Tomorrow

Your Honor.

Gentlemen of the jury.

All of us in this country, the South,

have been taught from birth a few things

which we hold above all else.

Now one of the first of these things

is that only a life could pay for the life it takes.

Now I know there's not a man on this jury

or a man in Mississippi that in his heart

can find my client, Bookwright,

guilty for defending his daughter

against a rascal like Buck Thorpe.

And that's what I'm talking about.

Not about the dead man, character,

or the morality of the act he was engaged in.

Not about self defense

or whether or not the defendant was justified

to the point of taking a life.

But about all of us who are not dead.

Human beings, who at the bottom, just wanna do right.

Human beings, with all the complexities

of human passion, instincts, beliefs.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Thank You, Your Honor.

Court recessed until jury returns!

Don't you agree, he had the pistol in his hand

when they found him?

Buck Thorpe deserves what he got.

I tell you, I wouldn't of waited as long as Bookwright did.

He was not only no good, but dangerous.

Right, right.

And if it hadn't been Bookwright,

someone, sooner or later, would have to kill him.

Yes.

Then what do you want?

What do you want?

I can't help it.

I ain't gonna vote Bookwright free.

And so Jackson Fentry, cotton farmer,

hung my jury-

Who was he?

I thought he'd farmed one place all his life,

but I discovered that 20 years ago,

he left for a job.

His neighbors told me.

You see, that was my first case

and I had to find out why I'd lost it.

Good luck to you, Fentry.

If any of us had known then what I know now,

Jackson Fentry never would've been on that jury.

# My heart is sad #

# My soul is weary #

# While sailing o'er #

# Life's rugged plain #

# The clouds are dark #

# The day is dreary #

# Angel rock me to sleep #

# Angel rock me to sleep #

# In the cradle of love #

# In the cradle of love #

# Bear me over the deep #

# Bear me over the deep #

# To the heavens above #

# To the heavens above #

# When the shadows shall fall #

# When the shadows shall fall #

# And the savior shall call #

# And the savior shall call #

# Angel rock me to sleep #

# Angel rock me to sleep #

# In the cradle of love #

# In the cradle of love #

Hello.

Can I help you?

I'm looking for Mr. Chester Russell.

Well, he's not here right now.

I'm his son, lsham.

Are you the man my father hired as caretaker?

Yes, sir.

Come on then.

Last man we had left a month ago.

Got too lonely for him.

He was drunk half the time anyway.

This is the sawmill.

Men don't come out here till spring.

Pa says you can stay on in the boiler room.

He'll leave the mule out here so you can get

to the store and back.

Next year, if you still like it out here,

we'll talk about building you a house.

There's a stove there you can cook on.

There's a well out there for water.

We'll get you some dishes.

If you need anything else, you come to the house

and ask for me or Pa.

Yes, sir.

Hey, merry Christmas, Fentry.

Merry Christmas, lsham.

Pa wanted to know if you'd be going home

for Christmas.

I am, I'm leaving as soon as I can make it there.

How far is your farm?

Thirty miles.

How you gonna get there?

I'll walk it, I'll be home before supper time.

- You want some. - Thank you.

When'll you be back?

Day after Christmas.

Don't you ever get lonesome by yourself out here this way?

No.

You ever go huntin'?

I hunt some.

Maybe when you come back

we can go huntin' together some time?

All right.

Agh...

Lady?

Oh, lady.

Lady?

Where am I at?

You're at Chester Russell sawmill,

over in Frenchman's Bend.

I'm Jackson Fentry.

I'm the watchman out here in the winter time

when the mill's shut down.

I heard you when I come out the door of the boiler room.

You sounded to me like you was in pain.

How long you been here?

I don't know.

I remember walking down the hill back yonder--

I know I was feelin' dizzy.

I said to myself, "I hope I ain't gonna faint."

But I guess I did.

What day is it?

It's the morning before Christmas.

Then I haven't been here too long.

It wasn't light yet when I started out this way.

I think I better be gettin' out of there.

Let me help you.

I'm sorry.

I guess I'll have to rest a while longer.

I haven't quite gotten my strength back yet.

Well, let me help you in here so you can rest by my fire.

It's so raw and cold out here.

Thank you.

It has been a cold winter, hasn't it?

Yes.

There was ice this morning early when I left the house.

I seen it out in the ditches as I passed.

Yes.

I said to myself, "Jack Frost has been here."

He sure has.

Can you make it?

Yes, sir, I can make it.

You can sit here, misses.

Thank you.

It is nice and warm in here.

I love a good fire on the stove.

I could get it warmer.

I'm letting it die out 'cause I'm about to leave

for my papa's farm for Christmas.

Well, don't go to no trouble for me.

I can stay for more than a minute?

Just to get my strength back

and to get some of the coldness out of my bones.

Can I get you anything to eat?

No, thank you.

You'd think I'd be hungry, wouldn't you?

Carrying a baby and all, but I don't have no appetite.

You live here all by yourself?

Yes.

Mr. Chester Russell's gonna build me a house

next spring to live in, but he told me

to stay on out here for the time being.

Warm and dry, that does it for me.

Have you been here long?

No.

I was raised 30 miles from here on a cotton farm.

I work with my daddy.

My mom's dead.

My daddy's on the farm, all alone now.

You from around here?

Sort of.

Off and on, that is.

My husband never cared much for this county

and he's always trying to find work away from here,

but we always had to come back.

You're on your way home now?

No, no, sir.

Was you going to the store at Frenchman's Bend?

If you was, you sit right here.

I'll go get whatever it was you wanted.

Oh, no, no, sir, I wasn't going to no store.

You goin' in to Jefferson?

No.

No, sir, I wasn't goin' no place.

I was just goin'.

Just goin'.

Is your husband dead?

No, sir.