The Young Savages Page #8

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Try to think why.

Why what?

Just try to think why you like to fight.

Because it makes me feel good.

You really got your work

cut out for you here.

He's even got me convinced

this kid is a nut.

Anthony, if this court frees you,

what will you do with your life?

Am I going to get sprung?

Just answer the question, Anthony.

- The question?

- The question.

If this court frees you,

what will you do with your life?

I don't know.

If you were released this afternoon,

what would you do for the rest of the day?

- I'd go back to the block.

- And tomorrow?

- Tomorrow?

- Yes. Tomorrow.

I don't know. I mean, I gotta

know what I do tomorrow? You know.

Anthony, please try to answer

the question.

I don't know.

Dr. Walsh, you heard

Anthony Aposto testify

that he likes to fight,

because it makes him feel good.

Could you explain

this testimony to the jury?

In laymen's terms, please.

Aposto's gratification from fighting

stems from two sources.

One, fighting gives him status.

And two, in laymen's terms,

Aposto enjoys pain.

Dr. Walsh, do you believe Anthony Aposto

to be capable of an act,

say an act of extreme violence,

which requires premeditation?

Premeditation would not be consistent

with Aposto's pattern.

- The state of New York... May I?

- By all means.

...is your employer, is it not, Dr. Walsh?

I work for the state, yes.

You realize you are testifying

against the state of New York.

I realize that.

Doesn't it frighten you to be testifying

in opposition to your employer?

The truth is the truth.

We've gotta

get our own man up there

and demolish that testimony and do it now.

Later, it won't have any impact.

Dr. Andrade,

as a qualified psychiatrist,

I'd like to talk to you for a moment

about Arthur Reardon.

In your report to our office,

you indicated that he had

more than normal aggression,

I believe you said.

- Along with delusions of grandeur.

- Yes, those are parts of my findings.

He had fantasies about becoming

a very important man in his neighborhood.

He dreamed about growing up to be a

bigger man in his field than Al Capone.

Yes, he did.

Doctor, you are a very

experienced psychiatrist.

In your opinion, your professional opinion,

what is the cause of these

unmanageable aggressions and delusions?

- Fear.

- Fear?

Arthur Reardon is a

very frightened young man.

Would you say as a generalization he's

insecure or as a specific,

that he is a coward?

Well, a layman might so describe him. Yes.

A coward and a bully.

I don't know what the word

bully means to you, Mr. Bell.

A bully is a person so cowardly

that he attacks only those

who cannot defend themselves.

Like a blind boy.

I would call him a bully and a coward.

It's a lie, you stinking pig!

Order. Order!

Arthur, sit down!

Order, let there be order in this court.

Father, he's making me sick.

I instruct the court attendants

that in the event of another outburst

from this defendant,

they are to bind him and gag him,

so that this trial

will not be interrupted again.

Nobody's gagging me!

This country has free speech, doesn't it?

Why are they trying to tell

me what I can say and do?

Gag the defendant.

Why are you trying to gag me?

I got my rights.

Hank, this is gonna work against us.

This makes him look like a hotheaded

maniac, instead of a cold-blooded killer.

We're going to have a terrible time

proving premeditation now.

Dr. Andrade,

you testified that in

your professional opinion

Anthony Aposto was aware of the quality

and nature of his act

when he stabbed Roberto Escalante.

Objection!

When and if he stabbed Roberto Escalante.

- That is correct.

- Doctor,

how can you say what was definitely

in the mind of Anthony Aposto

when and if he stabbed another boy?

So far science has found

no means of determining

what definitely goes on

in the mind of a man.

If Anthony Aposto did not know

what he was doing,

then he'd be innocent in the eyes

of the law, wouldn't he?

I'm afraid I can't answer questions

about the law.

Let me put it this way, Doctor.

Is there in your mind

the slightest shadow of a doubt

that Anthony Aposto

knew what he was doing

when he stabbed Roberto Escalante?

But I have no psychic powers.

I can't answer your question.

You are aware that under the laws

of the United States,

a man is presumed innocent till

proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Oh yes, I am.

Thank you, Doctor. No more questions.

That's all, Doctor. Call the next witness.

We call Daniel Di Pace.

What are you doing?

- I'm looking for the truth.

- There's a proper procedure

for arriving at the truth.

I didn't put you on this case to lose it.

I'm looking for justice.

The jury decides justice.

I'm taking you off this case, Hank.

Do that, Dan.

I'd like to hear you

explain it to the newspapers.

Would you have stabbed him

if he hadn't drawn his knife?

No, sir.

So you only stabbed him

to defend yourself.

Thank you, Danny.

Your witness, Mr. Bell.

Your Honor, I have here three knives

I'd like to place in evidence.

Also, a sworn statement by one

Angela Rugiello,

to the effect that these are the knives

handed her by the defendants,

on July 25.

Her statement goes on

to say that Angela Rugiello

wrapped the knives in a newspaper,

and threw them in the backseat

of an automobile that same afternoon,

in the same condition in which

they were given to her.

And finally, I have a police lab report,

on the condition of the knives

when they were found.

I would like to place this in evidence,

but at the proper time.

May I have the knives, please?

Mark this statement.

- You recognize these knives, Danny?

- No.

You're under oath, Danny.

Don't add perjury to the

charge against you.

Is that any worse than going

to the chair, huh?

I don't recognize them!

- This your knife?

- I don't remember.

This one?

I don't remember.

What about this one?

I don't remember.

Don't you recognize any of these knives?

Any one of them at all?

Objection! Badgering the witness.

Witness has already

answered the question.

Objection sustained.

Danny, are you afraid to admit

which knife is yours?

No, I'm not afraid!

Then why can't you recognize

your knife when you see it?

Objection! Counsel

is assuming a fact not in evidence.

There is no testimony linking any

of the knives with the witness.

I'll sustain that.

Danny, you're a very bright young man,

with a very high IQ.

You think the jury is going to believe

that you can't recognize your knife

when you see it?

I don't care whether they believe it or not.

Who spotted Roberto Escalante first?

- I don't remember.

- Who stabbed him first?

We all stabbed him

at the same time.

How many times did you stab him?

- I don't remember!

- I saw you at Welfare Island,

you told me you stabbed

Roberto Escalante four times!

I must object!

I'll rephrase the question, Your Honor.

Danny,

did you or did you not confess

that you stabbed Roberto Escalante?

Yeah. In self-defense.

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