Apologies, I cannot get some of the formatting elements to work correctly.
Teaser
Title Card
(VO)
In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.
Fade in Ext. Pawnbroker’s apartment--Evening
Two young men approach an apartment door, bickering indistinctly with each other. The older one knocks on the apartment door.
YOUNG MAN #1
Hey, Old woman. Open up. Customers!
There is no response from inside the apartment. The young man knocks again, impatient.
YOUNG MAN #2
Maybe she’s not home.
YOUNG MAN #1
Then why did she tell me to stop by tonight? Besides, the crazy old bat is always home. Hey! Alyona Ivanovna! Lizaveta!
He tries the doorknob. The door opens fractionally, then stops.
YOUNG MAN #1
(bewildered) The chain is on.
YOUNG MAN #2
(increasingly anxious)
Why would the chain be on if she’s not home?
YOUNG MAN #1
How should I know?
He continues pushing against the door.
YOUNG MAN #2
Knock it off! Come on, somethings not right. I’ll go get the landlord. You stay here.
He leaves.
YOUNG MAN #1
(mocking)
You stay here…
He pauses, looks at the door again and tries to look into the apartment through the sliver of space between the door and the frame, but can see nothing but shadows.
YOUNG MAN #1
Argh…
He leaves down the stairs.
FADE OUT
PLAY TITLE THEME
END OF TEASER
ACT ONE
ACT ONE
FADE IN
Int. Pawnbroker’s Apartment
Sirens are heard in the background as police and crime scene technicians go through the small apartment. Sheets cover the two bodies on the floor, blood starting to soak through. Detectives Briscoe and Green enter the apartment.
Det. Briscoe:
Just the way I like to start my week, a double homicide.
One of the crime scene technicians approaches the detectives.
Det. Green:
Hey. What have we got?
Crime Tech:
Alyona and Lizaveta Ivanovna. Sisters. Both late sixties, early seventies. Perp did a number on them.
Det. Green:
What are we thinking? Botched robbery?
Crime Tech:
You would think. But whoever you’re looking at didn’t do a very good job of it. Looks like someone rifled through the bedroom but they didn’t get much.
Det. Green:
How can you tell?
Crime Tech:
There was a whole stash of stuff in the closet. Ipods, laptops, dvd players, you name it.
Det. Briscoe
Not exactly what I imagined Grandma meant when she said to put something away for a rainy day.
The look down at the sheeted bodies as the crime technicians and uniforms continue to swarm around the room.
INT. MORGUE
Detectives Bricoe and Green enter the morgue where Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers is scribbling something on a clipboard. Two bodies are laid out and covered with clean sheets.
Det. Briscoe:
What do you have for us, doc?
Det. Green:
Anything interesting on the bodies?
Dr. Rodgers:
Well, I can’t tell you much. The age estimate from the crime techs was about right. Older one had diabetes, would have made it hard for her to walk. Along with some of other problems of old age. But get this. The murder weapon? Was an axe.
Det. Green:
You mean...like a chopping wood kind of axe?
Dr. Rodgers:
Uh huh.
She hands her medical report over to them.
Dr. Rodgers:
If this was a botched robbery, you’ve got one interesting thief on your hands.
INT. STATION HOUSE
Lt. Anita Van Buren sits at her desk, piled high with file folders, sipping a cup of coffee. Detectives Briscoe and Green sit across from her.
Lt. Van Buren:
(incredulous)
An axe? Now I’ve heard everything. Are we sure this was a robbery?
Det. Green:
Old woman and her sister. Lived alone. No other family or friends. We haven’t been able to track down next of kin yet.
Det. Briscoe:
Not to mention the electronics store stashed in the closet.
Lt. Van Buren:
So what do you think happened?
Det. Green:
Perp enters the apartment. Runs in to Alyona. Chop chop. Turns around, sees the sister, and-
Lt. Van Buren:
I get it. Where did all of the electronics come from anyway?
Det. Briscoe:
Word on the street is, our little old lady was some kind of loan shark.
Lt. Van Buren:
Find out. Talk to the boys that found the bodies in the first place.
FADE OUT
End of ACT ONE
ACT TWO
ACT TWO
EXT. Hudson University campus. Students mill about in the background as Briscoe and Green question Young Man #1 and Young Man #2.
Det. Green:
So why were you going to see Alyona and Lizaveta that day?
Young Man #1:
Well, I mean. I was just. Uh.
Young Man #2:
They’re um, friends of my mother.
Det. Briscoe:
Friends of your mother, huh? Well, we’ll need to talk to her then.
Young Man #2:
No, I mean…
Young Man #1:
We were just going to...talk to her about some stuff. She knew where to get some good deals. But then the door was locked when we got there and no one answered so...and you know what happened next.
Det. Briscoe:
Uh huh. A lot of people know about her, ‘good deals?’
Young Man #1:
Well, yeah. I mean. Everyone kind of knew.
Det. Briscoe:
Oh? How economical of you. College students in my day weren’t so frugal.
Young Man #1:
(Uncertain)
Well…
Det. Green:
Come on now. We’re just trying to find out who did this to those poor old women. We don’t care what kind of shenanigans you were getting up to.
Young Man #2:
If you needed cash...well, she would take stuff, you know? And sometimes she would sell it cheap. If you didn’t want your parents finding out.
Young Man #1 sighs in exasperation over his friend blurting everything out.
Det. Green:
(skeptical)
So you’re saying she would buy this stuff from you?
Young Man #2:
Not exactly…
Young Man #1:
They were loans. Yeah? Seemed safer to borrow from the little old lady than some punk on the street. Wasn’t cheaper though.
Det. Green:
Alright. Can you tell us who her customers were?
Young Man #2:
Like we said, everyone on campus kind of knew. I had a friend who used to bring her something every Friday for drinking money. Then he told his parents that the stuff was lost or stolen.
Det. Green:
Alright, thanks guys.
Detectives Briscoe and Green turn and leave.
Det. Briscoe:
Great, now what are we going to do, question a whole campus of drunk kids?
Det. Green:
Let’s go back. Maybe someone in the apartment building will remember something.
Det. Briscoe:
Oh, you mean the same someones who let the perp sneak out of the apartment the first time?
INT. Empty apartment building
Three painters in white painters uniforms are in the apartment. One is pouring paint into trays in the background, clearly distracted by the conversation taking place between the other two and Detectives Briscoe and Green.
Det. Green:
And you’re sure you didn’t see anything?
Painter #1:
We were working in here and then those two guys were yelling with the landlord, so we went to go see what was wrong.
Det. Briscoe:
You didn’t hear anyone coming down the stairs, anything like that?
Painter #2:
Sorry.
Det. Green:
Thanks anyway.
The Detectives turn to leave.
Det. Briscoe:
There’s another dead end.
Det. Green:
I just don’t get it. Even if the little old lady was a shark-who would go after her with an axe?
A figure appears at the top of the stairs behind them.
Workman:
Detectives!
They turn to look at him.
Workman:
You had better come see this.
Int. Police interrogation room
Raskolnikov sits in the room on his own, looking down at his untouched drink, looking dazed. The Detectives enter the room. Detective Green sits down across from Raskolnikov while Detective Briscoe remains standing near the one way mirror.
Det. Green:
Rodion Romanych Raskolnikov, am I saying that correctly?
Raskolnikov:
(correcting his pronunciation)
Rodion Romanych Raskolnikov
Det. Green:
You’re Russian.
Raskolnikov:
Yes. I came here to study at Hudson University.
Det. Green:
So you’re a student.
Raskolnikov:
(hesitating)
Yes.
(hesitating)
Yes.
Det. Green:
Alright. Now. What I want to know today, is why you were up in Alyona Ivanovna’s
apartment. Can you tell me that?
Raskolnikov does not answer at first, staring blankly down at the cup of water. Detectives Green and Briscoe exchange a look.
Raskolnikov:
(clearing his throat)
I-I just wanted to see about renting the apartment. I have friends...I heard about the murder from them. And I, I wanted to see if they were going to have the apartment ready for rent. It’s in, ah, a good location.
Det. Green:
Witnesses were saying that you were asking whether they had cleaned up all the blood.
Raskolnikov:
Yes. I heard. I heard that it was messy. No one wants an apartment with blood soaked through the floorboards, right?
The door to the interrogation room opens. Lt. Van Buren stands in the doorway.
Lt. Van Buren:
Detectives, if I can have a word?
The detectives follow her out. Raskolnikov can still be seen through the one-way mirror.
Det. Green:
What’s up? We finally got a decent suspect in there.
Lt. Van Buren:
Yes, well, we did you one better. We’ve got the perp.
Det. Briscoe:
What?
Lt. Van Buren:
One of the painters was found with a pair of earrings that were pawned to the old woman. His supervisor turned him in. We’ve got a confession.
Det. Briscoe:
How about that? Days of wandering around the city and the perp just falls into our laps.
Det. Green:
Are you sure? Something doesn’t seem right about this?
Lt. Van Buren:
You got anything on your boy in there other than an inappropriate enthusiasm for real estate? No? Then cut him loose.
End of ACT TWO
ACT THREE
ACT THREE
Int. Police station
Detectives Briscoe and Green sit across from each other at their desks.
Det. Green:
This just doesn’t sit right with me.
Det. Briscoe:
Yeah? Well, what are you going to do about it?
Det. Green:
It seriously doesn’t bother you that out of the blue one of the painters confesses? Where’d he get the axe? How he split two women’s skulls open and not get one drop of blood
on his clothes?
Det. Briscoe:
Maybe he was just very neat.
Det. Green:
Lennie.
Det. Briscoe:
Alright. What do you want to do?
Det. Green:
There was something seriously not right with that Russian kid the other day.
Det. Briscoe:
Mr. Real-Estate. Also apparently a customer of Ms. Ivanovna.
He hands over a sheaf of papers to Detective Green.
Det. Green:
Man, I knew you weren’t buying this painter business.
Detective Briscoe stands, picking up his suit jacket from the back of his chair.
Det. Briscoe:
Yeah. Well, let’s go find some evidence. Prove I’m not wrong.
Ext. Apartment of Raskolnikov
Detectives Briscoe and Green approach the ramshackle house where Nastasya is watering some drooping plants on the back porch.
Det. Green:
Excuse me!
He and Detective Briscoe flash their police badges. Nastasya is both surprised and confused.
Nastasya:
How can I help you?
Det. Briscoe:
You live here?
Nastasya:
I am the housekeep of the landlady, but I do a bit of everything for the tenets.
Det. Briscoe:
You know someone named Raskolnikov? He live here?
Nastasya:
Yes, of course. He has been very ill with the fever until recently.
Det. Briscoe:
Uh huh. He here now?
Nastasya:
No. His mother and sister recently came to visit. He is out, with them I suppose.
Det. Green:
You said he’s been sick.
Nastasya:
Yes.
Det. Green:
You remember him being sick on the evening of July 8th?
Nastasya:
(shakes her head)
I cannot remember. Sometimes I bring him dinner, when I make
extra, but I don’t recall the dates.
Det. Briscoe:
Alright. Thank you for your co-operation, miss.
She nods and goes inside the house. Briscoe and Green turn to leave.
Det. Briscoe:
Sick, huh? That might explain being zoned out in the interview.
Detective Green stops suddenly, putting out a hand to stop Detective Briscoe as well. He is looking over at a small storage shed.
Det. Green:
Lennie, are you seeing what I’m seeing?
Det. Briscoe:
An outhouse masquerading as a storage shed?
Det. Green:
No.
He goes over to the storage shed, removing a handkerchief from his suit jacket. He leans down and reaches in to remove something from the storage shed. He holds up the axe that emerges triumphantly.
Det. Green:
Our murder weapon.
Int. Police Station
Assistant District Attorneys Jack McCoy and Abbie Carmichael are gathered in the office of Lt. Anita Van Buren.
Lt. Van Buren:
Have a seat.
McCoy and Carmichael sit down.
McCoy:
I understand the police have two suspects.
Lt. Van Buren:
Yes.
McCoy:
You know I can only prosecute one.
Lt. Van Buren:
You tell me which one you like. I’ve got a confession on one hand and the
murder weapon on the other. Neither of them has a solid alibi.
McCoy:
How about motive?
Lt. Van Buren:
The victim was a loan shark. From what we can tell they both owed her money.
McCoy:
That’s it? You can’t find anything else?
Lt. Van Buren:
My team has been working round the clock on this. If you’re not satisfied, you’re free to look at the case files yourself.
Int. Prosecutor’s office
McCoy stands eating a sandwich and reading a case file. Carmichael sits at a desk picking idly through a salad and doing the same. She sighs and leans back.
Carmichael:
Who do you like, Jack?
McCoy:
I would like having a case based on something more solid than circumstantial evidence.
Carmichael:
We’ve made cases on less.
McCoy:
Have we?
Carmichael:
There’s always the confession.
McCoy:
Hmph. It reads all wrong. You know that Abbie.
He sighs and sits down in his chair.
McCoy:
Call the police. Have them bring in Mr. Raskolnikov.
End Act Three
Act Four
Act Four
INT. Courtroom
Abbie Carmichael stands at the podium for the prosecution. Raskolnikov stands next to his slick-looking lawyer Mr. Roberts on the side of the defense. Behind him, Dunya, his mother, and Luzhin sit in the first row.
Judge:
Mr. Raskolnikov, how do you plead?
Raskolnikov:
Not guilty, your honor.
Judge:
The people on bail?
Carmichael:
The people ask for remand, your honor. The defendant is accused of breaking into the home of two elderly woman and killing them with an axe.
Roberts:
Your honor, this is ridiculous. The people’s case is entirely circumstantial. Mr. Raskolnikov is a man of small means, but is an upstanding member of the community, he will be returning shortly to Hudson University after his short medical leave. Additionally, his mother and sister are in the courtroom and willing to vouch for his whereabouts.
Judge:
Save it for trial, Mr. Roberts. Bail is set at fifty thousand dollars. Next case.
Int. Prosecutor’s office
McCoy sits at his desk, going through papers for trial. Carmichael enters.
McCoy:
Where do you suppose our poor college student got the fancy lawyer?
Carmichael:
Best guess? Sister’s fiance. He seems to be doing his job though. Motion to suppress.
She drops the papers on his desk.
INT. Judge’s chambers
McCoy, Carmichael, and Roberts are all seated in a semi-circle around the judge’s desk.
Roberts:
Your honor, the actions of the police detectives in this case amounted to unlawful search and seizure.
McCoy:
That’s nonsense, your honor. The axe was in plain sight from the side walk. The police had every right to seize the evidence before the defendant had an opportunity to dispose of it.
Roberts:
And I suppose you think the police have a right to patrol the city and seize every axe they see?
McCoy:
If every citizen showed up at a crime scene asking about blood, yes!
Judge:
Now, councilors.
McCoy:
Your honor, even if the search could be considered illegal, Mr. Raskolnikov had no reasonable expectation of privacy when it came to the communal storage shed, and thus no standing for complaint!
Roberts:
Nonsense. My client may not have had an expectation of privacy when it came to his fellow tenants, but certainly he had one from the police!
Judge:
Would it have been that difficult for your detectives to have called in for a warrant, Mr. McCoy?
McCoy:
Your honor, the police detectives were acting in good faith, under then understanding that with the axe in plain sight, they didn’t need one!
Judge:
Well, maybe they’ll be a bit more careful next time, hmm? Motion to suppress is granted.
Int. Hallway outside the judge’s chambers
Roberts stands stiffly as the three lawyers depart the judges chambers. He pauses instead of leaving.
Roberts:
McCoy, I believe I should tell you that I will be tendering my resignation as Mr.
Raskolnikov’s council.
McCoy:
Oh? Finally grow a conscious?
Roberts:
Not at all. It is simply a matter of...insufficient funds. But it should buy you a few days to try and throw a case together.
He turns and leaves.
Carmichael:
He’s right, Jack. Without the murder weapon we don’t have much of anything.
McCoy:
Then we’ll just have to find something.
Int. Prosecutor’s Office -- Late evening
Carmichael:
We have to go to the judge tomorrow morning.
McCoy:
And we still have nothing.
Carmichael:
The police found a witness. Gave the man who confessed an alibi.
McCoy:
It’s not enough. The police couldn’t recover the stolen goods. Couldn’t find any blood evidence. All we have is that Raskolnikov was a customer of Alyona Ivanovna and no one saw him the day of the murder.
Carmichael:
There is that essay.
McCoy:
‘Great Men are immune to morality.’ Yes.
He considers this for a moment, then leans forward.
McCoy:
Call Olivet. Let’s set up for a 730 exam. Maybe we can get lucky and plead this out.
Int. Psychologist’s office
Inside the office of Dr. Elizabeth Olivet, Raskolnikov shifts uncomfortably in a chair across from the doctor.
Raskolnikov:
I’m not crazy.
Dr. Olivet:
No one said that you were.
Raskolnikov:
Isn’t that why I’m here?
Dr. Olivet:
You’re here for me to address you fitness to stand trial. You haven’t been feeling well lately, have you?
Raskolnikov:
(uncertain)
No.
Dr. Olivet:
Have you ever been ill like this before?
Raskolnikov:
Not that I can remember. It’s just...it’s been so damn hot, in the city.
Dr. Olivet:
But you’re feeling better now.
Raskolnikov:
Yeah.
Dr. Olivet:
That’s good. Let’s talk about Alyona Ivanovna. You knew her?
Raskolnikov:
She loaned out money to college kids.
Dr. Olivet:
Like you.
Raskolnikov:
Like me.
Dr. Olivet:
Why did you need the money, Raskolnikov?
Raskolnikov:
I just. I did. It’s expensive, you know. To live.
Dr. Olivet:
Yes. Why didn’t you ask your family for money?
Raskolnikov:
They don’t have any. My mother and my sister were only able to come here because my sister got a job as a maid and a governess.
Dr. Olivet:
That must be very difficult, not being able to provide for them.
Raskolnikov:
Yes. The man she was working for was a pig. He wanted...and then she was going to marry some other bastard. But she realized it was a bad idea. I knew she would.
Dr. Olivet:
Can we talk about an essay you wrote?
Raskolnikov:
Which one?
Dr. Olivet:
Great men don’t have to hold to moral expectations of society.
Raskolnikov:
Oh. Yes.
Dr. Olivet:
Do you really believe that? That great men should be excused murder?
Raskolnikov:
No. I was just. Arguing a point. (he hesitates) But it makes sense, doesn’t it? It happens. If you are great, people will forgive you anything. And doing things that most people would consider immoral, can still make you great.
Dr. Olivet:
Do you believe that you’re a great man, Raskolnikov.
Raskolnikov:
(blushing)
No. No. I don’t.
End Act Four
Act Five
Act Five
Int. Prosector’s office
Dr. Olivet faces McCoy and Carmichael
Dr. Olivet:
It’s an interesting justification he’s come up with.
McCoy:
Justification or not, did he know what he was doing was wrong?
Dr. Olivet:
I can’t say about his mental state at the time, if he was as delirious as his relatives are claiming. But given what I saw today, he understood the consequences of his actions.
McCoy:
Thank you Elizabeth.
She leaves
McCoy:
Excellent. Very sane defendant and no evidence against him.
Carmichael:
Do you think the judge will dismiss?
McCoy:
We’ll be lucky if she doesn’t.
There is a knock on the doorframe. Svidrigailov stands in the doorway.
Svidrigailov:
Mr. McCoy?
McCoy:
Yes?
Svidrigailov:
You are handling Raskolnikov’s case, yes?
McCoy:
Yes.
Svidrigailov:
I am Arkady Ivanovich Svidrigailov. Raskolnikov’s sister, Dunya used to work for me. I am currently staying in the room next to Mr. Raskolnikov’s girlfriend. And, well, I overheard the most interesting thing tonight.
McCoy:
And what would that be?
And what would that be?
Svidrigailov:
A confession.
Int: Courtroom
The prosecution and the defense are both seated at their proper tables. Raskolnikov is now represented by a public defender, Mr. White. Behind him sits Sonya.
Judge:
Mr. McCoy, have you located your witness yet?
McCoy:
The police are doing everything they can to locate Mr. Svdrigailov, your honor. He is not responding to his phone. We are checking all of the area hospitals as well as his home.
White:
You honor, I would like to renew my most strenuous objection to the inclusion of this witness. The defense has not been given proper time to prepare.
Judge:
We’ll see about that after Mr. McCoy actually locates his witness.
Detective Green enters the courtroom. He goes to McCoy and whispers something in his ear. McCoy is obviously displeased with the news.
McCoy:
Your honor, it seems that Mr. Svidrigailov will not be appearing in court today.
Judge:
And why is that, Mr. McCoy?
McCoy:
I have just received word that he took his own life this morning.
The whole courtroom stirs, quiet murmuring going through the audience. Raskolnikov inhales sharply at the news. He looks back to exchange a look with Sonya. He stands.
The whole courtroom stirs, quiet murmuring going through the audience. Raskolnikov inhales sharply at the news. He looks back to exchange a look with Sonya. He stands.
Judge:
Mr. Raskolnikov?
Raskolnikov:
I did it. I killed Alyona and Lizaveta Ivanovna.
The courtroom stands in shocked silence. Sonya smiles.
End of Act Five
No comments:
Post a Comment