Johnny Cash in a Classic Crime Movie I Murder In Coweta County (1983) I Retrospective

in 1948 in rural georgia there was a vast estate known as the kingdom ruled by one man his power was absolute and beyond the law his family legacy was one of exploitation corruption and ruthless violence this is the story of the man who ran the kingdom and the man who brought him down [Applause] [Music] same time again next week [Music] [Applause] john hardy hi there boys very good you boys better take the caroline road hey the alcohol's got their eyes on the noon and pass i see you boys later yeah sir thank you i need a ride to services well now john i got this [ __ ] out there in the car he's once been cycling gas on farm tanks he told me what i caught him to bring him to you take him out of there get out there boy take a cuffs off put your thieving hands up against that door jamb miss wallace i didn't do it put them up there please [Music] my good morning everybody god bless missed your voice and quiet as much my apologies reverend but the ox is in the ditch however i heard that uh you'd be making an appeal for the new pews this morning and i i didn't want to neglect my christian duty so uh i'll send over some of my field hands to do the label john not say there's more charitable man in all mayweather thank you thank you service is good this morning [Laughter] i swear you about half rabbit i am and you you about half crazy crazy oh yeah i'm crazy all right look here see how crazy i am where'd you get that what am i surely shine all 20 gallons mr wallace said not to run those shine for a while sheriff collier told him that the revenues was laying for us oh they was they was had that highway all staked out i just did me a little heel and toe on the floorboards got my new truck to kick and dust had them laws fish tailing every which way mr wallace said not to run no shine mr wallace ain't got no sick baby no pregnant wife neither wow you made yourself a little money wilson i heard you did some fancy driving yes sir i believe i did yeah i guess so i seen that revenue car this morning belly up in that drainage ditch wheels still spinning hand it over son mr wallace that that was my share i run no your share sitting right there seemed like you took the wrong bottles that's what happens when you don't check with me first give it on up i need this money god got bold boy you got greedy new truck store-bought clothes for your wife running to the doctor every time your baby gets a little bit sick you starting to act like you're somebody i don't need that around here i want you off my land but well i i got crops in the field crops are in my field now [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] well mr wallace cries guernsey just got stolen i see you swallow that what are you gonna do a little pasture over in carrollton back in the woods keep her there like find me by wilson i helped you because you're my sister's husband and you need the money i'm messing like this is john wallace i don't think i want to be around [Music] easy there girl got a man's gonna pay cash money for you [Music] you busted son sheriff thread gail uh you're not taking me back to merriweather are you you're not handing me over to sheriff collier are you you're in my custody kathy and you ain't going nowhere but carefully yes sir sheriff yes sir turner get up you're being transferred to merryweather before because that's where you stole the cow and they got jurisdiction sheriff call you rob the one no sheriff you can't take me that's john wallace cody's one of his boys wallace will kill me god don't let him thank you sheriff supper i don't want my supper i want my phone call ain't had one since i've been arrested sheriff says you don't get no phone call look my wife don't know i'm here nobody knows i'm here let me just send a note or something please you don't eat that supper it's gonna sit right there and be your breakfast [Music] hey hey lady my name is wilson turner i've got relatives in carrollton uh tommy windham miller rigsby tell them i'm here have them get my wife no wait they'll pay you tell them i said they'll pay you please lady tell somebody about me [Music] what are you doing turning you loose [Music] how come something about lack of evidence the sheriff said to let you out at straight up 12. how come 12 o'clock where is the sheriff are you going or staying i've got errands [Music] [Music] [Music] hey got a full tank of gas in here you all enjoy riding [Music] so [Music] good afternoon mr wallace you guys sheriff kyle told ya been released no boy you're wrong again [Music] you ain't been released you're escaping [Music] so [Music] stupid car you're supposed to empty that thing [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] you excited you can't hit nothing you don't catch him i'll shoot you keep going [Music] we just entered canada county keep going this is lamar potts county good [Music] [Applause] don't kill it stop it hell what are you boys doing escape crying waiting for murder why did you mind your own damn [ __ ] what we gonna do i'm gonna call sheriff potts irene you do make a world beating cheeseburger glad you like it j.h you want some of these hey i've been noticing barryman brown his britches are getting tight and his pride is suffering i want you to buy him a new pair take him out to his mama don't tell her where they came from size 12 14. he's still growing more artwell we just got a call from the sunset tourist camp they think they seen a killing where are you going well we might have ourselves a murderer no no need you around the office stay on the phone might be something coming in and i'd like you to try to get those bridges for that boy today i'll try [Applause] [Music] he was just a little fellowship no more 130 pounds and the way they kept beating on him one of them had a fancy pearl handle gun i never saw nobody so mean and hateful in all my life and then the gun went off was he shot no he hit him on the head with the battle cracked him in the skirt and then he fell and then moved he was dead sheriff he had to be dead i'm sorry mr wilson it's all over now did you see mr wilson i'd be glad to i got hypha license number on that tan four-door description of the assailants and the witnesses are inside whenever you want to talk to them how about the truck well licensed frame said lagrange motor company so i called them up and it's registered to a wilson turner he's a tenant farmer over on john wallace's place and lamar the feller who did the killing well he sounds awful a lot like john wallace he got as far as he was cool run those chase car numbers through atlanta cross check them against the local registration send some of your boys by turner's house ask around see if maybe he shows up somewhere he might still be alive lamar john wallace he just about owns merriweather county this ain't mere weather [Music] [Applause] lamar and license numbers came back from atlanta it belonged to herring savelle wasn't he indicted on murder a while back i killed a man over poker game shot him in the back five witnesses wallace got him off and any sign of turner no but guess where he was right before wallace got a hold of him where how about sheriff hardy collier's jail let's go mark can i drive this time wilson turner was released at 12 noon yesterday guild is seeing didn't have enough evidence to hold him release papers right here the assailant said something about an escaped criminal well that's nonsense as you can see right there accused of stealing one of wallace's cow well we got the cow back eh really wasn't no harm done i'd like to talk to wallace and savelle now john wallace didn't have nothing to do with no killing we're not sure anybody's dead yet well whatever john was here with me yesterday eating lunch matter of fact we had my favorite ham steak and oak creek that right yes uh we talked about livestock price feed john must have stayed yeah the radio said it was 2 30. i walked him out to his car got in it headed west went on home you know where wallace might be right now yes sir he's out of town on business now let me make something clear to you collier i have jurisdiction on this case and i didn't come here out of law i came here out of manners now i want john wallace and herring savelle brought to my office and i want you to bring him you want us bam won't you get him that's your job sheriff now you got until 9 00 a.m tomorrow morning release papers my hind in turner was set up well let's ask around maybe we can find somebody who saw what happened miss baker mrs mrs baker i'm sheriff lamar potts from over in caita county this is my brother j.h and we were wondering if maybe you saw anything unusual yesterday out there on the square sometime around noon this about that sunset killing possible killing yes ma'am i didn't see anything you didn't see john wallace anywhere john wallace is a fine man a christian man he bought all new pews for reverend wayne wright's church gave willa thompson a milking cow when her old one died built a new barn for jake henley when he's burnt down and i have to say i don't particularly appreciate outsiders coming around here meddling in mr john wallace's affairs yes ma'am thank you for your time [Music] seems that john wallace is a real generous soul john wallace didn't buy any pews or barns he bought people all right there we go pull out okay come on come on okay hang it up come on okay come on here come on here okay come on here pull it okay okay okay come on [Applause] that angina kicking back up on you again let me talk to you john keep working with the boys keep working sheriff fox paid me a visit this morning yeah what do you want what he wants is a man who killed wilson turner cause that's what got you so bothered real about turn was nothing with even weasley white trash what kind of man is gonna go breaking a sweat over the likes of him lamar parts my man was insulin stole from me i let him get away and every dirt farmer i got is going to want to start helping himself with my possession i had to kill turner's business spots ought to understand that don't see things that way john now if you don't walk right pots will come at you and he keeps coming hey you remember that field hand that killed his wife and chopped her legs off now potts tracked him all the way to kansas and yanked him out of a wheat field that was a [ __ ] it don't make no difference to him john i don't believe you know who you're talking to this is the kingdom this is merryweather nobody around you gonna say a word against me except you didn't kill him in merryweather you killed him across a line for they kita witnesses and a sheriff that won't quit now i'm telling you john if parts can find a [ __ ] in kansas he can sure find white trash in a swamp now i don't know and i don't i don't want to know where you dump the body but wherever it is better be hit good ain't [Applause] [Laughter] yes [Music] good evening mr hayley well you went ahead and killed him didn't you who told you that i have seen the wicked spreading himself like a green bay tree even miss sally i'd like a reading oh you see deep in the well deep in the woods a body is lost but not for good what else do you see a man who is strong a man who is true a man who is just as determined as you will you find the body the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the lord and the evil shall go down into the mind will he find the body you encourage yourself in an evil thing you accomplish an evil thing god's arrow shall bring you down answer me will he find the body you shall be brought to the bit of destruction damn usual witch eh damn mission beyond to you john wallace what you say gibberish and so what we're gonna do now state of georgia calls for a corpus delicti ain't no body there ain't no murder potts is a tracker he just might find it he can't find the body if they ain't nobody get me out of here yes ma'am when do you think he might be back uh-huh would you tell him we called thank you man well collier's out housekeeper doesn't know where for how long it's already 11 30. he's ducking us tomorrow how about we'll meet us here as soon as he can jim helen too i want the gpi in on this i'm going to see judge boykin get a search warrant for wallace's place we're through waiting [Music] that's wallace's house i thought he'd have a big old mansion don't care about looking powerful just being powerful uh good afternoon mrs wallace yes good afternoon mrs wallace i'm sheriff lamar potts this is jc otwell georgia state police my brother j.h and jim hillen georgia bureau of investigation gentlemen mrs wallace i apologize for any intrusion but i'd like to speak with husband oh your he's not in sheriff he hasn't been home since day before yesterday do you know where he is i have heard that he has another who suits him better do you like flowers sheriff yes ma'am my wife raises some [ __ ] into your talent there i'm especially proud of my geraniums they're such a brave flower don't you think yes ma'am mrs wallace i know it might be an inconvenience but i have a warrant to search your house search the house we'll be as careful as we can of course somewhere around here i remember the clearing remember these dryer bushes what is it we supposed to be looking for mr wallace all abandoned well what's in the well mr wallace package what kind of package there's no well over there before yeah yeah yeah that's it that's it get those boards off of that i don't see nothing down there drop that grappling hook on down there go ahead okay [Music] all right fish around see if you can catch a hold of anything go ahead yeah all right give him a hand give him a hand hold on out of there come on pull everybody pull oh [Music] come [Music] on this skull is bust open caught a pole we're moving mr wallace i don't think i want to do that somebody around here asked you what you want hey sarah yeah look here hey hold him up like this yeah the bloodline runs from his shoulder down his back across his hip even down the leg evidently he carried turner's body somewhere slung over his right shoulder well one thing's for certain no man is going to bleed that much and live we got ourselves a definite murder here we're all finished now mrs wallace and i want to thank you for your cooperation i have freshly baked tea cake sheriff perhaps you and your men would care for some refreshments no thank you man we'll just be on our way goodbye cher goodbye miss wallace okay [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] albert evan why don't we just quit why don't we just lay it down go home mr wallace killed this white man over 50 in the cow you still want to lay your burden down great so who's out there this is sheriff lamar potts from over in caita i'm looking for mrs wilson turner did you say kaida yes sir that's julia over there cher you weren't easy to find mrs turner sheriff thread girl said you might be here at your uncle's place well sheriff now we ain't hiding from the law we just feel something awful might happen to wilson and we're afraid whoever done it just might not be finished yet yes sir i realized that wilson didn't mean to steal that cow sheriff he tried to find honest work mr wallace put out the word nobody'd hire him mrs turner i'm not here to arrest anybody i ain't seen wilson for five days now i'm scared sheriff i'm real scared you ain't found him have you no ma'am but i'm trying to mr wonder if i could have a piece of your husband's clothing our bloodhounds [Music] [Music] i want him jh wallace he ain't walking away from this [Music] foreign [Music] have mercy on me i sheriff lamar pass come get me now [Music] [Music] you boys do a good job scrape it clean right down to the dirt when you're finished get back to the fields i got business in cairo yes sir mr wall [Applause] [Music] you fellas are here kind of early this morning aren't you yeah i didn't want to miss nothing chairs not to this water's case on hand me neither good morning thank you sir hey luther don't you be cheating woody amar wallace's attorney just called for meriwether they're bringing them in here they come you ain't going to believe this they drove over in the chase car i wish you boys have lightened it up a little i've seen brighter faces in a train wreck look at old hardy man's about to pop a vein john do me a favor don't get brassy in there not with your pulse just relax counselor everything's under control sheriff fox this is a real pleasure i've been wanting to meet you for quite sure that's right i want to explain the bloodstains on them sure i was out riding and i cut myself on a briar see all right well bring in steve smith steve is this the man you saw beating wilson turner yes sir that one too he drove the car wash you are on the arrest for the kidnapping and murder of wilson fernandez now just a minute murder what murder where's the body man do you realize who it is you're handcuffing i realize it might be next are you hearing savelle yes sir is that your car yes sir same charge where's the body now john don't worry i'll see a judge arrange bail ain't gonna be no bail that's not for you to say there ain't gonna be no bail i will take them to county jail sarah you're gonna be very embarrassed about this i'm impounding savelle's car for evidence if you men would like a ride home i'll have one of my men take you back to merriweather we can arrange our own transportation thank you if i might use your hope help you sir do the license numbers check out it's the one around turn her down drove it right up under her noses blood all over you can see where they tried to wash it out not very hard i might add that's not all look at wallace brought with him still traces of blood left on the cylinder we got enough blood already what we need is the body it came from without that wallet goes free now i want you to organize a search posse and ask any citizens to help them with and ask them to do as a personal favor to me if that's not enough tell them there's a 500 rewards location captain for each command center in the field everyone who's here cause you asked for it okay hello fellas here are you sure there's a man who thinks he's above the law killed a fellow in our county thinks he's going to get away with it we're going to see that he don't all right let's do it [Applause] how you doing lz hancock what's old revenuer like you doing out here today you want a foot race around the block the fact is i called for elsie myself made a special request to the governor for him he ain't nothing but the best tracker in the state of george he else ain't you the one gunned down wallace's uncle old man strickland yeah i laid for him by that hundred horse stealer he is you went down fire and took a piece out of my elbow i see you got your raiding clothes on there you want an assignment now i got some ideas my own yeah well boys we best hit it all right i know a thing or two about the kingdom those kinder wallets don't mind shooting me don't care who they shoot you still sharp out there yes sir you do likewise oh [Music] some big territory out there any help from collier and his men no deputies are all busy collier's in bed heart problems meaning he ain't got the heart for it whatever well there is this one thing it seems that there's this fortune teller over in herd county her name is may haley lancaster now rumor has it that wallace sets a good deal of store in her pays are an occasional visit well at least we know he's superstitious thing is they said they saw two cars in pursuit and only one car coming back savelle's tan four-door is the only one on the return any id on the second car not much only that it was an older dark model uh these boys were hitting the dirt when it flew by ask around see if you can find out who was driving it jim i'll try folks around here ain't real easy to converse with well do the best you can oddwell did you get directions on how to find that may haley lancaster woman yeah j.h you're in charge here keep it going as long as it's daylight right let's go um so oh haley lancaster who is it hello [Music] i'm sheriff lamar potts cayeta county sergeant j.c otwell i can't be too careful these days it's just too much badness about i've been wrong 22 times dogs this is my sister sally lancaster [Laughter] miss me haley i understand john wallace sometimes visits you he killed wilson turner did he tell you that well he didn't have to i am an oracle of the ages so was i born and so do i live yes ma'am well we're looking for wilson turner's body and if there's any information that you could give us well it's a dollar and a dollar a dollar into that four four well it's a dollar for me and then it's a dime for my dogs yes ma'am okay all right over here right here right here [Applause] i see four men three alive one more i see them moving let destruction come upon the evil one and into his own pit let him fall i see fire and water and fire and water i've told you all i can't yes ma'am i appreciate it the sheriff blessed is the man who pities the poor the lord will deliver him in his time of trouble how'd it go with my haley oh nothing different any word on that second car well if anybody's seen it they ain't talking what about the [ __ ] yeah we pulled two bicycles in the box spring mattress out of greenville lake euger simpson got bit reaching in a hollow log aside from that well get the men back out tomorrow as many as we'll go and tell euger to watch where he's reaching sheriff's office tom strickland [Music] uh oh we got the whole family that ain't no reunion picnic i don't want a bloodbath now take off your guns and leave them in the car is he going crazy [Applause] the first one that touches one of my deputies i'm going to kill him now i want tom strickland you can bring him out or i'll go in after we're all strengthened if you want to take him you're gonna have to take us well that's just fine with me all you gotta do is stand in my way [Music] you ain't taking me you ain't taking me you ain't taking me you know silver strickland i don't care about your kingdom he's taking me to no real stop him stop him don't let him take me out of the kingdom stop him john won't like this jody stop him don't let him [Applause] lock me up you you gotta do something jim don't tell him nothing just keep your mouth shut you hear me where are you taking me this hills back there oh we've got a special place for you i don't need no special place put me in the jump what do you got to do jimmy okay [Music] oh now we've only covered a third of the territory and that's if he hid it in the kingdom we got to keep going i can't hold wallace forever without evidence well we got enough to prosecute kidnapping an assault he killed a man that's what he's going to pay for sheriff that was county tom strickland broke he wants to talk [Music] your cousin talks gave us all the details about him and henry mobley in that second car all right about how you waved him off at sunset how you come back by with turner's body transferred it to mobley's car took the back road to your place stopped at your pasture gap slung wilson turned over your shoulder and walked off in the woods well you have to understand sheriff tom strickland's kind of family fool a little pressure and he'll have to say anything i wouldn't get too carried away with it what do you say about me everything he didn't say i killed nobody did it i just done the driving i didn't kill nobody shut up you stupid fool you remember that poker shooting you remember who got you off you owe me but i didn't kill turner you did that i'm not gonna hang for you shut up i said i don't know john looks like the kingdom is beginning to crumble you don't make no difference what they say you still don't have a body sheriff elsie just checked in he thinks he found something you remember elsie hancock don't you john he's the one that got your uncle yeah there's two sets of shoe prints here dug in rather deep now you can even see the nail marks on the sole trademarks on the heel now either they was two big men or they was carrying something heavy we probably can between them second set call is almost right on top the first now look what happens when the second man does swing out brush between them snapped off about four feet from the ground whatever these cans hanging on a pole two poachers falling out of deer would you bother to wrap a deer in a burlap blanket uh correct me if i'm wrong but uh that is burlap isn't it there's also a set of mule tracks up in the road running parallel with the stream somebody up there is watching out versus all these well trails starts about a mile back then just a little ways ahead coming out on the road traffic's wiped out the tracks from there that road leads straight back to wallace territory my guess is they brought the body here got rid of it went up in the road and walked back home get rid of it we're there waited it down dumped it one of those holes that made haley woman did say something about water you're not getting superstitious no just eager get some drag teams [Music] [Music] we're coming up empty we might be cutting ourselves short here suppose they didn't just dump it and go home suppose they crossed over and kept going well then wearing a mess of trouble ain't nothing over there but mother swamp suck a man up never give them back i think i'm going to take a little walk you better stick some in with you no keep them on the stream drag at every foot of that trail [Music] [Music] is it true what you said about that 500 it's true i've been wanting to talk to you first time you've been out here by yourself i'm the one who called you and gave you strickland's name i appreciate that but the reward is for turner's body you know who i am but you wouldn't go tell nobody would you not if you didn't want no now you understand i've seen anywhere near you i'll have somebody else deliver the money not to me not in merryweather to my folks over there across the line you have my word well wallace burned the body throwed it in a liquor steel pit and doused it with shine and set it off had two colored field hands are helping him albert brooks and fella named robert lee gates you could see them flames for miles albert robert lee he's back there in the fields working thank you now sheriff i want you to understand right now i just put my life in your hands [Music] come on [Music] speech [Applause] [Music] are you robert lee gates yes you ready to talk about burning that body yes sir i am we stacked the wood three layers high another one on top soaked it down with every drop of head then mr wallace put the torch to it he had us come back next morning with sugar sacks and shovels said make sure and scrape it clean yeah you sure done that what'd you do with the ashes took them down to the stream spilled them in show me exactly where walk the same way you boys don't move don't disturb anything yo right along here down by that tree right here fill them in fire and water he beat us he's just gonna up and walk away lamar yeah good bone chips would you men be willing to testify that these are the final remains of the body of wilson turner yes sir yes sir hey boys we got him [Applause] we got serious problems john those field hands of yours took share of pots on a grand tour the pasture the whale the liquor pit the entire trail of crime pot snatched up every piece of lincoln evidence they even lured a man into the whale found a piece of brain you left behind together with those bone chips pig bone cow brain they sent them to atlanta the crime lab confirmed they're human what you albert and robert lee are to testify who was turning in all of georgia not one white man has ever gone to the chair on a nigger's word and they're going to testify against me how long you think they're gonna be around to do that [Applause] just got confirmation from columbus albert and robert lee arrived safely at muskogee prison they're in protective custody registered under assumed names and they won't be moved till you call for them you found homes for the family oh yeah a couple of farms in cow eater good people now to keep secret move them over there as soon as they're loaded up and make sure you're not following right we got one more trip ma'am tell sheriff collier i've come for it tell him yourself he's taken to his sick bed again [Music] don't even breathe hogwell pull the blanket off of him real slow kind of a warm day to be all covered up ain't sure you ain't calling me off like no dirt dog criminal i'm an elected official of this county i'm a sheriff you sold that badge the same badge i stand behind oh they end that heart problem for you right here and now have a warrant for your arrest accessory the murder i can't leave i gotta stay in bed i gotta take pills that's where you better stay you run and i promise you there ain't a place on god's green earth that i won't track you down [Music] all right go ahead in there so we're gonna just give you a real quick check here thank you thank you thank you circle i just checked into real quick thank you very much i didn't man i heard you have the deputy check you just real quick sir can i just check you real quick mr mahali ms sally i appreciate you coming to testify this morning elijah's doing my duty sheriff you know justice must be served mr haley i notice you have a different head on today well the other one's from world war one belonged to my brother he got killed in action oh i'm sorry well that's all right we still talk mr henley i just bet a hundred dollars he's gonna get off i got a hundred dollars said wallace together how's that gonna go well i ain't saying i don't wanna influence this trial by telling what's going to happen jay so let's get these ladies some proper secretaries she said i'm right didn't you hear she didn't say nothing your ears pinned on backwards you boys here wallace hired a.l henson to his defense team it's a slick dude out of atlanta folks say he could get sherman's march reduced to trespassing don't mean nothing it does mean something foreign superior court of caitanya county case number 446 the state versus john wallace the honorable samuel j boykin presiding court is now in session gentlemen of the jury what the state is about to contend is that the defendant john wallace on april 20th 1948 did willfully feloniously and with malice of forethought to kill and murder wilson turner now we will present to you 38 sworn witnesses we will corroborate their testimony with 43 pieces of physical evidence we will detail every step of this most heinous and barbarous act i am certain you gentlemen will and all good conscience have no choice but to find john wallace guilty as charged and sentence him to death they had a fallen out over 20 gallons of liquor wilson said mr wallace threatened him mr wallace told wilson to get off his land and if he ever seen him again he'd he'd kill him you say you saw a body in the well how did you see crawfish's eyes are in his tail mine are in my head you can tell what's going to happen in the future can't you well i'd like you to tell what's going to happen to me well you look here you might just get what turner got oh they drug that fell out to the car door and tried to force him inside that's when wallace brought it down against that fellow's head so hard that the gun went off the fella never hollered no more well i'm afraid i must agree with the state prosecutor your sheriff lamar potts has amassed a remarkable almost incontrovertible chain of evidence yet one question remains to be answered where exactly did wilson turner die we've heard testimony he was hit on the head in qaeda then driven to meriwether which county did he actually die if he died in merryweather then i submit the sheriff potts had no jurisdiction that in fact he made an unlawful arrest and i will move that this trial be transferred to meriwether or dismissed altogether [Music] who can answer the question of turner's death only those men who drove him out of cain with their testimony i will prove that turner died in mere weather and i will move for dismissal your honor as my first witness i call to the stand mr henry mobley your honor my client refuses to testify on the ground that might tend to incriminate him that case your honor i call on mr herring sebel your honor my client refuses to testify on the grounds it might tend to incriminate him mr thomas strickland your honor my client refuses to testify [Music] your honor at no time has the state absolutely proved that the bull administered at the sunset tourist camp did indeed kill turn they don't have to it's up to you to prove that it did not kill him now get on with this trial hey hey you can't believe it ain't nobody want to testify for waters mr wallace you have the right to make an unsworn statement on your own behalf neither the defense nor the prosecution may interrupt you you will not be placed under oath but your testimony will be a matter of record do you wish to make such a statement there's no reason you go up there the less sad about this incident the better that's where you're wrong castle you don't understand the power of my word these people will believe what i tell them to as your attorney i'm advising you to stay off the stand your honor i do wish to testify well it's going to take the stand it don't save my hundred dollars [Applause] i believe i should begin with how i met wilson turner was in 1945 he came to me looking for work at first i was against it i don't believe in mixing white and colored help promotes social equality it causes serious problems but he was a young man needing to start i hired him and the first few years he proved to be a good worker i was i was very happy with our association but then word came to me that turner was making liquor on my land well naturally i was distressed what if someone should think i was involved in this illegal trade i asked him to discontinue his liquor making to get back on the straight and narrow he ignored me made threats against my person finally with grave fear for my life and reputation i requested he leave my property he did but not before taking my prized guernsey cow with him now many of you men are working farmers such as myself and you know what a loss this can be well not long after that i received a call from my sheriff hardy collier saying that turner had been arrested and transferred legally and properly to the meriwether jail i told him that i would come down and decide what should be done with turner i drove in the next day with my kinsmen tom strickland and friends henry mobley and herring savelle who are under some obligation to me i wanted to talk to turner but not in jail somewhere else that's not the first time a man has been taken out of jail and talked to as we arrived i noticed turner in his new truck heading for cayeta we took pursuit i meant to catch him and bring him back to jail i never consented for sheriff callier to release him your honor i think it's obvious my client is under a good deal of stress and beginning to tire if we might take a short recess seems energetic enough to me go on i'm i'm not going to lie to you john i had a gun in my hand when we caught turner but not for the intention of hurting anyone i'm a church-going man i believe in my god as you believe in yours now these these witnesses have testified that i struck turner with that gun and that is not what happened [Music] as i went to put him in that car he grabbed the doors and pushed back hitting his head on the gun causing it to go off it made a small cut on his right ear a little bleeding i put him in the car ordered him to sit on the floor at that time he was as alive as you and me i know this because as we drove away he commented on the poor fitting of the door panels and how the dust blew in we drove him to the pasture where the cow was stolen i meant to get a confession out of it and as as we walked through the gate i heard a noise i turned to look and as i turned to look the gun went off when i when i looked back turner was lying on on the ground with with his scalp torn off it was it was horrible it was a horrible thing the death of wilson turner was an accident i uh i do not remember how he got in that well or what happened to him afterwards i've been under considerable strain and i just do not remember i've asked my god to guide me through this presentation and i ask you to commune with him let him guide you to your decision let me go home to my wife and family i thank your honor i wonder if you could direct the defendant as to where the accident took place you know the rules on unsworn statements there is to be no suggestion from council your honor may i continue you may the well and pasture where all this took place are in merriweather county how to do [Music] you just buried yourself i understand you raised fox house i'm a fancier of that read myself maybe when this whole thing's over you and me miss turner i'm glad i got a chance to see you i want you to know i don't hold a grudge against you for your husband's actions in fact you're more than welcome to pick out any place you want on my land and stay there as long as you like i like to take care of my own uh is this little william is that really necessary the jury is in has the jury reached a decision we have your honor will the defendant please rise i caution this courtroom i will tolerate no expression of opinion on this decision be it favor or disfavor mr foreman what is your verdict we the jury find the defendant john wallace guilty as charged john wallace you have been duly tried and found guilty as charged would you please step forward [Applause] on the 30th day of july between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm you will be put to death by means of electrocution [Music] good morning have another pretty boys done it okay this one [Music] [Music] so [Applause] [Music] hello john i'm about ready to lose so let's drop by and see if there's anything you might need you mean like a fancy last meet no i wouldn't want you to go hunting fried chicken strawberry pie today and then tomorrow i wind up eating supper at my own house it ain't gonna happen they ain't gonna kill me there'll be a phone call always has been you know lamar we're a lot alike each running his own county having power over other men best feeling in the world make you do anything except give it up how powerful is a man who can't control himself you're still down on me for my murdering ways i've only killed four men in my whole life and each one of them had it coming those lives didn't mean anything to you i'm the head of the kingdom i was raised for that my mama always told me do what you have to do never let your conscience get in your way i'm gonna pray for you john goodbye sheriff john sheriff you got 20 minutes no i'm going back to coyote county you're not standing for the execution we saved your seat no thanks i don't think so [Applause] [Music] sir is this line still open yes sir good is there anything you'd like to say yes almighty god you alone know my heart stand by to receive me into your house so [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] you

Channel: Retrospective - Classic Movies

Views: 563,557

Keywords: 1983 movies, Academy Award nominee, Channel 4, Dennis Nemec, Hollywood legends, June Carter Cash, June Carter Cash films, Retrospective - Classic Movies, YouTube movies, classic movies, critically acclaimed films, cult classic movies, famous 80s movies, film noir, free movies, movie buff must-see, must-watch movies, one-eyed soothsayer, retro cinema, small town crime, unforgettable cinema.

Id: jK8GB1gwTOU

Length: 96min 39sec (5799 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 06 2023