dan kaffee.
welcome to the big time.
i hope for dawson and downey's sake you practice law better than you play softball.
they plead guilty to manslaughter, i'll drop the conspiracy and the conduct unbecoming. 20 years, they'll be home in half that time.
can't do it.
i don't care if they called the avon lady, they killed a marine.
the chief of internal medicine at the guantanamo bay naval hospital says he's sure.
oh man.
are we off the record?
i'm gonna give you the twelve years, but before you go getting yourself into trouble tomorrow, you should know this: the platoon commander lt. jonathan kendrick, had a meeting with the men. and he specifically told them not to touch santiago.
hey, we got a little four-on-four going tomorrow night. when does your plane get in?
hang on.
i didn't -- who is this?
what exactly are you accusing me of, commander?
kendrick specifically told the men not to touch santiago.
that's not what kendrick said.
you have proof?
and i have 23 marines who aren't accused of murder and a lieutenant with four letters of commendation.
we'll never know.
you can try, but you won't find him. you know what markinson did for the first 17 of his 21 years in the corps? counter intelligence. markinson's gone. there is no markinson.
jessep's star is on the rise. division'll give me a lot of room to spare jessep and the corps any embarrassment.
i'll knock it all down to assault. two years. they're home in six months.
no you're not.
'cause you'll lose, and danny knows it. and he knows that if we go to court, i'll have to go all the way, they'll be charged with the whole truckload. murder, conspiracy, conduct unbecoming, and even though he's got me by the balls out here, dan knows that in a courtroom, he loses this case. danny's an awfully talented lawyer, and he's not about to send his clients go to jail for life when he knows they could be home in six months.
that's the end of this negotiation. from this moment, we're on the record. i'll see tomorrow morning at the arraignment.
too late.
no objection, your honor.
yes sir.
the facts of the case are this: at midnight on august 6th, the defendants went into the barracks room of their platoon-mate, pfc william santiago. they woke him up, tied his arms and legs with rope, and forced a rag into his throat. a few minutes later, a chemical reaction in santiago's body called lactic acidosis caused his lungs to begin bleeding. he drowned in his own blood and was pronounced dead at 32 minutes past midnight. these are the facts of the case. and they are undisputed. that's right. the story i just told you is the exact same story you're going to hear from corporal dawson, and it's the exact same story you're going to hear from private downey. furthermore, the government will also demonstrate that the defendants soaked the rag with poison, and entered santiago's room with motive and intent to kill. now, lt. kaffee, is gonna try to pull off a little magic act, he's gonna try a little misdirection. he's going to astonish you with stories of rituals and dazzle you with official sounding terms like code red. he might even cut into a few officers for you. he'll have no evidence, mind you, none. but it's gonna be entertaining. when we get to the end, all the magic in the world will not have been able to divert your attention from the fact that willy santiago is dead, and dawson and downey killed him. these are the facts of the case. and they are undisputed.
please the court, the government calls mr. r.c mcguire.
mr. mcguire, would you state your full name and occupation for the record, please?
mr. mcguire, did your office receive a letter from pfc william santiago on 3 august of this year?
what did the letter say?
was that marine identified in the letter?
and what did you find?
and who was that?
your witness.
mr. mcguire, i don't understand what you mean when you say there wasn't enough evidence to support such a charge. you had willy santiago's letter.
and now we won't ever know, will we, mr. mcguire?
no more questions.
corporal, were you present at a meeting that lt. kendrick held on the afternoon of august 6th with the members of second platoon.
would you tell the court the substance of that meeting?
did that make you mad? you can tell the truth, corporal, it's alright. did it make you mad?
how mad?
were the other members of the squad angry?
were dawson and downey?
corporal, did lt. kendrick leave a standing order at that meeting?
what was it?
what was the order?
your witness.
the government calls corporal raymond thomas --
in light of the defense that lt. kaffee is planning to mount, the explicit instructions of the platoon leader seems particularly relevant testimony.
the government'll agree to the stipulation, sir.
dr. stone, what's lactic acidosis?
how long does it take for the muscles and other cells to begin burning oxygen instead of sugar?
and what caused santiago's muscles and other cells to start burning sugar?
commander stone is an expert medical witness, in this courtroom his opinion isn't considered speculation.
doctor stone, did willy santiago die of poisoning?
are you aware that the lab report and the coroners report showed no traces of poison?
then how do you justify --
thank you, sir.
object. move to strike.
dr. stone, you've held a license to practice medicine for 21 years, you are board certified in internal medicine, you are the chief of internal medicine at a hospital which serves over 8000 men. in your professional opinion, was willy santiago poisoned?
doctor, in your expert, professional opinion, was willy santiago poisoned?
thank you, sir, i have no more questions.
please the court, while we reserve the right to call rebuttal witnesses if the need arises, the government rests.
object. the witness is characterizing.
corporal howard, i hold here the marine guide and general information handbook for new recruits. are you familiar with this book?
have you read it?
good. would you turn to the chapter that deals with code reds, please.
just flip to the page in that book that discusses code reds.
we're in luck, then. the marine corps guide for sentry duty, navy base guantanamo bay, cuba. i assume we'll find the term code red and its definition in this book, am i correct?
no? corporal howard, i'm a marine. is their no book, no manual or pamphlet, no set of orders or regulations that let me know that, as a marine, one of my duties is to perform code reds?
no further questions.
that was nice work today. the redirect on howard.
where is he?
damn.
i have an obligation to tell you that if you accuse kendrick or jessep of any crime without proper evidence, you'll be subject to court-martial for professional misconduct. and that's something that'll be stapled to every job application you ever fill out. markinson's not gonna hold up, he's a crazy man. i'm not saying this to intimidate you. i'm being your lawyer.
don't you dare lump me in with jessep and markinson and kendrick because we wear the same uniform. i'm your friend, danny, and i'm telling you, i don't think your clients belong in jail. but i don't get to make that decision. i represent the government of the united states. without passion or prejudice. and my client has a case. i want you to acknowledge that the judge advocate has made you aware of the possible consequences involved in accusing a marine officer of a felony without proper evidence.
you got bullied into that courtroom, danny. by everyone. by dawson, by galloway, shit, i practically dared you. not for a second have you believed you could win. you got bullied into that room by the memory of a dead lawyer.
your boys are going down. i can't stop it anymore.
objection. argumentative.
please the court, the witness can't possibly testify as to what 8000 other men would say. we object to this entire line of questioning as argumentative and irrelevant badgering of the witness.
thank you judge.
object!
-- please the court --
lieutenant, don't answer that.
lieutenant kendrick, did you order corporal dawson and private downey to give willy santiaga code red?
lt. kendrick, did you --
thank you.
private, for the week of 2 august, the switch log has you down at post 39, is that correct?
how far is it from post 39 to the windward barracks?
about how far by jeep?
have you ever had to walk it?
and if it's ten or fifteen minutes by jeep, i'm guessing it must be a good hour by foot, am i right?
not bad. now you say your assault on private santiago was the result of an order that lt. kendrick gave in your barracks room at 16:20.
but you just said that you didn't make it back to windward barracks until 16:45.
if you didn't make it back to your barracks until 16:45, then how could you be in your room at 16:20?
private, did you ever actually hear lt. kendrick order a code red?
why did you go into santiago's room?
the witness has been read his rights, commander.
why did you go into santiago's room?
did corporal dawson tell you to do it?
he did, didn't he? dawson told you to give santiago a code red.
don't look at him.
colonel, do you solemnly swear that the testimony you will give in this general court-martial will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you god?
would you state your name, rank, and current billet for the record please, air?
thank you, sir, would you have a seat, please.
objection. i'd like to know just what defense counsel is implying?
surely colonel jessep doesn't need to appear in this courtroom to confirm that information.
please the court, is this dialogue relevant to anything in particular?
your honor.
please the court, is there a question anywhere in our future?
judge --
object. your honor, it's obvious that lt. kaffee's intention this morning is to smear a high ranking marine officer in the desperate hope that the mere appearance of impropriety will win him points with the jury. it's my recommendation, sir, that lt. kaffee receive an official reprimand from the bench, and that the witness be excused with the court's deepest apologies.
your honor --
your honor, these men weren't on the list. rebuttal witnesses, your honor, called specifically to refute testimony offered under direct examination.
your honor, i have to ask for a recess to --
object!
your honor --
judge --
damnit kaffee!!
guard the prisoner.
colonel jessep, you have the right to remain silent. any statement you do make can be used against you in a trial by court-martial or other judicial or administrative proceeding. you have the right.
colonel jessep, do you understand those rights as i have just read then to you?
airmen cecil o'malley and anthony perez? what exactly were these guys gonna testify to?
strong witnesses.
i'll see you around the campus. i've gotta go arrest kendrick.
will do.