Ghosts of Mississippi Page #11

Why not?

I had no reason to tell

unless he asked.

You had no reason, as a sworn police

officer, to tell an investigator...

...in an important murder case...

...that you knew the suspect was 90

miles away at the time of the murder?

I'd have been butting

into his investigation--

You'd have been "butting into his

investigation "by telling him an alibi?

Sure.

Did you ever go to the D.A.

and tell them what was going on?

Did you tell the FBl

what was going on?

The only person you spoke to

about this case was Hardy Lott...

...Mr. Beckwith's defense attorney.

-When he called me--

-How long was...

...the defendant in jail by then?

A couple of weeks?

I don't remember, exactly.

Well, let me help you out.

It was over eight months.

Eight months.

You let your buddy sit in jail

all that time...

...and never once told anyone,

"You've got the wrong guy."

You're asking this jury

to believe that?

Yes, sir.

Earlier in your testimony, you said

that you and I are friends, right?

Said what?

That we're friends.

You and I are friends.

You still think we're friends?

Sure.

As my friend, if I ever go

to jail for murder...

...don't leave me there

for eight months...

...if you know where I was

when the murder took place.

Objection!

That was a thing of beauty.

Nothing further.

Will you redirect?

Thank you, Your Honor.

Would you lie for Mr. Beckwith?

Did he ask you to?

As a former police officer,

you know perjury is a serious crime.

I'm gonna ask you this one last time.

On the night that Medgar Evers

was killed...

...did you or did you not see

Beckwith some 95 miles away...

...from where the murder took place?

I saw him.

As God is your judge.

As God is my judge.

Thank you, Mr. Holley.

We have nothing further.

No further questions.

You may step down.

Is the defense prepared to call

its next witness?

Your Honor...

...the defense rests.

-What?

-Damn!

Quiet.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Quiet or I'll order the bailiff

to clear the courtroom.

Coward to the end.

To my knowledge...

...this jury is being asked

to look further...

...into the past than any jury...

...in the history

of American jurisprudence.

That places you folks

at a considerable disadvantage.

Evidence has been lost.

They don't have the bullet.

They don't have the spent cartridge

case that was found in the gun.

They don't have the live ammunition

that was found in the gun.

Where is it?

Nobody knows.

Does this create reasonable doubt?

Of course it does.

And you have heard a number

of witnesses testify...

...that years after the crime,

Mr. Beckwith said this...

...or Mr. Beckwith said that.

But the defense has presented you

with an eyewitness.

A sworn officer of the law...

...who has testified under oath

that he saw the defendant...

...in Greenwood, Mississippi,

over 90 miles from Jackson...

...Iess than an hour after the murder.

Does that create reasonable doubt?

You bet it does.

And reasonable doubt

means one thing...

...and one thing only.

By law...

...you must render

a not guilty verdict.

Forget that it's Byron "Delay" Beckwith.

Forget that you may not like him,

that you...

...may not agree with him.

Judge the evidence...

...and judge it fairly.

Because...

...in the United States...

...we don't do that for people

we just like and admire.

We do that for everybody...

...that's on trial...

...in an American court of law.

Because if the system doesn't work...

...for Byron De La Beckwith...

...it doesn't work...

...for anyone.

I ask you to let the system work...

...and once and for all...

...find the defendant...

...Byron De La Beckwith,

not guilty.

Thank you.

An unarmed man...

...arrives home in the late hours

of the night...

...home to his family, his wife...

...and three small children...

...gets out of his car...

...and with his back turned...

...is gunned down by a coward.

That coward is...

...Byron De La Beckwith.

His gun.

His scope.

His fingerprint.

His car.

And lastly, but certainly not least,

his mouth.

When he thought he got away with it...

...he couldn't keep his mouth shut

with people he wanted to impress.

And now his venom has come back

to do him in...

...because, ladies and gentlemen...

...there is no statute

of limitations on murder.

The law doesn't say

that if you killed someone...

... 10 years ago or 20 years ago...

...or even 30 years ago,

that you don't have to pay the price.

The law doesn't say that if you are

50 years old or 60 years old...

...or 70 years old,

that you don't have to pay the price.

No man...

...is above the law.

And for what reason...

...was Medgar Evers' life taken?

For wanting some degree

of equality for himself...

...his family and his fellow man.

Ladies and gentlemen,

when that kind of murder happens...

...no matter who the victim...

...no matter what his race...

...there is a gaping wound...

...Iaid open on society as a whole.

Justice...

...has sometimes been referred to...

...as the soothing balm

to be applied...

...to the wounds inflicted on society.

But when there is no justice...

...those wounds can never be cleansed.

Those wounds can never be healed.

When I addressed you

in my opening statement...

...I said that this was a simple case.

Well, I was right and I was wrong.

The evidence is simple...

...and the conclusion is

more than obvious.

But the reason we are all...

...sitting in this courtroom

so many years after...

...this disgraceful

assassination took place...

...is anything but simple.

President John F. Kennedy...

...in his landmark civil rights speech

to the nation...

...delivered on the very night

Medgar Evers was murdered, said...

... "We face a moral crisis

as a country...

...and as a people.

Those who do nothing are

inviting shame...

...as well as violence.

Those who act boldly are

recognizing right...

...as well as reality."

Today, 30 years later...

...on behalf of the state

of Mississippi...

...I'm asking you 12 ladies

and gentlemen to act boldly.

To hold this defendant accountable

and find him guilty...

...simply because it is right...

...it is just...

...and Lord knows, it is time.

Is it ever...

...too late to do the right thing?

For the sake of justice...

...and for the hope of us

as a civilized society...

...I sincerely pray that it is not.

Thank you.

How long do you think they'll be out?

All I know is a short time is good

and a long time is...

...not so good.

Then I'll pray for a short time.

This reminds me of Medgar's office

on Lynch Street.

You know, I used to be

Medgar's secretary.

He insisted that we behave

in the office...

...strictly as employer-employee.

He'd call me Mrs. Evers,

and I'd have to call him Mr. Evers.

Is that right?

Everybody thought he was crazy.

But he was just so determined

to do a good job.

You remind me of Medgar.

Thank you, ma'am.

Would you like a cup of coffee?

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