My video link: Revenge_Benji_Berr.mp4
An Eye For an eye
Berr Kilgo, Benji Mickel
Prologue
(Outside the prison the air is warm. The feeling of new birth and youth fills the atmosphere. The fresh scent of flowers blooming occupies the nostrils of the many outside the prison. A well dressed man in a dark blue shirt, a light baby blue checkered colored tie, and a freshly ironed black vest outfitted with red slacks is entering the prison to see his wife. In the visiting room his spouse awaits him for his weekly visitation privileges.)
Deandre: Only 6 more weeks baby, then your out of the prison and back in the apartment with me.
Alesha: Andre, I miss you.
Deandre: I miss you too babe, but we’ll be together soon.
Alesha: I just can't wait to much longer.
Deandre: I know its hard, but when you get out and my case is done, I’m going to take you anywhere you want to go.
Alesha: I’ll take some time to think on that.
Deandre: You should. Don’t hold back. I’m not kidding when I say anywhere including Applebees (Deandre starts laughing).
Alesha: Oh baby, why does it have to be like this!??! (Alesha’s eyes start to water). I wish I had never gone out that night. The crash was his fault as much as mine. He was on my side of the road.
Deandre: Don’t try to pin this on him Lesha. Your drinking is what killed him. Don’t try to justify what you did.
Prison Guard: Time’s up you two.
Deandre: Will you give us just a little more time?
Prison Guard: You’ll have more time tomorrow.
Alesha: Well either way I shouldn’t have been arrested.
Deandre: Honey you killed a man. It’s a wonder you are only sentence two years in this place. As far as some are concerned, your release date should be 6 years from now. It was all Brian could do to you minimize your time.
Alesha: Minimize my time? A dog as my lawyer could have done better.
Deandre: No other lawyer would have been able to decrease your time by such a large amount. You could be in here for 8 years. You should thank your lucky stars you got Brian as a lawyer.
Alesha: Well it seems to me that your friend Brian couldn’t have gotten me more time if he tried.
Prison Guard: Sir I need you to leave right now.
Deandre: Well I’m sorry you can’t appreciate how lucky you are. Maybe some more time to mull over your decisions would help a lot.
Alesha: Well, if you feel that way, why do keep running your sorry little ass back to me?
Deandre: Maybe I’ll stop.
Alesha: Fine I’ll see you in six weeks.
Deandre: Maybe.
(Alesha gets taken away and Deandre leaves)
Chorus:
( As Deandre’s Conscious)
You’re fighting for a murderer
And arguing with your wife
You're spending more time at work
Than even giving thought to your wife
You used to visit everyday
Did you get bored
Is this murderers life more important than you and your wife’s relationship
How could you stoop to such a low level
Talking to your wife like that
Is the death penalty that important to you.
What kind of husband does that make you
Where are your morals
You consider yourself compassionate
What if she chooses to never see you again
You may regret this
Scene 1
(The next day, Deandre is in court fighting against the death penalty. His client has been convicted of murder and Deandre is fighting not to have her killed. The offender is known by the name of Courtney Holmes and has been involved in similar situations before. Her ethnicity is African American and she comes from the hood of St. Louis Missouri. There are claims her offense was first degree murder, a crime punishable by death. Deandre’s argument is that the crime cannot be proven to be first degree, his only leverage to save this offender’s life. )
(Court Room)
Deandre: (Speaking Loudly) Do you honestly think you can justify taking a life?
Opposing Lawyer: This woman is guilty of premeditatively taking MULTIPLE lives.
Deandre: Does taking Courtney’s life bring them back? No it doesn’t.
Opposing Lawyer: No, it won't. But, it could save lives in the future. It also might provide some closure for the victims family members and friends.
Deandre: If you take Courtney’s life would that make you any better than her? Where’s your moral code, your virtues, your humanity?. A life for a life is no solution, only revenge. Death, where does that get you? Where does that put us? Certainly not... (Deandre is interrupted)
Opposing lawyer: That is BESIDE the point. This woman, did she or did she not commit murder?
Deandre: Courtney did, but to no point was it proven to be first degree.
Opposing lawyer: Ahhh…. according to law enforcement officer Michael Greg, there was digital evidence sent out by Courtney before the crime that may have been regarding the act itself.
Deandre: “MAY have been regarding the act itself”? You can not kill somebody because something may have been. Where is your evi…. (Deandre is interrupted)
Judge: SILENCE IN THE COURT! (Slams the Hammer). Discussion is now over. I will be back in 30 minutes with the ruling.
(5 minutes later Deandre is thinking about his case)
Chorus:
(As Deandre’s Conscious)
Maybe you should think about who you’re fighting for
Courtney shows no emotion or remorse
She feels not the slightest bit of sorrow for her actions
Where would you stand if she inflicted harm on your family
Deandre: (To himself) It is irrelevant how it would affect me. I am a lawyer. My job is to represent the law. I fight for it. It makes no difference how I personally feel about it. The only matter is how our founding fathers would feel about it. I cannot let my emotions get in the way of my work. I am paid to keep my feelings in check. The law is law and I fight for it.
Chorus:
( As Deandre’s Conscious)
Is the law always right
Is there ever a time when we need to look past the law
to the greater good
Is the law always part of the greater good
Set in its place
Disallowing of situation
The Death Penalty
Can it be justified in any situations
Do Some people deserve to die
(Courtney interrupts Deandre’s thought)
Courtney: That bastard for a judge won’t have the balls to kill me. He’s soft inside.
Deandre: I wouldn't count on that. Things are not always as they seem in the court room.
Courtney: If he makes a decision I don't like, I promise he will regret it.
(Judge enters room 10 minutes later)
Judge: Under law, the victim has been found guilty for 2nd degree murder and will be sentenced to life in prison.
Courtney: (Screaming) You are going to regret this. It won't work well. I PROMISE THAT! Watch your back.
Scene 2
(The next day Deandre receives a call from the Prison Warden. The call is regarding his wife. At first he is filled with anger and ignorance, but those emotions are immediately turned into remorse and sorrow when he learns the truth.)
Prison Warden: Hello, is this Deandre Jones?
Deandre: Yes
Prison Warden: Well sir, I’m not sure how to break it to you……...But I guess I might as well come out with it…… Sir I am very sorry I have to break it too you like this, but your wife is dead. She was killed this morning in a prison fight. Killed by a woman who goes by the name of Courtney Holmes.
Deandre: (Gasps) No (Deandre feels like sobbing but is in a numb shock).
Prison Warden: I am so sorry sir. Prison guards were not alerted of the fight until it was too late. I hope the best for you.
Deandre: Thank you. Maybe next time you will make it there soon enough.
(Hangs up)
Chorus:
( As Deandre’s Conscious)
Your last words to her
More like the devils than a husband’s
More like a hater’s than a lover’s
More like a killer’s than a friends
Everything I took for granted
Her love her beauty her company
Now shes gone, Who knows where
Dead, gone to heaven or hell
Looks like you fought for the wrong cause Deandre
A woman, who’s life you saved one day takes another the next
Takes your life the next
Your wife’s life the next
A life for a life
Sure any day
Maybe some deserve to die
The greater good not the law
If only she had died
gotten what she deserved
Why fight for a life not worth fighting for
That is what you did
Was her life worth your wife's
An eye for an eye
Death row take her please
Scene 3
(The day is cloudy with a cold nip running through the spring air. The feeling of new birth as felt in the previous days is gone, seemingly to be replaced by the cold of winter. A news reporter stands outside an apartment complex relating the story of a new felt tragedy.)
News Reporter: A man by the name of Deandre Jones was just found dead. He seems to have made a successful suicide attempt. His wife was killed earlier that morning in prison by a fellow inmate named Courtney Holmes. Deandre Jones was the Defendant of the very women who killed his own wife. Courtney Holmes has received an execution for date May 17th and is now a registered serial killer.
Prologue
(Outside the prison the air is warm. The feeling of new birth and youth fills the atmosphere. The fresh scent of flowers blooming occupies the nostrils of the many outside the prison. A well dressed man in a dark blue shirt, a light baby blue checkered colored tie, and a freshly ironed black vest outfitted with red slacks is entering the prison to see his wife. In the visiting room his spouse awaits him for his weekly visitation privileges.)
Deandre: Only 6 more weeks baby, then your out of the prison and back in the apartment with me.
Alesha: Andre, I miss you.
Deandre: I miss you too babe, but we’ll be together soon.
Alesha: I just can't wait to much longer.
Deandre: I know its hard, but when you get out and my case is done, I’m going to take you anywhere you want to go.
Alesha: I’ll take some time to think on that.
Deandre: You should. Don’t hold back. I’m not kidding when I say anywhere including Applebees (Deandre starts laughing).
Alesha: Oh baby, why does it have to be like this!??! (Alesha’s eyes start to water). I wish I had never gone out that night. The crash was his fault as much as mine. He was on my side of the road.
Deandre: Don’t try to pin this on him Lesha. Your drinking is what killed him. Don’t try to justify what you did.
Prison Guard: Time’s up you two.
Deandre: Will you give us just a little more time?
Prison Guard: You’ll have more time tomorrow.
Alesha: Well either way I shouldn’t have been arrested.
Deandre: Honey you killed a man. It’s a wonder you are only sentence two years in this place. As far as some are concerned, your release date should be 6 years from now. It was all Brian could do to you minimize your time.
Alesha: Minimize my time? A dog as my lawyer could have done better.
Deandre: No other lawyer would have been able to decrease your time by such a large amount. You could be in here for 8 years. You should thank your lucky stars you got Brian as a lawyer.
Alesha: Well it seems to me that your friend Brian couldn’t have gotten me more time if he tried.
Prison Guard: Sir I need you to leave right now.
Deandre: Well I’m sorry you can’t appreciate how lucky you are. Maybe some more time to mull over your decisions would help a lot.
Alesha: Well, if you feel that way, why do keep running your sorry little ass back to me?
Deandre: Maybe I’ll stop.
Alesha: Fine I’ll see you in six weeks.
Deandre: Maybe.
(Alesha gets taken away and Deandre leaves)
Chorus:
( As Deandre’s Conscious)
You’re fighting for a murderer
And arguing with your wife
You're spending more time at work
Than even giving thought to your wife
You used to visit everyday
Did you get bored
Is this murderers life more important than you and your wife’s relationship
How could you stoop to such a low level
Talking to your wife like that
Is the death penalty that important to you.
What kind of husband does that make you
Where are your morals
You consider yourself compassionate
What if she chooses to never see you again
You may regret this
Scene 1
(The next day, Deandre is in court fighting against the death penalty. His client has been convicted of murder and Deandre is fighting not to have her killed. The offender is known by the name of Courtney Holmes and has been involved in similar situations before. Her ethnicity is African American and she comes from the hood of St. Louis Missouri. There are claims her offense was first degree murder, a crime punishable by death. Deandre’s argument is that the crime cannot be proven to be first degree, his only leverage to save this offender’s life. )
(Court Room)
Deandre: (Speaking Loudly) Do you honestly think you can justify taking a life?
Opposing Lawyer: This woman is guilty of premeditatively taking MULTIPLE lives.
Deandre: Does taking Courtney’s life bring them back? No it doesn’t.
Opposing Lawyer: No, it won't. But, it could save lives in the future. It also might provide some closure for the victims family members and friends.
Deandre: If you take Courtney’s life would that make you any better than her? Where’s your moral code, your virtues, your humanity?. A life for a life is no solution, only revenge. Death, where does that get you? Where does that put us? Certainly not... (Deandre is interrupted)
Opposing lawyer: That is BESIDE the point. This woman, did she or did she not commit murder?
Deandre: Courtney did, but to no point was it proven to be first degree.
Opposing lawyer: Ahhh…. according to law enforcement officer Michael Greg, there was digital evidence sent out by Courtney before the crime that may have been regarding the act itself.
Deandre: “MAY have been regarding the act itself”? You can not kill somebody because something may have been. Where is your evi…. (Deandre is interrupted)
Judge: SILENCE IN THE COURT! (Slams the Hammer). Discussion is now over. I will be back in 30 minutes with the ruling.
(5 minutes later Deandre is thinking about his case)
Chorus:
(As Deandre’s Conscious)
Maybe you should think about who you’re fighting for
Courtney shows no emotion or remorse
She feels not the slightest bit of sorrow for her actions
Where would you stand if she inflicted harm on your family
Deandre: (To himself) It is irrelevant how it would affect me. I am a lawyer. My job is to represent the law. I fight for it. It makes no difference how I personally feel about it. The only matter is how our founding fathers would feel about it. I cannot let my emotions get in the way of my work. I am paid to keep my feelings in check. The law is law and I fight for it.
Chorus:
( As Deandre’s Conscious)
Is the law always right
Is there ever a time when we need to look past the law
to the greater good
Is the law always part of the greater good
Set in its place
Disallowing of situation
The Death Penalty
Can it be justified in any situations
Do Some people deserve to die
(Courtney interrupts Deandre’s thought)
Courtney: That bastard for a judge won’t have the balls to kill me. He’s soft inside.
Deandre: I wouldn't count on that. Things are not always as they seem in the court room.
Courtney: If he makes a decision I don't like, I promise he will regret it.
(Judge enters room 10 minutes later)
Judge: Under law, the victim has been found guilty for 2nd degree murder and will be sentenced to life in prison.
Courtney: (Screaming) You are going to regret this. It won't work well. I PROMISE THAT! Watch your back.
Scene 2
(The next day Deandre receives a call from the Prison Warden. The call is regarding his wife. At first he is filled with anger and ignorance, but those emotions are immediately turned into remorse and sorrow when he learns the truth.)
Prison Warden: Hello, is this Deandre Jones?
Deandre: Yes
Prison Warden: Well sir, I’m not sure how to break it to you……...But I guess I might as well come out with it…… Sir I am very sorry I have to break it too you like this, but your wife is dead. She was killed this morning in a prison fight. Killed by a woman who goes by the name of Courtney Holmes.
Deandre: (Gasps) No (Deandre feels like sobbing but is in a numb shock).
Prison Warden: I am so sorry sir. Prison guards were not alerted of the fight until it was too late. I hope the best for you.
Deandre: Thank you. Maybe next time you will make it there soon enough.
(Hangs up)
Chorus:
( As Deandre’s Conscious)
Your last words to her
More like the devils than a husband’s
More like a hater’s than a lover’s
More like a killer’s than a friends
Everything I took for granted
Her love her beauty her company
Now shes gone, Who knows where
Dead, gone to heaven or hell
Looks like you fought for the wrong cause Deandre
A woman, who’s life you saved one day takes another the next
Takes your life the next
Your wife’s life the next
A life for a life
Sure any day
Maybe some deserve to die
The greater good not the law
If only she had died
gotten what she deserved
Why fight for a life not worth fighting for
That is what you did
Was her life worth your wife's
An eye for an eye
Death row take her please
Scene 3
(The day is cloudy with a cold nip running through the spring air. The feeling of new birth as felt in the previous days is gone, seemingly to be replaced by the cold of winter. A news reporter stands outside an apartment complex relating the story of a new felt tragedy.)
News Reporter: A man by the name of Deandre Jones was just found dead. He seems to have made a successful suicide attempt. His wife was killed earlier that morning in prison by a fellow inmate named Courtney Holmes. Deandre Jones was the Defendant of the very women who killed his own wife. Courtney Holmes has received an execution for date May 17th and is now a registered serial killer.
Tragedy project RefleCtion
I am definitely most proud of the Script. I really spent a lot of time making sure that the things said in the script sounded real. Just in general I put a lot of extra time into this part of the project. In our first scene our character was with his wife so we tried to make the dialogue a little less professional whereas with the scene in court we made the lawyer speak very professionally. With each different scene we just tried to really make it realistic. This makes me proud because I read the final outcome and I thought it turned out really well. It just sounded real. When I read the script the things that were written really sounded like things people would actually say.
If I were to talk to a student who was about to begin this project the first thing I would tell them is to not procrastinate at all. They should try to get an early start on the work and then they would have more time to polish their work after they get done with all their content. During the last few days I was really in a rush trying to get all of my polishing done. I think that because I was in a rush I missed quite a few easy to correct mistakes. If I had spent less time procrastinating at the beginning of the project then I wouldn’t have had to deal with the end of project rush.
I think that working with the partner that I had went very well. I think that because I had a partner my final piece was definitely a lot better. I think that also I learned a lot more because when I work alone I only have my own perspective. Whereas when I work with a partner I am able to look in on another persons perspective. This way my work piece is not so one sided. Although I loved working with my partner it was really challenging when we disagreed on something because then we had compromise and that was frustrating. At the beginning of the project we started typing the script and he wanted all of the scenes to sound really professional. I had a different idea. I thought that it wasn’t how people in the real world talked. Eventually we came to an agreement and compromised.
I think that the most challenging part of this project was filming the video and then editing it. I had never needed to edit any videos before. I really had trouble editing the parts, that we didn’t need, out. I spent a little too much time writing my script and not enough filming my video. Since I procrastinated on the filming I had a lot of trouble memorizing my lines. I had to film little clips at a time, because of this. I worked past this only with the help of my partner. Together we were able to get the filming done and we figured out how to cut parts out of the video that we didn’t want.
If I were to talk to a student who was about to begin this project the first thing I would tell them is to not procrastinate at all. They should try to get an early start on the work and then they would have more time to polish their work after they get done with all their content. During the last few days I was really in a rush trying to get all of my polishing done. I think that because I was in a rush I missed quite a few easy to correct mistakes. If I had spent less time procrastinating at the beginning of the project then I wouldn’t have had to deal with the end of project rush.
I think that working with the partner that I had went very well. I think that because I had a partner my final piece was definitely a lot better. I think that also I learned a lot more because when I work alone I only have my own perspective. Whereas when I work with a partner I am able to look in on another persons perspective. This way my work piece is not so one sided. Although I loved working with my partner it was really challenging when we disagreed on something because then we had compromise and that was frustrating. At the beginning of the project we started typing the script and he wanted all of the scenes to sound really professional. I had a different idea. I thought that it wasn’t how people in the real world talked. Eventually we came to an agreement and compromised.
I think that the most challenging part of this project was filming the video and then editing it. I had never needed to edit any videos before. I really had trouble editing the parts, that we didn’t need, out. I spent a little too much time writing my script and not enough filming my video. Since I procrastinated on the filming I had a lot of trouble memorizing my lines. I had to film little clips at a time, because of this. I worked past this only with the help of my partner. Together we were able to get the filming done and we figured out how to cut parts out of the video that we didn’t want.