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Ext. House in tefton - back porch - day
BURT HAMMERSMITH, public defender for Trapingus County, sits with a cold soda and a magazine, watching his TWO CHILDREN playing on a swing at the far end of the backyard. The screen door opens and CYNTHIA HAMMERSMITH ushers Paul out.
CYNTHIA I offer you a cold drink?
PAUL Yes, ma'am, a cold drink would be fine. Thank you.
She goes back inside. Burt rises.
PAUL Mr. Hammersmith. Your office said I'd find you at home today. I hope I'm not troubling you.
BURT That depends, Mr.--?
PAUL Paul Edgecomb. I'm the E Block superintendant at Cold Mountain.
BURT The Green Mile. I've heard of it. Lost a few clients your way.
PAUL That's why I'm here. I'd like to ask you about one of them.
Burt settles back down, motions " please sit".
BURT Which client? Now you got my curiosity aroused.
PAUL John Coffey.
BURT Ah, Coffey. He causing you problems?
PAUL No, can't say he is. He doesn't like the dark. He cries on occasion. Other than that...
BURT Cries, does he? Well, he's got a lot to cry about, I'd say. You know what he did.
PAUL (nods) I read the court transcripts.
Cynthia reappears, hands Paul a cold root beer.
PAUL Thank you, Missus.
CYNTHIA My pleasure. Kids! Lunch is about ready! Y'all come on up!
She goes back inside, but the kids aren't quite able to tear themselves away from their play.
BURT What exactly are you trying to find out? Satisfy my curiosity, I'll see if I can satisfy yours.
PAUL I've wondered if he ever did anything like that before.
BURT Why? Has he said anything?
PAUL No. But a man who does a thing like that has often developed a taste for it over time. Occurred to me it might be easy enough to follow his backtrail and find out. A man his size, and colored to boot, can't be that hard to trace.
BURT You'd think so, but you'd be wrong. Believe me, we tried. It's like he dropped out of the sky.
PAUL How do you explain that?
BURT We're in a Depression. A third of the country's out of work.
People are drifting by the thousands, looking for work, looking for that greener grass. Even a giant like Coffey wouldn't get noticed everywhere he goes... not until he kills a couple of little girls.
PAUL He's...strange, I admit. But there doesn't seem to be any real violence in him. I know violent men, Mr. Hammersmith. I deal with 'em day in and day out.
Burt smiles, realizing:
BURT You didn't come up here to ask me whether he might have killed before. You came up here to see if I think he did it at all. That's it, isn't it?
PAUL Do you?
BURT One seldom sees a less ambiguous case. He was found with the victims in his arms. Blurted out a confession right then and there.
PAUL Yet you defended him.
BURT Everyone is entitled to a defense.
Cynthia hollers from an open window:
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