Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction

You are about to enter the world of a strange truth...

a world where the line between fact and fiction

is almost imperceptible.

"Beyond belief...

Fact or fiction," hosted by James Brolin.

We live in a world where the real and the unreal

live side by side, where substance

is disguised as illusion, and the only explanations

are unexplainable.

Can you separate truth from fantasy?

To do so, you must break through the web of your experience

and open your mind to things beyond belief.

This word may look like it spells false to you.

A closer look shows that it can also be true.

The stories you will see tonight will

challenge your power to separate what

is true from what is false.

Each story may seem to you beyond belief.

And in fact, some of them are totally fictitious, created

solely for your entertainment.

But others are inspired by actual events

that have been documented as happening to real people.

We've changed the names and certain details,

and yet, the basics of the story remain the same.

At the end of the program we'll tell you

which stories are totally false and which

ones have true written on them.

Can you recall ever seeing something

that wasn't really there...

a movement of a curtain that looked momentarily

like an intruder; A figure in the fog that turned out

to be a shadow; The mirage of water on a distant stretch

of highway shimmering in the heat?

Mona Watson has been seeing things lately...

frightening things.

Will her visions turn out to be reality...

or just another illusion?

The world seemed to be

closing in on me that spring.

Things weren't going so well in my marriage.

Plus, I'd lost my mom and dad within months of each other.

Years ago I had what everyone called a nervous breakdown.

I was even hospitalized for it.

I'd come back from that living hell.

But lately I've been experiencing

a disturbing hallucination.

I only saw it when I looked into the mirror

in our second floor hallway.

I was terrified about my mental state

and about that frightening image that I

couldn't get out of my head.

What I'm worried about, Dr. Hayes,

is having a relapse.

Mona, I really don't think that's what this is.

Then why do I keep seeing that woman?

Mona, you're working on a lot of stuff right now.

Your mother just died, and you're under a lot of stress.

You're not sleeping well.

But why does it only happen with that mirror?

I'm scared to death.

I don't want to go back into the hospital.

The chances of that are so slim, Mona.

Look, you're stronger than that.

Well, what if we got rid of the mirror?

I'm all for that.

I don't think the mirror is the problem, Mona.

Now, look.

I want you to go home and get some sleep.

Call me tomorrow.

We'll talk about it some more.

That night I did everything I

could to delay going up to bed.

I knew the doctor was right.

I had to conquer my own fears by myself.

But I just didn't want to pass that mirror again,

so I rearranged the things in the house,

because I couldn't rearrange the thoughts in my head.

Mona!

I thought you said you were coming to bed.

I'm coming right now.

George was already in bed.

My fear of the mirror was doing nothing

to solve the very real problems we had in our relationship.

Yet deep down I felt we still loved each other,

and I wanted to be a strong partner for him.

But I felt myself losing him and my mind at the same time.

You forgot to turn out the hall light.

Oh.

Do you want me to do it?

No.

I'll get it.

I knew that George was trying to force

me to confront my demons.

He just didn't know how real they were to me.

Don't worry. I'm right here.

I'm here. I'm here.

The bad weather

continued all month long.

And then a major storm hit that was stranding commuters,

like George, in the city.

Hello?

Oh, George, hi.

Uh-huh.

Well, then when are you going to be home?

Can't you come home tonight?

Are you... are you sure?

Oh, George, please try.

No!

I'll be fine, yeah.

I'll just sleep with the lights on.

Mm-hmm.

I love you too.

Uh-huh.

Bye.

I was trembling inside,

but I was determined to hold on to my sanity.

I don't know why I didn't sleep downstairs that night.

I guess I didn't want George to come home and find me there.

On the way upstairs I made up my mind.

I would compromise.

I didn't care what Dr. Hayes might think.

I was home alone, and I was going to do

something to calm my fears.

I've replayed that night's events

over and over in my head.

And it's as real to me now as it was on that terrible evening.

Oh, God.

I didn't know who he was,

but I knew he had seen the lady in the mirror too,

and that's what saved my life.

The prowler was picked up a few blocks away

by the police talking incoherently

about the woman in the mirror.

When his record sheet was checked,

it was found that in the last year

he had escaped from the police after murdering a woman.

When they printed the picture of the murdered woman

in the local paper, Mona saw it and recognized it

as the same woman she had been seeing in the mirror.

After that day she never saw the image again.

Is this story inspired by actual events

or merely smoke and mirrors?

Fact or fiction?

We'll find out at the conclusion of tonight's show.

Next... a condemned man faces his last moments

in a tale that's beyond belief.

To be seated in a warm, safe place as you are right

now is something we never give a second thought.

But what if the circumstances turned our world upside down?

What if we were accused of a crime

for which we had no alibi?

Then would our comfortable seat feel quite as safe and secure?

The electric chair is a relatively simple contraption

composed of little more than wood, leather

straps and electrical wiring.

Yet, it's one of the most reliable

execution devices of modern times,

as gruesome as it is effective.

All right, buddy.

It's time.

Hang in there!

Be brave.

Hey, be brave!

Even the most

hardened criminal can't escape the fear

of knowing he's about to die.

The man behind bars would be next to take

that long, lonely walk.

But for now another man had an appointment to keep...

an appointment booked by a judge and jury.

The straps are to keep the body down

to receive the powerful charge.

The blindfold goes back to the days of the firing squad.

For electrocutions, it also holds the eyes in place.

The final touch... and now all that remains...

is the lever.

Time!

Within days it

would be time for this man to take

his seat in the death chamber...

Raymond Michael Edmondson, convicted

of first degree murder.

It was attorney Lee Calvin's first case as public defender.

He believed in the innocence of his client,

but he couldn't convince the state.

Ray Edmonson's execution was drawing closer.

There was a meal and then a walk back to his solitary cell where

he would have time to think about the circumstances that

brought him to this point and how much different

his future might have been...

a future that right now had only a few hours left.

I'm sorry, Ray.

I did my best.

It's OK.

You did what you could do.

OK, Ray... back to the cell.

Two eyewitnesses

had identified Ray as the man they saw gun down the owner

of a convenience store.

There was no physical evidence.