American Violet Page #8

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made this arrest so different.

I've only spent

one night in jail before this.

I was 16 years old,

was arrested for stealing

diapers and milk for my babies.

I did it.

They kept me for one night.

I knew

I was getting right out.

To be locked up

for 21 days

away from my girls

not knowing if I was gonna

get out to see them again,

I may not

have all your schooling,

but it seems

pretty different to me.

- Judge Belmont

has decided

that Beckett only has to answer

our questions for three hours.

Any more time would be

wasting the DA's time.

- We knew he was gonna

give him a lot of room.

- Dee, it is atrocious after

what they've put you through.

- Mr. Hill,

if you were Beckett's lawyer,

what would you do?

- Uh...

I'd destroy Porter's credibility

right from the start.

I mean, he's nuts.

Nothing he says

can be believed,

and he's our

only source of information

as to what really went on.

I'd argue that having the police

rely on him as an informant

was a mistake

but an honest one.

- All right,

what about the numbers?

All white cops,

all black targets.

- Coincidence.

It's a result of the drug

they chose to go after,

crack cocaine.

Feds target it.

Why can't the task force?

And, Dee,

I'd go after you.

I mean,

really work on you,

suggest that you're

just a desperate crack mother

trying to score

a monetary judgment

by playing the race card

against a hardworking group

of public servants.

The police

made some mistakes.

They have a tough job.

Occasionally,

they'll make mistakes.

They're only human.

Should we really punish them

for trying to protect us?

- Well, there you have it.

It'll work too.

We'll never

get anywhere with Belmont

by criticizing the cops.

We have to prove that Beckett

was motivated by racist intent.

- How can you prove

racist intent?

- You look

at a person's history.

You interview his coworkers,

his family,

people who know him well.

But we've tried everyone.

No one is gonna

say anything about Beckett.

- There's Julie's car.

She's a regular

at the coffee shop.

Thank you, Julie.

- It's about time

somebody said something.

- Just a second now.

- Okay?

- We're good.

- Are you ready,

Mrs. Beckett?

- Yes.

- All right,

now, this one's gonna be

a little bit harder.

- Used fractions...

[pounding on door]

- Come on, it's me!

Open up the door, Dee.

I know you in there.

Come on.

[Pounding on door]

- Darrell, go home.

- Dee, open the door.

Come on.

[Pounding on door]

- Stop knocking on my door,

come on.

Stay there, Sherice.

- Hey.

- You drunk.

- I came

to get the girls.

They need

their father too.

- Look, you heard

what the man said.

They need

to be with their mother.

Mm-mm. Go home.

Good night.

- Come on now,

listen to me.

Look, think about it.

Hear me out.

If we got back together,

then they could have us both.

- Mm-mm.

No, we been through this

already, Darrell.

No.

- It won't be like that.

- Darrell, go home.

Darrell!

- Come on!

Don't come into my-

Go to your room, Sherice!

Get to your room right now.

- Give me

two seconds to talk!

Give me my girls!

- 2-4-

- Go ahead, call 'em.

I don't care.

Come on, man,

we're getting out of here.

- Please come

as soon as you can.

It's an emergency.

Darrell, please!

- Let's go.

- Don't do this, Darrell.

- Come on,

get out my way!

- I'm not-

- Get off me!

- Stop it!

Get out my house!

- Hey, have you lost

your Goddamned mind?

- Mama!

- Put that baby down!

- What you gonna

do with that?

- I will knock you out.

- Well, hell,

old lady, swing!

- Come on,

step into it.

- What you gonna

do with that, huh?

- I'm gonna

knock your head off!

- Go ahead, go ahead!

- Your girls

are looking at you, Darrell.

- I wish you would.

- Go ahead, swing!

- I'll knock you out,

Darrell!

- Get off me!

- You know Beckett

ain't gonna charge me!

You know Beckett

ain't gonna charge me!

You know Beckett

ain't gonna charge me, Dee.

I'll be back!

- Come on.

- I know.

I know, sweetie.

I'm here with you.

I'm here with you.

- Hey.

- I'm here with you.

- Come on, Dee.

All right,

here we go.

- So sorry I'm late.

Had a rough night.

- It's all right.

Sam's already there.

- You okay, Dee?

- I'm fine.

David,

I have an idea.

[Engine turns]

- Three hours, Sam.

The judge said

you get three hours with me.

Nine minutes is over.

- [Mumbles]

- Sam, there's no need

to be uncivil, is there?

After all,

we used to be friends.

We still have to be together

for 2 hours and 50 minutes.

- Sorry we're late.

Mr. Beckett, you're aware

that the videotape we're taping

will become part

of the public record?

I'm gonna

take your silence as assent.

Before we begin,

Mr. Beckett,

I'd like

to introduce my associate,

Mr. Byron Hill.

Mr. Hill will be

conducting your deposition.

- Good morning.

Mr. Beckett,

is it your regular practice

to indict someone based on

the word of a single informant?

- Regular practice

all across Texas.

- And is it also your practice

to give the informant

a list of people

you want to find guilty?

- Objection.

Question assumes my client

gave such a list.

- Mr. Beckett, do you frequently

use informants

with a history of...

mental instability?

- We use informants

that know the drug dealers.

This list rarely

includes Baptist preachers,

Jewish rabbis,

or wise-ass lawyers.

- Please mark this

as exhibit 5.

- Mr. Beckett, these are

your drug arrest records

for the past five years.

Now, Harmony County

is less than half black.

Why do you think over 85%

of the task force arrests

are of black people?

- Must be that it's them

doing all the drugs.

- Mr. Beckett,

even black people

can tell time.

Calvin...

You don't mind

if I call you that, do you?

You seem to have a problem

with us black people.

- Objection.

- To what?

That wasn't even a question.

- You ever call

blacks "n*ggers"?

Answer the question.

Answer the question.

Mr. Beckett,

you are under oath,

and you have

an obligation to respond.

- I don't remember.

- You never said it?

- I don't remember

ever saying it.

- What's your relationship like

with your ex-wife?

- Don't have

any kind of relationship.

What the hell

kind of a question is that?

- She seems to have a better

memory than you do, Calvin.

- My name

is Elizabeth Beckett.

And I'm competent

to testify therein.

- How'd your ex-husband feel

about black people?

- Oh, he hated them.

Calvin hated them.

He even hated the children.

If they came in our yard,

he'd go out there

and scream at them.

- You think his views

affect his behavior as a DA?

- He thought

that people wanted convictions.

He thought that

the feds wanted convictions.

Calvin would say that,

"Who better to convict

than the lazy-ass n*ggers?"

- He referred

to black people as "n*ggers"?

- Yes.

Yes, he did.

Yes.

- Now, uh,

you remember her, right?

Ex-wife?

That's your ex-wife.

You want to see

what your daughter has to say,

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