American Violence

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- Margaret.

What the hell am i

supposed to do with this?

- Doctor's orders, honey.

No staturated fat.

- Ma'am, that doctor is a hack.

And he's pathetic.

He shouldn't even

have a license.

Stop listening to the doctor.

Jesus.

You give me bread?

First of all it's not toasted,

second of all it's peanut

butter without any jam.

How do you expect me to

swallow this or get it down?

How many goddamn times do

i have to tell you that?

Get your nose out of a

cookbook and learn to make

a peanut butter

and jelly sandwich.

- Keep talking like that

and you'll be making

your own sandwiches.

- What did you say?

What was that?

- According to the global

health education consortium,

there are numerous social

causes for violence.

Poverty, unemployment,

illicit drug and alcohol

abuse, cultural norms.

But these external influences

don't explain the root

cause of violence.

Texas versus Johnson.

Ed Johnson was charged

with first degree murder

after the deaths of

his ex-girlfriend

and a boy she was seeing.

Because of the

heinousness of the crimes,

and the ages of the victims,

the prosecutors wanted to

push for the death penalty.

But because ed was a few

months shy of turning 18,

the judge balked.

He was released after

serving only five years,

for good behavior.

One week after being paroled,

ed was pulled over for

a routine traffic stop.

And the police found

the severed head

of a nine year old

little girl in his trunk.

Because of this new discovery,

ed was sentenced to death.

Had the state sentenced him

after the first violent act

where two innocent

lives were lost,

that little girl

would've been spared.

The most interesting part,

is according to his records,

there was no history

of mental illness

or neurological diseases.

So was he born violent?

Ask yourself that.

Now, without understanding

where violence originates,

it's impossible to rehabilitate,

let alone prevent

future violent acts.

- Well what if violence is

so ingrained to our society,

our American culture...

- excuse me, sir.

- That outbursts are inevitable?

There's no escaping it.

- I refuse to believe that

we're far from stopping

the epidemic of violence

sweeping through our country.

- Even with a system in place

that just trades

death for death?

- Okay, so are controlled

executions an act of violence?

Or an act of mercy for the

loved ones of the victims?

- Isn't the act of

killing always violent?

- Is it?

I want you guys to think about

that when you pick a case.

Look for the hidden motives,

and clues that were missed.

And had they not been missed,

would the tragedy

have been prevented?

And remember to be objective.

That is the key

to get an accurate

and impartial read on

the situation, okay?

Class dismissed.

And you are?

- Ben woods.

Assistant district attorney.

I'd like for you to

consult on a case for me.

His name is Jack shea, he's

set for execution in 72 hours.

With it being an election year,

the governor's

under extra pressure

to reevaluate the state's

position on capital punishment.

- Well the nuances of the law

aren't exactly my specialty...

- I'm not here for

legal advice, miss...

- doctor.

- Doctor, pardon.

Now you've watched the news,

national focus was

on the protests,

it's got the governor

backed into a corner.

Now if this execution

goes forward,

our schedule, without

an official review,

the governor won't stand a

chance of serving another term.

I just want you to

talk to him, hm?

Give him your

professional opinion.

Consider it your civic duty.

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