ACT FOUR
FADE IN:
ON VIDEOTAPE:
EXT. MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
GRANT BESSER, News Reporter, talks directly into CAMERA.
BESSER
The case of Jim Bayliss -- the man
who shot a Turkish teenager whom he
thought was breaking into his home
- goes before the Grand Jury today
-
CUT TO:
MARIA DELGADO, Channel Eight Reporter, on CAMERA.
DELGADO
Bayliss fired as the Middle Eastern
intruder tried to force his way
into the Baltimore resident's home
-
CUT TO:
REPORTER #1
The father of three's action has become the maelstrom of
controversy between pro- and anti-gun advocates --
CUT TO:
BESSER
Responding to pressure from the
Turkish government, the President
sent a letter to the victim's
family in Ankara --
REPORTER #2
Umut Gersel, the mother of the
slain tenn, arrived in the United
States today. She would not
comment as to whether she intends,
regardless of the Grand Jury's
decision, to sure Bayliss in a
civil court --
CUT TO:
REPORTER #1
Is this the tragic story of one man trying to defend his
family or a searing indictment of the violence that has
become all too commonplace in American society?
CUT TO:
BESSER
I'm Grant Besser --
CUT TO:
DELGADO
This is Maria Delgado --
CUT TO:
REPORTER #1
Live from the steps of the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse --
CUT TO:
REPORTER #2
Back to you, Stan --
CUT TO:
ON FILM:
INT. GRAND JURY/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
Twenty-three average, ordinary CITIZENS sit on the Grand
Jury. DANVERS stands before them, explaining points of law.
DANVERS
Your job, as a member of the Grand
Jury, is not to judge guilt or
innocence. Your sole purpose is to
determine whether James Bayliss had
criminal intent when he shot Hikmet
Gersel. If you believe he did, the
case will go to trial, where with
due process of law in an open
court, evidence will be weighed to
establish guilt or innocence. If
you decide that James Bayliss was
"placed in fear" and, therefore,
not criminally responsible, the
charges will be dropped.
INT. HALLWAY/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
BAYLISS, JIM and SHANNON sit on a bench. On another,
PEMBLETON, SCHOLTZ, DYER and PASKULY sit, waiting to be
called.
SHANNON
Where do they find the jurors
anyway? Who wants to be judged by
idiots too dumb to beat the system?
JIM
Mostly, it' people with time on
their hands. Retired. Unemployed.
BAYLISS
If they're strongly anti-gun or,
y'know, racially sensitive, they're
more likely to indict. But as a
rule, the Grand Jury usually tilts
in favor of the homeowner.
INT. GRAND JURY ROOM/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
DYER on the stand.
DYER
The victim received a rapidly fatal
gunshot wound to the chest,
puncturing the left ventricle of
the heart. Stippling indicates the
weapon was fired at close range.
INT. HALLWAY/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
BAYLISS and JIM sit. PEMBLETON paces. SCHOLTZ looks out
window. PASKULY talks on payphone.
JIM
I'll be glad when this is over, one
way or the other. Even if I have
to go to jail, at least --
BAYLISS
Jim, don't talk like that.
INT. GRAND JURY/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
SCHOLTZ on the stand.
SCHOLTZ
Hikmet was such a happy person. I
don't know how anyone, anyone with
half a brain, could believe he was
threatening them.
INT. HALLWAY/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
SHANNON sits with JIM and BAYLISS. PEMBLETON sips water from
fountain. PASKULY reads.
JIM
I'm thinking we should move.
SHANNON
What?
JIM
Buy a new house in another
neighborhood. Maybe even leave
Baltimore...
BAYLISS
You got plenty of time to make
those decisions. Don't decide
anything in the heat of the moment.
JIM
Yeah. The heat of the moment...
INT. GRAND JURY ROOM/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
PASKULY on the stand.
PASKULY
I was the first to arrive at the
scene. Mister Bayliss was
genuinely upset. Very emotional.
INT. HALLWAY/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
BAYLISS, JIM and SHANNON sit as PEMBLETON smokes a cigarette.
ACCENTED VOICE (O.C.)
Mister Bayliss?
JIM looks up to see MISSUS GERSEL, a Turkish Woman about his
age.
MISSUS GERSEL
I am Umut Gersel. Hikmet's mother.
JIM
Oh. Ma'am, I am truly sorry about
your loss.
MISSUS GERSEL
My son, he loved everything
American. Growing up, he'd watch
your movies and TV shows and rock
n' roll. But mostly he loved what
America stood for. Many of us
believe there is too much
repression in my country. We are
not allowed to think or move as
freely as you are, but if that
freedom means getting away with
killing an innocent boy, perhaps we
are better off...
MISSUS GERSEL walks off. PEMBLETON tosses cigarette to
floor, stomps it out with t he toe of his shoe. He looks
over at BAYLISS. A beat between them. BAYLISS turns back
toward his cousin.
INT. GRAND JURY ROOM/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
PEMBLETON on the stand, reads from his report.
PEMBLETON
Therefore, it is my opinion that
Mister Gersel believed the gun was
a toy, part of the heavy metal
party he thought he was attending.
In the spirit of play, he raised
his hands in mock-surrender.
INT. HALLWAY/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
BAYLISS and JIM sit side-by-side as SHANNON paces.
JIM
I've been thinking a lot about
Kurt.
BAYLISS
Me too.
JIM
I keep seeing the look in Gersel's
eyes right after I fired. And I'm
wondering, did Kurt have the same
look in his eyes?
BAYLISS rises, clearly troubled, uneasy. He goes to window,
looks out.
INT. GRAND JURY ROOM/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
A Woman JUROR, Asian, turns to DANVERS.
JUROR
May I ask a question?
DANVERS
Yes, of course.
JUROR
Does Mister Bayliss have a history
of prejudice or bigotry?
DANVERS
I'm sorry, you can't ask that.
Y'see, even though Mister Bayliss'
motivation may or may not have been
racist, you must concern yourself
only with the facts of the event,
not the cause.
INT. HALLWAY/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
BAYLISS looks out window, thinking. He turns back to JIM and
SHANNON.
BAYLISS
You know what I remember the most
about growing up? How you always
took care of everyone. How you
were always somehow responsible.
If I screwed up or Kurt got in
trouble or if the team lost a game,
you took the responsibility on your
shoulders... And... But this...
This is the first time -- ever --
that you...
JIM looks up at BAYLISS, who stops, turns away again.
INT. GRAND JURY ROOM/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
JIM addresses the JURY.
JIM
There's a tried but true proverb:
"A man's home is his castle"...
The place you sleep and eat, the
place where you read or watch TV,
where you play with your children
or make love... If you're lucky
enough to have a home, you have the
right to defend it. You have the
right to make sure that your
children are safe, that your wife,
your husband, your long-time
companion is safe. No one should
ever be forced to flee from their
own home. It is out ultimate
sanctuary... Do I feel good about
what I did? No. I will have to
live with the horror of that split
second for the rest of my life...
Do I believe I did the right thing?
Yes... Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yes. And I know that you know that
given the same circumstances you
would behave exactly as I did.
INT. HALLWAY/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
SHANNON, BAYLISS and JIM sit, watching.
SHANNON
I can't understand why it's taking
them so long to decide.
BAYLISS
You get twenty-three people in a
room, you know what happens.
They're still arguing about where
to order take-out.
Beat. JIM suddenly SLAMS his fist on the desk.
JIM
Why the hell did he have to pick my
door?
The question hangs in the air, as DANVERS enters.
DANVERS
We have a decision.
JIM and BAYLISS look at each other.
INT. GRAND JURY ROOM/MITCHELL COURTHOUSE - DAY
JIM, SHANNON, BAYLISS and PEMBLETON sit among large AUDIENCE
as DANVERS reads statement before the MEDIA.
DANVERS
The Grand Jury finds that James
Bayliss had reason to fear for his
safety and the safety of his
family. Therefore, they refuse to
indict. They recommend that all
charges against him be dropped.
The AUDIENCE bursts into APPLAUSE. PEOPLE shake JIM's hand,
pat him on the back. Big smiles. On DANVERS, giving a look
over to PEMBLETON, whose face remains a mask,
CUT TO:
INT. LOBBY/POLICE HEADQUARTERS - DAY
MEGAN RUSSERT stands with TIM RUSSERT, the NBC Correspondent
for the Sunday morning program "Meet the Press".
RUSSERT
I thought you came up from D.C. to
take me out to lunch, to celebrate
my becoming a Captain. Instead,
you complain about your birthday
present.
TIM
I'm not complaining, Megan.
BEAU FELTON exits elevator, sees RUSSERT, approaches.
FELTON
Hello.
RUSSERT
Hiya, Beau.
FELTON recognizes TIM RUSSERT, momentarily taken aback.
FELTON
Hey, you're... I've seen you
someplace...
RUSSERT
This is my cousin Tim.
FELTON
No, that's not it.
(snaps fingers, smiles)
You're Tim Russert, Mister "Meet
the Press" --
FELTON grabs TIM's hand, shaking it vigorously.
FELTON (CONT.)
Beau Felton.
TIM
Nice to see ya.
FELTON continues to pump TIM's hand.
FELTON
Wow. An honest-to-God celebrity.
Here in our midst. Geez, I watch
you religiously. You and my Sunday
morning cup of java. That Newt
Gingrich is something, isn't he?
TIM extracts hand from FELTON'S. RUSSERT turns to FELTON>
RUSSERT
Beau, do you need a socket wrench
set? Tim's got one for you.
TIM
Megan, I like the present, awright?
FELTON
What's Al Gore really like?
RUSSERT
(to TIM)
You've always bitched about every
present I've ever gotten you.
FELTON
Al seems so earnest, but there's
another side to him, isn't there?
TIM
Well, maybe you're just not good at
presents, awright, Megan?
FELTON
(to TIM)
Of course, there's always Dole. DO
you think Senator Bob really has a
shot in ninety-six?
TIM
Megan, I'm sorry I came up. It was
a mistake.
RUSSERT
Is this your way of telling me you
have no reason to visit me anymore?
Fine. Go play tennis with Hillary.
Play golf with Quayle. Who am I?
I'm no bigshot politico. I'm just
a cousin.
FELTON
Ah, a little family rivalry. I
understand. I've got problems with
a few of my relatives, too.
TIM
(to RUSSERT)
I have never played tennis with
Hillary. And I don't play golf.
I'm from Buffalo.
RUSSERT
Poor baby, I don't know how you
manage to get by.
TIM throws up his hands in exasperation, heads off.
TIM
Ya know that saying about "you're
lovely when you're angry"? Well,
you ain't.
TIM steps onto elevator, the doors closing behind him.
FELTON and RUSSERT exchange looks, a beat.
FELTON
But he's great on Sunday morning.
RUSSERT
Doesn't say much for your love life
these days if you're up that early
on Sundays with my cousin, Beau.
RUSSERT exits into Squad Room. On FELTON, open-mouthed,
without a comeback,
CUT TO:
INT. SQUAD ROOM/HOMICIDE UNIT - DAY
HOWARD, MUNCH, LEWIS, BAYLISS and BOLANDER sit back at their
desks. PEMBLETON writes "G-E-R-S-E-L" in BLACK on the "The
Board".
MUNCH
Oh, boy. Lunch time. Let's head
over to that fabulous restaurant,
lip-smacking eats.
LEWIS
Yeah, what a good idea. I heard
they got a new cook.
MUNCH
Is that right?
LEWIS
Stan, you wanna join in a little
noon repast?
BOLANDER
No, thanks.
LEWIS
Hey, Frank, what about you?
PEMBLETON
I've got plans.
LEWIS
Kay?
HOWARD
Been there, done that.
GIARDELLO exits his Office.
MUNCH
Gee, you hungry?
GIARDELLO
Very. I'm just on my way out to
eat.
LEWIS
Then come on over to the
Waterfront.
GIARDELLO
Your place?
MUNCH
Our place. We're having our mid
week special -- All the Polynesian
Pork Burgers you can eat -- eight
ninety-nine.
GIARDELLO
I'm in the mood for Soul.
MUNCH
No problem. We've got smothered
pork chop you could die for.
GIARDELLO
Or die from. I already had
ptomaine poisoning once this year.
GIARDELLO exits. MUNCH and LEWIS are not amused. PHONE
RINGS. BOLANDER lifts receiver.
BOLANDER
Homicide... Uh-huh... What's the
address? Okay, we'll be right
over.
(hangs up)
Munch, let's go.
MUNCH
What've we got?
BOLANDER
Skeleton found buried in the
basement of a house over on Gough
Street. A couple's renovating the
house, the contractor dug up bones.
They're turning the cellar into a
playroom.
MUNCH
Nice.
BOLANDER
My bet, the skeleton's at least a
hundred years old.
LEWIS
Why's that, Big Man?
BOLANDER
Every year or so someone digs up
bones in a basement in Fell's
Point. It usually turns out to be
some poor sailor who got a night's
leave off some nineteenth century
schooner docked in the harbor. The
sailor came into town for a drink
or some poker, got rolled for his
pay, got stuffed in the basement.
Meanwhile, up in Maine or England
or even China, some young bride
walked the shore, peering out into
the sea, waiting her whole life for
him to return.
MUNCH
Jeez, Stanley, more and more I see
the poet in you.
BOLANDER
That ain't poetry, Munch. Them's
the hard, cold facts.
HOWARD
Life was simpler a hundred years
ago.
BOLANDER
Death was simpler.
MUNCH and BOLANDER head out as BAYLISS rises, crosses to
PEMBLETON.
BAYLISS
You're not going to say anything to
me, are you?
PEMBLETON
What would you like me to say?
BAYLISS
For a start, "I'm sorry"...
PEMBLETON
I'm not sorry. I did my job.
BAYLISS
You still believe that my cousin
killed that boy because he was an
Arab?
PEMBLETON
Hikmet was not an Arab. Turks are
not Arabs --
BAYLISS
My cousin could not consciously
kill someone.
PEMBLETON
I don't think it was premeditated.
I think it was inherent.
Jim's racism is so much a part of
him, that he didn't have a chance
to think about what he was doing.
Jim is worse than a Klansman.
'Cause at least in their white
sheets, they are recognizable. But
your cousin's brand of bigotry is
more frightening because, like
still water, it runs deep. He
doesn't even see it himself.
BAYLISS
You are wrong, dead wrong.
PEMBLETON
The only one "dead wrong" is Hikmet
Gersel. Did you see what happened
when the verdict was announced?
They applauded. Those law-abiding
citizens, those good people
applauded the death of a child.
Let me ask you something, Tim --
and then you tell me whether or not
it was racially motivated -- if
that boy had been American, if that
boy had been white -- do you think
anyone would have cheered?
PEMBLETON sits down, goes to work. On BAYLISS, turning and
walking out,
CUT TO:
INT. DEN/JIM BAYLISS HOME - DAY
JIM and BAYLISS watch basketball game on TV. JIM holds his
BABY, staring at him.
BAYLISS
Webber was a great trade, huh?
Bullets look like a new team.
No response.
BAYLISS (CONT.)
Jim?
JIM
Huh?
BAYLISS
What's going on?
JIM
I don't know.
(re: the BABY)
I'm looking at little Kurt here and
I'm... I don't know... I'm
wondering about all the babies all
over Baltimore, all across the
country, all over the world...
BAYLISS
What about 'em?
JIM
I've been thinking about what you
said, about me not taking
responsibility for this. And I...
(exhales)
I loved my dad so much. When he
died, all I wanted was to live my
life the way he would've wanted me
to, y'know, be responsible, be
honest, take care of my mother.
And Kurt...
BAYLISS
I know what you're saying, you shot
Gersel because, even as a kid, you
had to be the man of the house, you
had to defend your home.
JIM
Yeah... Or maybe I shot him
because the first time I ever heard
the words "kike" and "nigger", it
was from my dad's mouth... I'm not
blaming Dad, it's just that...
(looks at the BABY)
I wonder -- no matter what I do for
this baby -- someday, will he shoot
someone else's baby?
BAYLISS
I guess our job is not to let that
happen. To try, not to let that
happen. That's all we can do.
Beat, as they turn back to the game. CHRIS WEBBER scores.
CHEERING.
JIM
Do me a favor, will you?
BAYLISS
Sure.
JIM
Adjust the color. The green seems
a little off.
BAYLISS gets up to adjust the set. JIM rocks his BABY. On
JIM and BAYLISS, trying to make it through a complex world,
FADE OUT.
THE END