DORSEY Your Honor, Gentlemen of the Jury, and good people of Georgia: There is a farmhouse in Marietta, Kinda battered and forlorn, And in that farmhouse, fourteen years ago, A girl named Mary was born. And she would dance in fields of cotton. She had a tree where she could play, But when her Daddy died, two years ago, Mary and her Mama moved away. It’s only twenty miles from Marietta To a fact’ry in the center of this town, And twenty miles was all it took To strike that sweet girl down.
People of Atlanta fought for freedom to their graves, And now their city is a fact’ry and their children are its slaves. People of Atlanta swing their city gates wide, And look at what you’ve wrought!
He points to LEO as he says it, and LEO shrinks from the glare.
The witness stand is suddenly occupied by FRANKIE EPPS.
DORSEY So, Frankie, you say you rode downtown with Mary on the English Avenue streetcar?
FRANKIE Yessir. Mornin’ of the Memorial Day Parade.
DORSEY And can you tell us what happened?
FRANKIE Well, she got up to go and she looked funny. And I said –
MARY enters in her parade finery, as before.
Somethin’ wrong, Mary?
MARY Mr. Frank.
FRANKIE Mr. Frank what?
MARY Looks at me.
FRANKIE Looks at you? Everybody looks at you.
MARY Not like Mr. Frank.
FRANKIE What does he do?
MARY He calls my name, I turn my head, He got no words to say. His eyes get big, My face gets red, And I want to run away, And he looks… And I wait… And he smiles…
FRANKIE And that was the last time I ever saw her. (He looks over at LEO, knots his fist.) I wish I’d-a come over there and broke your damn face!
Reaction in the courtroom. LEO looks nervously at his attorney, LUTHER ROSSER, who slowly rises to his feet.
ROSSER I’m ‘fraid I got to object here. I —
WATSON Proof! It is proof That the Lord has set before us!
JUDGE ROAN limply bangs his gavel. LEO has not met FRANKIE’s gaze, looking straight ahead, stone-faced.