All language subtitles for Episode 03 One Punch Assault Or Self-Defense

I tried to tell him
to calm down,

that's when he
showed me his fists.

I got scared
and I punched him.

Just one punch.

He hit the ground.

I was in a position
to do what I had to do.

I wanted to help
that night,

but I didn't know helping
was gonna cause this.

Now, I'm thinking
about prison
every single day.

- I represent
- Brandon joyner.

He's 22 years old.

Brandon is currently
charged with

assault and battery
of a high and
aggravated nature,

which is a very
serious offence.

It happened about
two years ago.

Brandon witnessed
a Mr. David Turner
beating up

his son-in-law,
Christopher caines.

He knew that
Mr. Caines was
previously disabled,

and at that point,
he feels that
he has to intervene.

They all lived in a very
close neighborhood.

They were only
a few houses away
from each other,

and yes,
the neighborhood
knew that Mr. Turner

was a rather
belligerent person.

Mr. Turner was
cursing at Brandon.

It's apparent that
he's been drinking,

he was highly intoxicated.

He's right in
Brandon's face,

and Brandon at that point,

feels that he's
about to be next.

And so, he punches
Mr. Turner one time.

As a result, Mr. Turner
then falls to the ground,

hits the back of his head,

and had some serious
brain injuries.

Brandon had just watched him
beat Mr. Caines to the ground,

who's had a stroke,
is very disabled.

And at that point,
he put himself
in harm's way.

I would've done
the exact same thing.

But the state believed
that Brandon
committed an assault

without justification,

and it's our position
that he was acting
in self-defense

and defending somebody
who was disabled.

And he's facing 20 years
just for one punch.

I fully believe he was
absolutely in the right
to throw that one punch.

I consider myself
a typical American kid.

I go out and have
fun with my friends,

I go to the movies,
sometimes I go bowling.

I have a job,
but I'm in college,
so a typical American kid.

The label of being accused
is a judgement.

But in my heart,
I feel like
I'm not guilty,

'cause I had to do
what I had to do

to protect myself
and someone else.

Today
Brandon and his father
are gonna come in.

We're gonna talk
about what he's been
charged with.

We're gonna
go over the facts

and discuss his defenses.

Hey, Brandon.
-How you doing?

Good to see you,
Brandon. Hey, Lewis.

Brandon, tell me
about what happened
the night of the incident?

It was my birthday.

My friend, cam,
he came and got me,

and we was all outside
just talking.

And I seen Mr. Turner

push New York
through the screen door,

and New York
ended up falling on
his head on the steps.

And "New York,"
his name is actually
Christopher caines,

is that right?
Yes.

I went over
to help him up,

and you know, Mr. Turner
was just jumping
in front of my face,

you know, screaming,
you know.

I got scared and
I just threw a punch.

And you felt you were
about to be attacked?
Yes.

The punch was just to,
like, back him off, honestly.

Well, Brandon,

I believe that you
did the right thing

morally,
as well as legally.

That you were definitely
acting in self-defense.
Okay.

And in south Carolina,
with self-defense
and defense of others,

and it applies equally
whether it's you,

or whether you're
stepping in to stop
somebody else.

I can't promise you
anything though.

You do face
a serious penalty
of up to 20 years,

and we're gonna do
everything we can

to show a jury
that you did

what they'd expect
their kids to do

if they were
in your position.

Thank you, Steve.

I've got
serious concerns
about Brandon.

He's facing
a prison sentence.

It's really gonna weigh
very heavily on him

going through this process.

All right, y'all,
come on, let's say grace.

Father god,
thank you for having
our family at the table,

while we eat this food
that my dad made.

We've got another grace.

God, thank you in
continuing to watch over
Brandon in his case,

and make sure everything
comes out all right.

Lord, thank you
for this wonderful
family that I have.

Amen.
-Amen.

Baby girl,
you just sat there
laughing.

Brandon,
he's a goofy kid.

I'll yell at him,

but then I'll smile
in the same breath.

Brandon has never
been in trouble before.

He was trying to be
a good samaritan

and it backfired
in his face.

I'll try to hide
my tears and tell him,

"it's gonna
be all right."

But I don't know
what's gonna happen.

And not knowing is...
Is torture.

All right, Carlisle,
thanks for

meeting with me today
about this case.

I represent
Brandon joyner,

he's charged
with assault and battery

of a high and
aggravated nature.

Essentially, what
he's being accused of,

is punching Mr. Turner.

Brandon watched Mr. Turner
beat his son-in-law,

Christopher caines,
who is disabled.

What kind of disability
did caine have?

He was a stroke victim.

So, he couldn't
defend himself?

No, he certainly
couldn't defend himself.

Brandon was actually
recording this,

so we've got
some short footage.

And you can hear Mr. Turner
being very belligerent.

No!

At that point,
Brandon just turns it off
and goes to help.

I really applaud him
for putting it down
and doing something.

Most of the time,
people videotape and not help.

While he's helping
Mr. Caines to the car,

Mr. Turner's right
there in their face,

cussing at him.

And at that point,

Brandon just punches
Mr. Turner one time.

This is the body
camera footage

from the first officer
on the scene.

Why'd you hit him?

The ambulance is coming!

And that's
Turner on the ground?

Yeah, that's Turner
on the ground.

Who's that?
Turner's wife?

And Mr. Caines is in the...

He's in the front seat
of that vehicle.

I saw you hit him!

So, it was Brandon...

Right.
...Helping caines
get into that car.

Say what?

You heard he said,
"he can't talk,
he had a stroke."

Just shortly
after this assault,

Mr. Caines actually
passed away.

Kind of shocking to me
that there was no investigation
about that,

whether or not
Mr. Turner's assault
precipitated Mr. Caines' death.

Where's Brandon
at this point,
do you have any idea?

He's back at his house.

He only lives
a couple of houses
up the street.

Okay.

He gives them names of
independent witnesses

on the night
of the incident.

And they don't
interview any of them.

We'll definitely
need to talk to them.
Yeah.

To be accused
of a serious crime,

people think that
you're a criminal.

Even though
you didn't do it,
it's just weird.

You know, people
go off appearances,

you're tall,
and you're big

and you're black,
and you look rough.

It's just like,
"you did it!"

Today is
a crucial day.

We're gonna
go to the scene

and have him
sort of reenact

everything that he did,
and where he was.

Because the prosecution
will be looking for

whether Brandon's
covering something up,

or he's hiding
from something.

That's why we have to
get it absolutely correct.

Hey, Brandon.

Take me to where
you were standing,

when you witnessed
the altercation?

Where are
we going to?

Right there.
That's the house?
Yeah.

And we was right here.

Okay, you were
right over there.
Yeah.

So,

we was...

I was standing
over here.

So, when they
got into arguing,

that's when
I pulled my phone out,
and I was recording it.

When he came
out the house,
he pushed him.

You know how you fall?

It was like...
It looked ugly,

it looked like one
of them jackass falls.

It looked bad.

'Cause he hit
one of them steps.

So, the feeling
was just like, "damn."

Let's look
at that video
while we're here

and check the angle.

No!

I went over there,
see if New York was okay.

He was right here.

Right here?

Like right here.

So, I was like...
I was like, "New York?"

I grabbed his hand.

I'm like, "New York,
this is Brandon,
do you know who I am?"

Mr. Turner, he's...
He's like this right here.

"Yeah, mother!"

You know,
he, he's going in.

I go down
and I let New York
grab the rail.

I get him in the car.

You know, Mr. Turner
came through
with some more jazz.

I was like,
"chill! Chill!"

And then that's
when he went
like this right here.

So, when he did that,

I swung.
Yeah.

I swung.
I ain't gonna flex,

when he did that,
I swung.

And his head hit
the side of the car.

That's when
I ran to the house
and told my daddy.

I've always
believed Brandon.

Now that we're
out here on scene,

it just confirms
how truthful he is,

and he wants to give
a complete picture.

I thought he was
gonna hit me.

Brandon and I
talked about the punch.

I mean, he certainly
says he didn't intend
to hit him that hard,

it wasn't like
he put a knock-out
punch on him.

Brandon's a big guy.
It probably doesn't
take a whole lot.

The question is,
whether or not

his punch was reasonable
in light of self-defense.

What you see now
is for his worship

in the name of the lord.

Amen.
Y'all gonna pray with me now.

I've been going
back to church more

since the incident
happened.

Church has been
important to me

with helping me, like,
get through the week,
and just staying solid.

Everybody in here
has got something

that's coming apart
in their lives.

Because of
everything that's
been going on,

I've prayed about it.

And when I pray,
I pray for Mr. Turner
and his family.

I just want him to
continue getting better.

It was nothing malicious.

I don't wanna
go to prison,

I just pray that
my attorney can get me
out of this situation.

We're gonna
try to go talk to
the turners.

The turners' version
of the events

is what the police
chose to believe.

If we don't talk
to the victim in this case,
we haven't done our job,

the investigation
is incomplete.

That's his daughter,
sade, on the porch.

Really bitter.

Yeah,
they were
very bitter.

They gave a pretty
grim picture

that he still can't talk,

can't walk,

needs help being fed.

Patricia is
David Turner's wife.

She was very
confrontational.

They give a completely
conflicting testimony,

from everything
anyone else has told US.

They're maintaining
that Brandon hit him
with a brick.

That Brandon hit him
with a brick!

The brick is huge

because the state's
only got two witnesses.

They've got sade Turner
and Patricia Turner
and that's it.

And they didn't
talk to any kids,

they didn't talk
to anybody else.

It's gonna be very
important for me

to contact
all the witnesses

that could tell me
about what happened.

This is Carlisle mcnair.
I work for Steve hisker

who is Brandon
joyner's attorney.

I'm in spartanburg now,

any chance I could
come and meet you
somewhere now?

Have you ever
seen David Turner

drunk and belligerent
like that before?

Yes, a lot of times.

He always got into it
with people on the street
when he'd get drunk.

And he threatened
to shoot one
of my homeboys

with his Smith & Wesson.

Turn left
onto south center street.

You heard David
yelling and arguing.

Do you know
what they were
arguing about?

From what we had seen,
they were drunk,

they were having
a family event,

and he... they are known
to pretty much

get into altercations
with the son-in-law a lot.

And the son-in-law,
what's his name?

I don't...
We call him New York.

That's what
we know him as.
Okay.

Why do you think
Brandon went...

Why didn't you
go over and help?

I mean, Brandon
was pretty much

the strongest
out of all of US,

so that's why he
pretty much offered
to go and help.

Did you see
David push New York
off the front porch?

Yes, sir.

Did Brandon hit him
with a brick
or anything like that?

No, sir.

Why do you think
Brandon went over
to help?

He's a nice person
like that.

Brandon has
always been brought up
to help people.

I have seizure disorders.

So, sometime
I have to stop
for a few minutes.

My voice changes.

It's like something
takes over your body
when you have one.

But Brandon is
very, very helpful,

and that's what's
landed him
in this situation.

He saw someone
that needed help.

So, he went and did
what he was
brought up to do.

Go help the person.

It'll be hard
not to have Brandon here.

I...

I don't even know
if I can even handle it.

You know, not having
my son around.

But your child
to do something right

and serve
consequences for
doing something right,

is hard to believe.

I am typing up notes
from all the witnesses that
I spoke to.

We've talked to more people
than law enforcement
has talked to.

Everyone that
I've spoken to,

is very consistent
with what they saw.

Turner came up to Brandon
in an aggressive manner,

and Brandon
protected himself.

It's just a puzzle that
should've been put together
by law enforcement,

to be perfectly
honest with you,
and they didn't.

I was a cop
for a lot of years,
and I just, you know...

It's just that they got
what they needed,

and didn't feel
they had to go
any farther.

Everything fits from
what these people tell US,

and shows that
what Brandon did was
in self-defense of himself,

or self-defense of others.

The only person
that has says
anything different

is Patricia Turner
by saying that, whoever,

that boy she says,
hit her husband
with a brick.

No one else says
anything about a brick.

But you never know
what a jury's gonna do,
and Steve's got...

A tough road
ahead of him

to save this kid from
going to penitentiary
for the rest of his life,

basically, well, 20 years.

Before the trial starts,
we get to ask for
an immunity hearing.

If we can convince the judge
that Brandon was acting
in self-defense,

he dismisses
the case on the spot,

and says that Brandon's
immune and he cannot
be prosecuted for it.

Today
is the day where
it all really starts.

What happens in
the next few days
could change my life.

It could lift my burden,

or, you know, it could
go the other way,

and I could have
to do some prison time.

But it's about time that
we got this finished with.

All right, Brandon.
The prosecution's
made an offer.

They're offering
you a plea

to assault and battery
in the second-degree,

which is classified
as a misdemeanor.

If you have no convictions
five years after it,

you'll be able
to get expunged
off of your record

like it did not happen.

If you choose
to accept this plea,

you can go home
today a free man.

Wow!

Here's the thing.
In order for
you to do it,

you'd have to
plead guilty to
assaulting somebody.

You'd have to admit
to committing a crime.

And everything
we talked about before said
you didn't commit a crime.

You didn't do anything wrong,
you were doing a good thing.

Doing this,

it feel like I could
still grow up and
move on with my life.

Brandon.

I know you're worried
about what might happen
with the jail time.

But I never want you
to admit to something
that you did not do.

Now,
let's take a minute.

I'm not happy
about the offer,

and I don't think
he should take it.

I think it would
make me sick for
Brandon to plead guilty.

Of course, I just
can't tell him that,

I can't tell him
what to do.

With the plea,
you know what
is going to happen.

I take this deal
I'm walking free,

I can sit on my front porch,
I can go play basketball.

I can go home.

I don't want him

to admit to something
that he didn't do.

That's not the way
we raised Brandon to be.

Brandon's given it some
thoughtful consideration.

He really wanted
to go through with
the immunity hearing first.

So, we've approached
the prosecutor's office,

and told them that
we wanna have
the immunity hearing

and see if they'll consider

letting him weigh
the offer again after.

If we win the immunity
hearing, great.

The case is over with,
it's done.

But if we lose that
immunity hearing,

there's a potential
that the state could
withdraw the offer.

All rise.

Thank you,
be seated.

Your honor,
Brandon was trying
to do something good.

He was trying
to be a hero,

he was trying to help
somebody who was hurt.

And Mr. Turner
attempted
to assault him.

Subsection c says
that a person who's
acting in self-defense

may meet force
with force.

Your honor,
I would submit that
that lays the case

for you to find that
Brandon is immune
from prosecution.

Thank you.

The state
calls Patricia Turner.

I saw Brandon

running down off the hill
with a brick in his hand
and hit my husband.

He hit him
with a brick,

and he knows
he hit him
with that brick.

I have no life.

You took everything
from me.

I can't go nowhere.

He can't talk,
he can't walk,

he can't do nothing
for himself!

You took everything from me.
I have no life.

Mr. Turner's wife,
she just said her piece,

and I can imagine
it must be hard for her.

If we find out
in the immunity
hearing that,

you know, our standards
didn't meet it

and we have
to go to trial,

then that's when
I'm taking the deal

because it's just like

that deal was better
than trial to me.

So, I just hope
and pray for the best

that you know, they dismiss
the case tomorrow.

I would love to see
the immunity hearing
get wrapped up today

and end the whole case.

If the judge finds
in our favor,
this will be the end of it.

It just depends on how
the judge is feeling,

and how his belief
is about the testimony.

It's like
it's all up in the air.

We don't know
what's gonna happen.

Hopefully, hopefully,
hopefully, the judge
is gonna throw this out.

I just hope so.

Thank you.
Be seated.

Clearly,
the testimony

that has been
presented yesterday
is conflicting.

There's evidence from
which the jury could find

that he acted reasonably
in self-defense.

There's also
evidence that

the jury could find
that he did not act
in self-defense

and he was the aggressor,

that he struck the man
for no good reason.

And therefore,
the defendant's motion
to dismiss the case

based upon immunity
is therefore denied.

This is awful.

I should've took the deal.

Mom, we agreed that
after the immunity hearing,

if it didn't work,
I'd take the deal.

But I can't take it now.
It's just like...

Brandon, I can't begin
to understand how you feel.

I'm sorry for
everything, mom.

I'm sorry.
No, listen to me.

What if I never
ever see you again?

You'll see me.
Come here.

Mom, I wanna go home.

We're doing it.

I wanna go home, mom.

Mom, I wanna go home.

Brandon.

It's difficult
to win those hearings.

But we lost,
and the plea offer
was revoked.

So, now the jury trial
happens immediately.

The jury's gonna
be charged with
finding the truth

out of two completely
different stories.

One of them's true,
and one of them's false.

My god!

Juries can be
unpredictable,

and Brandon's future
is in their hands,

and he faces a very
severe penalty
if we lose.

This is what it's like
to be accused
of a serious crime,

it's torture for Brandon,
it really is.

I should've,
I should've just
took the deal.

I should've just
took the deal.

Brandon, the reason why
you didn't take the deal

is because that was a lie.

You don't admit
to something
that you didn't do.

I would rather be
pleading guilty

and go home tonight,
working at Jimmy jazz,
than going to trial.

It's prison. Why?

Brandon faces
up to 20 years.

It's not a game,

it's a very serious
situation that
he finds himself in.

The state
calls sade Turner.

Is this your parents' house?

Yes.

You said that you
and your husband
were leaving.

What happened then?

That's when the guy
came and hit him,

and then my dad fell.

He wasn't doing nothing.

But when he hit my dad,

it was lights out,
that was it!

You said you saw
someone coming down
from this position.

Was that your testimony,
you saw that hit?

That's the way
I'm assuming

that the young man
came down
and hit my father.

So,
you told his honor

that you saw somebody

coming overhead
like this and
hitting your father,

that was just
your "assuming"?

I don't know if my mind
won't allow me
to see that trauma.

Well, were you lying
to his honor
when you said

you did see
the slam dunk?

Were you lying
to this judge?
No.

No further questions.

Do you solemnly
swear that the testimony
you're about to give,

will be the truth,
the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth,

so help you god?
Yes, ma'am.

Okay.

So, Ms. Patricia Turner,
David Turner's wife,

she says someone punched
her husband one time, correct?

According to
Ms. Patricia Turner, yes.

And she never
once mentioned any time
a brick to you,

did she?
No, sir.

He had no lacerations
or contusions,
which would be bruising,

that would indicate
facial trauma.

He had no broken
bones of his face.

It would be
highly unlikely

that he would
have a significant
facial injury,

and we would
not have found it
and documented it.

Does the jury
believe Brandon,

or do they believe
the turners?

I want the jury
to hear the truth.

The only way to do that
is to let them hear
Brandon's side of the story.

It's extremely
dangerous for Brandon

because his testimony
could actually convict him

of something
he did not do.

But I'm going to
tell him that the jury

would be very helped
by hearing from him.

It really
comes down to
the basic facts.

You're gonna
have to stand up
and tell that judge,

I understand my rights,
and I wanna testify.

Do you wanna testify
and present a case?

I'm scared, dude.
-When he... I know,

but it's the only thing
you can do, Brandon,

is go up there
and tell the truth.
Yeah.

You just
need to get up there
and be honest,

and tell the truth
about what happened,

and don't worry
about anything else.

Okay.

Yeah, I'll do it,
I'm ready.

Taking the stand

is a huge thing
to ask anyone to do.

Defendants rarely testify
in criminal trials.

There is a fear that the system
won't see past the fact that
he's young and he's black

and he got into an altercation
with an older gentlemen,

and they find him
guilty wrongfully.

Put your left hand
on the Bible
and raise your right.

Do you solemnly swear
that the testimony
you're about to give,

will be the truth,
the whole truth

and nothing
but the truth,
so help you god?

Yes.
-Okay.

If I play
this video, will you be
able to tell the jury

what's going on
in that video?

Yes.

I will call the police.

Who was
the individual that
Mr. Turner was beating up?

New York.

How did that
make you feel?

I felt bad for him.
Honestly.

I... I just knew
that he could
barely walk,

and why do this to him?

Does anyone
in your family
have a disability?

My mom does.

She has seizures a lot,
she has to take medicine for it.

So, you're sensitive
to people
with disabilities?

Yes.

What did you do?

I went over
there to help him.

What did you
see Mr. Turner doing?

He got in a low
fighting stance

and he threw his
guard up like this.

When he dropped
into that fighting stance

and showed you his fists,
what did you do?

I looked and I just...
You know.

I was scared,
it happened quickly.

It was one punch.

What did you think
would happen if you
turned your back on him?

He probably
would've hit me.

I've no further questions.

How big were you
on march 24th in 2017?

About 6'2".

You admit
he is a significantly
smaller individual

than you, right?
Yes.

That you would
have a reach
advantage on him,

correct?
Yes.

Can you stand up?
Can you stand next to...

Mr. Joyner, is that
a similar size
to what Mr. Turner is?

I would say
they're about
the same height.

He had that
skinny, strong
kind of build though.

You didn't try any more
verbal thing like,

"back the hell off, old man,"
you just popped him?

Yes, sir.

I don't have any
further questions.

I tried
to be as clear
and as coherent

as I could possibly be,

because I'm not
good at that,

you know, I can't
explain myself very well.

But I just really
tried my best.

And I just hope
that the jury
understands that...

I didn't tell you a lie,
I told you the truth.

Today is the verdict.

There's nothing more
that I can do.

It's all in the hands
of those 12 jurors.

Brandon, don't worry
about those dishes
in the sink,

you can leave that
for tonight when
you come home,

after court.

The system
is unpredictable,

and I hate to make
predictions about
what's going to happen.

But, hopefully we get
the verdict we want,

and Brandon's
able to go home

and doesn't face
a lengthy term in prison.

Good morning.

The defense argued
when Brandon

decided to punch Mr. Turner,
it was self-defense.

I mean, the discrepancy
between these
two individuals

is incredible.

You have to think about
a 20-year-old guy

that is 10 inches taller,
120 pounds larger,
and 44 years younger

punching a 64-year-old man.

It's clearly not
a fair fight.

It was just an assault.

"The discrepancy
is incredible

"between these
two individuals."

Well, they're
talking about size.

Well, let's talk to you
about the discrepancy
in behavior.

Let's talk to you
about the discrepancy
in demeanor.

You all heard
the viciousness
in that man's voice.

"I'm gonna
this mother up!"

Does he sound like
a meek little old man?

Brandon's meek.

Your saw him
on the stand.

He's scared!

He's scared
the whole time.

He's scared
of Mr. Turner!

He's a meek young man,
he's a gentle giant.

We ask you to find that
what he did that night
was unlawful.

That he was not
acting as a hero.

And that it resulted
in a great violent injury.

And please convict Mr. Joyner
of assault and battery of
a high and aggravated nature.

It's done. Hopefully,
they see it our way.

I don't think I could
say anything
other than I said,

and I did the best
I could do.

If they get a verdict,
just in case it goes bad,

we wanna be
prepared to at least
minimize the damage,

to see if we can
keep you from going to
prison for a long time.

Come on.
Okay. Okay.

You've gotta
be strong.

Come on, Brandon.

All rise
within the court,
please.

Madam foreman, have you
and your fellow jurors

reached a unanimous decision?

Yes, judge.

We, the jury,
find the defendant

Brandon Lewis joyner

not guilty.

I've got chores
for you.

It's a sad situation
for the turners,

but I'm happy for Brandon.

I love y'all.

I love you, too.
I love you, too, man.

I can't stop shaking.

Can I give you a hug?

Thank you so much.

That's the scariest thing
you're ever gonna encounter
in your life,

I promise you.

A squeezing hug.

I appreciate you, Steve.
Thank you.

We can't celebrate
with all that shaking
and stuff going on.

I know,
I'm trying to stop.

He deserved it.
He deserved to go home.

He's a good person,
he's a hero in my mind.

Very pleased.

I told him that
he was coming home today...

...because he had
to wash the dishes.

I will mop every
floor in there

and wash every dish.

I will clean out the cabinet
and wash every dish.

No. No. No.

Brandon, he is not
telling the truth.

I know it. I know it.