22x11 - Second Chance

[bunniefuu]

In the criminal justice system,

the people are represented

by two separate,
yet equally important groups:

the police, who investigate crime,

and the district attorneys,
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

[DISTANT SIRENS WAILING]

[GLASS SHATTERING]

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Yo.

Yo.

♪ ♪

Hey!

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

Yo, what you running for?

Hey!

Early bird runner found him laying here.

Approximate time of death?

MLIs put it somewhere
between : and : AM.

- Witnesses?
- None so far.

Yeah, nobody sees nothing, huh?

Eh.

[GRUNTS] Blunt force trauma?

That'd be my guess.

ID?

Derek Stanton.

Still got his cash.

Any indication that
the body was moved here?

The way the blood has
pooled and the spatter

on the pavement, I think
it all happened right here.

My boy had quite the rap sheet.

Just got out of Fishkill
nine months ago.

What was he in for?

Selling marijuana.

Served four years.

Four years for selling weed?

Crazy.

Times have changed.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Surveillance footage from
the park near the crime scene

shows a guy wailing on Stanton.

But it doesn't capture the whole thing.

Damn.

Do we have any better video than this?

It's the only video we got.
There weren't many cameras in the area.

I can't even make out his
face or even a skin color.

But it's clear that
the assailant and Stanton

are about the same size,
so we're looking for a guy

who's about feet tall.

What else do we know?

Well, the ME thinks that the perp

might have been wearing a ring
with some kind of stone in it.

So did we run the vic's body for DNA?

Yeah, they took samples,

but the backlog's
a few weeks out minimum.

All right, well, just keep digging in.

You know, given this guy's history,

it could be related to dr*gs

or maybe even his time
in Fishkill or both.

Hey, I found something interesting

on the vic's phone.

Past week, Stanton made calls

to a man named Jordan Spall,
but he never answered.

So the vic's calling Spall,
Spall's not picking up.

There's got to be a good reason.

Did Spall ever serve time?

[KEYBOARD CLACKING]

Sure did.

Armed as*ault, sentenced
to five years at Fishkill.

Got out a few months ago.

He's probably still on parole.

Jordan Spall hasn't
missed an appointment,

hasn't failed a urine test,
hasn't re-offended,

at least not yet.

You know, since we're here,

would you mind seeing
what you could find out

about our vic, Derek Stanton?

He's a Fishkill alum.

According to Stanton's chart,
he was a model parolee, too.

Was he a model prisoner?

Looks like Stanton was disciplined

a few times for fighting.

bucks says he was
scrapping with Spall.

[KEYBOARD CLACKING]

As a matter of fact.

Where's Spall living now?

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[DISTANT SIRENS WAILING]

Is that him?

Looks like it.

Jordan Spall, I'd like
to have a word with you.

Jordan.

[GRUNTS]

♪ ♪

- [GRUNTS]
- [YELPS, GROANS]

[GRUNTS] Hey!

- I've got this side.
- Squad to Central.

- .

Black male, s,
blue jeans, green hoodie

under a black jacket.

In pursuit, Cherry Street flea market.

NYPD.

Police, police. It's OK. It's OK.

Watch yourself. Watch yourself.

- Spall!
- [SCREAMS]

It's... it's the shoes. Sorry.

[CRIB RATTLES]

- Whoa, whoa, whoa!
- Watch out!

Oh, my God!

- Watch out!
- [GRUNTS]

[CROWD CHATTERING]

Give me your hands. Stay down.

Stay down.

Usain Bolt.

I didn't have anything to do
with k*lling Derek Stanton.

So why'd you run when you saw us then?

'Cause I had weed on me.

Bro, having weed on you
this day and age?

You're not gonna get
in trouble for that.

But b*ating Derek Stanton to death,

that'll get your ass
locked back up in genpop.

What?

I didn't even know Derek was dead.

Oh, we'd like to believe you, Jordan.

We really would.

Unfortunately,
we're homicide detectives,

so we don't believe anybody. [CHUCKLES]

So help us out.

Where were you this morning
between : AM and : AM?

In my bed at the
halfway house, sleeping.

You could check with
the tight-ass supervisor.

Dude watches like a hawk.

Why was Stanton calling you so much?

Don't know, don't care.

I didn't like the dude,
so I ignored his calls.

Jordan, come on.

Either we tell your PO
how cooperative you were, or...

Or we tell her something else.

All right.

I heard Derek was reaching out
to a bunch of ex-cons,

trying to put together a crew,
make some money.

Doing what?

Word is, they was meeting
at a pizza place

near the projects on Pitt Street.

That's all I know.

♪ ♪

Window was busted when
I got here this morning.

What time was that?

: AM.

Derek was supposed to be here.

I thought maybe it was a robbery,

but nothing's missing.

- So you work here?
- Assistant manager.

Where were you late last night?

- In my room.
- Can anyone verify that?

I live in a group home. You can check.

There's lots of cameras.

Why was Derek here so early?

Gotten the lease to this pizzeria,

and he was working around the clock

to get it off the ground.

Grand opening's tomorrow.

Well, it was supposed to be anyway.

How'd you know Derek?

Fishkill.

What were you in for?

Heroin.

Picked the wrong time
to be an addict, you know?

Nowadays, they bend over
backwards to get you help.

Back then, we were
hardened criminals, man.

We heard Derek had been meeting

with a bunch of ex-cons.
You know anything about that?

Just trying to put together
a team to open more pizzerias.

Wanted to help.

Was going to give us
a piece of the action, too.

That's it?
There was nothing else going on?

He was just trying to help
a bunch of ex-cons out.

Sounds like a good dude.

He was.

You know anybody
who didn't feel that way?

Anybody who might have wanted him dead?

[SIGHS] Last few months, he's
been all about making amends.

Kept his nose real clean.

Spent a lot of time
with his daughter, too.

Sonya, Lena,

I am terribly sorry that
we have some very bad news.

Your father and your ex-husband

was found m*rder*d.

♪ ♪

[EXHALES]

I can't believe that he's gone.

I just got him back.

He spent all those years
in prison over weed.

He finally gets out, and then this?

If you don't mind my asking,
why have you moved here?

Does it have anything
to do with your father?

Was he violent to either one of you?

No.

Never.

No, Derek wasn't about any of that.

He had his issues, sure, but...

he never raised his voice or
his hands to either one of us.

So why are you here?

Who are you afraid of?

My husband, William.

He's got a temper.

And when Derek got out of
prison, things just got worse.

We just needed to get away
for a little while

until things calmed down.

Did your husband and Derek,
they ever argue or fight?

Yes.

The last time my father
came to the house,

William chased him out.

He said he was going to k*ll him.

♪ ♪

I don't care what them girls said.

They're crazy, tripping over nothing.

I ain't lay a hand
on either one of them.

What about Derek Stanton?
You ever lay a hand on him?

No, sir.

Wanted to, but I never did.

Punk-ass drug dealer

thought he could just walk
back into everybody's life.

Lena's daughter said
you threatened to k*ll him.

I did.

Meant it, too.

But I didn't k*ll nobody.

Where were you last night
after midnight?

Midnight? I couldn't sleep.

Got a lot on my mind.

So I went for a walk.

You remember where?

Around.

How about we take a walk
around to the precinct

and jog your memory?

Lawyer.

Do we have any evidence
that puts William Barnes

and Derek Stanton together
on the morning of the m*rder?

I've dug through every surveillance
video from the neighborhood.

Tracked Barnes on his late night walk.

He heads north on Avenue C

in the general direction
of the pizzeria.

He never crosses paths with Stanton.

Do we have any video of him
actually near the pizzeria?

This is him two blocks east.

It's the closest he gets,

and then he crosses the street
away from the pizzeria.

[SNAPS FINGERS] What's that?

Top right hand corner.

Looks like a dude throwing something.

What's he throwing,
like rocks or something?

There's another camera
that should cover that corner.

Dude's throwing rocks
right next to where

Stanton got his window
broken that night.

And now he's headed
straight for the pizzeria.

Can you pull up the video
of the actual as*ault?

Same body size,
same type of hoodie, sneakers.

And if I'm not mistaken,
that's a ring on his finger.

Just like the M.E. said.

I think we might have our k*ller.

Yup.

Now we just got to find him.

Looks like he made
his way down the street,

and for some dumb-ass reason,
just kept throwing rocks.

Yeah, Stanton must
have been in the pizzeria

when the rock came through the window,

chased the kid down, confronted him.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Excuse me.

- You work here nights?
- Yeah.

You think you might have seen this young

man around here a couple nights ago?

Sorry, doesn't look familiar.

Thanks.

Yeah, I remember that kid.

Came in the other night
just before we closed up.

What time was that?

- Um, midnight.
- You sure it's him?

Yeah. Thought he was handsome.

Did he buy anything?

No, he didn't have a card,

but his friend did.

You have a record of that transaction?

Yeah, I could probably pull it up.

You can drink it now?

Kyle Brimmer.

Let's start with who you were
with at the dispensary.

Just to be clear, Kyle has
no knowledge of any crime.

He was home in bed in his parents' condo

an hour before the homicide.

Yeah, we got that.
We saw the surveillance video.

So right now, the only way
Kyle can get into trouble

is by lying to us.

So who were you with?

Jesse Erickson.

And how do you know Jesse?

We're in the same class at Martindale.

Martindale? The prep school?

Why don't you walk us through
what you and Jesse did that night?

Well, I just got my weed
card, so we wanted to...

They're giving out
medical marijuana cards

to prep school seniors now?

My client has an exemption
for an anxiety disorder.

Of course he does.

So you and Jesse, you go downtown

to buy some cannabis, what,
around, like, what, o'clock?

Yeah, Jesse wanted to get high.

And he kept bugging me
to take him to a dispensary.

So we bought some dabs.

Concentrated hash oil.

Then what?

We went to some diner,
had a couple of burgers,

and then I left.

I took an Uber at : AM.

I have the receipt.

How about your boy, Jesse?

Well, he didn't want to leave.

He said he wanted to walk around
and explore the East Village.

I told him to come with me,
but he sort of ran off.

Ran off?

Yeah.

It was really weird.

Jesse Erickson, years old,
lives on the Upper East Side

with his investment banker father

and his book editor mother.

He's a senior at Martindale.

- Fancy.
- He's a star varsity athlete

and in the top % of his class.

Any discipline problems?

No, he just won a citizenship award.

Good kid, good family,
never been in any trouble.

And yet he brutally beats
an ex-con to death?

I don't know. Why?

That is the million dollar question.

[SIGHS]

OK, I'll call for a warrant.

There's got to be some kind of mistake.

Mr. Erickson, just tell us
if Jesse is here or not.

Jesse is a kind and lovely boy.

You can ask anyone.

We need to speak with Jesse now.

Well, you can't treat him
like he's some common criminal.

We're treating him like he's a suspect

in a m*rder investigation.
[VIDEO GAME CHIRPING]

Sounds like he's down here.

Young man, will you stand up please?

Stand up.
Put your hands behind your back.

- Wait, wait, wait, wait.
- Jesse Erickson,

we're placing you
under arrest for m*rder.

- Hold on, hold on.
- Do what they say, son.

And don't say a word,
no matter what they tell you

- or promise you.
- What happened to your hand?

- So me and my buddy...
- Don't answer that.

Dad, help me!

I will.

Now, remember, don't say a word.

Let's go.

Calling docket ending in ,

People versus Jesse Erickson,

charged with m*rder
in the second degree.

I'll hear you on bail, Ms. Maroun?

This was a brutal, unprovoked
att*ck on a defenseless man.

The defendant threw a rock,

smashing Derek Stanton's
pizza shop window.

When confronted about it,
the defendant reacted

by b*ating Derek Stanton to death

with his bare hands.

He's facing life in prison,
has tremendous resources,

and has every incentive
to flee the jurisdiction.

The People submit that no amount of bail

will secure his appearance at trial.

We're seeking remand.

Mr. Thorpe.

Holding my client without bail

is completely uncalled for.

My client is a high school student

with no criminal history,

which is more than I can say
for Mr. Stanton.

Well, the People have a strong case.

The att*ck was captured on video.

A portion of the att*ck was captured.

Mr. Erickson was in an
unfamiliar neighborhood

when he came upon a criminal

who confronted and threatened him.

He panicked and he fought back.

And we expect a full
exoneration at trial.

I'd also point out that
Mr. Erickson is a valued member

of his community.

His parents are here, his classmates,

his teammates, his minister.

OK, I'm setting a $ million cash bail.

His parents will post forthwith.

[GAVEL THUNKS]

Next case please.

♪ ♪

They're making my dad out
to be a monster.

Well, it's just a legal tactic, OK?

- It doesn't mean anything.
- It does to me.

My dad was the victim.
They called him a criminal.

It's what lawyers do.

He was trying to turn his life around,

be a better person, a better dad.

I know this must be hard.

Losing a family member
is a pain like no other.

It just never goes away.

♪ ♪

His family can buy his way out of this.

Who's going to stand up
for my family, for my dad?

I will. I promise.

I'm... I'm going to do everything I can

to honor his memory.

[SIGHS]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Nice. What's the occasion?

Oh, it's the anniversary

of my sister's death.

Oh, I'm sorry.

It's OK. [CHUCKLES]

Yeah, every... every year,

my parents send me yellow roses.

It was her favorite flower.

That's nice.

Yeah.

So it definitely looks like

Erickson is going to claim self-defense.

It makes sense.

Derek Stanton was poor.
He had a criminal record.

They'll push the narrative that
he was obviously the aggressor.

It had to be, right?

I mean, he's an ex-con, sold marijuana.

How evil.

And of course, he's Black, so...

Right, I get it.

There are a lot of unanswered
questions here, though.

High school kid, great grades,
great reputation,

no history of v*olence,
crosses paths with a felon.

A felon? He's a victim.

No, I understand, Sam.
I'm just stating a fact.

Question is, can we prove m*rder two?

Show that it was an intentional act,

or was it something else,
a fistfight, mutual combatants?

Not sure just yet.

We need to figure out motive first

or offer a plea to a reduced charge.

- Man one?
- Plead him out?

Just like that?

Well, unless more evidence drops,

this is going to be
a tough case to prove.

Why? Because the defendant
is a rich white kid?

Excuse me?

If a poor Black kid b*at
the hell out of Stanton, then...

Then we'd still need to prove motive.

And that's not what happened.
A rich white kid did it.

And right or wrong, fair or unfair,

that's the case we're trying.

I understand,
but Ms. Maroun has a point.

Even though the facts are confusing,

we need to be aware of the optics.

Fine.

I'll press forward with m*rder two.

Good. But get ready for the defense.

They're going to att*ck
the victim's character,

blame him for his own m*rder,
so you'll need to counteract that.

Find some way to level
the playing field.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

The people would like
to call character witnesses

on behalf of Derek Stanton.

The victim?

Yes, to demonstrate that he was

a peaceful, hardworking
member of his community,

far different from the way
the defense is trying to portray him.

Your Honor, Rule . allows a defendant

to call character witnesses,
not the victim.

But there's nothing in the rules

that specifically precludes it.

Nice try, Mr. Price,
but I agree with Mr. Thorpe.

If you want to change the rules,
take it up with the state legislature.

Thank you, Your Honor.

Defense's witness list is unbelievable.

There's a federal judge?

[LAUGHS] The CEO
of a Fortune company,

the head of a charitable foundation?

All nine of these character witnesses
are incredibly impressive.

That's what the wealthy do

when their backs are up
against the wall.

They band together, protect their own.

Well, that may be true,
but the question remains.

Why did Jesse Erickson,
who, by all accounts,

was a good kid, rich or not,

suddenly decide to b*at
a stranger to death?

I don't know.

And legally, it doesn't really matter.

Uh, no, I'm not so sure about that, Sam.

If we don't know what
precipitated the fight...

It was an att*ck, not a fight.

You saw the video.

But we don't know what happened before,

and that's relevant.

The jury's going to want
to know the full picture.

I understand, and we'll keep looking,

but for now, since we can't
explain why Erickson did it,

let's focus on the horror
of what he actually did.

Mr. Stanton had
a shattered occipital bone.

That's the bone
that's in the back of the head

that connects to the cervical spine.

It essentially protects the brain.

He also had several
other broken bones...

His nose, his eye socket, his jaw.

Did you make a ruling
as to the cause of death?

Cranial cerebral trauma so severe

that the brain hemorrhaged
and flooded with blood.

[WHIMPERS]

Were there wounds
on Mr. Stanton's torso?

He had three broken ribs.

Did you form an opinion as to
how he sustained those wounds?

Mr. Stanton had been kicked four times.

I have nothing further.

We've all seen the video of
the fight and the crime scene

photos, but you don't know why
my client had an altercation

with Mr. Stanton, do you?

No, I have no idea.

So you don't know if my
client was protecting himself.

I don't.

Thank you.

Were there any scrapes or bruises

on Mr. Stanton's fists,
on his palms, on his forearms?

No.

Any wounds which suggest
he was the aggressor?

Nothing like that.

And there was no indication
he had a w*apon of any kind?

Correct.

And Mr. Stanton was inches shorter

and pounds lighter
than the defendant?

That's true.

And no dr*gs in Mr. Stanton's system?

Toxicology was negative for alcohol

and controlled substances.

Nothing further.

♪ ♪

The M.E. did a good job,

but I think we still need
a few more witnesses

to help offset the self-defense claim.

- Like who?
- Not sure.

Someone who can speak
to his state of mind

prior to his death, someone who
can say he was in a good mood,

he was focused on the
opening of his pizzeria.

Well, I'll look into it.

But if you ask me, I think
the M.E. pretty much destroyed

their self-defense argument.

We still have no idea why
this kid k*lled Stanton.

[PHONE VIBRATING]

Whole thing still
doesn't make any sense.

Defense just changed their plea.

Their plea? To what?

Not guilty by reason of mental defect.

He's claiming insanity?

They're alleging Jesse Erickson

had a mental impairment
when he k*lled Derek Stanton.

What's the impairment?

Cannabis intoxication.

They're using marijuana
as the basis for a...

For an insanity defense?

I understand you'd like
to change your plea.

We plan to present evidence
that my client

was in the throes of a psychotic episode

the night of Mr. Stanton's death.

My client went to a dispensary
earlier and bought cannabis.

Yeah, something
you've gone out of your way

to denigrate Mr. Stanton for doing.

We denigrated him for selling
it, for committing a felony.

Regardless,

if the defendant voluntarily
ingested an intoxicant,

he can't turn around now
and claim insanity.

My client didn't understand how potent
this dose of cannabis was.

No idea what it could do to him.

That means his consumption
wasn't voluntary.

I've never seen a claim of insanity

based on marijuana usage.

Do you have any science to back that up?

Data from medical journals
detailing the frequency

of cannabis-induced psychosis

and a board-certified psychiatrist

who will testify that my client was

in the midst of such a psychosis

when he came across Mr. Stanton.

Well, if that's your case
that you present,

I'm OK with it.

I'll grant the defendant's request.

And the People can call their own expert

to interview the defendant
and challenge the findings.

I've researched the potency of the THC

he claims to have ingested,
and I met with the defendant

for approximately two hours,
got a full medical history,

and it's scientifically
possible that the cannabis

caused him to experience
irrational thoughts

and paranoid delusions.

Possible that pot can

make someone k*ll another human being?

It sounds farfetched.

But we're talking about pot.

This sure as hell isn't
the pot I grew up with.

Back in the ' s, the THC level
in marijuana was below %.

Now?

Some dispensaries are selling
dabs that are % or % THC.

Put that in a vape and smoke it?

It can absolutely trigger
a psychotic episode.

If I'm being honest,
he seemed like a good kid

who smoked some really strong marijuana

and lost his damn mind.

So you want to concede that
he had an altered mental state

- and reduce the charges?
- It makes sense to me.

Not to me.

He literally b*at Stanton to death.

Each punch required independent
thought and movement.

High or not, his acts
were still intentional.

Intentional? Our own doctor
believes the defendant

was in a psychotic state.

Not only that,
he ingested the pot legally.

The legal age is , not ,
and for good reason.

The teenage brain
is more susceptible to THC.

Well, you're making my point.

No, Erickson knew he was underage.

That means he assumed the risk.

Technically, yes, I suppose,
but come on, Jack.

No one on the jury views marijuana

as an illicit drug anymore.

Man two is the appropriate charge.

You saw those autopsy photos, Nolan.

He pummeled that man to death.

We can't just give this guy
a slap on the wrist.

We're not suggesting that we do.
I'll recommend a minimum of years.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

We're not pleading him out
to man two, not yet anyway.

OK.

If that's what you want to do,
I think Sam should take over.

I'll... I'll sit second chair.
I'll support her as best I can.

I don't see m*rder two here.

I just don't.

But you do.

♪ ♪

Are you good with that?

Yes, absolutely.

♪ ♪

Tell the jurors what happened the night
of Mr. Stanton's death.

My friend, Kyle, he has a cannabis card.

So it means he can
legally buy marijuana.

So we went to a dispensary
down on the Lower East Side.

Did your friend buy marijuana?

Yes.

Did you partake?

Yes.

And did you ever smoke
or eat pot before that night?

Yes.

But it wasn't anything like this.

Can you describe your experience?

So I started seeing things

that, like, weren't actually there.

And I just felt like
everybody was threatening me.

Is that why you started throwing rocks?

Yes.

Do you remember meeting Mr. Stanton?

Yes, I threw a rock at his store.

It's a pizza place.

And it shattered the glass.

What did Mr. Stanton do?

He came out, trying to talk to me.

But I walked away,
and, uh, he ran after me.

You felt threatened?

Objection, leading.

Sustained.

Tell the jurors how you felt.

OK.

I thought Mr. Stanton was...
Was going to k*ll me.

And now I know that that's not true,

but at the time, like, in the moment,
it felt super real, like very real.

So I hit him.

Thank you.

Nothing further.

You didn't just hit him.

You b*at him to death.

I feel awful, all right?

I'm so sorry for everything I've done.

I'm so sorry for the pain
that I've caused my family

and Mr. Stanton's family.

And up until this very moment,

you've never expressed
a shred of remorse

for what you've done.

That's 'cause my lawyer
and my dad told me not to.

Oh, so you're blaming this
on your father and...

- No. No.
- Lawyer?

See, that's not what I'm saying. I'm

saying I'm a... I'm not a bad person.

[SCOFFS] Not a bad person?

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Yeah.

Yeah, I wish I could take it back.

I'd do anything to have that night back.

But you can't.

That's not how the world works.

You did what you did.

And now a good man, an innocent
man is dead and buried,

- and his family is grieving.
- Objection.

Sustained. Watch it, Ms. Maroun.

♪ ♪

And after you brutally
m*rder*d Mr. Stanton,

you went to great lengths to
cover your tracks, didn't you?

Look, I don't know what you mean.

Yeah, you went to a hospital
to get treatment.

You paid out of pocket
so it wouldn't be reflected

in your insurance claim.

See, that was my family's decision.

Yes, I know. It's all their fault.

Please.

[CRYING] I'm so sorry for what I did.

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

[CRYING]

That's all I have for this witness.

♪ ♪

Went too far, didn't I?

No, not necessarily.

I think we still have
a few jurors in our corner.

You're doing great.

Be honest.

I am.

You are doing great.

But the facts are the facts.

No matter how well you present the case,

the jury is going to want to know why

the defendant had such
a violent outburst

and k*lled another human being.

And, well, unless we can give
them an understandable motive,

I don't see us getting
a conviction on m*rder two.

Last time I tell you to be honest.

[LAUGHS] Does that mean you agree?

That we need to offer up
additional information

or find some sort of reason
for Erickson's v*olence?

Yes, absolutely.

And I've been looking for one, but...

You know, it occurred to me
when Erickson was on the stand

that neither he nor his lawyer
have talked about college.

- What do you mean?
- He's a high school senior.

He's a great student, talented athlete

from a wealthy, educated family.

For a kid like Jesse Erickson
not to be on his way

to some sort of elite college,
it doesn't make sense.

Has to be a reason.

He was accepted early at Brown,

but decided to take a gap year.

To do what?

He's enlisted in a youth volunteer group

to build a school in Kenya.

[SCOFFS] Kenya?

That's the plan... Or it was the plan.

So he's never been in trouble?

Suspended, discipline?

Not to my knowledge.

Ever shown signs of v*olence?

Not that I'm aware of.

Has he ever expressed r*cist thoughts

and shown bias against people of color?

No.

I'm telling you, he's a good kid.

I've been his advisor
since freshman year.

So he's perfect?
That's what you're saying?

He just runs around,
getting straight As,

playing football,
winning citizenship awards,

and then one night, out of the
blue, he beats a man to death?

It was the cannabis.

That's the only thing that makes sense.

I don't understand all your anger.

Why are you hell bent
on ruining Jesse's life?

[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

You should have heard this guy.

He... he made Erickson
out to be a saint.

He turned it around,
started pointing fingers at me

like I have some personal vendetta
against Erickson.

♪ ♪

What? What are you...

OK.

I have wondered the same thing.

From the second we charged this kid,

you've been convinced
that he's a monster

in spite of the evidence.

The evidence?

He bludgeoned a man to death
with his fists.

I mean, those were the most

horrific crime scene photos
I have ever seen.

I agree, which is why we
brought the m*rder two charge.

But...

the evidence no longer backs
our original theory,

and we're losing the jury.

[SIGHS] Manslaughter
is still a serious charge.

Like I said before,
we can recommend years.

That's not enough, not for what he did.

I'm not a psychiatrist, but...

is there a chance this has something

to do with your sister?

[SCOFFS]

You know, OK, I'm...
I'm sorry to even...

You... you think I'm trying
to blame Jesse Erickson

for what happened to my sister?

No, not consciously,
but there is a resemblance,

on paper anyway, between him and...

And the young man who...

OK, I'm wrong.

I'm sorry for even bringing it up.

♪ ♪

I'm just trying to help, Sam.

I know.

♪ ♪

Breakfast on a work day?

Oh.

It's been a while.

Just thought I'd come by, say hello.

I'm thrilled.

And thanks for bringing
the fresh croissants.

I thought it'd get easier.

It doesn't.

It's an ache that will never go away.

But I tell myself that
the pain is a good thing.

Lets me know that I'm still alive,

that I'm still capable of feeling.

It doesn't help that

the police never arrested
the son of a bitch.

Just knowing that smug bastard
is still out there

walking around free as a bird...

If I think about it too much,
I'm going to go crazy.

So don't.

Don't what?

[SIGHS] Think about it.

Focus instead on Christina,

her smile, her laughter, her kindness.

Just forget about all this stuff...

The hatred, the frustration.

I don't think it's possible.

It is.

I promise.

[SOFT MUSIC]

♪ ♪

I'm so glad you came by.

[CHUCKLES]

It's been too long, hm?

♪ ♪

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

What's going on?

I pled him out to man two.

Really? Man two.

You were right.

Without a credible motive,

the jury wasn't going
to convict Erickson of m*rder,

but he's still going
to do a lot of time.

If this law thing doesn't work out,

you should think about
becoming a psychiatrist.