- 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.
- Unbelievable.
So I checked my phone,
and that somehow proves that I'm cheating?
Girl, you're so damn paranoid.
- Fine. Let me see it.
- [scoffs]
Hey. Girl, give me my phone.
- Why? - Give me my phone.
- What are you scared of? - Give me my phone.
I'm not playing with you.
- Ow! - What are you doing?
- Let go!
- Everybody take a breath. - Ow!
- I don't wanna end this ride, but I will.
- Let go of my phone. - Let go!
You're gonna break my arm! - Let go of the phone.
- Let go! - Let go of the phone!
- Look, man, let her go or I'm calling the cops.
- Stay out of this. - Man, you call the cops,
I'ma put your ass in the ground.
[tense music]
- Hey! Hey, man, what are you doing?
- What have we got? - One shot to the chest.
It's a through and through.
- We recover the spent bullet?
- On the way to the lab now.
- Shell casing? - Mm-mm.
- What do we know about our vic?
- Name is Walter Rhodes.
ID says he lived in a basement apartment in that brownstone.
- ID--so he had his wallet on him?
- Yeah. His phone too.
- Video canvassing turn anything up?
- Not yet. - Any witnesses?
- The vic's husband heard the shot.
Thought it was kids setting off a firecracker.
He came outside to check.
- Happy Halloween, pal.
[dramatic music]
♪
- About what time did you hear the shot?
- Uh, around, uh, 11:15 p.m.
- And where was your husband coming from?
- I'm not sure.
He was driving Quick Ride, the ridesharing service.
It was his second job.
- What was his first?
- Teaching English and math at the local middle school.
- So the Quick Ride gig,
he did that just to make extra money?
- Yeah, almost every night.
- Are you aware of anyone who didn't like your husband?
Anybody capable of this?
- No one specific.
I mean, he had confrontations with passengers all the time,
but Walter was old-school, thought he was invincible.
I practically had to threaten to divorce him
to get him to use a dashboard camera.
- The company that manufactures the camera,
they back up the footage in real time,
and Rhodes' husband gave us access to his account.
- Give me the phone!
- Ow! Let go. - Let go of the phone.
- Let go! You're gonna break my arm!
- Let her go or I'm calling the cops.
- Stay out of it. - You call the cops,
I'ma put you in the ground.
- Hey! Hey, man, what are you doing?
- Camera goes dead at 10:52 p.m.
- 23 minutes before the 911 call?
All right, well, subpoena Quick Ride
and find out who the passengers are.
- Hold on one second. [shouting in reverse]
Yeah, I know that guy.
He's, uh-- he's a rapper, Mike Keyz.
My son listens to him. Thinks he's fire.
- All right, well, find him and see what he has to say.
Maybe you can get a selfie.
- I appreciate all that you do,
but I'm in the middle of something,
like I said, officers.
- Detectives.
- [scoffs] Whatever you say, boss.
- Did you take a Quick Ride last night at 10:45 p.m.
- Don't remember. Don't think so.
- [clicks tongue]
- You skipping town on us, Mike?
- Hey, don't flatter yourself.
I'm leaving for a world tour tomorrow.
30 shows, 10 countries.
Your boy about to be a global brand, baby.
- Your boy's also lying to the police.
- Look, I take a lot of Quick Rides.
Am I supposed to remember every single one?
- Maybe just the ones where you destroyed the dashcam?
- Oh, that's what this is about?
Tell dude to send me a bill.
- We would love to do that, except somebody killed him
23 minutes after you destroyed his camera.
- Well, I didn't do anything wrong.
I swear.
- Now, see, that's where we got a problem,
because before you destroyed the camera,
it uploaded all of its footage.
- Which means we caught that part
where you assaulted your girlfriend.
[suspenseful music]
- Me and my lady were having a disagreement.
The driver stuck his nose where it wasn't wanted,
so I had to check him.
- By destroying his dashboard camera?
- Do you have any idea how much TMZ would pay
for that kind of footage?
- What happened after you broke the camera?
- I threw it out the window.
The driver kicked me out the car,
and then he offered my girl a ride home
like--like some creep.
- Chivalry is creepy now, huh?
- Dude was eyeing her.
- Dude was gay.
- Did your girlfriend go with him?
- Hell no.
We took another car to the Upper East Side,
where I was hosting a Halloween party,
Dance with the Devil.
I was there till about 3:00 a.m.
- Assuming any of that actually checks out,
did you notice anything unusual or suspicious
when Rhodes kicked you out of the car?
- No.
Well, his phone was blowing up the whole time.
He just kept having to silence it
just to see the damn GPS.
And then when he picks up, he yells at the phone,
"You gotta stop harassing me."
- You think I had something to do with Walter's murder?
I was his best man, for Christ's sake.
- Eight calls to him last night.
Sounds pretty urgent.
- Five months ago, Walter decided
to drive Quick Ride
and needed me to cosign a car loan.
He was so embarrassed, he made me swear
not to tell his husband.
But then he started missing payments,
and I got stuck with the tab,
and he stopped answering my calls.
- And you strike me as the kind of guy
who doesn't like getting played, am I right?
- I don't.
Please, you really think I'd kill him
over a few missed car payments?
- People have killed for a lot less than that.
Trust me.
- Where were you last night at 11:15 p.m.?
- With my wife on a train back from Boston.
I can show you the ticket.
I can't believe he's really dead.
He could have done anything,
but he chose to teach public school.
Can you imagine everything he had to deal with,
the kids and the crazy-ass parents?
- He ever mention anything specific?
♪
- A few weeks back, he told me about a parent
that accused him of having sex with his kid.
♪
- Listen, the father of one of our seventh graders
filed a complaint with the Department of Education,
all right?
But Mr. Rhodes was cleared of any wrongdoing.
I mean, you've gotta protect your teachers
these days, especially when they're
as valuable as Mr. Rhodes.
- After the investigation, was the issue resolved?
- Well, we thought so.
But a week later, the father that made the claim
came up to the school
and physically assaulted Mr. Rhodes.
I mean, he punched him in the face.
- Really? - Yeah.
- Rhodes call the police?
- No, he didn't want to get the guy in trouble.
- We need his name and address.
- So Rhodes is dead?
- Correct. - Hmm.
Karma is a hell of a thing.
- Meaning?
- He got what he deserved.
- Oh, yeah?
Is that your official statement?
- No, my official statement is,
may his punk ass rest in hell.
That bastard turned my son gay.
- Nobody turns you gay. - Oh, yeah?
You ever heard of "people are a product
of their environment?"
- Did your son tell you that Rhodes was abusing him?
- Didn't need to.
It was obvious.
Luke does Mathletes on Tuesdays with Rhodes.
But he kept coming home late, so I got suspicious.
So I dropped by the school one day,
and I walked in on Rhodes and Luke alone,
with the door closed.
And that's against school policy,
if you're wondering.
And the next day, out the blue,
my son says he's gay.
- So that's why you punched Rhodes in the face last week?
- I just wanted him to know that I was paying attention.
But I didn't kill him, if that's what you're asking.
- All right, where were you last night at 11:15 p.m., huh?
- I was home with my son.
- Yes, I was with my dad.
But he's wrong about Mr. Rhodes.
He never laid a finger on me.
The only reason the door was closed that day was...
I didn't want anyone to hear us talking.
- Why was that?
- I was asking Mr. Rhodes how to come out,
how to tell my dad I'm gay.
Mr. Rhodes was a really good teacher.
He could be really rough, but he cared, you know?
- Any kids have a problem with him?
Tough love ever piss anybody off?
- Last week, somebody posted
a song about him on social media.
- What kind of song? - A diss track.
It was pretty violent too.
- How do you know it was about Rhodes?
- The song was called "202,"
which is Rhodes' classroom number.
- You know who posted the song?
- No.
- What makes you think it was a student?
- It was posted in a group chat run by students.
Only kids in my middle school have access.
[tense music]
- So we found the song in a thread from last week.
Kid's no K.Dot, but it's pretty compelling
as far as confessions go.
- Oh, your son into Kendrick Lamar too?
- Uh, actually, that's me.
Beats the hell out of Mike Keyz.
Anyway, this is the part where the song gets pretty vivid.
- ♪ Yeah, run, Rhodes, run
♪ Coming for you with a hammer ♪
♪ Run, Rhodes, run
♪ That's me behind you in the shadow ♪
♪ Run, Rhodes, run
♪ The bullets got you speaking tongues ♪
♪ Run, Rhodes, run, 202 will be a teacher hunt ♪
- I assume "hammer" still means gun.
- Mm-hmm. - Okay.
Track down this artistic genius ASAP.
- So what was your beef with Walter Rhodes?
- Beef?
No, I liked him.
- Rhodes? He the teacher who was killed?
- Yes, ma'am.
And we have evidence that your son posted a song
about shooting him on social media.
- What?
No, that must be a mistake.
- I didn't write it, I swear.
- Hey, we already know that the handle that posted the song
belongs to you.
Okay?
Do yourself a favor right now. Don't lie to us.
- Yeah, I composed the beat, but I didn't write the lyrics.
I make beats and post them online
so rappers can share their vocals.
If I like the finished product,
then I repost them for exposure.
- Okay, so who wrote the lyrics?
- Clayton Barber, answer the man's question.
Now.
- Hey, kid.
You don't have to be scared.
- I'm not scared. - Okay.
Then show us.
[suspenseful music]
- He's a seventh grader.
I don't know his name.
Everyone just calls him Ant.
Someone told me that he showed up
to the school the other day with a gun.
♪
- Did you hear a rumor about a student
bringing a gun to school on the day of the murder?
- Uh, several, actually. It's around Halloween.
We confiscated four fake guns, two fake knives,
and a remarkably accurate NYPD shield.
- But no real guns?
- Not to my knowledge.
[school bell rings]
- See, we heard something about a student named Ant
that had a gun?
- His name is Anthony Turner.
And, uh, there was no gun.
I spoke to him myself.
- What class is Anthony Turner in right now?
- Let me check.
[keyboard clacking]
He didn't come to school today.
- Looked into Anthony Turner.
Kid's a ward of the state.
Entered the system at six, been downhill ever since.
That's his rap sheet.
- Impressive.
Shoplifting, aggravated assault,
and he's on probation for attacking
a group home counselor with a chair.
- Eight different foster homes in seven years.
It's not easy getting bounced around like that.
- Yeah, I know he's had a hard life,
but he still looks like a hell of a suspect,
so bring him in.
[tense music]
♪
[pounding on door] - Police! Open up!
- Clear! - We're clear.
- Kitchen clear.
- Clear.
[clattering]
- We got a runner! - Got a runner, window!
- No, no, no. Anthony, stop!
- Runner! Go!
Go!
♪
- Hold up!
Stop!
♪
- Move!
- Kid, kid, kid! - No, no, no, no, no, no!
Do not move. Do not move! - Hey, hey.
No, no, no, no. Hey, no, no.
Don't do it! Don't do it!
- He's got a weapon. Clear the area.
- Stay back!
- Fire discipline. There are civilians here.
- Stay back! - Stop swinging it.
Stop swinging it. - Drop that knife, kid.
- Put the knife down. Don't do it.
- You're gonna arrest me and send me to juvie, right?
- Stand down.
You stand down!
- You heard him. Stand down!
- Okay, look. Look at me. Look at me.
Putting my gun away.
I just wanna talk, all right?
I'm putting my gun away.
- I wanna go home.
I wanna see Mrs. A. Please.
- Mrs. A, right?
That's your foster mom, right?
- Yeah.
- I get that.
Just help us out.
We gotta talk to you about one thing first.
- Talk about what?
- Your teacher, Mr. Rhodes.
Hey, kid, don't do that!
It's not worth it. Put the knife down!
- What's the difference? My life is over anyway.
- No, no, no, no, no. Don't say that.
Don't say that. Don't say that.
It's not true.
That patch you got, I know that patch.
I got one.
My dad gave me it when I was a kid.
He served.
92nd MP Company.
You know what unit your dad served in?
I bet you miss him, huh?
And if he were here right now, I want you to think,
what would he want for you?
What would he say?
- No!
No, no. Please, please.
- It's too late for that kid. - Please.
- Just be still, all right? Be still.
- [crying]
Please.
♪
- No luck getting Anthony's foster mom on the phone.
Left messages at her work, on her cell.
Desk sergeant will let us know if she shows up.
- All right, well, that's a good faith effort in my book.
We're in compliance.
- I just wanna be clear about something.
Are you sure you understand your rights
as I described them to you?
Because we can go over this as many times as you want.
- No.
I get what it says.
[pen clicks]
[pen clatters]
[sniffles]
- Okay.
- I only made that stupid song
'cause Mr. Rhodes clowned me in front of my boys.
I was trying to blow off steam so I'd stay out of trouble.
But Mr. Rhodes heard it.
Said he'd report me for threatening him.
If my PO found out, he'd send me to juvie.
I was just trying to scare him.
He grabbed the gun, and it went off.
I didn't mean to kill him, I swear.
I didn't even know the gun was loaded.
[phone buzzes] - Okay.
Anthony, where did you get the gun from?
- [sniffles]
It was in this old building, hidden inside a wall.
My friends told me where to find it.
- Where's the gun now?
- I don't wanna say.
I don't wanna get anybody in trouble or--
[knock at door]
- Sorry, baby.
I came as soon as I got the message.
Are you all right?
- I'm scared, Mrs. A.
- Hey.
You're okay. What'd I tell you?
You're with Mrs. A,
and I'm gonna straighten this out.
Sorry for the trouble, Detectives.
Anthony is a good kid with a good heart.
Sometimes he gets angry and doesn't know
what to do with it, but trust and believe
he'll apologize for whatever he did
and do whatever it takes to make it right.
You got my word on that.
[tense music]
What's going on?
- Anthony killed someone.
- What?
Are you sure about that?
- We are.
- For God's sake, he's just a boy.
- We understand.
- Just let me take him home for now.
- I'm sorry.
That's not possible.
We're arresting Anthony for murder.
♪
- Hey, guys, I've been calling you.
I just talked to Brady.
You're gonna try the kid as an adult?
- Oh, not sure.
We're still reviewing the evidence.
- Nolan, this kid has had a tough life.
I mean, tough.
His mother was killed by a drunk driver
when he was a baby.
His father died of cancer when he was six.
Bounced around from eight different foster homes
in seven years.
- I can only imagine.
- But you're still gonna try him as an adult?
- That's not what I said.
- Nolan, he's a boy.
I mean, I get it, he's a Black boy.
- That makes no difference.
- Actually, it does.
It makes all the difference, unfortunately.
- Like I said, we're still reviewing the evidence,
but I can assure you, our decision will be based
on this young man's actions, not his race.
- They're coming at me from all angles.
Child advocacy groups want us to file a petition
to have Anthony Turner moved to family court.
The mayor and the head of the teachers' union
want him to be tried as an adult.
- Have you seen him?
He's a little boy.
He's 13 years and 21 days old.
If the murder had happened three weeks earlier,
he would have been 12, too young to try as an adult.
- He chose the date to commit the murder, not us.
He shot his teacher at point-blank range.
- Does he have a criminal history?
- [sighs] Three arrests, two involving acts of violence.
- And where does the victim's husband stand?
- He didn't talk about this specifically,
but it is clear that he wants justice.
He wants to see this young man in prison for a very long time.
- Public school teachers have it hard enough as it is.
They deserve protection and support.
People need to know that if you commit an act of violence
against a public servant,
you're gonna be prosecuted
to the fullest extent of the law.
[tense music]
We're trying him as an adult.
♪
- I understand the defense has filed a motion
to suppress Mr. Turner's statements.
I'll hear you.
- My client was barely 13 years old.
They seem to have overlooked the fact that he was a child
that was locked in an interrogation room
with a skilled detective coercing him into confessing.
- There was no coercion,
and to suggest otherwise is ridiculous.
- There was no interested adult present
during the interrogation.
- Family Court Act Section 305.2 only requires
that police make a good faith effort
to contact an interested adult.
- Did they? - Detectives called
the defendant's foster mother several times.
- Yeah, she didn't respond,
so they advised Mr. Turner of his Miranda rights
and moved on with the interview.
- You really think Anthony Turner understands
the complexities of Miranda?
This is his sixth grade report card.
He's a smart kid with potential,
but his reading comprehension and logic scores are low.
There's no way he knew what he was doing.
He just turned 13, for God's sake.
- I've got three kids, all smart and successful.
But at 13, they were idiots-- all of them.
Impulsive, impressionable, distracted.
I'm granting the motion to suppress.
The confession is out.
- We need to find another way to tie Anthony
to the murder weapon.
Tell Shaw and Riley, go back to the school,
track down the student
who actually saw Turner with the gun.
- Justin, we already spoke with some of your classmates
who told us that you saw Anthony Turner
with a gun on the day that Mr. Rhodes was killed.
Is that true?
- Go ahead and tell them.
- Yeah, it's true.
- Now, where did that happen?
- In the bathroom, during recess.
- What'd the gun look like?
- Ant said it was a .38.
- Were there bullets in it?
- I couldn't tell.
I thought that Mr. Sykes was gonna take the gun away.
- Wait, hold--hold on.
You told Principal Sykes that you saw the gun?
- Yes.
I told him about the rap song too.
- What exactly did you say to him?
- That Ant wrote it
and that it was about shooting Mr. Rhodes.
♪
- Kid named Justin French can put the gun in Turner's hand.
He can also help prove motive.
- Sounds like he'd be a good witness.
- Could also be a good witness against Principal Sykes.
- The principal hasn't been charged.
- Yeah, I know, Nolan, but I'm saying,
based on what we just found out,
he should be.
He was aware of the rap song. He was aware of the gun.
He was on notice.
He had a serious threat at his school,
and yet he did nothing.
- What's protocol in these situations?
- Call the police.
- Which he didn't.
- Nor did he warn Rhodes.
And had he, he might be alive today.
- I hear all types of rumors all day.
Please, have a seat.
You know, so-and-so has a knife or a pipe or a--
- But this wasn't a rumor.
A student actually told you he saw Turner
with a gun in his hand.
- That's true.
But it could have been a fake. It was Halloween.
- That's your excuse? Really?
- Listen, at a school like this,
it is impossible to keep up with all of the chatter.
Now, I can't tell you how many times in a day
I hear someone accuse someone else of something.
But 99% of the time, it's a false alarm.
- I get it, but this involved a firearm.
- Justin French is a nice enough kid, okay?
But he is a kid with a vivid imagination.
- What did you do
when Justin reported this information to you?
- I pulled Anthony aside.
I asked him if he had a gun, and he said no.
- And that was it?
- No, I, um--
I searched his locker, but there was nothing there.
- Did you search Anthony?
- No, but I did search his backpack.
- Why didn't you search him?
- We're not allowed to physically touch students.
So, you know, I didn't want to lose my career over it.
- Did you warn Rhodes?
- From what I could tell,
there was nothing to warn him about.
- Why didn't you call the police?
- I want to call a lawyer.
- The principal didn't follow protocol.
He didn't call police.
He did--you know, he didn't do much of anything, really.
- Yeah, well, he told us he checked Anthony's backpack,
but he didn't.
We pulled video from the school.
It shows the interaction.
- So he didn't just ignore protocols.
He ignored any sense of professionalism...
- Mm-hmm. - Or common sense.
So where are you going with all this?
- Well, under the law, his reckless actions,
or inactions, resulted in a man's death.
- So you wanna charge him with manslaughter?
- We're thinking about it, but--
- What's your hesitation?
- If we wanna prosecute Sykes, we'll need Turner's testimony.
- So we have to cut him a deal.
- Is that really the worst thing in the world?
Cutting a deal with a 13-year-old
so we can prosecute the real culprit, Sykes?
- With all due respect, Sam, Sykes didn't pull the trigger.
- He should have prevented Turner
from even having the opportunity.
- So the real question is, who's more at fault--
the student with all kinds of behavioral problems
or the adult principal
who pretty much didn't want to be bothered?
- But regardless of age,
Turner is the one who pulled the trigger.
- I get that.
But maybe there's a way to split the baby here.
We cut Turner a deal that still sends a message,
but gives us a chance to go after Sykes, too,
so we can send another message--
if you're gonna run a public school,
you better be up to the challenge.
- If your client agrees to testify against Mr. Sykes,
we can offer Man One with a sentence of 15 years.
- He will serve his time in a juvenile facility
until he turns 18.
Then he'll be transferred to a prison.
- What about Man Two?
Five years in juvie.
He walks when he's 18.
Ant didn't even know the gun was loaded.
Tell them. - I didn't.
I swear, I didn't mean to kill Mr. Rhodes.
- Man One, ten years.
You'll be out when you're 23.
You will have your whole life in front of you.
- [whispering indistinctly]
[suspenseful music]
♪
- [sighs]
Okay.
I'll do it.
- What do you mean, you're going after the principal?
- We believe that Sykes and Turner
are both responsible for your husband's death.
So we've offered Turner a deal to help us pursue Sykes.
- But the kid is the one who pulled the trigger.
- Absolutely, and he is going to be punished.
He's gonna serve ten years.
- [scoffs] That's not enough.
What if I disagree?
- Respectfully, Terry, it doesn't matter.
Charging decisions are up to the DA's office.
- Terry, I understand your frustration--
- No, this isn't frustration.
It's more. It's way more than that.
Look, I don't care if he's a kid.
He killed my husband.
And your job is to get justice for Walter and for me,
not to play God and save the life of some damn killer.
- No-- - No, listen.
Save it, huh?
Just get the hell out of my house.
Now.
♪
- Mr. Turner, did you shoot and kill
your teacher, Walter Rhodes?
- Yes, I did, but I didn't mean to.
- Showing you what has been marked Exhibit 14.
It's a .38 caliber revolver that was recovered
in a park near your home.
Do you recognize it?
- That's the gun I used.
- Who does it belong to? - I don't know.
I just knew there was a gun in this building.
People would use it and put it back.
- A community gun?
Meaning one that's shared among a number of people?
- Yeah, I guess.
But I didn't think it was loaded.
- You never checked.
- No, I just figured it was empty.
Bullets cost money.
People aren't gonna leave them inside their gun
if they're not using it.
- Why did you go to Mr. Rhodes' home
armed with a weapon?
- I was trying to scare Mr. Rhodes.
I didn't want him to turn me in for the rap song that I wrote.
I was worried I might have to go to juvie.
- Did Mr. Sykes, your principal, know that you--
you had gotten into trouble at school before?
- Yeah.
He's the one who punishes me.
- Did Mr. Sykes know about the rap song
you wrote about Mr. Rhodes?
- Yeah.
Justin told him.
- And did Mr. Sykes ever ask you about the gun?
- Yeah, but I denied it.
- Even though you had the gun with you at the time?
- Yeah, it was in my backpack.
- And where was your backpack?
- On my back. It was with me.
But he didn't ask to look in it.
- What about the rap song? He ever ask about that?
- No.
- Nothing further.
- My client didn't shoot your teacher,
Walter Rhodes, did he?
- No.
- You shot him, correct?
- Yes.
- No further questions.
- You're excused.
We're going to break for lunch. [phone buzzes]
See you all back here in an hour.
[gavel bangs]
♪
[handcuffs clicking]
- Can you give me a minute with the kid, please?
Thank you.
You know, when I was your age,
I didn't feel like I had anybody to talk to.
Nobody to confide in, nobody to trust.
You ever feel like that?
Look, kid, everybody needs somebody
in their corner in this life.
Everybody.
And what I need is, I need some honesty
about the bullets.
Now, did you really think that the gun was empty?
Tell me the truth.
- Yeah. I already told you that.
- I know what you told me.
The thing is, I had the gun and the ammunition tested,
and the results just came back while I was in the courtroom.
And your fingerprints were on the bullets
because you loaded the gun.
Which means that you knew it was loaded
because you put the bullets in it.
Come on.
- No. I didn't touch those bullets.
- Don't do that. I'm not stupid.
Talk to me.
♪
- Okay.
I loaded the gun.
I was scared, man.
I didn't wanna get kicked out of my foster home.
♪
- Last year, I, um-- I grabbed a student by the arm
because he was beating up a teacher
who confiscated his phone.
I was hauled in for questioning,
accused of child abuse, and almost arrested.
- So that's why you didn't search Anthony Turner.
- Exactly.
I mean, hey, I-- I learned my lesson.
I would never put my hands on a student again,
no matter the circumstances.
- Why didn't you call the police?
- [scoffs]
Two months prior to the shooting,
I did call 911 to help with a student
who had threatened a reading specialist.
Afterwards, his parents complained
that I was treating him like a criminal.
So I had to go in front of the school board
and explain myself.
I almost lost my job and my pension.
You know, it's a no-win situation.
You know, I-- damned if you do...
Oh, God, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry about your husband.
He was a good man.
I liked him a lot.
[tense music]
And I respected him.
Everyone respected him.
- Who do you hold responsible
for what happened to Walter Rhodes?
- Objection--relevance.
- You may answer.
♪
- I blame Anthony Turner.
I mean, hey, listen, I--
I understand he has had a rough life,
but there are a lot of kids out there
that have had a hard time too.
There are more than 25,000 kids in the foster care system
right here in the state of New York.
And how many of them do you think
have gunned down their teachers in the last week?
Zero.
- You think the prosecution is trying
to make you the fall guy?
- You're damn right I do.
- Objection--move to strike.
- Sustained.
The jury shall disregard that answer.
- Nothing further.
♪
- I don't dispute that you have a challenging job.
And it is admirable
that you dedicated your life to public service.
But that doesn't mean you can ignore
your legal responsibilities.
- Is there a question in there somewhere?
- Ask a question, Mr. Price.
- Mr. Sykes, when you discovered
that a student of yours might have been
in possession of a gun,
you chose to ignore protocol, correct?
- No.
No, I did what I thought was right
under the circumstances.
- And that choice cost a good man his life.
Nothing further.
♪
- So you showed the fingerprint report to Price?
- No.
- Why not?
- Because I'm not sure if I want
to blow up the kid's deal yet.
If I do, he's gonna serve the rest of his life in prison.
- Why are you so intent on helping this kid?
Is this some kind of savior thing?
- If it was, would that be so bad?
Trying to help a young brother out
who's never had anybody in his corner,
no one ever looking out for him?
- Maybe if he hadn't shot his teacher in the chest.
- [sighs]
- He played you, man. - I know. I know.
- He lied to your face. He lied to the prosecutors.
He lied to the jury.
I mean, look, I-- I'm sorry to be blunt,
okay, but I'll just say it.
There are some kids that are just beyond saving.
- You know, when I was his age,
my father was stationed in the Persian Gulf,
which means I had to stay with my mother.
She was a musician, and she struggled with drugs.
She relapsed, and when that happened,
they split me and my brother up.
We went to separate foster homes.
[somber music]
And I lived with this really nice family for about a month,
and it was actually pretty nice--
especially considering what I had just been through
with my mother.
Until one day,
they just decided they didn't want me anymore.
♪
I come home from school,
and, um, they tell me I gotta just...
Take my things and go.
I was lucky.
My father came home the next day,
and he was able to take care of me, you know?
- Look, I understand. All right?
That kind of thing leaves a mark.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
But you're not Anthony, man.
I don't care how long you ever would have spent
in foster care--there's no way
that you would have picked up a gun
and shot your teacher in the chest
and then lied about it.
There's no way.
Okay?
♪
- Detective Shaw sent over the fingerprint report
on the gun and the ammo.
- Anthony Turner's prints are on the bullets.
He loaded the gun.
- So what does that mean?
- It means the kid lied on the stand.
- So are you gonna dismiss the case?
- It may help impeach his testimony.
It doesn't negate your role in Walter Rhodes' death.
- Translation: we still have a strong case against you.
- So why are we all here?
You could have emailed that information to me.
- I would like to propose an equitable resolution,
eliminate the risk for both sides.
Man Two, five years.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa.
You want me to go to prison for five years,
and you consider that equitable?
Are you kidding me?
- Your other option is to play it out
and finish the trial.
But if you lose, you could get up to 15 years.
- [whispering indistinctly]
- We'll take the deal.
- Wait a minute.
I have to know,
what is gonna happen to Anthony Turner?
- Where are we going?
- To court.
[tense music]
- But I already testified.
- Yeah, I know you did, kid, but now you're going to trial.
- Why?
- Because they reinstated the murder charges, that's why.
♪
Get in the car, kid.
Kid, get in the car.
♪
[dramatic music]
♪
[wolf howls]
[dramatic music]
♪
[wolf howls]