You don't have to shake hands if you don't want to,
My name is Jason Johnson,
I'm your court appointed attorney,
Have a problem with that?
Damn, I was hoping you did,
You're in a world of shit,
and it's gonna get all over me, so you sure?
Okay,
First, how'd you get the black eye and cut?
In here?
When they arrested you?
You know, at some point you're going to need to open
your mouth and speak, or this thing is going to drag
on forever, and you'll be staring at me way longer
than you want to be, okay?
- Got it, - Good,
Thank you,
So, this is how it's going to go,
I'm your attorney, you have attorney-client privilege,
That means whatever you say,
whatever we discuss stays between us,
- So, you understand that? - Of course,
Good,
Now, here's where we are,
You've been arrested for killing
the President of the United States,
I have to say some folks feel obliged
you took the asshole out,
There's never been celebrations in the streets
for an assassination before, but that's politics,
and this is law, and from the law's perspective,
you will most likely get the death penalty,
You'll be able to play the system for years,
but unless we present an alternative the jury will buy,
you'll be killed,
Do you understand?
Okay,
Now, they have witnesses and video footage that show
you with your rifle pulling the trigger two times,
Did you do that?
Yes,
So we can try and convince
the jury that the evidence is wrong,
that the witnesses are either lying or confused,
that the footage has been faked, or tampered with,
or that it's not really you,
to create reasonable doubt that you did it,
If we create reasonable doubt, you get off,
And I'm not saying it's impossible,
but given the circumstances so far,
it's a long, long shot,
You're obviously good at those, but this is different,
Or we can take another approach
to try and keep you breathing,
I think an insanity defense is your best option,
It worked for John Hinckley, when he shot Reagan,
Do I look insane?
Well, you're here, aren't you?
Yes, I'm here, Why are you?
I told you, the court appointed me,
How do I know that?
Like I said, if you don't want me here,
How do I know you're not a government agent of some kind?
I am, I'm your court's appointed attorney,
Do you think I might be a plant?
Oh, okay, Uh, well, they don't really need a plant,
I mean, they have you dead to rights
blowing the president's head off, plus on top of that,
you wounded a secret service agent
on video in front of the world,
I don't think they will feel the need
to stick a plant in here with you,
You're probably lucky that black eye
and cut are all that's happened to you,
Where did you go to law school?
Columbia,
Why would you go to an Ivy League school,
and then become a public defender?
Yeah, the, ah, short answer is, I care,
The long answer is,
it's none of your business what my motivations are,
You either want me to represent you or you don't,
What do you think my odds are?
To keep you alive?
Yes,
Zero, if I walk out of here,
I like you,
Yeah, that doesn't matter either,
It does to me, you'll be fine,
You sure?
Yes,
Okay, Do you mind answering some questions?
As long as you're not a plant,
Okay, Uh, you know what?
I'm trying to understand something,
Don't take this the wrong way, please,
I know what stereotypes are like, but,
uh, you don't talk like you're from Tennessee,
You mean I don't sound like I come from the holler?
Yes, that,
Haven't been there in a long, long time,
My turn, What do you know about me?
Your,,, your truck is registered in Tennessee to Amos Otis,
You bought your gun at a gun show in Tennessee,
You had no ID on you when they caught you,
you're a hell of a marksman,
What do you think they know about me?
That's all they knew about an hour ago,
but as they get more information,
I'll have access to it,
Good,
What are they gonna find?
Let's wait and see,
Where'd you learn to shoot a rifle, military?
Yes,
When were you in?
Let's wait and see,
I don't get it,
I think I'm better off as an enigma,
Not with me,
I understand, but let's assume
they don't find any information on me,
Okay, It's pretty impossible,
Can they try someone who doesn't exist?
You exist, you're sitting here,
They'll figure it out,
How about I have amnesia and I don't remember
where I came from or how I got here,
or why I wanted him dead?
I don't think amnesia is a strong defense,
One would have to be crazy to believe that,
You know what?
Uh, let me think about it,
might be part of a larger defense,
Next question,
How did you know he was going to be landing
at Lincoln Airport for a rally?
It was predictable,
He landed there for his last two rallies in Cincinnati,
But you rented an apartment across from the airport
two months earlier?
I didn't know when he was coming here,
but I knew he would eventually, and that I'd be ready,
Like I said, he was predictable,
Have you ever been to a psychiatrist,
or any kind of therapy?
Nope, I have no medical records,
Everyone has medical records,
I guess we'll see, won't we?
Family?
Nope,
Do you have a terminal illness?
Not that I know of,
Do you think you're sane?
I'm a lot more sane today than I was yesterday,
and so is the world,
So, that's your motivation?
Yes, Did you like him?
Maybe you haven't noticed I'm an African-American male,
He gave me zero reasons to like him,
Didn't wanna see him dead though,
Really? Never thought about it?
This isn't about me,
Actually it is, but I understand it's not a sentiment
you want bouncing around in your brain,
No, and just so you know,
like, like no one deserves to be killed,
If anyone did though,,,
And he was just getting warmed up,
Did you ever stop to wonder how much damage
he can inflict on the world?
I have to disagree with something
you said when you sat down,
People have danced in the streets to celebrate murdered
leaders before, Mussolini, Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi,
He's in good company,
He was elected president,
He wasn't a dictator,
But he wanted to be, and he spoke glowingly of dictators,
He loved their power,
He wanted to be like them, unchecked,
He said as much,
So you killed him?
Someone had to,
Tell you what? I have what I need for today,
I'm going to go down to the court house
and see if there's any new information
we need to be made aware of,
Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable,
You didn't,
How do you plan on proving I'm insane?
I know someone, a coach,
A crazy coach?
Yes, and if there's anyone who can make a case
for an insanity defense, it's her,
It sounds crazy enough,
Yeah, it is, Let's hope so anyway,
I'll be back tomorrow morning,
In the meantime, don't talk to anyone,
Got it,
Is there, uh, anything you need?
Anyone I should call?
Could you bring me an orange?
You want an orange?
I might be able to arrange that,
Thank you,
You're welcome, I'll see what I can do,
I'm glad we caught you, We need to speak to your client,
About what?
You'll find out,
This is Art Bradley,
He's the head prosecutor on your case,
and this is Agent Tucker,
He's with the FBI and is in charge of the investigation,
We ran background checks on Mr, Otis here,
It turns up, Amos Otis served two tours in Iraq,
Since being discharged, he's held various jobs,
The last one as a roofer,
You know this man?
No, I don't,
Ever seen him before?
I don't know him,
That's enough, He answered you,
This is the Amos Otis your truck is registered to,
He's black,
He's not some lily white guy and he's dead,
Okay, I think we're done here,
- Did you kill him? - I said we're done,
He was buried two weeks ago,
We're getting permission to exhume the body as we speak,
What's going on here? What's your name?
I thought I was Amos Otis,
Didn't you?
That's not your fucking name,
That's it, I need to talk with my client,
You need to get out of here,
You need to figure out who your client is,
No, that's your problem and Agent Tucker's,
Now get the fuck out of here,
Right,
You talk to your client, we'll be back,
Pretty crazy, huh?
Who are you?
If I told you, you'd think I was crazy,
- Good, - But I'm not,
What difference does it make?
It makes all the difference in the world,
Whether you die or not?
Whether I'm believable,
That video is pretty easy to believe,
I know, Look, I need you to trust me,
Who are you?
You don't need to know, and don't worry about them,
They'll chase their tails trying to find out,
but they don't need to know either,
They had me on video, right?
Just move forward with your defense,
Send in the crazy coach,
Okay,
For now, she'll be here tomorrow,
What kind of crazy do you think I should be?
You're the expert,
Hi, I'm Charlotte Walker,
Hello,
Do you understand why I'm here?
How good are you?
Excuse me?
Have you ever gotten someone off
on an insanity defense before?
Let's get something straight,
My first role and only role is to evaluate your mental state,
I'm not here to get you off,
That sounds nice,
But I want someone who can,
Have you ever done it before?
Yes,
There you go, How many times?
Twice,
Less than 1% of insanity defenses are successful,
So, what are my chances?
I don't know yet,
What's it going to take?
First, you need to understand that an insanity defense
is not a determination of mental illness,
It's a legal term,
Determining mental illness is a psychological process,
The courts and juries aren't capable of doing that,
So, the courts established a set of guidelines that need
to be met in order to consider someone legally insane,
There are only three guidelines, okay?
The first one is this; did the defendant understand
that what he was doing was illegal?
Did you know the difference between right and wrong?
That's a question,
Did you know that what you were doing was wrong?
No, It made perfect sense,
I didn't do anything wrong,
Nothing?
Okay, Moving on, Guideline number two,
Did the defendant not know what he was doing?
Were you mentally incapacitated in some way?
I wasn't the one who was mentally incapacitated,
This isn't funny,
I know, Nothing funny about it, What's next?
The third one,
Was the defendant compelled to commit the crime
by an irresistible force?
Do you hear voices?
Screams,
Screams of the innocent, don't you?
Okay, There's one more thing to keep in mind,
Mental illness isn't an excuse in and of itself,
If someone has intent, if they intended to do something,
then insanity can't be used as a defense,
So let's start there,
Did you intend to kill the president?
No, I loved Lincoln,
I could never kill him,
He's been dead over a 100 years,
Then, how could I kill him?
How am I doing?
I don't like how this is going,
Neither do I,
Look, we can sit here and talk about my relationship
with my mother or if I was ever abused or if I hear voices
or whatever it says to do in the playbook,
Or we can talk about what kinda crazy I need to be,
I have some ideas,
Of course, you do,
Fuck you!
All rise,
Before we start, I want to apologize to the defendant,
the jury, and to both counsels
for our delay in starting this trial,
This trial and the reason we're having this trial has led
to a highly charged atmosphere throughout our country,
This court has had three bomb scares in two weeks,
So for safety reasons,
I decided to close the courtroom to spectators,
I admit it is unprecedented,
but these are unprecedented times,
To protect the defendant's rights and to ensure that
the public has access to this most public of trials,
I've invited a film crew to film the proceedings
and to provide a live stream to all major news outlets,
To monitor that the defendant's rights are protected,
I've asked representatives from
the American Civil Liberties Union,
the Equal Justice Initiative,
and the Civil Rights Division
of the Department of Justice to sit in,
Thank you for being here,
The jury has been given its instructions,
I see no need to delay this trial another minute,
Will the defendant please stand?
Mr, John Doe, you've been charged with murder
in the first degree for the assassination
of the President of the United States,
How do you plead?
Your Honor, I object that my defendant's identity has not
been established, and therefore, it is impossible
to attribute a crime to him,
The Court has assigned the name 'John Doe' to your client,
The prosecution has submitted sufficient
evidence to warrant this trial,
Until law enforcement can establish
your client's identity
or your client wishes to tell us his real name,
then he will go by John Doe for the purposes of this trial,
Now, how do you plead?
My client pleads Not Guilty by reason of insanity,
Your Honor,
Thank you, You may be seated,
Mr, Bradley,
Thank you, Your Honor,
Good morning, Thank you all for being here,
I think I speak for everyone that none of us expected
to be in this courtroom today,
I can't imagine that when you signed up for jury duty,
you thought you'd wind up on a jury for a trial like this,
kind of trial that has never been conducted in the history
of this great country,
We have sadly experienced the assassination of our Presidents
before, but unlike this defendant,
those assassins never made it into a courtroom,
But there's no need to feel overwhelmed,
In fact, it's my job to make your job as easy as possible,
I promise to do that because there has never
been a more open and shut case against a defendant,
We are going to demonstrate
beyond any reasonable doubt that the man seated before you,
charged here as John Doe,
knowingly and with willful intent
killed the President of the United States,
Now, he may claim that he does not know who he is,
We will prove that he does
and that his actions served to not only hide his identity,
but that he planned his crime
in advance,
We will demonstrate that he purchased the sniper rifle
used in the attack,
specifically for the purpose of killing the President,
that he traveled over 300 miles to commit this crime,
that he rented the apartment
from where the attack took place,
specifically for the purpose of committing this crime,
and then he waited patiently
for the opportunity to stage his attack,
We will prove that the defendant
is not only mentally competent
but also diabolical
in the planning of and execution of
the assassination of the President of the United States,
This was premeditated murder,
Your Honor, I'd like to call Stan Rosenberg
as my first witness,
Thank you,
Please raise your right hand,
Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?
Yes,
Mr, Rosenberg, are you the owner/operator
of the Alpine Terrace apartment complex on Airport Drive?
Yes, I am,
And do you recognize the defendant?
Yes, I do,
Was he a tenant at your complex?
Yes,
- For how long? - Two months,
Did you personally rent him the apartment?
Yes, I did,
Anything unusual in that experience?
Well, yes,
What was that?
Uh, he paid for the first six months rent in cash,
- In cash? - Yes,
Did he offer any explanation as to why he wanted to do that?
He told me he was a pilot, that he flew corporate jets,
He explained that he owned a condominium downtown,
he was married,
and he was seeing another woman on the side
and needed a place to meet her,
What did you think of that?
I appreciated the honesty,
I've been in this business for a long time,
and I think I've heard it all,
Uh, when someone pays cash,
it's gonna raise an eyebrow
and believe me, I've had my eyebrows raised before,
but usually, the reason they give,
you know it's a lie
the minute it comes out of their mouth,
but it's not my job to judge,
It's my job to rent and maintain apartments,
And as long as I don't think
there's a threat to the other residents
of the building, I say live and let live,
So when a guy comes to me
and doesn't try to feed me a line,
well, hey, I appreciate the honesty,
Did he seem like he knew what he was doing?
Oh, yeah,
And did you ever see him in the company of a woman?
Do you know if his story was true?
Nope and nope,
Uh, I don't live at the building,
uh, so I don't see the residents
unless there's an issue,
And did he have any issues?
Well, just this one,
How much did he pay for half a year's rent?
Six thousand dollars,
- In cash? - Yes,
Where do you think he got that money?
Well, I've had my share of corporate pilots
in the building and they do pretty well,
So I didn't think it was drug money or anything like that,
What can you tell us about the apartment he selected?
Uh, he was interested in the top floor of the building,
- Did he say why? - No,
Uh, most people prefer the top floor,
Why is that?
Footsteps, Don't want to hear them,
Anything else about him?
Uh, not that I can think of,
I thought he was a nice guy,
You still think that?
One last question,
The top floor, it has a balcony, yes?
- Yes, - The view from the balcony,
can you see the airport from there?
Yes, it's a mile away but yes,
Can you see the tarmac in front of the control tower?
Probably need binoculars but yes,
Thank you, Mr, Rosenberg, That's all,
Mr, Johnson,
Reserve the right to cross, Your Honor,
Very well,
Thank you, Mr, Rosenberg, You may go,
Your Honor, I'd like to call Mr, Frank Jenkins,
Mr, Jenkins,
Please raise your right hand,
Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?
I do,
Hello, Mr, Jenkins,
Would you mind telling the court
if you recognize this weapon?
Oh, I'm sorry,
It's a little too dark in here, don't you think?
Excuse me?
You heard me,
Do you recognize this weapon, Mr, Jenkins?
Yes, I used to own it,
How do you know that this was your rifle?
The, the brown streaks and the camouflage paint,
I added those,
These?
Yes,
This is your work, You're positive?
Yes, they don't come with the brown streaks,
I call it custom camo,
Does anybody else do custom camo?
On a CheyTac M200?
Not hardly,
Not hardly?
Just me, nobody else, It's my gun,
Thank you,
What happened to it?
I sold it at a gun show,
Do you remember who you sold it to?
I sure do,
Is that person sitting in this room?
Yeah, right there, the socialist prick,
- Objection, - I hope you fry his ass
and feed his drizzled carcass to the fucking dogs!
- Fuck you, - Order,
Please instruct your witness that outburst
is a grounds for contempt of court,
Sorry, Your Honor,
Please proceed,
Thank you, Your Honor,
What can you tell us about this weapon?
It's a finely-tuned
high-performance killing machine,
Why do you say that?
Well, it's the preferred weapon of Navy SEAL snipers,
It has an effective range of 1,4 miles,
which is farther than any other rifle in the world,
It holds the world record for accuracy,
It can split a walnut from over a mile away,
This was your weapon?
Yes,
Are you a dealer?
No,
How did you sell this at a gun show if you're not a dealer?
There's a flea market right next to the show,
You register, give them 100 bucks,
and you can sell all your personal weapons,
Is that where you met the defendant?
- Yes, - Tell me,
Did he seem like he knew what he was doing?
Yes, he told me he was a Navy SEAL,
Why did you sell it?
I needed the money,
I've got lung cancer,
No insurance,
I don't need a rifle anymore,
How much did you get for it?
Six grand,
In cash?
Yeah, in a, uh, uh, manila envelope,
like something out of the movies,
Thank you, Mr, Jenkins,
Nothing further, Your Honor,
Mr, Johnson,
Right to redirect, Your Honor,
Nothing now?
No, Your Honor,
Ms, Woodburn, would you state your occupation for the jury?
Yes, I'm in charge of security for the Corwin Institute,
And where's the Corwin Institute located?
5921 Airport Drive,
Is that next door to Alpine Terrace Apartments?
Yes,
Does the Corwin Institute use video cameras
as part of its security system?
- Yes, - How many?
- 24, - And, by chance,
would one of those cameras have been directed
at Alpine Terrace Apartments?
- Yes, - Why is that?
It wasn't supposed to be,
What do you mean?
It's mounted on our roof
and we had a huge storm the day before,
and it must have broken off
one of the clips that held it,
It wound up pointing at Alpine Terrace,
Are they monitored in real time?
Yes, they are,
Were they being monitored
on the day of the President's assassination?
Yes and no,
They're not monitored full-time,
Our video officer makes rounds, eats,
goes to the bathroom, stuff like that,
and isn't stationed at the monitor desk 24 hours a day,
Um, no one was watching the monitor
at the time of the shooting,
so I ordered a full review of the tapes,
What did you discover?
Footage of that man over there,
setting up and shooting a rifle
on the balcony of Alpine Terrace,
recorded precisely at the time of the assassination,
How do you know it was the precise time?
There is a time code on the video,
Would you be able to verify the tape if I played it for you?
Yes, absolutely,
Your Honor, request permission to show the jury
the footage on the tape?
Very well,
Will the Bailiff please prepare the room?
12:14:58, remember that number,
We're going to show you news footage
of what the defendant was aiming at
at precisely this moment, but first,,,
the first shot went through
Secret Service Agent, William Winslow's thigh,
and you will see Agent Winslow grab his thigh
and collapse forward towards the shooter,
leaving a clear shot on the President,
which blew the President's head off,
Please, instruct your client to sit down,
I'd like to change my plea, Your Honor,
- Hey, - I think you should sit down
and talk to your attorney,
I plead self-defense, Your Honor,
I'm not guilty by reason of self-defense,
I request a recess
so I can talk to my client, Your Honor,
If this is some kind of scheme,
you'll need more than a recess,
- Do you understand? - Yes, Your Honor,
- What the hell was that? - That was fucking powerful,
You think I stand a chance against that?
Yes,
You didn't raise one objection,
We're not challenging whether you did it or not,
It doesn't matter, Where did you come up with this
- self-defense crap? - It was,
Well, that's the craziest thing you've said yet,
You need to put me on the stand,
Are you out of your fucking mind?
What if I am? Isn't that what we want?
- I need a plan B, - Plan B?
- You barely have a plan A, - I know,
Our crazy expert versus their crazy expert
isn't going to cut it,
What would you say?
Something they'll think is crazy: the truth,
- What do you mean the truth? - Everything,
Where I'm from, my name, I'll give you a list of questions,
Putting you on the stand is nuts,
I know, That's why I need to do it,
Please, raise your right hand,
Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?
I do,
Agent Tucker, as lead investigator
into the assassination of the President,
did you do a ballistics test on the weapon
and on the bullets found at the scene?
Of course, we did, The rifle used by Mr, Doe
is a 100% match with the bullets found that killed
the President and wounded Agent Winslow,
- How many shots were fired? - Two,
How many bullets were recovered?
- Two, - Where did you find them?
In the tarmac, They blew through both bodies
and wedged in the concrete,
Were you able to tell the direction
from which the bullets came?
We did a computer analysis,
Do you mind sharing that with us?
This is the tarmac where the President
and Agent Winslow were shot,
The red lines are each bullet's path,
They lead directly to Mr, Doe's balcony on Alpine Terrace,
So in your opinion, do you think that
- the gunman acted alone? - Yes,
- No conspiracy? - Not in pulling the trigger,
and we found no evidence of anyone involved with Mr, Doe,
Nothing further with this witness, Your Honor,
The prosecution is prepared to rest its case,
Mr, Johnson, would you like to cross?
I just want to verify one thing you said, Agent Tucker,
something about finding no evidence of anyone
involved with Mr, Doe, is that true?
Yes,
In fact, isn't the fact that
you're calling him Mr, Doe indicative of something else?
Yes,
Does it indicate that you don't have
any evidence as to who, in fact, Mr, Doe is?
Yes,
How is that? You're with the FBI, correct?
Yes,
And don't you have pretty advanced methods to figure
- something like that out? - Yes,
Do you still do fingerprints and things like that too?
Yes,
And as far as you can tell,
Mr, Doe here just doesn't exist?
He exists all right, but no, we found nothing,
Okay,
Well, just wanted to be clear on that,
That's all I have, Your Honor,
Redirect, Your Honor,
Mr, Bradley,
As long as we're being clear on things,
is it possible that someone would have no records?
- Sure, - How is that?
Sophisticated hackers can make things disappear,
And is it possible that Mr, Doe
over there is a sophisticated hacker?
Oh, I'd say probable,
Objection, Opinion, Your Honor,
Expert opinion,
Based on what?
Overruled,
Thank you,
Your Honor, prosecution rests,
Re-cross, Your Honor,
Mr, Johnson,
Tell me, Agent Tucker, how would you determine
that someone was a "sophisticated hacker"?
We trace their computer records,
And when you traced my client's computer records,
what did you find?
He didn't have a computer,
Oh, did he have a phone?
No,
So your suggestion that my client
was a sophisticated hacker is based on what?
He doesn't have any records,
Everyone has a record of some kind,
- Can you prove he's a hacker? - No,
Even with all the resources and technology
- available to the FBI? - No,
So what you said is just a guess on your part, correct?
Based on what I know, yes,
Do you know anything about money, Agent Tucker?
Yes,
Then how much change do I have in my pocket?
I don't know,
But you could guess, correct?
Yes,
Well, how much is there?
I don't know,
Don't wanna take a guess?
I mean, you know about money,
No, thanks,
Then don't guess about my clients,
I'm done with this witness, Your Honor,
Thank you, Please, take your seat,
Okay,
Well, then Mr, Johnson, are you ready to present your case?
Yes,
Then, please proceed,
Your Honor, I'd like to call the defendant
as our first witness,
Are you sure about that?
- Yes, - Very well,
Will the defendant, please take the stand?
Please raise your right hand,
Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?
I do,
What is your real name?
Gordon Nicholson,
Where are you from?
The future,
Objection,
Order,
You are not going to turn my courtroom into a circus,
He has the right to tell his story,
I told you, if you were up to some kind of scheme,
I will so joyfully find you in contempt of court,
No scheme, Your Honor,
- Proceed, - Thank you,
So, Mr, Nicholson, when you say
you're from the future, what do you mean by that?
Forty years from now,
- Objection, - What grounds?
This is nonsense,
Not a legitimate grounds, so overruled,
But your objection will be taken into advisement,
You'll have an opportunity to cross examine the witness
if that makes you feel any better,
Your Honor, this is highly unusual testimony bordering,,,
Yes, well, let Mr, Johnson present his case,
Mr, Johnson?
Yes,
You are on a short, short leash,
Don't make me jerk it,
I understand,
Proceed,
You have to admit that sounds pretty far-fetched,
Yes, but it's the truth,
How did you get here?
My body was squared and sent back in time,
What do you mean squared?
Sorry, it's a term we use to describe
how our molecules are deconstructed
and sent through time faster than the speed of light,
It's a reference to Einstein's theory of relativity,
E=mc2,
Einstein maintained that
if you could surpass the speed of light,
you could travel back in time, He was correct,
If that's true, why are you sitting here?
Why not go back to the future?
A couple of reasons,
First, the machine that sent me here doesn't exist here,
It won't be invented for another 30 years,
What's another one?
The world I came from won't be the same,
I may not have even been born,
How's that?
The death of your president
changes the course of history, hopefully,
So you're suggesting that in the world you come from
our future, this president had not been assassinated?
Yes,
And what you've done could change the future?
Yes,
Is that why you're here?
Objection, This is a mockery,
Overruled,
Save it for your cross, Mr, Bradley,
Is that why you're here?
Yes, we determined an intervention was called for,
- Why? - My world,
Your world, 40 years from now,
is on fire,
It's on the brink of destruction,
Thirty percent of the Earth's landmass
that exists today has been destroyed by fire,
oceans have swallowed up 60% of the continents,
Entire cities and countries had been eliminated
by typhoons and hurricanes,
Japan is gone,
Central America is gone,
Mexico is gone,
All that's left of South America
is the central part of Brazil,
Florida and the Eastern Seaboard are gone,
The Earth's population is down to one billion people,
Famine is rampant,
There is no rule of law,
Gangs and tribes control territories
instead of governments,
People are shot in the street on a regular basis,
There is no order, only chaos,
Your Honor, this is crazy,
Your Honor I believe Mr, Bradley
had my client examined for any mental health issues
and provided expert testimony to the court
stating that my client is not mentally ill,
I suggest he refrain from slandering my client
and attempting to prejudice the jury
unless he's prepared to accept our insanity plea,
Mr, Bradley?
He's not insane, this is insane,
No, this is my courtroom and I suggest you respect it,
I'm sorry,
- Proceed, - Thank you,
Let's talk about the testimony we heard earlier, okay?
Yes,
Your landlord, Mr, Rosenberg,
stated that you rented his apartment
two months in advance of the rally, correct?
Yes,
And the rally wasn't announced until the day before?
- Yes, - How did you know
there was going to be one here on that day?
You call this the information age, correct?
Imagine how much information is available 40 years from now,
We looked it up,
Both Mr, Rosenberg and Mr, Jenkins
indicated that you had large sums of cash,
Did you bring the cash with you?
Cash?
Your cash is going to be confiscated in 10 years,
So, no, no cash where I'm from,
I picked up the cash when I arrived here,
From where?
Amos Otis,
The person whose truck you drove here?
Yes,
He was found dead,
Heart attack on his couch,
If they haven't found that out yet, they will,
The cash?
It was sitting on his coffee table next to a box of opioids,
He lived alone,
I stopped by the night he died,
So you knew when he was going to die
and that he had all that cash?
It was in the newspaper,
I took the cash and the truck before he was found,
no one missed it,
Okay,
So you buy the rifle, drive here,
rent the apartment, wait for the rally,
Why not just come here right before the President
was arriving if that was your plan?
We needed all the other pieces,
We ran analytics, probability tests
to map out the best-case scenarios,
We needed cash to navigate, a weapon for the mission,
a point of attack, and a place of attack,
and the shortest lead time
to minimize the threat of discovery,
That led us here,
where the cash, rifle, apartment, and rally
were all in the same region
and available within a two-month window,
Did you look at other options?
Of course, runner-up
was a rally in Kansas City in a month,
but it had a longer window, so it was riskier,
You make it sound, well, pretty clinical,
Our world was at risk,
We had the ability to try to save it,
We needed to take our best shot,
We can't control what happens here in this room,
but what happens here will change history too,
It's an overwhelming responsibility,
You've placed a lot of responsibility
for the future on the President,
Can you be more specific?
What was he doing that was so bad we couldn't overcome it?
Your country is racing towards civil war
and he was leading the charge,
Divide and conquer had been his mantra
since he announced he was running for president,
He used the tools of propaganda to influence
enough people to keep him in office,
He exploited their fears, he incited their anger,
and their anger is a powerful weapon,
I know a lot of you voted for him,
I know a lot of you want me dead,
I know how strange this must sound to you,
Think about what he's done so far,
Neighbors won't talk to neighbors,
The world order that had kept order
since World War II has been destroyed,
Your trusted allies who have stood by you for decades
had been cast aside,
Tyrants are supporting tyrants
to squash dissent wherever it arises,
Your president supported them,
Your freedom of speech is under assault,
Criticism of his regime is not tolerated
and the source of any criticism or objection
is targeted for retribution,
He has used every tool at his disposal to silence dissent,
whether those tools were legal or not, did not matter,
He had no respect for the rule of law
unless he could use it to protect his regime,
You're divided by race and religion
and class like never before,
He inspired racists to come out of the shadows
and spew their hatred,
And you haven't seen anything yet,
He would have rigged and stolen the next election
and been emboldened with more power than ever,
fascism would be an improvement over what was in store for you,
Hitler was a lightweight compared to the president
you watched lie every day and applaud,
Objection, He cannot compare the President to Hitler,
You are right, no comparison, and it would be too late
before you figure it out,
Mr, Bradley, just because you don't like what you hear,
does not give you the right to object to his testimony,
There's one thing I can assure you,
and that is when history looks back on this trial,
this man will have received a fair one,
Do you understand?
If you have an objection, please state your grounds,
This is a complete and total fabrication,
he is making a mockery of this court room,
I'll be the judge of that,
If you don't agree,
I can always bring in another prosecutor,
I'm sorry, Your Honor,
That won't be necessary,
Okay then, we'll proceed,
And I'll remind the people in this court room
that outbursts will not be tolerated,
I have no problem throwing people out of here,
Thank you,
Don't thank me,
Some of us still believe in the Constitution,
And remember, this is not a town hall meeting,
this is a trial,
Answer the questions,
Your opinions are of no concern to the court,
Proceed,
That's not a very positive picture of the future,
Why should anyone believe you?
Because they know it's true,
In their gut, they know it's true,
They just don't want to believe it,
They can't imagine it could be happening,
not in America, but every red flag is flying high,
Some will never admit it, but I know it,
Instead of believing in the ideals of their country,
they believed in him because he told them to,
he told them what to believe and when to believe it,
Now he can't,
Time will tell if they ever come to their senses,
History will be their judge,
Let's hope they do,
If the President was so dangerous,
why not travel back to the time before he got elected
and stop it before he got started?
We debated that, but in the end,
we realized he could serve a purpose,
It could be a wake-up call to the world,
Kind of like the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima,
We thought if you could get a glimpse of the destruction
he could cause with the power of
the United States presidency, you might work more diligently
to see that it would never happen again,
With him gone, we hope the world will realize
what it almost lost and work harder
to achieve positive things,
We hope it unleashes a wave of goodwill
and optimism and cooperation,
We hope the world unites instead of divides,
It has to,
Our future is at stake,
Near the end of the prosecution's case,
you stated that you wanted to change
your plea to self-defense,
Can you explain what you meant by that?
My world was being destroyed because of his actions,
My family was destroyed because of his actions,
I was about to be destroyed because of his actions,
How were you about to be destroyed?
I'm a scientist,
I was charged with being an enemy of the people,
It's a charge he perfected,
Was he still president?
No,
He died 20 years ago in my world,
But his son took over and was even more destructive and vile,
When lies become the truth
and the truth becomes lies,
democracy dies,
He was on the verge of killing democracy forever,
And if that happened, the world as you know
it would cease to exist
and the world I grew up in would be born,
A world where science is considered a cult
and those who practice it are subject to termination,
What do you mean by termination?
Shot on sight,
I don't understand, why scientists?
Scientists predicted the devastating role
a changing climate could have on Earth,
It came true,
Your president called it a hoax,
It was easier to believe that
it was a hoax than to do something to try to stop it,
So when it came true,
it had to be discounted,
The best way to discount it
is to discount the messengers of truth,
We were targeted for removal,
To survive, science was forced underground,
Both my parents were scientists,
they were leaders in their field,
My mother graduated from Harvard
with a PhD in astrophysics,
My father from MIT
with a PhD in environmental science,
They worked in a diner to avoid being discovered,
One day they were discovered,,,
And they disappeared,
Do you know what it's like
to have your parents just disappear?
What about you?
I was a concrete finisher,
And a scientist?
Yes, I'm part of the resistance,
We meet in abandoned malls,
The machine that sent me back here
was built in the basement of the Mall of America,
Your Honor, how long will you make us
listen to this insanity?
I suggest you button it up, Mr, Bradley,
you'll get your turn,
But this is ludicrous,
No, it's the defendant's testimony,
The court recognizes that it's highly unusual,
but there's nothing usual about the crimes
this man is charged with committing,
So we will hear him out
as long as his testimony is relevant to his defense,
And I suggest you do the same,
Unless he says something that
you have a legitimate legal objection to,
It's just,,,
Yes, it is,
Please proceed, Mr, Johnson,
Thank you, Your Honor,
Um, you said that you were targeted,
Was anyone else targeted like that?
The media is under attack today,
The truth is under attack wherever it comes from,
And yes, the media was targeted
and eventually journalists were terminated,
But they weren't the first to go,
Who was first?
Attorneys,
Why attorneys?
To undermine the rule of law
and the media helped fuel the fire,
People loved stories of attorneys going to jail,
big ratings, and no one stood up for them,
Once attorneys were gone, journalists were next,
There were no attorneys left to defend them,
Then scientists, then artists,
Eventually, as time went on,
anyone who presented a threat to the regime
was called a traitor and targeted,
Once you're targeted, a bounty is placed on you,
Anyone can turn you in or kill you for it,
Anyone,
So we live in constant fear of our neighbors,
our coworkers, our friends,
anyone who's not a part of the resistance,
Was there bounty on you?
Yes, of course,
How much?
In your world, it would be about $50,
Fifty dollars?
When you cheapen the value of life,
it becomes easier to destroy,
Everything is disposable,
The destruction of your institutions
became a way of life,
Things like public education,
your intelligence, and environmental agencies,
Even the appellate court,
one by one gone, became the norm,
He was even working on religion,
Didn't like the competition,
Your institutions didn't disappear
because of new technologies or competition,
they disappeared because they threatened his regime,
He saw them as the enemy,
You mentioned your parents, did you have any other family?
No, It's one of the reasons
I was chosen to go on this mission,
We knew I was never coming back,
What's another one?
I was drafted into the military
when I was younger and trained as a sniper,
Drafted?
Yes, He started so many wars around the world
that the draft had to be reinstated,
After his re-election,
your world never saw peace again,
Now you have a chance at it,
When you decided to go on this mission
and knew you couldn't return, did you think about
what might happen to you if you were successful?
Yes,
We knew I'd either be caught or killed in the process,
And if you were caught,
what did you think would happen to you?
I'd be terminated,
So knowing you couldn't return and you most likely die,
you still chose to do this?
- Yes, - Why?
We had no choice,
It was a suicide mission,
Yes,
Do you want to die?
No,
Do you have a terminal illness?
No,
Our world was terminal,
I was the best option,
Do you truly think you've saved the world?
No,
I made a course correction, a reboot,
You were on a different path before he was elected,
Now you have a chance to get there,
It doesn't mean you will,
What happens next is up to you and the rest of the world,
What do you mean by a different path that we were on?
There was worldwide cooperation
on protecting the planet from climate change,
We're hoping we're not too late and that that's still possible,
I bet my life on it,
There was a global economy
where countries were reliant on one another
and cooperated and created new industries
where growth was ongoing and sustainable,
Renewable energy was poised
to become the next industrial revolution,
That can happen now,
Countries around the world embraced science
and worked together to maintain peace,
to fight tyrants, to fight terrorists, to fight injustice,
That's an entirely different path
from the one you've been on since he was elected,
I hope you succeed,
My world depends on it,
I think that may be a good place to stop,
Is there anything else you want to tell the jury?
Yes,
One week from today,
there will be an earthquake in Bangkok,
8,428 people will die,
Temperature in Duluth, Minnesota
will be a high of 73 degrees and a low of 65,
And the tide will crest at sunrise
at four feet in Rio de Janeiro,
Objection, That is blatant conjecture,
Sustained,
Jurors, you are to disregard
that last statement from the defendant,
Please strike the testimony from the record,
Please proceed, Mr, Johnson,
Your Honor, we're done with our testimony for today,
I'd like to reserve the right to question my client again,
Duly noted, Take your seat, please,
Okay, then I think we'll call it a day and begin
cross-examination tomorrow morning,
- Is that okay with you? - Yes, Your Honor,
We're ready whenever you wish,
Very well then,
I'd like to remind the jury
that they've been sequestered for a reason,
You're not allowed to watch TV, read the newspaper,
or expose yourselves in any way to coverage
of this trial via the media,
social media, or through your relationships,
We'll reconvene at 9:00 AM tomorrow morning,
Gordon Nicholson doesn't check out,
Nothing checks out about this guy,
- That was something, - Yeah,
I couldn't get a handle on the jury,
No kidding,
Well, do you think he's telling the truth?
You know, whatever he's telling,
he sure seems to believe it, so,
Or he puts Charles Manson to shame,
That's what I'm afraid of,
Or maybe he's just that good of an actor,
Well, John Wilkes Booth was pretty good,
Did you send her the testimony?
Yes,
Have a seat,
I wanted to talk to you
about Bradley's cross-examination today,
Looking forward to it,
Yeah, Bet you are,
But I wanted to talk about something else first,
Shoot,
What was your father's first name?
George,
Are you sure?
Pretty sure I know my father's name,
Just so you know, my parents are off-limits,
Their lives cannot be interfered with,
It could change the course of history,
They need to live their lives
normally wherever they are or else I might not be born,
I could disappear right in front of your eyes,
That might be a good thing,
I'd rather not find out,
And your country would rather not find out,
Please, forget about them,
And you really believe that?
Don't you?
I don't know what to believe,
Good, The jury won't either,
Leave my parents alone,
All they need is one X-Files fan,
Didn't think about that during jury selection,
I think you better start thinking about a plea deal,
Do you want to take the death penalty off the table?
I think you better start thinking
about getting disbarred,
We're gonna fry his ass,
You think he's insane, don't you?
And if you think he's crazy,
what do you think the jury thinks?
I don't think he's crazy,
You must be though,
He's just a liar and a con,
Believe what you want,
You're sure you want to take that chance?
All I need is one Trekkie on the jury,
All I need is one lie out of you
and you can kiss your license goodbye,
Your client is all mine today,
Just think about it,
All rise,
You may be seated,
Hope everyone had a relaxing evening,
I believe it's your turn, Mr, Bradley,
Thank you, Your Honor,
I'd like to recall the defendant,
John Doe to the stand,
Mr, Doe, please be seated,
You are still sworn in from yesterday,
Do you understand?
Yes, Your Honor,
Now, before we get started,
I just have to say that your testimony so far has just been
the wildest charade that I have ever experienced,
Wow, oh, wow,
You can really tell a story,
I mean, corporate pilot, Navy SEAL,
Oh, and my favorite Future Man,
So congratulations on that,
Just amazing,
Now, Mr, Doe, or is it Mr, Nicholson,
or,,, or maybe you'd like to be somebody else today,
What would you like me to call you?
My name is Gordon Nicholson,
You may call me whatever you like, Mr, Bradley,
Well, we did a background check on Gordon Nicholson
and I have to tell you, none of the Gordon Nicholsons
we could find seemed to match up with you,
Why do you think that is?
Objection, Leading the witness,
I'll rephrase that, Your Honor,
Do you realize you're committing perjury
with your testimony in this court?
I'm telling the truth,
You just don't want to hear it,
I'll tell you what I want to hear,
Why did you make up another name for yourself?
What are you trying to hide?
There are no records on me because I haven't been born,
Oh, right, Future Man, the time traveler,
Well, Future Man,
who's going to win the lottery tomorrow?
I don't know,
Don't know, Well, wh,,, why don't you know?
I thought you could predict the future?
I'm not a psychic,
I'm a historian,
A historian,
Terrific, Let me get this straight,
A corporate pilot, Navy SEAL, and historian,
Yes, Oh, and let's not forget the big one,
time traveler sent to save us all,
Well, Mr, Time Traveler,
tell me, do you own a flux capacitor?
What's a flux capacitor?
How about a DeLorean,
I don't understand the question,
Haven't you seen Back to the Future?
Is it a movie?
Yes, About returning from the future,
and the flux capacitor was absolutely critical
to their ability to travel through time,
So you mean to say that you've traveled through time
and you don't know what a flux capacitor is?
What kind of time traveler are you?
A successful one,
No, An imaginary one,
just like the movie,
I'll grant you, You have quite an imagination,
You could've had a future in Hollywood
making up grandiose science fiction stories,
It's too bad you chose to assassinate
the President of the United States instead,
It's too bad, You chose to be
Lee Harvey Oswald instead of Steven Spielberg,
Oswald was from the future,
Of course,
Why didn't anyone think of that?
They didn't get the chance,
There was never a trial,
Did Oswald have a flux capacitor?
No, he used the prototype of the machine I used,
Your Honor, how much of this lunacy
do we have to put up with?
Are you suggesting my client is crazy?
Yes, Are you suggesting something?
No, Your Honor,
Then proceed,
Okay, Love to,
I think we've given Mr, Doe here
ample time for his flights of fancy,
I'd like to move on,
Mr, Doe or how about Marty McFly,
how did you feel about our president?
- I didn't know him, - Did you hate him?
I didn't have any feelings for him,
Why did you kill him?
His actions would destroy me and the rest of the world,
Oh, yeah, I forgot,
You were on a mission
- with clear intent, yes? - Yes,
Would you say that your intent was to destroy this country?
No, the opposite,
Are you aware that there are riots happening
in the street as we speak?
Are you aware that this country is coming apart?
Was that your intent?
No, but we knew there would be
a high probability rate for internal strife,
Internal strife,
People are dying every day in the streets because of you,
This is not some fantasy world,
This is real,
So that was not your intent?
Correct,
But you had clear intent, Yes?
Yes,
- To save the world, - Yes,
You knew this could happen and you did it anyway,
You survived a civil war, You'll survive this,
Oh, yeah, Future Man again,
Well, Future Man,
you're not just an assassin,
You're a terrorist,
- Objection, - Overruled,
Fits the definition,
Do you remember the video we played?
Yes,
Was that you in the video?
It looked like me,
- But was it you? - Yes,
So you don't deny killing the president?
I would not deny that, no,
Did you kill the president?
- Yes, - Why?
I told you, to protect the world,
You believe he had to be stopped?
Yes,
So you purchased a sniper rifle,
rented an apartment, and then waited for the
president to go to one of his rallies?
- Objection, - I'll rephrase that,
Did you purchase a sniper rifle, rent an apartment,
and wait for the president to go to one of his rallies?
Yes,
Did you shoot the president
and Agent Winslow with intent to kill?
Not Agent Winslow,
He was innocent, but I had to shoot him in the leg
to give me a clear shot on the president,
Did you shoot the president with intent to kill him?
Yes,
Thank you,
Please note that the defendant has just
admitted to planning out his attack
and to shooting the president with intent to kill,
All insanity pleas are based on the intent to commit the crime,
We've just met our burden of proof,
Congratulations,
We have no further questions, Your Honor,
Very well, Mr, Johnson?
Redirect, Your Honor,
Thank you, Mr, Bradley,
Okay, I'm confused,
When Mr, Bradley was asking his questions,
you mentioned that Lee Harvey Oswald was from the future,
Yes,
That doesn't make sense to me,
John F, Kennedy was revered,
Why would someone from the future want
to assassinate one of our most respected presidents?
Objection, Relevancy, Your Honor,
The subject was introduced under Mr, Bradley's cross,
It was relevant then,
Overruled, You may proceed,
Okay, Again, why would someone from the future
want to assassinate President Kennedy?
To save the world from destruction,
I don't understand,
Kennedy would have gone back to Washington after Dallas,
News of his affairs would leak out,
Marilyn Monroe had been carrying his child,
Jackie found out and left him,
He was wounded politically and didn't have the moral authority
to get his civil rights agenda through Congress,
The next 20 years of racial progress never happened,
No Obama,
Barry Goldwater won the Republican primary and went on
to trounce Kennedy in the 1964 presidential election,
The day Goldwater was sworn in,
he dropped a bomb,,, a nuclear bomb on North Vietnam,
China didn't like that,
They got involved and Russia, Europe,
We were on the brink of destruction,
When Oswald shot Kennedy, the country mourned,
His assassination made Kennedy a tragic hero,
It gave Johnson the moral authority
to get Kennedy's civil rights agenda through Congress,
and as destructive as the Vietnam War became,
nuclear war was averted,
The world was saved until now,
So now it's your turn?
Yes,
Do you really believe you're from the future?
Yes,
So what you had to do,
you had to do?
Yes,
Would you agree to take a polygraph test?
Yes,
- DNA test? - Yes,
Want to take him up on it?
We have a ballistics test,
Thank you,
Very well,
We're done with our testimony, Your Honor,
Recross, Your Honor,
Mr, Bradley,
Well, that was quite a yarn,
Did you just make that up
or had you thought it all out ahead of time?
Ahead of time, 40 years from now,
Well, what about that wild story you told your landlord
about being an airline pilot?
Was that the truth,
or had you thought that all up 40 years from now?
No, Mr, Doe,
I think you've got
a pathological aversion to the truth,
I think you like to tell lies
because in every story you have told,
you have not offered one scintilla of proof,
Nothing,
Your entire testimony has been a fabrication, hasn't it?
No, I can prove it,
- You can? - Yes, It's simple,
How did Oswald know to get a job
at the Texas School Book Depository
over a month ahead of Kennedy's trip to Dallas?
With all of the jobs available in Dallas,
why did he decide to look for a place to work
with the perfect view of Kennedy's route
before anyone knew Kennedy was going to be there,
let alone what his route would be?
Excuse me, I'm the one asking the questions,
They didn't even decide on his route until the day before,
That's enough,
How did he know ahead of time to be right there
in that location on that day?
- Your Honor, - That's enough,
You've investigated for over half a century
and theorized about Kennedy's assassination
when you've ignored the evidence that's been staring
you in the face the entire time?
- Now! - How did he know to be there?
Who cares?
That was then,
We're dealing with the here and now,
The here and now where you assassinated
the President of the United States,
not Lee Harvey Oswald, you,
This is not some alternate universe,
You didn't beam yourself into that chair
and neither did they,
So how about we forget the fantasy that you are selling?
Your entire testimony has been a complete fabrication,
How did he know?
Don't you remember?
The CIA killed Kennedy,
Oswald was part of their plan,
That's how he knew,
No, wait, he was with the mafia,
They killed Kennedy, or he was an alien,
or he was a psychic, No, wait,
He was playing with a Ouija board
and spelled out Book Depository,
Do you see how easy this is?
I'm done with this witness, Your Honor,
Okay, Mr, Doe, please be seated,
How?
We have one more witness, your Honor,
Objection,
He hasn't submitted anyone to the witness list,
She was one of yours,
Dr, Amanda Beal, your mental health expert,
you filed her report with the court,
Very well,
I'd like to call Dr, Amanda Beal to the stand,
What the fuck is this?
I don't know, Did she call you?
You are still sworn in, Dr, Beal,
Good afternoon, Dr, Beal,
Some would say you're the country's leading expert
on legal issues as they relate to psychology, is that correct?
I'm sorry, I'm,,, I'm not comfortable
commenting on speculation about my credentials,
Fair enough,
Would you mind sharing your credentials?
I have a PhD in clinical psychiatry
and a PhD in criminal justice, both from Harvard,
So let's be clear,
Of all the professionals in your field
that the federal government could pick from
in the entire country,
the entire world for that matter, they picked you?
Yes,
Are you the psychiatrist who determined
that my client was competent to stand trial?
Yes,
Did you spend any time with him in forming your opinion?
Yes, I did,
I had a couple of sessions with him actually,
And your recommendation was that my client was competent?
Yes,
Would you mind sharing how you reached your decision?
The test for competency is simple,
Uh, the defendant must have the ability to consult
with his attorney and have a rational understanding
of the proceedings against him or her,
- Not a high bar? - No, but some don't need it,
And in your sessions, did my client mention
that he was from the future?
No, he did not,
He shared very little actually,
You've not been here for all of the testimony, correct?
Correct,
Did you receive the transcripts that my office
couriered to you earlier today?
Yes, I did,
- Did you read them? - Yes,
Did you see the part where he said he was from the future?
I did,
And that he believes he was protecting the world?
Yes,
What was your expert opinion when you read his testimony?
That he could be delusional or possibly paranoid delusional,
And what exactly does that mean?
It means that he believes in an alternate reality
where things or people are out to get him,
Could he believe that he's from the future
and that his life and environment were under attack?
Yes,
Would he be in control of his actions in that reality?
Yes, if his actions supported his reality,
- Could he kill? - Yes,
- And believe he was justified? - Yes,
I'm not delusional,
What don't you people understand?
- Mr, Doe, - I just saved you,
Order,
Mr, Doe, or whoever you are,
I'll have you gagged if you don't sit down right now,
I mean that,
Proceed,
What are some other things to watch for?
Well, uh, a person can appear normal
in all other areas except their delusion,
What do you mean?
We could be having a normal conversation and the person
can say, "The earth is flat," and believe it,
And if someone suffered from that,
would they legally be responsible for their actions?
No,
Well, none that are related to that delusion,
Um, if you wrecked a car, for example,
you would be responsible for your actions,
But if you wrecked a car thinking it was a submarine,
you wouldn't,
So to be clear,
a person can have control over their actions
within the delusion, but they would not be
legally responsible for those actions, correct?
- Correct, - Thank you,
Just one last question,
When you provide expert testimony for the prosecution,
are you paid for your expertise?
Yes,
He's your client, not me, correct?
- Correct, - Thank you,
Mr, Bradley, would you like to cross?
Yes, Your Honor,
Let's get a few things straight,
You had a couple of sessions with the defendant to determine
his competence to stand trial; is that correct?
Yes,
But that's not all, was it?
No, I was determining whether or not he had
a valid plea of insanity,
Did he?
No, I didn't think so at the time,
But based on these wild stories,
you think he might be delusional?
It's possible,
But not to your knowledge of fact?
No,
Why didn't you notice these delusional tendencies
during your sessions?
It didn't come up,
- It didn't come up? - No,
Did you talk about the assassination?
Yes,
And he didn't happen to mention any of that stuff
about the future?
Don't you find that odd?
Objection, Opinion, Your Honor,
I'm asking her as an expert for her expert opinion,
Overruled,
- Don't you find that odd? - Yes,
That was nothing like the performance
that he gave in here, was it?
I didn't see it,
- But you read it? - Yes,
And did it come across like anything
you experienced in your sessions?
No, It didn't,
He was quiet, composed,
If a person is delusional,
are they able to choose when to be delusional?
- No, not typically, - Not typically?
I'm not aware of any cases like that,
- So no? - Correct,
Thank you,
No further questions, Your Honor,
- Redirect Your Honor, - Go ahead,
Are you 100% certain
it's not possible to choose when to be delusional?
Well, anything is possible,
I'm just not aware of it ever being done,
Are you a mind reader?
Excuse me,
Are you a mind reader?
Can you tell what people are thinking about or believe?
No,
So just because my client didn't talk to you
about where he thinks he's from,
doesn't mean he doesn't believe it,
He could still be delusional, correct?
- Correct, - Thank you,
Nothing further, Your Honor,
The defense rest our case,
We'll take a short recess and hear closing arguments,
Mr, Bradley,
are you ready to present your closing arguments?
Yes, Your Honor,
I want to thank you for your patience during this trial,
I have to admit I had a hard time keeping track of all
the contortions that the defense went through,
I think they started with a plea of not guilty
by reason of insanity to, well, let's see, self-defense,
And then let the self-defense explanation
explain how the defendant is delusional,
It's quite a show they put on, but that's all that it was,
So don't be fooled by their theatrics,
All we know for sure is that the defendant, John Doe,
well, he can tell a good story,
and he can shoot the CheyTac M200 sniper rifle
from 1,2 miles and blow the head
off the President of the United States,
We not only proved it, he admitted it,
He's admitted to planning the whole thing out in advance
with intent to kill the President,
And really, that's all we need,
If there's intent, there can be no insanity defense,
One can't claim that they weren't in control
of their actions or they didn't know
what they were doing if in fact, they did,
The laws have always held that if you plan something out,
if you intend to commit a crime and then commit one,
you were in control of your actions,
And Mr, Doe has admitted yes, he did indeed intend
to kill the President,
He has admitted to killing the President,
He's admitted to planning the assassination,
and he has admitted to carrying it out,
So there you have it,
Wait, one more thing,
He has absolutely no remorse
and would probably do it again if given the chance,
That's why we've charged him with first-degree murder
and why we are seeking the death penalty
in sentencing because there's no other choice,
Opposing counsel can trot out as many far-fetched
stories as they want, but that won't change
the fact that there is only one choice in this trial,
And that choice is guilty beyond any reasonable doubt,
Thank you,
Thank you, Mr, Bradley,
Mr, Johnson,
I have to say Mr, Bradley makes a valid point,
except for one small detail,
being delusional,
In this case, believing you're somebody you're not,
is grounds for an insanity plea,
It means that you, whoever you really are,
have no control over your actions,
those actions are in the hands of someone else,
You don't have to take my word on it,
you can take the word
of the prosecution's own expert witness,
Unfortunately, my client has not been officially diagnosed
as delusional, so you'll have to be the judge of that,
Now, you've seen all the courtroom drama shows
on TV where no one wants to put their defendant
on the witness stand, there are abundant reasons for that,
Mostly, so skilled prosecutors
like Mr, Bradley, can't interrogate them,
And yet in our case, I realized that was our best defense,
I realized that if you could see and hear my client
talk about his life, he was his own best evidence,
Unless perhaps you believe in time travel
and dystopian worlds,
I wanted you to experience his,,, his confidence,
his unwavering focus on his mission,
I wanted you to meet a man who truly believes
he is from the future, 40 years from now,
A man who truly believes he is on a mission to save the world,
and that mission requires him
to assassinate the President of the United States,
even if it costs him his own life,
What's critical,
is you don't even have to believe him,
just believed that he believes,
Now if you believe in time travel and dystopian worlds,
you might think of my client as a hero,
as someone willing to sacrifice their life to save your future,
In that case, my client's claim of self-defense
is perfectly plausible,
But most likely you're like me,
and believe that time travel
and dystopian worlds are best left
to the writers of movies, and novels, and plays,
In that case,
you don't need a psychiatrist to give you a diagnosis,
You saw it, and heard it, firsthand,
you met Gordon Nicholson,
time traveler and savior of worlds,
and according to the law, you have only one choice,
and that's a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity,
And if there's one iota of a chance you're not sure,
if you can't decide whether that man over there
is a fraud or a hero, then you can't believe that
he is guilty beyond any reasonable doubt,
So in either instance,
there's only one verdict that makes sense,
There's only one verdict you can return to this court with,
and that verdict is this,,,
My client is not guilty by reason of insanity,
Thank you,
I'd like to remind the jury that they've been sequestered
for a reason and to remember the rules,
No media of any kind, no outside conversations,
You are charged with determining whether
the defendant is guilty of murdering the president,
There will be an earthquake in Bangkok next week,
You can save them, Over 8,000 people will die,
Get the defendant out of here,
I am not delusional,
I am from the future,
Gag him,
Mr, Johnson, if I discover you put him up to that,
not only will I hold you in contempt,
I will see to it that you are disbarred,
And jurors, you will disregard the defendant's last statement,
That did not just happen in my courtroom,
You will judge this case based on the evidence
that's been provided,
You are charged with determining whether
the defendant is guilty of murdering the president,
or not guilty by reason of insanity
based on the legal guidelines set before you,
Send any questions to my bailiff,
We're done for the day,
You okay?
Yes,
That was uh, quite a performance,
that earthquake in Bangkok, brilliant,
What's wrong?
It doesn't matter,
It may have saved your life,
No, it doesn't matter,
What they come back with, I did it,
It's just now sinking in,
I never thought I was born to save the world,
But I'm here,
Getting here wasn't easy,
None of it was easy, people died helping me,
And I did it,
I,,, I just hope it was worth it,
You don't have to say that anymore, it's over,
The jury sent a list of questions to the judge,
and one of the questions, the big one,
was if they could postpone their deliberations
until next week because of your prediction,
The judge would never go along with it,
but it was enough to rattle Bradley,
He offered to take the death penalty off the table,
He'll accept the insanity plea if you accept life in prison,
I didn't expect to live,
Now you can,
What if we let the jury decide, what are my chances?
Best case is a hung jury, then a retrial,
By that time they'll know there wasn't
an earthquake in Bangkok,
Bottom line is, you assassinated
the President of the United States,
You'll never be out walking the streets again,
that's not how the system works,
If you get out of this thing still breathing,
that's the best that's going to happen,
I'll be able to see if it was worth it,
That too,
Okay,
Do it,
Thank you,
Okay,
And, uh, just for the record,
I hated the fucking asshole for what he was doing
to this country and the rest of the world,
I don't approve of what you did,
but I'm sure glad you did it, and I'm not alone,
so thank you,
Thank you for your service,
Hey Jason,
you know what I said about that earthquake in Bangkok?
Let's wait and see,