Previously on Your Honor...
Alibis will need to be very close to true.
If you're ever asked where you were October 9,
you'll have the memory of what you did.
This is yesterday.
To the charge of vehicular homicide,
how does the accused plead?
- Guilty. - We go big once.
And that ends it.
- Baxters got to pay. - They will, little man.
But Big Mo play the long game.
Kofi was busy failing his GED exam
the same time that Rocco Baxter was killed.
The people you call family now?
They're the ones who let the Baxters think
that Kofi was responsible for killing Rocco.
Stay away from the hotel. Get away from the hotel!
I can make sure that he walks out a free man.
I get them to look up to me, to take their cues from me,
and then, when it matters, 12 of our peers
will do exactly what I want them to do.
It's not easy to watch somebody die in the gutter
and have to live with the guilt of knowing you did it.
Adam?
So who is this guy?
Adam. He's great.
- _ - Do you love him?
Yes. I love him.
I want you to stay away from them.
Michael, Adam.
You know what losing a child gives you?
Visceral pain, overwhelming sense of failure.
And the surprising one.
It's a kind of freedom.
My family's not losing another child.
There's nothing I wouldn't do. Nothing.
I know that Robin was having an affair.
- And you didn't tell us? - Adam doesn't know.
Well, you have to tell him.
Don't ask me to do it. Please.
Does he have to know?
You're asking me to tell him.
- Synced & corrected by MementMori - -- www.addic7ed.com --
Adam? Adam?
Adam?
Has he called you?
I had to tell him, Michael.
Did you? Did you, Elizabeth?
Do you have any idea how vulnerable he is right now?
What this could do to him?
He was gonna find out. And-and it...
- And it's the truth. - Oh, it's the truth.
Hey, Santa Claus doesn't exist.
Let's round up the four-year-olds and break it to them.
- Robin... - Elizabeth, she's dead.
So she can't explain to our son
what she was doing fucking a stranger.
Oh, you don't like that? Y-You...
But that's what it is, right?
It's the truth. She was fucking a stranger.
And it's always good to tell the truth.
Adam can't bring his mom back to yell at,
so she has no shot at redemption.
And forgiveness? It's impossible.
Yeah, that's the thing about being dead.
You have no second chances.
But as long as the truth gets out there,
we're good.
The fuck have you done, Elizabeth?
? Son, we got you programmed like a beat ?
? When I press snare, yo, guard your grill, press kick ?
? You move your feet, you can't compete ?
? I got my hydrants parked on every street ?
? I'm a federal nigga, son of sun ?
? Come close and feel the heat ? ? I am the streets ?
? The white lines only separate me from me ?
? You hydroplane in false gods' name ?
? And still crash into me ?
? Sign and tree, mountainside ?
? Guardrail into the sea ?
? They thought they stole you from my arms ?
? Then carried you to me... ?
Kofi Jones took the fall for Desire.
He died for you.
I'm his lawyer,
and I don't stop working for someone
just because they die or even if their whole family dies.
It just makes me work all the harder for them.
Spit it out, girl. What you want?
I keep quiet about your deal with the NOPD...
you tell me who was driving the car that hit Rocco Baxter.
Or we just kill you right here, right now.
? Feel the beat, nod your head ?
? Lean back, yo, touch your feet ?
? Let me see you pop that thing... ?
I left a note.
Hmm.
"In the event I don't see the end of the day, here's why."
Mm.
I think you bluffing.
? Hail Mary, Mother of God... ?
I can smell the bluff like the mustard pot of a bad whore.
But the note's just fallback,
in case you're not as smart as I think you are.
You kill me, whole lot of shit comes down.
You lose your friendly cop, you lose money.
You're an accountant at heart.
? Tightly gripped like a nine ?
? Keep my finger on the trigger ?
? Waitin' for the right time ?
? Ancient niggas align... ?
I don't know who killed that Baxter boy.
Why would I believe that?
? Saturn's rings don't need no diamonds to shine ?
? Yes, the reason for the season... ?
But you know how to find out.
? Coded language... ?
No, I don't.
And that's all you need to know.
Or maybe you're ain't as smart as you think you are.
? This nigga fed up ? ? Led us to despair... ?
It wasn't Desire.
? Until they got us worshiping them false gods... ?
Kofi took that car the day after
that Baxter boy was killed.
? We nod our heads and worship through beats ?
? Go ahead and kneel ?
You weren't gonna tell me.
You were gonna keep it a secret.
I just didn't want to see you in pain.
If I were you, I wouldn't have told me.
Thousands of things your mom was.
So many wonderful things
that wasn't this one bad thing that she did.
So, one mistake... one mistake...
it shouldn't define who you are.
And you know, when we got married...
... two things happened.
Well, actually, three things happened.
One is that we got married.
Two, your mother told me that she was pregnant.
Yeah. So we committed to a life together,
and the fact of your existence
came into my life on the very same day.
What was the third thing?
Well,
when your mom told me that she was pregnant with you,
I was so happy I just picked her up
and I just gave her a big squeeze.
Hard.
Too hard.
I cracked her rib.
Yeah.
I know, but she didn't say a word.
Not a word.
It was our wedding,
and she didn't want to spoil the day for me
even though she was in pain.
A lot of pain, as I later found out.
Was that a lie?
Or was that love?
Hey.
- I love you. - I love you, too.
O-Oh...
Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. What happened?
Oh, Jesus, what'd I do?
Hey...
You jerk.
- I'm sorry. - How could you do that to me?
I had to.
Oh...
Oh, my God.
It's her job to provoke you.
Don't let it happen.
- It's personal for her. - Well...
that's the game.
She wants to get under your skin so that you lose it
and the jury sees you lose it
and she gets her Perry Mason moment.
Perry who?
I won't always be here, Carlo.
There'll come a day when you'll need to step up.
Be me.
And you'll need judgement.
Not impulse. Hmm?
Brains.
Not balls.
Uh-huh.
Show me you can be that in there.
Yeah?
Show your father...
... what a real man you can be.
I taught him to ride a bike.
You got to understand, he was my baby brother.
And that day,
I stood and watched his body go into a tomb.
You know what that feels like?
I'm so sorry for your loss, Carlo.
Tell us what happened that night.
The kid who killed my brother shows up at my cell.
How did you feel...
... when you saw him?
Terrified.
I'm sorry.
You? Come on.
You're a tough guy.
You got 30 pounds on him.
It ain't about pounds, man.
Not in the jungle.
When he came to my cell, he-he had murder in his eyes.
And... I'm man enough to admit I was terrified.
What did you do?
Only thing I could do... defended myself.
Tell the jury.
He walked in and shut the cell door.
And I knew then.
I knew he'd come to kill me. What else could it be?
I got up off the bed,
but before I could think or say a word, he was on me.
Came in low.
Caught me with three punches in the gut.
All the air went out of my lungs.
Then he dug his finger into my eye
and he punched me again in the neck.
So, four punches and an eye gouge
before you could respond?
- Yes. - Then what?
Punch in the neck sent me backwards
and, uh, and I-I hit the back of my head
on the toilet bowl.
Did he say anything at all?
Just this sound he was making.
What sound?
A roar.
What kind of roar?
I won't ever forget that.
So...
you were on the floor?
Yeah.
And I knew I had to get up or I was gone, but...
Then he was on me again and...
And?
He had ahold of my balls.
I mean, do you know what that feels like?
Squeezing hard, I...
I've never known pain like it.
What'd you do?
I grabbed his hair.
It was my only move.
And then it got worse.
Worse?
He squeezed harder and I thought...
And I knew I was gonna die.
So I hit his head against the wall.
How many times, Carlo?
I don't know, man. A few times?
Dr. Grether testified that it was six times.
Does that seem right?
It's possible. I don't remember.
I-I was so close to passing out,
- the pain I was in. - And...
did you stop after he was unconscious?
He was never unconscious.
Are you sure?
He walked out of my cell, didn't he?
- And you let him go? - Of course.
It meant I was safe.
Now, Ms. McKee has made a big deal
about you not telling the police the truth
about defending yourself from a brutal assault.
Can you explain that?
It's her job to fuck me up.
No, Carlo, I mean can you explain
why you didn't tell the police?
NOLA PD?
The same people who shot at their own citizens
during Katrina?
Those people?
They're not police.
Jury knows what I'm saying.
I had every right to wait for my lawyer,
which is what I did.
No further questions, Your Honor.
We'll take a break before cross.
- Yeah! - There she is!
- Whee! - Hey, shorty rabo!
You don't know what you doing up in here, girl!
Doing up here?
Holla at your boy, baby.
Want you a new zaddy?
I'll be your zaddy.
Come sit down!
Yeah! Need some help, babe?
You like being locked up!
Yeah, baby!
Yeah!
Court is now back in session.
Mr. Baxter, may I remind you
you're still under oath.
Carlo, how are your balls?
Okay, now.
But back then, on the day?
Real bad.
- You were in agony? - Yes.
So painful you thought you were going to die.
That's why I had to do what I had to do.
And what did the doctor say?
I didn't see a doctor.
Wait, you didn't see a doctor?
- I didn't do that. - Why not?
Just didn't.
So there's no...
independent record of the injuries
you say you suffered?
Which is sort of becoming a theme here.
You asking the jury to believe things you say
without any corroboration.
This is beginning to sound like a speech, Ms. McKee.
I apologize. I'll get to the point.
It's impossible to corroborate your evidence...
because it's not true.
You cannot corroborate something that didn't happen.
Is that a question or a form of abuse?
- It's a form of abuse. - I'm telling the truth.
I swear it... the whole truth and nothing but.
Okay, well, you told us you're not the man you used to be.
What kind of a man was that?
One who broke the law.
Which laws?
Uh, you don't have to answer that.
We have rules against self-incrimination,
which Ms. McKee is very well aware of.
So, how are you different?
I mean, we're all just trying to get into your mind, Carlo,
and understand what you were thinking right then,
right there, that night in your cell.
I was scared. I told y'all.
And then he came at me.
And then you shut the door?
No. He did.
You're sure?
One hundred percent.
And it was that moment,
the shutting of the cell door
that made you feel it was life and death,
that Kofi was there to kill you
and you had to defend yourself?
Yes.
And after the fight, Kofi walked out?
That's right.
How?
What?
How?
I don't understand.
Well, the thing about the cell doors at OPP is,
when you shut 'em, they lock.
And they stay locked
until a guard with a key comes to open them.
Kofi couldn't have left that cell.
So what is it, Carlo?
Kofi Jones walks through locked doors?
Or you're a liar?
I know who you are, I see you.
Ms. McKee.
Is it possible that,
given the trauma of the situation,
you made a mistake about the cell door?
Yes.
Maybe it wasn't completely shut.
Could be.
Tell it to that stupid cunt.
What did you say?
- What did you just say? - Your Honor?
I asked you a question.
What did you just say to me?
Ms. McKee.
You-you want me to walk away from this?
All right, I tell you what,
Your Honor, I will.
And this is why.
Can I have the monitor over here, please?
There's Kofi.
That's Carlo's cell.
Watch this.
You tell us when you see the door close.
Now you tell me which one of us is a stupid cunt.
Hi, sir, do you have any recollection
of a father and teenage son,
be about early October,
and they come and visit his wife's grave?
He's usually in a suit with tennis shoes?
Yeah.
He said, "I'm sorry, I only give money
if it's for booze or dope."
The bastard made me laugh.
Worth way more than a dollar, especially that day.
What do you mean, that day?
Nothing.
What's your name?
Nancy Costello.
Daughter of Sergeant Finn Costello,
First Battalion, Third Marines.
Thirty-man patrol.
Paddy field outside a hamlet called Le Son,
nine miles south of Da Nang.
Fire came in from three sides. Perfect ambush.
Seven hours in the mud under continuous fire
from VC we couldn't see.
All 30 of us wounded.
13 dead.
Helicopters couldn't get in to get us out.
My buddy, Jackie Johnson, died in my arms.
Shot in the jaw.
Took over an hour to die.
October 10, 1965.
Are you sure about the date?
Not October 9?
10/10/65 defined my life.
You think I'd get something like that wrong?
Lee. This is Nancy.
Give me a call when you get this.
I just came from the cemetery.
So, um, here's the thing.
There must be some mistake.
Looks that way.
What the hell is this?
Yeah, he was here.
Female Jones trial was at 9,
Judge arrived 20 minutes before.
Does that help? Is this about the car?
Betty, out.
Look, I don't know what you think you're doing, Detective,
but you come in here, and you start interrogating me?
I don't have to take this from you.
- Yeah, I know that sound. - What sound? What fucking sound?
And after a lifetime in a courtroom, I think you do, too.
Anger and righteousness combined?
That's how liars hide their lies.
It's got to be lunchtime, right?
Yes.
Have a nice day, Detective.
I know, Michael.
I know it was Adam.
Why didn't you tell me, brother?
I could have been there for you.
One more day.
Hmm?
The trial. One...
It looks like Carlo is going down.
You got a problem with that?
Death penalty troubling you?
It's not that, Charlie.
I need it to be not guilty.
Oh, my God.
They got to you.
They have you.
And if you fail... if Carlo goes down?
Yeah.
But they think it's me.
Jimmy Baxter thinks it was me who killed his son.
Anybody else?
Nancy Costello, I...
Pretty sure she knows.
And you would take the hit.
He's my son.
He's my oldest friend.
If you think you can bully me...
Is that what you think?
You've got this all wrong.
Have you any idea what it's like
to discover your best friend is...
I went after the truth for him, Charlie.
Even when everybody else had given up, I stayed on it,
for him, for his family.
It was Adam.
Adam killed Rocco.
And ran.
A man like Jimmy Baxter?
It would have been an eye for an eye,
son for a son.
Michael did what he did to protect his child.
Uh...
What do you want?
Your help.
Polls are looking good.
God and the weather on polling day willing,
ten days from now I'll be the new mayor of Nawlins.
- Is this about the fucking election? - First 100 days,
that's your shot.
You got to get things done on the bounce.
I'm gonna clean this city up, starting with you people.
What people?
Oh, come on, now.
Hell, I bet you can name 'em.
Cusack. Nash. Maxwell.
All of 'em dirty.
But whistle-blowing?
Going up against the code of silence?
Oh, you got to have some serious support to do that.
Otherwise... you're gone.
Are you threatening me?
The exact opposite.
I'm offering you the support of the mayor
in a campaign to clean up
a whole fucked-up police department,
top to bottom.
In exchange for what?
Michael Desiato.
Uh, two fast miles to clear my head.
I promise that's it. I'll be back in 14 min...
- Michael. - Hey.
I, you know, I have... something for you.
Actually, it's for Eugene.
It's the, uh... sale of the baseball.
- He's here. - Eugene?
- Mm-hmm. - To testify.
What?
Kofi didn't go to cell block C to attack Carlo.
He went to clear up a misunderstanding.
Which was?
He didn't kill Rocco.
He didn't steal your car that day.
There was no Desire hit on Rocco Baxter.
Prosecution case is closed.
- So reopen it. - The rules of evidence don't...
The rules, the rules, the rules of fucking evidence?
Whoa, whoa, whoa. What... what is this?
Wrong question.
Well, what's the right question?
If it wasn't Kofi and if it wasn't Desire...
Who was it?
You called me October 9,
right after you called Nancy Costello.
- Were you asking us both out on dates? - Oh, come on.
On the anniversary of Robin's death?
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, that's right,
you-you... you told Nancy it was to report the theft of the car,
- which hadn't been stolen yet. - Kofi told you that?
Kofi told you that he didn't steal the car on October 9?
- Eugene. - Eugene?
You saying he's lying?
You're saying I am?
Kofi was a gangbanger.
His brother is a gangbanger.
- He's a 15-year-old boy. - Who runs with a crew
that kills people who get in their way.
I... You're taking what he's saying seriously?
That's him.
The gray ghost.
It was you at our front door the day Mom was in court.
Wait.
You went down to the Lower Ninth
the morning of Female's trial?
To her home?
Yes, I did.
- So you couldn't have... - Alan.
Come on, son.
So it wasn't you.
Please just tell me it wasn't you. Please, Michael.
I swear it wasn't me.
Okay.
So if it wasn't Kofi...
- Lee. - Wasn't Desire...
- Lee, please, no. - It wasn't you, then...
Who else had access...
This is Nancy Costello's number.
Just push it.
Tell her you're coming down to the police station.
Maybe you can drive him yourself.
You're hesitating.
Is it because you... know what will happen to him?
This is about justice.
Justice? Down there?
They don't survive.
Kofi didn't. Adam won't.
Don't do this.
Plea...
Lee.
Would the death of another 17-year-old
make anything better?
If so, then make the call.
If you don't want a stain on your soul,
wipe it clean right now
with one phone call.
Because that's the equation.
Kill Adam, cleanse your soul.
Who are you?
You know who I am.
If you didn't, you would have made that phone call already.
Justice and principle?
Do you think either of those take precedence
over the life of your own child?
Ever?
Your lies,
your manipulations,
your fucking me up.
It's not my soul that needs cleansing, Michael.
- It's yours. - All right...
Okay.
Listen t... Listen.
I'll go. I'll go to the police.
But it was me.
W-We tell them it was me.
Please, Lee...
I don't want to be this person.
I don't want to lie anymore.
But he is my son.
Am-am I a bad person
because I value my own life
so much less than the life of my child?
Four children and their mother
are dead because of you.
I've done terrible things.
And I'm so ashamed...
... but I love you.
Stop talking about yourself.
You can't have me.
You can't ever have me now.
But you can make sure that justice is served.
Can you do that?
Can you still do that?
I...
- What are you frightened of? - Please don't.
You go out there,
allow Eugene to take the witness stand and tell the truth.
Then Carlo goes down,
Kofi gets justice...
... and your soul gets a second chance.
Ms. McKee.
A key witness has come forward, Your Honor.
His testimony, we believe, can take us right to the truth
of what happened to Kofi Jones and why.
And your application
is to reopen the prosecution's case?
- Exactly, Your Honor. - Completely inappropriate.
- Oh, come on. - Not least because it would be
incredibly confusing for the jury
to have a prosecution witness
just pop up in the middle of the defense case.
I don't need to hear any more from either of you on this.
No, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, I want this on the record, Your Honor.
Most importantly...
Your Honor?
Your Honor.
The prosecution's case is closed.
It cannot be reopened.
This witness is not permitted to testify.
Why?
Not the man I thought he was.
Yeah, but you promised me.
I believed you.
- What's that? - For the baseball.
- Who bought it? - Take the money, Eugene.
J-Just take everything you can get.
Your new girlfriend.
What does she know?
She's not a problem.
Let me make it easier for you.
What doesn't she know?
- She doesn't know anything. - Does she know about our friendship?
- I-I just told you... - You have a girlfriend.
You have a mother-in-law.
You have a dog.
You have a son.
Do you have a move?
Judge?
No way. No. No. Just no. No way.
My learned friend seems to have lost her way with words.
This is coming straight out of nowhere.
That's in the nature of notes from jurors, Fiona.
You can't control when it happens.
Do we know which juror sent this?
No, no idea.
But I-I have to confess,
Your Honor, I should have thought of it
and made it part of my case.
But my mistake doesn't take anything away
from its probative value.
This trial has been all about state of mind and character,
- and this evidence is all about both. - There's no witness. You can't just press play.
It doesn't make sense without context
- or explanation. - So it needs a narrator.
And I'm not letting him
with his supercilious voice narrate this.
Okay. Sounds like she's objecting to me,
- Your Honor, not the evidence. - I do object to you.
- I think you're an asshole. - Well, I don't think very highly of you, either.
I'll do it.
I'm neutral and I'm impartial.
It's my job.
It's what I'm here for.
911, what's your emergency?
Can you hear me? Hello?
These are Rocco Baxter's last moments.
This is a 17-year-old boy breathing his last.
I'm having trouble working out where you are.
If you're in the city, hit one of the keys
on your phone, any key.
This is what another 17-year-old boy,
Kofi Jones, would have heard...
... after he stole a car...
... and hit Rocco.
Hello?
Are you there? I can barely hear you.
Can you hear me? Hello?
All rise.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
have you reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
Alan?
Thank you.
Will the defendant please rise?
In the case of GKL14179,
State of Louisiana against Carlo Baxter,
on the single count of murder in the first degree,
the jury finds the defendant not guilty.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your service.
You are dismissed.
Uh, at the hotel tonight,
my family is celebrating.
Please come.
_
What?
He's here.
Who?
He's having a little trouble breathing.
Maybe he has his inhaler with him.
Jimmy!
Maybe he doesn't.
Jesus Christ, listen to me!
You want to watch what I do to your son,
- Baxter House Hotel. - Jimmy!
- Come on over. - Jimmy!
Come on, Adam, pick up.
Pick up the phone.
The mailbox is full and cannot accept
- any messages at this time. Goodbye. - Shit!
No, no, no, no, hey!
Hey!
Shit.
S... No, no, there's someone... I need to get in.
- Sir, sir. - No, listen...
- This is a private party. - Listen, my son is in there.
And I... I need to give him a message,
- so I'll just be a moment... - This is a private event.
Goddamn it! His bike is right there!
He's in there and I need to talk to him!
Well, don't... get... Get your hands off me!
Sir, please calm down, okay?
Not gonna happen, sir.
That's locked, sir.
I'm serious. I'm serious.
I want to go on a road trip.
In the Beetle?
What, you don't have faith in her?
? Here's what I say when... ?
How long would we go for?
Um...
I was thinking maybe forever?
? Treat young girls like your mother ?
? My mama said, "Trust no ho, use a rubber" ?
? I'm-a act, one, two ?
? Stop the track, bring it back... ?
I'd like to see Alaska.
Maybe we could start with Alaska, if you'd like that.
? If they run up on you, hit 'em with a one-two ?
? Or a bitch slap, leave the cul-de-sac... ?
When?
? And stick with your day-one homies ?
? That was here before you started... ?
Now.
Now? Now now?
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
? See me poppin' ?
? Big, big, big pockets, they start flockin' ?
? Here's what I say when they ass keep knockin' ?
? My daddy said, "Trust no man but your brothers ?
? And never leave your day-ones in the gutter" ?
Excuse me, boys.
Fourth and inches.
There was no... I mean... Hey!
- Hey! No! - No, stop it!
- Back off! - We told you for the last time!
So leave! What is wrong with you?!
- I'm getting in there! - No, you're not!
I need to get in there! I need to get in there!
This is the last time we're gonna tell you!
Go!
Aah!
- No! - Everybody...
Everybody, down! Down! Down!
Correct. At the Baxter.
Oh!
No, no, no, no, no! No!
Let go! Let go!
No!
No.
Someone help me!
Help me, please!
I got you.
- Synced & corrected by MementMori - -- www.addic7ed.com --