Damon Killian: Hi, cutie-pie. You know, one of us is in deep trouble. You know who I am?
Ben Richards: I've seen you before. You're the asshole on TV.
Damon Killian: That's funny. I was gonna say the same thing about you.
Dynamo: Thought it was pretty funny out there in the zone. What's the matter now, bitch? Why aren't you laughing?
Amber: Because there's nothing funny about a dickless moron with a battery up his ass.
[Footage of what really happened at Bakersfield has just been shown to the audience and home viewers.]
Damon Killian: Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll please bear with us. We are experiencing technical difficulties.
Agnes: Bullshit.
Laughlin: Who the hell is this?
Ben Richards: She's the one who turned me in at the airport. Guess this is her reward.
Amber: Oh, go ahead. Make jokes. It's all your fault I'm here. They think I'm helping you out. They even think I'm your girlfriend.
Ben Richards: I can straighten that out. You see that camera up there? I'll strangle you in front of the whole audience.
Amber: Me and my big mouth. We should have taken the trip to Hawaii.
Ben Richards: I had the shirt for it but you fucked it up.
Mick: Begin satellite coding sequence. Load uplink code into transponder grid. Shunt power to main circuits. Mr. Spock, you have the conn.
Tech: Who's Mr. Spock?
Agnes: Okay. I think the next kill will be made by...Ben Richards!
Killian: Hold it, hold it. Agnes, Richards is a runner. You gotta pick a stalker!
Agnes: I can pick anyone I choose. And I choose...Ben Richards. That boy's one mean mother fucker.
Damon Killian: Drop dead!
Ben Richards: I don't do requests.
Ben Richards: I'm not into politics, I'm into survival.
Richards: No. I won't kill a helpless human being. Not even sadistic scum...like you.
Ben Richards: Killian. I'll be back.
Damon Killian: Only in a rerun.
Ben Richards: Damn that Killian!
Amber Mendez: What's wrong? You should be happy! We're officially dead, we can go anywhere, do anything.
Ben Richards: No! Don't you understand yet? They'll never let us out of here alive, they can't afford it! They'll get the police, the army, and hunt us down like dogs! Off camera, of course.
Answer: They needed a scapegoat, someone to blame. The government controlled the people through violence, but at the same time tried to convince the people the government was fair (i.e. Runners who made it through were given their freedom when in fact they never left the arena alive). The people at Bakersfield were still massacred (that part wasn't made up) by the government in order to control the riot, but just not by Ben. But people would just riot more if they knew the government ordered their killing, so the footage was faked to make people think Ben acted alone and against orders. And to continue the ruse, they convicted him to appease the people and prevent them from rioting.
Bishop73