:52:00
Well, who are you going to name?
:52:02
You can't bring a town
full of John Does to trial...
:52:05
...just to pull yourself
to heaven on a publicity stunt.
:52:09
John Doe is not going to trial, Will...
:52:14
...but 22 citizens of Strand...
:52:17
...who I can prove are guilty of murder
in the first degree.
:52:23
Because the law declares
that in a lynching...
:52:25
...all who consent to the design
are responsible for what took place.
:52:29
All who participate
are responsible for the act.
:52:33
This may seem harsh...
:52:35
...but when a mob takes it upon itself...
:52:38
...to identify, try, condemn and punish...
:52:43
...it is a destroyer of a government that
patriots died to establish and defend.
:52:49
Every decent person in the country
feels the importance of this case.
:52:52
The nation is hanging on the outcome
of this trial.
:52:55
No lynching can be justified,
though sometimes attempts are made...
:52:59
... to whitewash them by citing
the confessions of...
:53:03
... or proofs of guilt against,
the by now silent corpse.
:53:07
But no one can dare defend the lynching
of an innocent man.
:53:12
American democracy and its system
of fair play for the rights of individuals...
:53:17
...under the law is on trial here,
ladies and gentlemen of the jury.
:53:21
To this end, you must be guided
not only by your common sense...
:53:27
...but by your patriotism.
:53:38
As counsel for these defendants,
Your Honor...
:53:41
...ladies and gentlemen of the jury...
:53:44
...I must point out that my clients
are not on trial for treason...
:53:48
...against any philosophy
of government...
:53:51
...as our esteemed district attorney
seems to think.
:53:54
They're on trial for murder.
:53:56
A charge you will see vanish
into thin air here...
:53:59
...as the state, to cover up its own
criminal negligence...