Illegal

Now,

in closing this trial,

I want you to remember the dead.

The gift of life is our most precious possession.

And the greatest crime in our society is ruthlessly to destroy that gift.

Gloria Benson was young,

beautiful, hopeful.

I fervently wish we could call her back.

But it's too late.

Far, far too late.

She's gone.

Her lovely spirit has left this earth.

But her murderer remains.

This man, Edward Clary,

who destroyed her with six shots from a.45 revolver.

Have you any idea of the fearful destructiveness of a.45 at close range?

One shot would have been sufficient.

But six. Six.

Now a terrible doom has settled over this monster.

And we who are here in the name of justice

must listen to the command of the great Jehovah.

"Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed."

Order in the court! Order in the court!

- Have you reached a verdict? - We have, Your Honor.

The defendant will rise.

"We find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree."

Sorry, Tony, but you know I never give exclusives.

Just say the accused was ably defended but you can't beat the evidence.

That's all.

They can't beat it when you present it.

Well, that's very pretty, Tony, but it won't get you that exclusive.

Besides, the real credit belongs to my assistant, Miss Miles.

She really prepared the case.

How about a story from you, Miss Miles?

Well, you can quote me as saying, "All I did was hold his coat."

It is true, isn't it, Mr. Scott,

that you have the highest percentage of convictions

- of any DA in the city's history? - I haven't been keeping score.

Tell us, Mr. Scott, how does it feel to send a man to the chair?

I don't send people to the chair, they send themselves.

Just one more thing, Mr. Scott,

is it true that you intend to run for governor?

Now whatever gave you an idea like that?

If you want facts, consult my chief investigator.

He specializes in them.

We're hungry.

Thank you, André.

That was dirty. Ray's hungry as a bear.

No, he isn't. He just wants to be with you.

Unfortunately for him, so do I.

You say the nicest things, but never in writing.

- Oh, that's my legal training. - Bachelor training, you mean.

- Dry martini, Mr. Scott, very dry? - Yes, two of them. Double.

- This is a big day. - No, one double and one single.

This is your big day, not mine.

It was a good case, but only you could have won it.

It's all in selecting the jury.

Twelve music lovers. My kind of music.

Vic, do you really intend to run for governor?

What do you think I've been doing all these years?

I became a candidate when I opened my first law book.

Well, you don't have to look so solemn about it.

It's a solemn moment.

I wish I were going along.

You've wasted enough time on me.

It's about time you began thinking about getting married.

Yes, Mr. Cupid.

Well, I beat off the newshounds.

- Now, can we eat? - You're just in time for a toast.

- To what? - To our next governor.

Paper! Clary to die in chair tonight!

Paper! Clary to die in chair tonight!

Nice piece, Mr. Scott.

Ought to raise a lot of funds for the club.

And a lot of votes for you.

You know, it's a wonder those kids didn't start running when they saw me coming.

I put most of their old men in jail.

But get this straight, I didn't sponsor this club for votes.

I was born right there in the next block.

- And that's pretty hard to forget. - Sure, I understand.

But my paper's thinking of supporting you and we need to humanize you all we can.

You know how it is, Mr. Scott.

Well, I've been too busy to be human,

and I'm not gonna start kissing babies or anybody else.

Clary to die in chair tonight!

What's wrong with a little kissing?

A lot of people prefer it to killing. Don't you, Mr. Scott?

Sometimes they go hand in hand, to the DA's Office.

There must be a few kind words we can print about you, Mr. Scott.

For instance, I understand that you practically

brought up Ellen Miles after her father died.

Even sent her through law school and gave her a job in your office.

Now look, her father, Judge Miles, gave me my start,

and I gave his daughter hers. They don't make you governor for that.

If I run, I run on my public record and I'm proud of it.

Excuse me.

Scott speaking.

This is Borden. I'm at General Hospital.

The Clary case has come apart at the seams.

What?

Impossible.

Well, I'll be right there, Ray.

General Hospital. And use the siren.

All right, give it to me fast.

A guy by the name of Chavez, has a record in four states.

Robbery detail caught up with him in an alley.

He didn't stop shooting till they put three bullets into him.

Did you hear this so-called confession yourself?

Yes, it checked all the way.

It proves that Clary couldn't possibly have done it.

Well, a man with three bullets in him could be delirious, couldn't he?

Sure. But Chavez sounded mighty clearheaded to me.

You can talk to the doctor.

- What shape is he in, Doctor? - No good.

Here's his confession.

He couldn't have possibly have known those details unless he'd been there.

Do I have to take this as a deathbed testament, Doctor?

Yes, he can't live until morning,

and he knew it when he made that statement.

Listen carefully, emergency.

Put me through to the death house at the state prison. Fast.

Long distance.

Calling police emergency. I want state prison.

I'm not guilty, I want you to know that.

- I swear it. - Yes, yes. I know, I know.

You don't believe me, do you?

I didn't kill her.

I loved her.

State prison.

Emergency. District Attorney Scott wants the death house. Hurry.

It's through right away.

Just a moment, Mr. Scott, I have the prison.

Hello.

District Attorney Scott speaking.

You must stop the Clary execution. Stop it, you understand?

Mr. Scott. Mr. Scott.

Hello? Mr. Scott.

Hello? Hello?

Hello?

Innocent man sent to death. Ed Clary dies in chair!

Read all about it!

Paper! Get your papers! Read all about it! Paper!

What do you read?

Innocent man sent to death. Ed Clary dies in chair!

Read all about it!

Here you are, Benson killer caught!

- Hinkel, what's happening? - Everything.

You look like you've been crying.

Of course not. I always get hay fever when my boss resigns.

- Resigns? He can't... - Then you tell him.

He's been in there all night.

Don't knock or you won't get in.

Hinkel told me you were resigning. I don't believe her.

You've looked at the morning papers, haven't you?

You've been listening to the radio.

You should have called me last night. I should have been with you.

Nobody was with Ed Clary when they turned that juice on him.

Vic, nobody's blaming you. Everybody knows you tried to stop it.

Ed Clary doesn't know it.

Oh, Vic.

Don't talk like that, don't think like that.

Anything you did, we all did.

Ray collected the evidence. I put it together.

Yes, but I killed Ed Clary.

You said yourself nobody else could've gotten a conviction on that evidence.

No one except me.

Scott, Victor Scott, the Napoleon of the courtroom.

You only did your duty.

You thought he was guilty, you know you did.

I thought they all were guilty.

Were they?

Try and answer that.

Were they?

Vic.

Don't quit.

Don't drink any more of this.

We'll just have to be more careful next time, all of us.

Careful? I can't be careful.

When I walk into a courtroom, I've gotta win.

I've always had to win.

What do you think got me out of that slimy little block where I was born?

Sure, your father helped, but

I'd have gotten out anyway, even if I had to crawl on my hands and knees.

I was a fighter when I was a kid.

And I never stopped fighting.

I never will. I wouldn't know how!

You want to know why I'm resigning?

Because I know I'd fight just as hard for the next conviction

as I fought for Ed Clary's.

And on no better evidence.

There has to be a DA.

Somebody has to live with that responsibility.

Well, then, let somebody.

As for me,

I'd rather see 100 guilty men go free than convict another innocent man.

I thought you said you were a fighter.

I am.

But I'm not a killer.

You're looking at Victor Scott, private citizen from here on out.

I'm gonna set myself up a nice little civil practice.