jackie: i don t think the town ever healed from that time. you know, when gary spath was acquitted, i think part of me thought well, the black community should now understand, he was acquitted. a jury said he s not guilty. but obviously, even today, there are many people that don t see it that way. gervonn: after the trial, people were just so angry, so distraught, just so hurt. it just seemed like it just cracked open this great utopia. and it was devastating. so i think we buried that. it was so painful. (music) thelma: after the trial, i couldn t take it no more, so i just left. and now i try to avoid that town because phillip loved teaneck. he d know every place and he d know
it s going to be at teaneck high school, the high school that he loved, the high school that he should have been able to graduate from. today is a positive day. thelma: yes, it is. natacha: today is a good day. because today teaneck, new jersey, has acknowledged that phillip pannell s life mattered. thelma: life mattered. (clapping) natacha: i was thinking like, i m just happy that this is finally happening and that i can go on with my life and move on to the next step. i don t want to live with that hate. i want to live with the memories and the good times that clint and i shared (music) the mural at teaneck high school, it did give my mother and i a great deal of peace and relief. but there was one more way that we wanted to honor my brother. and that was the tree of healing.
wanton and reckless disregard for human life. glenn: he went into his pockets and you started shooting. spath: i was performing my job. i got a gun call. i ran after the suspect. he came at me with his hand in the pocket and he was going to shoot me. that s the truth. mike: i believe that spath came to believe in a reality that simply doesn t add up to the forensics. if you look at this objectively, it was impossible for phillip to be shot in the back and be turning to shoot gary spath. patuto: certainly forensics can be helpful, but in my mind, my humble opinion is that they should never be conclusive. spath: this guy was going to shoot me. i had no choice but to shoot at him to save my own life. forgive me, sir. this is what i had to do. thelma: everybody knew my son that he wasn t that kind of a young man. i ll believe that till the day i die. that he was trying to make it home. reporter: there is now going to be
was it infuriating to people? yes, it was infuriating to people, particularly people who were hoping for a conviction. reporter: live now at the courthouse in hackensack, where the closing arguments are underway. ben: the defense said gary spath s life was in danger. the prosecution said phillip pannell s life was taken recklessly. galantucci: he had his hand in his pocket. he was coming around and he was going to shoot me. glenn: all that matters is those hands were in the air. they weren t near a pocket. they weren t near a gun. they were up. ben: now, tomorrow, the 12 jurors will deliberate the case. judge: a person is guilty of reckless manslaughter if a person recklessly causes the death of another human being. thelma: i looked at the judge, then i looked and it was all white jury. i just prayed and hoped to get justice for my son. (music)
but we have been meeting on a number of occasions and we haven t had a deadline set yet from the council on even you all making a decision on the blm mural. gervonn: seven months. it took seven months of this nucleus of students that were then when community members started saying, well, why is this such a challenge? why is this such an issue? elie: i don t want to, um, you know, make anyone on this call think that we re trying to brush it under the rug. but there s the delay is trying to work with the elected officials. everybody here has a different concern. and the issue is how do we get consensus? natacha: five other communities have put up blm murals. we re asking that you give us a deadline. thelma: this is still upsetting me after 30 years ago. and it shouldn t be that i have to go through this pain again, over and over again. elie: you know, ms. pannell, i feel your pain. actually, i don t feel your pain.