Southern Rites Page #6

He didn't say none... he

didn't say none of that stuff.

It was like

everybody made a bad decision that night.

Well, they was kids being kids.

(whistle blows)

(people cheering)

-

- (phone beeping)

Donna, do you have the Neesmith file?

I think I filed it away.

Can I get a moment?

Yes, ma'am. Okay. Thank you. Bye.

Laub:
Can you explain to me why the facts

show that that was a fair plea bargain?

I think it's a just

punishment for the crime.

There's a difference between...

you know, because again, I can

never replace a life that was lost,

you know... this was, you

know, this... you can't do that.

So is this a fair... no.

Is it a just crime...

is it a just punishment?

Yes, I think it's a just punishment

because of the circumstances of the case.

He was being punished.

He is being punished based

on the facts of the case.

I'll never be able to replace what happened

to the Pattersons, never.

And it's a tragic event for them.

And as the court stated on the record

there at the sentencing,

it's a tragic event

all the way across the board for everybody.

The other son has to live with the fact

that he was the one who

wanted to go over there.

The girls have to reali...

have to live with the

fact they're the ones who

participated in inviting them

over there, how that all happened.

They all have to live

with the circumstances

of what they brought on.

And there's no other way to

describe it other than just a tragedy

for all parties involved.

Laub:
We've all been teenagers before

and we've all snuck around

and we've all gone into houses late

at night when we weren't supposed to.

Actually, I have not. (Laughs)

Laub:
All right. Well, I certainly

have done my share. I've done my share.

So you don't think race

had anything to do...

played any part in this case?

You can never say race doesn't

play a part in any case,

okay?

That's just a fact you have to deal with.

You asked me earlier did I think if

the boys had been of a different race,

whether or not the

facts would have changed.

Under the circumstances

that happened that night,

I don't think the outcome would have been

different no matter what.

It happened.

I just don't think it would have been.

Whatever that child did,

he didn't deserve to die.

And in the end, that's what this...

that's what this sentence shows.

And it shows everyone here

came to that conclusion.

It's the right conclusion.

And that's all I have to say.

Laub:
Why do you think that the DA

was willing to reduce all those charges?

In my opinion,

it was done for a couple of reasons.

It was, one, done to save face

because Norman had a lot of supporters.

Laub:
And when you say "save face,"

what does that mean exactly?

(sighs)

Well...

because of the support

that Norman had, you know...

the district attorney's

position is elected and...

you want everybody to think

you're doing the right thing

so that you can get the votes.

That's my thought.

(water bubbling)

Neesmith:
I should have never went nowhere.

That's my belief

because I was defending myself.

When is it you can't defend yourself?

For me trying to do right and trying

to live the right kind of life...

and what I thought was going by the

laws and stuff, look what it got me.

It finished stripping me, you know?

Look what it got me.

Just trying to be and do the right thing.

This mess has cost me two years of my life.

And that boy's daddy

said it in that courtroom

and how bad they had to go

to the cemetery and all that.

That that man over there just

murdered his son and all that.

What the hell he think it done to me?

Like I told him in courtroom that

day and you probably remember,

I said, "You keep talking about...

you know, the loss you got

for your son and stuff,"

I said, "When your son died that night,

a big part of me died, too," you know?

And I didn't say no more.

But they never said nothing about me.

If their kid was so good, why

wasn't he home in their bed?

Why wasn't they home in their

bed, not at my house in my bed?

One of them said they had kids.

Why wasn't he home looking after his kids?

Why he's over here trying

to get some more, you know?

He should have been home looking

after his kids if he was a nice,

respectable boy like they said.

Why wasn't he home at 3:00 in the morning?

Why was he at my house

doped up and drinking?

And he said they was polite.

It was yes and no's and

yes, ma'am and no, ma'am.

"And he said, and I won't never forget

it, "I bet that's the way he was talking

to Mr. Neesmith that night

he shot him and killed him."

The boy never said a

word. He wouldn't talk.

The only thing he said that

made it... that I heard

when I was laying on the

floor when this happened,

he said, "The MF shot me."

Only he used the word.

Laub:
What? I'm sorry. What did he say?

Well, when it all happened, he

said, "The motherf***er shot me."

After all he'd done... now

he'd done come in my house.

He'd done brought dope in my house.

We found dope all in there,

they brought in there.

And still I'm the motherf***er. What is he?

Tell me what he would have been.

That... do you see what I'm saying?

I was still the bad guy...

you know?

And...

and I just want this...

I just want this mess to be over.

And it's going to be

over. This is the last day

I ever talk about this

stuff. It's going to be over.

But what I told you all is exactly,

just exactly what happened

at my house that night.

I'd have been better off

if they had killed me.

I believe that.

I still pray for that boy's mom

and daddy just about every night.

I bet they ain't said a word about me.

Julius:
I know they say you got to forgive

so that you can move on, but...

to this day,

I haven't forgave him yet.

I'm not the same anymore.

I'm not the Julius that I used to be.

I look back at it and...

he texted me three times and...

that was the last I heard from him.

Laub:
So I want to just

go back to that night.

(exhales)

I know it's hard, but...

can you tell me how you met Justin?

I'd known Justin for about

two years at the time.

I had lost his number

and we had lost contact some kind of way.

I don't know how it happened.

Then all of a sudden,

it's just like, bam, we have contact again.

- And...

- How did you have contact again?

Well, I was on Facebook and all

of a sudden I had a friend request

and it said, "Justin Burr

Patterson." I was like,

"Wait a minute. That can't

be who I think it is."

So I went ahead and I opened it.

I was like, "Oh, my God, it is."

So it was like, bam,

automatic connection again.

I was like, "Yes!"

So we started, you know,

communicating and all again

and everything was going good.

That... actually, the next day,

he was supposed to be coming to the house,

you know, to hang out and everything.

But things didn't

exactly turn out that way.

It bothers me. I still have nightmares.

Whew. I mean, I wake up in

the middle of the night,

just sitting there shivering and shaking,

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