All language subtitles for Law and Order s24e21 Tough Love.eng

.

- 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.

- Jackson, come on in.

We need to talk.
- What's up, man?

- You make 8 million a year,
man, and you broke.

- [scoffs]
Man, get out of here.

- You could believe me today,

or you can believe the bank
when they come

and take the keys
to your house.

You got to make changes, bro.

And, oh, by the way,

I'm keeping my 5%.

You ain't getting that back.

- What's the problem?

- You really just
asked me that?

Turn around.

What does Jimmy do?

How about Tommy?

How about Marco?

- I don't know, man.

They just part of it.

- How many people do you think
you have on your payroll?

- Six.
- [chuckles]

11.

But it's time to be real.

You ain't LeBron.

You ain't KD.

You damn sure ain't Ant-Man.

You a grinder,
a rotation player.

You damn sure
ain't large enough

to be having some entourage.

You got a big damn heart,

but you just turned 30.

If you're lucky, you got three,
maybe four years left.

- So you're saying you want me
to fire some of my boys?

Come on, Ted.

No.

That ain't cool.

- Want to hear about cool?

I don't care about cool.
I care about you.

I care about your family,
your kids, your future.

That's what I'm thinking about.

So guess what.

Your agent ain't asking you

to get rid of
some of your boys.

I'm asking you
to get rid of all of them.

Every living one of them.

- That's not so easy.

I grew up with them.

When all of this
was just a fantasy.

[tense music]

I owe them.

Iowe them.

- You want me to do it for you?

* *

- Our victim is wearing sweats,

high-end running shoes,
headphones on.

Looks like he was on
some sort of jog or walk.

- Who called this in?
- Two joggers.

Victim was deceased
by the time they found him.

No pulse.

They didn't see
anybody else around.

I mean,
it was the crack of dawn,

so it was pretty empty up here.

- Got a weapon in evidence?

- We're looking,
but so far, no dice.

It was some kind of knife.

Two stabs to the chest.
Deep.

He also got a cut on his lip.

Healed up, though.
Doesn't feel related.

- Still got his
Montblanc smartwatch,

his cell phone, AirPods.

Not a robbery.

- And they found
a $20 bill in his pocket

with his ID.

* *

- Theodore Hunter.

69th Street, Upper West Side.

Guy turned 52 on Tuesday.

* *

- Hope he made the most of it.

* *

[dramatic music]

* *

- What do you got?

- We found a knife
in a garbage can

a few blocks away
from the crime scene

covered in blood.

Four-inch tactical blade,
folding, serrated,

manufactured by Iron Forge.

Right now the lab's trying
to confirm the DNA.

- But we have a murder weapon?

- Looks like it.

- And ARGUS caught
the murder on video.

- Any luck on facial rec?

- Nope. Never saw his face.

But check this out.

OK, so you see people
running through.

And then here is our vic.

- Think it was
a targeted attack?

Any theories?
Who was this guy?

- Well, back in the day,
Ted Hunter was

kind of a big deal All-American
football player up at Syracuse.

He basically had
a cup of coffee in the pros,

then became a sports agent.

He worked for ACG.

They're one of the big three.
He was with them for years.

- Very successful,
very controversial too.

Had a lot of critics and was
known for playing hardball

during contract negotiations.

- And poaching clients.

Last year,
he breaks off on his own,

starts his own firm,

says that the system is
bloated and corrupt.

- Any family?

- Two sons.

Raised them on his own

after his wife died
in a car accident.

- OK, well, talk to the boys,
see if they have any idea

who might want to hurt
their father.

- One hell of a family legacy.

- Yeah.

Looks like you're up next,
huh, Josh?

- Long as my knee holds up.

- MCL?

- Sprained it.

- Let me ask you, is anybody
coming to assist you guys?

Aunt? Uncle?
- No.

No, as a matter of fact,
I'm gonna take some time off

from school to come down here,
stay with Josh.

Our father raised us to be men,

so we can take care
of ourselves.

- Well, look, guys,
we need your help.

We need any information
you can give us

about the last couple days
of your dad's life.

Eric, you were up at Syracuse
when you got the news?

- Yes, sir.
I was out on the practice field

when they came and got me.

- And Josh, you were here?
- Yeah.

I usually run with our dad
every morning in the park.

Last few weeks,
obviously, I couldn't go.

I was sleeping in this morning.

And I woke up to cops
banging on the door.

If I was there,
I could have done something.

- Don't do that
to yourself, bro.

- Listen to your brother.
It's good advice.

We have reason to believe that
this was a targeted attack.

- Targeted?

- Just that this wasn't
a random occurrence.

We need your help.

Can you guys think
of any reason

anybody wanted to hurt
your father?

- No idea.

- Anything noteworthy recently
or out of character?

Did he indicate that he might
have been arguing with someone?

Or maybe someone
threatened him?

- No, I talked to our father
every single day.

- Um, there was one thing.

He came home late
one night this week,

and it looked like
he had been in a fight.

- Like a physical altercation?

- Yeah, I guess.

His shirt was all messed up
and torn.

[tense music]

- What about his lip?
- Yeah.

He had a-he had a big cut
on his bottom lip.

- He tell you
how this happened?

- I mean, he just
kind of played it off.

Said it wasn't
that big of a deal.

It kind of looked
like a big deal.

- What night was this?

* *

- This man, Ted Hunter.

He was dropped off here
by an Uber

at 11:13 p.m. on Monday.

- And?

- And this morning,
he got murdered.

- Sorry to hear that.

- He got into an altercation
at this nightclub,

and we need to know who
he was fighting with and why.

- Can't help you, fellas.

- You can't or you won't?

- The minute I start talking
to the cops is the minute

the crowds stop showing up.
- Mm.

- Don't know if that's
can't or won't,

but it's one of them.

- All right, well, just got
a few more images to show you,

and then we'll get
out of your hair.

Like this one.

Budget Ballin'.

For 30 bucks, your patrons
get all the liquor

they can handle for an hour.

- That's a great deal.
Show him the other one.

- Oh, yeah-
oh, this one I would have loved

back in the day.

Liquid Courage,

a raffle for unlimited shots.

- Even better deal.

Problem is, you can't do that.

Any club promotion that
encourages risky drinking,

$800 fine.

- Let me grab my wallet.

I'll pay you in cash.
With a tip.

- You misunderstood
what I was saying.

It's an $800 fine per offense.

That means every drink
that you served to every patron

every night you had
a promotion like that.

- Yeah, so we could just
pull your CCTV

and start counting them all up.

- It'll take a while.

- Come on, man.
That's not right.

- It's the law.

Or you could just tell us.

Who was Ted Hunter having
an altercation with?

OK, thank you.

The blood on the knife
is a DNA match to Hunter.

So it's definitely
our murder weapon.

- Any other fingerprints on it?

- Unfortunately, no.

[indistinct chatter]

There he is.

- Jackson Dean?
- OK.

- NYPD.

We need to talk to you
about Ted Hunter.

- It hurts, man.

He was a damn good agent.

Damn good dude too.

Really cared about his clients.

- How about everybody
in your crew?

They like him too?

- Yeah, we heard
one of your buddies

got into a fight with him
a couple nights ago

at Vortex 21.

Is that right?

- I got to get back out there.

- No, you didn't answer
my question.

- I wasn't at the club
that night.

- Yeah, we know.

But your crew, they were.

- Yeah, we got
the physical description

of a guy who tangled
with Hunter that night.

5'9", Black, cornrows.

Ring a bell?

- There is zero chance
anyone in my circle

had anything to do with that.

So, fellas, have a nice day.

- No, no, no, no, that's not
how this works, Mr. Dean.

You see, we're investigating
a murder here.

- Which means boxing us out
is not an option.

[tense music]

Now, it'd be a real shame

if we had to have
this conversation

back at the precinct,
you know what I'm saying?

- Yeah, that'd mean
you'd miss tonight's game.

* *

[indistinct radio chatter]

There he is.
Right there.

Tommy Caro.

NYPD.

[engine revving]

Hey!

[siren wailing]

[suspenseful music]

* *

- Hey!

- Whoa!

[siren wailing]

[tires squealing]

- Hey, do not move!

Stay right where you are.
Get your hands up.

Higher!

He's got a gun.

- You even look at that piece,
you're a dead man.

Walk backwards to me.

To my voice.
- OK.

OK.

* *

.

- I would have run too.

Criminal possession
of a firearm, pretty serious.

Minimum three and a half years.

- Well, that's what
they told me last time,

but I'm still here.
- Oh, OK.

Well, thanks
for the information.

Maybe this time we'll push
for 10, given your history.

- Come on, lady.

- I heard Ted Hunter got
a few good licks in.

Maybe even won the fight.

I don't know.
That's pretty impressive.

How old is he?
Like, 52?

- Please.
- What?

Thinking it might
sting a little.

I mean, it's embarrassing.
- Whoa, whoa.

We threw a few punches.
That's it.

Ain't nobody got embarrassed.

And I sure as hell
had nothing to do

with that man getting killed.

- OK.

I will note that you denied it.
Fair is fair.

- Well, I'm telling the truth.

A few days ago,
Ted Hunter told Jackson

he had to cut ties
with his crew.

So we went down to the club,

laid down Jackson's
credit card,

and ordered up some magnums
of Don Julio 1942.

A last hurrah kind of thing.

But we didn't know
Ted was tracking

Jackson's spending
in real time.

Got an alert and came down
to the club to shut us down.

- And that didn't go over well?

- No.
And we got into it.

Sorted things out, you know?

But that was the end of it,
I swear.

- Where were you this morning?

- Hey.

So Caro's alibi holds up.

At the time of the murder,
he was losing his shirt

at a casino 60 miles away
in the Hudson Valley.

- OK.
- I got something here.

So Ted Hunter,
a few months ago,

took out a protective order
on his driver,

a guy named Ethan Matthews.

- For what?

- Well, Matthews wouldn't
leave him alone.

Kept showing up to his house,
to his office.

Hunter says stop,
and Matthews threatened him.

- Sounds like a lead to me.

Nice work.

- Ethan Matthews?

NYPD.

- Oh, yeah.

I know why you're here.

- Oh, yeah?

I suppose that you admit
to telling Ted Hunter

that you wanted him dead, then?

"You destroyed my life.

I won't stop until
you feel the same pain."

Sound familiar?

- That's me.

I don't even recognize
the man who sent that stuff.

I didn't kill Ted Hunter.

I owe the man my life.

- Oh, really?
How's that?

- I was his personal driver
for 13 years.

Then he discovered
my little secret-

heroin.

So he fired me.

I lashed out,
but I'd never hurt the man.

He was gonna hire me back
after six months

if I went to rehab
and got clean, which I did.

Hell, he paid for it.

That's his car right there.

I keep it spotless,
just waiting for the day

I can pick him up
and take him to work.

It doesn't matter now.

- Tell me, his Android
sync up with this?

- Hey.

Finally got access
to Ted Hunter's texts.

- And there's a nasty
exchange between him

and his youngest son's
football coach, Brian Boggs.

- What were they beefing about?

- His son's knee.

Ted thought he was fine.

Took him to every top
orthopedist in New York City.

Doctors couldn't find
anything wrong with him.

No tear, nothing.

- Yeah, but the coach still
didn't want to play him.

So Ted got pissed,

and in the days
leading up to the murder,

he texts the coach that he's
gonna come down to the school

and speak to him face-to-face.

- Well, it's weird that
Josh didn't mention

there was anything funky
going on with football,

because it's like
that family's religion.

So try to get
to the bottom of that.

[whistle blasts]

- Respectfully, I'm gonna trust

that you and the family
can sort this out.

This has nothing to do with me.

- Oh, we're not so certain
about that, Coach Boggs.

- The hell does that mean?

- It means you had
some pretty sharp words

for Ted Hunter in the days
before he was found

with a knife in his chest.

"You come after me,
I'll come after you"?

- Ted didn't like some of
the decisions you were making.

So two days before the murder,

he comes down here
to sort it out.

Seems like he was
gunning for your job.

- Yeah.
See, we're murder cops.

So in our line of work,

that kind of smells
like motive.

- You got to be kidding me.

[sighs]

After the doctors cleared Josh,

Ted was angry
I wasn't playing him.

He kept asking-
just didn't like the answer.

- Which was?

- I don't think Josh ever
got hurt in the first place.

- You're telling me
Josh faked his injury?

- You think this was his way
of quitting the team?

- I think Josh resents the type
of athlete that his brother is.

He resents the idea that he's
supposed to be the next one.

I'm not sure
anybody ever asked Josh

if he really wanted to do this.

- All right, so you were
just buying him some time

while he worked things out,
huh?

- He knew what a thing
it would be

for him to quit football,

what it would mean
to his father.

So I-I played along.

I pretended, you know,

that I thought
he was still hurt.

Then his father came
down here spitting fire.

And I had no choice.

I had to tell him the truth-

that his son wasn't hurt,

that he just doesn't want
to play football.

[whistle blasts]

- [grunting]

So you find the guy?

- We did, Josh.

- Take a look at this.

That's you on Monday
cutting through the gym.

It's a shortcut
to the parking lot, right?

- Uh-huh.

[tense music]

- We've all been there-
empty gym and a ball.

Got to take some shots, right?

I mean,
that's just being a boy.

* *

- Bro, what are you doing?

- I mean, some days,
my knee feels pretty good.

- Or you never injured it
in the first place.

- What?
No, that's ridiculous.

He's-he's clearly-

- Coach Boggs gave you
some space and some time

to figure out
what you wanted to do, right?

Whether you wanted
to play ball or not.

He told you to go hang out
in the library after school

while practices were
going on, right?

- Josh, what is this?

- Because Coach Boggs knew
that you lied

to your father
about your injury,

that you lied to your father
about going to practices too.

- No, that's not true.

- Josh, we recovered

your search history
from the library.

- And we saw that you purchased
a 4-inch serrated blade,

just like this one
that was found

near the murder scene
covered in your father's blood.

- Oh, my God.

- On your feet, kid.

- Come on, man.

Come on.

[tense music]

- Hands behind your back.

- Josh.

- You are under arrest
for the murder

of your father, Ted Hunter.

- Josh,
what are they talking about?

Officers, hold on. Wait.

.

- How do you feel
about ordering

from that dumpling place
this evening?

- I actually brought food
from home.

I'm trying to save
a little money right now.

- You OK?
- Yeah.

It's dumb.

I have this crazy uncle.

He's the worst with money.

I mean, I made budgets.
I have taught him Excel.

Nothing takes.

So depending on the month,
we all have to pay his rent.

And this month?

What?

- [sighs]

I went to some Al-Anon meetings

when my brother was doing
terrible things to himself,

taking drugs.

I was banging my head
into the wall.

They have this thing.

They call it the three C's.

You didn't cause it.

You can't control it.

You can't cure it.

You know, we try and help
the people we love,

but at some point,
you just draw the line.

You walk away.
[knock at door]

- I've been getting a lot
of calls about this one.

- About Josh Hunter?

- No, about Eric Hunter.

- Well, Eric's got
nothing to do with it.

- I know, but when a kid's
going high in the draft,

a lot of powerful people
get nervous, so...

- Like Sam said,
we have no reason to believe

that Eric is involved.

- OK, good.

So what do we know?

What really happened?

- Well, it's still
a work in progress,

but largely circumstantial
right now.

But here's what we can prove.

Josh bought a knife identical
to the murder weapon.

There is ARGUS footage
of the actual stabbing.

Killer appears to have the same
height and build as Josh.

And when asked where he was
at the time of the murder,

Josh lied to police,
said he was home.

- You seem to have
left out motive.

- Ah.
[chuckles]

You noticed.
Uh, yeah.

Hopefully the jury will be-

- Cases like this one
can be tricky,

even with a tidal wave
of evidence.

Juries tend to take their cue
from surviving family,

almost as much
as from the evidence itself.

They'll be looking
to the big brother

to see where
he comes down on this.

Does he want justice
for his father,

or does he want to see
his little brother walk free?

- Wait, I'm sorry.

So you guys are asking me
to do what exactly?

- So we need you
to help the jury understand

that your father was
a good man-

that he loved his family,
that you loved him,

and that he will be
deeply missed.

- So you want me to testify
against my brother?

- Testify in support
of your father.

- We know how complicated
this is for you, Eric,

but we really need your help.

- No.

No, I won't turn my back
on my brother.

- Your brother murdered
your father.

He hunted him down,
he laid in wait for him,

and he stabbed a knife
into his heart twice.

- I said I won't do it.

All right?

So if you don't mind.

[tense music]

* *

[phone buzzing]

- The defense is
trying to suppress

Josh's statement to the police.

- On what basis?

- It's inadmissible hearsay.

- But it's not being offered

for the truth of the matter
asserted.

It's being offered to show
consciousness of guilt.

He told the police
he was at home

nursing a knee injury in order
to establish a false alibi.

- My client's statement
to the police

is legally unreliable.

- Why is that?

- It was given
under extreme duress.

- There is no evidence
of coercion.

- There doesn't need to be.

My client is 17 years old.

He is a child.

He was in a very fragile state.

He had just learned
his father was killed.

He wasn't thinking clearly.

And the prosecutors want
to use this moment of confusion

to bury him.

They're basing their whole damn
case on this one misstatement,

which, by the way, was given
without an adult present,

except for Josh's
20-year-old brother,

who was also grieving.

- No, the defendant was
not being interrogated.

He didn't have the right
to an interested adult.

- He was also not under arrest.

He talked with the police
freely and voluntarily.

- Enough.

Looking at the totality
of the circumstances,

the declarant's age,
his state of mind,

the lack of counsel,

I'm granting the motion.

- Your Honor,
I would urge you-

- It's over, Mr. Price.

His statement to the police
regarding his whereabouts

the day of the murder is out.

- Look, we're still fine.

We've got video of the crime.

- Which is grainy and doesn't
reveal the killer's face.

- We can prove
Josh bought the knife.

- How many of those knives
were sold last year?

- 5,703.
- Yeah.

We need a theory of the case,

a narrative for the jury
to buy into.

Motive.

Other than the defendant,
who won't talk,

and the victim, who can't,

there is only one other person
who can help us

make sense of this-
Eric Hunter.

- Eric was very clear.

He's not interested
in working with us.

- I get that
he is in a tight spot,

but at the end of the day,

wouldn't you want justice
for your father?

- Yeah.

- A father that Eric idolized
by all accounts.

Teenagers who murder
their parents

basically fall into two camps.

They are mentally ill,
which doesn't appear

to be the case here,
or they're rebelling

against parental control,
all right?

Rules about dating,
curfews, money.

- I spoke with
Josh's friends, teachers.

He seemed pretty normal.

He spent most of his time
playing sports.

- Have Computer Crimes take
another look at his phone,

his computer, see what websites

he was visiting,
who he was communicating with,

sharing his feelings with.

We just got encrypted messages
exchanged between Josh Hunter

and his therapist,
covering a period

of seven months
prior to the murder.

- I'm sure that's helpful,
but conversations

between a defendant
and his therapist

are obviously privileged.

- Yeah, if the therapist
is a human being.

- Pardon me?

- Josh's therapist was
an AI-generated chatbot.

- What?

[tense music]

So who was on the other end
of the phone, so to speak?

- No one.
An algorithm.

- Was anyone monitoring
the conversation?

The advice this therapist
was doling out?

- No.

* *

- That is terrifying.

- It's more common
than you might think.

Young people are more
comfortable talking to a screen

than a human being.

- This is uncharted territory,

but if Josh was talking
to a machine,

then in my mind,
that's fair game.

What did the messages say?

- There are thousands of them.
We're still reading.

But so far, we can tell

that Josh was in
a very dark place.

He began to despise his father.

- Apparently, his father was
very controlling

and forced him into
an extreme exercise regimen.

I'm talking extreme-
like, hard to believe.

The goal, of course,
was to mold him

into an elite athlete.

- He also kept him
on a very strict diet.

No carbs, no sugar,
no processed food.

He found a Snickers
in his backpack once.

He made him run home
from practice, 10 miles.

- "He's gonna run me to death.
Literally.

I hate him.
It's him or me."

- We have
a disciplinarian father

putting his son
through an extreme

exercise
and nutritional regimen,

which worked wonders on Eric,

turned him
into an NFL prospect.

But it turned Josh-

- Into a murderer.

- Sure sounds like motive
to me.

.

- These text conversations
are protected

by patient-therapist privilege,
Your Honor.

- That is ridiculous
and bizarre.

The defendant was communicating
with an AI generated chatbot,

not a therapist.

- The privilege was designed

to encourage people
to get help.

That's exactly what Josh did.

He thought he was talking
to a real therapist.

- Well, the law is clear.

Privilege applies
only to registered,

licensed mental health
professionals.

- Courts have found
that attorney-client privilege

applies to unlicensed lawyers.

The same standard should apply
to unlicensed therapists.

- It's immaterial if this thing
is licensed or unlicensed.

It's not a therapist
in the first place.

- AI-generated therapy
is an emerging practice.

The law goes hand in hand
with human progress.

- But that has nothing to do

with the current state
of the law.

If Mr. Winters feels strongly
about this issue,

he should go to Albany
and lobby

for legislation
allowing machines

to become licensed therapists.

Short of that,
privilege does not apply,

which means
this is admissible evidence

vital to the People's case.

- I agree with the People.

I'm not extending privilege
to what amounts

to a computer program
simulating human conversation.

Motion denied.

- Thank you, Your Honor.

In reviewing the messages

that Josh sent
his so-called therapist,

could you describe
the general tone?

- Angry. Resentful.

- Angry at whom?

- His father, Ted Hunter.

- Resentful about what?

- Football, basically.

The training regimen
that his father implemented.

- Are these
the defendant's words?

- Yes, they are.

He wrote that March 12th.

- And later that same day,
did he make an online purchase?

- He spent $249

on a tactical, serrated,
folding blade

manufactured by Iron Forge.

He had that sent to his home.

- Who paid for it?

- He used
his father's credit card.

- I'm showing you what's been
marked as Exhibit 9B.

Have you seen
this knife before?

- I have.
We found that in a trash can

near the murder scene.

It was coated in blood.

And DNA test results confirmed

that is indeed
the victim's blood.

- Could you describe
this knife?

- It is a serrated,
folding, tactical blade

manufactured by Iron Forge.

- Thank you, Detective.

- Your Honor, may I?

Can you read the message
that Josh sent to his therapist

on January 22nd?

- "Couldn't finish
sled sprints,

"so Dad made me do
200 Nordics on the SledTred.

Barfed up my protein shake,
so Dad made me do 100 more."

- So it's clear that
the defendant was forced

to exercise until he vomited.

His punishment for vomiting is
that he had to exercise more.

Do I have that right?

- It would appear so.

- How did Josh's therapist
respond?

- Objection.
- Overruled.

- "Josh, what you're describing
is deliberately aggressive,

"violent behavior
causing bodily harm.

The definition
of physical abuse."

[tense music]

"I believe
your life is in danger."

- So it was the opinion
of Josh's therapist-

- Objection.

Your Honor,
in what world are the musings

of some algorithm remotely
relevant in this court?

- It is relevant to support
my client's assertion

of self-defense.

- Which is the first
we're hearing

anything related
to self-defense, Your Honor.

- I'll see counsel in chambers.

[gavel bangs]

* *

- Your Honor,
the facts do not support

a claim of self-defense.

The defendant hunted down
the victim.

He was never in danger.

- My client thought
he was in danger.

- No, that is not enough.

The defense would have to prove
that a reasonable person

in the same situation
would do the same thing.

- Not when the accused
is suffering

from battered child syndrome.

- Which isn't a recognized
defense in New York.

- 7.06.

- Battered woman syndrome?

- That's what we call it
colloquially,

but actually it's called
the abused person syndrome,

which covers people who are
related by consanguinity,

blood relatives.

- The statute is
clearly intended to protect

adult blood relatives
and women.

- Except it doesn't
say that explicitly.

- I'm allowing it.

It's up to the jury to decide
whether the defendant

reasonably believed
his life was in danger or not.

- What did you conclude,
Doctor Morley,

from your forensic evaluation
of my client?

- I believe that Josh suffers
from battered child syndrome

as a result
of verbal degradation,

extreme discipline,
and physical punishment.

Josh's father may have believed

he was pursuing structure
and discipline,

but it crossed the line
into abuse.

And it lasted for years,

essentially from the onset
of Josh's pubescence

until the day
of his father's death.

- How did that impact Josh's
ability to perceive danger?

- He developed
chronic hypervigilance.

He was always bracing
for more punishment.

- He lived in fear.

- Worse than that, arguably.

- Kill or be killed.

- That's more like it.

- Thank you, Doctor Morley.

- Cross-examination.

- Did Josh tell you
that his father beat him?

- No.

- Threatened his life?

- No.

- So Josh Hunter's perception
that his life was in danger

at the moment that he elected

to plunge a knife
into his father's heart,

this perception was not
genuine or reasonable, was it?

- I can only tell you
what I observed, Mr. Price,

which is that Josh believed
on that morning

that his life, his survival,
was in jeopardy.

Only Josh has seen
what he has seen,

feared what he has feared

in the way
that he has feared it.

You are free to call
his actions unreasonable.

I suppose your job requires it.

I'm just not comfortable
doing that.

- You loved your father,
didn't you?

- Yes.

He-he was my hero.

- And you killed him?

- [sighs]

Yeah.

I guess I just snapped.

I can't explain it,
but I couldn't take it anymore.

- You ever been
to McDonald's, Josh?

- Uh, no.

- Ever tried
movie theater popcorn?

- No.

- A sip of beer?

- [scoffs]
No.

- You go to prom last year?

- Um, my dad didn't
want me to go.

- Shortly before
your dad's death,

you more or less quit the team.

- Yeah.

Uh, I told everybody
that my knee was injured.

- Did your dad find out?

- Yeah.

- What did he do?

- He woke me up at 2:00 a.m.

and we drove out
to the football field.

Did this thing called 50-40s,

where you sprint
to the 40-yard line and back

25 times on a timer.

- Did you make it?

- No.

So he made me do it again
until I threw up.

- He bring you water
or anything?

- No.

He said,
"This is just the beginning.

I'm gonna turn you into a man."

Whatever it took.

- Did that scare you?

- I've never been so afraid
in my entire life.

[solemn music]

I thought he was gonna kill me.

- Thank you.

Nothing further.

* *

- Josh, did you ever
tell your father

that you didn't want to be
an elite football player?

- No.

God, no.

- So you have no way of knowing
how he would have responded.

- I know exactly how
he would have responded.

He would have called me a sissy
and then tortured me

with some sort
of crazy workout.

- Did you ever raise
any of your fears or concerns

with your teachers at school?

- No.
- Your coaches?

Your-your teammates?
- No.

- Did you ever call the police?

- No.
But I told my brother, Eric.

- Told him what?

- I told him that
my dad was gonna kill me.

And he just-
he told me to suck it up.

Be a man.

I wish I was tougher, man.

But I'm not.

I'm not you, Eric.

* *

[tearfully]
I'm...so sorry.

* *

I'm so sorry.

* *

.

- You think the jury
might actually find

that Josh acted
in self-defense?

- I think there is
enough of a chance

that we should consider
offering him the opportunity

to plead out manslaughter.

After hearing that testimony
in the courtroom,

I think it might be
the right ethical choice too.

- No.

No.

You don't get to stalk down
a human being

and put a knife in their heart
because you're too weak

to handle what
the world served you.

By all accounts,
Eric Hunter went through

exactly the same thing
as Josh did.

And Eric appears to be
well-adjusted, thriving even,

at least before this.

- Well, they're not
cookie cutters, Nolan.

We're all built differently.

- Which is, again,
not a justification for murder.

My father was...

not exactly warm and fuzzy.

He was cold and unforgiving.

There was not a lot
of affection.

He shook my hand
once a year on my birthday.

And-and guess what.

Neither I nor either
of my two brothers

ever resorted to murdering him.

[tense music]

- So what's the plan, Nolan?

- I'm gonna call Eric Hunter
as a rebuttal witness.

- As a hostile witness?

- Correct.

* *

- OK.

Trust your instincts.

* *

- Can you tell the jury
the circumstances

under which you're here?

- You gave me a subpoena.

- Making you what we call
a hostile witness.

You're not here
'cause you want to be here.

- Correct.

- What did I tell you
would happen

if you did not
testify here today?

- That I would be arrested.

- What did I tell you
would happen

if you did not tell the truth?

- I would be charged
with perjury.

- And you understand
both of those things?

- Yes, I do.

- Was your father
a horrible man?

A monster?

- No.
- Did he deserve to die?

- No.
- Did he love you?

- Yes.

- Did he love your brother?

- Yes.

- Your father wanted
you boys to succeed.

Correct?
- Yes.

When our mother died, he-

he was terrified.

He didn't think he had
what it took to raise us alone.

So he became very strict.

- He believed in tough love?

- Yes.
- Next year, you expect

to be drafted
into the NFL, correct?

- Well, I hope to be so lucky.
Yes.

- Would you be
a first round pick

if it weren't for your father?

- No.
- But he was hard on you.

- Yes.

- He said cruel things
to you sometimes.

He questioned your commitment.

He made you work out
extra hard.

He ran you to the point
of exhaustion

- Yes.

- Did you ever
try to murder him?

- No!

[tense music]

But see, Josh isn't like me.
All right?

He's a good person.

Better than me.

* *

You see,
I could just turn it off.

But Josh, he's-
he's sensitive.

He felt stuff deep down,

and all of that hurt him.

It hurt him more than I-

than I ever even knew
until now.

- Because he didn't tell you
about his feelings.

Did he, Eric?

- No.

- In fact, despite
what Josh told this jury

in his sworn testimony,
he never told you

that he thought your father was
gonna kill him, did he?

* *

- No. He never said that.

He, uh...

He never said that
he thought that

our father was gonna kill him.

* *

- Nothing further.

* *

- Members of the jury,
have you agreed upon a verdict?

- We have.

We find the defendant,
Josh Hunter,

guilty of murder
in the second degree.

[crowd murmuring]

- Thank you for your service.

We are adjourned.

[gavel bangs]

[dramatic music]

* *

[siren wailing]

[horns honking]

- Eric.

- Look, man, you got
what you wanted, all right?

Now, please, leave me alone.

- Whatever you are thinking
or feeling right now,

your father did not
deserve to die.

Don't blame yourself
for what your brother did.

- Yeah, well,
it's not that easy.

- I get it.

I do.

I had a brother.

He's gone now.
He overdosed.

And I always asked myself
if there's more

that I could have done
to prevent that.

But the truth is,

he was a grown man,

and he made
his own tragic choices.

- You really believe that?

The strong protect the weak.

That's how the world works.

Well, that's how it's
supposed to work anyway.

I failed Josh, man.

It's as simple as that.

And unlike you,

I will never be able
to forgive myself for that.

.

[dramatic music]

* *

[wolf howls]

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