WEBVTT - Rooms Of Experience - Act 3 0:00:04.160 --> 0:00:07.680 As the case bills momentum, so do Dana's doubts. Every 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:09.920 piece of evidence paints a different picture than the one 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:13.319 in her file, a mother who gave everything, who could 0:00:13.320 --> 0:00:16.479 have hidden her crime but didn't, who spent decades trying 0:00:16.520 --> 0:00:19.320 to protect her son from a system that repeatedly failed 0:00:19.320 --> 0:00:23.400 families like hers. Dana speaks with witnesses who've lived the 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:27.920 same story, caregivers of disabled family members, experts who've seen 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:32.640 institutional abuse firsthand. These aren't just character witnesses for Ada. 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:36.880 They're witnesses to a broken system, a kind of system 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:40.600 Ada feared would swallow her son the moment she was gone. 0:00:43.840 --> 0:00:49.720 Act three, Interior courtroom, Day Corta's in session. Ada on 0:00:49.760 --> 0:00:51.280 the stand to resume her testimony. 0:00:52.080 --> 0:00:55.080 Ada, in your own words, can you tell us what 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:57.760 happened the night of April twenty fourth of this year. 0:00:58.920 --> 0:01:03.320 It had been a good day, as close to perfect 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:09.360 a day as could get for us, no miltdowns, no outbursts. 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:15.560 The rain had held off till evening, so Teddy was 0:01:15.600 --> 0:01:19.720 able to lie in the garden, feel the sun on 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:20.440 his face. 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:25.920 Insert flashback montage. Teddy lies on his back in the garden. 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:29.680 Ada watches him from the doorway. Ada runs a bath 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:32.920 for Teddy hours bubble bath into the tub. Teddy enters 0:01:32.920 --> 0:01:36.280 the bathroom. He wears a robe. Ada brings Teddy a 0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:40.119 dish of ice cream. Teddy gets into bed, Ada tucks 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:43.680 him in, sits next to him, checks her watch. Ada 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:47.800 picks up a cloth hood from the nightstand. Ada connects 0:01:47.800 --> 0:01:50.000 a tube to the helium tank, turns a valve on 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:53.400 the tank. Ada sits on the bed with Teddy, holds 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:57.680 his hand. Ada checks Teddy's pulse, strokes his hair, and 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:00.520 kisses his cheek. Then lays her head on his chest 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:04.600 and sobs. Ada removes the yellow balloon from a package 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:09.600 and uses the tank to fill it. Back to scene. 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:13.399 Ada, by your own admission, you're telling us you took 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:14.320 your son's life. 0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:17.240 Why did you do it? 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:21.040 About a year ago, I read an article about a 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:24.880 woman who lived with her eighty four year old mother, 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:29.520 just the two of them. The woman was deaf, blind, 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:34.799 and mentally disabled. Her mother had taken care of her 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:41.880 for so many years, just like Teddy and me. When 0:02:41.880 --> 0:02:44.800 the mother died at home, the woman crawled around on 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:49.080 the floor over her mother's dead body, looking. 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:50.239 For food and water. 0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:58.919 Before before she was finally found a week later. She 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:03.480 was so traumatized they had to put her into the hospital. 0:03:04.720 --> 0:03:08.760 All I could think was that was that that could 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:14.680 have been Teddy, all alone, unable to even walk out 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:16.359 the front door for help. 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:21.760 But Ada, there are State Hospital's residential living facilities. Why 0:03:21.800 --> 0:03:23.799 didn't you just find somewhere else for him to go? 0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:28.040 Sixty five years Teddy lived in that house with me. 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:33.960 He knew every spot where the floor creaked, exactly how 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:37.040 long it took the toaster to pop up when it 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:42.240 was time to plant the strawberries. That was his home, 0:03:42.800 --> 0:03:48.760 his sanctuary. It was where he belonged, where he felt secure, 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:55.120 even happy. How could I take all that away from him? 0:03:55.240 --> 0:03:56.920 Her voice breaks, but she keeps going. 0:03:58.160 --> 0:04:00.480 Where else in the world would they let him play 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:03.400 piano at two o'clock in the morning if he woke 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:08.640 up from a bad dream. Where would they let him 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:13.480 lie in the dirt and take comfort from the earth. 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:17.599 Where would they. 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:23.560 Hold him and stroke his hair and tell him how 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:26.920 beautiful he was, how truly beautiful? 0:04:29.720 --> 0:04:32.039 Where would he be safe? 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:32.760 Where? 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:39.280 Just where is that place? A jerror fumbles for a tissue. 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:41.839 Alexis waits a moment before continuing. 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:46.640 Ada, did you also plan to take your own life 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:48.680 that day? 0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:50.320 I did. 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:52.640 What stopped you. 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:55.640 I had to tell our story. 0:04:56.680 --> 0:04:57.520 I couldn't bear. 0:04:57.400 --> 0:05:00.719 Anyone thinking I took my son's life because I didn't 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:04.080 love him, or because I thought he was a burden, 0:05:05.839 --> 0:05:09.440 or I was tired of taking care of him, even 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:12.839 when I was exhausted and sad and I couldn't understand 0:05:12.839 --> 0:05:17.719 what Teddy needed. Never, for a moment did I ever 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:21.440 wish he wasn't my son. 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:23.880 Tears fall freely down her face. 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:30.160 I'm not saying I never wished he didn't have autism. 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:35.119 I wish that a lot, especially when he was young. 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:42.320 It's only human to feel that way. You never expect 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:46.200 you to have a child with a disability. It catches 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:50.080 you completely off guard, changes the way you think about everything. 0:05:51.480 --> 0:05:53.880 I hated watching Teddy's struggle. 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:58.920 He had so much to offer the world and would 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:00.000 never get the chance. 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:03.160 It made me so angry. 0:06:03.200 --> 0:06:07.880 It was so unfair. But having Teddy in my life, 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:14.680 even with autism, it's always what I would choose over 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:22.760 never having had him at all. How empty my life 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:27.280 would have been without him. 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:30.160 Ada looks out into the gallery. In the front row, 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:32.200 she sees her twenty four year old self with infant 0:06:32.240 --> 0:06:34.839 Teddy in her arms as she coos to him and 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:37.559 lulls him to sleep and brings him to her chest, 0:06:38.080 --> 0:06:41.039 kisses the top of his head, breathes deep in contentment. 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:45.520 Alexa steps closer to Ada, puts her hand on the 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:46.640 rail of the witness box. 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:51.680 Ada, On the day you took your son's life, did 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:54.400 you believe at that moment what you were doing was wrong? 0:06:57.520 --> 0:06:57.719 No? 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:04.640 Thank you, Ada, No more questions, your witness. She walks 0:07:04.640 --> 0:07:08.560 back to her seat. Dana stands, straightened her jacket, steps 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:10.240 around to the front of the prosecution table. 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:17.960 Just so we're perfectly clear, missus Wells, did you kill 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:18.440 your son? 0:07:21.480 --> 0:07:21.720 Yes? 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:25.600 And do you believe killing a person is wrong. 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:33.320 Under most circumstances, Yes. 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:35.920 But not in your circumstance because you didn't think your 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:39.240 son could adapt to living anywhere else, a theory which you. 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:41.679 Could have easily tested while he was still. 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:46.160 Alive, but you chose not to without exploring any other options. 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:49.880 You planned and carried out the manner of your son's death. 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:53.800 You murdered your son because you alone decided that your 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:55.640 son's life would be worthless without She. 0:07:56.320 --> 0:08:00.800 Exterior at his house day flashback nineteen ninety, Ada in 0:08:00.840 --> 0:08:03.240 her mid fifties, stands on the front porch, the door 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:06.520 wide open in the early morning. The air is still, 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:10.679 the street quiet. She motions with her hand, Oh. 0:08:10.560 --> 0:08:15.559 Come, come, look, Teddy, it's so beautiful after the rain. 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:18.000 No movement from inside. 0:08:19.080 --> 0:08:22.160 Please, Teddy, I promise nothing bad will happen. 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:25.320 You're all grown up now you can do it. 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:28.680 Teddy, around thirty years old, appears in the doorframe. 0:08:29.120 --> 0:08:29.600 That's it. 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:35.520 Come see the red bud tree. It's bursting with flowers. 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:39.880 She points towards the front yard. Teddy peers out in curiosity, 0:08:39.920 --> 0:08:42.040 but does not step outside. 0:08:42.679 --> 0:08:48.720 Please Teddy, just one step. I promise you'll be safe. 0:08:50.360 --> 0:08:53.680 I'll be right here with you always. 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:58.559 Teddy hesitates, slides one foot a few inches forward. Suddenly 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:00.280 the stillness is broken by the thudt out of a 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:02.960 newspaper against the wooden port railing. A boy on a 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:06.760 bicycle whizzes down the sidewalk. A second later, an avalanche 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:09.520 of sounds of irregular day, the wail of a siren, 0:09:09.679 --> 0:09:14.120 a barking dog, a door slams, a baby cries. Teddy 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:16.840 lets a cry of distress, claps his hands over his ears. 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:20.480 He sinks to the floor, rocks back and forth. Ada 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:27.160 rushes inside interior Ada's front hallway continuous. Ada quickly but 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:30.480 softly closes the door behind her. Teddy, still on the floor, 0:09:30.800 --> 0:09:32.800 hits the back of his head against the wall. His 0:09:32.880 --> 0:09:37.000 cries of distress continue. Ada, in tears, runs past him, 0:09:37.280 --> 0:09:39.520 returns a second later with a well worn but soft 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:42.960 plush blanket. She slides down next to Teddy, rubs the 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:44.200 blanket on his arm and cheek. 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:48.079 I am so sorry. I'm so sorry. 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:50.200 I won't ever ask. 0:09:50.040 --> 0:09:54.360 You that again. I'm so sorry, Teddy, I should have 0:09:54.480 --> 0:09:57.600 known better. Please forgive me. I'm sorry. 0:09:58.080 --> 0:10:01.640 Oh, I'm so sorry. She rocks with him as she 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:07.959 soothes him with a blanket. Interior courtroom, day Ada looks out, 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:10.360 lost in thought and turns directly to Dana. 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:15.600 All I can say to you, who is Everything I've 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:19.200 done in the past sixty five years was what I 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:22.960 believed to be in the best interest of my son 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:25.360 for our situation. 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:31.400 No one in this room can truly know what that was. 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:36.360 I realize, though, that you still have to judge me 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:41.600 from a place of law or maybe your own personal feelings, 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:47.839 because that's what keeps order and helps you make sense 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:53.160 of something like this. I never thought Teddy's life had 0:10:53.280 --> 0:10:59.160 any less worth, any less meaning, because he had autism. 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:02.880 What I it wounded me in a way I could 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:09.240 never make you understand, but I wouldn't change it. 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:09.960 It's all right. 0:11:10.360 --> 0:11:14.640 You do what you need to do. It doesn't matter 0:11:14.720 --> 0:11:18.600 what happens to me. I just want you to see 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:22.520 we all have our own peace to make in this world, 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:25.800 however we may find it. 0:11:27.600 --> 0:11:28.480 Dana is silent. 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:35.120 Counselor no further questions. 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:36.920 The defense rests, your honor. 0:11:37.480 --> 0:11:41.280 Does the prosecution wish to call any rebuttal witnesses, Yes, 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:41.959 your honor. 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:47.400 Then we'll resume after lunch. Dismissed. Raps are gavel. 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:56.000 By the way I think. 0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:07.880 Them. 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:08.559 When you're ready. 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:18.560 I just didn't want to be discussing, okay. 0:12:19.080 --> 0:12:23.800 Interior Courthouse, Attorney conference room day. Gina opens a bag, 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:27.240 takes out food. Alexa sits at the table, reviews notes. 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:30.600 Ada stands at the window, looks down on the crowd 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:31.679 of demonstrators below. 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:36.079 All those years, barely anyone knew I even existed. 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:41.679 Now, look at all the fuss you made people think, Ada, 0:12:42.400 --> 0:12:43.360 that's never a bad thing. 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:48.160 Did I ever tell you about Teddy's art. 0:12:48.679 --> 0:12:49.840 The drawings in his room. 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:56.600 Oh, to most people, they probably look like nonsense, but 0:12:56.720 --> 0:13:01.240 they were his way of expressing himself. They represent how 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:05.200 he saw the world and how he saw himself in it. 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:12.160 I understood that every time something upset him, he would draw. 0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:14.680 It's how he worked through it. 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:18.960 The chance of the protests wafted up. Ada gazes out 0:13:19.160 --> 0:13:20.400 squints against the bright sun. 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:24.640 But no amount of drawing could ever make the world 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:29.800 a safe place for him. I did try, but I 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:35.000 couldn't make it safe for him either. So making our 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:40.920 home his sanctuary was all I could think to do. 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:46.520 She coughs, gets louder and more insistent. Gina and Alexis 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:49.880 exchange glances. Gina brings Ada a box of tissue. 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:55.120 Here, Ada, why don't you come sit down, have something 0:13:55.160 --> 0:13:55.920 cold to drink. 0:13:56.800 --> 0:14:00.560 She ushers Ada over to the table in the courtroom. 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:02.600 Day court is back in session. 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:05.480 The state calls doctor Monique Ogden. 0:14:05.880 --> 0:14:10.280 Doctor Ogden late forties, stylish appearance, walks with authority, enters 0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:13.640 the courtroom, sits in the witness box. The bailiff approaches, 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:16.640 Please raise your right hand, do you square refirm to 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:17.280 tell the truth? 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:19.280 The whole truth and nothing but the truth. 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:23.760 I do your honor, Doctor Ogden is testifying. 0:14:23.120 --> 0:14:25.280 As an expert in the field of autism. 0:14:25.600 --> 0:14:28.320 Please state your qualifications, Doctor Ogden. 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:29.040 Certainly your honor. 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:32.520 I hold a PhD in childhood development with a postgraduate 0:14:32.560 --> 0:14:36.120 work at Harvard School of Medicine. My educational expertise is 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:40.840 in the areas of developmental psychology and developmental psychopathology. I 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:43.360 am the director of the Autism Clinic at the University 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:45.920 of California, Santa Barbara and former co director of the 0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:50.000 Marcus Autism Neurodevelopment Center in Atlanta. Additionally, I am a 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:53.360 professor of child in adolescent Psychiatry. I have worked with 0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:56.240 children with autism and their families for almost thirty years. 0:14:57.000 --> 0:15:00.360 The court is satisfied, doctor Ogden, has I've met the 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:06.560 requirements of Rule seven two. Any objections from the defense, No, 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:08.600 your honor, You may proceed. 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:10.120 Doctor Ogden. 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:14.400 Kid a person with severe autism, such as Theodore Wells, 0:15:15.120 --> 0:15:17.480 learn to adapt to a new environment after spending his 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:20.480 entire life in the same house with the same caretaker. 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:26.000 Yes he could, It would take some special consideration. Someone 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:28.160 to get to know him and how he communicates. Before 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:31.760 his mother was gone, along with recreating a similar environment 0:15:31.800 --> 0:15:34.800 and routine in his new living space. But it most 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:39.240 certainly could be done. People with low functioning autism navigate 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:41.360 their world almost like a movie with no sound trick. 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:44.880 They don't want their routine broken because they are unsure 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:47.120 how to restore the track. It would take some time, 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:51.080 but with intense therapy, I'm sure it would not only 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:54.240 be possible, but a highly successful transition in which he 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:54.840 could thrive. 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:56.640 Just so I have it straight. 0:15:56.840 --> 0:16:00.000 In your expert opinion as it relates to this case, 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:03.040 Theodore Wells could have adjusted to living in a new 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:05.600 home without his mother as this caretaker and lived in 0:16:05.720 --> 0:16:07.280 equally fulfilling. 0:16:06.760 --> 0:16:12.680 Life in my expert opinion, yes, thank you, doctor Ogden, 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:13.800 your witness. 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:19.000 Alexis smiles in anticipation. Dana returns to her table while 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:20.160 Alexis remains seated. 0:16:21.160 --> 0:16:24.920 Doctor Ogden, do you work with many older autism patients? 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:27.040 I have worked with them. 0:16:27.280 --> 0:16:31.440 Yes, the keyword there was many. Almost all of your 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:34.240 work is with children, isn't that correct? 0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:36.560 Children and teenagers. 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:39.760 Yes, you don't have a child with autism, do you? 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:41.120 No? 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:46.440 I do not have you personally as an autism expert. Ever, 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:49.120 come across a case such as this, a man with 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:52.480 severe autism being removed from his only home, his only 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:57.040 family member, after six and a half decades and continuing 0:16:57.080 --> 0:16:57.480 to thrive. 0:16:58.480 --> 0:17:01.120 I don't have any personal experience with the case exactly 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:01.680 like this. 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:06.000 Have any of your colleagues, I'm not certain. I would 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:08.480 have to check convenient. 0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:14.080 How about any case studies read any of those sixty 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:18.479 five years, same home, same caretaker, moved him and he 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:21.479 was fine, anything like that. 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:27.159 There have been some similar situations. 0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:28.320 Really similar. 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:32.400 How I've worked with adults with autism after they were 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:33.840 removed from their family homes. 0:17:34.040 --> 0:17:36.880 You have how old were these adults? 0:17:37.280 --> 0:17:40.480 To my recollection, the oldest was twenty three. 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:43.480 Dana bites the inside of her lip. A low murmur 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:44.840 is heard through the courtroom. 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:47.639 Twenty three. That's not quite sixty five, is it? 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:53.400 Did these patients of yours still have living family members, parents, siblings, 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:57.160 loved ones to visit, monitor their care, take them home 0:17:57.200 --> 0:17:58.840 for visits and holidays. 0:17:59.280 --> 0:17:59.879 I'm not sure. 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:03.200 You're not sure. Weren't these your patients? 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:06.640 Doctor objection asked and answered. 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:07.679 I'll allow it. 0:18:08.520 --> 0:18:13.120 Please answer the question, doctor, reflecting back, Yes, they had 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:14.560 family who visited, so. 0:18:14.600 --> 0:18:18.000 Even with all your expertise, you can't say with any 0:18:18.040 --> 0:18:21.320 degree of certainty that Teddy Wells would have been just fine. 0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:24.480 You can't say that he wouldn't have been utterly traumatized 0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:27.960 by the sudden upheaval in his life, unable to respond 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:29.239 or communicate. 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:30.680 In any meaningful way. 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:33.600 You don't know, because you've never come across a single 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:36.120 case study even remotely like Teddy's. 0:18:36.160 --> 0:18:36.439 Have you? 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:40.160 I can't say definitively, but based. 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:42.560 On Alexa stands, leans across the table and interrupts the 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:43.359 doctor with force. 0:18:43.760 --> 0:18:46.040 Just answer the question yes or no? 0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:50.120 Doctor, do you have any actual experience with the case 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:50.960 as extreme as this? 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:56.320 No, Alexis gives a dismissive wave of her hand sits 0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:57.080 back in her seat. 0:18:57.400 --> 0:19:01.159 That's what I thought. I'm through with this witness redirect. 0:19:01.800 --> 0:19:04.600 No, your honor, you may step down, doctor Argudon. 0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:07.400 She quickly leaves the courtroom. Dana does not look at her. 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:09.960 Does the State wish to call any further witnesses? 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:11.879 The State rests, your honor. 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:16.800 Courts journed. We will reconvene at nine am tomorrow for 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:18.040 closing arguments. 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:21.240 The judge wraps her gavel. People gather their belongings and 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:26.560 file out. The noise level rises. Dana stays seated. Carter 0:19:26.640 --> 0:19:29.800 speaks to her, but she isn't listening. She notices Ada 0:19:29.840 --> 0:19:32.480 looking at her and holds her gaze and turns away 0:19:32.520 --> 0:19:37.320 when she realizes Carter is talking. Exterior Dana's car moving night. 0:19:38.400 --> 0:19:41.520 Dana drives slowly down a residential street. She stops in 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:45.040 front of Ada's house turns off her lights. Interior Dana's 0:19:45.080 --> 0:19:49.399 car night. Dana stares at Ada's house. Light shines from 0:19:49.440 --> 0:19:52.800 a front window. Ada appears at the window, looks out 0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:56.639 into the night. The house goes dark. Dana sits for 0:19:56.640 --> 0:20:02.000 a moment and drives away. Interior cor day. The room 0:20:02.080 --> 0:20:05.840 is packed, everyone in position except the judge. People fan themselves. 0:20:06.680 --> 0:20:09.080 Dana dabs discreetly at her forehead and upper lip with 0:20:09.080 --> 0:20:13.160 a tissue. Ada does not look well. The judge enters 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:13.840 takes her seat. 0:20:14.040 --> 0:20:16.160 All rise, the cord is noun such. 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:17.520 Everyone rises. 0:20:17.920 --> 0:20:22.040 Good morning, he settled. As there are no more witnesses, 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:26.159 we will proceed to closing statements, beginning with the prosecution. 0:20:26.320 --> 0:20:28.120 Are you ready to begin, missus jeffries. 0:20:28.560 --> 0:20:30.760 Dana remains standing as the rest of the room sits. 0:20:31.480 --> 0:20:32.439 Yes, Your honor. 0:20:32.840 --> 0:20:34.200 Dana turns to address the jury. 0:20:35.000 --> 0:20:38.960 Ada Wells committed murder. She told you so, right here 0:20:39.040 --> 0:20:43.399 in this very courtroom. She searched the internet, gathered the 0:20:43.440 --> 0:20:47.399 equipment she needed, selected the day, and killed her son. 0:20:47.800 --> 0:20:50.920 And no matter what the reasoning was behind it, no 0:20:50.960 --> 0:20:53.359 matter how sorry you may feel for her and what 0:20:53.480 --> 0:20:56.879 she has been through in her life, remember that she 0:20:57.000 --> 0:21:01.400 had a choice, and that choice was murder her. When 0:21:01.440 --> 0:21:05.240 you cut through all the emotion, all the heartbreak, you're 0:21:05.280 --> 0:21:08.639 still left with murder, plain and simple, and that is 0:21:08.680 --> 0:21:13.199 what you must find Ada Wells guilty of. Thank you. 0:21:13.800 --> 0:21:16.200 She steps back as Alexis comes around the defense table. 0:21:17.000 --> 0:21:20.040 Some Buddhist teachings justify taking human life on the grounds 0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:26.200 of compassion in dire circumstance. One text says taking life 0:21:26.600 --> 0:21:29.359 is unreprehensible when it develops from a virtuous thought. 0:21:30.480 --> 0:21:31.720 Ada's only thought was. 0:21:31.640 --> 0:21:34.600 That her son should die at peace, in the only 0:21:34.640 --> 0:21:38.359 place and what the only person he'd ever known, comforted 0:21:38.440 --> 0:21:42.240 and secured in her love, rather than lost and confused 0:21:42.600 --> 0:21:49.520 alone amongst strangers. There was no malice, no deceit, no 0:21:49.560 --> 0:21:52.320 attempt to cover up what she had done, because there 0:21:52.400 --> 0:21:57.000 was no crime committed on the day Ada took Teddy's life, 0:21:57.440 --> 0:22:00.760 she believed fully and completely that what she was doing 0:22:00.920 --> 0:22:05.040 was not wrong. In her mind, she was taking care 0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:10.280 of her son, just as she always had. John Steinbeck wrote, 0:22:11.240 --> 0:22:13.040 there are those among us who live in rooms of 0:22:13.080 --> 0:22:15.120 experience that you and I can never enter. 0:22:16.240 --> 0:22:18.160 Ada Wells lived with her son in such. 0:22:17.960 --> 0:22:21.120 A room, a room where none of us have ever been, 0:22:21.880 --> 0:22:27.159 for sixty five years, not because she had to, not 0:22:27.320 --> 0:22:32.159 out of obligation, but out of love. And her final 0:22:32.200 --> 0:22:36.600 act for her son was out of love too. 0:22:36.800 --> 0:22:39.520 She takes a moment to let that connect, returns to 0:22:39.560 --> 0:22:39.960 her seat. 0:22:40.800 --> 0:22:42.879 Ever rebuttal your honor, the. 0:22:42.920 --> 0:22:45.639 Judge nod Stana Stands steps right up to the journey. 0:22:45.800 --> 0:22:49.280 I don't think anyone here doubts that Ada Wells loved 0:22:49.280 --> 0:22:49.800 her son. 0:22:50.440 --> 0:22:51.320 That's not in question. 0:22:52.160 --> 0:22:55.280 But Ada Wells isn't on trial for loving her son. 0:22:55.359 --> 0:22:58.960 She is on trial for killing him. Ado Wells thought 0:22:58.960 --> 0:23:00.840 her son would be better off dead if she were 0:23:00.840 --> 0:23:02.400 not around to take care of him. 0:23:02.560 --> 0:23:04.960 But that was not her decision to make. 0:23:06.760 --> 0:23:11.400 Sorry, Ada Wells is on trial for not loving. 0:23:14.720 --> 0:23:24.240 For great I don't think anyone here doubts that Aida 0:23:24.320 --> 0:23:25.400 Wells loved her son. 0:23:25.800 --> 0:23:26.760 That is not in question. 0:23:27.560 --> 0:23:30.760 But Ada Wells isn't on trial for not loving her son. 0:23:31.280 --> 0:23:32.600 She's on trial. 0:23:32.359 --> 0:23:33.600 For killing him. 0:23:34.040 --> 0:23:36.359 Adowell thought her son would be better off dead if 0:23:36.440 --> 0:23:39.000 she were not around to take care of him, but 0:23:39.040 --> 0:23:43.080 that was not her decision to make. Missus Wells had 0:23:43.080 --> 0:23:45.800 cared for her son all by herself, and maybe that 0:23:46.000 --> 0:23:46.560 was part. 0:23:46.359 --> 0:23:47.080 Of the problem. 0:23:47.600 --> 0:23:49.960 Maybe by not seeking out others to share her burden, 0:23:50.359 --> 0:23:53.760 she in fact created the very situation she felt she 0:23:53.880 --> 0:23:59.280 only had one solution, killing her own son. Missus Wells 0:23:59.400 --> 0:24:02.560 told us that there was no one else, no family, 0:24:03.040 --> 0:24:05.160 no one who would care for Teddy as she did. 0:24:06.000 --> 0:24:07.520 And you know, and maybe in the first few years 0:24:07.560 --> 0:24:11.119