- 1 day ago
Robbie’s future hangs in the balance as they wait for the verdict. Brad and Sally argue over a new student.
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00:02Look, I loved my wife, and there is no way that I'd be contemplating another relationship
00:07right now, and you should have damn well known that.
00:09I'm sorry, I jumped to the wrong conclusion.
00:11No, I don't want to hear it.
00:12If you think that that's the kind of person that I am, then you can go to hell.
00:16What does it say about my love for Emily if I'm already having feelings for someone else?
00:20Well, it says that it's beyond your control.
00:22The best thing to do is just to stay out of Sally's way, for good.
00:27No matter what happens, you'll never lose me.
00:31And if I do go to jail, I'm taking you and Ella with me.
00:35Right here.
00:50And so, ladies and gentlemen, this will not be a long trial, as the case before you is very simple.
00:56Graham Walters was alive when his grandson entered the room and dead when he left it.
01:02Disregarding a court order ruling that Mr. Walters' life support be continued,
01:07Robbie Hunter took the law into his own hands and ended his grandfather's life.
01:12These are facts, and they're undisputed.
01:15The only question before you today is, what are you going to do about it?
01:21Conduct occasioning death.
01:24It is indeed a very serious charge.
01:27Brought upon because, as my learned colleague has already told you,
01:31my client freely admits to turning off his grandfather's life support machine.
01:37But what the prosecution has not told you is that there is another question to be considered here today.
01:42And that is, if a man is already dead, how can any conduct occasion his death?
01:50It is our contention, ladies and gentlemen, that Robbie Hunter did not end his grandfather's life,
01:56because the sad truth is, Graham Walters was already brain dead.
02:00A fact verified by two doctors.
02:02Now, did Robbie break the law?
02:07Oh yes, I fear he did.
02:10But what I fear even more is that he is going to be punished for doing the right thing.
02:15And that, ladies and gentlemen, is not justice.
02:19That is the law gone mad.
02:22So the greatest question you have to answer today is, are we here to serve the law or justice?
02:30Because justice contends that Robbie Hunter walks free.
02:37Hello.
02:38Hi.
02:38Oh, isn't it a shame about poor Robbie Hunter?
02:41Yeah, my students are all thinking about him today.
02:43How are you?
02:44Not, not too bad.
02:47I'm sorry, I've got to get this.
02:49Everything all right, Pat?
02:51Yeah.
02:51What do you mean?
02:52Oh, well, it's just that you usually get along like a house on fire, but not today.
02:56No, no, no, everything's fine. Brad's got a lot of work on at the moment.
02:58Um, if you don't mind.
03:01Oh, yes.
03:02Well, if I made a smell like that, I'd be pulling a face too.
03:06Come along, darling lady.
03:07Time for a new nappy.
03:08We'll get out of your hair.
03:13What can you tell me about Rocco Cooper?
03:16Oh, the new student.
03:18Um, the department rang me a few weeks ago about him, asked if we'd accept him as a transfer, and
03:23I agreed.
03:23Which is what they just told me.
03:25The question is, when were you going to tell me?
03:27What?
03:27Oh, it just slipped my mind to mention it.
03:29I'm sorry.
03:30Well, you didn't think to run past me before you said yes to the department?
03:33Well, I didn't want to bother you while you were still on leave.
03:35I just made a judgement call in your absence.
03:37Is there a problem?
03:38Well, given the kids' involvement in gangs, yes, there is a problem.
03:43Dr. Young, in your medical opinion, what were the chances of Mr. Walters' recovery?
03:50Nil.
03:52Really?
03:53Brain death had been clearly established.
03:55He would have been entirely dependent, unable to act for himself in any way.
03:59So how then would you characterise his future quality of life?
04:03Well, there wasn't any to speak of.
04:06Well, you mean he had nothing to look forward to at all?
04:08Well, no, what I think I'm saying is he had nothing full stop.
04:14No life, no prospects.
04:16And anything he did have was artificial.
04:22Artificial.
04:27Let us be clear here, Doctor.
04:30Can you, under oath, categorically rule out any chance of recovery for Mr. Walters?
04:36Well, yes, I can.
04:37Oh, can you also rule out any advances in this area being made in the future?
04:42No, of course so.
04:43And doesn't it then follow that the only thing that we can be sure of in this call room today
04:47is that Graham Walters will not be here to take advantage of these advances?
04:53I suppose so.
04:55And the reason for that is that Robbie Hunter made the extreme decision to end his life, thereby robbing him
05:00of any chance of recovery in the future.
05:04The prosecution sees no need to call any further witnesses at this time, Your Honour. We respectfully rest our case.
05:12I can't believe that you're not willing to give this boy a chance.
05:15The department has implied that we're taking a huge risk by letting this kid attend Summer Bay High.
05:19But he clearly wants to turn over a new leaf and I for one think that we've got a real
05:23chance of reaching out to him.
05:24That's very honourable and well-intentioned, but hardly realistic given the kid's background.
05:28Robbery, car theft, assault of a teenager I might add.
05:31What was I supposed to do?
05:32If we didn't take him, the courts were going to remand him into detention.
05:35Which sounds like exactly where he belongs.
05:37He's trying to sort himself out. He's going to counselling.
05:40He's doing whatever he can to stay out of jail.
05:42Well, I don't agree.
05:44I think he's trying to escape his old life and I think we have an obligation to help him.
05:47We don't owe the kid anything.
05:48And you shouldn't have just assumed that I'd be okay with this.
05:51Look, the decision has already been made.
05:53He's going to be here in a couple of weeks, so we're just going to have to do the best
05:56we can.
05:57Oh, is that right?
05:59Well, okay, I'm going to have to do the best that I can.
06:02You might be able to turn your back on a kid in trouble, but I can't.
06:05If it's going to make you feel better, I will take full responsibility for what happens from here.
06:09Okay?
06:12Glad we could talk this through.
06:23Mrs. Hunter, in your own time, could you please take us through your father's last wishes?
06:29No objection, Your Honour. The witness is being asked to speculate.
06:31With due respect, I'm not asking her to speculate. Simply recall a direct conversation, Your Honour.
06:36The objection's overruled. The witness may answer.
06:40Well, he just had a heart attack and he was very anxious.
06:45And he told me that if things didn't go well, then he didn't want to be hooked up to a
06:51machine and made to linger.
06:53So, it's safe to say that Robbie was simply following his grandfather's wishes?
06:57Yes, that's where Robbie would have...
06:59Oh, objection, Your Honour. This witness cannot be an impartial judge to the defendant's intent in killing his grandfather.
07:04And I object to the prosecution's deliberately malicious characterization of the charge, Your Honour.
07:09I'm going to sustain both objections. The prosecution will refrain from using prejudicial language and the defence will move away
07:18from this line of questioning.
07:20Mrs. Hunter, what sort of son is Robbie?
07:24Well, he's all that a mother could hope for. He's very kind and gentle and, I mean, when I see
07:31him with his wife and daughter, I just...
07:33Objection. Oh, forgive me, Your Honour, but I failed to see the relevance.
07:36I am simply trying to establish his good character, Your Honour.
07:39That has little to do with this case.
07:41I'm forced to agree. Again, I will ask the defence to find another line of questioning.
07:47Um, I have no further questions of this witness, Your Honour.
07:52Mrs. Hunter, you wanted to turn off your father's life support, didn't you?
07:56Yes, because that's what he wanted me to do.
07:58And why didn't you do it?
08:01Was that because Amanda Walters, your father's wife, went to court to stop you?
08:05Well, it wasn't what any of us...
08:07Well, she did obtain a court order to maintain life support, did she not?
08:12Sorry?
08:14Yes.
08:15And what was the reaction within your family to that order?
08:18Well, none of us were happy about it.
08:20And yet your son acted alone.
08:22Why was that?
08:25I'll put it to you.
08:26It's because you all knew the ramifications of breaking the law, but that Robbie didn't care.
08:31He did care.
08:32He cared too much to see his grandfather suffer.
08:35Mrs. Hunter, if you don't mind...
08:35He did what was best for the whole family.
08:37I mean, he did what was best for my father, and I'm going to see what he said.
08:40Tell yourself to the questions only, or she will be in contempt.
08:43I'll put it to you again, Mrs. Hunter.
08:46There was a court order specifically forbidding the removal of your father's life support,
08:52which your son knowingly ignored.
08:54Isn't that true?
08:59Excuse me.
09:01Yes.
09:15Graeme Walters is dead because his life support was removed, and Robbie Hunter admits that he removed it.
09:21Now the defense wants you to look past that.
09:23They want you to set aside the fact that he ignored a court order, and instead see Robbie Hunter, the
09:29good son.
09:30The young husband and father that loved his grandfather so much that he felt compelled to kill him.
09:37Oh, he may very well be a good man, but he broke the law in this instance, and now he
09:42must face the consequences.
09:45That means the only verdict available to you on the evidence presented is guilty as charged.
09:57The truth of the matter is, Mr. Walters' death was occasioned by a stroke.
10:03A stroke so massive it left him with irreversible brain damage.
10:07Trapped in a way he explicitly told his daughter he did not want.
10:13You heard the doctor's evidence.
10:14He was never going to recover.
10:16So my client was faced with an impossible choice.
10:20Either watch the man he loved linger endlessly, or let him go the way he wanted.
10:27And the choice was further complicated by the court order we have heard so much about.
10:33A court order that was issued by a judge who was later found to be corrupt.
10:38There were no choices here, ladies and gentlemen.
10:42Just tragedy at every turn.
10:45Did Robbie end his grandfather's life?
10:48Or did he give him back his dignity?
10:50Did he commit a crime?
10:52Or was it an act of courage?
10:55So in considering this case, you have to decide what sort of world do you want to live in.
11:01A world governed by inflexible laws that punish people with kind hearts and the courage of their convictions.
11:08Or a world where the spirit of the law is allowed to live and grow as we do.
11:16Laws can only be changed if you have the courage to change them.
11:19And Robbie Hunter has given you that chance.
11:22I just hope you're brave enough to reward him for it.
11:26So as you retire to consider your verdict, I'd like you all to ask yourselves a question.
11:32Is there anything you wouldn't do for the people you love?
11:54I think I might make some tea and coffee.
11:58I'll give you a hand soon.
11:59You know, all things considered, I reckon it looked like it when I coded me.
12:02You're too right.
12:03I saw some friendly faces amongst that jury.
12:06Yeah.
12:08What do you think, Warag?
12:10Well, I'm pleased we weren't laughed out of court.
12:12Of course we weren't.
12:13You were fantastic.
12:15Oh, I wouldn't go that far.
12:16I would.
12:16You were really great.
12:18Well, don't thank me just yet.
12:20We're still asking the jury to rewrite the law, and that is no small request.
12:23How long do you think it'll take them to make up their minds?
12:26Oh, well, it's hard to say.
12:27The general rule of the thumb is that the sooner the jury comes back,
12:30the more strongly they feel about the verdicts.
12:32Is that usually a good thing?
12:34Well, you don't know what it is until you're standing in front of them.
12:36Well, we're about to find out.
12:38That was the court.
12:40The jury's made a decision.
13:02Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a unanimous verdict?
13:05Oh, we have, Your Honor.
13:08Will the defendant please rise?
13:14And what say you?
13:16In matter 13527, the Crown versus Robbie Hunter,
13:21conduct occasioning death,
13:22we, the jury, find the defendant guilty.
13:26Oh!
13:26Oh, my gosh!
13:27I can't do this!
13:28Quiet, please.
13:29We will have quiet.
13:31Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
13:33thank you for your diligence in discharging your duty.
13:36You are now excused.
13:38As to sentencing in this matter,
13:40I will take it under advisement,
13:42and I will make my ruling tomorrow morning.
13:45This court is adjourned.
14:01Right across the top...
14:21Hey.
14:23It's okay.
14:26Oh, it's not okay.
14:29I know you're scared, Tash.
14:31I am too, but I know how strong you are.
14:35I know you can handle this.
14:36I just don't wanna lose you.
14:38Hey, you're not gonna lose me.
14:40You'll never lose me.
14:42We're forever, remember?
14:45They might be able to lock me up.
14:49But they are never gonna stop me from loving you and Ella.
14:56We love you so much.
15:14I was just about to call you, actually.
15:16I heard about Robbie Hunter.
15:18I just wanted to know how he was going.
15:19Oh, as well as can be expected, I guess.
15:22They're gonna sentence him today.
15:26Was there something else?
15:28Yeah, I got another call from the department this morning.
15:31Rocco Cooper's gonna be arriving tomorrow.
15:33I thought that was a few weeks away.
15:35Yeah, well, apparently they've moved it forward.
15:37I was hoping to have a bit more time to plan for his arrival.
15:40I'm just gonna have to muddle through.
15:42Somehow I don't think muddling through is gonna cut it
15:44when it comes to this kid.
15:48I, uh, couldn't help but notice that you two are at it again this morning.
15:52Oh, no.
15:53Everything's fine, Colleen.
15:54Oh, if you wanna talk about it, I'm all ears.
15:56Colleen, I think there's a few people around this place
15:59that have got a bit more on their plate than I do.
16:01Oh, yes, poor loves.
16:04Let's hope they're not too hard on him.
16:06We don't know what's gonna happen,
16:07so we have to think for the best.
16:10And I don't care what anyone else says.
16:12You have done nothing wrong.
16:14So you hold your head up, all right?
16:21Hey.
16:22Are you okay?
16:42Under our system of law, the burden of proof rests with the prosecution.
16:49And in this case, I have to say, it has been comprehensively met.
16:54There is no doubt that the actions of Robbie Hunter led directly to the death of his grandfather.
17:00A point made even clearer by the defense's decision not to address the charge itself,
17:07but to attack the law governing it.
17:10A strategy that I would not advocate.
17:15However, in reviewing elements of this case, I find myself unable to disagree with their argument.
17:23The law exists to protect the community and to represent its morals and values,
17:28and for the most part, it is very effective.
17:31That said, from time to time, the law is misdirected,
17:35and I think that this is one of those times.
17:40Robbie Hunter, will you please stand?
17:47I sentence you to pay $2,000 in court costs,
17:50and you are to be released on your own recognizance.
17:55You're free to go.
18:09All right.
18:16I tell you what, mate, I thought you were dumb for when that judge started speaking.
18:21He's so warm!
18:21Have you seen the prosecutor's face when he read the other one?
18:23What?
18:24Even better that he didn't appeal the sentence.
18:26Yeah, he didn't want Morag to put him through the wringer again.
18:29Yeah, you were amazing.
18:31No, I think that key is all the word.
18:32Oh, no way, Aunty Morag.
18:33I saw that judge when you were wrapping things up.
18:35You totally got tired.
18:36Yeah?
18:37It's good to see your common sense prevailed on this case,
18:39but now we're stuck with a bloke for life.
18:41I reckon this is a whole new chapter for you guys.
18:43I'm so excited for you.
18:46So, Rob, what are you going to do with your freedom?
18:48Um, I'll just enjoy each day as it comes, I guess.
18:51Yeah.
18:51If it was me, I think I'd probably just do it for myself.
18:53A surf?
18:53Have you seen Robbie on a surf spot?
18:55No, exactly.
18:55Not a good idea.
18:56Okay, here's your cover.
18:58Oh, that's how you look.
18:59Good idea.
19:00Ah, Rob.
19:03Cheers.
19:03G�ies.'ve
19:04got this. Yes.
19:05yeah, not. Oh,
19:06no. Great.
19:11Oh,
19:12God. Any cursory
19:15songs let go, no exception.
19:51Here you are.
19:53Hey. Sorry, I had to get some fresh air.
19:57Irene said she was looking after Ella.
19:58What's going on? You alright?
20:03Whoa. Where did they come from?
20:06Josie sent them. Last week.
20:08Josie?
20:10Why? Why?
20:13She wants us to come over and live with her. In Boston.
20:16Are you serious?
20:18Yeah.
20:19Oh, look, I didn't want to say anything because we didn't know what was going to happen with the court
20:23case.
20:24But now everything's okay.
20:29You're really thinking about it?
20:32Yeah.
20:35It's like after everything that's been happening this year,
20:39I'm thinking maybe it's time for something new.
20:42Something different.
20:44Moving to the States is pretty full on.
20:46Yeah, I know.
20:49Maybe Martha's right.
20:50You know, maybe we should look at it as a sign to start a whole new chapter in our lives.
20:56Tash, what are you saying here?
21:00I'm saying I want to go.
21:04I want to leave Summer Bay.
21:09Have you ever fallen for a friend?
21:11You're right.
21:12I do have feelings for her.
21:14I've been waiting for you.
21:16Do you feel the same way?
21:18And tomorrow, she wants her family to move overseas.
21:21I don't want you to feel pressured.
21:22It's completely up to you.
21:23Will this be their last night in Summer Bay?
21:26Home and away.
21:27Place.
21:28Here.