 Mr. District Attorney, champion of the people, defender of truth, guarding of our fundamental rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And it shall be my duty as district attorney, not in the prosecute to the limit of the law of all persons accused of crimes perpetrated within this county, but to defend with equal vigor the rights and privileges of all its citizens. As our case opens tonight, your district attorney and Harrington are seated at the council table in a hot stuffy courtroom. They've been impatiently awaiting the return of a jury who have spent many hours deliberating a verdict. Word has come that this verdict has been reached. Spectators have filed into the room, the judge has returned to the bench, finally a side door is opened and the jury returns. Silently they enter the jury box. An air of tense excitement grips the court as the clerk calls upon the foreman of the jury to rise. In droning tones he asks, how say you, do you find this defendant guilty or not guilty? We the jury find him not guilty. Oh, Chief, did you hear that? Yes, I heard it. Oh, what a swindle. I don't understand it. Why a bunch of ten-year-old kids with no Stanley committed that crime? I thought we had everything we needed on this one. Not evidently there was a reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors. A reasonable doubt? Oh, look at Stanley grinning all over the place. He should be. He'll never be as lucky again. Oh, look at, hey. Hey, he's coming over here. Yes. Hi, I'm Mr. D.A. Hello, Stanley. Is he gonna congratulate me? For what? For winning the Duke. You still done that killing, Stanley? Hang out a jury call it. That's what they pay off on. See you later, boys. Oh, brother. How could they let that punk off? I don't know. One thing is certain, though. What's that? This merely postpones Mr. Stanley's engagement with the chair. How come? He's a professional killer and will continue to be one. The next time we pick him up, we'll make it stick. Oh, oh, Chief. Yes, Harrington. Do you see the morning papers? You mean the account of the trial? Yeah, they certainly blasted that verdict yesterday. Yes, I know. They took particular pains, though, to point out that it wasn't your fault. Well, unfortunately, that isn't much consolation. No, no, no. Excuse me, Chief. Yes, Miss. There's a Mrs. Clark in the outer office. Yes. She was one of the jurors on the Stanley case. Oh. She want to see me? Yes, sir. You know what about? Well, I don't know. She said it's important. All right, have her come here. Yes, sir. I wonder what this is, Chief. No, no. You remember Mrs. Clark? Oh, yes. Of course. How do you do, Mrs. Clark? This is Mr. Harrington. How do you do, Mrs. Clark? Sit down, won't you? Very well. Sit here. Now, what can I do for you? Well, I have something to tell you it has to do with the trial. Yes. I, uh, well, I feel that there's something very suspicious about the verdict. That's why I came here. You better get your pad and pencil, Miss. No, I have it right here. I'll take this down, Chief. Thank you. Yes. What are your suspicions, Mrs. Clark? Well, in the beginning, most of us believed that Stanley was guilty of the murder. But there was one man especially who insisted he wasn't. And, well, he had a lot to say about it. Yeah. Who was that? Mr. Taylor. He was the foreman. Yes, I remember him. He insisted that Stanley was innocent. And what did he basically say? Well, he never would give a reason. Just kept saying he knew he wasn't guilty. Did he get everyone else to come around to his way, I think? Well, the first change came when we were taken out to lunch the second day. This Mr. Taylor sat with two other men on the jury. And when we returned, well, they had changed their vote to not guilty. Any reason for this change? No. These two men were more or less leaders. There had changed over gradually and so has most of the others. Finally, by the third day, another jury and myself were the only two who were for a conviction. Well, what made you both switch? Well, at dinner time, this Mr. Taylor sat with the man who was siding with me. Well, I never went on there. Made him change his mind. So after dinner, you were the lone holder? Yes. And then you finally just gave up? Oh, no. No? Well, I mean, I was prepared to stand my ground to the finish. When I received a message from an attendant, it was about my son. It said he was coming home on the final furlough before going overseas and he'd only be in town overnight. And of course, you wanted to see it? Yes. And besides, by this time, all the others agreed he wasn't guilty, so I voted with him. Well, I can understand that. But the message wasn't true, sir. What do you mean? My son called me this morning from camp. He knew nothing about it. Hey. That's really what convinced me I should come here. Well, I'm certainly glad you're here, Mrs. Clark. Do you think that Taylor guy had anything to do with the phony message? I don't know. Well, I think we should try to find out. I'd like to have a talk with this man, Taylor. Find out where he can be located, Harrington, and bring him in for questioning. Here, Mr. Butler. Wow, how old-standing. Wonder what happened here. I kind of did a little celebrating last night. I sort of figured you would. Don't make me nervous. OK. You hung over? Yeah, a little bit. I have to fix that, as well. Come on, Ken. OK. What a beast. Got your ride. Oh, shot a ride. Too good. All right. I want to thank you, Mr. Butler. For what? For the fix. Yeah. Well, you killed a guy for me. The least I could do was rig a jury for you. Here, drink up. Thanks. That should ease the pain. How did you ever do it? What? Swing them jury guys. The way that DA pile of points on me, I figured I was cold. Told you I'd take care of things, isn't it? Sure. But even a mop, he said I didn't have a chance. He just didn't know the score, that's all. How was it, Ken? I knew him the foreman. A little fat guy? Yeah. How come? Well, he was in a pocket. He needed dough. I just took care of him. What about the others? Well, he was kind of a smart man over there. How do you mean? Most people somewhere in the past have got something they'd rather than have brought up again. Yeah. So I had a checkmate and a jury dug up enough on three of them to turn a little heat on. Well, how did you get caught up? Well, it seems that there's a waiter in the joint of jury agent who happened to be a friend of mine. A guy I'd kind of done favors for. I sent a note through him with a foreman, giving him a rundown on these three guys and the jury. So he went to work on them. You really operate, Mr. Butler? That's my business. Anything can be fixed, kid. You just gotta know how, that's all. Well, you've done a swell jab. And just to show you I mean that, the next killin' you want down is on me. I didn't hear Mr. Taylor. All right, all right. Chief, you remember this fella? Yes, yes, of course. Hello, Mr. Taylor. How do you do? He wasn't too happy about comin' over here, chief. Naturally. I've neglected my business enough serving on that jury. Well, I'm sorry, but this is quite important. Sit down, please. Very well. Harrington, did you explain to Mr. Taylor why I wanted to see him? No, chief, I thought you could do that better than me. All right. Just what is this all about? It has to do with the verdict reached by you and your fellow jurors yesterday. Yes? We have a report from a woman named Clark. She served with you. What about? She seemed convinced that several of the jurors were pressured into changing their views on the case. Well, that's ridiculous. Why, that woman, Mr. Taylor, why don't you wail you here the whole day? Very well. Go ahead. She also leaned that you were the one who exerted this pressure. Oh, this is fantastic. She named three specific jurors who were influenced. We're trying to contact these men now to substantiate her story. Well, I must tell you right now, sir, this is the most libelous thing I have ever encountered. You deny the charge. Completely. Look, Mr. Taylor. Just a minute. I think I see behind this whole thing now. What do you mean? Wouldn't it be possible that having lost the case, you are now looking for some excuse to justify it? Oh, hardly. Well, it certainly appears that way. Now, just a minute. Oh, wait, Harrington. Here. I called you in here, Mr. Taylor, to acquaint you with a charge that's been made. Frankly, I intend to investigate it thoroughly, so I advise you to remain available for further questioning. May I see you for a minute, Mr. Butler? Oh, come in, sir. What are you doing here? Something has come up. I had to talk to you. It wasn't very smart of you to come here. I had to. Well, what is it? I have just come from the district attorney's office. What are you doing there? He sent for me. What for? A woman on the jury has charged that I was responsible for the acquittal. So what? She implied that I exerted pressure. How would you know? Well, that is an appointment, Mr. Butler. The fact remains the charge has been made. The DA said he's going to make a thorough investigation. Okay. Let him investigate. But if those men I influence should talk... Well? Well, I have a reputation to think of, Mr. Butler. I am a respected man. Sure, sure. You've got to do something. You have to help me. Look, Taylor, nothing's going to happen. How do you know? Just take my word for it. I'm sorry, that isn't enough. No? No. I demand a guarantee of protection. The same protection you gave to Stanley. You demanded? I most certainly do. Don't forget, you have as much to lose as I have. How do you figure that? Well, you were responsible for my swaying that jury. So? If the district attorney were to find that out, you'd be in this thing, too. How do you figure that DA would find out about me? Well, I am... You, Taylor? Possibly. Yes. That's very interesting. What was that? Space. Stanley. Come in. I get company. Ah. I remember. Yeah, the jury guy. That's right. He's got trouble. What's the matter? That DA smells of a fix. I've just come from his office. He's worried. Afraid I won't take care of him. Why? I don't know. He says if he falls, I fall, too. Oh, I didn't exactly say that. That could mean a new trial, kid. Hey, now, wait a minute. We can fix that, though. How? Remember that favor you owe me? Huh? You promised me one on the house. Oh. What are you going to do about this, Mr. Butler? I'm taking care of it. How? Show him, Stanley. Right. It's good to be working again. Excuse me, Chief. Yes, Mr. Taylor. Here are a typewritten copies of all the testimony we took. Oh, fine. Put them right on the desk. Yes, sir. And that shouldn't be just about all the evidence we need against Mr. Taylor. Yes. And all three of the jurors, then, they were willing to repeat this testimony in court. I know. Uh, one thing puzzles me, though, Chief. Yes. What's that? Mr. Taylor, find out these things about the other three jurors. I don't know who said them. He didn't. What do you mean? I think it was passed on to him by someone else. You think he was just acting as a stooge for Stanley? No. Stanley wouldn't have been smart enough to fix a jury either. Then who was it? I'm afraid I can't answer that. But I felt right along that Stanley had someone higher up behind him who was trying to save his neck. How do you know? He's a professional killer. He commits murder for profit. However, his client was, and this killing we tried him for, could very easily be the one who helped him. And also the one who dug up the paths of the men you just talked to and bought them with it? Yes. Well, I should think he'd be as important in this thing as Stanley is. He indefinitely is. However, we still have to learn his identity. Hi, Chief. Oh, come in, Harrington. Right. I'm trying to locate you. How's Donald headquarters? Well, he talked to those three jurors. All of them admitted, finally. The Taylor had influenced them, and about for acquittal, after he had threatened to reveal some damaging fact in their past. How do you like that? So cute. I want you to get Taylor over here at once. Well, there ain't much chance at that, Chief. Why not? His body was found about half an hour ago out in Fairview Park. Oh. And laying next to him was a cop with two bullets in his chest. Oh, Mr. Butler. I've been waiting there most of the morning for you. Why? I run into a little screw-up. What do you mean? Can I talk to you? Sure. Sure. I took Taylor's body out to dump it last night, just like we planned. Yeah? I bring him to Fairview Park. Mm-hmm. Park the cop. I'm not. Just as I'm planning him, that turns up a cop. Oh, fine. He throws one of them What's Going On here routines at me. Yeah. While he's in the middle of it, I put two slugs in him. It wasn't very smooth. What else could I do? Got a stiff with me, remember? Shooting cops is bad business, Stanley. What'd you do with Taylor's body? You dumped it beside the cop. Are you kidding? Huh. Oh, that's great. What do you mean? Why don't you put a label on it? I don't get it. The DA is going to mildly suspect that you killed Taylor anyway. If you didn't ever get any proof, that's all. Finding that cop beside him is something different. They'll turn the whole force loose on you, kid. That's okay. It ain't with me, Stanley. I got a piece of this thing, too. What do you want? I should go. Well, you better go on. All right, now, Lucy, you want anything to do with the heat off anyway? I was just starting to operate. You do, like I say. You go on there. In fact... Of course, a chief, Miss Miller. Oh, he's been over at Taylor's office doing some sort of an investigation on him. Well, what good does that do now? Well, he believes that Taylor was acting for someone else when he fixed that jury. Sure he was. But Stanley... No, Harrington. The chief believes there's someone above Stanley. Above? Who? Well, that's what he's trying to find out. Well, I hope he gets something. Yeah. Any word on Stanley? Not yet, but there's a pretty healthy search on for him. How's the policeman? The one who was shot? Yeah. I just checked City Hospital. Conditions about the same. I see. Has he regained consciousness yet? No. Well, if he should die, then there's no way of proving that Stanley did the shooting. That's right, unless we come up with some new evidence. Oh, hi, Chief. How'd you make out, Chief? I think I found something. Good. Was this in Taylor's office? Yeah. What is it, Chief? A thorough check on his business affairs. Yeah. Representative of his bank worked with me. Uh-huh. I learned that he had a good deal of financial trouble lately. He owned several small enterprises, and they were all heavily mortgaged. Yeah? These mortgages were held by a man we're all familiar with. How's that? Mr. Joe Butler. Well, to fix guy, huh? That's right. How did Taylor get mixed up with him? Oh, mother has many legitimate investments, and these were some of them. Oh. Just before the trial, these mortgages were canceled. What, you mean called off? And there's no record of Taylor having paid. Well, that sounds like Butler made a deal with him, too. Yes, Mr. Miller. It certainly seems that way. Well, that sure looks like the tie-in, all right. Yes. Oh, um, anywhere on Stanley? No, not yet. And how is that cut? He's still unconscious, Chief. Are there any clues at all on the thing? Just two, the bullets and some tire tracks that were found. The police lab is working on both of them. I see. What are you going to do on this Butler angle, Chief? I'm going to pay a call on him. When? Right now. It's an honor, Mr. Deerey. Thank you. Ah, this is a real surprise. Really? Yeah. What's in your mind? Murder. Well, it's OK for openers. Is there anybody in mind? This murder is already been committed. Oh. The body of a man named Taylor was found this morning on Fairview Park. How was it? I don't believe he was a business acquaintance of yours. Taylor? Yes. You held several mortgages on some of his enterprise. Oh, sure. Yeah, yeah. I remember the guy. I'm sorry to hear about that. How did it happen? Well, we believe a man named Stanley was responsible. I guess one I don't know. Oh, I think you do. Another business acquaintance? It could be. Stanley is a professional killer. Taylor served on a jury other than just acquitted him of murder. Why should he want to kill somebody who acquitted him? Well, Taylor was bribed to swing that acquittal. Oh. It's my belief that the bribing was done by you. Very funny. I didn't intend it to be you. You know, you legal guys killed me. How's that? Everything of you was a deduction, ain't it? Oh, this is more than straight deduction. You mean your proof? I will have. How? Whoever got rid of Taylor's body ran into a policeman in the park. Yeah? He shot the policeman. Oh, kid. But fortunately for us, he didn't die. A cop? That's right. Wow. That is a break. He's in the city hospital right now. Still unconscious. When he comes around, he should have an interesting story to tell. Yeah. I'd like to hear it. You will. Army. Oh. Yeah. For you. Thank you. Hello? Oh, yes, Henry. What's that? I see. Yes. Yes, fine. And I'm glad to call. Right. Goodbye. And that was another report on the officer who was shot. The doctors believe he'll be well enough to talk tomorrow. Good. I'll get in touch with him again after I've heard his report. I'll be waiting a year for him, yeah. This time it takes. Right. Where Harington put the cuffs on him? The desperate attorney. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I think the first thing I should tell you is that Stanley was tried again on the charge of first degree murder. And with the evidence we gathered, we made it stick this time and he paid for his crimes and the electric change. Yeah. And that little visit was wrong overdue, Chief. Yes, Harington. Chief, I think you should tell a device you used to trap him. Well, it was really a desperation measure. You see, the call I received from Harington when I was in Butler's office was a report from the police officer and died. I knew that his death just not eliminated any real chance we might have to criminal murder on Stanley. If he met Butler was working with the killer and also knew his whereabouts, I trumped up the story of the policeman who was recovering. I hoped this would go him in getting rid of him before he could talk. Which it did. We spent most of the day in that hospital waiting for Stanley to show. He didn't know that the body in the bed was a dummy. Oh, the lights out, he couldn't turn. You forgot about Butler, Chief. Oh, yes. Well, Mr. Butler has been sent to prison for a long term for his part in the affair. You see, Stanley thought Butler had double-crossed him in the hospital story. So he implicated him and the killer. Well, that's what usually happens, isn't it, Chief, when thieves fall out? Yes, it is. Thank you and good night. The names of all characters in the ninth dramatization are fictitious and inter-asemblance. The names of living persons are actual places. It's purely coincidental. Our stars were J. Justin in the title role, Len Doyle as Harrington, and Vicky Bola as Miss Miller. The music was under the direction of Peter Van Steehan and the author was Jerry Devine.