Bull (2016) s04e08 Episode Script

Safe and Sound

1 Aah! Not now.
I got four kills.
Come on, Theo.
If we don't do it now, we never will.
Mom and Dad are gonna be home soon.
Okay.
So we never do it.
I'm fine with that.
I'm kidding.
Come on.
Let's get this done.
You have to swear you never tell anyone I showed you this.
I swear.
Seriously, I mean it.
I mean it, too.
Turn around.
Okay.
Turn back around.
You gonna take it out? I don't have to take it out.
Then can I take it out? You're not even supposed to touch it.
Then can you take it out? Okay.
But you owe me one.
Theo, you got to let me touch it.
It's not gonna happen, little brother.
Dad would be out of his mind if he knew I even told you about it.
Just let me see what it feels like, just for a second.
Okay, but only for a second.
- Pow.
- Okay, dial it down there, cowboy.
Don't point it at anyone or anything.
What if I actually pulled the trigger? Well, it's empty, but let's not.
Okay, that's enough.
Give it back.
Seriously.
I mean it.
Hey Ow! Oh, did-did you hear that? Was that Mom and Dad? Damn.
Give me the Ow Was that the door? Mom? Dad? Hello? Charlie, put the damn gun down.
Theo! I think it's clear to anyone who's spent time with him that Charlie Crawford is filled with sorrow and remorse over what he's done.
His brother's death at his own hand, though the product of a horrible accident over which he had no control, is something that is gonna stay with him for the rest of his life.
Were you and your brother close, Charlie? He was my best friend in the world.
I loved my brother.
Everybody loved my brother.
Everybody loves you, too, Charlie.
Everybody knows that this was not your fault.
What are you looking for? We're looking for mercy.
Charlie is 13 and a half years old.
He is a gifted student.
I can personally vouch for the family.
Eric and I have known each other since college.
He runs an international consulting firm.
His wife Lena is a highly sought-after patent lawyer.
They're great people.
They're great parents.
And they have lost their firstborn.
To compound that by incarcerating the only other child they have I just can't imagine what legitimate purpose that would serve.
So what's your sentencing recommendation? Well, we would love for you to knock down the manslaughter charges to negligent homicide, recommend probation and community service.
Detective? I'm okay with that.
Fine.
Dr.
Bull, Mr.
Colón, I'm going to adopt your proposal and take it to the judge.
Thank you, Ms.
Glover.
- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
All right.
Oh, I-I'm sorry, everyone.
I still need you to take your seats.
Mr.
Crawford, I want to talk for a minute about the gun.
The gun is a licensed and registered weapon.
It was kept in a locked box that was stored in a locked safe.
How'd your son get the combinations? I gave them to him.
Why? I just made a decision, last year, when he turned 17.
I wanted him to know how to use a weapon.
I started taking him to the firing range for practice, and we talked about safety constantly.
Be that as it may, your late son was a minor.
Eric, why don't you tell Ms.
Glover why you had the gun.
I've owned it for 20 years.
I travel a lot for business, and, um There have been a lot of home invasions in our area.
My neighbor was attacked in her bedroom.
I just wanted to know that my family was safe while I was away.
I even learned how to shoot.
My husband taught Theo in case something happened when neither one of us was home.
You gave a minor access to a loaded handgun.
Having him pinky swear that he wouldn't play with it or tell his younger brother about it isn't sufficient under the law.
I'm sorry for your loss, Mr.
Crawford.
I really am.
But I believe your behavior was negligent.
Criminally negligent.
And I'm putting you under arrest.
Detective Lacy, would you take Mr.
Crawford into custody, please? - Dad Dad? - Mr.
Crawford? I need you to stand and put your hands - behind your back.
- Wait a min Uh Jace? Just cooperate.
We'll go directly to court and we will get you out on bail.
Eric I love you.
Charlie? - Yes? - I'm Marissa.
Uh, Dr.
Bull, Mr.
Colón and your mom are gonna be just a little while longer.
Pretty cool, huh? What's it doing? I know it's doing something.
But what is it? Well, that is someone from the potential jury pool, the people that we get to pick from to make up a jury.
And the algorithm is looking for someone in our pool of candidates that's a good match.
Same gender, same socioeconomic group, same political and religious attitudes.
Why? So we can get them to help us figure out how a trial is going.
What the real jurors are thinking.
We call them mirror jurors.
- And that works? - Most of the time.
We usually get pretty close.
Hmm.
Who thought this up? Well, I did.
The algorithm part of it, anyway.
Uh, this part of it.
Not Dr.
Bull? He helped.
You know what he is great at? The people part of it.
The part that math and science can't quite figure out just yet.
The parts that we can't see or quantify.
What makes a person tick.
What's going on in there.
Is he gonna be able to get my dad out of jail? Am I ever gonna see him again? I mean, he didn't do anything.
I did it.
I did it.
I ruined everybody's life.
My brother's dead, my dad's going to jail.
My mom must hate me.
I hate me.
Charlie.
Come on.
Dr.
Bull and Mr.
Colón did it.
They got your father out on bail.
Come on.
We have to get him out.
Are you down here? I'm very down here.
Why you ask? I rolled over and you were gone.
You want to get married? To who? I want to get this science project out of my belly.
I just want to see my feet again when I walk.
I want to remember the good old days when the food I ate just went in one direction.
Why? Are you going someplace? Not without you.
Then why are you in such a hurry to do something that we failed at the first time? You love me, don't you? I'm afraid so.
You love me? Most of the time.
What are you doing over there? Come here and give me a kiss.
Earn your keep.
You know, that nine-month doctor's note you got is about to expire in seven weeks.
You know what that means.
That means you're gonna have to go back to work full-time, start cleaning and cooking and washing my clothes in the river.
Is that the Hudson River? Yes, it is.
Bring it over here.
Are you scared? Terrified.
Me too.
So who are we looking for today, boss? We are cruising the aisle marked "cognitive empathy.
"Ah, I know that aisle.
We've shopped there before.
We need to eliminate anyone who isn't willing or able to put themselves in Eric's shoes, to empathize with a man who didn't pull the trigger, but lost his firstborn, and is nonetheless being charged with his murder.
Exactly.
Good morning.
So, let's start with a hypothetical.
You're out shopping when you hear a cry for help.
Someone can't find their child.
What do you do? I look around.
See if other people are looking around.
And if a lot of people are looking around, I probably keep shopping.
I-I mean, I'd keep an eye out, but I probably wouldn't stop what I was doing.
If it pleases the court, we'd like to thank and excuse this juror.
I'll bet you would.
I'd like to think that I would stop what I was doing.
You know, see what I could to to help out.
I mean, how scary is that, to lose your kid? So, you're at a coffee shop, you're waiting in line, and the person in front of you is short two dollars.
What's your first instinct? I ask if I can jump ahead of 'em.
I mean, who doesn't check their wallet before they order something? I'd probably pay for his drink.
I just would.
This juror is acceptable, Your Honor.
Excellent.
We have our jury.
So, who opened the floor safe? Theo did.
My brother did.
And who opened the portable gun safe? I think Theo did.
'Cause I begged him to.
Any idea how he might have gotten the combinations to both of these safes? Objection, Your Honor.
Calls for hearsay.
And, Your Honor, in an effort to spare this witness any more trauma than necessary, the defense would like to stipulate that our client, Eric Crawford, provided his oldest son with the combinations to both safes.
We've made no secret of this.
Objection sustained.
Ask another question.
Does this look like the Post-it that you saw in your brother's hand the night he was shot? Uh I th-I think so.
My brother didn't really let me see it.
And do you see the two sets of numbers on it? Yeah, I do.
And does it look like your father's handwriting? Objection! We've already stipulated this.
The prosecution is badgering the witness.
Sustained.
Ask another question.
Charlie what else is on this paper? There's-there's some there's some blood.
Your Honor.
Ask another question.
So, when your brother used the combination that your father gave him, and opened up the two safes - and gave you the gun - He-he did he didn't-he didn't give me the gun.
I mean, he did, but I had to beg him for it.
He didn't want to.
But at some point he did give it to you.
And did you know there was a bullet in it? Of course not.
No.
He-he told me it was empty.
How did he know it was empty? Did he look? No, he he just knew.
Dad always kept it empty.
Well almost always.
I have no further questions.
Would you kindly tell the court your name and occupation? My name is Laura Coleman.
I manage the West Side Rod and Gun Club.
And even though you refer to it as a club, it's really a gun range.
A place for people to practice shooting and enjoy their firearms by firing at targets? Yes, exactly.
And are you familiar with the defendant, Eric Crawford? Yes, I see him quite often around the club.
And at your club, you make use of security cameras? Yes, we have 16 cameras all around the facility.
And were you able to locate the tapes that coincided with Mr.
Crawford's most recent visit? Yes.
And did you bring any of these digital recordings with you today? I did.
I brought security footage from the two cameras that are above the exit.
Objection, Your Honor.
This violates the people's discovery obligations.
Your Honor, we apologize, but my office just became aware of these recordings when Ms.
Coleman arrived this morning.
Oh, well, that's all well and good, but my team is being made aware of it for the first time right now.
We're being blindsided, Your Honor.
I'm gonna take Ms.
Glover at her word that these tapes just fell into her lap today.
Ask your next question, counselor.
So you reviewed the security tapes and brought images from two cameras - positioned above the exit? - Yes.
Let's take a look.
So, these signs this area specifically exists to remind your patrons that they need to stop and be doubly sure that their weapons are empty before they leave the range? Exactly.
It's check, and then I win your queen.
Dude, you're killing me.
How old are you again? It's simple: I don't want to be there anymore.
Lena, there are optics to consider.
If you stop coming to court if you appear to have given up on your husband why shouldn't the jury? The jury is gonna do what the jury's gonna do.
I have one child left.
And he's spending his days with babysitters.
Strangers.
So I can sit in a courtroom and support a man who'd rather talk on his phone - than empty his gun.
- Come on! Come on! Come on! Mr.
Crawford, Mrs.
Crawford, please, let's let's not turn on each other.
I've been married to that damn phone for 20 years.
I didn't check the gun because I knew I had already fired off all six shots at the range.
I knewthe gun was empty.
Then who loaded it?! Do not say Theo.
I will not have you blame him for this when he is not here to defend himself.
Lena, I know you're upset.
But I also know you don't want your husband to go to prison.
That would be a catastrophe, for you and for Charlie.
I guarantee you, if you don't show up in court, the outcome is a foregone conclusion.
If you act out in front of a jury, you're telling them to send him to prison.
So I implore you both of you present a united front.
For Charlie.
Please tell the jury your name and what it is you do.
My name is Debra Erwin, and I'm a paramedic.
And on the afternoon of the shooting, you were dispatched to the Crawford home.
Isn't that correct? Correct.
My partner and I were the first to arrive on scene.
We were there to render medical aid, but we found the victim to be unresponsive.
And can you describe the injury? A single gunshot wound to the head.
And was there anyone else in the house when you arrived? Yes, the victim's little brother.
I believe his name was Charlie.
I think he told us he was 13 years old.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
What's it look like from where you're sitting? We are holding steady.
We have four green and eight red.
Ms.
Erwin, were you present when my client and his wife arrived at the home? I was.
And what did you see? Were they upset? My God, of course.
Is it fair to say that they were devastated? At the very least.
Inconsolable? Absolutely.
Their child was dead.
When they left their house, their child was alive.
And when they came home, their child was dead.
I see.
And Did they actually get to see their son? I mean, was his body still there? Yes, he was laying there in the closet.
A gunshot wound to the head.
And did they actually watch him getting zipped into into the body bag? Just the father at first.
The mother was too upset.
But then she showed up at the last minute.
Kissed him on the cheek.
Thank you for your testimony, Ms.
Erwin.
Nothing further, Your Honor.
Why are you not saying anything? Sorry.
We just picked up two.
We have six red, six green.
Good day, no? Yes.
Yes, it was.
Marissa feels the jury is evenly split.
I even saw a couple of jurors with tears in their eyes, and we haven't even presented our case yet.
So what's going through that brain of yours? It's probably nothing.
Oh, come on.
Talk to me.
That paramedic.
She kept talking about Eric and Lena, how upset they were.
I know.
It was like manna from heaven.
Mm.
You notice she didn't mention Charlie? Yeah.
So? Well, don't you think he was upset? Well, that goes without saying.
Mm.
I just find it fascinating she wouldn't mention it.
He's a child.
And he's the one who pulled the trigger.
Yeah, but it might be just as simple as the fact that no one talked about Charlie.
You know? Charlie's not the one on trial.
Okay.
If you say so.
911.
What's your emergency? Um, I-I just shot my brother.
I did it by accident.
I didn't know the gun was loaded.
Okay.
Don't worry, honey.
Help is on the way.
Can you check to see if he's breathing? Actually, I think he's dead.
911.
What's your emergency? Um, I-I just shot my brother.
I did it by accident.
I didn't know the gun was loaded.
Okay.
Don't worry, honey.
Help is on the way.
Can you check to see if he's breathing? Actually, I think he's dead.
Honey, I need you to do something for me.
Just check to see if he has a pulse.
I'm sorry.
Did I see what? Did you see Theo load the gun? Dr.
Bull, if I had seen Theo load the gun, I never would have fired it.
Right.
Of course.
Is that what you wanted to ask me? Is that why you wanted to see me this morning? Well, that and I wanted to see how you were holding up.
I'm okay.
Home is weird.
Either it's really quiet or Mom and Dad are fighting.
I think they miss Theo.
Well, I suppose that's to be expected.
I suppose.
Sorry.
You yawned? Like you were bored? More like I was tired.
And Charlie didn't respond.
That Is-is that supposed to mean something? Mm.
Catching a yawn is indicative of empathy.
Sorry.
When someone just says the word "yawn" I yawn.
Exactly.
Usually, when one person in a room yawns, everyone in the room yawns.
It's a simple test psychologists use.
A test for what? Sociopathy.
Sociopathy.
What? You haven't yawned yet.
Sorry.
I'm not a yawner.
Does that make me a bad person? Well, unless I misunderstood, it sounds like Bull is saying it makes you a sociopath.
Not exactly.
We rely on other indicators as well.
But So the kid doesn't yawn, and you're saying he might be a sociopath.
I'm saying I suspect he lacks empathy.
I listened to that 911 call again.
- And? - And it is a sales pitch.
Uh, what does that mean? Well, why do you call 911? To get help.
Exactly.
And, to me, it just sounded like Charlie was trying to get a story out.
And people who call 911 rarely say someone's dead.
But Theo was dead.
It doesn't matter.
People usually hold out hope until someone definitively says it's over, that their loved one absolutely can't be saved.
Okay, assuming Charlie is a sociopath, how does that affect our case? Sociopaths are pathological liars.
So are you saying he lied about how the bullet got into the gun? So maybe Eric's recollection was correct.
Maybe he didn't leave a loaded gun in the house.
I think that little boy loaded the gun.
And I think he shot his brother in cold blood.
You're not gonna tell them your theory about their son? No, not at this point.
Not until I can prove it.
Morning.
Jace, Mr.
Colón.
Everything all right? Yeah.
Everything's terrific.
Glad to see you brought Charlie along.
It's important for the jury to see the whole family in there while you're testifying.
See that there's something to save.
By the way, this is Danny James.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Crawford, Charlie.
She's an investigator who works with me, and I was wondering if it was possible for her to take one more look inside your home? One more look at the crime scene, see if there's anything we missed? Oh.
The housekeeper's there today.
I'll give her a call.
She can let you in.
- Terrific.
- Mr.
Crawford, we all saw the tape.
You and your late son making your way towards the exit of the gun range.
Signs imploring you to check that your gun is empty.
You seemingly ignoring those signs.
Talking on the phone.
Why is that? Why wouldn't you check to see if your gun was empty? Well, I've thought about that moment a great deal.
At the time, I would have sworn on my son's life that the gun was empty.
And the truth is, I'm still prepared to swear that it was empty.
The gun holds six bullets.
Six.
Theo shot, which was the reason we were there.
And then he gave he gave the gun to me.
I reloaded.
Six bullets.
Took six shots.
I can tell you where they struck on the target.
I can tell you the clothes I was wearing.
The clothes he was wearing.
I mean, I can tell you what was in my pockets.
Where we ate after we left the range.
What my wife wore to bed that night.
What my youngest, Charlie, was reading on his tablet when I took it from him, told him it was time to go to sleep.
I'm not-I'm not trying to make this hard for you.
Six bullets.
Six shots.
I swear to you.
I remember every damn one.
Thank you.
No further questions, Your Honor.
Oh, my God.
They believe him.
Three of them believe him.
We just got three greens.
That was a nice story.
Your Honor.
You're badgering the witness, counselor.
You're not five words into your cross examination and you're badgering the witness.
I'm sorry, Your Honor.
Let's start again, please.
All right.
Mr.
Crawford, we all heard your testimony, and it was very moving.
So what now? Your son is still dead.
Dead from a gunshot wound.
The bullet somehow found its way into the gun.
You just testified that you didn't put it in there.
So, did Theodore, your oldest son, put it in there? Objection.
Calls for speculation.
- Objection sustained.
The jury will - GLOVER: Or could it have been disregar your youngest child? - Maybe he did it? - Your Honor! Or was it the gun range fairy, who always knows - Oh, geez - Your Honor! What's in your pocket and loves to make you think you shot six bullets when you only shot five! That's it! You have exhausted my patience.
One more time, Ms.
Glover, and I will hold you in contempt.
I have no further questions for this witness.
Bull two of our three green jurors don't believe him anymore.
Any way you can get a sitter for tonight? As you know, we've been doing quite a bit of investigating, getting to know everyone involved.
And we have a theory as to who might have put that bullet in the gun.
Well, unfortunately, there were no discernible fingerprints or DNA on the spent shell casing.
But I did find something interesting in Charlie's bedroom.
Okay.
Charlie's notebook.
Charlie's World Affairs notebook.
I'm not clear on what we're talking about here.
I'm not clear on who we're talking about here.
If you'll open the back cover.
Turn the page.
Turn the page.
Turn the page.
What is it you think we're looking at here? Are-are we having a conversation about Charlie? I need to know if we're talking about Charlie.
We believe Charlie may have been trying to gain access to the closet safe.
It appears that, over the course of several months he tried every conceivable four-digit combination.
Doing it in a very organized, very systemic way, and he finally gave up when he got to the sixes.
Okay, I think you people are out of your minds.
That's not what this is.
That's not who Charlie is.
There's more.
I've been doing a fairly exhaustive search online, trying to get a sense of Charlie's cyber life.
Your son maintained a number of secret online accounts.
He had dozens of screen names and profiles.
Okay, so he's a kid.
That's what they do.
- They-they live on their devices.
- I found hundreds of messages in dozens of private chat rooms, most of them about his older brother, most of them violent, dark, disturbing.
He was clearly preoccupied with his brother's death.
Okay.
I'm-I'm done here.
This is There were also a multitude of Google searches on how to load and shoot revolvers.
Oh, God.
I know how devastating this is to hear but I would not be discussing this with you if I didn't think if I was not reasonably certain I believe your son is dangerous, and I believe he intentionally killed his brother.
Bu I-I know my son.
He's not a monster.
We did not raise a killer.
If we can just take a minute to talk about the case.
By any metric, we are poised to lose.
And I believe you're facing an extended term in prison.
Which means you will be living alone with Charlie.
This is absurd.
My son would never hurt me.
My-my son would never - hurt anyone.
- What-what what are you suggesting, Jason? What do we do? Is this something that-that can be treated? Something that can be cured? Cured, no.
There are treatment options that will attempt to modify his behavior.
Drugs.
But there's nothing that's gonna fix the underlying condition.
There is no cure for sociopathy.
Oh, my God, Eric.
This this is not who he is.
This Eric, Lena, I have to be honest.
If I could, I would report him to the authorities.
That's how dangerous I think he is.
But I can't.
No one here can.
We're a part of his legal team and we are bound by attorney-client privilege.
You can.
You can report him.
You people are insane.
Eric, I want to go.
Eric.
I need to go.
You write a closing argument? I did.
Think it'll make a difference? None whatsoever.
This is a first.
I think I've been outsmarted by a 13-year-old.
Well it's not like we had a lot to work with.
Two witnesses.
One dead, the other a pathological liar.
He is, isn't he? What's that? Our client.
Our original client, Charlie, the one we were hired to defend he's a pathological liar.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Crawford.
Any chance I can speak to you two in private? I've secured the courthouse conference room.
Not to worry, I'll sit with Charlie.
What's going on? Nothing to worry about.
What you playing? What game is that? Wh-What-what is Mr.
Colón telling my parents? Is everything all right? Has something changed? I don't want to get your hopes up.
Tell me.
Please.
Charlie Well, there's a new kind of technology we found out about from the Netherlands.
What happens is these forensic clinicians discovered a way of soaking spent shell casings in a chemical, and apparently they were able to extract DNA that we've never been able to before.
So So what does that mean? It means, if it works and everybody seems to think it will we should be able to tell who loaded the bullet into the gun that killed your brother.
Look, it came out of a fresh box of ammo.
There's no reason for anyone else to have touched it, right? So I have someone who works for me flying to the Netherlands with the casing as we speak.
But it's no guarantee.
Look, I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have said anything.
If for some reason it doesn't work, I got your hopes up.
Dr.
Bull.
You're still part of my legal team, right? Anything I tell you stays a secret, doesn't it? Yes, of course.
What would happen if they found my DNA on that shell casing? Charlie Crawford, Eric Crawford's surviving son, confessed to me that he intentionally murdered his older brother.
He explained that when his brother went to see if his parents had arrived home early, he, Charlie, loaded the gun, and when his brother returned to tell him they were still alone, Charlie shot him in the head and made it look like an accident.
Your Honor, even if that were true, Dr.
Bull is part of Charlie Crawford's legal team.
That confession is privileged.
Normally, it would be.
But the one thing that trumps attorney-client privilege is perjury.
He's right.
Charlie Crawford was your first witness.
On the stand, under oath, he said his brother's death was an accident, caused because someone left a loaded gun where children could access it.
That's a direct contradiction from what he confessed to Dr.
Bull today, and that's perjury.
So what are you asking me to do? Well, there is only one remedy for perjured testimony, that it be struck from the record, and if you strike this testimony, the government has no case because there's no one to testify the gun must have been loaded when Theo took it from the safe because, frankly, it wasn't.
So what do we do about this boy? Where is he? He's sitting in the hallway with his parents, who have no idea what their son told me or that I am in here discussing it with you.
We charge him, with perjury, with murder.
Are you gonna take him into custody? May I come with you? Mr.
Colón, will you join me in the courtroom, please? Your second chair is here? - Yes, Your Honor.
- Al right.
Let's go in there.
I'll dismiss the charges against Eric Crawford, and I'll discharge the jury.
Well.
I guess there's no time like the present.
I'm so sorry.
I haven't been getting much sleep.
Well, I don't know what my excuse is.
You're human.
You okay? They wouldn't even talk to me.
Wouldn't even look at me.
Aw, come on, Bull.
You didn't have a choice.
Couldn't let your friend go to prison for something he didn't do, and you couldn't leave a dangerous kid like that on the street.
That dangerous kid was their child.
Their only child.
You didn't have a choice.
This parenting thing.
I don't know, Benny.

Previous EpisodeNext Episode