Blood Done Sign My Name Page #7

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when you knew he wouldn't

see us, didn't you?

I told her the truth.

I told her I notified his

office that we were coming.

You let her and her girls

ride on top of that fake coffin

for 50 miles, knowing that

meeting wasn't gonna happen.

That don't bother you?

You think Dickie

Marrow's murder

is the worst civil rights lynching ever?

It doesn't even come close

to the things I've seen.

And you think her pain is any different

from the pain of

those other families?

Now, what's special

about his death is

that it gives us an opportunity

to make things better.

Who do you

think I am?

I'm not Dr. King.

I'm not one

of his golden boys.

I'm a stoker, man.

You understand?

They send me in to the

towns to keep things hot.

That's my job.

I'm just a stoker.

(anchorman over TV)

In Raleigh today,

groups of blacks

marched in protest

over the killing of a

Negro Oxford man last week.

Governor Scott's refusal

to meet with black leaders

has reportedly angered

many of the marchers.

Local police in Oxford

continue to claim

that the situation there

is under control.

Sh*t, man, put that damn thing out.

Okay, now

we sync watches.

Sync on five,

four,

three,

two, one.

(driver) We got a call. Come on.

[siren wails]

Let's go.

[glass smashing]

(Eddie)

Go, go, go, go. Go!

Come on.

Hurry up. Hurry up!

Eddie, what

you doing, man?

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Something's wrong.

Maybe it didn't catch.

Just give it a second.

Sh*t. It didn't catch.

Eddie!

Eddie.

[creaking]

I think it worked.

[distant siren wails]

Daddy?

It's big.

Daddy, is it

coming here?

(Vernon)

Oh, no, honey.

It's okay.

Ain't nothing gonna

happen unless you make it.

I've presided over several

racially charged cases.

I harbor no prejudice

against Negroes.

I was raised

in a mainly black county.

I ate with them.

I played with them.

We had an instinctive

love for the Negro race.

(crowd)

Black power!

My secretary is black.

That should show you

how I feel about them.

I have heard the arguments

that this community is

too turbulent for a trial.

But I do not feel

they present

an adequate reason for

moving these proceedings.

[all talking at once]

Does it concern you that only

9 of the 100 juror candidates

examined for this

trial were black?

No. Why would

that concern me?

Because Warren County, from

which the jury pool is drawn,

is in fact more than 2/3 black.

This is a fair

and impartial jury.

And it'll be a fair

and impartial trial.

Mr. Burgwyn, is the

prosecution ready?

Yes, we are,

Your Honor.

We call Dr. Page Hudson to the stand.

The deceased had two serious

fractures of the skull,

one on the top of his

head, the other on the back.

He also had bruises and

abrasions all over his body,

both.410 and 12-gauge shotgun

wounds on the backs of his legs,

as well as a.22-caliber bullet

wound in the center of his forehead.

I'd been hanging

with the fellas

in the shed at the old fish market.

Suddenly I hear Dickie

and a white man arguing.

That's when I

saw Mr. Teel

come out the store

with a shotgun.

And what did you do?

I ran!

I mean, we all ran.

I heard about two

or three shots.

And, uh, then

I came back.

I saw Larry Teel

standing over Dickie

with a shotgun.

I...yelled at him.

"Stop before you

kill that boy."

Finally, I

heard the shot.

Who was holding the rifle, Mrs. Downing?

Who was

holding the gun

that fired

the final shot?

Him there.

Larry Teel.

I was on my way

to find everybody

when Willie and Jimmie

and them flew by me.

Then I heard

a shotgun blast.

And after they beat him, what happened?

There was

one more shot.

Sounded like

a cap pistol.

[gunshot]

No further questions,

Your Honor.

Boo, have you ever been in any trouble?

Legal trouble?

Yeah. But I

ain't on trial.

What kind

of trouble?

Stuff.

Receiving stolen goods,

breaking and entering?

That kind of stuff?

Yeah, but I ain't

killed nobody.

I'm sorry. I didn't say you did.

Did you serve time

for those crimes?

Yeah.

In fact, you're on

probation right now,

isn't that correct?

Yeah.

Mr. Chavis,

do you see the man

that fired the shot that

killed Dickie Marrow?

Yes.

Will you get up and

go over and touch him?

Yeah, sure.

Please.

Touch him.

Thank you.

That's all.

[general murmuring]

(judge) Is the defense

ready, Mr. Watkins?

Yes, we are,

Your Honor.

What did Dickie Marrow say to you?

He said,

"Hey, white girl."

"Hey, white girl."

Huh.

Had you said

anything to him?

No, sir.

And then

what happened?

And then Larry told him, "Don't

be speaking to her like that."

And then he came at Larry with a knife,

and I screamed

for help.

(Larry Teel) He said, "Hey,

white girl. Hey, you b*tch."

I said, "Don't talk

to my wife like that."

And he said, uh, "Come

on, I'm a soul brother."

Then he pulled

his knife on me.

After he went down,

what happened?

I hit him

with my fists,

took the knife away

from him, then stood up.

The rifle that

shot him.

Were you holding

the rifle?

No, sir.

Did you see who

was holding it?

No. I was looking down

at him on the ground.

Did you recognize

the other men?

It was

happening so fast.

The boy attacked me.

And I ran

after him...

Larry...

did you recognize

the other men?

My father was there.

I recognized his voice when he said,

"I'm gonna call an

ambulance and the police."

And what about

the other man?

I didn't know

who he was.

(anchorman over TV) ln a surprise

move here Thursday, Larry Teel,

son of a local barber, Robert Teel,

took the witness stand in

Granville County Superior Court

and denied that he shot and

killed a local Negro man.

(Watkins) Were you holding the rifle?

(Larry)

No, sir.

(Watkins) Did you see

who was holding it?

So tell me, Roger, one

more time, what happened.

I heard Judy

call for help.

I ran after

my father.

When I got to the other

side of the fish market,

I saw him and Larry

and joined them.

Did Larry Teel at any time that night

have a gun

in his hand?

No.

Then how could that last

shot have been fired?

Roger?

I was holding it.

Someone bumped my shoulder,

and the gun went off.

[weeping]

I didn't mean

to kill anybody.

It was

an accident.

No further questions,

Your Honor.

(attorney) lf this was an accident,

why did you let

your father and brother

stand trial for

first-degree murder?

'Cause my lawyers told

me not to say nothing.

Do you mean to

tell this jury

that you let

them sit in jail

without the privilege

of bond for three months,

and didn't tell anybody

that you shot this man

or that it

was an accident?

Your father and your brother

were on trial for their lives!

For their lives!

And you have not set

foot in this courtroom

until today!

My attorney told me not to come.

That boy lay

on the ground

begging for his life,

helpless, Roger.

Did you kick him?

We was all

kicking him.

And did

you beat him

with the stock

of that rifle, Roger?

His skull

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