Shepherds and Butchers Page #4

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through the prison garden.

And they thanked me

for looking after him.

You believed

that eben should

have been reprieved?

Other men were reprieved,

so, why shouldn't he

have been reprieved?

Did you tell him?

I would've been dismissed.

By the warrant officer?

Over here.

Order!

Yes.

So, you felt

eben should have

been reprieved,

but instead,

you were his escort

and you helped hang him.

Yes.

What were your

duties as eben's escort?

I measured his weight,

height,

neck.

What was the purpose

of all these measurements?

To calculate

the length of the drop.

The length of rope required

in order to assure

he died instantly.

You were responsible for that.

Yes.

If you calculated

eben's drop incorrectly,

he might not

have died instantly.

He might've suffered.

Yes.

Quite a lot of responsibility,

isn't it?

How long can it

take for a man to die

from strangulation,

hanging there

with his neck broken,

but enough oxygen

to allow

conscious brain activity?

If you left him hanging there,

without hauling

him back up again,

it could take as

long as 15 minutes.

Rather like torture, isn't it?

Mr.

weber, I'm warning you.

This is not

the time nor the place

for a debate on

the death penalty.

As my lord pleases.

Mr. labuschagne,

please tell the court

how you felt personally,

measuring eben's neck,

when you'd gotten

to know him so well

and felt he

should not be hanged.

I didn't feel anything.

What about when you were

on the gallows next to eben,

and the trap door opened?

What went

through your mind then?

I don't know what you mean.

What thoughts

did you experience?

None.

When you met eben

and his little girl,

you were having

problems at home,

weren't you?

Your drinking and fighting

had resulted in a separation

from your wife, magda,

and your own

little girl, Esme.

Mr. labuschagne!

Nothing!

I felt nothing.

I thought nothing.

I was just tired.

Are you

telling us you felt nothing

inside after this man died?

I was just tired.

You had no thoughts,

no feelings,

no emotions.

Mr. labuschagne,

are you all right?

I'm not feeling well.

My lord, I'd like to press on.

Are you feeling faint?

I might be sick.

My lord.

My lord, I'd like to

approach my client.

Mr. weber, if the accused

needs medical attention,

the court will adjourn.

My lord, I'm near the end

of this line of questioning...

You are at the end, Mr. weber.

The court is adjourned.

How could you be so cruel?

It is your job to protect him,

not to hurt him.

My job is to defend him,

miss labuschagne.

That's all I'm trying to do.

You don't need to

abuse him to defend him.

I'm sorry. I'm doing my best.

You don't care if

he hangs, do you?

I'll talk to her.

Hello, Pierre.

How's it?

Well,

you didn't choose this place

for the decor

or the clientele.

Saw you on the TV

the other night,

leaving the court.

Being seen with you

is kind of a liability.

So, we're reduced to

secret,

shabby assignations now.

I can't get you what you want.

My source on

the inside has clammed up.

They're taking

things more cautiously.

Surely, there's something

on a warrant officer

that's a matter

of public record.

I just need to know

what I'm looking for.

I cannot get a file

on the warrant officer.

Or the other warders.

Half these okes don't

even tell their wives

where they're working.

Well,

we've got to find something

or they'll hang him

within six months.

They'll hang him

sooner than that.

A warder who went through

the same ordeal,

someone who liked him.

There must be

somebody who's on his side.

And how the hell do you think

we got what we already have?

Now you listen

to me, 'cause this

is the last of it,

do you understand?

And I'm not seeing you again

until all of

this sh*t is over.

There was

a prison revolt, a riot,

whatever you wanna

call it, on death row,

his last day.

And?

And they hanged them, anyway.

And that's all

I've got for you.

Wait, wait.

Um...

You know what it feels like,

killing. I don't.

I need to know

what he remembers,

what he tries to block out.

I can't get through

to him unless I know

what's going on

inside his head!

What did it do to you?

You stupid doos.

Pierre!

Mr. weber?

Mr. labuschagne,

consult the register

for your last three days

at maximum, please.

Tell the court what happened

on the 8th of December.

We hanged seven men.

And on the 9th?

Another seven.

And on your

last day, the 10th?

Seven more.

Seven more.

21 men in three days,

which, I understand,

was another record

number of executions

for that amount of days.

Yeah.

Did anything unusual occur

during the executions

on your last day?

Mr. labuschagne,

tell the court what happened

on your last day at maximum,

the 10th of December.

Did the prisoners

who were going up that day

become difficult in some way?

Mr. labuschagne,

you told the court

about your first hanging,

now tell the court about

what you

experienced at your last one.

The warrant officer thought

they'd been broken.

But they weren't.

Get him in there!

Took another half dozen men

to get them out.

We were

ordered to take them up

in straightjackets

and hang them like that.

Don't touch him!

What happened

after the hanging?

What were your duties then?

Just a moment.

Miss marais,

the purpose of this

evidence is to show

that the execution process

was traumatic for the accused.

I'm sure the state

would admit to that by now.

Is this correct, miss marais?

We are prepared to admit that.

Is there any

need for more detail

in this area, Mr. weber?

It's damage control.

They're trying to do to us

what we did to them.

My lord, we're grateful for

the concession by the state,

but we're going to

have to lead this evidence,

unpleasant as it may be.

We're conscious of our duty

to avoid unnecessary evidence,

but we are equally

conscious of our duty

to present

the defense case fully.

Mr. labuschagne, continue.

What happened

after the hangings?

We

tossed a coin to see

who had to take

them to the cemetery.

I lost.

Amen.

Amen.

Stop!

Isaiah!

What

happened when you got back

to the prison.

Mr. labuschagne?

I fainted.

And they took me to the medic.

I had a bump on

the left side of my head

from the accident

and I was

bleeding from my ear.

Were you

offered any treatment?

The medic gave me

a headache tablet.

A headache tablet.

What happened next?

I came off duty,

and started for home.

But the storm was really bad.

What happened, Mr.

labuschagne?

All I can remember

is how tired I was.

How tired I was of everything.

The minibus...

There was almost

another accident.

You remember what happened?

Mr. labuschagne, what happened

after you nearly

had an accident

with the minibus?

You followed them up

the quarry road

to magazine hill.

Once you and the driver

reached the dead

end at the quarry,

what occurred?

I heard the trapdoors open.

Can you say that again?

I heard the sound of

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