L.A. Law (1986) s01e09 Episode Script
The Venus Butterfly
1
Previously on L.A.
Law.
Leon's my name and photography's my game.
How about a snapshot at Bridengrove, huh?
Definitely.
Ms. Van Owen.
Yes.
Isn't it true that you walked out on your own
wedding two weeks ago with someone in a gorilla suit?
Who's the ape, Ms. Van Owen?
Well, that story has been grossly exaggerated.
Proving once again a picture's worth a thousand words.
If we get passed over for partner one more time, that's it?
Pretty serious bluff.
You are both hereby tendered offers of
partnership in the firm, and I hope you'll accept.
You started this brawl, lady, not me!
I'll take her out of the state!
Do either one of you know what it feels
like to not be able to see your child?
Or even know where he is?
Well, I do!
Abby, the reality is, you may get Eric back tomorrow.
You may not find him for six months.
Oh, you may never see him again.
So, my client, Mrs. Troutman, decides that
she needs to get away for a few days.
She packs her car, she drives down to the
condo in Palm Springs, and puts the key in the door.
Walks down the hallway to her bedroom only
to find the surprise of her life.
Her loving husband in the arms of another woman.
Excuse me, Arnold, but why are we
squandering valuable staff meeting time
with this boring recitation of a mundane little domestic?
Drama you have interrupted me right at the
punchline Douglas you see that was no
woman that was his wife I'm afraid I'm not
tracking bigamy bigamy do you know how
rare it is I mean this is the divorce
lawyer equivalent of a hole-in-one poor
mrs trout man is totally distraught her
husband skips town the IRS is auditing and
Angela cipriano just uncovered a deed
where he's he's given our client's condo
to the other wife well this is indeed
titillating and I trust you will keep a
surprise of the continuing saga now for
one last item I would like to discuss
hiring an interior design team to convert
the Cheney office into a second conference
room oh wait no no no no way no way that
office has my name on it since when you
already have a nice one whereas I a
partner in this firm just like you am
officed in a rabbit Warren as the partner
with most seniority I should get it She
can have my old office I don't like
differentiating on the basis of seniority.
All partners are equal, Arnold Do you have
any interest in the corner, Michael?
Not enough to make it worth packing and
moving Stuart Yeah Actually Yes,
I do Actually, it would seem more
equitable to me To award it on the basis
of fees generated in the last fiscal year
Or on the basis of most billable hours.
Whatever you three decide I'm going to
leave it to you to work it out amongst
yourselves and on your own time We're adjourned I had dibs
on this office the day he broke Did you even think about it?
It doesn't work that way You're going to
move in here and I will scratch the paint
off your course Do you realize your
bickering can be heard all through the complex?
Just be assured that if you cannot find
some mature, intelligent manner in which
to settle this in the next three minutes this
office will be turned into a conference room.
All right Under the circumstances,
there's only one way to settle this thing.
What?
Arnie Come on, we haven't got a lot of
time Get him out there Get him out One
potato, two potato, three potato,
four Five potato, six potato, seven
potato, more Out One potato, two potato,
three potato, four Five potato,
six potato, seven potato, more Out
One potato, two potato, three potato, four.
For.
It isn't fair.
What do you need it for?
I want it.
You're the one that said all you need is a
desk, a chair, and a place to store your files.
And you're the one who told me I
undervalue my worth to this firm, right?
Well, it's a great office.
I think I deserve it.
I'll give you 5,000 paid off in installments.
I don't want money, Arnie.
I want the office, okay?
Excuse me, Arnie.
Angela Cipriano, who was waiting in your
office for you and Stuart.
It was gonna be a tight squeeze.
Got three of us.
It's okay, I can rough it.
You're going to find this interesting.
Your original client was Mrs. Foster F.
Troutman.
He told her his middle name was Farrell.
The one in Palm Springs is Mrs. Foster J.
He told her James.
The new ones I found are Mrs. Foster's C
for Charles, E for Errol, and K for Kenneth.
Alphabetical order?
Exactly.
Which means there's most likely 11 of them.
A, B, D, G, H, and I still unaccounted for.
And what about I through Z?
How the hell does he do it?
Bee pollen?
Actually, what he'd do is take their
stuff, jewelry, furs, cars, reported
stolen, live on the settlement from the insurance
company, and give the stolen item to another wife as a gift.
You know, I'm not a violent man by nature,
but boy, what I would really like,
what I would really enjoy is five minutes
alone in a stuck elevator with this guy.
Me too.
I'd like to find out what the big attraction is.
In the meantime, why don't you see if you can get all
the wives in here so we can try and sort out this mess.
Abby.
Hi.
Anything?
I left a message on your machine this morning.
A string of gas card purchases make it
seem like he's headed back towards L.A.
State and local authorities are alerted.
If they are headed back, we'll smack them.
That's what you said about Disney World.
I know what you're going through,
and I know it seems we're right back where
we started, but I got a pretty good instinct, a
real strong feeling something is going to break.
So just, just hang in there, okay?
Okay.
Okay.
He's got to be crazy.
I just don't believe the guy's foot, Spock.
Dismissal or straight probation?
For a premeditated murder.
Yeah, well, you know he's gonna argue
mercy killing is a crime of passion, love.
He bought a gun, it took him months to think about
it, and then he put two bullets into his lover's skull.
You don't get a hell of a lot more premeditated than that.
I don't know, Gracie.
Watching someone you love, terminally ill, in pain.
You know, if I was still a DA, I don't
know if I'd be able to stomach this one.
What's your other choice?
If you shine it on, it's a message.
A parent with a brain-damaged kid,
go ahead and smother him.
Or maybe your aged mother's become a real drag.
Give her some pills.
Put her out of her misery.
Next stop, eugenics, human experimentation, Nazi Germany.
Believe me, I know all of the arguments, and I'm
still saying I'd have a hard time putting this guy away.
Remember the Hector Figueroa case?
You said, and you were right, the law has
to come first, no matter what your
personal feelings about the equities of
each individual case.
Well, maybe this law should be changed.
Oh, that'd be nice.
And who do you suggest should decide who
lives and who dies?
All I know, Gracie, is that if I was dying
and I'd lost all human dignity and quality
of life, I sure would hope someone would
love me enough to do it for me.
Well, then I hope you can find someone else,
Kuzak, because this loved one sure couldn't do it.
Mr. Walters, if the defendant is
convicted, he could be facing life in prison.
Do you think that this would influence your
ability to make a fair determination of the facts?
No, not at all.
All right.
But what if the defendant were able to
show that the man that he killed was in
great pain and had only a few weeks to live?
Would you have any difficulty finding Mr.
Appleton guilty under those circumstances?
Well, no.
Not if you prove that he pulled the trigger, I wouldn't.
Thank you.
The people would accept Mr. Walters as a juror.
Mr. Gilliam?
Mr. Walters.
You're a construction worker, is that correct?
Construction foreman.
Uh-huh.
Do you have any prejudice against homosexuals?
No, I don't think so.
Are you a homosexual?
No, are you?
As a matter of fact, I am.
Well, for your information, I'm a married man.
With all due respect, so are a lot of homosexuals.
Are you trying to tick me off or what?
Yes, if that's what it takes to discover
if you have any latent prejudice.
Like women, that doesn't make me prejudiced.
Ah, I see.
Well, do you think you could judge my client
knowing that he has AIDS-related complex?
The truth is, I would rather not be in a
room every day with the guy that's got it.
I'd ask that Mr. Walters be excused for cause.
Thank you, Mr. Walters.
You're excused.
We'll take our noon recess and reconvene at 2 O'clock.
Thank you.
Excuse me.
Must have hurt to lose Walters.
I don't want to prejudice juror any more than you do.
Really?
You mean your office didn't tell you to
stack it with fag bashers?
Oh, come on, Mark.
If you can get the chip off your shoulder,
you know I'm trying to be as fair as I can.
Good.
Then you'll dismiss the case.
Mark, your client took the life of another human being.
My client performed a merciful act.
His only motivation was love.
I am not unsympathetic to your client's
situation, which is why I am still willing
to fight with my office to get you
involuntary manslaughter.
Wait, you know that an AIDS carrier in prison
is going to be isolated from all human contact.
Talk about your cruel and unusual punishment.
It is not unreasonable for the prison
authorities to need to isolate a deadly disease.
And besides, we're probably only talking about 18 months.
Right, right.
Which, in the likelihood that
Christopher's AIDS does become full-blown,
is the equivalent of a life sentence in
solitary confinement.
So what you're saying here is that there
is no way to settle this?
If I lose, I'll appeal.
And in the end, chances are, there's nothing the courts can
do to him that this hideous plague isn't going to do first.
Make yourself comfortable, Mrs. Troutman.
Thank you.
Good morning.
Tissue, Mrs. Troutman?
I'll get that coffee for you, Mrs. Troutman.
That's my coat.
My initials are inside this coat.
My initials are Judith Troutman.
Jeanette Troutman.
Mrs. Troutman's coffee?
I want my coat, damn it.
Ladies.
Mrs. Troutman's.
Ladies.
Please.
I can't believe that that happened.
Please, ladies.
Please.
Thank you.
Hi.
I'm Arnold Becker, and this is Stuart Markowitz.
First of all, I'd like to state that I
understand what a shock this is.
This must be to all of you.
And I sincerely empathize with your anger and pain.
That coat's worth 40 grand.
I understand there's been a
great deal of commingling on your
property and other sticky
legal issues are involved as well.
Polygamy, insurance fraud, IRS complications.
Now, you ladies are free to seek separate
counsel, of course.
We're assuming you're willing to waive any
conflict of interest.
We could all work together and try to unravel this muddle.
May I say something?
Of course.
I know we're angry and hurt by what's happened.
That's an understatement.
But this isn't some monster we're talking about.
This is Foster.
Foster, the only man who ever brought me
any real happiness in my life.
I'm sorry.
I suppose I shouldn't say this.
But I love him anyway.
He's the only man who ever really listened to me.
And I can't bear the thought of not
feeling his body close to mine.
Excuse me.
Could any of you others tell me if you
found him to be unnaturally gifted in that area?
I used to faint.
I mean, actually lose consciousness.
Your investigator said that Foster could go to jail.
Jail would kill him.
He's so claustrophobic.
You know how he has to sleep with the windows open.
If Foster goes to jail, I may as well become a nun.
If Foster goes to jail, I might as well die.
Oh, please.
This man that you all loved so much stole
everything you had.
And I'm just talking about your property.
He stole your love and your trust and your dreams.
Please, don't delude yourselves like this.
Foster Troutman didn't love you.
No, he used you.
Yeah, he's probably laughing at all of you right now.
Yeah, laughing.
Laughing at how he scammed you and how he
used you for his meal ticket.
And the saddest thing of all is that it's
only because you are such kind,
loving women that he was able to abuse you this way.
Well, now's the time to harden those
tender hearts of yours and avenge the
terrible wrong that's been done to you and
prevent him from doing it to anybody else.
That low-rent gigolo gave my
great-grandmother's ring to another woman,
had my Mercedes painted and gave it to her
for her birthday.
I just want my coat.
Look, trust me.
I think we can all work this thing out together.
Yes, but you have to sign complaints so
the DA can prosecute.
I hope he hangs.
Too good for him.
Crush his jellies in a garlic press.
Yeah, well, uh, do any of you have any idea
of where the authorities might look for him?
What's the big mystery?
Stake out the marriage license bureau.
It was kind of fun.
We went to this little Hunan
restaurant in Chinatown and then
we walked around a little and he dropped me back at my car.
You gonna go out with him again?
We're not really going out.
Oh.
I mean, Peter's very sweet, but I'm not
really ready for, you know, dating.
You mean sex.
Yeah, I think that's what I mean.
Well, you're entitled to take it slow.
Abby, I need to talk to you.
It's okay, I'll step out.
No, no, no, don't be silly.
There's a child matching Eric's general
description in St. Anthony's Hospital.
How sick?
This child is dead.
On-call cardiologist.
I got the page a few minutes ago.
Where's Mrs. Perkins?
She's over there.
Mrs. Perkins, I'm sorry to keep you waiting.
Could we please just do this?
Um, I'm sorry.
I just found out the body was already sent to County Mork.
What?
We had no choice at being a criminal matter.
Criminal?
Child abuse and abandonment.
Abuse?
Someone left the boy in our emergency room.
The place is a zoo on Saturday night, so no one
even noticed him until he fell unconscious on the floor.
I was a doctor on shift, and believe me, I did
all I could, but the boy had been beaten very badly.
It couldn't be.
Jim couldn't possibly have
Truthfully, I had too much else to do to
pay attention to his face.
I'm sorry.
Dr. Hensel, in your opinion, if Glenn
Gates had not died as the result of the
bullet wounds in March, how much longer
would he have lived?
Objection.
Speculation.
I'll allow it.
I'd say two, possibly three weeks.
And could you predict the manner of death
he had to look forward to?
Objection.
Speculation.
Once again, I'll allow it.
Well, it's possible he would have succumbed to
pneumonia, but more likely to a toxoplasmosis.
Toxoplasmosis.
It's a parasitic infection that attacks the brain.
It causes fever, chills, headaches, and a
descending fugue state referred to as AIDS, dementia.
In layman's terms, it causes you to lose your mind?
Yes.
And is this an easy, painless death?
No, the pain would have been quite severe as
his brain swelled and became too large for his skull.
He would have lost control of his bodily functions.
His mind would be gone.
Eventually, his kidneys and lungs would
have failed, and I would have had to
decide whether to keep him alive by a respirator.
Would you have done that?
Not unless his friends or family insisted.
In my opinion, it just prolongs the patient's suffering.
So, in other words, what you're saying is you
practice a form of passive euthanasia all the time.
Objection.
Withdraw the question.
Dr. Hensel, is it possible that Glenn
Gates could have recovered?
Age is 100% fatal.
There's no effective cure at this time.
Thank you, doctor.
Nothing further.
Redirect.
Doctor, you've testified that at least
three times prior to Glenn Gates' death,
you were able to bring him out of a medical crisis.
Yes.
Then isn't there some likelihood that if
the defendant had brought Glenn in for
medical treatment, rather than putting a
bullet through his head, that you might
have been able to bring him into remission once again?
For a very short time, maybe, but the man
was terminally ill.
Still, it's not inconceivable that he could have had a
remission and enjoyed some quality of life during that time.
It's not inconceivable.
No.
There's a lot of encouraging research being
done into the AIDS treatments, isn't there?
It's early, but the drug AZT has shown
some promising results, yes.
And you do have hope for a cure someday?
Yes.
So isn't it possible that if Glen Cates'
life had not been cut short by a bullet,
a cure may have been found during the time
that he had left?
Given the advanced state of his condition,
it's highly unlikely, Ms. Van Owen.
But I guess nothing is impossible.
But the hospital said they sent the body here.
I'm not saying they didn't.
I'm just saying it hasn't been tagged and
cataloged yet, so I don't know where it is.
Then I'll go in and look until I find it.
I'm afraid I can't let you do that.
You'll have to come back tomorrow when
things are properly sorted out.
This could be her child.
I just have to know.
One way or the other.
Please.
Mrs. Perkins, I sympathize with your pain, and I'm sorry.
But take a look at my inbox.
I wouldn't even know where to begin to
look for this particular John Doe.
How many four-year-old John Does could you possibly have?
You don't really want to know.
Come back tomorrow.
Believe me, if he's here, he's not going anywhere.
Arnie, Foster Troutman's attorney is here.
All right, get him in here and, uh, and tell Markowitz.
I already have, and the attorney isn't a him.
Mr. Becker.
Lynette Pierce.
Arnie.
Arnie.
Almost from the moment that Mr. Troutman
was taken into custody of the License.
Bureau, his various spouses have been, thank you, calling
the DA's office, demanding prosecution to the full extent.
Hell hath no fury like a dozen lives scorned.
The DA will not even talk.
The DA will not even talk to me about a deal.
He says this one is going to be totally by the numbers.
One of his wives, Mrs. Foster E.
Troutman, has threatened to go to the Times.
They're all livid.
What did you say to these women?
Not much.
Only that as a man who betrayed their
loyalty, love, and trust, stole their
property, and made them unwitting accomplices to
massive tax fraud, he should be put away for 2,000 years.
Well, it worked.
They're like a lynch mob.
He deserves what he gets.
Look, gentlemen, you have a problem, and so do I.
And I think we could help each other.
I'd like very much to try.
Talk to this man.
He's prepared to provide full disclosure
on all of his wives, plus whatever
information you need in relocating their assets.
He's also prepared to sign affidavits
absolving these women of criminal responsibility.
In return for which?
Reason with his wives.
Diffuse their emotions.
I'm confident that I can negotiate him out of
this tax mess and probably the insurance stuff.
And if you can feel the wives out as to
the possibility of dropping the grand
theft charges, then I can possibly get Foster a deal
that will spare him the terrible indignity of incarceration.
No, I don't think so.
I'm not asking for any promises,
just that you hear him out.
I know that you will come to believe that there is no
justice to be served in sending a decent, fine man to jail.
Stuart, the man deserves to be heard.
I have the names here of 11 wives.
That's all of them, right?
So far.
Plus, I have a complete list of assets,
as well as what you gave to whom.
Check.
And then I have signed statements absolving
all your wives of tax fraud, insurance fraud, theft.
I know I'm in big trouble, and I'll probably do some time.
Yeah, well, I can live with that.
What I can't live with is
none of them have come to visit me.
What did you expect, flowers?
I know you find this hard to believe,
Mr. Markowitz, but I love all my wives.
I wanted to make them happy, that's all.
And nothing makes a woman happier than marriage.
Look, with all due respect, Mr. Troutman,
you're no Cary Grant, you know what I mean?
What I mean is, uh, you're an average guy, uh, you know.
Uh, and, uh, you got
Eleven.
Quite attractive.
Very wealthy women to marry you.
I-I'm I'm just curious, uh, how, uh
Aren't you married, Mr. Markowitz?
Uh, no, no, no.
In love?
Oh, yes.
Oh, yes.
Uh, when was the last time you took her
for a moonlit boat ride to Catalina?
Or spent the night in the Bel Air Hotel?
I never know.
You've got to make a woman feel special, loved.
You've got to listen to her.
You've got to take her places where no one
exists but you and her.
Let me ask you something truthfully.
This woman of yours, you really love her?
I completely
I'm going to give you a gift, you and your lady love.
This gift
that I'm going to give you, I've never shared
with anyone other than the women that I've loved.
Because
I always felt that if it fell into the wrong
hands, it could sexually enslave a woman.
What is it?
The Venus Butterfly.
The Venus Butterfly?
That's right.
The Venus Butterfly.
Oh, what is the, uh, the Venus Butterfly?
I can't say this out loud.
Come closer.
I've got more important things to do than
spend my morning eyeballing every stiff
back there, Miss VG, which is exactly what I am going to
do if you do not stop giving these women the runaround here.
Now, what is the story?
The story, detective, after some
exhaustive checking, is that the paperwork
never got processed, and the body is still
back at St. Anthony's Hospital.
And it took you the whole day to find this out?
Sometimes.
They lose them for weeks.
Mr. Appleton, how long had you known Glenn Gates?
We met at a party July 4th, 1982.
And what was the nature of your relationship?
We were lovers.
Would you categorize your relationship as a casual one?
No.
We loved each other very much.
We were very committed to one another.
You lived together.
Yes.
Almost from the start.
When did you first find out that Glenn had AIDS?
He was diagnosed in August of 1985.
Would you describe for the
court, if you will, the course of Mr.
Gates' disease?
In the beginning, we thought it was just a bad cold.
Weeks went by.
Glenn got so weak he could hardly stand up.
And, you know, you're living in a
community that lives in terror.
It's like AIDS is a plague.
You become used to seeing your friends die.
Somehow, you think it won't happen to you.
But when Glenn got sick, I think we both knew.
Once he was diagnosed as having AIDS, what happened then?
Basically, he just deteriorated.
He was in and out of the hospital.
Toward the end, he was going blind.
He had periods when he wasn't lucid.
He was in horrible pain.
Mr. Appleton, could you describe for the court, if
you would, what your life was like as Glenn got sicker?
We couldn't go out in public.
People were physically repulsed at the sight of him.
He'd lost so much weight, and his face, his
arms, his whole body were covered with sores.
We became like lepers.
And when did you decide to take his life?
Oh, we had talked about it almost from the start.
We had so many friends who died from AIDS.
We had heard so many horror stories.
Glenn was not afraid of death.
He couldn't stand the thought of the
inevitable suffering, loss of his dignity.
He talked a lot about suicide.
He hoarded pills for months.
And then toward the end, he tried to kill
himself in the hospital.
He was too weak to get the pills done.
That's when he begged me to do it for him.
And you agreed?
No.
Not at first.
But then toward the end, he couldn't bear it.
He was in horrible pain.
Mr. Appleton, would you describe for the court,
if you would, Glenn Gates' last few hours of life?
It was early morning.
I'd fallen asleep in the chair beside his bed.
Suddenly I woke up and I felt like Glenn was really there.
Not just physically, but like his mind was there.
And it woke me.
I looked at him.
His head was turned.
He was looking at me with such sweet sadness.
It was as if all the fight was out of him.
He was too weak to talk.
He kept falling asleep.
And then it was as if he was forcing himself to wake up.
I felt like he was begging me to end it.
I carried him to the bathroom.
He was so light, like a dying bird.
And I bathed him, changed his clothes,
and then I got into bed with him.
I held him in my arms.
I rocked him.
I sang to him.
And then when he finally fell asleep,
like a baby in my arms, I.
Knew for a certainty that it was time for
death to have him.
That to let him wake up to one more day of
pain and sadness and despair would be a
greater crime than that which I'm accused of committing.
And that's when you ended Glenn Gates' life?
Yes.
Thank you, Mr. Appleton.
Your witness, Ms. Van Owen.
Mr. Appleton, is this your gun marked Exhibit A?
Yes.
When did you purchase this weapon?
About three weeks before Glenn died.
Did you get it for personal protection?
No.
Sports shooting?
No.
Tell us why you did buy it, Mr. Appleton.
Glenn was in horrible agony.
He didn't want to live any longer.
Did you buy this gun with the intent to kill Mr. Gates?
I bought it in case it came to that.
And is this the weapon you, in fact,
did kill Mr. Gates with?
Yes.
Thank you.
No more questions, Your Honor.
There's no disputing the facts of this case.
Ladies and gentlemen, Christopher Appleton
bought a gun and used it to take the life of Glenn Gates.
But what kind of a life was it?
A life of anguish and pain?
Loss of dignity?
And a certain cruel death?
Is that a life worth living?
Obviously, Glenn Gates himself thought not.
He had already attempted suicide.
You know, when I was a small boy,
my dog got run over in the street and her
hip was crushed and her spine was all twisted out of
shape and my mother and father had to have her put to sleep.
It was the humane thing to do they taught me.
They taught me that it's brutally cruel
and inhumane to keep some poor,
suffering creature alive just because the
technology exists to do so.
Why is euthanasia, mercy killing, why is that more humane
for some poor, suffering animal than for a human being?
Now, some of you may disapprove of
Christopher Appleton's lifestyle.
Some of you may have strong feelings that
homosexuality is wrong.
Some of you may think, some people do,
that AIDS is a punishment of biblical
proportions that's visited upon the gay community.
Ladies and gentlemen, please, please,
I beg of you, don't judge Christopher.
Appleton a criminal until you've walked a
mile in his shoes.
Thank you.
Ms. Van Owen?
I feel sorry for Mr. Appleton, as I'm sure you do.
His pain and suffering, and that of Glenn
Gates, was very real.
And perhaps Mr. Gilliam is right.
None of us could know what it was like,
month after torturous month, as Mr.
Appleton watched the man he loved deteriorate.
So cruelly and painfully.
But many of us have suffered the loss of
loved ones to cancer, heart disease,
and a host of other lingering diseases
that erode the body and the will.
And the question is, should we be allowed
to arbitrarily terminate a human life when
the quality of that life is judged to be not worth living?
And by whose standards do we measure the quality of life?
Yours?
Mine?
Perhaps Mr. Gilliam's?
Let us draw the distinction between a
criminal and a criminal act.
I don't believe Chris Appleton is a criminal.
But damn it, I have to believe he committed a criminal act.
And if you let this criminal act go
unpunished, you will be ignoring the
solemn oath you made as jurors to uphold the law.
You would, in effect, be saying that we are a
society not governed by law, but by anarchy.
Thank you.
Dr. Hamrell to maternity nurse's station.
I apologize,
Ms. Perkins.
Ms. Kelsey.
Look, everybody's sorry.
Now, what's the story?
It took us a while to track down
the mistake, but Did you find him?
In a manner of speaking, yes.
What the hell does that mean?
No excuses, but this is an understaffed
and overburdened bureaucracy.
Just tell me.
We had a black adult John Doe who was tag number A1497.
The Caucasian child John Doe was tag number A1447.
I guess the second four looked like a nine.
Anyway, somehow the tags got Then you have him.
I'm afraid not.
You see, A1497, the black John Doe,
was scheduled for cremation.
In the mix-up No.
The baby John Doe was mistakenly cremated.
Are you sure?
Yes.
Oh, God.
Do you know what this means?
I have a missing child.
And if that little
little boy
was my son
then how am I ever gonna know?
I'm sorry.
You're sorry?
What for?
To you, they're just meat, aren't they?
Tag it?
Ship it?
What the hell?
It's just another body, right?
Well, wrong, lady.
Because that little boy was somebody's child.
And if not mine then somebody else's.
But we're never gonna know that, are we?
We're never gonna know that because you screwed up.
You bastards.
First you let him die, all alone.
Then you cremated him.
And who is gonna grieve for him, whoever he is?
Who is gonna grieve for poor little A1447?
Come on, let's go.
Be seated.
Has the jury reached a verdict, Mr. Foreman?
We have, Your Honor.
We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of
murder in the first degree.
The jury is discharged.
The defendant will remain free on bail
pending probation and sentencing hearing.
This court is in recess.
Mr. Abbleton,
I wish to God there was a way to uphold
the principle without putting you through
any more pain, and I will be at the
sentencing hearing to testify on your behalf.
She has no comment.
Are you okay?
I just don't want to talk about it right now.
Okay?
Fine.
Well, we better hurry.
We're late for dinner.
Dinner?
Maybe it's a quarter to five.
Yeah, well, by the time we catch the 5.30
flight to Monterey, take a cab to the.
Ventana, get cleaned up and ready to go, we'll
barely have enough time to make our 8.30 reservation.
I love you.
Well, we better go.
Come on.
Hi, Stuart.
I heard about the screw-up at the hospital.
How's Abby?
She's spending the weekend with her mother.
Poor kid.
You can't imagine the horror of it.
It's conceivable that she may never know
whether that cremated child was Eric or not.
It wasn't.
I just don't believe it was.
From your lips to God's ear.
There's nothing more you can do, you know.
And there's no point in staying around
depressing yourself even more.
Make me an offer.
Well, actually, I, uh, and we can always
cancel it, but I, uh
I booked us a room tonight at the Bel Air Hotel.
Men.
You always think sex will solve every problem.
Oh, come on.
Not, uh, not every problem.
Women are different.
I just don't feel like it tonight, Stuart.
Do you mind terribly?
No, no, I understand.
So, uh, were you planning on getting
somebody to eat tonight?
I guess.
And then, uh, were you planning on,
you know, going to sleep at some point?
Yes.
Well, you'll do both those things,
except at the Bel Air Hotel with me.
And, you know, sex is no big deal with me, either.
Stuart?
Tell me the truth.
Okay.
Have you been seeing another woman?
No, of course not.
Then where the hell did you learn that?
You mean the, uh, Venus Butterfly?
The Venus Venus Butterfly.
Stuart, I'm no prude.
I like sex.
Especially like it with you.
But I'm 36 years old.
And I have never, I mean, never, in my entire life,
ever experienced anything like the Venus Butterfly.
Well, I'm, uh, I'm glad you liked it.
Liked it?
I It was the closest thing I have
ever experienced to pure ecstasy.
I almost fainted.
Actually, I think there was a moment when
I really blacked out.
I mean, the blood just rushed right out of
my brain to my other place.
I'm gonna tell you something.
I will never share the Venus Butterfly
with any other woman as long as I live.
You better not.
Stuart?
Can I ask you a favor?
Anything.
Do you think, I mean, if you're not too,
you know, tired, you could maybe do it again?
Yeah, yeah, I'm up for it.
I have to see if I can still get room service.
Call.
Quickly.
Right.
Thank you.
Previously on L.A.
Law.
Leon's my name and photography's my game.
How about a snapshot at Bridengrove, huh?
Definitely.
Ms. Van Owen.
Yes.
Isn't it true that you walked out on your own
wedding two weeks ago with someone in a gorilla suit?
Who's the ape, Ms. Van Owen?
Well, that story has been grossly exaggerated.
Proving once again a picture's worth a thousand words.
If we get passed over for partner one more time, that's it?
Pretty serious bluff.
You are both hereby tendered offers of
partnership in the firm, and I hope you'll accept.
You started this brawl, lady, not me!
I'll take her out of the state!
Do either one of you know what it feels
like to not be able to see your child?
Or even know where he is?
Well, I do!
Abby, the reality is, you may get Eric back tomorrow.
You may not find him for six months.
Oh, you may never see him again.
So, my client, Mrs. Troutman, decides that
she needs to get away for a few days.
She packs her car, she drives down to the
condo in Palm Springs, and puts the key in the door.
Walks down the hallway to her bedroom only
to find the surprise of her life.
Her loving husband in the arms of another woman.
Excuse me, Arnold, but why are we
squandering valuable staff meeting time
with this boring recitation of a mundane little domestic?
Drama you have interrupted me right at the
punchline Douglas you see that was no
woman that was his wife I'm afraid I'm not
tracking bigamy bigamy do you know how
rare it is I mean this is the divorce
lawyer equivalent of a hole-in-one poor
mrs trout man is totally distraught her
husband skips town the IRS is auditing and
Angela cipriano just uncovered a deed
where he's he's given our client's condo
to the other wife well this is indeed
titillating and I trust you will keep a
surprise of the continuing saga now for
one last item I would like to discuss
hiring an interior design team to convert
the Cheney office into a second conference
room oh wait no no no no way no way that
office has my name on it since when you
already have a nice one whereas I a
partner in this firm just like you am
officed in a rabbit Warren as the partner
with most seniority I should get it She
can have my old office I don't like
differentiating on the basis of seniority.
All partners are equal, Arnold Do you have
any interest in the corner, Michael?
Not enough to make it worth packing and
moving Stuart Yeah Actually Yes,
I do Actually, it would seem more
equitable to me To award it on the basis
of fees generated in the last fiscal year
Or on the basis of most billable hours.
Whatever you three decide I'm going to
leave it to you to work it out amongst
yourselves and on your own time We're adjourned I had dibs
on this office the day he broke Did you even think about it?
It doesn't work that way You're going to
move in here and I will scratch the paint
off your course Do you realize your
bickering can be heard all through the complex?
Just be assured that if you cannot find
some mature, intelligent manner in which
to settle this in the next three minutes this
office will be turned into a conference room.
All right Under the circumstances,
there's only one way to settle this thing.
What?
Arnie Come on, we haven't got a lot of
time Get him out there Get him out One
potato, two potato, three potato,
four Five potato, six potato, seven
potato, more Out One potato, two potato,
three potato, four Five potato,
six potato, seven potato, more Out
One potato, two potato, three potato, four.
For.
It isn't fair.
What do you need it for?
I want it.
You're the one that said all you need is a
desk, a chair, and a place to store your files.
And you're the one who told me I
undervalue my worth to this firm, right?
Well, it's a great office.
I think I deserve it.
I'll give you 5,000 paid off in installments.
I don't want money, Arnie.
I want the office, okay?
Excuse me, Arnie.
Angela Cipriano, who was waiting in your
office for you and Stuart.
It was gonna be a tight squeeze.
Got three of us.
It's okay, I can rough it.
You're going to find this interesting.
Your original client was Mrs. Foster F.
Troutman.
He told her his middle name was Farrell.
The one in Palm Springs is Mrs. Foster J.
He told her James.
The new ones I found are Mrs. Foster's C
for Charles, E for Errol, and K for Kenneth.
Alphabetical order?
Exactly.
Which means there's most likely 11 of them.
A, B, D, G, H, and I still unaccounted for.
And what about I through Z?
How the hell does he do it?
Bee pollen?
Actually, what he'd do is take their
stuff, jewelry, furs, cars, reported
stolen, live on the settlement from the insurance
company, and give the stolen item to another wife as a gift.
You know, I'm not a violent man by nature,
but boy, what I would really like,
what I would really enjoy is five minutes
alone in a stuck elevator with this guy.
Me too.
I'd like to find out what the big attraction is.
In the meantime, why don't you see if you can get all
the wives in here so we can try and sort out this mess.
Abby.
Hi.
Anything?
I left a message on your machine this morning.
A string of gas card purchases make it
seem like he's headed back towards L.A.
State and local authorities are alerted.
If they are headed back, we'll smack them.
That's what you said about Disney World.
I know what you're going through,
and I know it seems we're right back where
we started, but I got a pretty good instinct, a
real strong feeling something is going to break.
So just, just hang in there, okay?
Okay.
Okay.
He's got to be crazy.
I just don't believe the guy's foot, Spock.
Dismissal or straight probation?
For a premeditated murder.
Yeah, well, you know he's gonna argue
mercy killing is a crime of passion, love.
He bought a gun, it took him months to think about
it, and then he put two bullets into his lover's skull.
You don't get a hell of a lot more premeditated than that.
I don't know, Gracie.
Watching someone you love, terminally ill, in pain.
You know, if I was still a DA, I don't
know if I'd be able to stomach this one.
What's your other choice?
If you shine it on, it's a message.
A parent with a brain-damaged kid,
go ahead and smother him.
Or maybe your aged mother's become a real drag.
Give her some pills.
Put her out of her misery.
Next stop, eugenics, human experimentation, Nazi Germany.
Believe me, I know all of the arguments, and I'm
still saying I'd have a hard time putting this guy away.
Remember the Hector Figueroa case?
You said, and you were right, the law has
to come first, no matter what your
personal feelings about the equities of
each individual case.
Well, maybe this law should be changed.
Oh, that'd be nice.
And who do you suggest should decide who
lives and who dies?
All I know, Gracie, is that if I was dying
and I'd lost all human dignity and quality
of life, I sure would hope someone would
love me enough to do it for me.
Well, then I hope you can find someone else,
Kuzak, because this loved one sure couldn't do it.
Mr. Walters, if the defendant is
convicted, he could be facing life in prison.
Do you think that this would influence your
ability to make a fair determination of the facts?
No, not at all.
All right.
But what if the defendant were able to
show that the man that he killed was in
great pain and had only a few weeks to live?
Would you have any difficulty finding Mr.
Appleton guilty under those circumstances?
Well, no.
Not if you prove that he pulled the trigger, I wouldn't.
Thank you.
The people would accept Mr. Walters as a juror.
Mr. Gilliam?
Mr. Walters.
You're a construction worker, is that correct?
Construction foreman.
Uh-huh.
Do you have any prejudice against homosexuals?
No, I don't think so.
Are you a homosexual?
No, are you?
As a matter of fact, I am.
Well, for your information, I'm a married man.
With all due respect, so are a lot of homosexuals.
Are you trying to tick me off or what?
Yes, if that's what it takes to discover
if you have any latent prejudice.
Like women, that doesn't make me prejudiced.
Ah, I see.
Well, do you think you could judge my client
knowing that he has AIDS-related complex?
The truth is, I would rather not be in a
room every day with the guy that's got it.
I'd ask that Mr. Walters be excused for cause.
Thank you, Mr. Walters.
You're excused.
We'll take our noon recess and reconvene at 2 O'clock.
Thank you.
Excuse me.
Must have hurt to lose Walters.
I don't want to prejudice juror any more than you do.
Really?
You mean your office didn't tell you to
stack it with fag bashers?
Oh, come on, Mark.
If you can get the chip off your shoulder,
you know I'm trying to be as fair as I can.
Good.
Then you'll dismiss the case.
Mark, your client took the life of another human being.
My client performed a merciful act.
His only motivation was love.
I am not unsympathetic to your client's
situation, which is why I am still willing
to fight with my office to get you
involuntary manslaughter.
Wait, you know that an AIDS carrier in prison
is going to be isolated from all human contact.
Talk about your cruel and unusual punishment.
It is not unreasonable for the prison
authorities to need to isolate a deadly disease.
And besides, we're probably only talking about 18 months.
Right, right.
Which, in the likelihood that
Christopher's AIDS does become full-blown,
is the equivalent of a life sentence in
solitary confinement.
So what you're saying here is that there
is no way to settle this?
If I lose, I'll appeal.
And in the end, chances are, there's nothing the courts can
do to him that this hideous plague isn't going to do first.
Make yourself comfortable, Mrs. Troutman.
Thank you.
Good morning.
Tissue, Mrs. Troutman?
I'll get that coffee for you, Mrs. Troutman.
That's my coat.
My initials are inside this coat.
My initials are Judith Troutman.
Jeanette Troutman.
Mrs. Troutman's coffee?
I want my coat, damn it.
Ladies.
Mrs. Troutman's.
Ladies.
Please.
I can't believe that that happened.
Please, ladies.
Please.
Thank you.
Hi.
I'm Arnold Becker, and this is Stuart Markowitz.
First of all, I'd like to state that I
understand what a shock this is.
This must be to all of you.
And I sincerely empathize with your anger and pain.
That coat's worth 40 grand.
I understand there's been a
great deal of commingling on your
property and other sticky
legal issues are involved as well.
Polygamy, insurance fraud, IRS complications.
Now, you ladies are free to seek separate
counsel, of course.
We're assuming you're willing to waive any
conflict of interest.
We could all work together and try to unravel this muddle.
May I say something?
Of course.
I know we're angry and hurt by what's happened.
That's an understatement.
But this isn't some monster we're talking about.
This is Foster.
Foster, the only man who ever brought me
any real happiness in my life.
I'm sorry.
I suppose I shouldn't say this.
But I love him anyway.
He's the only man who ever really listened to me.
And I can't bear the thought of not
feeling his body close to mine.
Excuse me.
Could any of you others tell me if you
found him to be unnaturally gifted in that area?
I used to faint.
I mean, actually lose consciousness.
Your investigator said that Foster could go to jail.
Jail would kill him.
He's so claustrophobic.
You know how he has to sleep with the windows open.
If Foster goes to jail, I may as well become a nun.
If Foster goes to jail, I might as well die.
Oh, please.
This man that you all loved so much stole
everything you had.
And I'm just talking about your property.
He stole your love and your trust and your dreams.
Please, don't delude yourselves like this.
Foster Troutman didn't love you.
No, he used you.
Yeah, he's probably laughing at all of you right now.
Yeah, laughing.
Laughing at how he scammed you and how he
used you for his meal ticket.
And the saddest thing of all is that it's
only because you are such kind,
loving women that he was able to abuse you this way.
Well, now's the time to harden those
tender hearts of yours and avenge the
terrible wrong that's been done to you and
prevent him from doing it to anybody else.
That low-rent gigolo gave my
great-grandmother's ring to another woman,
had my Mercedes painted and gave it to her
for her birthday.
I just want my coat.
Look, trust me.
I think we can all work this thing out together.
Yes, but you have to sign complaints so
the DA can prosecute.
I hope he hangs.
Too good for him.
Crush his jellies in a garlic press.
Yeah, well, uh, do any of you have any idea
of where the authorities might look for him?
What's the big mystery?
Stake out the marriage license bureau.
It was kind of fun.
We went to this little Hunan
restaurant in Chinatown and then
we walked around a little and he dropped me back at my car.
You gonna go out with him again?
We're not really going out.
Oh.
I mean, Peter's very sweet, but I'm not
really ready for, you know, dating.
You mean sex.
Yeah, I think that's what I mean.
Well, you're entitled to take it slow.
Abby, I need to talk to you.
It's okay, I'll step out.
No, no, no, don't be silly.
There's a child matching Eric's general
description in St. Anthony's Hospital.
How sick?
This child is dead.
On-call cardiologist.
I got the page a few minutes ago.
Where's Mrs. Perkins?
She's over there.
Mrs. Perkins, I'm sorry to keep you waiting.
Could we please just do this?
Um, I'm sorry.
I just found out the body was already sent to County Mork.
What?
We had no choice at being a criminal matter.
Criminal?
Child abuse and abandonment.
Abuse?
Someone left the boy in our emergency room.
The place is a zoo on Saturday night, so no one
even noticed him until he fell unconscious on the floor.
I was a doctor on shift, and believe me, I did
all I could, but the boy had been beaten very badly.
It couldn't be.
Jim couldn't possibly have
Truthfully, I had too much else to do to
pay attention to his face.
I'm sorry.
Dr. Hensel, in your opinion, if Glenn
Gates had not died as the result of the
bullet wounds in March, how much longer
would he have lived?
Objection.
Speculation.
I'll allow it.
I'd say two, possibly three weeks.
And could you predict the manner of death
he had to look forward to?
Objection.
Speculation.
Once again, I'll allow it.
Well, it's possible he would have succumbed to
pneumonia, but more likely to a toxoplasmosis.
Toxoplasmosis.
It's a parasitic infection that attacks the brain.
It causes fever, chills, headaches, and a
descending fugue state referred to as AIDS, dementia.
In layman's terms, it causes you to lose your mind?
Yes.
And is this an easy, painless death?
No, the pain would have been quite severe as
his brain swelled and became too large for his skull.
He would have lost control of his bodily functions.
His mind would be gone.
Eventually, his kidneys and lungs would
have failed, and I would have had to
decide whether to keep him alive by a respirator.
Would you have done that?
Not unless his friends or family insisted.
In my opinion, it just prolongs the patient's suffering.
So, in other words, what you're saying is you
practice a form of passive euthanasia all the time.
Objection.
Withdraw the question.
Dr. Hensel, is it possible that Glenn
Gates could have recovered?
Age is 100% fatal.
There's no effective cure at this time.
Thank you, doctor.
Nothing further.
Redirect.
Doctor, you've testified that at least
three times prior to Glenn Gates' death,
you were able to bring him out of a medical crisis.
Yes.
Then isn't there some likelihood that if
the defendant had brought Glenn in for
medical treatment, rather than putting a
bullet through his head, that you might
have been able to bring him into remission once again?
For a very short time, maybe, but the man
was terminally ill.
Still, it's not inconceivable that he could have had a
remission and enjoyed some quality of life during that time.
It's not inconceivable.
No.
There's a lot of encouraging research being
done into the AIDS treatments, isn't there?
It's early, but the drug AZT has shown
some promising results, yes.
And you do have hope for a cure someday?
Yes.
So isn't it possible that if Glen Cates'
life had not been cut short by a bullet,
a cure may have been found during the time
that he had left?
Given the advanced state of his condition,
it's highly unlikely, Ms. Van Owen.
But I guess nothing is impossible.
But the hospital said they sent the body here.
I'm not saying they didn't.
I'm just saying it hasn't been tagged and
cataloged yet, so I don't know where it is.
Then I'll go in and look until I find it.
I'm afraid I can't let you do that.
You'll have to come back tomorrow when
things are properly sorted out.
This could be her child.
I just have to know.
One way or the other.
Please.
Mrs. Perkins, I sympathize with your pain, and I'm sorry.
But take a look at my inbox.
I wouldn't even know where to begin to
look for this particular John Doe.
How many four-year-old John Does could you possibly have?
You don't really want to know.
Come back tomorrow.
Believe me, if he's here, he's not going anywhere.
Arnie, Foster Troutman's attorney is here.
All right, get him in here and, uh, and tell Markowitz.
I already have, and the attorney isn't a him.
Mr. Becker.
Lynette Pierce.
Arnie.
Arnie.
Almost from the moment that Mr. Troutman
was taken into custody of the License.
Bureau, his various spouses have been, thank you, calling
the DA's office, demanding prosecution to the full extent.
Hell hath no fury like a dozen lives scorned.
The DA will not even talk.
The DA will not even talk to me about a deal.
He says this one is going to be totally by the numbers.
One of his wives, Mrs. Foster E.
Troutman, has threatened to go to the Times.
They're all livid.
What did you say to these women?
Not much.
Only that as a man who betrayed their
loyalty, love, and trust, stole their
property, and made them unwitting accomplices to
massive tax fraud, he should be put away for 2,000 years.
Well, it worked.
They're like a lynch mob.
He deserves what he gets.
Look, gentlemen, you have a problem, and so do I.
And I think we could help each other.
I'd like very much to try.
Talk to this man.
He's prepared to provide full disclosure
on all of his wives, plus whatever
information you need in relocating their assets.
He's also prepared to sign affidavits
absolving these women of criminal responsibility.
In return for which?
Reason with his wives.
Diffuse their emotions.
I'm confident that I can negotiate him out of
this tax mess and probably the insurance stuff.
And if you can feel the wives out as to
the possibility of dropping the grand
theft charges, then I can possibly get Foster a deal
that will spare him the terrible indignity of incarceration.
No, I don't think so.
I'm not asking for any promises,
just that you hear him out.
I know that you will come to believe that there is no
justice to be served in sending a decent, fine man to jail.
Stuart, the man deserves to be heard.
I have the names here of 11 wives.
That's all of them, right?
So far.
Plus, I have a complete list of assets,
as well as what you gave to whom.
Check.
And then I have signed statements absolving
all your wives of tax fraud, insurance fraud, theft.
I know I'm in big trouble, and I'll probably do some time.
Yeah, well, I can live with that.
What I can't live with is
none of them have come to visit me.
What did you expect, flowers?
I know you find this hard to believe,
Mr. Markowitz, but I love all my wives.
I wanted to make them happy, that's all.
And nothing makes a woman happier than marriage.
Look, with all due respect, Mr. Troutman,
you're no Cary Grant, you know what I mean?
What I mean is, uh, you're an average guy, uh, you know.
Uh, and, uh, you got
Eleven.
Quite attractive.
Very wealthy women to marry you.
I-I'm I'm just curious, uh, how, uh
Aren't you married, Mr. Markowitz?
Uh, no, no, no.
In love?
Oh, yes.
Oh, yes.
Uh, when was the last time you took her
for a moonlit boat ride to Catalina?
Or spent the night in the Bel Air Hotel?
I never know.
You've got to make a woman feel special, loved.
You've got to listen to her.
You've got to take her places where no one
exists but you and her.
Let me ask you something truthfully.
This woman of yours, you really love her?
I completely
I'm going to give you a gift, you and your lady love.
This gift
that I'm going to give you, I've never shared
with anyone other than the women that I've loved.
Because
I always felt that if it fell into the wrong
hands, it could sexually enslave a woman.
What is it?
The Venus Butterfly.
The Venus Butterfly?
That's right.
The Venus Butterfly.
Oh, what is the, uh, the Venus Butterfly?
I can't say this out loud.
Come closer.
I've got more important things to do than
spend my morning eyeballing every stiff
back there, Miss VG, which is exactly what I am going to
do if you do not stop giving these women the runaround here.
Now, what is the story?
The story, detective, after some
exhaustive checking, is that the paperwork
never got processed, and the body is still
back at St. Anthony's Hospital.
And it took you the whole day to find this out?
Sometimes.
They lose them for weeks.
Mr. Appleton, how long had you known Glenn Gates?
We met at a party July 4th, 1982.
And what was the nature of your relationship?
We were lovers.
Would you categorize your relationship as a casual one?
No.
We loved each other very much.
We were very committed to one another.
You lived together.
Yes.
Almost from the start.
When did you first find out that Glenn had AIDS?
He was diagnosed in August of 1985.
Would you describe for the
court, if you will, the course of Mr.
Gates' disease?
In the beginning, we thought it was just a bad cold.
Weeks went by.
Glenn got so weak he could hardly stand up.
And, you know, you're living in a
community that lives in terror.
It's like AIDS is a plague.
You become used to seeing your friends die.
Somehow, you think it won't happen to you.
But when Glenn got sick, I think we both knew.
Once he was diagnosed as having AIDS, what happened then?
Basically, he just deteriorated.
He was in and out of the hospital.
Toward the end, he was going blind.
He had periods when he wasn't lucid.
He was in horrible pain.
Mr. Appleton, could you describe for the court, if
you would, what your life was like as Glenn got sicker?
We couldn't go out in public.
People were physically repulsed at the sight of him.
He'd lost so much weight, and his face, his
arms, his whole body were covered with sores.
We became like lepers.
And when did you decide to take his life?
Oh, we had talked about it almost from the start.
We had so many friends who died from AIDS.
We had heard so many horror stories.
Glenn was not afraid of death.
He couldn't stand the thought of the
inevitable suffering, loss of his dignity.
He talked a lot about suicide.
He hoarded pills for months.
And then toward the end, he tried to kill
himself in the hospital.
He was too weak to get the pills done.
That's when he begged me to do it for him.
And you agreed?
No.
Not at first.
But then toward the end, he couldn't bear it.
He was in horrible pain.
Mr. Appleton, would you describe for the court,
if you would, Glenn Gates' last few hours of life?
It was early morning.
I'd fallen asleep in the chair beside his bed.
Suddenly I woke up and I felt like Glenn was really there.
Not just physically, but like his mind was there.
And it woke me.
I looked at him.
His head was turned.
He was looking at me with such sweet sadness.
It was as if all the fight was out of him.
He was too weak to talk.
He kept falling asleep.
And then it was as if he was forcing himself to wake up.
I felt like he was begging me to end it.
I carried him to the bathroom.
He was so light, like a dying bird.
And I bathed him, changed his clothes,
and then I got into bed with him.
I held him in my arms.
I rocked him.
I sang to him.
And then when he finally fell asleep,
like a baby in my arms, I.
Knew for a certainty that it was time for
death to have him.
That to let him wake up to one more day of
pain and sadness and despair would be a
greater crime than that which I'm accused of committing.
And that's when you ended Glenn Gates' life?
Yes.
Thank you, Mr. Appleton.
Your witness, Ms. Van Owen.
Mr. Appleton, is this your gun marked Exhibit A?
Yes.
When did you purchase this weapon?
About three weeks before Glenn died.
Did you get it for personal protection?
No.
Sports shooting?
No.
Tell us why you did buy it, Mr. Appleton.
Glenn was in horrible agony.
He didn't want to live any longer.
Did you buy this gun with the intent to kill Mr. Gates?
I bought it in case it came to that.
And is this the weapon you, in fact,
did kill Mr. Gates with?
Yes.
Thank you.
No more questions, Your Honor.
There's no disputing the facts of this case.
Ladies and gentlemen, Christopher Appleton
bought a gun and used it to take the life of Glenn Gates.
But what kind of a life was it?
A life of anguish and pain?
Loss of dignity?
And a certain cruel death?
Is that a life worth living?
Obviously, Glenn Gates himself thought not.
He had already attempted suicide.
You know, when I was a small boy,
my dog got run over in the street and her
hip was crushed and her spine was all twisted out of
shape and my mother and father had to have her put to sleep.
It was the humane thing to do they taught me.
They taught me that it's brutally cruel
and inhumane to keep some poor,
suffering creature alive just because the
technology exists to do so.
Why is euthanasia, mercy killing, why is that more humane
for some poor, suffering animal than for a human being?
Now, some of you may disapprove of
Christopher Appleton's lifestyle.
Some of you may have strong feelings that
homosexuality is wrong.
Some of you may think, some people do,
that AIDS is a punishment of biblical
proportions that's visited upon the gay community.
Ladies and gentlemen, please, please,
I beg of you, don't judge Christopher.
Appleton a criminal until you've walked a
mile in his shoes.
Thank you.
Ms. Van Owen?
I feel sorry for Mr. Appleton, as I'm sure you do.
His pain and suffering, and that of Glenn
Gates, was very real.
And perhaps Mr. Gilliam is right.
None of us could know what it was like,
month after torturous month, as Mr.
Appleton watched the man he loved deteriorate.
So cruelly and painfully.
But many of us have suffered the loss of
loved ones to cancer, heart disease,
and a host of other lingering diseases
that erode the body and the will.
And the question is, should we be allowed
to arbitrarily terminate a human life when
the quality of that life is judged to be not worth living?
And by whose standards do we measure the quality of life?
Yours?
Mine?
Perhaps Mr. Gilliam's?
Let us draw the distinction between a
criminal and a criminal act.
I don't believe Chris Appleton is a criminal.
But damn it, I have to believe he committed a criminal act.
And if you let this criminal act go
unpunished, you will be ignoring the
solemn oath you made as jurors to uphold the law.
You would, in effect, be saying that we are a
society not governed by law, but by anarchy.
Thank you.
Dr. Hamrell to maternity nurse's station.
I apologize,
Ms. Perkins.
Ms. Kelsey.
Look, everybody's sorry.
Now, what's the story?
It took us a while to track down
the mistake, but Did you find him?
In a manner of speaking, yes.
What the hell does that mean?
No excuses, but this is an understaffed
and overburdened bureaucracy.
Just tell me.
We had a black adult John Doe who was tag number A1497.
The Caucasian child John Doe was tag number A1447.
I guess the second four looked like a nine.
Anyway, somehow the tags got Then you have him.
I'm afraid not.
You see, A1497, the black John Doe,
was scheduled for cremation.
In the mix-up No.
The baby John Doe was mistakenly cremated.
Are you sure?
Yes.
Oh, God.
Do you know what this means?
I have a missing child.
And if that little
little boy
was my son
then how am I ever gonna know?
I'm sorry.
You're sorry?
What for?
To you, they're just meat, aren't they?
Tag it?
Ship it?
What the hell?
It's just another body, right?
Well, wrong, lady.
Because that little boy was somebody's child.
And if not mine then somebody else's.
But we're never gonna know that, are we?
We're never gonna know that because you screwed up.
You bastards.
First you let him die, all alone.
Then you cremated him.
And who is gonna grieve for him, whoever he is?
Who is gonna grieve for poor little A1447?
Come on, let's go.
Be seated.
Has the jury reached a verdict, Mr. Foreman?
We have, Your Honor.
We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of
murder in the first degree.
The jury is discharged.
The defendant will remain free on bail
pending probation and sentencing hearing.
This court is in recess.
Mr. Abbleton,
I wish to God there was a way to uphold
the principle without putting you through
any more pain, and I will be at the
sentencing hearing to testify on your behalf.
She has no comment.
Are you okay?
I just don't want to talk about it right now.
Okay?
Fine.
Well, we better hurry.
We're late for dinner.
Dinner?
Maybe it's a quarter to five.
Yeah, well, by the time we catch the 5.30
flight to Monterey, take a cab to the.
Ventana, get cleaned up and ready to go, we'll
barely have enough time to make our 8.30 reservation.
I love you.
Well, we better go.
Come on.
Hi, Stuart.
I heard about the screw-up at the hospital.
How's Abby?
She's spending the weekend with her mother.
Poor kid.
You can't imagine the horror of it.
It's conceivable that she may never know
whether that cremated child was Eric or not.
It wasn't.
I just don't believe it was.
From your lips to God's ear.
There's nothing more you can do, you know.
And there's no point in staying around
depressing yourself even more.
Make me an offer.
Well, actually, I, uh, and we can always
cancel it, but I, uh
I booked us a room tonight at the Bel Air Hotel.
Men.
You always think sex will solve every problem.
Oh, come on.
Not, uh, not every problem.
Women are different.
I just don't feel like it tonight, Stuart.
Do you mind terribly?
No, no, I understand.
So, uh, were you planning on getting
somebody to eat tonight?
I guess.
And then, uh, were you planning on,
you know, going to sleep at some point?
Yes.
Well, you'll do both those things,
except at the Bel Air Hotel with me.
And, you know, sex is no big deal with me, either.
Stuart?
Tell me the truth.
Okay.
Have you been seeing another woman?
No, of course not.
Then where the hell did you learn that?
You mean the, uh, Venus Butterfly?
The Venus Venus Butterfly.
Stuart, I'm no prude.
I like sex.
Especially like it with you.
But I'm 36 years old.
And I have never, I mean, never, in my entire life,
ever experienced anything like the Venus Butterfly.
Well, I'm, uh, I'm glad you liked it.
Liked it?
I It was the closest thing I have
ever experienced to pure ecstasy.
I almost fainted.
Actually, I think there was a moment when
I really blacked out.
I mean, the blood just rushed right out of
my brain to my other place.
I'm gonna tell you something.
I will never share the Venus Butterfly
with any other woman as long as I live.
You better not.
Stuart?
Can I ask you a favor?
Anything.
Do you think, I mean, if you're not too,
you know, tired, you could maybe do it again?
Yeah, yeah, I'm up for it.
I have to see if I can still get room service.
Call.
Quickly.
Right.
Thank you.