"Turn around and take your pants off for me." "Good." "Pull your underpants down for me." "Turn around." "Now bend over." "Good." "Get up." "Turn back around." "All right, these are for you, Daniel." "I'm supposed to take your prison clothes." "Would you like something to drink?" "What?" "When I come back." "I could bring you something to drink." "A Coke." "Ice?" "Sure." "I don't know why you wouldn't ride with us." "Something seemed karmically wrong about that, Mother." "Well, we're late, karma or no." "So have your ID ready and take off all your jewelry." "I've been there a lot more than you, lately." "I know the drill." "Ted Jr.'s calling in." "What, does he want to stop at 7-Eleven for a Ding Dong?" "We'll see you there, Amantha." "Hey." "Hi, Mom." "Tell Dad he better pick it up." "It's gonna suck if we're late for this thing." "Ted, Teddy says pick it up." " Um, Teddy..." " Yeah, Mom." "...could you call me Janet?" " What?" " Just for a while." "Just until Daniel gets used to all the changes and everything." "She wants us to call her "Janet" for a while." "I can't imagine what she's going through right now." "Don't assume it's all good." "What do you mean?" "Sheriff still believes he was in on it." "A lot of people do." "Well, you don't think that, do you?" "That he could have done something that horrible to her." "Well, I sure did." "I mean, he was convicted." "What would a rational person think all these years?" "Now, hell, I don't know." "I never even met the guy." "Which I still don't understand." "Come on, Tawney, what was I supposed to do?" "Go down to death row and introduce myself?" ""Hi, I'm Ted." "I'm your new stepbrother and I'm going to be taking over the business you thought would be yours one day."" "I mean, why torture the guy?" "I hate to say it, but we all thought he'd be dead by now anyway." "We are outside the penitentiary gates awaiting the release of Daniel Holden..." "Hey." "Amantha, where are you?" "Closer by the day." "If you don't get here soon," "I may have to recruit some people from the crowd to play the family." "At least pick people who are glad he's still alive." " I'll take a poll." " Have you seen him yet?" " No, not yet." " But he got the suit?" " I was assured he did." " I hope I don't fall apart." "It's okay if you do." "Arriving now behind me, government-issued..." "Oh, you're kidding me." " What?" " Please, can have one question?" " What, Jon?" " Roland Foulkes just showed up." " How you doing today?" " Why are the stakes so high?" " That son of a bitch." " So nice to see you." "Channel 11, can I get a comment?" "I don't have a comment." "So nice to see you again." "They say it's pretty crazy out there." "Where's your tie?" "Uh..." "I couldn't remember." "Remember?" "How to... tie it." "It's a..." "Windsor knot, I think." "I mean, I could tie it for you." "I mean, I don't know if it's a "Windsor,"" "but it's the kind I do on me for church." "Tie it on me, then we transfer it to you?" "Almost two decades ago, I prosecuted a case where Miss Hanna Abigail Dean was brutally raped and murdered." "DNA testing on material sitting in some box in an evidence room all these years is not gonna change that fact to bring that girl back." "We must remember that she was only 16 years old." "A mere child with her whole life ahead of her." "And that life was taken in the most heinous manner I personally have ever seen." "Senator, sources are reporting that Mr. Holden is still considered a suspect in spite of the DNA results." "Well, I'm sure our current DA will address some of these complex procedural questions this new breed of lawyer loves to go on about." "I'm just here to remind y'all of a few things that seem to have gotten lost in this DNA hysteria." "Daniel Holden confessed to raping Hanna." "He confessed to killing Hanna." "Now, where I come from, we put a lot of stock in that sort of thing." "And, please... please don't report that he was exonerated." "The sentence was vacated on a technicality, which sure as hell does not make him an innocent man." "I don't know who picked out your tie, but they sure have style." " There was nothing..." " Technicality, my ass." "It wasn't his sperm." "Senator's just doing what he does best." "Stay on message, keep it simple, repeat, repeat, repeat." "Ever heard of forced confession, asshole?" "Amantha, please." "I should just walk over there and kill him right now." "Let them take me straight to death row." "Skip the middleman." "Just remember, everything we do is being watched and judged." " Can I at least flip him the bird?" " No." "Everyone can say their hellos to Daniel briefly and then we have to go straight to the press conference." ""Hellos and introductions," you mean." "I don't know why these two are even here." "More family looks better." "Remember, just because he's getting out doesn't mean this thing is over yet." " At least look like you give two shits." " Amantha, please." "The suit fits you perfect." "God damn." "I mean, perfect." "You are perfect, brother." "You are so... damn perfect." "Hello, Daniel." "Hello, Mother." "Oh... oh, God." "Sweetheart." "We're not here to play politics today." "We are here because Daniel Holden was convicted of murder" "and sentenced to death." "We are here because of the perverse miracle that Daniel is still alive and because of the outright fluke that crucial DNA evidence was not lost or thrown away or destroyed." "We are here because the DNA testing conclusively disputes that there was a sole perpetrator or that the sole perpetrator was Daniel Holden as the state had claimed." "Let's hope that the prosecution and politicians go after the real killers instead of going after an innocent man a second time." "Daniel." " Lord's watching over you." " We support you!" "Glad to have you back, Daniel." " Killer!" " Hello." "I'm not sure what to make of this drastic change of course in my life." "I'm certainly not against it." "Over the past two decades," "I have developed a strict routine which I follow religiously, you might say." "A way of living and thinking or not thinking as was often the point of... well, the point." "This way of being didn't encourage the contemplation that a day like today could ever occur or a tomorrow like tomorrow... will be for me now." "I had convinced myself that kind of optimism served no useful purpose in the world where I existed." "Obviously, this radical belief system was flawed and was, ironically," "a kind of fantasy itself." "At the least, I feel that... those specific coping skills were best suited to the life there... behind me." "I doubt they will serve me so well for the life in front of me." "So I will seriously need to reconsider my world view." "Now would be a good time to thank anyone." "Yes, thank you." "There are many people to thank." "My mother and sister for their enduring love, devotion, and faith." "♪ I am my mother's only one ♪" "♪ It's enough ♪" "♪ I wear my garment so it shows ♪" "♪ Now you know ♪" "♪ Only love is all maroon ♪" "♪ Gluey feathers on a flume ♪" "♪ Sky is womb and she's the moon ♪" "♪ I am my mother on the wall... ♪" "Getting carsick, Danny?" "What?" "I don't know." "I feel sleepy and I don't know why." "Go to sleep, then." "Why not?" "I'll keep both hands on the wheel." "Hey." "♪ Lapping lakes like leery loons ♪" "♪ Leaving rope burns, reddish rouge. ♪" "He fell asleep?" "Like a rock." "Almost the whole way." "Right into the garage." "So he didn't see the town?" "Anything?" "Not even the expanded dollar store." "Hand me the peas, dear." " Mom..." " Did you check the roast?" "I did." "Mom, what happened to you today was okay, you know?" "It was a long time coming, Mother." "For God's sake, it's normal, Mom." "How is any of this normal?" "How?" "Nothing about this has ever been normal, Amantha, and it never will be." "And I would like to just not talk about it for a little bit." "I would like to simply make supper." "Sure, Mom." "Hello?" "Anybody in here?" "Just us chickens." "Ah, here's my buddy." "Don't I get one?" " Don't I get one?" " Oh." "Here's one for you, too." "Take what I can get." "Where is he?" "He's in the house, right?" "He is upstairs taking a bath, Jared." " Oh, that's cool." " Mm-hmm." "Yeah." "Knees, 4870." "Up." "Move it, 4870." "Cuffs, 4870." "Won't be killing three-year-old girls in here now, will you?" "Three-year-olds?" "Damn, voodoo." "I like your style." "Hope you didn't blow your wad on the first date." "Shut up!" "I can't take it anymore!" "Try and tune that out." "We'll talk later." "Compare notes and such." "Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for this most wonderful day." "For this miracle You've bestowed upon us." "For this deliverance of Daniel back into our home." "We ask for Your wisdom as we go forward into the uncertainty of the days ahead." "That You bless this food for the nourishment of our bodies and forgive us of our sins." " In Jesus' name we pray." "Amen." " Amen." "Very nice, Ted." ""Very nice, Ted."" " Thank you, Daniel." " Very nice, Ted." " Well..." " Sure looks good." " What do you think, buddy?" " Looks tasty, Mom." "Thank you, Jared." "Can I help your plate, Danny?" "Sure." "Danny, you've gotta try this cornbread." "Get some of this." "There's an end piece down in there somewhere." "Looks great." " Thank you, Jared." " You're welcome." " Are you okay?" " I love this." "I'm not checking on you or anything." "I just came outside for a smoke." "Do you wanna be left alone?" "I can go smoke in the back yard." "I don't know." "Well, do you wanna do anything later?" "Play Hearts or..." "I don't know." "Go to town." "Okay." "See it at first when it's not so bright, you know?" "Of course, honey." "Five times during his incarceration," "Mr. Holden has been scheduled to die." "But each time, his execution was stayed due to appeal." "Damn." "That'll tighten the ole sphincter." "Daniel, you don't seem to be too happy" " about your release." " You want a slice, babe?" "There is a lot to process right now." "I'll probably be happier later." "It's almost like he was playing for laughs sometimes." "I don't think so." "He just sees things differently." "Perhaps I will be angrier later as I will be happier." "I'm tired of watching this." "Let's see what else is on." " No, don't." " Hey, I was just kidding." "How does it feel to be outside?" "Free." "What did you think when you first saw your family?" "Thought of family." " We, I thought we." " Where'd they go?" "Just riding around." "I feel he should have his room back, Mom." "No, Jared." "That's your room now." "Yeah, but it's not like he went off to college." "Jared, Daniel wanted you to have his room." "He told you that?" "Yes." "A long time ago." "It made him very happy to know you were in there." "He didn't hardly say anything tonight." "Well, he doesn't know how to, honey." " I kinda don't, either." " Nobody does." "We'll just all learn together." "Okay?" "This way of being didn't encourage the contemplation that a day like today could ever occur..." "Look at him." "You tell me he didn't kill that girl." "He killed her." "Yeah, but there's a little bit of a hole in the case now." "They've got multiple semen samples and the only sample they can single out was not Holden." "Son of a bitch confessed, C.J." " Remember?" " Yeah." "I remember." "Why in the hell would a person confess to something they didn't do?" "You've had 19 years to think on that and you ain't figured out an answer other than "he did it."" "Meaning what?" "One of those boys saw Holden on top of that girl." "Forcing himself." "Without a definite hit on his sperm, those witnesses ain't gonna be quite as solid this time, are they?" "And they might even be suspects." "We know that, C.J., and nobody's deciding anything right now." "Deciding what?" "The DA have a say in this?" " She's gonna be brought in." " But not tonight?" "No." "Look, it's reasonable to think a couple of them other boys could've had intercourse with her... doesn't mean they killed her." "Doesn't mean they didn't." "Is this, like, weird?" "It's not "unweird."" "How long's that video store been there?" "It was there about 15 years." "Was?" "Shut down about a year ago." "Hey, we can go to the Target in Mansfield." " What's "the Target"?" " You are." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "I..." "I don't know why I said that." "It just came out." "You're a funny sister." "Oh, good." "You got it." "That's kinda how I deal." " Gallows humor." " Exactly." "Of course, you would know about that, wouldn't you?" "I mean..." "God." "I did it again." "Mm-hmm." "We call it "lethal-injection humor."" "More humane, but not as funny." "She was his girlfriend." "Gives him even more motive." "Can you not see that?" "Carl." "Nobody wants to open this back up, C.J." "All the pain." "But that's no reason to let a killer walk." "I've got doubts he is the killer now." "But are they reasonable?" "Doubts." "Just forget about the confession for a minute." "He was found sitting beside the girl's corpse." "Just holding her hand speaking gibberish half the time." "And the other half, saying how sorry he was." "He didn't go get help." "He didn't scream out." "He spent the morning gathering wildflowers to put in her hair, C.J." "And I was the one who found him with her." " Remember?" " I remember." "I just wanna make sure you remember." "Well, what do you want from me, Roland?" "Just tell me." "C.J., we just want to know if Holden's reindicted by the new DA..." "I'm retired." "Remember?" "You might have to testify at some point." "Grand jury and all." "No shit." "Mistakes were made, C.J. No doubt about it." "We've all made mistakes in our own individual lives." "Things we regret." "Do different." "That's beside the point whether Holden is a killer." "Which I believe, deep in my heart, he is." "I couldn't have lived with myself all these years otherwise, could you?" "I'll be damned if I'm gonna let him get away with it now just because we tried to protect an innocent girl's reputation." "And so as to spare her mother even more pain." "I'll review the case." "Try to get everything straight in my mind again." " Where's Holden at anyway?" " At his mama's." "He's not moving back here, is he?" "Don't know." "Lord, Lord, Lord." "No matter how you slice it," "I sometimes wonder if this is ever going away." "Hmm." " Hello?" " Hey." "It's after 12." " I know." " What are y'all doing?" "Just driving around." "Why are you whispering?" "Daniel's asleep." "Well, are you gonna drive around all night?" "Probably not." " I'm not gonna worry, then." " No." "Go on to sleep." "I'm not breaking the law, asshole." "What, are we in high school?" "Are you kidding me?" "You like?" "It's, um..." "I just wanted it to be special for you, honey." "I would say you succeeded." "Thank you, Amantha." "For everything." "You are quite welcome, brother." "Anytime." " We're lost, aren't we?" " Totally." " Sorry I'm late." "Mm-hmm." "Couldn't sleep last night." "I was wound up like a top." " Yep." " Me and Tawney got in a big fight." " You see all that coverage?" " Some of it." " Boy, it's controversial, ain't it?" " It's that." "So when's he gonna start working here?" "Whenever he wants to." "Dad, the minute he steps foot in this store, at least half the people who do business here are gonna stop coming." "I'm aware of that." "A 50% cut in revenue is not gonna support two households." "I'm aware of that, too." "Look..." " maybe if we explain the situation..." " No, sir." "Dad, he deserves to have all the information" " to make an informed decision." " Absolutely not, Teddy." "Now listen to me, this is his family business." "It's not ours." "We just married into it." "Now, if he wants to come work here, it's his right." "We can't put that kind of weight on him." "Not with everything else he's had to deal with in his life." "Well, I might as well start looking for a new job right now." ""Of Human Bondage."" ""Of Human Bondage"?" "You want me to read a book called "Of Human Bondage"?" "It's not that kind of bondage." "I would hope so." "Hey 'wood, I'll be glad when you get past your dead-white-men-writing-about- lily-white-Europe stage." "I am on kind of a jag." "You oughta sprinkle in a little" ""Author-author, brother-brother" from time to time." "Okay, sure." "I got something I think you'll appreciate, too." "It ain't modern times, either." "It's about black folks owning slaves in the South before the Civil War." " Curious?" " Free men buying their brothers and sisters for... hey, man, just read the book." "Yeah, I'm hooked already." "Then I'll give your dead Somerset Maugham a shot when you're done, but if it don't grab me early," "I'm setting it down." "No rules for a club that's not a club." "My lawyer said... he'd be more optimistic about an appeal if I hadn't done it." "How did you respond?" "Just nodded, you know." "Less money they get paid, the more sensitive they are, so... well, hell, at least this one comes by for a visit every once in a while." "I don't know... maybe I oughta just throw in the towel." "Shorten the exit." "I can't do time the way you do it." "I don't "do time."" "That's what I'm talking about." "I can't do time by not doing time the way you do time." "All that cross-legged shit just make me antsy." "Well, maybe if you didn't judge the experience while it was happening..." "Man, shut up." "You know what's wack?" "Lots of things." "Sitting in this tomb day after day." "Putting up with this food." "Putting up with your pale, white ass." "What's wacked is..." "I still wanna live." "Every day." "What's that about?" "Vitamin A deficiency." "You trip me out, D." "You trip me out, Kerwin." "Hungry?" "I think I'd like a beer." "Oh, um... let's see." "Teddy usually has one or two in the fridge." "Sometimes he stops by for a visit." " Here we go." " Would he mind?" "Of course not." "Here." "I'm paying bills." "Sit down if you'd like." "I don't think I wanna become computer literate." "Or mobile phone literate, either." "Might be a little much all at once." "I would like a television, though." "With a movie player." "A DVD player." "We can do that." "I'll pay you back as soon as I start work." "Don't be silly." "Okay." "No, I mean, we already have one of those." "I see." "Thank you for the books, Mother." "Of course." "I won't be around here forever, Mother." "What do you mean?" "Why, it's your house and Ted's." "This is your house, too, Daniel." "You can stay as long as you like." "I can't quite get a handle on the concept of time yet." "There have been moments here today where" "I feel like I've only been gone a few weeks... and I'm still in high school." "But mostly, it seems like I was always there." "So you may have to tell me, Mother." "Tell you?" "When it's time for me to leave." " Hey, Jimmy." " How you doing?" " Good." " Hi, Senator." " Good morning." " Hey, sir." "Saw your speech, Senator." "But I still don't understand why they let him out if he said he did it." "Oh, I'm as baffled as you are, Lonny." "My advice is let your feelings be known to our current prosecutor." "A little heat might get things cooking." "Sheriff." "Where's your daddy?" " He's got belly problems." " Who ain't?" "Ain't you a sight for sore eyes, Marcy?" "What'll you have, sweetie?" "Everybody calls me Senator, you call me sweetie." "Well, that's 'cause I've known you as "sweetie"" "a lot longer than I've known you as senator." "That's a fact." "I'll have the "Wildcat breakfast."" "Extra sausage." "Okay." "You got it, Senator." "Sweetie." "You ain't still tapping that, are you?" "No, I'm on the wagon." "Oh, extra biscuits, Marcy." "Thought you had belly problems, too." "Perception, Sheriff." "I'ma eat like a man without a worry in the world." "You seen today's "Atlanta Journal"?" "Two hours ago." "Feelings hurt?" "Tickled pink." "Having the big city papers attacking me down here is an asset, not a liability." "You had a chance to speak to those witnesses yet?" "Wasn't sure if I should." "She'll wanna talk to them..." "Madam prosecutor." "I imagine." "This is messed up as a pile of hangers." "Funny place to have a reunion." "Not so funny." "How's Florida?" "I don't care for it." " Where's your car, Georgie?" " I took the bus." "Make sure I wasn't being followed." "By who?" "Now they know what they didn't know." "Yes, kind of big news around here." "Did you kill her, Trey?" "What?" "No." "Did you, Georgie?" "No." "He killed her." "How do you know?" "It's the only thing that makes sense to me." "I think about it a lot." "That's always been your problem." "We were just kids." "Wasn't real." "You know?" "What are you gonna do, Trey?" "Tell the truth." "What is the truth?" "What's your point, Jon?" "What's your point, Jon?" "My point is that there are a hundred different ways the prosecution can convince a jury that Daniel did this no matter what the DNA does or doesn't say." "Of course they can." "That's what they do." "They're in the convincing business, Jon." "First, they convince themselves." "Then they convince anybody necessary, by any means necessary, including, sometimes, the defendants themselves." "All you have to do, if it comes down to it, is to convince one out of 12 people on a jury that the prosecutors are lying, cheating, son-of-a-bitch bastards!" "I'm sorry." "Understandable." " How is Daniel doing, anyway?" " I don't know." "I just wanna hug him all the time, but I know it'd freak him out." "Maybe you can sneak one in occasionally." "Why couldn't Ted Jr." "be wrongly convicted and spend more than half his life on death row?" "He'd probably come out fine." "Might be a little harsh." "No, it's not." "I can't imagine you and Ted Jr." "living in the same house as adolescents." "We had to share a bathroom, too." "Beyond gross." " Ooh-hh!" " It's not funny." "No, of course not." "I need therapy just for those three years alone." ""Posttraumatic Ted Syndrome."" "It's so underreported, too." "I'm coming down tomorrow." "Okay." "But why so soon?" "Rutherford Gaines has pancreatic cancer." "Really?" "I don't wanna regret not asking him anything important." "The only thing I regret is that he was Daniel's lawyer in the first place." "Talk about a pussy." "Well, I think he regrets that now, too." "Old man regrets." "Hollow and too friggin' late." "But I'm glad you're coming down, Jon." "Me, too, Amantha." "I'm real glad you're on our side." " Hello." " This has a DVD player in it." "You can watch movies and stuff." "Is it yours?" "Yeah, but I've got an iPad, so I stream mostly." "Okay." " Thank you, Jared." " Yeah." "I could help you hook it up." "I mean, I know you just plug it in, but I know where the plug is." "I think I need help." "Okay." "I'm guessing you don't have any DVDs yet." "No." "Yeah, I didn't think so, but I didn't want to... you know." "Presume?" "Yeah." "Exactly." "Presume." "Anyways, I've got kind of a collection." "I've been thinking, like, if you haven't seen movies in a long time, which ones would be good to start with and work your way up." "I'd appreciate the guidance." "Okay." "Well, you can go a lot of ways, but one of my favorites, it's called "Dazed and Confused."" "I like the title." "Yeah, I heard that." "Anyway, it's a cool movie." "Not too heavy or anything like that." "And I could even watch it with you." "Or you might wanna be by yourself." "I mean, it's all good." "I think I'd rather watch it with you." "Oh, sure." "Cool." "Right now?" "Oh, did you mean right now?" "Yeah, sure." "I'll go get it." "♪ Trying hard to breathe ♪" "♪ Head between my knees ♪" "♪ Take my hand and squeeze ♪" "♪ Say I'm all right ♪" "♪ Whisper in my ear ♪" "♪ "Happy you are here" ♪" "♪ Everything seems clear... ♪" "♪ And we're all right ♪" "♪ We're all right ♪" "♪ Tell me not to trip or to lose sight ♪" "♪ Take my hand and help me not to shake ♪" "♪ Say I'm all right ♪" "♪ I'm all right ♪" "♪ Say I'm all right ♪" "♪ I'm all right. ♪"