> 00:48:18,147
They didn't find anything.

610
00:48:18,728 --> 00:48:20,431
Are they sure?

611
00:48:22,533 --> 00:48:26,146
- Did they check the basement.
- They said they checked the basement.

612
00:48:33,522 --> 00:48:36,489
Okay, baby. Let's get you to bed.

613
00:48:46,548 --> 00:48:48,913
When you asked me
to do this thing with you,

614
00:48:51,205 --> 00:48:54,736
I knew that I'd lose some friends,

615
00:48:56,205 --> 00:49:00,743
have people talkin' shit
behind my back, or to my face.

616
00:49:02,861 --> 00:49:04,274
I don't need people to like me

617
00:49:04,400 --> 00:49:06,755
as long as I'm doin'
what I'm supposed to do.

618
00:49:10,776 --> 00:49:13,553
But threatenin' my family...

619
00:49:17,379 --> 00:49:22,748
Eva, you know I'd never blame you
if you needed to stop.

620
00:49:25,732 --> 00:49:30,139
I don't want my son growing up knowing
that his mom stopped doing what was right

621
00:49:30,261 --> 00:49:33,661
just because she was scared
of some crazy bigot.

622
00:49:39,210 --> 00:49:40,824
Okay?

623
00:49:41,060 --> 00:49:43,555
What are we gonna do about McMillian?

624
00:49:47,582 --> 00:49:50,044
We start the investigation from scratch.

625
00:49:51,223 --> 00:49:54,200
Find anyone in town
who's willing to talk.

626
00:49:56,080 --> 00:50:01,242
Maybe people will stop tryna kill us
once they realize how charming we are.

627
00:50:09,583 --> 00:50:11,626
I just wanted to ask you
a couple of questions

628
00:50:11,749 --> 00:50:13,888
about the Ronda Morrison murder.

629
00:50:14,937 --> 00:50:16,419
It's just...

630
00:50:16,565 --> 00:50:19,030
You were on the witness list
for the Ronda Morrison trial a few years back--

631
00:50:19,139 --> 00:50:21,618
Sorry, can't help you with that.

632
00:50:23,013 --> 00:50:24,122
Is there anything--

633
00:50:24,122 --> 00:50:26,219
Anything at all that you feel
comfortable talking to me about--

634
00:50:26,345 --> 00:50:28,683
If you are not workin'
for that poor girl's family,

635
00:50:28,848 --> 00:50:32,042
then I ain't got nothin'
to say to you. Sorry, sweetie.

636
00:50:33,681 --> 00:50:35,258
Officer Ikner?

637
00:50:36,374 --> 00:50:38,465
Ain't no officer no more.

638
00:50:39,154 --> 00:50:41,905
I'm a lawyer representing
Johnny D. McMillian,

639
00:50:42,005 --> 00:50:44,983
I understand you were
the first officer on the scene?

640
00:50:50,700 --> 00:50:55,582
I was right! The fish fry was on Saturday,
November 1st, same day as the murder.

641
00:50:55,743 --> 00:50:57,816
They put these up all over town.

642
00:50:59,176 --> 00:51:01,332
I could kiss you, Deb.

643
00:51:07,101 --> 00:51:10,516
We're planning to grow this into something
the whole country will be talkin' about,

644
00:51:10,670 --> 00:51:13,930
and you can say that
it all started in your building.

645
00:51:14,656 --> 00:51:17,763
What exactly kind of work do you do?

646
00:51:18,764 --> 00:51:20,965
We're just helping people.

647
00:51:26,780 --> 00:51:27,972
- Looks good.
- It's perfect.

648
00:51:28,379 --> 00:51:30,837
My client, Herbert Richardson,
was recommended for a Medal of Valor

649
00:51:30,979 --> 00:51:32,602
for disarming a bomb in Vietnam.

650
00:51:32,602 --> 00:51:35,490
We got a tip that a few
of your employees can back his alibi.

651
00:51:35,639 --> 00:51:39,171
Vivian Clark was one of the teenagers
who were sexually abused at your facility.

652
00:51:39,333 --> 00:51:41,344
No, I'm not an attorney,
but I promise you,

653
00:51:41,500 --> 00:51:43,668
your son is in very good hands.

654
00:51:51,654 --> 00:51:54,136
Equal Justice Initiative, this is Brenda.

655
00:51:55,561 --> 00:51:58,243
Okay... Yes... Just one moment.

656
00:51:58,481 --> 00:52:00,532
Darnell Houston.

657
00:52:02,732 --> 00:52:04,620
Hello, Darnell.

658
00:52:06,077 --> 00:52:08,438
Whoa, whoa, slow down.

659
00:52:09,942 --> 00:52:11,543
Where are you?

660
00:52:13,830 --> 00:52:16,744
- Are you okay?
- No, sir. I'm not.

661
00:52:17,987 --> 00:52:20,501
Okay, Darnell, let's go talk in my car.

662
00:52:20,601 --> 00:52:22,029
Okay.

663
00:52:25,438 --> 00:52:27,762
How in the hell
they lockin' me up for perjury

664
00:52:27,932 --> 00:52:30,246
if alls I did was say the truth?

665
00:52:31,267 --> 00:52:33,655
I knew I shouldn't a signed
that paper, man.

666
00:52:33,655 --> 00:52:34,970
Shouldn't a listened to you.

667
00:52:35,129 --> 00:52:37,195
What they did to you
was completely illegal.

668
00:52:37,440 --> 00:52:40,177
I'm gonna talk to the D.A.
and get all of these charges dismissed.

669
00:52:40,325 --> 00:52:43,116
- This will never happen again.
- How the hell do you know?

670
00:52:43,938 --> 00:52:46,025
You can't control these guys.

671
00:52:46,305 --> 00:52:50,587
They arrested me in the middle
of my shift, in front of my boss.

672
00:52:50,938 --> 00:52:53,298
I don't even know
if I got a job tomorrow.

673
00:52:58,726 --> 00:53:01,517
I feel bad for what
they doin' to Johnny D,

674
00:53:04,121 --> 00:53:06,433
but I'm just tryin' to survive.

675
00:53:08,186 --> 00:53:10,282
I can't fight these guys, man.

676
00:53:11,836 --> 00:53:13,773
You gonna have to find somebody else.

677
00:53:13,906 --> 00:53:16,866
Darnell, think about Johnny D, okay?

678
00:53:17,616 --> 00:53:19,817
Think about his family.
They need you.

679
00:53:19,958 --> 00:53:22,442
Give me some time to work on this.

680
00:53:29,740 --> 00:53:31,915
That's my ride.

681
00:53:32,813 --> 00:53:35,134
Tell Johnny D I'm sorry.

682
00:54:09,326 --> 00:54:11,003
I need to speak with you!

683
00:54:13,212 --> 00:54:14,917
Hey, Bryan.

684
00:54:15,526 --> 00:54:17,795
Have you met Sheriff Tate?

685
00:54:20,286 --> 00:54:22,726
Who ordered the arrest of my witness?

686
00:54:23,180 --> 00:54:25,573
If people make false statements
concerning this case,

687
00:54:25,704 --> 00:54:27,145
they're gonna be held accountable.

688
00:54:27,303 --> 00:54:29,182
You can't arrest someone
for perjury without evidence

689
00:54:29,182 --> 00:54:31,051
that a false statement has been made.

690
00:54:31,051 --> 00:54:33,887
Hang on, you're representing
Mr. Houston now, too?

691
00:54:33,887 --> 00:54:37,590
Yes, I am. His statement contradicts
Bill Hooks' entire testimony.

692
00:54:37,590 --> 00:54:39,955
Hooks isn't the state's main witness,
Ralph Myers is.

693
00:54:40,212 --> 00:54:44,958
Alabama code 12-21-222 requires
corroboration of accomplice testimony,

694
00:54:45,149 --> 00:54:47,928
so, without Hooks,
the conviction wouldn't be valid.

695
00:54:51,114 --> 00:54:54,662
I went down to see
Ronda Morrison's mama yesterday.

696
00:54:55,373 --> 00:54:59,948
She's in tears, she kept asking me
why some lawyer from up north

697
00:55:00,110 --> 00:55:03,697
would come down here and make them
relive all this hell again.

698
00:55:04,684 --> 00:55:07,518
You can tell her it's because
Johnny D didn't kill her daughter.

699
00:55:07,518 --> 00:55:10,307
And whoever did
is still out there somewhere.

700
00:55:12,342 --> 00:55:15,835
I know how desperate you must be

701
00:55:16,032 --> 00:55:19,321
to fulfill your fantasy
of who we are down here.

702
00:55:20,019 --> 00:55:24,122
Just a bunch of corrupt Southern racists
framin' niggers for murder.

703
00:55:24,578 --> 00:55:26,763
And you here to save the day.

704
00:55:27,585 --> 00:55:29,857
Hell, you can believe
in that if you want to.

705
00:55:30,484 --> 00:55:34,313
But I know that Johnny D killed that girl,
he's gonna answer for it.

706
00:55:34,631 --> 00:55:37,867
How do you know that?
You have no hard evidence.

707
00:55:38,317 --> 00:55:40,667
You based your entire case
on the word of an indicted felon

708
00:55:40,783 --> 00:55:43,006
who had every incentive
to tell you what you wanted to hear.

709
00:55:43,147 --> 00:55:46,435
- Ralph Myers testified on his own accord!
- And it made no sense!

710
00:55:46,585 --> 00:55:49,654
He couldn't finish a sentence
without contradicting himself.

711
00:55:50,887 --> 00:55:52,993
The charges against Darnell Houston
are baseless.

712
00:55:53,246 --> 00:55:55,050
They'll never stand up in court.

713
00:55:55,415 --> 00:55:57,956
They should be dropped immediately.

714
00:56:01,975 --> 00:56:03,847
Okay.

715
00:56:05,320 --> 00:56:08,206
- Is that okay with you, Tommy?
- Sure.

716
00:56:09,261 --> 00:56:10,721
It doesn't really matter.

717
00:56:10,846 --> 00:56:13,583
Now that court denied your motion
to reopen the case.

718
00:56:14,865 --> 00:56:16,619
What was that?

719
00:56:17,350 --> 00:56:19,308
You didn't get the order?

720
00:56:19,598 --> 00:56:23,426
The judge is down in Mobile now.
Sometimes they have mail issues.

721
00:56:24,758 --> 00:56:27,611
You can tell Mr. Houston the charges
against him are being dropped.

722
00:56:27,756 --> 00:56:29,541
I can do that much for y'all,
but anything else

723
00:56:29,685 --> 00:56:31,876
will have to be raised on appeal.

724
00:56:38,449 --> 00:56:41,013
Thanks for stoppin' by, Counselor.

725
00:57:22,422 --> 00:57:25,496
- Something wrong, Officer?
- Step out of the vehicle.

726
00:57:26,196 --> 00:57:28,953
I don't understand. I wasn't speeding.

727
00:57:29,251 --> 00:57:31,659
I said step out of the vehicle.

728
00:57:31,952 --> 00:57:35,797
I'll get out of the car, but first,
can you tell me why you stopped me?

729
00:57:36,761 --> 00:57:38,444
Get out of the goddamn car!

730
00:57:38,606 --> 00:57:39,900
Okay. Okay.

731
00:57:40,219 --> 00:57:41,598
Come on!

732
00:57:42,351 --> 00:57:44,226
- I'm taking off me seat belt.
- Come on!

733
00:57:44,357 --> 00:57:46,017
I'm opening up the door.
I'm stepping out.

734
00:57:46,160 --> 00:57:47,140
Faster! Come on!

735
00:57:47,140 --> 00:57:49,292
- I have nothing in my hands.
- Turn around!

736
00:57:49,526 --> 00:57:51,176
Hands on the car!

737
00:57:58,041 --> 00:58:01,265
You don't have to have a gun
pointed at me. I'm not a threat.

738
00:58:01,493 --> 00:58:04,145
Shut your damn mouth, boy!

739
00:58:04,335 --> 00:58:05,890
Hey, brother.

740
00:58:06,430 --> 00:58:10,376
You oughta be careful with your words
when you got a gun at your head.

741
00:58:13,998 --> 00:58:15,569
Let's go, Joe.

742
00:58:24,309 --> 00:58:25,649
Why did you stop me?

743
00:58:25,819 --> 00:58:27,906
We're letting you go.

744
00:58:28,759 --> 00:58:30,812
You should be happy.

745
00:58:57,894 --> 00:58:59,954
Even if they drop them charges,

746
00:59:00,235 --> 00:59:03,828
Darnell ain't gonna testify
after what they have done to him.

747
00:59:05,427 --> 00:59:07,676
I know we took a big hit. We did.

748
00:59:07,932 --> 00:59:10,972
But we just need to gather
more evidence for another motion.

749
00:59:11,077 --> 00:59:11,831
They will block it.

750
00:59:11,831 --> 00:59:14,806
If they can put me on the row
for a year without no trial,

751
00:59:15,045 --> 00:59:17,195
they can do whatever the they wanna do.

752
00:59:17,848 --> 00:59:20,351
They put you on death row
before your trial?

753
00:59:21,518 --> 00:59:23,107
Sheriff drove me hisself.

754
00:59:23,262 --> 00:59:27,375
Said, I'm gonna give you a little taste
of what it's like, unless you confess.

755
00:59:28,506 --> 00:59:32,043
- Why are you just now telling me this?
- This is how it is down here.

756
00:59:33,446 --> 00:59:36,099
Been like that as long
as I can remember.

757
00:59:43,744 --> 00:59:46,217
They're messing with you, ain't they?

758
00:59:51,028 --> 00:59:53,448
They're not making it easy on me.

759
00:59:55,706 --> 00:59:57,758
I got a plan for you though.

760
00:59:58,632 --> 00:59:59,965
I'm all ears.

761
01:00:01,167 --> 01:00:05,464
This is what I think we should do.
I think you should train up another lawyer,

762
01:00:05,635 --> 01:00:09,201
'cause I'm gonna need somebody
just in case they take you out.

763
01:00:11,111 --> 01:00:12,980
It's like that?

764
01:00:13,114 --> 01:00:15,174
Like that. It's like that.

765
01:00:15,601 --> 01:00:18,757
- I thought I had a friend.
- Ain't no friends in here.

766
01:00:18,903 --> 01:00:20,891
- Cold world.
- Yeah.

767
01:00:23,920 --> 01:00:25,954
So, if we ain't got Darnell,

768
01:00:27,691 --> 01:00:29,673
what's the next move?

769
01:00:33,252 --> 01:00:36,387
I think we should talk to Ralph Myers.

770
01:00:39,478 --> 01:00:40,487
- Walter.
- No.

771
01:00:40,620 --> 01:00:42,648
Just listen to me for a second.

772
01:00:43,610 --> 01:00:45,490
I know it's risky,

773
01:00:45,579 --> 01:00:47,744
but the only way to find out
what he really knows

774
01:00:47,849 --> 01:00:50,060
is for me to get him talking.

775
01:00:50,521 --> 01:00:52,490
I know what he know.

776
01:00:54,563 --> 01:00:56,759
You know what that man did to me?

777
01:00:58,460 --> 01:01:00,851
Took my life away from me,

778
01:01:01,585 --> 01:01:03,740
to save his own ass.

779
01:01:04,603 --> 01:01:07,520
All he gonna give you is lies.

780
01:01:08,482 --> 01:01:10,951
I promise. I'm gonna be careful.

781
01:01:39,220 --> 01:01:41,234
Mr. Myers.

782
01:01:41,779 --> 01:01:43,573
You Bobby?

783
01:01:44,271 --> 01:01:46,042
I'm Bryan.

784
01:01:46,865 --> 01:01:48,623
Maybe later.

785
01:01:49,243 --> 01:01:51,902
Okay. Do you wanna sit down?

786
01:01:52,920 --> 01:01:54,918
You gonna buy me a Coke first?

787
01:01:55,062 --> 01:01:58,301
Or you gonna make me stare
at them vending machines all day?

788
01:01:59,435 --> 01:02:02,036
Sure. What do you want?

789
01:02:02,152 --> 01:02:04,605
- Sunkist Orange.
- Okay.

790
01:02:05,226 --> 01:02:07,563
And some Jujyfruits
if they got 'em!

791
01:02:11,554 --> 01:02:14,129
I just wanna say thanks
for meeting me, Mr. Myers.

792
01:02:24,078 --> 01:02:28,061
Can we start by talking about
your testimony against Johnny D?

793
01:02:28,198 --> 01:02:29,728
No.

794
01:02:30,705 --> 01:02:32,725
I ain't talkin' about him.

795
01:02:33,340 --> 01:02:35,271
That's the only reason why I'm here.

796
01:02:35,438 --> 01:02:37,551
You don't like it, leave.

797
01:02:39,606 --> 01:02:43,274
Don't look so sad, we can talk
about other things. I love to talk.

798
01:02:43,871 --> 01:02:46,310
My wife says if I got paid
for every word I said,

799
01:02:46,458 --> 01:02:48,879
we'd be a couple a billionaires by now.

800
01:02:51,432 --> 01:02:53,003
Oh, yeah?

801
01:02:53,217 --> 01:02:54,797
How long you been married?

802
01:02:54,971 --> 01:02:59,147
Long enough to pop out a couple a' kids
and watch her turn 'em all against me.

803
01:02:59,199 --> 01:03:01,994
- You got kids?
- Me? No.

804
01:03:02,809 --> 01:03:05,160
But Johnny D does.

805
01:03:07,216 --> 01:03:10,526
The thing about kids is,
they ain't nothin' like havin' a dog.

806
01:03:10,825 --> 01:03:14,773
It's a totally different deal. I wish
somebody told me that in the first place

807
01:03:15,662 --> 01:03:21,263
My kids, they think they got it so bad,
they ain't seen nothin' like I seen.

808
01:03:21,443 --> 01:03:24,169
Try makin' it as a foster kid
your whole life,

809
01:03:24,320 --> 01:03:28,112
soon as you figure out one shitty parent,
they movin' you to a new one.

810
01:03:32,655 --> 01:03:34,522
I'm sorry.

811
01:03:34,736 --> 01:03:36,933
I'm sure that wasn't easy.

812
01:03:41,952 --> 01:03:44,270
How many kids he got?

813
01:03:45,271 --> 01:03:47,580
Johnny D has three.

814
01:03:51,219 --> 01:03:53,765
Mr. Myers, I know you made a deal
with the State,

815
01:03:53,839 --> 01:03:57,539
but I don't think they told you
Johnny D was gonna die because of it.

816
01:03:58,435 --> 01:04:00,860
That must not be
an easy thing to carry.

817
01:04:01,457 --> 01:04:05,361
And I'm hoping there's a part of you
that wants to make things right.

818
01:04:09,237 --> 01:04:12,110
Can we please talk
about your testimony?

819
01:04:27,691 --> 01:04:30,485
From the day they moved
my ass up in Escambia,

820
01:04:30,743 --> 01:04:33,979
for something I'm tellin' you
I ain't had nothing to do with,

821
01:04:34,485 --> 01:04:37,443
all them police wanna talk about
was Ronda Morrison.

822
01:04:37,549 --> 01:04:39,592
It was Morrison this, Morrison that.

823
01:04:39,725 --> 01:04:42,654
Sometime four or five of 'em
in the room at the same time.

824
01:04:43,766 --> 01:04:47,586
They were questioning you
about her the day you were arrested?

825
01:04:49,526 --> 01:04:51,374
Alls I'm sayin' is,

826
01:04:51,750 --> 01:04:55,539
ain't nobody cared about a damn thing
besides who killed that girl.

827
01:04:55,739 --> 01:04:57,547
And when people care about
a thing that much,

828
01:04:57,708 --> 01:05:00,326
they'll do anything
to get what they want.

829
01:05:01,736 --> 01:05:05,133
You know they'll kill you
if you get to the bottom of this, right?

830
01:05:06,386 --> 01:05:09,207
- Where are you going?
- We done here, Bobby.

831
01:05:09,395 --> 01:05:11,441
Thanks for the Jujies.

832
01:05:12,268 --> 01:05:14,465
Ready, boss!

833
01:05:17,514 --> 01:05:19,354
Myers said he was questioned
about Ronda Morrison

834
01:05:19,488 --> 01:05:21,414
the day he was arrested
on June 3rd.

835
01:05:21,533 --> 01:05:23,140
But the only statement
they presented in court

836
01:05:23,262 --> 01:05:25,562
was recorded almost two months later.

837
01:05:25,734 --> 01:05:28,705
Do you think they're hiding
his first statement somewhere?

838
01:05:29,232 --> 01:05:31,117
If they are, it might be
at the Escambia Courthouse

839
01:05:31,253 --> 01:05:32,907
with the files from his other case.

840
01:05:33,075 --> 01:05:35,142
You know anyone over there?

841
01:05:35,298 --> 01:05:36,976
I do.

842
01:05:40,704 --> 01:05:44,284
That's everything we got on Myers.
You can make copies over there.

843
01:05:44,457 --> 01:05:46,818
- Thank you, ma'am.
- Sure, baby.

844
01:05:48,736 --> 01:05:50,891
He's cute. Married?

845
01:05:51,013 --> 01:05:52,964
Married to his work.

846
01:05:53,262 --> 01:05:54,510
How's Uncle Mickey doin'?

847
01:05:54,731 --> 01:05:56,762
He's buildin' another shed,

848
01:05:57,099 --> 01:05:59,763
'cause the other two apparently
ain't enough.

849
01:06:00,068 --> 01:06:02,147
Man's needs a project.

850
01:06:03,186 --> 01:06:04,752
Ms. Miller.

851
01:06:05,083 --> 01:06:07,217
Can I take a copy of these?

852
01:06:07,466 --> 01:06:10,177
They ain't payin' me enough
to stop you.

853
01:06:22,854 --> 01:06:26,318
Did you find the transcript
for Myers' first statement?

854
01:06:28,393 --> 01:06:30,153
Thank you.

855
01:06:35,877 --> 01:06:37,656
What?

856
01:06:45,234 --> 01:06:47,794
<i>- I understand that, Sheriff...</i>
- That's Myers.

857
01:06:48,037 --> 01:06:50,217
<i>That's what I'm trying to tell you,</i>

858
01:06:50,673 --> 01:06:53,835
<i>because I'm gonna be honest with you,
I don't know a damn thing.</i>

859
01:06:54,677 --> 01:06:56,689
<i>- Is that right?</i>
- That's Tate.

860
01:06:56,854 --> 01:07:00,111
<i>Yes, sir, it's righter
than anything I've ever said.</i>

861
01:07:00,612 --> 01:07:03,215
<i>And you would take
a polygraph test to the fact</i>

862
01:07:03,380 --> 01:07:05,583
<i>that you do not know
who killed Ronda Morrison.</i>

863
01:07:05,748 --> 01:07:07,694
<i>That's right, sir, I will.</i>

864
01:07:08,407 --> 01:07:10,961
<i>Would face the person
who came in here to testify--</i>

865
01:07:11,179 --> 01:07:15,930
<i>I will face any damn body in this world
on that, because it's a stone lie.</i>

866
01:07:16,142 --> 01:07:19,496
<i>And if you askin' me
to frame an innocent man for murder,</i>

867
01:07:19,711 --> 01:07:22,131
<i>that just ain't somethin'
I'm willin' to do.</i>

868
01:07:25,922 --> 01:07:27,748
Holy shit.

869
01:07:57,177 --> 01:07:59,326
Herb, you aight over there?

870
01:08:05,241 --> 01:08:07,556
You gotta get to have
your mind off tomorrow.

871
01:08:08,003 --> 01:08:11,222
Bryan is working on that as we speak.

872
01:08:12,444 --> 01:08:15,460
You know how these courts is,
the wait till the last minute.

873
01:08:15,748 --> 01:08:17,828
But you gonna get that stay.

874
01:08:18,703 --> 01:08:22,879
- Why d-did I make that bomb?
- Herb, don't go there, man.

875
01:08:23,054 --> 01:08:27,333
Why did I do that?
I wasn't tryin' to hurt nobody.

876
01:08:27,673 --> 01:08:29,083
Herb, I know.

877
01:08:29,556 --> 01:08:33,696
Why am I s-so s-stupid?

878
01:08:34,307 --> 01:08:35,692
You ain't stupid.

879
01:08:35,745 --> 01:08:38,325
That war got you sick,
and you still sick.

880
01:08:38,744 --> 01:08:41,836
Girl wasn't s-s-posed
to come by and pick it up.

881
01:08:44,211 --> 01:08:46,134
She w-wasn't s'posed to come by.

882
01:08:46,234 --> 01:08:49,265
That's what we gonna do, Herb,
we gonna slow your mind down.

883
01:08:49,535 --> 01:08:51,391
Remember what we practiced now.

884
01:08:51,685 --> 01:08:53,914
What we do?

885
01:08:54,220 --> 01:08:56,006
Deep breaths.

886
01:08:56,697 --> 01:08:58,344
Come on, do that with me now.

887
01:08:58,522 --> 01:09:00,170
Deep breaths.

888
01:09:03,407 --> 01:09:05,147
In and out.

889
01:09:09,352 --> 01:09:11,548
Now in.

890
01:09:12,734 --> 01:09:14,638
Now close your eyes.

891
01:09:15,821 --> 01:09:18,108
Get away from all of this.

892
01:09:19,388 --> 01:09:23,341
No more walls, no more guards,

893
01:09:25,050 --> 01:09:27,329
no more wars to fight.

894
01:09:29,416 --> 01:09:31,568
Just you, out in the open.

895
01:09:32,383 --> 01:09:34,723
Fresh air on your face...

896
01:09:40,975 --> 01:09:43,492
Look at them pine trees.

897
01:09:45,280 --> 01:09:47,953
They've been growin'
since before we was born,

898
01:09:50,601 --> 01:09:53,322
and they gonna keep growin'
even after we gone.

899
01:09:56,551 --> 01:09:59,950
And they have been through
the same shit we have been through,

900
01:10:03,071 --> 01:10:05,903
but they still dancing in the breeze.

901
01:10:15,319 --> 01:10:17,564
Can you see 'em?

902
01:10:19,393 --> 01:10:20,682
Yeah.

903
01:10:21,257 --> 01:10:22,875
Good.

904
01:10:24,312 --> 01:10:26,687
Now I want you
to think about nothin' else,

905
01:10:26,832 --> 01:10:29,102
just keep your mind on that.

906
01:10:29,667 --> 01:10:32,142
Everythin' gonna be aight.

907
01:10:49,189 --> 01:10:53,102
I need Strickland vs. Washington,
and the affidavit from Herbert's Sergeant.

908
01:11:08,848 --> 01:11:10,485
Let's send it.

909
01:11:17,313 --> 01:11:19,628
Now what?

910
01:11:21,644 --> 01:11:23,363
We wait.

911
01:11:43,681 --> 01:11:45,608
EJI, this is Bryan Stevenson.

912
01:11:45,775 --> 01:11:51,302
Mr. Stevenson, the court has just entered
an order in case number 89-5395;

913
01:11:51,622 --> 01:11:54,890
the motion for a stay of execution
and petition for writ of certiorari

914
01:11:55,031 --> 01:11:56,662
have been denied.

915
01:11:56,819 --> 01:11:59,963
We'll fax copies of the order
over to your office shortly.

916
01:12:01,894 --> 01:12:04,527
- Thank you.
- Thank you.

917
01:12:19,672 --> 01:12:21,856
He asked me to be there.

918
01:12:24,282 --> 01:12:27,791
Okay. I'll drive you down.

919
01:12:40,724 --> 01:12:43,760
Come on, Herbert. We gotta go.

920
01:13:06,055 --> 01:13:09,018
Can I say b-bye to my friends?

921
01:13:25,019 --> 01:13:27,578
When it get too much for you,

922
01:13:28,835 --> 01:13:31,174
you take them deep breaths

923
01:13:32,095 --> 01:13:34,226
and let your mind go.

924
01:13:37,387 --> 01:13:40,586
Wish I didn't have to d-do this alone.

925
01:13:42,967 --> 01:13:45,317
You ain't by yourself, Herbert.

926
01:13:46,559 --> 01:13:48,550
We all with you.

927
01:13:50,543 --> 01:13:52,389
Ain't that right, Ray?

928
01:13:53,957 --> 01:13:57,526
That's right, Herb.
You ain't rid of us yet.

929
01:14:03,019 --> 01:14:05,860
You've been a good friend.

930
01:14:49,288 --> 01:14:51,462
First time in the chamber, huh?

931
01:14:52,663 --> 01:14:53,914
Yeah.

932
01:14:53,962 --> 01:14:57,250
Don't think too much,
or you'll lose your shit.

933
01:15:08,708 --> 01:15:11,265
You need anything, Mr. Richardson?

934
01:15:12,841 --> 01:15:15,079
You still gonna play my song?

935
01:15:15,392 --> 01:15:17,580
We got it cued up and ready.

936
01:15:19,262 --> 01:15:21,268
Thank you.

937
01:15:33,555 --> 01:15:36,143
It's been a strange day.

938
01:15:39,862 --> 01:15:44,325
More p-people ask how they can help me
today than ever asked in my whole life.

939
01:15:51,474 --> 01:15:53,776
Do I look funny?

940
01:15:55,393 --> 01:15:59,918
I ain't know they was gonna
s-s-shave off everything.

941
01:16:02,393 --> 01:16:04,307
You look fine.

942
01:16:16,707 --> 01:16:19,427
Most people d-don't get to sit

943
01:16:19,577 --> 01:16:24,117
and think all day about
it being their last day alive.

944
01:16:26,642 --> 01:16:28,806
It's different than Nam.

945
01:16:30,020 --> 01:16:32,547
At least I had a chance there.

946
01:16:39,095 --> 01:16:41,059
I'm sorry.

947
01:16:45,626 --> 01:16:50,094
You're the only one
c-cared enough to fight for me.

948
01:16:54,738 --> 01:16:57,690
Since I don't have family

949
01:16:57,866 --> 01:17:01,618
I t-told the Army to send
my flag to you, if that's okay.

950
01:17:06,809 --> 01:17:08,833
I'd be honored.

951
01:17:17,513 --> 01:17:20,107
Can you pray with me?

952
01:17:23,453 --> 01:17:25,437
Of course.

953
01:17:35,341 --> 01:17:37,106
They're ready.

954
01:18:28,396 --> 01:18:30,520
You, Herbert Lee Richardson,

955
01:18:30,940 --> 01:18:34,066
shall be put to death by electrocution
in the state of Alabama

956
01:18:34,502 --> 01:18:37,425
as ordered and agreed by judge, jury--

957
01:18:37,471 --> 01:18:41,943
for the murder of Rena Mae Callins
on August 16th, 1977.

958
01:18:45,305 --> 01:18:50,381
Mr. Richardson, do you have
any final words you'd like to say?

959
01:19:01,367 --> 01:19:05,208
I have no ill feeling,

960
01:19:06,633 --> 01:19:09,778
and I hold nothing against anyone.

961
01:20:22,924 --> 01:20:24,530
We with you, Herb!

962
01:20:24,899 --> 01:20:25,992
We all with you!

963
01:20:26,178 --> 01:20:28,142
We love you, Herb!

964
01:20:53,288 --> 01:20:55,632
We love you, Herb!

965
01:21:49,540 --> 01:21:51,101
Hey.

966
01:23:10,955 --> 01:23:15,779
I hope this important news of yours comes
with some food, 'cause I'm starvin'.

967
01:23:16,389 --> 01:23:18,261
Sit down, Mr. Myers.

968
01:23:21,256 --> 01:23:23,670
You was a lot nicer the last time.

969
01:23:28,345 --> 01:23:31,862
I heard the recording of the first
statement you gave on June 3rd.

970
01:23:32,819 --> 01:23:35,352
The one they didn't present in court.

971
01:23:37,098 --> 01:23:41,425
You told the Sheriff you didn't know
anything about Johnny D or the murder.

972
01:23:42,313 --> 01:23:45,045
You told him you didn't wanna
frame an innocent man.

973
01:23:45,194 --> 01:23:47,076
Do you remember saying that?

974
01:23:48,708 --> 01:23:50,133
What I'm wondering, is how do you go

975
01:23:50,271 --> 01:23:52,946
from knowing nothing
about the murder on June 3rd,

976
01:23:53,086 --> 01:23:56,225
to becoming the State's
key witness three months later?

977
01:23:56,570 --> 01:23:58,630
What changed your mind?

978
01:24:11,064 --> 01:24:12,832
What's that?

979
01:24:13,116 --> 01:24:15,637
Intake log from Holman Prison.

980
01:24:17,224 --> 01:24:22,009
On August 1, 1987, Sheriff Tate
transferred two inmates

981
01:24:22,241 --> 01:24:25,506
from county jail to death row.

982
01:24:26,657 --> 01:24:28,613
Johnny D...

983
01:24:31,735 --> 01:24:33,528
and you.

984
01:24:40,321 --> 01:24:43,875
Did they move you to death row
because you wouldn't testify against him?

985
01:24:49,350 --> 01:24:53,725
They executed Wayne Ritter a few weeks
after you got there. Isn't that right?

986
01:24:56,532 --> 01:25:00,849
I was in the witness room when they killed
Herbert Richardson Thursday night.

987
01:25:01,942 --> 01:25:06,666
It was the most horrific thing
I've ever experienced.

988
01:25:10,521 --> 01:25:14,123
I'm sure Ritter's execution
wasn't easy for you, either.

989
01:25:31,514 --> 01:25:35,388
They put me in the cell
closest to the kill room.

990
01:25:37,959 --> 01:25:42,654
Middle of the night, everybody
started screamin', bangin' on the bars.

991
01:25:44,073 --> 01:25:46,040
And then...

992
01:25:49,786 --> 01:25:53,268
Then come the smell of his skin burnin'.

993
01:25:59,400 --> 01:26:01,613
I know that smell.

994
01:26:05,288 --> 01:26:07,672
May I ask you what happened?

995
01:26:11,778 --> 01:26:13,858
Seven years old.

996
01:26:16,225 --> 01:26:20,068
I was sleepin' in my foster mom's basement
when her heater blowed up,

997
01:26:20,241 --> 01:26:22,807
catched my PJs on fire.

998
01:26:23,790 --> 01:26:27,173
I screamed for two minutes straight
before they found me.

999
01:26:31,146 --> 01:26:35,915
Everybody knowed that I got a fear
of bein' burned.

1000
01:26:36,409 --> 01:26:41,496
They knowed what it would do
to my head to be in a place like that.

1001
01:26:43,631 --> 01:26:46,997
I couldn't stop shaking all night.

1002
01:26:47,984 --> 01:26:50,628
Curled up on the floor like a baby,

1003
01:26:51,460 --> 01:26:54,512
tryin' to breathe,
but every breath you take just...

1004
01:26:56,086 --> 01:26:59,084
give you another taste
of the man they killed.

1005
01:27:02,496 --> 01:27:07,214
You can't go through somethin' like that
and come out the same.

1006
01:27:12,552 --> 01:27:14,474
I know.

1007
01:27:19,261 --> 01:27:22,094
I called that Sheriff
the next morning, I told him...

1008
01:27:22,778 --> 01:27:26,938
I would say whatever
he wanted to get me out.

1009
01:27:27,858 --> 01:27:29,661
He took my statement.

1010
01:27:30,262 --> 01:27:32,676
Moved me to county the next day.

1011
01:27:37,334 --> 01:27:39,399
Mr. Myers, we're going to court very soon

1012
01:27:39,544 --> 01:27:42,525
to try to get Johnny D
the retrial he deserves.

1013
01:27:42,898 --> 01:27:45,335
And I'd like you to take the stand.

1014
01:27:50,208 --> 01:27:52,020
No, sir. No, sir.

1015
01:27:52,218 --> 01:27:53,963
They're using you...

1016
01:27:54,540 --> 01:27:56,094
They're using you to condemn a man

1017
01:27:56,276 --> 01:27:59,198
that you have much more
in common with than you think.

1018
01:27:59,820 --> 01:28:02,115
And if there's any part of you
that wants to make things right,

1019
01:28:02,115 --> 01:28:04,905
this is the last chance you gonna get.

1020
01:28:13,879 --> 01:28:17,952
The tension is high this morning here
at the Baldwin County Courthouse,

1021
01:28:18,076 --> 01:28:19,640
where a hearing is being held to see

1022
01:28:19,793 --> 01:28:24,324
if the man convicted of killing
Ronda Morrison deserves a new trial.

1023
01:28:24,510 --> 01:28:27,006
Miss Morrison was only 18 years old

1024
01:28:27,146 --> 01:28:30,809
when she was murdered at
Jackson Cleaners in Monroeville, Alabama.

1025
01:28:31,153 --> 01:28:36,240
Many have taken the two-hour drive here
from Monroeville to show their support.

1026
01:28:36,376 --> 01:28:38,840
Extra security precautions
were implemented

1027
01:28:38,978 --> 01:28:42,142
due to the highly emotional nature
of this case.

1028
01:28:45,516 --> 01:28:48,058
Ronda Morrison's parents said
they have no doubt

1029
01:28:48,197 --> 01:28:52,057
Mr. McMillian is the man responsible
for the murder of their daughter.

1030
01:28:52,284 --> 01:28:56,112
But members of McMillian's family
claim they have the wrong man.

1031
01:28:56,272 --> 01:28:59,969
Much of today's hearing is hinging
on the testimony of Ralph Myers,

1032
01:29:00,176 --> 01:29:03,394
a convicted felon, who was
the key witness against McMillian

1033
01:29:03,552 --> 01:29:05,248
in the original trial.

1034
01:29:34,055 --> 01:29:38,395
What we'll be talking about today
is obviously an emotional issue.

1035
01:29:38,900 --> 01:29:41,363
And if any of y'all
don't think you can maintain

1036
01:29:41,513 --> 01:29:46,655
a reasonable degree of decorum,
then I would ask you to leave now.

1037
01:29:51,322 --> 01:29:54,885
All right, if we are ready,
then, we will proceed.

1038
01:29:56,791 --> 01:29:58,748
Mr. Stevenson?

1039
01:29:58,952 --> 01:30:00,838
Thank you, Your Honor.

1040
01:30:11,686 --> 01:30:13,424
The State's case
against Walter McMillian

1041
01:30:13,557 --> 01:30:16,274
turned entirely on the testimony
of Ralph Myers.

1042
01:30:16,417 --> 01:30:19,380
It was no other evidence
to establish Mr. McMillian's guilt.

1043
01:30:19,507 --> 01:30:23,879
No physical evidence linking him
to the crime, no motive, no witnesses.

1044
01:30:24,036 --> 01:30:26,089
Only the word of one man.

1045
01:30:28,287 --> 01:30:31,047
We call Ralph Myers to the stand.

1046
01:30:55,664 --> 01:30:58,581
Sir, please stand and place
your right hand on the Bible.

1047
01:31:01,405 --> 01:31:02,975
Do you swear to tell the truth,
the whole truth,

1048
01:31:02,975 --> 01:31:05,466
and nothing but the truth,
so help you God?

1049
01:31:07,136 --> 01:31:08,896
Mr. Myers?

1050
01:31:09,076 --> 01:31:11,390
Oh, yes. Sorry.

1051
01:31:11,833 --> 01:31:15,239
Guards got me up at about
two in the morning to get me out here.

1052
01:31:27,782 --> 01:31:32,096
Mr. Myers, did you testify against
Walter McMillian in August of 1988?

1053
01:31:33,013 --> 01:31:35,096
Is that when that was?

1054
01:31:35,879 --> 01:31:38,023
According to the record, yes.

1055
01:31:39,142 --> 01:31:41,752
Okay, then. Sure, if you say so.

1056
01:31:45,186 --> 01:31:47,929
And what did you say to the jury
when you testified?

1057
01:31:53,056 --> 01:31:58,588
Don't think I can fully remember, sir,
to be honest with you. Sorry.

1058
01:32:00,219 --> 01:32:01,449
That's quite all right.

1059
01:32:01,574 --> 01:32:04,056
I have a transcript
of your testimony right here.

1060
01:32:16,732 --> 01:32:19,682
At the trial, do you remember
testifying that you were unwillingly

1061
01:32:19,838 --> 01:32:23,520
made part of a capital murder
and robbery on November 1, 1986,

1062
01:32:23,816 --> 01:32:26,084
when Walter McMillian
saw you at a car wash

1063
01:32:26,225 --> 01:32:29,171
and asked you to drive his truck
because his arm hurt?

1064
01:32:30,307 --> 01:32:32,233
Yes, sir. I guess so.

1065
01:32:32,525 --> 01:32:36,265
Do you remember saying that you drove
Mr. McMillian to Jackson Cleaners,

1066
01:32:36,561 --> 01:32:40,456
subsequently went into the building,
and saw McMillian with a gun,

1067
01:32:40,608 --> 01:32:43,616
standing over the body of Ronda Morrison?

1068
01:32:45,239 --> 01:32:46,827
Yes, sir.

1069
01:32:48,187 --> 01:32:52,497
Mr. Myers, was the testimony that you
gave at Walter McMillian's trial true?

1070
01:33:03,013 --> 01:33:05,178
I don't know.

1071
01:33:07,510 --> 01:33:09,241
You don't know?

1072
01:33:12,352 --> 01:33:14,421
I don't think I remember.

1073
01:33:36,495 --> 01:33:38,207
Mr. Myers.

1074
01:33:38,624 --> 01:33:41,344
Do you know who Walter McMillian is?

1075
01:33:43,096 --> 01:33:44,733
Yes, sir.

1076
01:33:45,846 --> 01:33:47,903
Is he in this room?

1077
01:33:48,706 --> 01:33:50,309
Yes, sir.

1078
01:33:54,248 --> 01:33:56,279
Could you point him out for us?

1079
01:34:19,783 --> 01:34:22,286
I'd like to ask you that question
one more time.

1080
01:34:23,407 --> 01:34:28,148
Was the testimony that you gave
at Walter McMillian's trial true?

1081
01:34:37,368 --> 01:34:40,527
No, sir, not at all.

1082
01:34:40,693 --> 01:34:42,494
Order, please!

1083
01:34:42,956 --> 01:34:46,128
Did you see Mr. McMillian on the day
Ronda Morrison was murdered?

1084
01:34:46,286 --> 01:34:47,344
No, sir.

1085
01:34:47,479 --> 01:34:49,972
Did you drive his truck
to Monroeville that day?

1086
01:34:50,144 --> 01:34:51,869
No. Never did.

1087
01:34:52,019 --> 01:34:54,340
Did you go into Jackson Cleaners
and see Mr. McMillian

1088
01:34:54,481 --> 01:34:57,384
standing over the body of Ronda Morrison?

1089
01:34:57,839 --> 01:35:00,037
Absolutely not.

1090
01:35:03,712 --> 01:35:05,452
Thank you.

1091
01:35:06,434 --> 01:35:08,932
No further questions, Your Honor.

1092
01:35:13,824 --> 01:35:15,452
Mr. Myers,

1093
01:35:15,937 --> 01:35:19,716
how do we know you ain't upset
with a deal you've got

1094
01:35:19,858 --> 01:35:22,177
and you feel like, something, how about,

1095
01:35:22,597 --> 01:35:26,800
a change in your story
might help to get you out?

1096
01:35:28,355 --> 01:35:31,160
Because that just
don't make no sense, sir.

1097
01:35:32,084 --> 01:35:35,475
Who do you think is decidin'
what happens to me?

1098
01:35:35,625 --> 01:35:37,763
If I live or die?

1099
01:35:38,040 --> 01:35:42,943
It ain't me. It ain't Johnny D.
It's all y'all that decidin' that.

1100
01:35:43,122 --> 01:35:46,661
So, how is me sayin' what I'm sayin'
gonna help to get me out?

1101
01:35:46,811 --> 01:35:49,418
If anything, it's gonna help
get me to death row.

1102
01:35:51,402 --> 01:35:53,007
But I don't care.

1103
01:35:53,143 --> 01:35:55,448
Y'all can do what you want with me.

1104
01:35:56,047 --> 01:35:57,629
'Cause me...

1105
01:35:58,120 --> 01:36:01,787
I can look in your face,
or anybody else's face,

1106
01:36:01,947 --> 01:36:03,412
dead eye to eyeball

1107
01:36:03,584 --> 01:36:07,577
and say that anything
I told about Mr. McMillian

1108
01:36:09,011 --> 01:36:11,009
was a lie.

1109
01:36:11,939 --> 01:36:13,989
He's here 'cause of me.

1110
01:36:17,060 --> 01:36:21,697
And I sure would appreciate you sending
him home to his kids where he belongs.

1111
01:36:26,971 --> 01:36:29,614
We submit a copy of the official
log from the police officer

1112
01:36:29,771 --> 01:36:31,889
who stopped by the fish fry,
confirming Walter McMillian

1113
01:36:32,024 --> 01:36:33,822
was there with his family.

1114
01:36:34,107 --> 01:36:37,827
Mr. Myers said that the body
was face-up near the front counter,

1115
01:36:38,466 --> 01:36:42,333
but I found her face-down
in the back by the bathroom.

1116
01:36:42,928 --> 01:36:45,334
Submitting exculpatory records
from Ralph Myers' stay

1117
01:36:45,482 --> 01:36:47,630
at Taylor Hardin Psychiatric Hospital,

1118
01:36:47,630 --> 01:36:50,807
which the State did not disclose
to defense counsel.

1119
01:36:51,904 --> 01:36:54,147
Mr. Myers was my patient at the time,

1120
01:36:54,295 --> 01:36:56,459
and he claimed on numerous occasions

1121
01:36:56,677 --> 01:36:59,120
that he was being threatened
with the electric chair

1122
01:36:59,241 --> 01:37:02,120
if he didn't say what
the authorities wanted to hear.

1123
01:37:02,446 --> 01:37:06,451
The prosecutor asked me to testify
that she had been drugged

1124
01:37:06,567 --> 01:37:08,103
from the front to the back,

1125
01:37:08,271 --> 01:37:10,859
and I told him
I ain't gonna lie in court.

1126
01:37:11,958 --> 01:37:16,358
And then, few weeks later,
I got fired from the department.

1127
01:37:18,404 --> 01:37:20,302
All the evidence presented today

1128
01:37:20,469 --> 01:37:23,006
would've been critical
to the outcome of this case,

1129
01:37:23,202 --> 01:37:26,387
and its exclusion is a clear violation
of Brady vs. Maryland,

1130
01:37:26,588 --> 01:37:29,075
and Mr. McMillian's constitutional rights.

1131
01:37:29,576 --> 01:37:32,027
The truth has not been told in this case.

1132
01:37:32,254 --> 01:37:34,534
And I understand
a lot of time has gone by,

1133
01:37:35,735 --> 01:37:38,898
but I personally believe
that it's never too late for justice.

1134
01:37:39,769 --> 01:37:43,843
We ask the court to grant our motion
and order a new trial for Mr. McMillian.

1135
01:37:45,592 --> 01:37:47,450
Thank you, Your Honor.

1136
01:37:49,600 --> 01:37:52,964
Thank you, Counselors.
We'll reconvene at a later date

1137
01:37:53,127 --> 01:37:55,628
once I've had time
to look through everything.

1138
01:37:56,610 --> 01:37:58,722
All rise!

1139
01:38:03,786 --> 01:38:06,347
Teddy shoes, I didn't think
he was gonna go through with it.

1140
01:38:06,553 --> 01:38:09,741
Honestly, for a second there,
I didn't think so, either.

1141
01:38:14,789 --> 01:38:17,529
I can't even tell you
how I feel right now.

1142
01:38:20,235 --> 01:38:21,977
Thank you.

1143
01:38:31,699 --> 01:38:34,463
We got a few minutes
if y'all wanna say hi.

1144
01:38:42,916 --> 01:38:44,492
We'll leave in five minutes.

1145
01:38:44,834 --> 01:38:46,414
What's up, old man?

1146
01:38:47,042 --> 01:38:49,348
- You did great.
- Thank you.

1147
01:38:50,012 --> 01:38:51,642
Chapman oughta call you
tonight and tell you

1148
01:38:51,783 --> 01:38:53,127
that he's dropping all the charges.

1149
01:38:53,271 --> 01:38:55,214
Yeah, I won't hold my breath.

1150
01:39:04,630 --> 01:39:06,810
Upon the reading of my decision,

1151
01:39:07,038 --> 01:39:11,060
I expect the rules of decorum
in this courtroom to be upheld.

1152
01:39:15,080 --> 01:39:19,597
Ralph Myers took the stand
before this court, swore to tell the truth,

1153
01:39:19,894 --> 01:39:22,507
and proceeded to recant most, if not all,

1154
01:39:22,692 --> 01:39:26,164
of the relevant portions
of his testimony at trial.

1155
01:39:26,776 --> 01:39:31,742
Clearly, he has either perjured himself
at trial or in front of this court.

1156
01:39:33,294 --> 01:39:36,131
After careful review,
it is this court's opinion

1157
01:39:36,298 --> 01:39:39,640
that conclusive evidence
has not been provided

1158
01:39:39,784 --> 01:39:43,322
that Ralph Myers perjured himself
at the original trial,

1159
01:39:43,516 --> 01:39:47,223
and that pressure put on him
since his trial testimony

1160
01:39:47,348 --> 01:39:50,495
could tend to discredit his recantation.

1161
01:39:51,227 --> 01:39:54,701
Therefore, it is ordered,
adjudged, and decreed

1162
01:39:54,861 --> 01:39:57,171
that the trial testimony of Ralph Myers

1163
01:39:57,334 --> 01:40:00,472
is not found to have been
perjured testimony,

1164
01:40:00,695 --> 01:40:03,721
and no new trial
shall be granted at this time.

1165
01:40:04,537 --> 01:40:07,878
Walter McMillian shall be returned
to Holman Correctional Facility

1166
01:40:08,042 --> 01:40:11,356
where he is to face death
by electrocution.

1167
01:40:26,104 --> 01:40:28,045
You can't do this to us again, Judge.

1168
01:40:28,244 --> 01:40:31,081
- Sit down, young man.
- That's my dad, sir.

1169
01:40:31,636 --> 01:40:34,120
- I want you sit down now.
- He ain't do nothin' wrong.

1170
01:40:34,193 --> 01:40:36,018
Listen to your father. Not here.

1171
01:40:36,153 --> 01:40:37,313
He ain't do nothin' wrong.

1172
01:40:37,413 --> 01:40:40,561
Sit down right now, or you'll be
arrested for contempt to court.

1173
01:40:40,744 --> 01:40:42,973
Judge, just give me one second,
please, Judge. Hold on. One second.

1174
01:40:43,031 --> 01:40:43,834
Sit down, John.

1175
01:40:43,982 --> 01:40:46,151
I won't say it again. Sit down!

1176
01:40:46,291 --> 01:40:48,418
Not if you gonna kill
my dad for no reason...

1177
01:40:48,779 --> 01:40:51,560
Not if you gonna kill
my dad for no reason!

1178
01:40:51,693 --> 01:40:53,601
He ain't do nothin' wrong!

1179
01:40:54,119 --> 01:40:55,995
You're killing my family, Sir!

1180
01:40:56,740 --> 01:40:58,999
You're killing my family, Sir! You!

1181
01:41:04,890 --> 01:41:06,140
John!

1182
01:41:06,668 --> 01:41:08,415
Judge, he's not resisting!

1183
01:41:09,968 --> 01:41:11,934
Do not resist it.

1184
01:41:32,320 --> 01:41:34,302
Don't you let them get to you.

1185
01:41:37,497 --> 01:41:39,575
It's gonna be all right.

1186
01:42:01,488 --> 01:42:03,857
Come on, man,
don't make this hard.

1187
01:42:10,098 --> 01:42:11,465
Come on.

1188
01:42:11,750 --> 01:42:13,757
Don't do this, McMillian!

1189
01:42:15,572 --> 01:42:17,148
Let him go!

1190
01:42:20,907 --> 01:42:22,879
Let Johnny D go!

1191
01:42:29,307 --> 01:42:31,000
Relax! Relax!

1192
01:42:33,361 --> 01:42:35,411
- Give me your arms!
- Give me the cuffs.

1193
01:42:36,802 --> 01:42:38,325
Relax.

1194
01:44:53,335 --> 01:44:56,446
Nobody wants to remember
that this is where thousands

1195
01:44:56,615 --> 01:44:59,094
of enslaved people were shipped in

1196
01:44:59,293 --> 01:45:01,993
and then paraded up the street to be sold.

1197
01:45:04,676 --> 01:45:08,777
Just ten miles from here, black people
were pulled from their homes and lynched.

1198
01:45:09,582 --> 01:45:11,669
Nobody talks about it.

1199
01:45:15,528 --> 01:45:18,781
And now this black boy from Delaware
walks into their courtrooms,

1200
01:45:18,903 --> 01:45:22,882
and expects them to admit
they convicted an innocent black man.

1201
01:45:26,491 --> 01:45:29,698
I promised that whole community
I was gonna bring him home.

1202
01:45:34,157 --> 01:45:36,460
And I just made things worse.

1203
01:45:45,299 --> 01:45:46,927
I've heard a lot of lawyers say

1204
01:45:47,281 --> 01:45:50,229
it's not a good idea
to get close to your clients.

1205
01:45:51,229 --> 01:45:53,195
Distance is healthy.

1206
01:45:56,715 --> 01:45:59,934
But working with you
showed me that that's bullshit.

1207
01:46:02,078 --> 01:46:05,209
You choose to get close
to every one of them,

1208
01:46:05,968 --> 01:46:08,636
and you love them
like they are your family.

1209
01:46:10,311 --> 01:46:13,354
And when your family
is hurting, you're hurting.

1210
01:46:19,186 --> 01:46:21,497
There is no way that I could
fully understand

1211
01:46:21,644 --> 01:46:23,956
what it is that you're going through.

1212
01:46:27,535 --> 01:46:29,474
But I am pretty sure that...

1213
01:46:29,627 --> 01:46:32,624
you mean a lot more to this community
than you think.

1214
01:47:37,892 --> 01:47:40,295
Walter, I'm so sorry.

1215
01:47:46,903 --> 01:47:50,219
The day I got arrested,
I thought I was gonna be okay.

1216
01:47:51,738 --> 01:47:53,877
'Cause I got the truth.

1217
01:47:58,001 --> 01:48:02,428
Soon as they talk to everybody that
was with me, they gonna have to let me go.

1218
01:48:07,304 --> 01:48:10,157
Then, the police keep callin' you a killer.

1219
01:48:12,676 --> 01:48:17,216
Some white dude
say he saw you do it.

1220
01:48:20,394 --> 01:48:22,937
News people sayin' you did it.

1221
01:48:24,430 --> 01:48:28,214
Judge and jury sayin' you did it.

1222
01:48:31,208 --> 01:48:33,171
Now you on the row...

1223
01:48:37,037 --> 01:48:39,319
Two, three, four years...

1224
01:48:39,764 --> 01:48:43,325
Your friends and your kids...
They ain't callin' you like they used to.

1225
01:48:45,564 --> 01:48:50,142
After a while, you start wondering
what they think about you.

1226
01:48:51,514 --> 01:48:54,273
You start wondering
what you think about you.

1227
01:49:00,339 --> 01:49:02,755
Truth ain't so clear no more.

1228
01:49:07,902 --> 01:49:10,103
But the last few days...

1229
01:49:10,632 --> 01:49:13,421
I can't stop thinkin'
'bout Myers up there

1230
01:49:13,836 --> 01:49:16,771
tellin' everybody how it went down.

1231
01:49:20,697 --> 01:49:24,539
That's the first time I feel like myself
since I've been locked up.

1232
01:49:27,062 --> 01:49:29,839
First time I remembered who I is.

1233
01:49:38,660 --> 01:49:41,244
These fools gonna do
what they gonna do.

1234
01:49:44,744 --> 01:49:47,774
But if they take me
to that chair tonight,

1235
01:49:50,569 --> 01:49:52,792
I'm going out smilin',

1236
01:49:55,651 --> 01:49:58,169
'cause I got my truth back.

1237
01:50:02,455 --> 01:50:04,946
You gave it to me.

1238
01:50:07,322 --> 01:50:09,504
To me and my family.

1239
01:50:12,141 --> 01:50:15,059
And ain't nobody
gonna take that from us.

1240
01:50:24,391 --> 01:50:26,904
You ain't quittin', is you?

1241
01:50:30,363 --> 01:50:32,570
No, sir!

1242
01:50:38,785 --> 01:50:42,194
Then there ain't no reason
for you to say you're sorry.

1243
01:50:49,169 --> 01:50:52,296
I know how disappointing
the last hearing was,

1244
01:50:53,466 --> 01:50:55,876
but that's not where this is gonna end.

1245
01:50:56,379 --> 01:50:58,222
We're preparing a motion
to submit our evidence

1246
01:50:58,362 --> 01:51:00,996
to the State Supreme Court in Montgomery.

1247
01:51:00,996 --> 01:51:03,177
They have the power
to reverse the last decision

1248
01:51:03,360 --> 01:51:06,032
and force the circuit court
to give us a new trial.

1249
01:51:06,933 --> 01:51:08,655
You think they'll do that?

1250
01:51:08,817 --> 01:51:10,581
Nothing's guaranteed.

1251
01:51:11,071 --> 01:51:15,086
But I can't see how an outside court
can ignore the evidence that we have.

1252
01:51:16,521 --> 01:51:18,222
And then what?

1253
01:51:19,025 --> 01:51:23,042
Even if he do get out there, everybody
but us still gonna think he guilty.

1254
01:51:23,367 --> 01:51:26,700
If they can't kill 'im in there,
they can still do it out here.

1255
01:51:27,461 --> 01:51:29,714
We've been worried about that, too,

1256
01:51:29,854 --> 01:51:32,827
and we're working on something
to help get the truth out.

1257
01:51:39,068 --> 01:51:41,724
We're rolling. Whenever
you're ready, Mr. Bradley.

1258
01:51:42,223 --> 01:51:44,691
Okay, Bryan, you ready?

1259
01:51:45,140 --> 01:51:46,648
I am.

1260
01:51:50,754 --> 01:51:54,719
<i>His name is Walter McMillian,
known to his friends as Johnny D,</i>

1261
01:51:54,851 --> 01:51:57,242
<i>and he's been on death row
in Alabama's Holman Prison</i>

1262
01:51:57,424 --> 01:51:59,310
<i>for almost six years.</i>

1263
01:51:59,625 --> 01:52:02,341
<i>A jury was convinced
they got the right man.</i>

1264
01:52:02,517 --> 01:52:05,444
<i>But you may not be
after you watch this story.</i>

1265
01:52:07,729 --> 01:52:09,606
<i>Turn that up! I can't hear it.</i>

1266
01:52:09,870 --> 01:52:13,433
<i>Johnny D says they want
to execute the wrong man.</i>

1267
01:52:13,578 --> 01:52:15,009
<i>You didn't kill Ronda Morrison?</i>

1268
01:52:15,140 --> 01:52:18,712
<i>No, sir, I never seen Ronda Morrison
a day in my life. God knows I ain't.</i>

1269
01:52:18,982 --> 01:52:21,656
<i>Did you ever go into Monroeville
on the day of the murder?</i>

1270
01:52:21,804 --> 01:52:22,241
<i>No, sir.</i>

1271
01:52:22,266 --> 01:52:23,577
<i>You never went to--</i>

1272
01:52:23,704 --> 01:52:25,735
<i>Never went to Monroeville period.</i>

1273
01:52:25,912 --> 01:52:30,563
<i>I told them I had seen a young girl
laying on the floor with her mouth open.</i>

1274
01:52:30,729 --> 01:52:32,812
<i>Johnny D standing over her.</i>

1275
01:52:32,937 --> 01:52:34,454
<i>Was it true?</i>

1276
01:52:34,641 --> 01:52:37,349
<i>No, sir, not at all.
Nowhere near true.</i>

1277
01:52:38,196 --> 01:52:41,051
<i>If an execution date is set for McMillian,</i>

1278
01:52:41,189 --> 01:52:45,201
<i>and that day comes and it's time
for him to go to the electric chair,</i>

1279
01:52:45,472 --> 01:52:46,896
<i>would you be comfortable?</i>

1280
01:52:47,043 --> 01:52:50,381
<i>Yes... I'd be comfortable with it.</i>

1281
01:52:51,036 --> 01:52:53,770
<i>Do you think it's, fair,
just, he had his--</i>

1282
01:52:53,917 --> 01:52:55,663
<i>He had his day in court.</i>

1283
01:52:56,024 --> 01:53:00,045
<i>He was tried by a jury, they heard
the testimony and they believed it.</i>

1284
01:53:00,550 --> 01:53:04,097
<i>Chapman says he's going to
indict Myers for perjury,</i>

1285
01:53:04,227 --> 01:53:08,469
<i>not for what he said at the trial,
but for what he's saying now.</i>

1286
01:53:08,712 --> 01:53:11,815
Next we'll be presenting our evidence
to the Alabama Supreme Court,

1287
01:53:11,984 --> 01:53:14,390
hoping they'll see
what we think is very clear,

1288
01:53:14,777 --> 01:53:16,754
that Walter McMillian is innocent.

1289
01:53:16,963 --> 01:53:21,233
<i>McMillian's fate is now in the hands
of the Alabama Supreme Court,</i>

1290
01:53:21,374 --> 01:53:25,973
<i>which is expected to decide soon
if he's entitled to a new trial.</i>

1291
01:53:30,881 --> 01:53:33,210
EJI, this is Brenda.

1292
01:53:36,805 --> 01:53:38,912
Okay, I'll let him know. Thank you.

1293
01:53:42,181 --> 01:53:46,325
The Supreme Court's ruling in the
McMillian case is ready to be picked up.

1294
01:53:50,900 --> 01:53:52,372
I'll be back.

1295
01:54:13,899 --> 01:54:15,951
A wave of shock rolled through
Monroe County today

1296
01:54:16,090 --> 01:54:19,878
when the Alabama Supreme Court overturned
the circuit court's previous decision

1297
01:54:20,042 --> 01:54:24,095
and granted a new trial to convicted
killer Walter 'Johnny D' McMillian.

1298
01:54:24,373 --> 01:54:26,918
This was the first time a court
outside the county was shown

1299
01:54:27,054 --> 01:54:29,852
the overwhelming evidence
proving Mr. McMillian's innocence.

1300
01:54:30,006 --> 01:54:31,937
Though the court
granted him a new trial,

1301
01:54:32,087 --> 01:54:34,035
we believe he deserves
to be released immediately,

1302
01:54:34,151 --> 01:54:36,315
and that's exactly what we'll be
arguing at the next hearing.

1303
01:54:36,620 --> 01:54:37,835
Mr. Chapman, how do you feel about--

1304
01:54:38,004 --> 01:54:40,557
I have to comment
at this time! Thank you.

1305
01:54:48,115 --> 01:54:50,174
I'm looking for attorney Bryan Stevenson.

1306
01:54:52,045 --> 01:54:54,119
- Mr. Stevenson?
- How can I help you?

1307
01:54:54,307 --> 01:54:56,585
I've been ordered
to serve you this pleading.

1308
01:54:57,604 --> 01:54:59,177
Thank you.

1309
01:55:14,528 --> 01:55:16,877
Tommy Chapman is asking the court
to stay the proceedings

1310
01:55:17,035 --> 01:55:19,421
so he can open up
a new investigation.

1311
01:55:20,163 --> 01:55:23,046
He's tryna buy time to rebuild his case.

1312
01:55:24,209 --> 01:55:26,292
That son of a bitch.

1313
01:55:32,740 --> 01:55:33,365
Bryan?

1314
01:55:33,365 --> 01:55:37,040
You're asking the court to keep a man
on death row you know is innocent?

1315
01:55:38,691 --> 01:55:41,382
Excuse me, Counselor?
I don't know what you mean.

1316
01:55:41,528 --> 01:55:43,693
The Supreme Court supports
all the evidence we presented.

1317
01:55:43,883 --> 01:55:46,798
Every one of your witnesses recanted.
You got nothing left.

1318
01:55:46,798 --> 01:55:48,514
Hang on. My investigation
is still in process.

1319
01:55:48,672 --> 01:55:51,402
And we both know you're not gonna
find anything.

1320
01:55:54,285 --> 01:55:56,306
Do you have any idea the bullshit

1321
01:55:56,767 --> 01:55:59,999
that I've had put up with
since your '60 Minutes' story aired?

1322
01:56:00,525 --> 01:56:04,601
I got the governor on my ass,
got the NAACP callin' me a racist,

1323
01:56:04,901 --> 01:56:07,090
I got Ronda's family
checkin' in every five minutes.

1324
01:56:07,247 --> 01:56:10,636
You can't keep an innocent man in prison
while you try to salvage your reputation.

1325
01:56:10,784 --> 01:56:13,240
This ain't got nothin' to do with
my reputation!

1326
01:56:14,349 --> 01:56:18,553
This is about the people of this county
who have hired me to keep them safe.

1327
01:56:19,580 --> 01:56:22,056
And what people
are you talking about right now?

1328
01:56:22,216 --> 01:56:23,865
The ones from this neighborhood?

1329
01:56:24,033 --> 01:56:26,923
Or the ones from the black community
you took Johnny D from?

1330
01:56:27,073 --> 01:56:29,381
You think they feel safe?

1331
01:56:32,420 --> 01:56:37,104
Your job isn't to defend a conviction,
Tommy, it's to achieve justice.

1332
01:56:37,452 --> 01:56:39,127
And as long as you keep fighting this,

1333
01:56:39,288 --> 01:56:43,354
someone from your county
has literally gotten away with murder.

1334
01:56:43,847 --> 01:56:45,759
You went all the way down
at my house at dinnertime

1335
01:56:45,893 --> 01:56:47,841
just to tell me how to do my job?

1336
01:56:48,465 --> 01:56:52,322
No. I'm here because I think you know
the difference between right and wrong,

1337
01:56:53,004 --> 01:56:55,822
and you know Johnny D
didn't kill that girl.

1338
01:56:57,196 --> 01:56:59,617
I'm filing a motion
to dismiss all charges,

1339
01:56:59,791 --> 01:57:01,970
and I think that you should join it.

1340
01:57:13,547 --> 01:57:15,774
Next time you wanna
stop by my house,

1341
01:57:18,012 --> 01:57:20,017
I'd appreciate you callin' me first.

1342
01:57:20,181 --> 01:57:22,955
Now you get the hell
off my property, Bryan.

1343
01:57:44,727 --> 01:57:46,721
- What's going on?
- They won't let us in.

1344
01:57:46,868 --> 01:57:49,820
That boy's makin' us wait
out here for over an hour.

1345
01:57:50,353 --> 01:57:53,004
Excuse me, what are you doing?

1346
01:57:53,152 --> 01:57:54,900
Just followin' orders.

1347
01:57:55,015 --> 01:57:58,853
This is a public hearing,
these people need to be let in now!

1348
01:58:05,160 --> 01:58:06,852
Y'all can go in now.

1349
01:58:07,029 --> 01:58:10,039
- Now that there's no seats left.
- It's okay.

1350
01:58:10,501 --> 01:58:12,338
We'll find room.

1351
01:58:13,156 --> 01:58:15,107
Excuse me, sir.

1352
01:58:16,896 --> 01:58:19,053
Right this way, come on.

1353
01:58:24,833 --> 01:58:26,586
Okay, thank you. Yes, ma'am.

1354
01:58:28,650 --> 01:58:30,719
All rise!

1355
01:58:32,614 --> 01:58:36,111
The 28th Judicial Circuit Court
of Alabama is now in session,

1356
01:58:36,283 --> 01:58:39,100
the honorable Judge
Pamela Baschab presiding.

1357
01:58:39,424 --> 01:58:41,084
Please be seated.

1358
01:58:44,030 --> 01:58:48,451
We've got a full house, so let's try
to move through this in a timely manner.

1359
01:58:48,689 --> 01:58:52,702
We're here because Mr. Stevenson
has filed a motion to dismiss

1360
01:58:52,848 --> 01:58:56,511
all charges against
Mr. McMillian in this case.

1361
01:58:56,725 --> 01:58:58,330
Mr. Stevenson, since it's your motion,

1362
01:58:58,503 --> 01:59:02,413
I'd like for you to speak to it first,
and then we'll hear from the State.

1363
01:59:15,012 --> 01:59:18,747
It's easy to see this case as one man
trying to prove his innocence.

1364
01:59:20,115 --> 01:59:24,510
But when you take a black man and you put
him on death row a year before his trial,

1365
01:59:25,121 --> 01:59:28,505
and exclude black people
from serving on his jury...

1366
01:59:29,391 --> 01:59:33,154
When you base your conviction
on the coerced testimony of a white felon

1367
01:59:33,584 --> 01:59:37,974
and ignore the testimonies of two dozen
law-abiding black witnesses...

1368
01:59:39,181 --> 01:59:41,559
When any evidence proving
his innocence is suppressed,

1369
01:59:41,716 --> 01:59:45,555
and anyone who tries
to tell the truth is threatened,

1370
01:59:45,719 --> 01:59:49,265
this case becomes more than the trial
of just a single defendant,

1371
01:59:50,053 --> 01:59:52,766
it becomes a test of whether
we're gonna be governed

1372
01:59:52,949 --> 01:59:57,012
by fear and by anger,
or by the rule of law.

1373
02:00:03,859 --> 02:00:05,873
If the people standing
in the back of this courtroom

1374
02:00:05,986 --> 02:00:08,810
are all presumed guilty when accused,

1375
02:00:10,874 --> 02:00:15,713
if they have to live here, and live in fear
of when this very thing will happen to them,

1376
02:00:17,798 --> 02:00:20,685
if we're just gonna accept
the system that treats you better

1377
02:00:20,836 --> 02:00:24,435
if you're rich and guilty
than if you're poor and innocent,

1378
02:00:24,587 --> 02:00:26,907
then we can't claim to be just.

1379
02:00:27,929 --> 02:00:31,083
If we say we are committed
to equal justice under law,

1380
02:00:31,211 --> 02:00:36,955
to protecting the rights of every citizen
regardless of wealth, race, or status,

1381
02:00:37,100 --> 02:00:40,763
then we have to end this nightmare
for Walter McMillian and his family.

1382
02:00:41,333 --> 02:00:44,040
The charges against him have been proven
to be a false construction

1383
02:00:44,188 --> 02:00:47,779
of desperate people,
fueled by bigotry and bias,

1384
02:00:48,450 --> 02:00:53,123
who ignored the truth in exchange
for easy solutions. And that's not the law.

1385
02:00:54,810 --> 02:00:56,910
That's not justice.

1386
02:00:59,810 --> 02:01:02,026
That's not right.

1387
02:01:04,221 --> 02:01:07,709
I asked that this case be dismissed
immediately, Your Honor.

1388
02:01:10,732 --> 02:01:12,549
Thank you.

1389
02:01:25,096 --> 02:01:28,770
Mr. Chapman, what is
the State's position on this motion?

1390
02:01:35,262 --> 02:01:38,219
Your honor, may I
approach the bench?

1391
02:01:38,362 --> 02:01:39,800
Yes.

1392
02:01:44,228 --> 02:01:47,332
Your Honor... I'm troubled.

1393
02:01:49,078 --> 02:01:51,104
- You're troubled?
- Troubled.

1394
02:01:55,592 --> 02:01:59,200
'Cause I know that the people
in this community wanna go to sleep at night

1395
02:01:59,349 --> 02:02:02,122
knowin' that if someone
has committed a terrible crime,

1396
02:02:02,295 --> 02:02:04,749
that that someone is gonna be punished.

1397
02:02:09,671 --> 02:02:12,877
But... in this case...

1398
02:02:15,359 --> 02:02:19,077
Your Honor, I have taken
another look at the evidence...

1399
02:02:25,610 --> 02:02:27,263
Mr. Chapman, please.

1400
02:02:27,426 --> 02:02:30,376
And the State does not object
to the motion, Your Honor.

1401
02:02:35,831 --> 02:02:37,813
To be clear, Mr. Chapman.

1402
02:02:37,938 --> 02:02:42,755
Are you joining the motion
to dismiss all charges today?

1403
02:02:43,449 --> 02:02:45,644
Yes, Your Honor, I am.

1404
02:02:46,912 --> 02:02:50,124
Order! Please, order!

1405
02:02:53,813 --> 02:02:56,866
Well, y'all made my job easy today.

1406
02:02:57,810 --> 02:03:01,202
In the case of The People vs. McMillian,

1407
02:03:01,418 --> 02:03:05,138
the court hereby grants
the defendant's motion.

1408
02:03:05,631 --> 02:03:09,439
All charges against you
are dismissed, Mr. McMillian.

1409
02:03:11,505 --> 02:03:15,215
That means you're free. That means
you're free and you get to go home.

1410
02:03:35,031 --> 02:03:36,919
Your freedom has come.

1411
02:04:49,719 --> 02:04:51,858
We all with you, brother.

1412
02:05:43,872 --> 02:05:46,675
I came out of law school
with grand ideas in my mind

1413
02:05:46,834 --> 02:05:48,438
about how to change the world.

1414
02:05:51,957 --> 02:05:54,480
But Mr. McMillian made me realize
we can't change the world

1415
02:05:54,617 --> 02:05:56,963
with only ideas in our minds.

1416
02:05:58,125 --> 02:06:00,651
We need conviction in our hearts.

1417
02:06:02,024 --> 02:06:04,288
This man taught me
how to stay hopeful,

1418
02:06:04,665 --> 02:06:08,805
because I now know that
hopelessness is the enemy of justice.

1419
02:06:11,196 --> 02:06:14,427
Hope allows us to push forward,
even when the truth is distorted

1420
02:06:14,589 --> 02:06:16,561
by the people in power.

1421
02:06:18,875 --> 02:06:22,796
It allows us to stand up
when they tell us to sit down,

1422
02:06:23,038 --> 02:06:26,381
and to speak when they say be quiet.

1423
02:06:30,818 --> 02:06:33,106
Through this work, I've learned
that each of us

1424
02:06:33,244 --> 02:06:35,597
is more than the worst thing
that we've ever done;

1425
02:06:37,396 --> 02:06:39,919
that the opposite of poverty isn't wealth,

1426
02:06:41,026 --> 02:06:44,369
the opposite of poverty is justice;

1427
02:06:45,589 --> 02:06:48,090
that the character
of our nation isn't reflected

1428
02:06:48,193 --> 02:06:51,162
in how we treat the rich
and the privileged,

1429
02:06:51,790 --> 02:06:56,505
but how we treat the poor,
the disfavored and condemned.

1430
02:07:00,937 --> 02:07:04,351
Our system has taken more away
from this innocent man

1431
02:07:04,513 --> 02:07:06,788
than it has the power to give back.

1432
02:07:09,647 --> 02:07:12,784
But I believe if each of us
can follow his lead,

1433
02:07:13,428 --> 02:07:16,467
we can change this world
for the better.

1434
02:07:19,889 --> 02:07:22,361
If we can look at ourselves closely.

1435
02:07:22,700 --> 02:07:24,533
And honestly.

1436
02:07:24,700 --> 02:07:28,155
I believe we will see
that we all need justice.

1437
02:07:29,673 --> 02:07:32,014
We all need mercy.

1438
02:07:32,323 --> 02:07:37,556
And perhaps, we all need
some measure of unmerited grace.

1439
02:07:40,483 --> 02:07:42,400
Thank you.

1440
02:07:45,131 --> 02:07:47,339
I taught you all of that?

1441
02:07:50,383 --> 02:07:52,445
Yeah, you taught me some of that.

1442
02:07:53,200 --> 02:07:55,309
Pretty good, ain't it?

1443
02:07:57,987 --> 02:08:01,903
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