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May
23, 2005 Transcript Ric: Sonny Corinthos is perfectly capable of killing almost anyone to protect his children. No doubt about it. But he did not kill A.J. Quartermaine. Sonny: Ric, Ric, don't do this. Justus: Sonny, you can't -- Sonny: Don't do -- Ric: Sonny, the truth has got to come out. Judge: Mr. Corinthos, take your seat or you'll be restrained. Jason: No, no, no -- Carly, Carly, Carly, don't -- Carly: I got to stop Ric from telling about Michael. Jason: Just -- just give Ric a second. Ric: For you to return a verdict of guilty, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Sonny Corinthos -- and he only -- entered A.J. Quartermaine's room the night of April 25 and smothered him. The prosecution has failed to prove its case and therefore, you must find Sonny Corinthos not guilty. [Gallery buzzes] [Judge pounds gavel] Judge: Quiet. Order in this court! John: Objection. John: The jury has been prejudiced by D.A. Lansing's grandstanding. I move for an immediate mistrial. Ric: The jury has a right to know that according to the laws of the state of New York, the prosecution has failed to prove its case. Judge: You include yourself in that statement. Ric: Yes, your honor, I understand that. Judge: While it is highly unorthodox, it is not technically illegal for the prosecutor to argue in favor of acquittal. John: The prosecuting team is expected to be in agreement, not working at cross-purposes. Ric: You should remember that. Judge: Objection overruled. D.A. Lansing will be allowed to continue his summation. Ric: Thank you, your honor. John: You'd better turn this thing around or you can kiss your legal career goodbye. Ric: The jury has a right to know the truth, Durant. What are you afraid of? John: I'm going to bury you, Lansing. Alexis: You can still stop this -- for Kristina and for us. Ric: I know what I'm doing. [Judge pounds gavel] Judge: Court is back in session. Mr. Lansing, you may continue. Ric: Thank you, your honor. Before I continue, I would like to acknowledge the fact that though this seems highly irregular, there is a purpose. That is why we are here. As Mr. Durant so aptly and passionately expressed in his final summation, we are here because we value justice. We're also here because we need to uncover the truth. My co-counsel for the prosecution has made much of the fact that Mr. Corinthos here has confessed, when the fact is that fully 40% of all defendants charges in criminal proceedings initially confess and then later recant, and then many of those are found innocent, but I digress. People confess for many different reasons. Some confess because they are pressured by the police or because they feel guilty for hating someone or wishing them ill will. Others confess for the reasons that Mr. Corinthos did -- to protect someone else. In this case, it was Mr. Corinthos' son Michael. When Michael Corinthos was subpoenaed, he was in the throes of a posttraumatic stress. The child could not speak and he had difficulty distinguishing between dreams and reality. The boy had been traumatized for months. So Mr. Corinthos confessed -- to protect his child from further anguish. I'm sure those of you who are parents would've done the very same thing. A case built on questionable confession and no corroborating evidence should be withdrawn. This particular case went forward because John Durant was so eager to prosecute. He was willing to imply that his own daughter, Carly Corinthos, had killed A.J. Quartermaine to draw Mr. Corinthos out and pressure him to confess. This has not been a murder trial. This has been an exercise in intimidation on the part of a man who simply just doesn't like his ex-son-in-law. He's so determined to keep Sonny Corinthos away from his daughter that he was willing to put his own grandson on the witness stand and badger him and bully him to the point where he would incriminate his own father. But it didn't work. Little Michael Corinthos stood up. Stood up for his father, and he stood up to John Durant. You all have that opportunity now. You have the opportunity to uphold the law, to show that this case has not been proven, and to acquit Sonny Corinthos with a verdict of not guilty. Ric: Thank you. Judge: Is the defense prepared to give its closing arguments? Justus: D.A. Lansing's statement is complete, your honor. The defense rests. Judge: If you find the evidence inconclusive or have any doubt as to the guilt of the accused, you must acquit. You may begin your deliberations. Court is in recess. [Judge pounds gavel] Carly: What is Ric trying to pull? Courtney: I don't know. Maybe he realized that A.J. had done enough damage, and making Sonny or anyone pay for his death would give A.J. power he doesn't deserve. Sam: Hopefully Ric has convinced the jury. Courtney: Yeah. John: Go ahead; congratulate your brother on a job well done. Kiss, kiss. Hug, hug. I'm sure the jury will see this farce for what it is -- a trial thrown by a corrupt D.A. Sonny: Thank you. Ric: We both know you were innocent. Sonny: No matter how it turns out, I'm grateful. Alexis: Congratulations. Ric: I did what I thought was right. Alexis: You did what you thought would gain acceptance from Sonny. Well done. You are now officially Sonny's brother. Alexis: Durant was on the verge of getting a conviction when you threw the case. Ric: Durant's case was based on nothing more than speculation and innuendo. Alexis: Isn't that for a jury to decide? Ric: Alexis, there was no real evidence. My closing statement was accurate. Alexis: Why don't you just admit it? Admit that you wanted Sonny to go free. Ric: I do not believe that Sonny killed A.J. Alexis: That wasn't my question. Ric: All right. Yes. I wanted Sonny to go free. Ric: There you go, Jack. Jack: Thank you. Ric: Thank you. Alexis: I don't know why I waited. I guess I just wanted to know why. Ric: I had to tell the truth. Alexis: The truth is a very blurry concept when Sonny is involved. Ric: It was clear in this case. Alexis: What's clear is where your loyalties lie -- not with my daughter, and not with me. Ric: We can still have a life together, Alexis. Alexis: It appears that you've taken away that chance. Ric: You know what? Just because you issue an ultimatum doesn't mean you have to go through with it. Now, we can go home, and we can have dinner with Kristina. We can put her to bed. We can sit around all night and argue about names for our baby. We can forget that this day ever existed, and we can start to focus on our future together. That's what I want, and I hope with all of my heart that that's what you want, too. Alexis: I don't want to lose you. But I don't really see what choice I have. Ric: There's always a choice, right? You made a choice when you made that deal with the devil and conspired with Durant to go after Sonny. You acted first and you regretted it later. Just don't ever do it again. I'm not going to leave you, Alexis. You're going to have to be the one to leave me. Now, I know you have no problem doing that. But you need to ask yourself, is that what's best for all of us?
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