According to the case for the prosecution, this is what happened in what was once an
active northern New England village at 3 30 p.m. June 21st 1956.
What was it any what happened?
Nothing wrong.
Clarence Redding was discovered by the citizens hiding in the barn.
He was turned over to the county constable, arrested for the assault and murder of Annie
Bingham, convicted and sentenced to death by electrocution.
But was he guilty?
He swore he was not.
For one year in his death cell he protested his innocence.
His appeals did no good.
He exhausted all legal remedies.
And then he found one final hope, the court of last resort.
The court of last resort is actually at work today, investigating cases throughout the
United States.
It's board of investigators, a group of seven men, experts in law and criminology, bound
together in their dedication to improving the administration of justice.
The Clarence Redding case first came to the attention of the court of last resort in the
publishing office of Harry Steger, administrator of the court.
Where did this come from?
I put it there Mr. Steger, I thought you might be interested.
Something for next month's edition.
Know anything else about it?
Nothing really.
I was up in that area last winter skiing and I passed through Sanford.
It was a ghost town.
Population 27.
Apparently there aren't enough tax payers to afford policemen, so they solve their own
crimes.
Could be dangerous.
What could?
Town without police.
But they caught the murderer.
Get me Terry Booth on the phone will you?
State Attorney General's office up there.
Yes I have the file on Redding's appeal Harry.
What is it you wanted to know?
Who represented Redding in court?
It was a court appointed lawyer from the county seat where he was tried.
Couldn't find enough to make out a real defense.
How much investigating did he do?
As much as he could, our budget isn't as large as we'd like.
If it'd be possible for you to get a stay of execution, the court of last resort would
send Sam Larson to check the facts.
I can't ask the governor's office to do that Harry unless you dig up something new to base
the stay on.
There's only three weeks till execution but you go right ahead and look into it if you're
interested.
Well it doesn't give us much time, but it's worth checking.
Thanks a lot Terry.
Well we'll have a copy of the transcript here for Larson.
Right.
I'll see you Harry.
The court of last resort sent me Sam Larson to the town of Sanford to investigate the
Clarence Redding case.
I'd like to move to the hotel directly from the Sanford Hotel.
Okay, Shop.
Okay.
screen
screen
Hello?
Help you?
Just looking.
Looking free.
Help yourself.
You come for something?
Yes.
We got it?
I don't know.
I came here to find out about Annie Bingham.
Trying to find out how she died.
Didn't just die.
Kissed her.
Kissed her?
Kissed her?
Kissed her?
Kissed her?
Kissed her?
Didn't just die.
Killed.
Sorry.
How she was killed.
You know Clarence Redding is going to die in less than three weeks for her murder.
Yeah.
I'm just trying to find out exactly what happened before it's too late.
It's too late.
Why?
Annie was killed.
The stranger is guilty.
He's paying for it.
You her father?
I am.
You the one who found the stranger?
Nope.
Who did?
George Irons.
How did you find Clarence Redding, Mr. Irons?
Hiding in the barn.
No, I mean how did you come to find him?
Was looking.
Just you?
Nope.
Who else?
Did you try to contact him after the murder?
Nope.
You couldn't reach him?
Nope.
How is it that just you three men were looking?
Who else?
What about the other men in town?
Ain't no others.
I thought there were 27 citizens in Sanford.
Not no more.
Sixteen.
Three men.
Where'd the others go?
South.
No word.
Uh-huh.
Well then you three were looking and you found him at the scene of the crime. Is that it, Mr. Irons?
Yep.
Do you remember anything about him?
Nope.
He was wearing overalls.
Probably stole them from some farm hereabouts.
You'd never seen him before?
No. Stranger.
Annie said it was a stranger.
What excuse did Redding give for being in the barn?
Said he was sleeping.
Heard some noise.
Said somebody else did it.
Said he saw somebody else running out.
No other stranger in town?
Nope.
Constable couldn't find none.
You mean when he arrived here the next day?
Yeah.
Had anyone seen Redding around town before the murder?
Nope.
All right.
Thanks very much, gentlemen.
What's your name, mister?
Sam Larson from the court of last resort.
Oh, Mr. Larson.
A man we never seen comes sneaking in here where we live.
Prowling around uninvited.
He finds my daughter Annie playing in the barn.
And he kills her.
This stranger, he gets a trial.
Fair, they tell us.
And they decide to execute him.
We think they are doing the right thing.
Thanks again, gentlemen.
Constable Stokes?
Hey, yeah?
I'm Sam Larson from the court of last resort.
Oh, I heard you were looking into the Annie Binger murder.
That's right.
Anything you want.
Thank you.
I just come from Sanford.
Talked to some people over there.
Welling, Irons and Bingham.
Yes.
This man Redding claimed in court that he'd been sleeping in the barn.
That he'd heard noises.
Yeah, that's what he told me too.
Is it possible there could have been another man, as Redding said?
One who ran away?
Well, I looked around some.
Asked a few questions, but I never found no trace.
But out now stayed alarm when I brought Redding in on suspicion.
But I never found nobody though.
Now that was a day later.
Yeah.
If there was someone, he could have got away.
But I doubt there was.
Were you sure that Redding was guilty?
Never sure, Mr. Larson.
But his alibi about being in the old Cooper barn to catch some sleep was just too thin.
Too much coincidence.
And he never could remember nothing about that other man he said he saw.
Well, thanks a lot, Constable.
I think it's best to get to the point.
I think it's best to get to the point.
I think it's best to get to the point.
Well, thanks a lot, Constable.
If I think of anything else, I'll be in touch with you.
Okay, Mr. Larson. Good luck to you.
Thanks.
The warden said you were coming, Mr. Larson.
How come you guys are going to all this trouble over Redding?
What do you mean?
He's not the greatest specimen.
He's a human being.
Deserves as good a break as anyone gets.
Too bad it's a waste of time.
How's that?
Redding stopped talking last week.
Redding, this is Mr. Larson of the court of last resort.
He's come to help.
Mr. Redding, I'd appreciate it if you'd talk to me.
We'd like to see if there's anything that didn't come out at your trial.
Mr. Redding, we need your cooperation.
We can't do anything if you won't help.
I saw my Richard.
I saw my Richard.
I saw my Richard.
I saw my Richard.
What did you say, Mr. Redding?
When did this start?
Not a week ago.
When he learned his appeal had been denied.
Mr. Redding.
Mr. Redding.
It's not unusual.
Lots of guys on death row start acting kind of strange.
One guy used to stand on his head all the time.
Can't blame him though, I guess.
What was it that he said?
Something about a red shirt.
Mom was at all the time.
Red shirt.
I went to the prison infirmary to check whether Redding had received medical attention.
And I was referred to Dr. Jennings, the prison psychiatrist.
Have you seen Clarence Redding recently, doctor?
Yes, I've seen him twice in the past week.
What's the matter with him?
Well, I don't know.
Might never.
It would take months to get into his case thoroughly enough to make a diagnosis.
He'll be executed before that.
Have you any idea what caused it?
Since he didn't have any symptoms before a week ago,
I'd say it was a shock of being told he was going to die.
It's quite common.
But the semi-catatonic state's not common.
He kept mumbling something about a red shirt.
The guard told me that ever since last week, that's all he says.
Yes, that's all he's been able to say.
I saw him a red shirt.
I saw him.
Doctor, is it possible that the him could be the man he says he saw at the time of the crime?
The man he now remembers was wearing a red shirt even though he couldn't remember it in court?
Quite possible.
Something about the crime is certainly responsible for his present condition.
You know, I don't know.
I don't know what it is.
But I'm sure it's something that's been going on for a while.
I'm sure it's something that's been going on for a while.
I'm sure it's something that's been going on for a while.
I'm sure it's something that's been going on for a while.
I'm sure it's something that's been going on for a while.
But I just don't know why that's been going on for a long time.
But I just don't know why that's been going on for a while.
I once had a feeling that it was something about him.
But it wasn't always that time of the crime matter or the condition.
But it wasn't always that time of the crime matter or the condition.
You know...
I'm trying to
I'm trying to believe that I didn't do this just to fool the videotapes.
I'm trying to believe that I didn't do this just to fool the videotapes.
You know...
He might remember some detail he didn't know he'd seen.
I saw him a red shirt.
I saw him a red shirt.
underwent preliminary psychiatric treatment.
In the meantime, the board of the Court of Last Resort
instructed me to begin searching for a possible second stranger
who could have been in the village that day
and who could have been wearing a red shirt.
My first step was to contact the only newspaper that served the area.
They agreed to run a story about our search
appealing to readers for information that might be of aid.
The story came out the next day, and we began to get calls.
Dozens of people concerned that a man might have been wrongly imprisoned.
One of them had some information.
Yes, sirree.
Soon as I read it, I said to my wife,
bet that's the red jacket this fellow brought in.
Do you still have it, Mr. Woolley?
Oh, it's here all right.
I had trouble getting rid of clothes.
Best thing's watches and cameras.
You're sure of the date?
Never made a mistake on a ticket before.
June 22nd, 1956.
In the morning, I think.
Looks like the way I write in the morning.
Yeah, now, who'd wear a jacket that color?
My wife, she's always buying red hats,
and I have to look at her wearing them.
You remember the man who found it?
All I remember is this man in the red jacket.
No one I'd ever seen.
There's few around here I've never seen.
I remember remarking to my wife...
How much do you want for it, Mr. Woolley?
I'd like to buy this,
and I may need your sales records, too.
Well, now, let me see.
I give him a tweed jacket for it,
and he give me $2.
Tweed jacket cost me $3.50.
This tweed jacket, what's it like?
A new one, sort of long and baggy.
Picked up six like it in Boston a couple of years ago.
I still got one. You want to see it?
Yes, if you please.
Here you are.
All right, I'll buy this, too.
Fine.
Now, you say this is just like the one he bought?
Just exactly like it.
Just one of the six I bought up in Boston
a couple of years ago.
So it's got to be the same.
Now, apparently, the other stranger,
if there was one, switched jackets the next morning.
This is the one he pawned...
Red.
And this is like the one he bought.
I imagine we can check to see if this jacket was ever
in the old Cooper barn,
dust particles or something like that.
You don't have to look.
Why not?
Got some things here I found at the barn
just after the crime.
Didn't seem to mean much at the time.
Didn't seem to lead nowhere.
Where'd you find this?
Just outside the barn.
One missing.
Button fits right there.
It was another stranger.
So we figured, Captain,
that if this man assaulted Annie Bingham,
he may have committed similar crimes somewhere else.
There's too many similar crimes in those files.
There's one series, though.
Up north, over the past 10 months.
It's over 100 miles from Sanford,
up around Sherman Town.
Do they resemble Annie Bingham's murders?
In some ways, seven of them.
But it can't be the same man.
Why not?
Well, in this type of crime,
the modus operandi seldom varies.
Criminal does the same thing every time.
What does the MO in this series you mention?
We've called them the lipstick murders.
Mansmeer's lipstick on the victim's mouth.
I see.
Constable, when you arrived in Sanford the day after the crime,
where was Annie Bingham's body?
Laid out.
She didn't have lipstick on?
Nope.
May I use your phone, Captain?
Go ahead.
Thank you.
What is the telephone number of Wellings Gas Station?
Uh, 946.
Thank you.
Phone's for you, Harold.
Hiya.
Uh, Mr. Bingham.
This is Sam Larson again.
I'd like to ask you a question, sir.
Now, this may sound strange, perhaps even rude,
but it's vitally important.
Mr. Bingham, when you found your daughter's body,
was she wearing lipstick?
Uh, nope.
Didn't wear no lipstick.
Now, you're very sure of that, sir.
We think we might have the man who did it.
We've already found there was another stranger besides Redding.
Annie never owned no lipstick.
Never let no daughter of mine mar her face like a cheap...
Mr. Bingham, please.
This is a matter of a man's life.
Now, she did have lipstick on, perhaps smudged somewhere.
The wrong man may be in prison.
He's going to be executed.
Hiya.
She put on lipstick, showing off,
traipsing around like a lady.
I wiped it off.
Thank you very much, Mr. Bingham.
I'll see you soon.
Captain, do you have any suspects on these lipstick murders?
We've got an idea.
We've been watching a man, but we've got nothing on him.
Could we talk to him now?
If we did, we'd never get enough evidence to convict him.
But we've got the evidence now, the tweed jacket.
If he's got that, there's enough to convict.
Look, Captain,
not only is Clarence Redding in prison awaiting execution,
sick, maybe incurably so, even if he's allowed to live,
but there's a man out there who may commit more of these crimes.
All right.
Let's go and talk with him.
If I can see Mr. Stark.
Oh, I'm sorry, gentlemen, but he left.
He just left this minute.
Ma'am, do you happen to know whether Mr. Stark ever
on the red jacket?
Well, I can't say as I remember, now.
Well, can you tell us which way he headed?
Well, I think he went that way.
Thank you, ma'am.
But who called?
That's him, all right.
Mr.
Your name's Stark?
I didn't do nothing.
Stay right there, or I'll do it.
As you can see, there's been some improvement.
Doctor, have you been able to discover who he was or what he was before all this happened?
He was a drifter.
Roamed from place to place.
Never could settle down.
A nice, harmless guy.
Clarence!
You have some guests.
Clarence, we found the real killer of Annie Bingham.
You know, the man with the red shirt?
We found him.
And you've been pardoned.
You've been pardoned.
Now there's some people from town here to see you.
Mr. Redding, we're sorry for what happened.
Clarence Redding was transferred from the prison hospital to a state sanatorium where he continues to undergo treatment.
In the opinion of the medical staff, he is responding to the case.
In the opinion of the medical staff, he is responding favorably and they expect a full recovery.
Annie Bingham's murder was executed.
The actual board of investigators of the court of last resort.
Tonight we hear from the court's co-founder and administrator, Harry Steger.
Of the 150,000 or more persons in prison today, the vast majority are guilty.
Only a small percentage are not.
But no matter how small the percentage, the lives of a great number of innocent men are being uselessly destroyed.
It's up to all of us to correct this social tragedy.
This is one of the reasons why the court of last resort exists.
Administration of justice is your responsibility.
You, the people, are the court of last resort.
To facilitate the court's work on current investigations, names, dates, places and events in tonight's case have been altered and all characters were removed.