"THE CASE OF THE NAVES BROTHERS"
THE EVENTS IN THIS MOVIE FOLLOW...
THE TRIAL PROCEEDINGS AND THE FACTS SURROUNDING IT...
AS THEY ARE DOCUMENTED IN THE BOOK...
BY THE NAVES' DEFENSE ATTORNEY
NOVEMBER 29, 1937
On the early morning of this day...
after being forced to sell at great loss a whole rice crop...
purchased with money lent by his family...
Benedito Pereira Caetano warning no one...
leaves the town of Araguari for parts unknown...
takingwith him 90 million réis.
Until the day he left Araguari...
Benedito Pereira Caetano was staying with Joaquim Naves Rosa...
his relative and friend, who was also his partner in a truck...
they used to transport grains to sell in the city.
Worried about Benedito, who they knew was carrying the money...
hidden underneath his clothes, Joaquim and his brotherSebastião...
early in the morning,decide to look for him at a woman's house...
where he used to spend some nights.
The Naves brothers ask about Benedito at several places in town...
to no avail. Growing upset, then, they decide to warn the police.
The town's chief of police asks them to go to Benedito's father's farm...
and starts an investigation about his disappearance.
ARAGUARI POLICE STATION MINAS GERAIS POLICE
- In what way you knew Benedito? - Every possible way, Chief.
- How did he show up at your home? - Why, like everyone does, Chief.
He always showed up. He slept with me. Wanted me to be his concubine.
- What do you mean? - He wanted to set up a home for me.
He wanted to take me to Nova Ponte with him...
because here, you know, people notice, they talk about it.
I'm not interested in that. So you didn't accept?
No, sir. No way, Chief. To starve? Not me.
It wouldn't've worked out. Benedito's too much of a cheapskate.
Last time he gave me only 20,OOO réis, imagine that.
- When was that? - One of these nights, I don't know.
- Wasn't it last night? - No, sir.
Last night he was at the cabaret. He danced with me for a while...
then with the other girls. I left with Zé do Santinho and he stayed.
- What time was that? - About 2:OO, 2:30 AM.
- So you didn't see him again? - No, sir. I went back home with Zé.
I can't explain, Chief. I was having dinner...
when the Naves brothers showed up in their truck...
...saying Benedito was missing. - When did you last see your son?
More than two months ago. He wrote to me, though.
He said he'd be back as soon as he sold the rice.
- When was that? - A while back now.
He said it was hard to raise the money this time.
Trade doesn't look good, right, Joaquim?
- Were you aware of his dealings? - Why, of course.
- We lent him the money. - Who lent it?
Me, some of his mother's savings and his brother-in-law's.
We raised 116 million so Benedito could buy the rice.
- What about his truck? - No.
The Ford he bought on credit with Joaquim.
The truck belongs to both of them.
Do you suspect anyone or any reason for Benedito to go missing?
To be honest, I don't, Chief. My son is a good man.
He's hardworking. Everybody is fond of him.
He never picked no bones with no one.
Doesn't he drink? Isn't he a womanizer?
Benedito has no vices. He doesn't spend his nights on such nonsense.
He's not like that. He's not!
Okay. That'll be all for now.
THE NEW BRAZILIAN REGIME IS AN AUTHORITARIAN DEMOCRACY
This new regime will make the stock market plunge even lower.
Money's worth nothing nowadays.
Even so, Mr. Josias, 90 million is a lot of money.
You could build another house like this one for a lot less than that.
Besides, the financial hardships will soon be over.
We need a strong hand. Without authority, there'll be no respect.
Time passes and there's no solution. The authorities are too soft.
That's what I'm telling you, Colonel.
Benedito disappeared with that much money.
I know. I'd make that thief eat lead, no questions asked! I'm not kidding!
That's right, miss. Enough "live and let live".
This new government should show who's boss.
How can someone disappear with 90 million and no one do anything?
I say, Mr. Salim, at this rate...
...we won't be safe anywhere. - Right.
This time it was Benedito. Next time it'll be anyone of us.
- Money makes people go itchy. - There's something fishy about it.
The truck belonged to both. They worked together.
Benedito lived at Quinca's. Can you believe that?
Another thing, don't take my word for it, the facts are there.
I'm not accusing anyone, but this thing stinks. Someone's gotta pay.
If we leave things like this, where are we gonna end up? I think...
- Afternoon. - Afternoon.
Speaking of the devil...
Don't put words into my mouth...
but on that Sunday, the three of them, that guy Joaquim...
Sebastião, his brother, and this Benedito character...
weren't they all at the new bridge's opening?
Why, of course. I even talked to them.
- Thanks. - You're welcome.
- Good evening. - Good evening.
Good evening.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners...
now and in the time of our death, amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee...
blessed art Thou amongst women, blessed is the Fruit of Thy womb.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners...
now and in the time of our death, amen.
DECEMBER 29, 1937 The town's chief of police...
can't find elements to solve the case or point to any guilty parties...
forthe disappearance of Benedito.
In early December, a special chief of police...
a lieutenant of the State's army is appointed.
Sit down, ma'am.
- We got news, Chief. - Yes, Lieutenant. Mom'll tell you.
- A clue to Benedito's whereabouts. - May I speak, Chief?
Zé Prontidão met Benedito in Uberlândia, very much like ours.
Zé showed up a few days ago with Bastiana...
and when I told her about Benedito, Zé interrupted.
- Who's this Bastiana? - She was raised by me.
Now she lives in Uberlândia and works at the Belo Horizonte Inn.
She came to visit me, she got a lift from Prontidão.
When I told her about the case, Zé talked about this Benedito...
...saying he looked like I said. - That's right, Chief.
Prontidão said he'd bring him here as soon as he showed up.
It's gotta be Benedito, judging by what he said.
Prontidão said he worked three days for his boss, Zé Augusto...
and then hitched a ride on a truck either to Uberaba or São Paulo.
Last time Prontidão saw him, he carried a suitcase this big.
He was at the gas station by night, ready to leave.
Prontidão said he hitched a ride with Zé Amâncio to Sta. Rita do Paranaíba.
What was this Benedito from Uberlândia like?
Judging by what Prontidão told us, it was him.
Yes, he was using boots, denim pants, a shirt and a jacket.
- It was exactly like him. - Like we saw him when he left...
after we came from the bridge party.
What about the suitcase Prontidão told you about?
Well, he didn't take no suitcase. His clothes are still back home.
- But maybe he bought it over there. - Okay, that's enough for now.
I'm gonna check this out. I've summoned this Prontidão guy.
You may go.
Aulete...
I'm gonna have to squeeze them. Hold that... Joaquim guy.
Yes, sir. Right away.
- Good morning, Nhozinho. - Mornin'.
- They've arrested Quinca now. - It can't be. They can't do that.
More grief over Quinca's head. That's all he needed right now.
I don't understand. How can he disappear like that?
- Looks like the devil's work. - But he's gotta show up.
Dito's gonna come back. Our Lady won't leave us in this fix.
He has to show up. He can't disappear like that.
But that chief of police can't do that to you folks.
Everyone's against us in town. They look at us as if we were murderers.
I've never seen anything like this in my life.
- And I've seen a lot. - We don't know what the Chief'll do.
How dare he arrest Quinca? He's got to turn him loose.
You folks shouldn't pay for other people's errors. That ain't right.
- Everyone's suspicious of us. - Poor Donana.
In her old age, to suffer like this. Everyone's going crazy.
But, God willing, things won't stay that way.
Dito's gonna come back and take responsibility for the money.
I've come to get chickens and eggs to sell in the city, brother-in-law.
I also want to leave some money with you.
We don't know what can happen at home. Here is safer.
Why are you so worried? You're good people, you haven't done anything.
What could possibly happen?
It's best if you keep the money at home. It might come in handy.
It's a precaution. If they arrest me, you can help Salvina.
The chief of police wouldn't dare. You're being too pessimistic.
Keep it as advance money on my purchases: three and a half million.
Take the chickens and the eggs I just bought out of it.
I can't, Bastião. I'm your friend, but you gotta understand.
- I'm too old to get in trouble. - You said it, Nhozinho.
Then keep 500,000 to pay for the merchandise.
I ain't got no change. Pay me next time.
Give me the change when you come to the city.
As you wish, Bastião.
- Name? - José Joaquim Teodoro de Lima.
- But what do people call you? - They call me Zé. Zé Prontidão.
Because of my services.
- Age, profession? -35. Truck driver and helping hand.
- Marital status? Married or single? - Married. I'm married.
- Where do you live? - In Uberlândia...
where the lieutenant sent for me.
- Tell me what you know. - As I told Donana, Lieutenant...
I came here last month, looking for a dog, and I paid her a visit.
- I told her I was looking for a dog. - What dog?
- A missing dog. - A traveling dog?
- It came from Uberlândia? - People told me it was here.
Really? Did the dog take the train all by itself? Did it hitchhike here?
No, no, sir. Somebody stole it and put it in a truck.
Mr. João Daia sent me. It was his pet, a nice hunting dog.
I couldn't find him. I was very upset.
Then Donana told me she was worried, but not about a dog.
About a missing person. She told me about Benedito's disappearance.
Then I recalled that last month I was by the warehouse with Zé Augusto...
...when a guy came asking for a job. - Who's this Zé Augusto?
- He's my boss. - Go on.
Zé Augusto hired him. The guy worked for three days.
I was at the Atlantic gas station and he showed up with a big suitcase.
He said he wanted to hitch a ride on a truck. His name was Benedito.
- Benedito Pereira, I'm sure. - Then what?
- Then what what, Chief? - You never saw him again?
No, sir, never again. When I arrived here looking for Mr. João's dog...
I paid Donana a visit and I told her I'm looking for Mr. João's dog...
...his pet, a really nice... - Okay, okay, enough!
You talk too much. Wait outside.
So? New year, new ideas?
Or not?
Answer me! Or you want to go back down there?
I'll talk.
Sit down.
Very well. What about the dog?
Did Donana ask you to tell that story?
Donana?
Yes, Donana! Did she ask you to tell me that story?
Yes, Donana asked me.
- But it was all made up. - Yes, sir, it was.
- I made it up. - Then you knew Joaquim, didn't you?
What about Sebastião?
Are you gonna tell me you didn't know him either?
Yes, I did, sir.
But who asked you to tell that lie about a Benedito in Uberlândia?
Joaquim promised you money if you said you saw Benedito, didn't he?
- He did. - Then he asked you...
to tell me you saw Benedito in Uberlândia, right?
- Yes or no? - Yes, sir.
Write it down, Aulete.
The sworn witness in the form of law...
questioned for the second time, answered...
Let the old woman go! Lieutenant's orders!
For God's sake, Mrs. Odete, hide me! I can't stand it anymore!
I can't! Hide me!
I haven't eaten in days. I was locked up in a cold basement.
Bastião screamed, Quinca screamed... they screamed and screamed all night.
I couldn't sleep. I heard Bastião and Quinca's screams.
They were beaten for hours on end!
I swear to God, we don't deserve this! We didn't do anything!
I'm ashamed to tell you what we went through.
Quinca and Bastião didn't say anything, they're innocent.
They couldn't say anything! So they were beaten.
Blows and more blows.
I'm even ashamed to tell you.
I can't. I can't stand it!
They tore my clothes off. Tied me up.
They wanted to see my sons hitting me. Hitting their mother! Dear God!
Why such a disgrace? I yelled to them not to tell any lies.
Let them beat us, but we'd never tell the lies they made up for us to say.
When Bastião and Quinca refused to obey, they attacked me!
They pummeled me with wooden clubs.
I don't know why they let me go. They said I shouldn't tell anyone...
told me to keep my mouth shut. Quinca and Bastião are still there.
They let me go. Someone took pity on me because I'm old, that's why...
but Quinca and Bastião are still there, they're gonna suffer more!
My sons didn't do anything, they don't deserve this!
For all that's holy, they're innocent!
They don't deserve this punishment! And they're gonna die!
I swear on my own soul, they didn't do anything!
And they're gonna be beaten to death!
I'm scared.
They're gonna die.
I'm scared.
Don't you send me away, Mrs. Odete, I beg you, don't send me away!
You may stay here, Donana.
No one'll mistreat you again, I assure you.
Come, Donana. You need to eat something and rest. Come.
Being a mother, you can't convince me of your sons' innocence.
I'm at a loss. I don't know the facts.
Everyone's talking against them.
I refused to defend them before because of that, you know.
It's a question of principle. I do not defend that kind of criminal.
They're innocent, sir. They didn't do anything!
- That isn't the point now, Donana. - They're gonna be beaten to death!
Nothing justifies that. What's happening is illegal, monstrous.
My sons won't resist, sir.
I shall do what law prescribes, Donana.
Innocent or not, they can't be kept in jail like that.
The Constitution says so.
"Habeas corpus shall be given whenever someone suffers...
or is in the imminence of suffering violence or illegal coercion."
Hit him!
More! More!
Come on, soldier! More! Hit him on the head!
Harder!
More! He's gotta talk! He's gotta talk!
Stop!
Bring the man.
There.
So? You didn't see Benedito again?
No. I didn't.
- You didn't see Benedito again?! - No, I didn't!
Okay! We'll do this the hard way, then! We're gonna kill your brother!
Let's see if you won't confess!
Soldier, cut Sebastião loose.
Take him down there!
Shoot him!
Finish him!
Kill Sebastião!
Come on, finish him!
Don't do that, Lieutenant! Don't!
- My brother is innocent! Enough! - Talk!
But I don't know!
Soldier!
- Talk! - We're innocent! He didn't do it!
- Stop, Lieutenant! Stop! - Confess, or you'll die too! Talk!
Get back.
Turquinho!
Come on, shoot him!
No! No! Stop, let me go! Stop! Stop!
- Shoot him in the back! - No, Lieutenant! Don't do that to me!
Let me go! No! No! No!
Fire!
Joaquim!
Okay.
Now it's your turn.
If you won't talk, you'll die too.
Are you gonna talk? Talk!
I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll tell you anything you want!
I'll talk. I'll tell you anything you want.
Then you two invited Benedito to go to Uberlândia...
and he accepted the invitation?
He did.
And what did you tell him to make him accept?
A leisure trip?
Yes, sir. I think that was it.
Write it down, Aulete. The declarant stated as follows:
that on November 29 of last year...
about two in the morning...
he was in the company of his brother Sebastião in his house...
waiting the arrival of Benedito Pereira Caetano...
to invite him for a leisure trip to Uberlândia...
that Benedito Pereira accepted the invitation to said trip...
and the three of them climbed immediately into the truck...
driving in the direction of Pau Furado Bridge...
at three in the morning...
that afterthey crossed said bridge at about four in the morning...
they got out, the declarant, his brother and Benedito...
to have a drink of water. That they climbed down to the river...
his brother leading,Benedito in the middle and the declarant behind...
hidingwith him a length of rope of a yard or so...
that arriving by the river,Sebastião grabbed Benedito from behind...
the declarant made a noose with the rope, tying it on Benedito's neck...
and Sebastião suddenly let go of the victim's arms...
helping the declarant to twist the rope tight...
that Benedito,in that moment, lost his senses...
falling on his knees until all life left him...
which was verified by the declarant and his brotherSebastião.
Sebastião,soon afterthat, searched Benedito's body...
taking from his waist a cloth he had secured inside his underwear...
where the declarant and his brother knew he carried...
the amount of 90 million réis in cash...
an amount that his brotherSebastião...
deposited inside a soda can prepared by the declarant to that end.
That afterwards, his brotherSebastião...
grabbed Benedito's corpse by the head...
and the declarant by the feet, tossing it in the Velhas River...
leaving by said riverthe rope they used to execute the crime...
and the cloth where the victim had carried his money...
that afterwards they drove the truck back to this township...
and on the way back, near Olímpio de Tal's farm...
the declarant, who drove the truck, stopped,on his brother's orders.
Afterthey got out of the truck, in the brush,near a wire fence...
a quarteror half a mile away, they both stopped...
and they buried the can with the money in a grassy bush.
The declarant states they used two trees as landmarks...
so they'd be able to retrieve their loot in a properoccasion.
There.
Here.
You won't embarrass me again! I won't leave till you say where's the money!
Tell me, you bastard! Where did you put it?
Did Sebastião search your hiding place? Did he?!
- Yes, he did. - And where did he put it? Talk!
I think he gave it to his brother-in-law, Nhozinho.
Bastião visited his farm.
Spill it, you old bastard!
I've told you all I know, Chief. I did.
Bastião gave me only 500,000 réis. He'd give me more. I didn't take it.
I wanna drop dead right here if I'm lying.
Bastião had three and a half million. He only left me 500,000...
to pay for the chickens he bought.
You're very funny. See? Life's expensive.
500,000 to pay for the chickens he bought?
- Tell that to someone else! - The Chief isn't kidding! Talk!
It's like I said, Chief, I swear.
He should give me only 39,OOO réis. I was short on change.
I told him he could pay me later, but he insisted.
I gave the rest of the money back to his wife when I went to Araguari.
I returned all of it to her: 461,OOO réis.
I didn't keep any of it. I didn't even want to keep those 500,000.
I didn't want to get in trouble, Lieutenant. I don't know anything.
Okay. Okay, Sinhozinho.
But what about the loot Sebastião left with you? Where is it?
- What loot, Chief? - Come on. Those 90 million.
How can you believe such a thing? Bastião didn't leave that with me.
- He gave me 500,000 for the chickens. - Come on, don't start again!
Don't you know we came for Sebastião's money, funny guy?
- Chief, I'm an honest man. - All the more reason to tell me.
Joaquim confessed the money's here! Where did you hide it?!
I didn't hide any money. Bastião gave me only 500,000 réis.
He wanted to give me more, I didn't take it. I wanna drop dead...
Shut up, you son of a bitch!
Throw water on him.
Talk, or there'll be more.
Don't hit me, Chief. I'm a good man. I'm telling you the truth, I swear!
Then answer me. How come Joaquim said Bastião gave you the money?
He's lying. Bastião couldn't bring me that much money.
- Bastião ain't got that kinda money. - What if he stole it?
What if he stole it?!
Okay, that's what I wanted to know. You'll say that at the station.
Corporal, escort the witness.
JANUARY 13, 1938
The townshiptemporarily lacking a judge...
Alamy gets an habeas corpus forthe Naves brothers from a nearby court.
They must be released.
The lieutenant already told that to Uberlândia's judge.
It's a lie and you know it.
The Naves brothers only got out of jail to be tortured out of town.
This is what I have, Mr. Alamy.
He said he let them out once and he won't risk enraging the people...
releasing them without a proper solution to the case.
Justice has nothing to do with opinions, only with facts and law!
And the law is being disrespected, Your Honor! It's another violence!
This, the release order, has to be obeyed!
As surrogate judge for this area, you have to enforce the law!
With a simple piece of paper, you want to throw me against everyone.
Look, Mr. Alamy, if Joaquim hadn't confessed...
if nothing had happened, you think the lieutenant'd pressure them so?
So, instead of upholding the law...
you'd rather tolerate violence!
I don't tolerate anything, and I won't admit attacks to my dignity.
I didn't mean to offend you...
I only wish that you, as an authority, would fulfill your duties.
I'm a slave to the law, Mr. Alamy. I'd never act against it.
You guys ever seen horns on a horse's head?
- No need to bring them food here. - They're outta jail already.
Maybe they even got home by now.
The money isn't found.
Benedito's father, afterJoaquim's confession...
starts believing the Naves really murdered his son.
He then constitutes a lawyer to represent him.
Counselor, I'm only passing through. I'm a Justice of the Peace.
I'm an accountant by trade. I won't be the one to try this crime.
What the Naves brothers' lawyer said was right.
The habeas corpus had to be enforced.
Your Honor, in fact, the brothers should've been released already.
However, everything leads to believe Benedito was the victim of a crime.
There's clear evidence. Benedito wouldn't disappear with the money.
Besides, Joaquim Naves himself already confessed.
His confession is detailed and convincing.
Yes, that's what everyone says.
The DA thinks so too. The whole town demands punishment for the crime.
If the chief releases them, they could escape due process of law...
or make it harder to find the money. That'd be even worse.
Yes. That's true.
You think that besides the charges against them...
we should put the accused under custody pending trial?
No doubt about it. That's the legal remedy. It's perfectly feasible.
Pressing charges and custody until the trial.
The money! What did you do with the rest of the money?
Your sister-in-law gave two million to the lawyer. Where's the rest?
Nhozinho doesn't have it. It wasn't in the hole.
No, it wasn't.
Then where'd you put it when you got afraid? You give it to that lawyer?
To your mother? Come on, talk!
Yes.
She has it, then.
Your wife, Antônia Rita. Did she see you giving your mother the money?
Yes.
- Drop the baby! Drop the baby! - My God! Stop! No!
- Drop it, soldier! Drop it! - Stop, for God's sake! My son!
- Stop that! Stop! - Drop the baby! Drop it!
- Drop it! Drop it! - For God's sake!
- Then talk! - Stop! Stop!
- Talk! - For God's sake, don't kill my son.
Then talk! Drop the baby! Come on, drop it! Drop it!
- Drop it! Drop it on the knife! - No! Stop, Lieutenant!
Drop it here on the knife! Drop it, soldier! Drop it!
Come on, drop it, drop it! Come on, talk already!
Talk! Talk! Talk!
I'll talk! I'll tell you anything you want!
I'll tell you anything you want, but don't kill my son, I beg you!
I'll talk. I'll talk. I'll talk.
No, Lieutenant, my husband didn't kill anyone!
He didn't leave home, he was sleeping by my side!
Sleeping, my foot! He left with Joaquim and killed Benedito!
- He stole his money! - That's not true, it wasn't him!
Don't lie, slut! Joaquim confessed, your sister-in-law too!
You'll talk one way or another.
Turquinho! Pretão! Take care of her.
- I know what she wants! Begin. - For God's sake!
- I'm waiting! - For God's sake!
For the love of the Virgin Mary, don't do that, Lieutenant!
- No, I'll tell you whatever you want! - Stop!
- I'll talk! - Enough!
I'll talk! I'll talk!
I'll tell you anything you want!
Don't be upset, Odete. I don't carry a gun for nothing.
The lieutenant knows no bounds.
Even in front of the mayor, with that grin of his...
he implied again I knew where the money was.
You're doing your job. He wouldn't dare.
- Everything has a limit. - That's what everyone thinks.
With him, you never know. The lieutenant doesn't respect anyone.
Does the witness swear on your honor...
that you'll answer truthfully to our questions?
- I do. - Sit down.
Do you confirm that the confession of the defendant, Joaquim Naves Rosa...
to the police authority in your presence was spontaneous?
- Yes. - Did the witness see...
any coercion to make the defendant reenact his crime?
No, sir. I didn't witness any violence.
Joaquim showed in details how he committed the crime.
Was the witness also present at the police diligence...
where the defendant showed where he hid the money?
Yes. Joaquim showed two trees which acted as landmarks...
and the bush where the money was hidden.
- And why didn't you find the money? - It was already late, getting dark.
That's all.
The defense may now question the witness.
The witness said the defendant's confession was spontaneous.
Can you confirm that there was no coercion in your presence...
or no coercion at all?
- No, there wasn't any. - But when? Not even before?
In my presence, there was no coercion.
The witness said he was present when the money wasn't found.
Before it got dark...
did the defendant show the witnesses the money's hiding place?
He looked in several places, but he couldn't remember.
Joaquim confessed he dug a hole with his hands.
Did the witness see something that could be such a hiding place?
Speak! Did you see a hole dug by hand where the money could be hidden?!
Did you or didn't you?!
No. We only saw armadillo holes and anthills.
Your Honor, let the record show the witness is making his statement...
...in the chief of police's presence! - Objection! The defense insults us!
Dr. Alamy implies we are pressuring the witness! That's absurd!
You can't allow such an offense to the legal system!
Aren't the loaded questions presented to this witness enough?!
He's pushing it, DA. I can't answer for the safety of that lawyer.
No need to get excited, Lieutenant. I'll talk to him. Stay calm.
...if not to pressure the witness? - He should watch his back.
You took the police to several functions in your car, right?
- Right. - What purpose did they have?
You don't know or you'd rather not say what their purpose was?
Your Honor, the council is bludgeoning the witness!
I won't tolerate your insults, Counselor.
I have the right to clarify whether the witness can't or won't answer!
You're jumping to preposterous conclusions, Mr. Alamy!
I didn't ask you for a lesson. I know how to question a witness.
You don't want to tell us what was the purpose of these trips...
with the lieutenant, the Naves brothers and the soldiers?
I was called to witness Joaquim's confession.
After that, we went to see how he killed Benedito.
What about the other times you went to the country with them?
- Didn't you see anything? - No, I didn't.
You mean you think there wasn't any reason to take the Naves for a walk?
I don't know.
Didn't you notice anything during these walks?
Didn't you see the Naves getting beaten? Didn't you witness torture?!
No, sir, I didn't.
I've never seen such imprudence and cowardice!
You're out of line, Counselor! Better not try the lieutenant's patience!
I do.
First, I'd like to say a few things, Your Honor.
I'm more than 50 years old, but in my whole life...
I've never known such humiliation and suffering.
Please! Witnesses should limit themselves to the facts at hand!
But what I'm telling you is about this case.
I'm a good man. I've always respected everyone.
I've never dealt with the police before.
Mr. Oliveira, stick to your previous statement and don't tell tall tales!
But, sir, I need to make this clear. I'm not here to accuse anyone...
but I didn't do anything wrong either, to be beaten up like that.
Okay, enough. The accusation will now question the witness.
Did your brother-in-law, Sebastião, show up at your house...
asking you to keep three and a half million réis in seven banknotes?
That's right, sir, but I didn't take it.
If you think Sebastião had just cause to keep that money...
why didn't you take it?
Because I didn't want any trouble coming my way.
You mean you didn't take it because you didn't like Sebastião's attitude.
Objection! The defense is drawing on conjecture, Your Honor!
Overruled, Mr. Alamy. The question was clear.
- The witness may answer. - Bastião told me he was innocent.
- Did he usually send you money? - No.
So the fact that he asked you to keep some money...
...was out of the ordinary. - Yes. I mean, he never asked before.
Can you say with certainty that those three million and a half...
weren't part of a larger amount he kept secret to avoid suspicion?
No, I don't know.
You mean that the money could be part of a larger amount.
- Yes, it could. - Therefore, Sebastião's money...
could be taken from Benedito's 90 million...
since it was part of a larger amount, isn't that so?
- Yes, it could. - All right. That'll be all.
You can't allow such absurd questions to be posed, Your Honor.
The defense may question the witness.
How were you subpoenaed to make a statement to the police?
Well, the lieutenant showed up at my farm with his soldiers...
and mistreated me. I didn't have any money, but he wouldn't believe me.
He cuffed my ears so hard, I'm still half deaf.
I don't know about the 90 million.
Did you find it strange for Sebastião to carry 3 and a half million réis?
No, sir. Bastião used to carry even more money than that to do business.
I'd like you to be really clear about that.
Did you refuse the money because you thought it was Benedito's?
No, sir. I just didn't wanna get into trouble.
Did you suspect for any reason that Sebastião had robbed Benedito?
No, sir. No way.
I... was lying in bed...
when I saw Quinca inviting him to go to Uberlândia.
It was past two in the morning.
Afterwards...
Quinca came back without Benedito.
Then Bastião showed up...
and Quinca told me they were gonna look for Benedito.
I didn't understand any of it.
It was...
it was my husband who found the money and gave it to his mother.
It was rolled up in a red and white cloth.
I don't know where she put it. She asked me not to tell about Benedito.
That'd get Quinca in trouble.
That's why I lied. Then...
then I told the lieutenant the truth! My mother-in-law's no good!
She kept the money! She told me to lie about it!
Your Honor, let the record show...
that the witness is being questioned in the presence of the lieutenant!
Antônia Rita...
the day you told the chief of police about these things...
did you go only to the police station?
- No. I went to the jail, too. - And why did you go there?
What happened before you told all that to the chief of police?
My husband gave the money to his mother. In a cloth with red stripes.
My mother-in-law's no good! She's got the money!
Quinca gave her the money, she hid it! She's got it!
She asked me to lie about it! She's no good!
About the defense's objection...
the judge said, for the record, that during most of the statement...
of the witness Antônia Rita de Jesus...
the lieutenant was absent from the court room...
and during his presence, he didn't intervene whatsoever on the witness.
Are you sure your husband didn't leave home...
on Sunday night, December the 28th?
My husband didn't leave home. He slept through the night.
You'd been giving your son medication at night for several days.
How can you tell he didn't leave home exactly on that night?
I remember. That was the night Benedito went missing.
But Joaquim confessed that he left that night with your husband...
and Benedito. How can you deny that?
I don't know what Joaquim said. My husband didn't leave home.
I'm sure. I woke up several times and I saw him there.
I can't say Joaquim was home.
I don't know what goes on inside other homes.
Don't you know that Joaquim confessed...
that the money they robbed...
...was given to your mother-in-law? - That's what I heard...
but my husband had only three and a half million réis.
And why did your husband have that much money when he saw Nhozinho?
He had that money before. It was his.
We told Benedito to draw his money from the bank only when he got back.
He even said he was thinking about not coming back.
Did Benedito told you that, or you just heard about that?
I heard about that. Once he said to Bastião he wanted to see the world.
And how did you know that?
Because... I was there when he said it.
Your Honor, let the record show the witness hesitated in some answers.
Sustained.
- Salvina, why did you go to jail? - The lieutenant arrested me.
But why did he do that?
He wanted me to say my husband didn't sleep at home.
- And you told him that? - No, sir. I couldn't lie.
Then he kept me and my children in jail for two days.
Then he called two soldiers. They wanted to take my clothes off.
I didn't want to, but I had to lie.
And everything you're saying now is true?
Yes, sir. I'm telling the truth now.
Sebastião's resistence wears out. He confesses too.
The lieutenant gets what he wants from the brothers,but not the money.
Subverting properorder in trial...
the defendants are questioned afterthe witnesses.
The brothers' lawyer isn't informed about that hearing.
The defendant, Sebastião José Naves, unfettered and without coercion...
was asked by the judge the following questions:
Does the defendant have anything to say in his own defense?
No. No.
Does the defendant have anything to say in his own defense?
My brother wanted to do it. He wanted to kill Benedito.
I helped kill him because he insisted.
We buried the money in the woods.
My brother told me to bring it back. I counted it with him in the kitchen.
I kept the money. I gave it to my mother.
She said I shouldn't worry, that she'd keep it safe.
I didn't see the money again. I didn't see it again. I didn't.
Quinca's crazy, Bastião is crazy! Antônia Rita is crazy!
No one gave me money! They're either crazy or beaten silly, that's it!
I suffered too. Bastião too.
He told me he'd be squeezed worse if he said he killed Benedito...
cause he wouldn't be able to produce the money. They didn't kill anyone!
They didn't rob anyone! They were beaten, that's all! They suffered!
I won't sign it. I won't! I won't sign anything!
Everything that's written there is a lie! I'm innocent!
The chief usually isn't here this time of the day.
Maybe he's at the police station. Why don't you look for him there?
That's what I'll do.
- You go there. - All right.
MARCH 17, 1938 The new judge is finally nominated.
Alamy tries to enforce a second habeas corpus...
in favorof the Naves brothers.
I don't want to overextend myself, noble lawyers...
and zealous members of Araguari's court.
As Rui Barbosa once said in his memorable Prayer To The Youth...
"of no avail are laws if no one protects them against abuse...
and the essential protection, above all...
comes from a justice as elevated in its power as in its mission".
Ever since my fond and bygone times at Law school...
I've always followed those principles.
All over Brazil, in the most distant of the wild sertões...
I've never left an evildoer go unpunished...
and I didn't hesitate in coming down with an iron hand...
when it was necessary to impose harshly the respect for the law.
Invested in the high honor of ruling over this area...
I can assure you I shall remain faithful...
to this unwavering conduct.
Your Honor, I congratulate you...
and I take the opportunity to ask for the enforcement of a habeas corpus...
which was granted before your arrival by the judge of Uberlândia.
It is a serious case.
This is the second habeas corpus I obtain...
but the favored parties are still incarcerated.
If I may.
Perfect. Make it so.
- Bailiff, enforce this release order. - Right away, Your Honor.
I also want to point out that, as soon as possible...
I shall eliminate the accumulated caseload in this court.
Very well.
- See you tomorrow. - Goodbye.
The chief of police won't release them.
He says he's still going through work ordered by the other judge.
Your Honor, that's another of the chief's lies.
- He'll do to you what he did before. - What do you mean?
It's violence as usual!
The defendants are down there, tied and gagged like animals!
- Don't worry, I'll check into it. - No one here dares to defy him.
You need to go there yourself, or it won't do. It'll all be lost.
You need to act now. Now!
Counselor, the law has its mechanisms. I know how to act.
Your Honor, forgive me, but the situation calls for drastic measures.
- What do you mean by that? - You gotta go to the jail yourself...
...and check how those men are! - That'd be reckless and dangerous.
- It's the only way with this chief. - It'd be unwise.
I've just been nominated. No one knows me here.
- I could be disrespected. - No one here ever offended a judge.
Not even the lieutenant would dare.
I'll go with you and you won't be disrespected.
I guarantee it.
Young man, I appreciate your noble gesture...
but I can't accept it. You're young, you've got a career ahead of you.
You can't compromise it with such an impulsive gesture.
No. Absolutely not.
The legal instruments shall face the violence.
The crime in this trial is one of those...
which demand acute intelligence on the part of the judge...
for in criminal law, where honor and freedom are at stake...
the judge should worry about the frightening prospect of an error.
Due to happenstance,it wasn't possible to obtain material evidence.
But it was necessary to find the body, the money...
orother possible proof. Nothing happened.
Truth be said, there's no sign of the huge sum's whereabouts.
You didn't find the money. I came here to solve this case.
Colonel, I did what I could. I've fulfilled my duty. I wasn't lax.
The chief was careful enough to segregate the accused to beat them.
It's the most abject terror. Before it, even an innocent accuses himself.
The defense informs that those confessions...
are due to abuse and inhumanity.
The defendant Joaquim Naves Rosa confessed before fairwitnesses.
Leafing through the pages of the case file with utmost care...
I couldn't see,however,proof of such extortion of statements.
We can't call confession a statement obtained by force and undercoercion.
However, the police obtained from the defendants and theirwives...
confessions so fluent and detailed that can't be deemed as false.
The information Antônia Rita gave is impressive...
because it unveils an intimate talk between husband and wife.
It reveals the heinous crime in its smallest details.
There is contradiction in such an excess of concocted details.
And let it not be said these statements were forced by the law.
The value of a confession comes from its spontaneity, teaches Costa Manso.
The confession of a defendant to the police is half the proof...
Edgar Costa warns us...
even confession obtained by means of torture...
as long as it coincides with the othercircumstances of a crime.
The police director wants to solve this crime once and for all.
Doubtlessly. Tell me what I should do.
I'll take care of it. I'll make Sebastião talk.
Colonel, the defendants are under the court's custody.
I'll see to it.
If on the one hand the defense presents monstrosities...
on the other hand,justice raises its voice,impartial and human...
and therefore subject to fatal contingencies.
I accept the charges to pronounce, as I pronounce now...
the defendants Joaquim Naves Rosa and Sebastião José Naves.
This case is loaded with such a broad,unreasonable passion...
that it involves the enforcers of justice themselves.
No. No. No.
Nothing is added to the Naves brothers' case.
APRIL 14, 1938 All the attempts fail.
No sign of the money.
JUNE 27, 1938
The judge's sentence is accepted by the State's criminal chamber.
Thus begins the first trial of the Naves brothers...
by the popular jury of the town of Araguari.
Does the defendant have anything to say in his defense?
Everything I said, I said out of fear and torture, Your Honor.
I was beaten half to death to tell the lies of this trial.
They gave me laxative, they tied me up...
they beat me so badly I couldn't stand it anymore!
My body was reduced to a bloody pulp. Even my mother was beaten.
They stripped her naked, Your Honor!
I took it all for 38 days...
until I finally lied. Anyone would lie after all that.
I swear to God, on my children's lives...
I am innocent!
Does the defendant have anything to say in his defense?
I didn't kill him. I didn't do anything.
I'm innocent. I confessed because of the beatings...
the menaces. I confessed because of the chief of police.
I said all that to stop suffering. The chief of police forced me.
He even told me he'd killed my brother.
He's gonna beat me more. For God's sake, don't send me back to him.
He's gonna beat me again, I know it! He's gonna beat me again!
Don't send me back to him, Your Honor, for God's sake!
Members of the jury...
even if the hypothesis of theft and murder was to be accepted...
it would be necessary to apprehend the money...
to find the body or any other evidence...
a clue, a possible sign.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing...
other than the defendants' confession, who now...
in front of the judge...
in front of the sentence council, recant such confession as false...
as everyone has heard loudly and clearly.
However, let us suppose they had not recanted.
Where's the proof of the theft or subtraction of the money?
Where is the money? Where is the victim's death?
Those elements, whose absence...
the judge has neglected in his wise preliminary sentence...
where are those elements, members of the jury?
We could go even further...
and say that, besides the confession, there are several conjectures.
However, as Whitaker states...
conjecture is a reasoning which links a fact to an individual...
and these proceedings do not contain a single fact, a single clue...
much less a conjecture!
The police exists...
to protect society.
The police organization is an organ of State.
It is paid...
with money from all of us.
It is the guardian of law and order.
The State is empowered to serve us.
Serving the State, the police must serve us.
This is its function.
But this police here present...
this police has intimidated, beaten...
massacrated the two men now sitting on the defendants' bench!
It violated witnesses, intimidated the townspeople...
threatened us when we were fulfilling our duties.
This police, which isn't police, but another thing...
now wants us to cower in fear! It thinks it's the law, dear jurors!
But it isn't the law! It is violence!
It thinks it's helping justice, but it's going against justice!
Its presence disrespects the honorable judge...
and defies you, the jurors!
However, in spite of that aggravation...
we need to steel ourselves and judge.
What can you see, members of the jury?
What's this that happens in front of you...
if not the repetition of everything that's been done in this whole case?
The evidence is in these proceedings I hold in my hands!
This police has been present from the beginning...
the same obvious and shameful way...
it now intends to disrupt this trial's impartiality!
But it's wrong. The defense is here to fulfill its duty...
come what may! The defense won't accept such intimidation.
The defense hopes...
that the members of the jury...
honorable men, zealous of their prerogatives of freedom...
can also refuse, can also reject...
the falsehood of violence!
- I'm gonna shut him up with lead. - If you shoot, we'll shoot back.
We're here to defend Mr. Alamy.
If there wasn't any other proof...
if the violence wasn't already known by the whole town...
the jury might now, with their own eyes...
witness this event, never before seen in law history.
Once again, in the house of justice itself...
someone tries to prevent the defense of the innocent.
But after that, in face of what's already been shown...
after what you had witnessed...
what solution imposes itself to a free man's conscience?
What conclusion, for someone who hasn't seen evidence of a crime...
of a murder? Where's the body? Where's the money?
The jury can't make the same mistake the judge made in his sentence.
You have to repel this offense to law!
Thus, if you don't want to accept the farce of a crime without a body...
of a theft with no money...
if you don't want to accept the falsehood of violence...
if you don't want to do great injustice...
I beg you...
acquit the defendants.
The lieutenant didn't come back.
He knows we're here to defend Alamy.
To the fifth question formulated by me, the answer is no...
having found in the box six negative ballots and one positive.
I shall not formulate the remaining questions...
because they have been invalidated by the answers to the previous ones.
The jury shall now manifest themselves...
about the second series of questions referring to Joaquim Naves Rosa.
First question: did the defendant Joaquim Naves Rosa...
on November 29, 1937...
around three in the morning, by the Velhas River...
near Pau Furado Bridge, in this vicinity...
apply to the neck of Benedito Pereira Caetano...
a length of rope, strangling him?
In conformity with the sentence council's decisions...
taken by an absolute majority vote...
judging improper the accusation raised by public justice...
against the defendants Sebastião José Naves and Joaquim Naves Rosa...
I acquit them, and order that, the decision having been tried...
their names be stricken from the guilty parties' list...
and that both be released.
According to legal regulations...
the brothers have to wait in jail forthe accusation's appeal.
I don't see why you should feel bad after such a brilliant victory.
- I'm worried about the appeal. - The appeal is just a formality.
The Naves shall soon be free.
The evidence and conjectures forced me to accuse them...
but the jury has doubtlessly ruled with great wisdom.
But not unanimously.
In that case, as you know, with the new legislation...
the jury loses its authority.
There are no elements to controvert the jury's decision, Mr. Alamy.
Your preliminary sentence could influence the outcome, Your Honor.
I don't think so. The case is closed.
The State Court of Appeal accepts the accusation's arguments...
and invalidates the first trial.
MARCH 21, 1939 Once again, the Naves are tried...
and acquitted by the jury,but,once more, without an unanimous vote.
The District Attorney appeals again the jury's decision.
JULY 4, 1939 The brothers are tried a third time.
They are sentenced to 25 and a half years of imprisonment...
by the judges of the State Court...
who,in theirconclusions about the trial,state:
"The preliminary sentence analyzed carefully the evidence.
Fullerevidence of a robbery and murdercould hardly be construed."
A new revision of the case shortened the sentence...
and aftereight years in jail, the brothers were released on parole.
Three years later,suffering from chronic disease...
Joaquim dies in an asylum in Araguari.
Sebastião finds Benedito Pereira Caetano...
hiding in his father's farm...
where he came back after 15years of absence.
Benedito is arrested by the police, but can't be accused of anything.
He had nothing to do with the case.
TORTURED FOR THE CRIME THAT NEVER WAS
GALLOWS AND CRUCIFIXION IN JAIL
VICTIMS OF JUDICIAL ERROR
INNOCENT!
A WHOLE FAMILY IN JAIL FOR A CRIME IMAGINED BY THE POLICE
"GOD'S HAND IS SLOW BUT SURE"
THE LAW VS. NAVES BROTHERS: A PLUNGE IN THE DARK AGES
HUNG ALIVE ON A CROSS FOR A CRIME HE DIDN'T COMMIT
THE LAW VS. NAVES BROTHERS: CONFESSIONS AT ANY COST
JUSTICE DECEIVES MEN
"IT WAS ABOUT TIME TO SET FREE...
THE TWO GREATEST MARTYRS OF MODERN TIMES"
AN INNOCENT MAN ON TELEVISION
23 MILLION CRUZEIROS:
THE PRICE OF THE MISTRIAL THAT SHOCKED BRAZIL
THE STATE WILL PAY 14 MILLION TO THE WRONGLY SENTENCED
"I WOULDN'T GO BACK TO JAIL FOR ANOTHER 14 MILLION"
11 MILLION: THE STATE WILL PAY FOR THE GREAT INJUSTICE
IN SEBASTIÃO'S CASE, THE LAW CHARGED TOO MUCH...
AND PAID TOO LITTLE
THE LAW MAKES PEACE WITH THE NAVES
Sebastião dies in 1963...
three years after getting, with Alamy as his lawyer...
through harsh legal battles...
monetary compensation forwhat was then called...
the tremendous miscarriage of justice of Araguari.