Trial – A time to Kill

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 Characters:
Rufus Buckley:

Jake Brigance:

Judge Noose:

Nora Cobb:

Officer DeWayne Looney:

Dr.W.T Bass:

The head of the jury:

Earnestine Willard:

Ozzie:

Dr. Rodeheaver:

Madam Clerk:

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 Script:
Judge Noose: Carl Lee’s trial will start, please Mr. Buckley you can

start as prosecutor, you have the right to speak first.

Rufus Buckley: First I want to say that I’m very proud to be here, I

want to thank the jurors because I’m proud to be working in this

most important case. Everybody knows that rape is a terrible crime

and this happened with Carl Lee’s daughter Tonya Hailey, I’m a

father too, my daughter is the same age as Tonya Hailey but no one

can take the law into their own hands we need to respect the law.

Judge Noose: Is that all?

Rufus Buckley: Yes, it is.

Judge Noose: So Mr. Brigance you can speak.

Jake Brigance: Daughters, we all know how special they are, I’m a

father I have a special relationship with her, every father has a

special relationship with their own daughter, I would feel terrible if

my daughter was raped by two drunk, drugged animals who tied her

to a tree and…

Rufus Buckley: Objection!

Judge Noose: Sustained!

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Jake Brigance: Please jurors, try to imagine, through the whole trial,

how they would feel if it was your daughter.

Judge Noose: Is that all?

Jake Brigance: Yes, it is.

Judge Noose: Well then, Mr. Buckley you may call your first witness.

The state calls Nora Cobb.

Rufus Buckley: Mrs. Cobb where do you live?

Nora Cobb: I live in Mississippi.

Rufus Buckley: What had happened on the day your son, Billy Ray

Cobb, was killed?

Nora Cobb: I was at home when a man called me and told that my son

had been killed, first I didn’t believe but then, Freddie, my other

son, told me that it was true. My son was very young to die, he was

twenty-three years old.

Judge Noose: Do you have any questions Mr. Brigance?

Jake Brigance: Just a few questions. Mrs. Cobb, is it true that you

son sold drugs?

Rufus Buckley: Objection! The criminal record of the victim cannot

be mentioned in court!

Judge Noose: Sustained!

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Jake Brigance: You say your son was twenty-three when he died. In

his twenty-three years, how many other children did he rape?

Rufus Buckley: Objection! Objection!

Judge Noose: Sustained! Sustained! Mr. Brigance! You cannot ask

these questions! Mr. Buckley you can call the next witness.

The state calls Earnestine Willard.

Rufus Buckley: Mrs. Willard where do you live?

Earnestine Willard: I live in Mississippi.

Rufus Buckley: What happened on the day your son, Pete Willard, was

killed?

Earnestine Willard: I was cleaning my house when my mobile rang, I

answered it and it was from the police saying that my dear son was

dead.

Judge Noose: Do you have any questions Mr. Brigance?

Jake Brigance: Just a few. Mrs. Willard, I’m Jake Brigance. How old

was your when he died?

Earnestine Willard: Twenty-seven.

Jake Brigance: During his twenty-seven years, how many other

children did he rape?

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Rufus Buckley: Objection! Objection! Objection!

Judge Noose: Sustained! Sustained! Sustained! Mr. Buckley you can

call the next witness.

The state calls Ozzie (Sheriff)

Rufus Buckley: Please Sheriff; repeat exactly what had happened on

the day of the murder.

Ozzie: On the day of the murder, I walked down the hall to the back

of the court, where half a dozen deputies stood, guns in hand, looking

silently at the stairway, when I looked at the body, it was terrible

Mr. Willard’s head was missing, Mr. Cobb had taken most of the

bullets in his back, the smell was terrible too and near the bodies

there was a gun.

Rufus Buckley: Is this gun the one you found near the bodies?

Ozzie: Yes, it is.

Rufus Buckley: I have some photographs of the murder victims and I

want to show the jurors what had happened with them.

Judge Noose: Do you have any questions Mr. Brigance?

Jake Brigance: Yes, I do. Sheriff, did you put Billy Ray Cobb and

Pete Willard in jail?

Ozzie: Yes, I did.

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Jake Brigance: For what reason?

Ozzie: For the rape of Tonya Hailey.

Jake Brigance: And how old was she at the time of the rape?

Ozzie: She was ten.

Jake Brigance: Is it true, Sheriff, that Pete Willard signed a written

document saying that he raped Tonya Hailey?

Ozzie: Yes.

Rufus Buckley: Objection! Objection! Your Honor! We can’t discuss

this case and Mr. Brigance knows it.

Judge Noose: Sustained. Please ignore the last question from Mr.

Brigance.

Jake Brigance: No further questions.

Judge Noose: Mr. Buckley you can call the next witness.

The state calls Officer DeWayne Looney.

Rufus Buckley: How old are you?

Officer DeWayne Looney: I’m 40 years old.

Rufus Buckley: Where do you work?

Officer DeWayne Looney: I work with the sheriff, I’m a deputy.

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Rufus Buckley: Who did you take to the courthouse on Monday, May

20?

Officer DeWayne Looney: Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard

Rufus Buckley: What happened when you took the men out of the

court?

Officer DeWayne Looney: We left the court, when we were walking

down the stairs, and then Mr. Hailey came out of a side room.

Rufus Buckley: Then what happened?

Officer DeWayne Looney: When Cobb was near the foot of the

stairs, the shooting started. I was waiting to go down. I didn’t see

anybody for a second, and then I saw Mr. Hailey with the machine

gun. Cobb was blown backward into Willard, and they both screamed

and fell down, trying to get back up to where I was.

Rufus Buckley: Yes, sir. Please describe what you saw.

Officer DeWayne Looney: I could hear the bullets coming off the

walls and hitting everywhere. It was the loudest gun I ever heard.

Rufus Buckley: What happened to your leg?

Officer DeWayne Looney: I never got down the stairs. I think one of

the bullets came off the wall and caught me in the leg.

Rufus Buckley: And what happened to your leg?

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Officer DeWayne Looney: They cut it off, just below the knee.

Rufus Buckley: Did you get a good look at the man with the gun?

Officer DeWayne Looney: Yes, sir. It was Mr. Hailey.

Judge Noose: Any questions, Mr. Brigance?

Jake Brigance: Just a few questions. Officer Looney, who was Carl

Lee looking at when he was shooting?

Officer DeWayne Looney: Those boys, I think.

Jake Brigance: Did he ever look at you?

Officer DeWayne Looney: I don’t think so.

Jake Brigance: So he didn’t aim the gun at you?

Officer DeWayne Looney: Oh no, sir. He just aimed at those boys.

Hit them too.

Jake Brigance: What did he do when he was shooting?

Officer DeWayne Looney: He just screamed and laughed like a crazy

man. It was the strangest thing I ever heard. With all the noise, the

gun firing, the bullets whistling, the boys screaming as they got hit –

over all that I could hear him laughing that crazy laugh. That’s what

I’ll always remember.

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Jake Brigance: Now, Deputy Looney, Carl Lee Hailey shot you in the

leg.

Officer DeWayne Looney: Yes sir, he did.

Jake Brigance: Do you think he meant to?

Officer DeWayne Looney: No sir. It was an accident. I do not want

to see him punished for the shooting, sir. I have no bad feelings

about the man. I would do the same.

Jake Brigance: What do you mean by that?

Officer DeWayne Looney: I mean I don’t blame him for what he did.

Those boys raped his little girl. I’ve got a little girl. If somebody

raped her, I’d kill him just like Carl Lee did. We should give him a

prize!

Jake Brigance: Do you want the jury to find Carl Lee guilty?

Rufus Buckley: Objection! He can’t ask that question!

Officer DeWayne Looney: No. I don’t want him to be found guilty.

He’s a hero.

Judge Noose: Don’t answer, Mr. Looney, don’t answer.

Officer DeWayne Looney: He’s a hero! Set him free!

Judge Noose: Order! Order! Now it is Mr. Brigance’s witness, please

Mr. Brigance you can call your first witness.

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The state calls Dr. W.T Bass

Judge Noose: First, you are going to ask questions about his

qualifications and his experience as a psychiatrist.

Rufus Buckley: How many books did you write?

Dr. Bass: None.

Rufus Buckley: How many hospitals did you work at?

Dr. Bass: None.

Rufus Buckley: How many patients did you see?

Dr. Bass: A few.

Judge Noose: Is that all Mr. Buckley?

Rufus Buckley: Yes, it is.

Judge Noose: Now you can ask Mr. Brigance.

Jake Brigance: When and how often did you examine Carl lee?

Dr. Bass: I examined Carl Lee two days after he killed the rapists, I

asked lots of questions about his experience in Vietnam, about his

family and about the crime that he committed.

Jake Brigance: How was Carl Lee’s experience in Vietnam?

Dr. Bass: Everybody knows that when people go to war many of them

return mentally ill because it is very difficult to forget a war.

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Jake Brigance: How was Carl lee’s reaction when you asked about the

rape?

Dr. Bass: Carl Lee had been unbalanced by the rape; when he started

explain to me about the rape, he had stopped being himself Carl Lee

told me that when he visited his daughter in hospital, she told him

how she had called for him in the woods. She thought she saw him,

but he didn’t come. She continued calling, but the men told her she

had no father.

Judge Noose: Is that all Mr. Brigance?

Jake Brigance: Yes, it is.

Judge Noose: Now Dr. Bass will answer questions about the insanity

defense.

Jake Brigance: Dr. Bass, how could you prove that Carl Lee was

insane?

Dr. Bass: Everybody knows about the M’Naghten Rule, if we go back

to England in 1843, when Daniel M’Naghten tried to kill a politician

called Sir Robert Peel. He didn’t succeed but accidentally shot and

killed the politician’s secretary. During his trial it became clear that

M’Naghten was insane and the jury decided that he was not guilty by

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reason of insanity. From this, the M’Naghten Rule was made, and it is

still followed in England and sixteen US states.

Jake Brigance: What does the M’Naghten Rule really mean?

Dr. Bass: Well, it’s fairly simple. To use insanity as a defense you

must prove that the person did what he or she did because they had

a mental disease or that they didn’t know the nature and quality of

what they were doing.

Jake Brigance: Can you simplify that?

Dr. Bass: Yes. If someone cannot tell the difference between right

and wrong, he or she is legally insane. This is what happened to Carl

Lee Hailey. After the rape he expected someone to kill the rapists.

He couldn’t understand why it didn’t happen. He didn’t know what

else to do. He had to kill them.

Jake Brigance: Now, Dr. Bass, do you have an opinion, to a reasonable

degree of medical certainty, whether Carl Lee Hailey was able to

know the difference between right and wrong when he shot these

men?

Dr. Bass: I have.

Jake Brigance: And what is that opinion?

Dr. Bass: Because of his mental condition, he was unable to tell right

from wrong.
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Jake Brigance: Thank you, Doctor.

Judge Noose: Dr. Buckley, do you have any questions?

Rufus Buckley: Just a few, Dr. Bass what is your full name?

Dr. Bass: Willian Tyler Bass.

Rufus Buckley: What name are you generally known by?

Dr. Bass: W.T Bass.

Rufus Buckley: Have you ever been known as Tyler Bass?

Dr. Bass: No.

Rufus Buckley: You’re telling this jury that on October 17, 1956, in

Dallas, Texas, you were not found guilty of a crime under the name

of Tyler Bass?

Dr. Bass: That’s a lie.

Rufus Buckley: Are you sure it’s a lie? Do you know a lie from the

truth, Dr. Bass? Do you know the difference between right and

wrong? Because, Dr. Bass, I’ve got some photographs of you taken by

the Dallas Police Department on September 11, 1956, when you were

charged with the rape of a 17 – year – old girl. We have no further

questions for the defense’s medical witness.

Judge Noose: Does the State have any final witness Mr. Buckley?

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Rufus Buckley: One witness, You Honor.

The state calls Dr. Rodeheaver.

Judge Noose: First, you are going to ask questions about his

qualifications and his experience as a psychiatrist.

Rufus Buckley: You are Dr. Wilbert Rodeheaver?

Dr. Rodeheaver: I am.

Rufus Buckley: How many books did you write?

Dr. Rodeheaver: I wrote 2 books.

Rufus Buckley: How many hospitals did you work at?

Dr. Rodeheaver: I worked in one hospital.

Rufus Buckley: How many patients did you see?

Dr. Rodeheaver: A lot of patients.

Judge Noose: Do you have any questions Mr. Brigance?

Jake Brigance: I have no questions.

Judge Noose: Now, Dr. Rodeheaver will answer questions about the

insanity defense.

Rufus Buckley: Dr. Rodeheaver, how was the examination of Carl Lee

Hailey?

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Dr. Rodeheaver: Carl lee was fairly helpful and able to talk about his

experience in Vietnam and his family, and he was unable to remember

details of the day of the murder, in my opinion, Mr. Hailey had

carefully planned what he did and he knew what he was doing.

Rufus Buckley: Did you know, that another psychiatrist, a Dr. W.T.

Bass, has told this jury that Mr. Hailey was unable to recognize the

difference between right and wrong, and that he was insane when he

murdered these two men?

Dr. Rodeheaver: Yes, I did know that.

Rufus Buckley: Do you agree with that opinion?

Dr. Rodeheaver: No, I do not, and I do not find it professionally

acceptable. Mr. Hailey himself said that he planned the murders. By

saying this he has shown that he was not insane. He knew what he

was doing, and he knew right from wrong.

Rufus Buckley: Doctor, what, therefore, is your medical opinion of

mental condition of Mr. Hailey on the day he shot Billy Ray Cobb,

Peter Willard, and Deputy DeWayne Looney?

Dr. Rodeheaver: His mental condition was normal, and he could tell

right from wrong.

Rufus Buckley: Thank you, Doctor. I have no further questions.

Judge Noose: Any questions, Mr. Brigance?

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Jake Brigance: A few questions, Your Honor. Dr. Rodeheaver do you

agree that psychiatry could never be an exact science, and that

there would always be different opinions?

Dr. Rodeheaver: Yes, I agree.

Jake Brigance: How many cases have you been a witness?

Dr. Rodeheaver: Forty-three.

Jake Brigance: Are you sure it’s not your forty-sixth?

Dr. Rodeheaver: It could be, yes. I’m not certain.

Jake Brigance: Forty-sixth times you’ve spoken for the State in

insanity trials?

Dr. Rodeheaver: If you say so.

Jake Brigance: And forty-six times you’ve said that the defendant

was not legally insane. Correct, Doctor?

Dr. Rodeheaver: I’m not sure.

Jake Brigance: Well, let me make it simple. You’ve been a witness

forty-six times, and forty-six times it has been you opinion the

defendant was not legally insane. Correct?

Dr. Rodeheaver: I’m not sure.

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Jake Brigance: You’ve never seen a legally insane defendant, have

you, Doctor?

Dr. Rodeheaver: Of course I have.

Jake Brigance: Good. Would you, please sir, tell us the name of the

defendant and where he was tried?

Dr. Rodeheaver: I can’t remember.

Jake Brigance: Is it possible, Doctor, that the reason you can’t

remember is that in eleven years, forty-six trials, you have never

spoken for the defendant?

Dr. Rodeheaver: I honestly can’t remember.

Jake Brigance: Can you honestly name us one trial in which you found

the defendant to be legally insane?

Dr. Rodeheaver: I’m sure there are some.

Jake Brigance: Yes or no, Doctor. One trial?

Dr. Rodeheaver: No, my memory fails me. I cannot.

Jake Brigance: Dr. Rodeheaver, do you remember being a witness in

the trial of a man by the name of Danny Booker in McMurphy County

in December 1975?

Dr. Rodeheaver: Yes, I remember that trial.

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Jake Brigance: And you said that he was not legally insane, didn’t

you?

Dr. Rodeheaver: That is correct.

Jake Brigance: Do you remember how many psychiatrists spoke for

him?

Dr. Rodeheaver: Not exactly. There were several.

Jake Brigance: There were three, Dr. Rodeheaver, and they all said

the man was legally insane. How many other doctors agreed with you?

Dr. Rodeheaver: None, if I remember correctly.

Jake Brigance: So it was three against one.

Dr. Rodeheaver: Yes, but…

Jake Brigance: What did the jury do, Doctor?

Dr. Rodeheaver: He was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Jake Brigance: Thank you. Now, Dr. Rodeheaver, you’re the head

doctor at Whitfield Psychiatric Hospital, aren’t you?

Dr. Rodeheaver: Yes.

Jake Brigance: And where is Danny Booker today? He’s at Whitfield,

isn’t he?

Dr. Rodeheaver: I believe so.

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Jake Brigance: And is this man legally insane, Doctor?

Dr. Rodeheaver: I don’t think so.

Jake Brigance: But you said in court that Danny Booker was not mad

and understood what he was doing when he killed his wife. The jury

disagreed with you and found him not guilty, and since that time he

has been a patient in your hospital, under your care, and treated as a

patient with mental illness. Is that correct?

Dr. Rodeheaver: You just can’t trust juries.

Jake Brigance: I think we’ve heard enough from this witness, Your

Honor. We have no more questions.

Judge Noose: There aren’t any more witnesses, so it’s time for the

closing arguments.

Jake Brigance: I want to apologize to the jury, please believe that I

would never use a man with a criminal record as a witness if I knew

the facts. Be fair to Bass the psychiatrist. Forget Bass the person.

And please be fair to his patient, Carl Lee Hailey. He knew nothing of

the doctor’s past. The girl that Dr. Bass “raped” became Bass’s wife

and she died with their child in a train crash, Mr. Buckley didn’t

mention that. And what about Dr. Rodeheaver? Maybe he had sex

with a girl under eighteen once, maybe he didn’t. Does that make him

a better or a worse psychiatrist? The problem with Dr. Rodeheaver

is that although he is a highly trained doctor who treats thousands

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of people for all sorts of mental illnesses, when crimes are involved

he cannot recognize insanity. If I made mistakes, it wasn’t his

client’s fault. I have a daughter too, she is my little girl, Carl Lee’s

daughter is a beautiful little girl and now she can never have

children.

Rufus Buckley: Objection!

Judge Noose: Sustained.

Jake Brigance: Rape is much worse than murder. With murder, the

victim is gone, and not forced to deal with what happened to her.

With rape, the victim has a lifetime of trying to understand, of

asking questions, and knowing the rapist may someday escape or be

freed. And if this happens to a child? A ten-year-old child? Image

you’re a parent. How would you explain to you child why she was

raped? How would you explain why she cannot have children?

Rufus Buckley: Objection!

Judge Noose: Sustained. Please ignore that, ladies and gentlemen.

Jake Brigance: What would you do? What would a father do? Cobb

and Willard were two drug sellers and rapists. Is this country a

better place without them? Certainly- and Deputy Looney thinks that

too. And Tonya needs her father. Ladies and gentlemen, she needs

him now, as much as she needed him then. Please don’t take him away.

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She’s waiting on the front row for her daddy. Let him go home to his

family.

The head of the jury: Ladies and gentlemen, have you made your

decision?

The Jury: Yes, sir we have.

The head of the jury: Hand it to the clerk, please. It is technically in

order.

Judge Noose: Will the defendant please rise. Please read it, Madam

Clerk.

Madam Clerk: On each of the charges against him, we the jury find

the defendant not guilty, by reason of insanity.

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