Original subtitles

.

- 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.

[suspenseful music]

- We find the defendant,

Carter Mills,

not guilty of murder in the second degree.

* *

[siren wailing]

- He killed my sister, Nolan.

[banging on door]

- Please tell me you had nothing to do with this.

* *

- Nolan.

What the hell's going on?

- Carter Mills is dead.

Someone gunned him down about two hours ago.

- Any suspects?

- Not at the moment.

- Have you connected with Sam about this?

- Yes.

She is having a hard time.

She didn't say too much.

- What do you mean?

- She didn't want to engage. Uh...

she's obviously very upset with the verdict,

and with me.

- I get it.

That's a hell of a thing, to watch the man

who killed your sister and another young woman

walk out of court a free man.

- It sure is. Yeah.

- There's no reason to think Sam had anything

to do with this, right?

- [sighs]

- I'm not sure.

[dramatic music]

* *

- [panting]

[shouts]

[breathing heavily]

- Hey.

How are you doing?

- Thank you.

- I'm sorry if I--

Sam, come on, for God's sake.

I--I just wanna say I was worried.

- Worried that I shot him?

- It was an emotional case.

- Yes, it was.

But it all turned out for the best, I suppose.

We had our chance, Nolan.

It just didn't work out.

- I--I did what was required by the law.

- That's one way to look at it.

- And the other?

- You did what you wanted to do, Nolan.

You did what made you feel good and noble.

And it's obviously important to you.

- No, what is important is following the law.

In case you forgot, that's our job.

- I know it's our job to hunt down killers,

but I kind of feel like throwing this one a parade.

- At least send him some sort of fruit basket.

So a street camera picked up Carter Mills

being killed at 9:38 p.m.

And check this out.

This dude was sweeping up right across from the crime scene

at the time of the murder.

- Play that back real quick.

Sweeping up out front, minding his own business,

and he sees or hears the gunshot and runs back inside.

Let's track this guy down.

- I just spoke to Shaw.

Something opened up over at the 88, and he's gonna take it.

- I knew he wanted to get back to Brooklyn,

so good for him.

I'm gonna miss that guy, though.

- Yeah, that's me.

Sweeping the sidewalk against the law or something?

- No.

Murder is.

- I got nothing to do with that.

I was just sweeping the sidewalk.

- But you saw the shooting?

- Okay, fine.

I--I heard the gunshots, looked over,

and I saw some guy on the ground bleeding.

- What about the shooter? You see him too?

- No, but it wasn't a him.

It was a her.

- How do you know?

- She yelled something right before the gunshots.

- You remember her exact words?

- Yep.

"You deserve this."

- I appreciate you keeping us in the loop.

But what's all this concern based on,

just because the shooter appears to be female?

- She also appears to be thin and medium height.

- Oh, well, that narrows it down

to, what, to 3 million people?

- Well, we all know how upset Sam was.

- We all were upset.

That doesn't mean anything.

- He killed her sister, Nolan,

and she owns a .38-caliber handgun,

same weapon used to kill Carter Mills.

So if you know anything...

[suspenseful music]

* *

- When I found out that Carter had been shot,

my first instinct was to check in on Sam.

So I went to her apartment, and--

- She was there? - Yes.

- What did she say?

- She was angry with--with me, mostly,

because we had a disagreement about the case.

And, um, yeah, anyway, she was angry.

- Have you checked the surveillance footage?

Was Sam even out and about at the time of the shooting?

- We have video of her arriving at her apartment building

28 minutes after the 911 call.

So I have to talk to her.

- I understand.

* *

- Do you own a gun, a .38 revolver?

- I do.

Bought one three years ago.

Someone was stalking me. I didn't feel safe.

- Are you still in possession--

- Let's just cut to the chase, okay?

- We have reason to believe a woman

of your height and body type shot and killed Carter Mills.

- You're saying I'm a suspect.

- So I'm asking your permission to check your gun

to prove that it wasn't involved in the shooting

so that we can clear you.

- If you wanna test my gun, get a warrant.

* *

.

- Wow.

You're really doing this, huh?

- I asked your permission, but...

- You guys wanna start in the back?

I'll take the bedroom.

- Hey, check it out, dark hoodie.

- Okay, bag it. Get it over to the lab.

- I need you to open this safe.

It's all spelled out in the warrant, Sam.

You know how this works.

[safe beeps]

No gun.

- Come on, Sam. Where is the gun?

- No more questions.

When you're done searching my apartment, please leave.

- Brady said your gun was missing?

Is there a reason for that?

- Nolan, I'm not doing this.

- Why not?

- I'm not gonna do or say anything

that may incriminate me.

- If you are involved--

- I'm not.

Nolan, I swear I didn't shoot him.

- So then why not just hand over the damn gun?

- Because I don't have it.

- What do you mean you don't have it?

- I threw it in the river. I don't have it.

[uneasy music]

* *

I was just so angry.

I didn't know how to process what had happened.

The only thing that made sense to me in that moment

was to confront the bastard.

I wanted to see him.

I wanted to scare him.

So I grabbed my gun, and I started

walking towards his apartment, which is insane.

It's crazy. I know that.

But after a few blocks, I realized it was

a bad idea, a terrible idea.

So I went on a walk instead.

I ended up on the promenade,

and I threw my damn gun in the East River.

- Why?

- Because I was afraid of what I might do with it.

* *

[elevator bell dings]

- So our .38 is at the bottom of the East River,

and you think this somehow suggests that she's innocent?

- I do.

- As a person, I hope you're right.

As a cop, I'm-- I'm not buying it.

I mean, from that one conversation with you,

she admitted to practically everything

but the actual shooting.

- I understand.

- I mean, she admitted to leaving her apartment

with the intent of confronting the victim.

She admitted to carrying a .38 caliber

and throwing that weapon into the river.

- I know it looks suspicious, I do,

but I've known Sam for--for six years,

and she has never lied to me, not once.

- That's very sweet,

but it doesn't mean anything.

[knock at door]

- Hey. I just got off the phone with a potential witness.

- Nolan, would you mind?

- Damn, it's like that, huh?

- What's up?

- The guy I just spoke with says that he literally

bumped into a young woman wearing a dark hoodie

just after the shooting, about a block from the scene.

- Did he get a look at her?

- Said she was about 30 to 35, brunette, and pretty.

- [sighs] Okay.

Uh, bring him in and see if he can

pick Maroun out of a photo lineup.

- Do you really think it's possible

that Sam shot this guy?

- He raped and killed her sister.

- Yeah, I know, but--

- If someone did that to my sister

and then walked out of court a free man, I don't know.

- It's hard to tell, but, ah,

I'm not sure I see the woman from the other night.

- Well, you said she was about 30, 35 and pretty, right?

- Yeah.

- None of those faces ring a bell?

- I mean, they're all attractive,

but I don't recognize any of them.

- Well, do you remember anything else about her,

besides being young and pretty?

- I mean, she was tall, for a woman anyway.

- Is that a guess, or...? - No, she bumped into me.

It was a minute or so after I heard the gunshots.

- What do you mean?

- She ran into me, almost knocked me over,

and we were standing face-to-face.

I was looking right at her, you know,

and we were pretty much the same height.

I don't see her in these photos.

- And how tall are you?

- 5'9".

- Okay. Thank you for your time.

- I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

- No, it's great. Thank you.

- Maroun is 5'3".

If this woman is 5'9"...

- Then Maroun is not our gal.

- Which is good news.

I like Sam.

- So do I.

[footsteps approaching]

- I was just talking to Brady.

They have found new evidence that seems to exclude you

as a suspect for now.

They're still waiting to hear back

from the lab about the hoodie they found in your apartment.

- Oh, well, they're wasting their time.

- I know.

- Nolan,

if I actually had the ability to take someone's life,

I'd be in handcuffs right now

because I really, really wanted to kill that son of a bitch.

[soft tense music]

But I couldn't.

* *

- That's good to know,

given that we spend so much time together.

- [scoffs]

* *

.

- Well, there's definitely no shortage of people

who hated this guy, that's for sure.

- And a few who seem to be in love with him.

"Carter, you're far too handsome to be evil.

"If I'm being honest, you're so hot,

I don't even care if you did it."

- Who could possibly love such a disgusting man?

- I guess good looks and a toothy smile will get you far.

- I spoke to a doorman at Carter's building who claims

to have known him pretty well.

Also said what a great guy he was.

Said the only woman he saw him with in the last few months

was his girlfriend. - What do we know about her?

- Not much, except that she's a lawyer,

and that she stuck with him throughout the trial,

even gave a few emotional interviews about what

a wonderful man he was.

- So she's an idiot.

- You said it.

- Well, talk to her anyway.

Maybe she can tell us something.

- There was definitely a lot of online hate.

But we weren't really out in public too often.

We'd go to court, back to his apartment,

order in.

We just wanted to get through this horrible ordeal,

and we did.

But...

Everyone forgets that he was acquitted.

- So just to be clear, you aren't aware

of any recent arguments or confrontations?

- No, the only person he argued with lately was his sister.

- You know what they fought about?

- Carter wanted her to come to court, show some support.

But she wasn't into it.

Said she didn't believe he was innocent,

that she hoped the jury was going to convict him.

It was awful

and hypocritical.

- Why is that?

- Carter was really good to her.

Paid her rent, invested in her art gallery,

and she's the sole beneficiary of his will.

- I wanted to support him, but...

in my bones, I knew he was guilty, and I--

I didn't wanna help him get away with it.

- So after he was acquitted, how did that make you feel?

- I was upset

but not surprised.

- What do you mean by that?

- Carter always gets away with everything.

Since he was five years old,

no one ever held him accountable,

truly accountable.

- Is that what you did?

Hold him accountable for what he did to that model?

- No, I--

no, I didn't kill him.

I was in Brooklyn with my girlfriend that night.

This is us at dinner.

- Do you know anyone else who felt the same as you,

might have wanted to see Carter punished?

- No, no one specific anyway, but I'm sure the list is long.

The pattern was always the same.

People would meet him,

fall in love with him,

and then eventually end up hating him.

- Except his girlfriend, right?

Poor thing stuck with him to the bitter end.

- I'm not so sure about that.

- Thanks for coming by.

Uh, we're just trying to understand

why you failed to mention that you broke up with Carter

three days prior to the verdict.

- Excuse me? - His sister told us.

- Oh.

- You broke up with him three days before the trial ended.

- That's not true.

- So, what? She's making it up?

- I don't know.

She and Carter don't really talk too much.

- Well, that might be true,

but he reached out to her after the breakup,

and he told her he was very upset.

- I find that hard to believe.

- Well, it happened.

- What's your point?

- My point is, did you break up with Carter, yes or no?

- What difference does it make?

- Well, it means next to nothing if you didn't lie

about it and then double-down on it.

I mean, why would you lie about something so insignificant?

- I didn't lie.

I just--

I didn't mention it.

[suspenseful music]

- So you did break up with him?

- Yes. - How come?

- I was tired of all the negative attention

and publicity.

I just couldn't handle it anymore.

- But you believed in his innocence.

- I did.

- Until the bitter end? - Yes.

- And how did you feel when you found out he was acquitted?

- I was...

happy and relieved.

Everyone thought I was crazy, that I was blind.

So when the jury voted to acquit,

I felt vindicated.

- Okay.

This is a recent ATM withdrawal from a bank

in Pennsylvania three hours after the verdict for $600.

- So?

- It turns out that bank was located in the same mall

as a store called Ike's Gun Shop.

And it turns out Ike's Gun Shop has a lot of cameras.

* *

That's you buying a .38 revolver

the day your ex-boyfriend

was acquitted of murder.

* *

- I want a lawyer.

- I hope you get a good one.

I really do.

.

- Police just arrested Carter's ex-girlfriend,

Julia Keaton. - What?

She was his biggest supporter. - I know.

- Do we know what happened, what provoked the shooting?

- No, not yet.

- Hm.

- How are you feeling?

- About what?

- This case.

Do you wanna be involved?

- Yes.

- Are you sure? - I'm positive.

- All right, as long as you can separate your personal feelings

from the case.

- Oh, I think I can.

- Okay.

Sam,

you need to be honest

with me, with yourself.

Are you capable of thinking like a prosecutor on this case?

Because you said it already.

Part of you wishes that you had the guts

to kill this bastard yourself.

- I'm good, Nolan.

I can do it.

I need to do it.

- I hope the evidence is pretty damn compelling

because there's not a person in this city

shedding a tear over this guy's death.

- Nor should they, but here we are.

- We don't get to pick our victims or our defendants.

We're just here to present the evidence.

- So...

what do we know?

- We know she bought a gun, a .38 revolver,

in Pennsylvania six hours before the murder.

- That's a good start.

Police recover it?

- No, but there's more.

We also have two pieces of video footage.

The first is the actual murder.

The only helpful thing here is that you can see the shooter's

wearing a dark hoodie.

The second video shows Julia entering her apartment

12 minutes after the 911 call,

wearing the same hoodie as the shooter,

and it's definitely her.

- Okay, good.

So what about motive? - Unclear.

I mean, we know Julia and Carter were dating,

that Julia supported him.

- And that she broke up with him

three days prior to the conclusion of the trial.

- Okay, but you're comfortable

moving forward with what we have?

- I am.

- Charge murder 2.

- Three days after the defendant broke up

with Carter Mills and six hours after she purchased

the .38 revolver from Ike's Gun Shop,

she shot and killed him.

Why she committed this crime is unclear.

But as you will see, the evidence

will show that she did.

We will present video of the shooting in which you will see

a person with a thin build in a dark-colored hoodie

shooting Carter Mills.

We will also present a second piece of video

from outside the defendant's apartment building

on the night of the murder.

It will show the defendant, clear as day,

wearing the same hoodie as the person who shot Carter Mills.

And, finally, we will present two witnesses,

one who heard her yell,

"You deserve this,"

prior to opening fire, and another who will testify

that he not only saw the defendant

near the crime scene moments after the murder,

but that she literally ran into him

in her haste to escape.

Like I said,

we may not know what provoked the defendant

to kill Carter Mills,

but we know that she did.

- We agree with everything Mr. Price just said,

including the fact that Julia Keaton

shot and killed Carter Mills.

But there's a reason, a good reason.

Carter Mills was going to kill her that night in that moment.

So Julia did what she had to do

and killed him first.

Julia Keaton acted in self-defense.

She shot Carter Mills because it was necessary

to prevent her own death.

And that, ladies and gentlemen,

is not against the law.

[tense music]

- Credible or not, arguing self-defense is the right move.

The video evidence is too strong.

Question is, can they prove it?

- I'm not sure.

- What about the video of the shooting?

Does that sync up with the self-defense claim?

Does Carter appear to threaten her in any way?

- It's hard to say.

He takes a few steps towards her, and then she shoots him.

But there is no physical contact.

She is at least 15 feet away from him

when she starts shooting, but it--

it doesn't matter.

- What do you mean? - She's lying.

She didn't just happen to cross paths with Carter that night.

She was waiting for him, and she was carrying a gun,

a gun that she bought six hours prior to the shooting.

No, this was an execution.

- Can you prove it?

- [sighs]

Yeah, I think so.

The evidence is mostly circumstantial.

But when you add it all up, I think it's clear

this was not a random encounter.

Julia set out to kill Carter Mills that evening,

and she succeeded.

- The defense will obviously portray Carter

as a violent predator,

someone who had been charged with rape and murder,

someone capable of killing an ex-girlfriend

in the blink of an eye.

If they're successful, they'll win, regardless of the facts.

- The problem is, it's not easy to hide the truth

about who Carter was.

Him being on trial for murder,

that's public information.

- It doesn't mean it's admissible.

File a motion trying to limit the scope

and detail surrounding the prior murder trial.

- Already did.

- You want to preclude the defense

from discussing the defendant's prior murder trial?

- Evidence of a murder victim's prior bad acts

is not admissible as proof of the victim's propensity

to act in a certain manner, such as being

the initial aggressor in a confrontation.

- But there are exceptions in self-defense cases

if the defendant was aware of the prior bad acts.

And in this case, the defendant clearly was.

She sat through Carter Miller's murder trial.

She heard all of the horrific allegations.

She was even aware he was the prime suspect

in a second murder case.

- That may be true, but Your Honor,

the mere mention of this prior trial

is, on its face, prejudicial.

- Carter Mill's reputation and prior acts

are essential to establishing my client's state of mind

on the night of the shooting.

She had heard all of the disturbing evidence

that Mr. Price himself presented.

She didn't suddenly unhear it

just because Carter was acquitted.

- I agree with Ms. Paymor.

The defense can discuss the prior trial,

the allegations, his general reputation for violence.

- I'm sorry, general reputation for vi--

With all due respect, that is ridiculous.

- One, it's not.

Two, never preface a statement with "all due respect,"

then say something disrespectful.

You tried and lost that murder case, Mr. Price.

And the mere fact you brought that case

meant you believed Carter Mills was guilty of murder.

And now what?

You wanna pretend he wasn't?

That the prior trial didn't happen?

No, the defense has a right to let the jury know

who Carter Mills really was.

[tense music]

* *

- I don't really know why, but I believed him.

The idea of Carter raping someone or killing someone

didn't seem possible.

I'd never seen Carter act violently.

So...

I stayed with him.

- Did you and Carter remain romantically involved

for the duration of the trial?

- No, I broke it off toward the end.

- Can you explain why?

- I knew that even if he were acquitted,

the stigma would remain.

Plus, I thought that the jury was going to convict him,

that he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison.

And I couldn't handle that either.

So I broke it off.

- What happened when you told Carter you wanted to move on?

- He got angry,

started calling me all kinds of horrible names.

- Can you please be more specific?

- He called me a liar,

a bitch,

a whore.

- And then what?

* *

- Then he pushed me against the wall.

And he started choking me.

And then he threw me onto the floor, and...

He raped me.

- Objection, this is unfair surprise.

- Statement against self-interest.

- Overruled. - Your Honor--

- Sit down, Mr. Price.

Please continue.

- He threatened to kill me if I told the police.

- And how'd that make you feel?

- Awful.

I was terrified.

I was a threat to his freedom.

- Can you tell the jury what happened

on the night of the shooting?

- I took a walk to clear my head,

trying to figure out what to do,

whether to call the police

or move to a different city.

Then...

I saw him, and I--

I froze.

And we just sort of looked at each other.

Then he said,

"I told you they wouldn't convict me."

And he started laughing.

And he walked toward me

and said, "You're done."

- And how did you interpret that statement?

- I interpreted it to mean that he was going to kill me.

- In that moment, were you in fear for your life?

- Yes.

I was convinced he was going to kill me.

So...

I shot him.

He was evil.

I don't know why it took me so long to realize it,

but he was going to kill me,

I swear.

I know it!

[sobbing]

- I think that's enough for today.

We're adjourned until tomorrow, 9:00 a.m.

Ms. Keaton, you're excused.

* *

.

- Hey.

Paymor just sent over an amended witness list.

One of Julia's friends is gonna testify that

Julia called her the night of the alleged rape

and told her what happened.

- We should try to exclude her--

- No, it's admissible as a prompt outcry.

Goes to her subjective state of mind and whether or not

she was in reasonable fear for her life.

- So trying to shift the focus.

- Mm.

- They wanna barrage the jury with all

the horrific details of Julia's sexual assault allegation.

But they don't need to hear even more evidence

about what a monster he was, especially because it has

no bearing on what happened immediately

prior to the shooting.

Did Carter threaten to kill her in that moment?

If so, was his threat credible?

Did it justify lethal force?

- [exhales]

What are we really trying to accomplish here?

- Um...

we're trying to get justice for the victim.

- Who happens to be a really, really horrible man.

- We are past all that, Sam.

- Oh, trust me, Nolan, I am really trying my best

to think like a prosecutor,

to ignore my personal feelings, I swear.

But this isn't a murder case.

- She left her apartment with a gun in her purse,

a gun she had just bought with the intent

of killing Carter Mills.

That's practically the definition of murder.

- Yeah, but why? Why did she do it?

Because he had just raped her

and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

And the guy gets acquitted and is a free man--

free to rape, free to kill.

- So she assassinated him.

She yelled, "You deserve this,"

just before she opened fire.

- She was acting under the influence

of extreme emotional disturbance.

That's manslaughter, Nolan, all day long.

- Sam--Sam, we talked about this,

about staying focused on the law.

- I am making a legal argument.

You want the emotional one?

Julia should have never been in that position to begin with.

If we had won the damn case,

if we actually convicted Carter Mills,

this would have never happened.

[soft tense music]

We let a monster walk free.

You let a monster walk free.

If you ask me, we practically forced

Julia to shoot the bastard.

- That is not fair. You and I both--

- What's not fair

is watching the man who killed your little sister

and another young, innocent woman walk free

because the guy trying the case

didn't have the guts to do what was necessary

to get a conviction.

* *

That's what's not fair.

* *

- You wanna offer man 1?

- If we take Julia at her word on the rape allegation,

I think it is reasonable to conclude that

she was acting under the influence

of extreme emotional disturbance.

Not to mention, there's a really good chance

the jury's gonna buy her self-defense story,

and she walks.

- Are you doing this because you think

it's the right legal move?

Or to placate Sam,

to make amends for the Carter Mills trial?

- It's the right move, Nick.

- You didn't answer my question.

- It is the right legal move.

- If you say so.

- We appreciate the offer,

but let's be honest.

There isn't a juror alive that wants to punish

Julia for what she did.

- We're not here to debate whether Carter Mills

was a good man. We know he wasn't.

But murder is still murder.

Having said that, in light of the highly emotional

circumstances surrounding this event,

we are willing to accept a guilty plea to man 1.

- We'll discuss and get back to you.

- You have 24 hours. - Okay.

[phone buzzes]

I need to take this real quick.

I'll be right back.

[door shuts]

- I just wanna say, I feel terrible about everything.

He should have never walked out of that damn courtroom.

- I know what Carter did to your sister.

And I--

[somber music]

I'm so sorry.

I can't believe how stupid I was.

I feel like such a fool.

He thought he could do whatever he wanted.

He thought that he was above the law.

That's why I did what I did.

That's why I waited outside his damn condo so that I--

I-I didn't mean to say that.

- Shh, shh.

Stop talking.

* *

Hey.

Um...

just got a text from Paymor.

Julia wants to accept the plea.

But there is something you should know.

After the meeting this afternoon, Julia and I

talked for a minute.

I told her I felt awful about what had happened to her.

She got very emotional.

She said, uh...

she said that she felt like a fool

for believing in his innocence.

And, uh, then she said something

she didn't mean to say.

And she was just so emotional that, uh...

well, she accidentally confessed

to waiting outside Carter's building prior to killing him.

- Which means she lied on the stand.

- Yeah.

- And she and Carter didn't just, um,

didn't just happen to cross paths that night.

- Well, you were right.

This was premeditated.

This was an assassination.

On paper, anyway. - On paper?

- Based on the letter of the law.

- All right.

So how do you wanna proceed?

- Uh, are you asking what I would do

or what I think you wanna do?

- No, I'm asking for your opinion.

- Okay.

Um, well, we have two choices.

I mean, I can testify as a rebuttal witness

and tell the jury what Julia blurted out.

Or, uh, we can both pretend that

I didn't hear what Julia just said,

accept the damn plea, and move on.

- I didn't ask for choices, Sam.

I asked for an opinion, for your opinion.

- Yeah.

Well, my opinion is we accept the damn plea.

[pensive music]

Just because we can win the case

based on the letter of the law doesn't mean we need to.

* *

- I agree.

Hey, Sam.

- Yeah?

- Thanks for being so honest.

* *

.

[dramatic music]

* *

[wolf howls]