find an innocent person guilty
"It takes a great prosecutor to convict an innocent man."The Thin Blue Line · 1988 — 第 18 / 20 章 · 4'11" · B2
David Harris's Same M.O., Explained：came over me
A woman survives an attack with a rolling pin and identifies David Harris, who admits it and explains, "something just came over me." Then another account turns on the trial itself: a young witness says his testimony was rehearsed, which is what you call "coaching the witness."
あらすじ
A woman in Vidor is hit over the head with a rolling pin; the attacker thinks she is unconscious, but she isn't, and she identifies David Harris. Harris turns himself in, admits the attack, blames marijuana and drinking — 'something just came over me' — and posts bond before leaving for Germany. Later, a witness describes how investigators fed him the timeline and rehearsed his answers: 'coaching the witness.'
注目の表現
came over meknocked unconsciouspost bondhave dealings with
00:00 / 04:11Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
このシーンの表現
came over me
overwhelmed me suddenly
Harris shows up to confess and blames the attack on drink and a sudden surge he cannot explain.
I still don't know what came over me that night.
このシーンの他の表現
- knocked unconscious
struck until unconscious
- post bond
pay bail to get released
- have dealings with
have contact or business with
- coaching the witness
prepping a witness in advance
- deceive the jury
mislead the jury
このシーンのメモ一覧
57 行のセリフに 24 件のメモ
a proud achievement of his
believes that the Adams conviction was one of his great victories...doubts about something
probably because of some reservations he has about Adams' guilt.past perfect passive: Had been plus a participle marks an earlier action done to her.
and the attacker thought she'd been knocked unconscious...recognize your identity
I told him, "David, this girl knows who you are.made a mistake
He said, "I was wrong. I smoked marijuana, I was drinking.Link got over into go-tover and run over me together.
"I don't know what got over me but something just came over me."left something unsaid
But he forgot to mention one thing, that he was only wearing underwear.stopped denying it
He'd just get to where he wouldn't deny it.the same method
We had a crime with basically the same M.O. as his...comparison with as: The same as compares two things and marks them equal in some way.
We had a crime with basically the same M.O. as his...discovered
I did, and found out that he was in prison at the time.military jail — Military jargon; rare in everyday talk.
He said he woke up in the stockade...match his method
We had another occasion to have a crime that fit his M.O. a lot...double negative: The double negative is nonstandard but still means a plain negative.
I really didn't have no real dealings with the court systems, etc.The t in didn't often drops and have is weakened.
I really didn't have no real dealings with the court systems, etc.foolish kid — Casual; used to mock or to mock oneself.
Just a young, dumb kid.judge based on
You just estimate from that event what time it was.making a rough guess
You're taking a guess.guessing — Informal; means estimating without certainty.
You're taking a guess.reviewed something
He went over my testimony with me pretty extensively.work best
Let's get this evidence in a spectrum where it's going to be most effective.Going to contracts to gonna; hear it as one word.
Let's get this evidence in a spectrum where it's going to be most effective.think carefully about
At the time, I didn't really ponder on it...「David Harris's Same M.O.」を読み解く
What's really going on
The chapter is about repetition: the same man keeps surfacing in crimes with the same methods. 'We had a crime with basically the same M.O. as his,' the narrator says, and each time he checks, David Harris is in another prison — first Texas, then California. 'So I realized again that unfortunately, he hadn't straightened up.' The other half turns on how testimony gets made. A man who was sixteen when he testified describes being told the time of the crime in advance and asked leading questions, then having his answers drilled: "That's what you call 'coaching the witness.'" Looking back, he says the prosecutor 'was deceiving the jury. He wanted to deceive justice.'
Theme
JusticeA man keeps committing the same crime while a young witness's rehearsed testimony helps convict someone else — the film's case that the system convicted the wrong man.
DeceptionThe reversal is explicit: 'he was deceiving the jury. He wanted to deceive justice,' says the witness who realizes he was coached.
このチャプターで学べること
- A method repeats even when the names keep changing.
- A confession can start with a small detail left out.
- The detective reads the boy through his pattern, not his manners.
- Staying out of prison is not the same as straightening up.
発音のポイント
- got over me — Link got over into go-tover and run over me together.
- didn't have — The t in didn't often drops and have is weakened.
- going to — Going to contracts to gonna; hear it as one word.
"It takes a great prosecutor to convict an innocent man."The sardonic framing at the top: the skill being praised is the ability to convict someone who didn't do it.
"You know I know the truth this time."The officer tells Harris that this time the evidence is solid and he can't talk his way out of it.
"I don't know what got over me but something just came over me."Harris's excuse for the attack: he can't name a reason, only that a sudden impulse took hold of him.
That's what you call "coaching the witness."The name for what happened: a witness says his testimony was walked through and his answers shaped before he took the stand.
but he was deceiving the jury. He wanted to deceive justice.Looking back, the witness calls the rehearsal a deception aimed not just at the jury but at the idea of justice itself.
So I realized again that unfortunately, he hadn't straightened up.The investigator's repeated discovery: the man whose M.O. keeps matching new crimes has not reformed and is still in prison somewhere.
このシーンについての質問
What does 'M.O.' mean?
Modus operandi — a criminal's usual method or pattern. The film uses it to link separate crimes to David Harris, noting later crimes had 'basically the same M.O. as his.'
Why did the woman survive the attack?
The attacker used a rolling pin and assumed he had knocked her unconscious, but she never lost consciousness — so she was able to identify David Harris afterward.
Why did the young witness go along with the coaching?
He was sixteen with charges pending and afraid of being tried as an adult. He says the D.A. told him not to worry and coached his answers, so he said what was wanted — and only later called it deceiving the jury.
Why does Harris leave for Germany?
After admitting the attack he posts bond and goes to Germany. When the investigator later links a new crime to his M.O., he has to track Harris down — and finds him in a California prison.
Was Harris ever punished for the attack?
He posted bond and left the country, and the film never shows it going to trial. Instead it follows his later crimes, which is the point: the same pattern keeps repeating.
The Thin Blue Line · 全 20 章
すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 19 章tore my head offThe Scales Are Not Balanced
第 1 章meant to beRandall Meets David at the Gas Station
第 2 章give a damnDetective Forces Adams to Sign
第 3 章graveyard shiftOfficer Wood Shot at Traffic Stop
第 4 章swear up and downDavid Harris Brags About the Killing
第 5 章come to find outRecounting the Night of the Shooting
第 6 章acting strangeRandall Recounts the Motel Night
第 7 章went blankAdams's Statement Labeled a Confession
第 8 章under the impressionThe Car With No Bullet Marks
第 9 章scot-freeDavid Harris Gets Off Scot-Free
第 10 章cover forWhy the Story Was Two Hours Late
第 11 章refreshed her memoryMrs. Miller Changes Her Story
第 12 章hinge onA Couple Witnesses the Shooting
第 13 章wheels start rollingWitnesses Testify for Money
第 14 章without remorseDr. Grigson's Prison Test
第 15 章put food on the tableDr. Death Takes the Stand
第 16 章hard-nosedRandall Adams on Death Row
第 17 章set the wheels of justice in motionThe Case the Supreme Court Reversed
再生中 · 第 18 章came over meDavid Harris's Same M.O.
第 19 章tore my head offThe Scales Are Not Balanced
第 20 章point-blank rangeDavid Harris Confesses in the Bayou第 18 / 20 章 · 残り約 8 分