"[Sam Narrating] Leaping about in time, I've found that there are some things in life that I can't change, and there are some things that I can." "To save a life, to change a heart, to make the right choice." "I guess that's what life's about... making the right choice at the right time." "Leonard?" "We appreciate the dramatic pause, Leonard, but we're waitin' for your answer." " Would you mind repeating the question?" " [All Laughing]" "Oh, for heaven's sakes, Leonard." "Everybody in Twelve Oaks Parish knows the answer." "All right, all right." "Delilah Berry, you're accused of murdering..." "Houston Palmer Cotter on the 15th ofJune, 1957." " Murder?" " How do you plead, guilty or not guilty?" "Leonard." "Not guilty." "[Gasping] [Woman] What did that boy say?" "Leonard, we had a deal!" "Bo!" "Bo!" "Twenty years for second-degree murder." "[Judge] Order." "Order in this court." "Now I'm going after first-degree murder... and the electric chair." "[Spectators Chattering]" "[Bo] We had a deal, Judge." "A deal!" "And Leonard just ups and throws it out the window." "I'm certain Leonard has his reasons, Bo, and if you'll just hold your water, we'll find out what they are." "Leonard?" "She's innocent." "She signed a confession." "Bo has a point there, Leonard." "[Thinking] Please, God, let me say something legal." "Miranda." "Miranda?" "Yeah, uh, she wasn't read her Miranda rights at the time of her arrest." "What the hell are Miranda rights?" "Oh, you know, the right to remain silent, the right to have your attorney present." "But not until the '60s." "Leonard Dancey, somebody's finally pulled the plug on you." "Lookee here, Leonard." "Lila has confessed to killing Houston." "So unless you got evidence to the contrary," "I suggest you take Bo's generous offer and plead that gal guilty." "Twenty years in prison is a far sight better than the electric chair." " She's not guilty." " Damn!" "Calm down, Bo." "Calm down." "Leonard, did the captain know you intended... to plead Lila not guilty?" " I don't think so." " Then why did you do it, son?" "Because..." "I don't believe she's guilty." "Leonard," "Lila's a mighty attractive and warm-blooded woman." "[Chuckles]" "And I can see why any man would be tempted... to, uh, defend her in spite of the facts." "But believe me, son, no matter how good it is, it ain't worth the mess you're making." "Damn it, Leonard." "She's guilty." "You're gonna have to prove it." "[Door Opens, Closes]" "Since the defendant has pleaded not guilty, this court has no recourse but to try Delilah Berry... for the murder of Houston Cotter." "This court is adjourned until 10:00 a.m. Monday." "[Spectators Chattering]" "Why'd you do it?" "Because you're not guilty." "I never said that." "Your eyes did." "Is that necessary?" "Ow." "Just a minute, please." "Excuse me." "I'm not done talking with my client." "You are, until visiting hours tomorrow morning." "Captain." "Captain." "Leonard." "Why don't I just give you a lift home, son?" "All right." "[Sam Narrating] Despite the warm voice and friendly smile, I didn't like him." "I didn't like the way people parted before him... or the way they touched their hats and said "Captain"as he passed." "But since he was obviously the man who ran this town, I had to learn all I could about him." "Besides, I had no idea where I lived." "You know, Leonard, your daddy and I were partners for a long time." "A long time." "That's why I feel I can speak frankly to you." "I know that, uh, Houston's trial is your big opportunity, son." " You mean Lila's trial, don't you?" " Lila's trial." "Just shows you how pain and grief can addle a man's mind." "Yeah." "But I figure that's sort oflike what happened to you in court." "All that excitement." "The whole town watching you." "I reckon you just got carried away, huh?" "Like a pup on his first hunt." "I'm not a pup." "She murdered my boy, Leonard." "But..." "I gotta think about Houston's mama." "She blames herself." "She felt sorry for Lila from the minute she set eyes on her." "Took her in, kept her on, when I could see it was leadin' to nothin' but trouble." "Now, that's why I agreed to lower the charge to second-degree murder... to get this over with as soon as possible, for Sadie's sake." "You agreed?" "So did you." "Yeah, well, I-I changed my mind." "Why?" "Because she's not guilty." "Leonard, that nigger murdered my only son." "First of all..." "we don't know it was murder." "And second of all, you can call her black, colored or Negro, but don't you ever ca..." "Don't you ever use that word in front of me again." "Well, you never were much of a lady's man, Leonard." "She rubbing' up against you, son?" "Bendin'over so you can see down her dress, huh?" "I used to watch her scrubbing' the floors on her knees, barefoot, her skirt hitched up in her belt." "I understand, Leonard." "I truly do." "No, you don't." "What?" "You're home." "Oh." "Leonard?" "I want you to spend tonight thinking about what's best for everybody." "For Sadie, for your, uh, client... and for you." "Especially for you, Leonard." "Thanks for the ride," "Captain." "Was that Captain Cotter I saw dropping you off?" "Yeah, I-I guess so." "Oh!" "Oh!" "The whole town is talkin' about what you did in court." "Now, I must admit, when you agreed to defendin' that colored whore, which everybody knows Houston took to his bed when she was just 14," "I was appalled." "I thought, "Lord help me, we will never get into the Twelve Oaks Country Club."" "But when I came out just now... and saw Captain Cotter in his new Cadillac, driving you right up to our house... our house..." "I said to myself, "Sugee, we are gonna be famous."" "Honey?" "Hmm?" "I am gonna bake you... a pecan pie." "Hmm." "And let you play Rhett Butler tonight." "Fiddle dee dee." "Hmm!" "[Sam Narrating] It was 3:¡00 in the morning when I finished reading Leonard's briefs on the trial." "Even then, I couldn't sleep, partly to avoid Scarlett O'Hara, but mostly because I was frightened for anyone who had me as their lawyer." "All I knew about the law I got from watching a TVshow... whose name I couldn't even remember." "Well, if it isn't Perry Mason!" "That's it!" "What's it?" "Never mind, never mind." "Where have you been?" "I've been sitting up all night with you." "No, I mean with Leonard." "What a wimp." "He spends half the morning in the fetal position, and it took another six hours to get him to talk." "What'd he say?" "He says, "I'm a lawyer." "Take me to your leader."" "That's a terrifying prospect." "The first alien contact on Earth, and it's a lawyer." "What does Ziggy say?" "Uh, well, considering that Leonard won't talk, you probably know more than we do." "But best Ziggy could come up with is you're here to play." "Oh, play Rhett Butler." "No." "No way." "Tell Ziggy to shove that." "Listen, I'm here to save Delilah Berry from the electric chair." "We already ran that scenario." "There's no problem." "No?" "No, she pleads guilty to a lesser charge, then she gets 20 years instead of the chair." "Uh... that's probably before I... pleaded her not guilty." "What'd you do that for?" "'Cause she's not guilty!" "Did Lila tell you that?" "Well, not in so many words, but her eyes did." "Al, you wouldn't have believed the hatred and bigotry in that courtroom yesterday." "I-I wanted to throw up." "[Sighs]" "Women politely referred to her as a colored whore." "Men just called her a..." "All right." "I get the picture." "Look, the point is, if she really murdered the son of the most powerful man in this town, a town where prejudice is as rampant as it is, do you really think they'd let her plea-bargain for her life?" "They're hiding something, Al, and when I find out what it is, I'm gonna prove Lila's innocent." "[Lila] I was just getting used to the idea of spending the rest of my life... in a prison cell." "Suppose I'll get used to dying." "I'm here to see that that doesn't happen." "Chivalry is not dead." "Just waning in the wings." "You know, you..." "you shouldn't do that." "What they gonna do?" "Shorten my life?" "Why did you sign the confession?" "[Sighs] What difference does it make?" "Innocent people don't sign confessions." "I ain't been innocent since the day I moved into the captain's house." "I'm Delilah, the harlot temptress of the Philistines, who bewitched the golden boy of Twelve Oaks... and murdered him when he scorned her love." "[Sighs] I'm lucky they're not burning me at the stake." "I suppose the electric chair's... kind of a modern-day stake... for a modern-day witch." "Lila, you're not a witch or a murderer." "But I am." "[Chuckles] I killed Houston." "I killed him." "Lila, if it was an act of passion o-or self-defense, I can help you, but you gotta tell me what happened." " I want to go back to my cell now." " Lila, please." "I killed him, all right?" "How many times you gonna make me say it?" "I killed him!" "Chigger!" "I want out of here." "I was right here, Lila." "No reason to yell." "I know right where you are." "I know right where everybody is." "[Sheriff] What do you want to see her confession for?" "Because I'm her defense attorney." "I want to see everything pertaining to this case." "I want to see her confession, the coroner's report, your investigation..." "Oh, Leonard, we're all really impressed you wanna do a good job, but enough's enough." "Not if Lila goes to the electric chair." "Now, whose fault is that?" "I want to see that confession, the police report, the coroner's report, everything on this case." "Now, I don't know if you have the right to do that." "I'm her defense counsel!" "Of course I have the right." "I have to ask Bo." "I'll wait." "[Sighs]" "Never figured you had this kind of gumption, Leonard." "[Dialing] Neither did I." "Course, defending a woman like Lila... probably gets a man all "het" up." "Bo!" "Dix." "Wouldn't miss it for the world." "Yeah, Mabel's fixin' a honey ham." "Her mama's gonna bake a key lime pie." "[Chortling] Yeah." "Oh, yeah, sure." "Uh, you gonna drive?" "I could pick you up after church." "Uh-huh." "[Wheezing Laugh] She said that?" "Sheriff." "Uh... [Clears Throat] Bo." "Reason I called is Leonard is down here." "Yeah." "Yeah, ain't that the truth?" "Uh, he wants to see Lila's confession." "That's what I told him." "Look, you take care." "I'll see you Sunday." "Bo, I'm defending a woman accused of murder." "Now, if you and Sheriff Lobo don't start cooperating with me," "I'm gonna get a U.S. district judge to subpoena your files and charge you both with obstructing justice!" "Uh..." "Uh-huh." "Uh-huh." "You're the boss." "[Thinking] Thank you, Perry Mason." "[Sam Narrating] Lila's confession read like something out of a soap opera." "If it were true, she had thrown herself at Houston for years, and when he could no longer tolerate her wild sexual advances, he dismissed her." "Enraged by the rejection, she waited for him to come home that night... and blew his head off with a shotgun." "[Woman] Leonard Dancey!" "Is that you?" "My, but you have grown." "Well, I haven't seen you since... you and Houston had that fight in high school." "Well, it's been a while." "I never thought he was right with that, Leonard." "I told him so." "Thank you." "I suppose you're here to see the captain." "Well, no, not exactly." "I'd like to speak with Myrtle." "Myrtle?" "Well, why would you want..." "Never mind." "That's none of my business." "She's probably sitting' out back on the summer porch." "Usually does after supper." "Thank you, ma'am." "You take care, now." "Don't you step on my calla lilies like you used to." "No, ma'am." "They're dyin', Leonard." "This heat..." "just killin' every one of'em." "I'm sure they'll come back just soon as the weather changes." "Sometimes I get a feeling they're never comin' back." "[Woman] We all appreciate what you're doin'for Lila." "[Chuckles]" "I'm not so sure most people feel that way." "I said we all do." "Myrtle, uh, according to the police report, you're the closest thing we got to an eyewitness." " I don't know nothin'." " But you were here when it happened." " I was in the kitchen." " And?" "And..." "Houston came back from hunting', and they started fightin' again." "It seems to me they had been fightin' most of the day." " They fought a lot?" " Like possums in heat." "'Bout what?" "Well, as usual, she was leavin', and he didn't want her to go." "She was leaving?" "I suppose love no longer could soften... the back of his hand." " She loved him?" " Not at first." "But he took her when she was 14." "It's funny how the mind... can turn things around and make it seem right." "Wait a minute." "He beat and raped her, and she thought it was love?" "It was love." "Least ways, the only kind Lila ever knew from a man." "Myrtle, this is important." "Did Houston beat Lila the night that she shot him?" " Now, I don't know." "I wasn't in the room." " Did you hear him beat her?" "All I heard was a lot of yelling a-and things breaking, and all of a sudden that gunshot went off, and Lila screamed." "And then Lila opened the door, and there was Houston." "He was laying on Miss Sadie's... imported rug... with no face." "Oh, my God." "[Sobbing] He had no face!" "Your telling me this... it means that Lila shot Houston in self-defense or by accident, but without premeditation." "When a jury hears that, there's no way they can send her to the electric chair." "I can't be no witness." "What?" "I can't swear on no Bible!" "Who are you afraid of, the captain?" "I'm not afraid of any man, white nor colored." "Then why won't you testify?" "Lila's life depends on it." "I can't be no witness." "Myrtle." "[Gavel Rapping] [Man] All rise." "Twelve Oaks Parish Court is now in session." "I know what happened between you and Houston." "[Judge] Be seated." "Myrtle told me." "He was beating you that night, wasn't he?" "Lila, I can't help you if you don't help yourself." " Is the prosecution ready?" " We are, Your Honor." "Leonard?" "[Thinking] Oh, God." "Help me." "Leonard, is the defense ready?" " No." " [Excited Chattering]" " No?" " I can't go on." " Yes, you can, Sam." " Al!" " Al?" " Ask if you can approach the bench." "I'd like to approach the bench." "Your Honor." "Both counsels may approach the bench." "Now, ask Your, uh, Your Worship here... if you can have a few minutes alone in his chambers." "Your Worship..." "Uh, Your Honor," "I'd like to use your chambers for a few minutes." "We can talk here, Leonard." "Oh, no." "I mean alone." "Alone?" "Well..." "Tell him your fly's open." "My fly's open?" "My fly's open." "Your zipper's stuck." "My zipper's stuck, and I need a few minutes in private to fix it." "I object!" "[Chuckles]" "You can't expect a man to plead a case with his fly open, Bo." "[Sighs] You have three minutes, Leonard." "I trust it'll be enough." "Oh, yes." "Thank you, Your Honor." "Your Honor." "Boy, am I glad to see you." "Thought you might be." "Al." "Am I a lawyer?" "Was I a lawyer?" "No." "Not one of your six degrees was in the law." "But don't worry, Sam." "Ziggy and I have got the entire history of law right here under my fingertips." "This is not a computer game!" "Lila's life is on the line, and... it's my fault." "Oh." "I thought so too, but then I remembered what you said about her eyes." "'Bout losing myself in them?" "Well, no." "Me, maybe." "You, never." "But you saw the truth there." "That's probably why you got this job." "[Knocking]" "Uh, yeah." "Uh, I'll be right out." "So... you really think we can save her?" "Of course we can save her." "Ziggy and I have researched a dozen similar cases to this, and we're gonna mount a hell of a defense, starting with the jury." "Okay." "The jury?" "[Judge] What is wrong with thejury?" "[Sam] None of them are black." "You mean Negro?" "Uh, yes, sir." "And since my client... is... a Negro, it only seems fair that there be Negroes on the jury." "I object." "There's never been a Negro impaneled on a jury in Louisiana." "Overruled." "I told you so, Sam." " Leonard, there's only one problem." " Uh-oh." "In order to serve on a jury, you have to be a registered voter." "And since there aren't any Negroes... registered in this parish," "I just don't see how you're gonna put one on thatjury." "Well, [Device Squealing] that being the case, Your Honor," "since the law requires a trial by jury of one's peers, we have no choice but to... reluctantly accept these white jurors... as Lila's equals." "[Spectators Gasping] [Man] What?" "Equals?" "Sam, that was beautiful!" "The pellets entered the back of Houston's head about, uh, here." "The entry wound was approximately three inches in diameter." "And the exit wound?" "Blew his face off." "[Sam Narrating] Bo's case was coming together like a carefully orchestrated play." "Everyone was telling the same story, using the same words." "Trouble is, not much of the story resembled Myrtle's." "It was as if they had seen the same play... put on by a different director." "[Witness] After a while, when I touched his shoulder..." "[Bo] Is that the confession?" "Mmm, yes, sir." "I recognize that signature." "And, uh, if you'll notice, the letter "R" is crooked." "I can't get the town council to authorize fixing' that typewriter." "[Spectators Laughing] [Man] That's tellin' 'em, Sheriff." "Your Honor, I'd like to have this entered into the record... as Exhibit "B" for the prosecution... and read into the record." "Object." "Object!" "Object!" "Uh, I object." "On what grounds?" "It was obtained under duress." "Miss Berry signed that confession under duress." " Is that true, Lila?" " He can't ask her anything until she's placed..." "[Both] Under oath." "[Bo] What?" "Uh, Your Honor, my client can't be questioned unless she's under oath." "Well, then swear her in." "I ain't swearing' on no Bible." "Lila, you have to." "I ain't taking' no oath, and I ain't gettin' on no witness stand." "Sam, at least have her read it and make sure that it's her words and her signature." "Your Honor, I think we can settle this without having Miss Berry take the stand, uh, if we could see the confession." "Alleged!" "Alleged confession." "[Judge] Give it to him, Bo." "[Bo] Yes, sir, Your Honor." "Is this your confession?" "Looks like it." "Well... just read it to be sure." "I can't." "What do you mean, you can't?" "I can't read." "We were great, Sam!" "We knocked their socks off." "We did nothing." "Nothing?" "What do you mean, nothing?" "We got the judge to delay his ruling on the confession... until after lunch." "If Lila doesn't get on the stand and deny it, Bo's gonna read it into the record." "Leonard!" "I have honey-coated chicken... and your favorite potato salad!" "I have never been so mortified in my entire life!" "If Papa were alive, he'd die." "How could you say that colored whore was equal to a white person?" "Her name is Lila or Miss Berry, and you will refer to her as that in my presence, and even if you're not in my presence." "Leonard Dancey, have you taken leave of your senses?" "Why, I'm not saying anything that you haven't said." "Well, I was wrong." "What are you doing?" "Taking Lila some lunch." "You are going to give that colored... colored girl my chicken?" " If she'll have it." " Well, well, well, Miss Sugee." "Oh!" "Look at you." "I swear, Leonard, your little lady is like the fruit in the tree." "She just gets sweeter with time." "Oh, Captain Cotter, you are such a flirt!" "That was quite a show you put on there, Leonard." "Mmm!" "Mmm." "I was very impressed." "Shame to see talent like that leave Twelve Oaks." "Oh, well, we aren't goin' anywhere, Captain." "Oh!" "Why, I didn't realize you all had enough money to retire." "Why don't you get to the point, Captain?" "Leonard." "All right, Leonard, I will." "Now, most of the legal work done in this parish is done for me or for my associates." "Now, if you persist in pursuing this course of action, the only legal work you gonna do, son, is gonna be pro bono." "That means for free, Sugee." "Mmm, my, my." "[Chuckles Uncomfortably]" "He threatened you." "Leonard, what are you going to do?" "Take Lila her lunch." "[Door Opens]" "Now I know how the Christians felt." "No one's gonna throw you to the lions." "[Sighs]" "Myrtle tells me that, uh..." "Houston raped you when you were 14." "Myrtle talks too much." "Did he rape you?" "Some would say so." "Some not." "What would you say?" "Me and my mama... buried seven brothers and sisters in that bayou... that Miss Sadie took me out of." "I wasn't giving'no one no reason to send me back." "So I let him." "Is that rape?" "Yes." "Well, if it was, it was only that first time." "After that," "Houston was in love with me." "That doesn't make what he did to you right." "There ain't a whole lot in this world that is right, Leonard." "Looks like the picnic's over." "Lila, you have got to deny this confession." "I ain't gettin' on no witness stand." "It's gonna send you to the electric chair!" "Do you understand what it says?" "That Houston put up with your sexual advances until they became intolerable to him, that he fired you, and because of that you waited for him that night in the parlor with a shotgun, and although he begged you in the name ofJesus not to shoot him..." "In the name ofJesus?" "How can they say he did that?" "They can say it because you won't defend yourself." "But it's a lie." "It's a lie." "It's all a lie, isn't it?" "Isn't it?" "This whole damn confession is a lie, isn't it?" "Isn't it?" "Yes." "[Sobbing] Yes." "Yes!" "[Continues Sobbing] Oh, God!" "[Chigger] Oh, Leonard!" "[Gavel Bangs]" "Leonard, does your client have anything to say... before I rule on the admissibility of her confession?" "Yes, uh, Your Honor, she does." "Lila, let's take the stand." "No." "You told me that confession's a lie." "You have to tell them." "I ain't testifying'." "Lila, we..." "I ain't testifying', Your Honor." "[Judge] Very well." "[Sighs] I rule... that the confession of Delilah Berry be accepted as admissible." "You may read it to the jury, Bo." "[Bo] Thank you, Your Honor." ""I, Delilah Berry, swear..." ""that the following is a true and valid confession." ""On the night of the 15th ofJune, 1957," ""I did willfully..." ""and with premeditation..." ""murder..." "Houston Palmer Cotter. "" "[Al] Looking for inspiration?" "Why do you have to take an oath on a Bible before testifying?" "So you tell the truth." "Uh-huh." "Lot of good it does with some people today." "Unless you're a God-fearing person like Lila." "If she swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God, she would." "Yes, she would, even if it incriminated her." "No, no." "See, not her, Al." "Someone else." "Someone more important to her than her own life." "Mr. Dancey?" "I'm sorry to disturb your praying'." "I was praying for some way to help Lila." "Oh, you can save her?" "I need your help, Myrtle." "I told you." "I can't be no witness!" "You told me you were afraid of no man, colored or white." "He made me swear..." "swear on the Bible... that if I told a soul what happened," "I would go to hell." "The captain?" "Sam." "Galatians." "Galatians?" "Yeah." "It's at the back." "Chapter five, verses... seven through ten." "[Squeals]" "Read it to her." ""Who hindered you from following the truth," ""whatever persuasion he used, it did not come from God."" "Read the next part." ""I am confident you will not take the wrong view," ""but the man who is unsettling your mind, whoever he may be, must bear God's judgment."" "[Ticking]" "Lila, where's Leonard?" "I don't know, Judge." "Your Honor, [Sighs] this is obviously an attempt on the part of the defense to delay the inevitable." "Oh, I don't know about that, Bo." "But whatever it is, this court has no intention of postponing this trial." "Lila, since your counsel... seems unwilling to appear on your behalf..." " I'm here, Your Honor." " [Spectators Murmuring]" "My apologies to the court for being late." "[Judge] I don't abide tardiness." "No, sir..." "Uh, no, Your Honor." "It won't happen again." "I was afraid you weren't comin'." "Thought I gave up on you, did ya?" "[Gavel Bangs] This court is now in session." "Now that you've graciously decided to join us, Leonard, would you please call your first witness." "Yes, Your Honor." "The defense would like to call to the stand Mrs. Sadie Cotter." "No!" "[Spectators Gasping, Murmuring]" "Leonard, you have gone too damn far!" "[Judge] Order." "Order in the court." "Leonard, I have no intention of allowing you to call a grieving mother to the stand." "I had a feeling you might say something like that, Your Honor." "So I went to Baton Rouge to obtain a subpoena and a federal marshal." "Eugene, now you put a stop to this!" "Now!" "Well, this is a federal subpoena, Captain." "I don't care if it came from God." "I will not have Sadie subjected to any more pain!" "[Sadie] For heaven's sake, Colbert!" "What are you shouting'about?" "Sadie." "[Murmuring Continues]" "You shouldn't be here." "Oh, but Lila needs my help." "But you're not well, honey." "I'm as fit as any woman has a right to be." "Thank you, Leonard." "You sure you wanna do this, Sadie?" "I want to help Lila." "Don't do this to her." "She's not well." "You shot him in self-defense, didn't you?" "It was an accident." "The gun went off by accident." "But Mrs. Cotter was there, wasn't she?" "She saw Houston beating you." "She saw it happen." "Yes." "Now will you take her off the stand?" "[Bailiff] Please raise your right hand." "I can't, Lila." "After the jury heard your confession, there's no way they're gonna believe you." "[Sadie] Sadie Cotter." "But they'll believe her." "Leonard?" "Your witness." "Mrs. Cotter." "Leonard." "You look a mite haggard." "[Chuckles] Yes, ma'am." "I know this isn't easy for you." "No one wants to air their family laundry in public, but... if it will help Lila..." "You, um..." "You care about Lila?" "Oh, my, yes." "She's a sweet child." "I know what they say about her, but those that don't know the truth shouldn't talk." "[Sam] That's why I subpoenaed you, Mrs. Cotter..." "to hear the truth." "I don't know how to speak any other way." "Mrs. Cotter, did your son, Houston, beat Lila?" "I object!" "Houston's not on trial here, Your Honor." "Lila is." "Now, hush up, Bo." "The milk is spilt." "Let's just get it over with." "Overruled." "Sometimes, if you love someone... and you don't wanna love 'em, you get to hating' 'em." "Well, Houston loved Lila so much... he wanted to marry her." "But her bein'colored, of course, he couldn't." "[Murmuring Continues]" "Did Houston beat Lila?" "Yes." "Although he never dared strike her in front of me... until that night." "Tell us about that night, Mrs. Cotter." "It was my fault." "I gave Lila the money so she could get away, start a new life." "She and I were dawdlin' over our good-byes... when Houston came home from hunting'." "He saw that valise in her hand, and he threw it clean across the room." "Broke that big Chinese vase the captain brought back from England." "That's when Lila slapped him." "Oh, Houston went wild." "He hit her so hard, she fell into the chifforobe." "I tried to stop him, but he pushed me away." "Just kept hittin'her over and over." "I begged for him to stop before he killed her, but he wouldn't." "That's when I picked up the shotgun." " [Spectators Gasping, Murmuring]" " It was an accident!" "[Judge] Order!" "Order!" "[Sadie] It was so loud, made my ears ring." "And then Lila started screamin'." "Lord, child, can you scream." "It was an accident." "She was tryin' to save my life." "All she was tryin' to do was save my life." "So you see, Eugene," "Lila didn't steal the money..." "I gave it to her." "And I'll see that Houston tells you the truth of that, soon as he comes home from hunting'." "Hello." "Mr. Dancey." "What you doin' out here?" "I came by to see you off." "You don't have to worry about me." "Not anymore." "Well, I've kinda gotten used to it." "Where you goin'?" "Wherever a hundred dollars will take me." "I heard you got a story and your picture in the Baton Rouge paper." "Yeah, and an offer from a very big law firm there." "Well, what does Miss Sugee think of that?" "Well, a country club membership comes along with the job." "[Laughing] She would take to that." "Lila... what are you going to do?" "It doesn't matter." "I'm free." "Miss Sadie saved my life." "Twice." "I hope she never remembers what happened." "So do I." "Well..." "[Sighs]" "Oh, I intend to send you some money as soon as I get a job." "Now, it may not be much, but I'll keep sendin' it until you tell me it's enough." "Although, Lord knows, whatever it is it'll never be enough." "I don't want you to send me anything." "But I gotta pay you." "Just make me a promise." "What is it?" "It's a reader." "If you want to pay me back, learn how to read." "Lila, if you can read, you can do anything you want." "Good-bye." "Oh." "Uh..." " Promise?" " Promise." "So help me God." "(music) [Overture: ¡Dramatic]" "One minute!" "Places!" "Stop screaming!" "I am not screaming!" "He is on in 50 seconds!" "O-On?" "What..." "Forty-seven!" "Don't do this, Charlie!" "We're not launching any rockets!" "It's just a musical!" "Forty-eight!" "Break a leg, Ray!" "Four, three, two, one." "(music) [Continues]" "(music) [Concludes]" "Oh, boy."