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.

Fourteen out of 20.

I suck at math.

You just need to practice more.

Fourteen out of 20. What's the percentage?

Seventy? That's passing, right?

Don't shoot for passing, Moses. Shoot for 100.

Now, come on. Look at question four again.

I know you know how to do that one.

B?

Right on the nose, my man.

Keep it up, and you'll be coming here to school with me next year.

But what would you do if you were in my shoes? Invest it?

Five years working on Wall Street and you don't know?

Look, the company I worked for nearly destroyed the world economy.

I'm probably the wrong guy to ask.

Hey.

What is that? A garbage fire?

Damn kids.

I got it.

24 Eddie to Central K. Be advised we have a 59

in a vacant lot at 115th near Madison.

I think we can put it out. Just show us 84 at this location.

What's that smell?

Damn.

Some kids ran off when we turned the corner.

Some kids?

We didn't realize what it was. We thought it was garbage burning.

Every available body in the 23 and the 25 is out canvassing right now.

Yeah, well, you might want to join them.

All right, well, get this into evidence. Thanks.

What have you got?

They found an empty can of paint thinner up the block.

Somebody was painting their flower box.

Cesar Ramirez, 16.

School ID from Sunrise Academy, it's a couple of blocks that way,

one of those new charter schools.

Trying to help kids in lousy neighborhoods.

Give them a better education to break the cycle of violence.

Looks like they've got a little ways to go.

Who would do this to my baby?

Who? Who?

We're very sorry, Mrs. Ramirez.

He was such a good boy.

You know, he didn't argue with anyone, not even his own father.

I made him come right home from school. No staying on the streets.

Never went nowhere we didn't know where he was going.

And he was at school last night?

Yes! He was helping other students.

He was at that school only a year, and already he was so good

he could be a tutor.

We found him on 115th near Madison.

That's not on a straight route home.

I called him last night to see where he was,

but his phone went to a message.

There was no phone when we found him.

Is that why they killed my boy?

For a phone?

We don't know, sir.

Can you think of anything else?

Was he having any problems at school?

No, no, no, not there.

That was the whole point.

That school...

We waited in line all night to sign him up.

When he got here, Cesar was reading below grade level.

By the end of his first year,

he scored in the top 10% on his English Regents Exam.

He was headed toward a four-year college.

That's pretty impressive.

A lot of these kids have the potential.

We take a holistic approach,

keep them busy after school, coordinate with social services.

Did Cesar need help along those lines? Social services?

No. His parents were doing their part.

They kept him out of trouble and were smart enough to get him in here.

Do your students have any issues with kids from the public schools?

We're officially a public school, too.

We just get to operate with our own rules and private support.

One of our donors has offered a reward,

$25,000 to find who did this.

We understand Cesar was tutoring someone last night.

We open our library to other children in the community

and encourage our students to help them.

Is one of those charts a tutoring log?

No, but I can pull one up.

Thanks.

Man... Cesar.

He was really nice to me.

Did you see anyone with him

after he finished tutoring you last night?

He just came outside with me, like always, while I waited for my mom.

That boy was waiting with Moses when I got there.

He seemed like a good one.

Moses was so cut up this morning

about what happened, I let him

stay home from school.

It's not fair.

Cesar never hurt anybody.

He just helped.

I'm going to the corner for a Dr Pepper. You want one, Mo?

Nah. I'm good.

I'll get you one anyway. Cheer you up.

It's hard growing up in a neighborhood like this

and getting along with everybody. I know.

Can you think of anyone who may have had a beef with Cesar?

One time, this kid stepped to Cesar while we were waiting for my mom.

A girl was with us. I think Cesar liked her.

A girl?

Yeah.

So the kid tells Cesar to just leave her be,

but she was just talking to us till my mom got there.

You know this kid's name?

No, but he goes to Burr, where my brother goes.

Aaron Burr High? Pretty rough place.

That's where all the kids go,

except the ones that got into that new school.

This girl, do you know her name?

Jolie.

She goes to Burr, too.

But she's always at the library at Sunrise.

Yes, I've heard about the murder. Everyone's talking about it.

Anyone talking about who did it?

Most of these kids worship at the Church of Don't Snitch.

Has word gotten out about the reward?

Yeah, $25,000?

Keep that where I can't see it or lose it, Kalani.

You know you shouldn't even have it at school.

You know what kind of reward was offered

when one of my sophomores ran into some gang crossfire last fall?

Zero.

Nobody cares about the ones left behind.

Edison. Yeah.

Did you find Jolie Henderson for me?

Oh, yeah. She's in there.

This way.

Jolie.

Jolie Henderson, Officers Lupo and Bernard.

Uh, hi. You know why we're here?

About that Sunrise kid who got killed.

We heard you knew him.

Enough to say hi. I saw him at their library a lot.

It's a lot nicer than ours. No offense, Ms. Woodside.

You were there last night.

Yeah. I saw him, but we didn't talk.

You have any idea where he went when he left?

Home, I guess. I don't know.

We heard a boyfriend of yours had words with Cesar a while back.

Who, Jay? Jay is not my boyfriend.

He thought he was my boyfriend.

Is he jealous? Possessive?

Stupid.

He saw me with Cesar one night, just standing there,

doing nothing, and he wants to trip.

I set him straight the next day.

I was not his to trip over.

I've got class. Can I go?

Yeah. Uh, what's this Jay's last name?

Spivey.

Thank you.

Maybe we should talk to Jay Spivey while we're here.

All right.

Edison, can you tell me where Jason Spivey is right now?

Not here. Marked absent today.

Look, the only place I've been the past three days

is this couch and that bathroom.

You sure about that?

I got the swine flu.

You don't believe me, you can hit up my doc.

We may do that.

I mean, I don't go around firing people up anyway, you know?

I mean, I didn't like Cesar, but, damn...

And what those kids did to him was sick.

You know, hitting him with a stick when he's already flaming up.

How'd you know about that? Hmm?

You got a magical view of 115th Street from your couch?

No.

I heard some kids talking.

They came here to keep me company.

They said that they saw a video going around of what happened to Cesar.

And they saw it on somebody's cell phone.

Yo, can I get that remote right there, man?

Jay Spivey's friends aren't sure whose cell phone they saw it on.

They said it was being MMS'd from one to another.

When I was a kid, we would trade dirty magazines, not snuff films.

Well, any sign of that video online?

Well, not on any of the major sites.

It might not have been uploaded yet,

just floating around on a bunch of phones.

Well, there's a rule against having cell phones in school.

In theory. But at Aaron Burr,

if kids keep them out of sight, they don't enforce it.

Well, they should.

Separating a bunch of kids from their cell phones?

We're going to need reinforcements.

Hey. What are you doing?

Taking your cell phone. You'll get it back later.

Since when that's been a rule?

Maybe if you learned how to read, you could look it up.

Yeah? Maybe you need to learn some lesson yourself.

Aren't you going to be late for class?

You think this is enough?

We found it on three of the phones.

The quality leaves something to be desired.

All right.

Tell me when you're ready.

We're ready.

Stay on the ground.

This apparently originated on the victim's phone.

They got it away from him and started shooting.

Yeah, but can you do any better on the faces?

We already took a shot at enhancing.

If it was just a little lighter.

Oh, God! Help me! Help me! Help me!

Be careful what you wish for.

Can you stop it? That sweatshirt. Zoom in?

ABHS Pep... Pep Band.

That old school spirit. Keep going, but slow.

Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Yeah.

Dude looks like a lady.

She doesn't want any part of this.

She knows him.

Maybe we know her, too.

I checked with the office. Jolie's not in the band.

Well, 15, 20 girls.

Which one you figure wore their sweatshirt to the murder?

You take woodwinds, I'll take brass?

What about percussion?

Snare drum. Front row.

Looks like the brother of the boy Cesar was tutoring.

Wonder what happened to his sweatshirt.

Hey, Moses' brother.

Yeah?

Hey. How y'all doing?

All right. Maybe you can help us out.

Any of the girls in the band had a beef with Cesar Ramirez?

Or hang with someone who did?

Nah. Probably most of them didn't even know him.

I only knew him through Moses.

You stayed home from school the day after he was killed,

just like your brother Moses did, because he was so upset.

Were you upset, too?

I was keeping Moses company, bucking him up.

I'm his big brother, you know.

Sure.

Big game tonight?

Morningside. We don't have a chance.

You give up on team spirit?

You're not wearing your sweatshirt.

I lost it last week.

Thirty bucks for a new one. You believe that?

You sure you didn't give it to someone? Maybe a girlfriend?

I just told you, I lost it. What are you getting at?

Just trying to rule something out.

Where were you last Tuesday night, when Cesar got killed?

Here. After-school volunteer.

You can check with the office if you don't believe me.

What do you think?

That I am still a dead-eye with my half-court shot.

Oh! All right! You got some skills!

Abel Dolan? Yeah.

Edison, can you give me that sign-in sheet, please, for the after-school?

Uh... Tuesday, right?

Yeah.

Yeah, here. Edison and Abel.

They were painting over some graffiti. I know, I was here late myself.

They did good work.

The taggers did good work, had this place looking tight.

Would you get me a seat at the game? Yeah, sure.

All right.

They're good kids. They just don't know it.

Did you catch Abel on the snare drum? He's really coming along.

Yeah. Those four guys, they didn't do the graffiti,

but you had them clean it up?

Yeah. Campus beautification.

I try to get them to feel a sense of pride for their school,

so every student gives at least one night a semester.

Even students that don't go here?

Check this out. Cesar Ramirez.

He signed in on the 21st, also the 11th and the 6th.

But look who else signed up on those nights.

Jolie Henderson. Yeah.

Who said she barely knew him.

Do you have her address?

Yeah, Jolie Henderson.

Uh, 115th Street, looks like just west of Madison.

Uh, and the murder occurred on 115th Street, just east of Madison.

Yeah, between her place and Cesar's school.

Wait, do you think that Jolie could have been there that night?

Can you get her exact address, please?

Thank you.

He didn't walk me home.

I don't know where he went. I told you.

Did he ever walk you home?

No. It wasn't like that.

So, every time you stayed after school,

he just happened to show up?

To wash windows. I didn't even always see him.

I bet he didn't wash windows for just any girl.

He had a nice smile.

I didn't know him. I got to go.

The reward just drew a tip.

Someone saw Edison Treadwell with Cesar's cell phone after the murder.

Edison, the principal's helper?

Yeah, who was doing campus beautification with Abel Dolan at the time of the murder.

Or was he?

You know, I'm beginning to take this personally.

You're fishing again, at my school, my kids.

That poor kid, he didn't even go to school here.

Have you checked at the Sunrise Academy,

or are they too busy to see you?

Simple question.

Are you sure Edison Treadwell was here the night Cesar was murdered?

Simple answer. Yes.

We have a tipster that says otherwise.

Well, you have a tipster that wants to make $25,000, or mess with Edison.

These kids do have enemies, you know.

If you don't mind, can I please get back to the game?

Because we're finally winning.

This is something we've been listening to. It's a call to the reward tip line

about the murder of Cesar.

We thought you should hear it, too.

Crime Stoppers, how can I help you?

Hi, um. I think I know something about Cesar Ramirez, the kid who got burned.

Okay. What do you know?

I saw this guy I know messing with Cesar's cell phone yesterday.

I know it's Cesar's because I saw Cesar with it.

His name's Edison Treadwell.

Is that good enough for the money?

We really need the money.

That's you, isn't it, Moses?

Nah, that ain't me.

Child! It isn't.

It's one thing you want to lie to these cops.

But you gonna sit there and lie to me?

You think I don't know your voice?

All the talking you do? Look at me when I'm talking to you.

Okay. It's me. But it's not true about Edison.

You didn't see Edison with Cesar's phone?

No. I lied.

I wanted my mom to have the money.

She works too hard. I never see her.

Please, we need the money, don't we, Mama?

And Moses wept.

Wasn't that Jesus?

Yeah, him, too.

So, what do you think? Was the boy lying when he made the call,

or when he talked to you?

I vote for number two.

He saw Edison with Cesar's phone and made his call,

but by the time we got there, his brother got to him.

His brother, the one with the missing sweatshirt

who's on the alibi list at the high school?

Yeah. If that list was doctored, it could be a list of the murderers,

Edison and Abel and two of their friends.

And a high school principal is covering for them?

No. She's covering for her school. It's one of the worst in the city,

it's on the short list for being taken over by the state.

While the Sunrise Academy is everybody's darling.

So she lies for her students when they beat up students

from Sunrise Academy and burn them alive?

Well, that girl would know, Jolie Henderson.

I think Cesar was walking her home

when he ran into trouble, maybe some kids from Burr

who didn't like seeing a charter school kid with one of their girls.

I say we go talk to her again.

Van Buren.

All right. I got it.

Where is she?

Okay, thanks.

I'll go talk to Jolie. She's been raped.

Hello, Jolie.

My name is Lieutenant Van Buren. I work with Detectives Lupo and Bernard.

Are they taking good care of you here?

You know, the detective from Special Victims Unit

says that you don't want to talk.

She said there was more than one boy.

And we will catch them, all of them. I promise you.

I just need you to talk to me.

Jolie...

Did it happen because of Cesar?

Because they don't want you to talk about that?

I didn't see them.

I don't know anything. Just...

Just leave me alone.

It was a gang-rape. A witness saw three boys running away.

This witness happen to see which three boys?

No. Too dark. And there's no DNA.

The rapists wore condoms.

They planned it. We think it was some of the boys who attacked

Cesar Ramirez, that Jolie was there when it happened

and they were afraid that she might talk.

These boys, they all have an alibi for the time of the murder?

The only one who doesn't is Jolie.

Have you searched her apartment?

No probable cause.

If you can sell your theory

that the gang-rape was committed to silence an accomplice,

which makes her an accomplice...

Probable cause.

We use what happened to her to back our way into a warrant?

Damn lucky for us she was gang-raped.

Nobody's saying that.

Just get the warrant.

Why are you looking here? Nothing happened here.

My daughter was violated. Why aren't you finding the animals who did that?

Look, we're trying to do that, Mr. Henderson,

but your daughter isn't able to help us...

What are you looking for here?

Ma'am.

Is this your daughter's?

No, I don't think so.

There's a tear in the shoulder, and this...

Looks singed.

Yeah.

Help me! Help me! Help me!

There. He brushes against her left sleeve,

exactly where the sweatshirt we found has burn marks.

So Jolie was there.

Or the sweatshirt was.

Theoretically, Jolie could have been hiding it for a girl who wore it that night.

Come on. We know what happened.

Yeah, but we still can't prove it.

We could always arrest Jolie for murder.

That might persuade her to talk.

Under the circumstances, Mike, that's not exactly my favorite way to go.

Well, I'm open to other ideas.

Moses Dolan. You know, the kid Cesar was tutoring.

He called in a tip, and then retracted it.

Somebody pressured him. Maybe we can pressure him back.

He's studying. You can't talk to him unless I say so, and I don't say so.

Look, we'll only be a few minutes.

He already told the police he made it up about that phone.

He's sorry, and that's that.

Then, Mrs. Dolan, Mrs. Dolan...

Maybe you can help us? Uh,

have you ever seen

this sweatshirt?

A lot of kids have those.

We thought it might be Abel's. It has a rip in the shoulder, there.

He's a big guy. Maybe he burst a seam?

Now you're asking about Abel?

You think he's mixed up with this?

We don't know, Mrs. Dolan.

Well, I do. He's a good boy. He's going to go to college,

to be a businessman.

Sometimes parents don't know their children as well as they'd hope to.

Last year, he failed a course he needs to graduate,

but he would not give up. He's taking it over in night school,

every Tuesday and Thursday night.

Every Tuesday night? Including last Tuesday?

He never misses. At a community center up in Mott Haven,

7:00-9:00.

So, Abel Dolan couldn't have murdered Cesar on Tuesday night

because he was busy beautifying Aaron Burr High School

and he was at a night school class in Mott Haven.

Well, maybe he has an evil twin.

Two alibis, it's an embarrassment of riches.

Well, if he was at night school, that means he wasn't at Aaron Burr,

and maybe the other boys weren't either.

We can use one alibi to break the other.

Abel seemed like a good kid to me,

but he doesn't come anymore.

He dropped the class last month.

It's a required course. Did he give up on graduating?

No. He told me that he didn't need to take it over after all,

that he'd just found out that he'd passed the first time.

What? He thought he'd failed, but he'd actually passed?

Did he read the letter grade wrong?

No. He did fail.

But there are circumstances where a failing grade can be changed to passing.

What were the circumstances in Abel's case?

I don't know.

Was the change warranted?

Not based on anything I saw.

Who can make these retroactive changes?

His principal. Ms. Woodside.

Here. It's Abel Dolan's grade report from last spring.

English 3, F. But then, it's marked "CR" for "Credit Recovery."

That means he passed.

Was any reason given?

Yeah. Home instruction.

We met Abel's mother. I don't think so.

And check out Edison Treadwell's transcript.

Fails sophomore math, makes it up in summer school,

and then gets credit for passing it twice.

Courtesy of Principal Woodside again?

All four boys she's giving an alibi to have benefited from altered transcripts.

Not to mention dozens of other students at that school,

maybe even hundreds.

If Abel and his friends knew what Woodside was doing,

maybe they asked for a little favor in exchange for keeping their mouths shut.

Giving them a bogus alibi?

You think she'd cop to that?

Let's ask her nicely.

If that doesn't work...

One of my students was just brutally raped,

and you are harassing me about a year-old transcript?

Not just one. You've been manipulating grades, test scores, and graduation rates

to make this school look better than it is.

I can support any adjustment I've made by the letter or spirit

of sound educational policies.

Do you think the mayor would agree?

Or the Department of Education?

They'd split this school into six charter schools

and make you assistant principal of some middle school in Staten Island.

You know, with all due respect,

you really don't know what you're talking about.

All we want to know is the night Abel Dolan and his friends

were painting over graffiti,

are you sure you can vouch they were here the whole time?

Yes, I'm sure.

Now, if you'll excuse me.

Well, actually, we won't excuse you.

Detectives?

Martha Woodside, you're under arrest.

What for?

Grand larceny.

Grand larceny? What did she steal?

Well, how about a decent education for her students?

Their integrity, their potential.

I don't think there's a law against stealing potential.

So we'll make the one we have fit.

Look, we need some leverage over this woman

to make her tell us what happened the night of the murder.

If this gets kicked to the Department of Education,

it'll disappear into a bureaucratic maze for 20 years.

So we won't let that happen.

Your Honor, this is a matter for review

by the Department of Education, not a criminal prosecution.

The grand larceny statute was concerned with the theft of property.

The People don't even allege that my client stole any property.

More than two million dollars of educational funds

were funneled to her school on the basis of performance records

that were effectively forged by Ms. Woodside.

That money didn't go into her pocket.

It went for the benefit of the students, who, if Mr. Cutter is correct,

needed that extra help it bought even more than anyone suspected.

A $10,000 performance bonus Ms. Woodside received did go into her pocket.

That was for improving her school's graduation rates from 32% to 57%,

a remarkable achievement.

Why, it's not quite so remarkable if it's based on bogus course credits.

Excuse me, but these people don't know anything about running a high school.

Ms. Woodside... No. It's just some kind of tactic

to try to get me to help them scapegoat some of my students

for a murder and a rape that they can't be bothered to actually solve.

Ms. Woodside, let your lawyer do the talking. Okay?

Your Honor, this is simply the wrong forum.

I refer you to Section 3020 of Education Law

and its provision for hearing boards.

Those boards are notoriously lethargic and inefficient, Your Honor.

I believe some people would say the same thing about us.

I am dismissing the grand larceny charge

pending a review and a resolution of the matter under the Education Law.

Nice try, Mr. Cutter.

She said we were after her students for murder and rape,

but we never told her we suspected them in the rape.

Maybe she did.

So, that principal flunked you again.

She won't give it up. She's sticking to her alibi for our suspects.

It doesn't even make sense anymore.

If they were blackmailing her by threatening to go public

with her grade tampering, we've done that now.

The Department of Education is investigating.

So what's she protecting?

Her ego?

Maybe her conscience.

She said her students were rape suspects during the motion hearing,

but Detectives Lupo and Bernard never told her that.

But they were in her office when they realized that Jolie Henderson had lied to them.

They asked Woodside for Jolie's address so they could talk to her.

A few hours later she was raped.

You think the principal tipped the murderers to rape the girl to keep her quiet?

No, not necessarily meaning to. I mean,

if she believed those boys were innocent

and she told them, you know, "Good news.

"The police have found a witness who can clear you."

She didn't realize what she was doing.

But now she does.

And she feels guilty, or she's afraid she's criminally liable.

Either way, she doesn't want to talk.

Nobody wants to talk.

The rape victim is still scared silent?

Maybe you've been asking them both too nicely.

Convene a Grand Jury.

I remind you that you are under oath

and there are criminal penalties for perjury.

I understand.

Then please tell us of any conversations you had

with your students concerning the murder of Cesar Ramirez.

I had many conversations,

because I opened my door for anyone who wanted to talk about it,

who needed reassurance.

Did Abel Dolan need reassurance?

Or Edison Treadwell, or Marvin Coyne, or Andy Mews?

Not that I recall. Nothing stands out.

Do you recall altering the transcripts for those four boys

to give them better grades?

Well, I'm constantly adjusting transcripts for a variety of reasons.

That's part of my job.

And those constant adjustments of yours are currently under investigation

by the Schools Department, aren't they?

I expect to be fully exonerated.

So, did any of those boys, all of whom benefited from your grade adjustments,

come to you after the murder of Cesar Ramirez

and ask you to give them a false alibi?

No. So they didn't threaten

to go public with your grade manipulations?

We don't threaten one another at Aaron Burr High School.

We are all working together in a very difficult situation.

Our students have been labeled losers, and they know it.

Right. And they get blamed for things, don't they?

For anything bad that happens in the neighborhood.

Yeah, all the time.

So when Cesar Ramirez was burned to death,

the police automatically assumed that some of your students did it.

As usual.

So did some of your students come to you and say they were being scapegoated again,

as usual, and asked you to get the police off their backs

by giving them an alibi?

I don't need to lie for my students.

Is that a yes or a no?

It's a no.

Did you tell those boys that the police had identified

Jolie Henderson as a potential witness to the murder

and that they were going to talk to her?

Oh, here we go.

First they're murderers, and now they're rapists?

What you are going to accuse them of next?

I think you would defend them whatever I accused them of.

Because I trust them, when no one else does?

Because I work with them, when no one else wants to.

Charter schools, magnet schools,

they take all our best students,

and then we're blamed for having the worst.

Kids from poverty, from broken families, a hundred years of neglect,

and we have to get them ready for college with just a few hours a day.

Some charter school that gets $20 million from Bill Gates

and they get a few students into Dartmouth, it makes front page news.

You want to know what the real success stories are?

When a student from Aaron Burr, who couldn't even read in the ninth grade,

manages to graduate and get a job at an auto parts store

instead of becoming a drug dealer.

That's a success story, our success story.

But no one cares, no one wants to hear about it.

Jolie, we're ready.

This isn't right.

One of us should be able to go in there with her.

It's not allowed, sir.

Why are you people doing this?

Jolie?

Ms. Woodside.

How are you?

I'm going to be okay, Ms. Woodside. I'm going to be back in class.

I won't let you down.

I can't believe you're dragging her in there after what she's been through.

It was dark, and

I closed my eyes,

and somebody knocked me down.

And somebody else got on top of me and...

Before you closed your eyes, Jolie, you must have seen something.

Did you hear anything?

Were they the same boys who attacked Cesar Ramirez?

I don't know who did that to Cesar.

Weren't you with him when it happened?

No.

But you were friends with him, weren't you?

A little.

I mostly saw him at the library when he was tutoring Moses.

You must have talked to him there, otherwise how would you know Moses' name?

I know Moses' brother from school.

Abel Dolan.

How well did you know him?

We're in the same grade.

Did you ever go out with him?

We hung out some.

Was he jealous of you and Cesar?

No. Not Abel.

So, it wouldn't have bothered him to see you walking home with Cesar?

He wasn't that into me.

He had tickets to see a Jay concert at the Garden on my birthday,

and he took his brother instead.

Moses?

It was all about being the big brother.

Moses was supposed to go to Cesar's house for dinner once,

and Abel said no.

He didn't even like Moses going to the tutoring.

He said Moses should just go to Aaron Burr,

like us.

Abel was a loser kid from a loser school.

He saw Moses going another way,

studying hard to get into the charter school,

being mentored by a smart kid there, getting invited to the smart kid's house.

So, maybe Abel wasn't jealous over Jolie, he was jealous over Moses.

Yeah, I mean, he was losing his little brother.

Maybe that's what sparked it.

Well, if Abel feels that strongly about his brother,

there might be a way to appeal to him.

You think Abel's going to listen to anything we have to say?

Probably not. But we know someone he trusts.

So, what? Did the Grand Jury indict him, or are you arresting him?

No. The Grand Jury's in recess,

but we think we have a shot at getting a confession.

Why would he confess?

Because he's guilty.

This is your opportunity to tell us the truth.

I told you the truth. I didn't do nothing. It's all right.

He can't see you. What do you want from me?

Come on, man. Only three boys raped Jolie, Abel.

We don't think you were one of them.

Then why is he here?

We do think he was one of the boys that attacked Cesar Ramirez.

You saw him walking with Jolie, didn't you, you and your friends?

He was wearing his foolish little charter school uniform,

the same uniform that your brother wants to wear,

because he wants to be like Cesar,

not like you.

Did you say something to Cesar about that?

Did he smart-mouth back to you?

You're making all that up.

Abel, you don't need to respond to this.

Your little brother was telling the truth

when he called about the reward, wasn't he?

Leave my brother out of this.

He didn't even know what he was talking about.

What are you saying? Your brother's stupid?

He's not stupid, and I'm not stupid either.

Abel, stop. Now.

If he's not under arrest, we're leaving.

Give us a minute.

Funny. He didn't mention that alibi you gave him this time.

Will you stop talking about that?

One of those boys is going to break.

They always do. It's just best all around if it's Abel.

Why?

There's a $25,000 reward on the table.

So?

Abel's brother claimed that reward, and then changed his story.

If he could get that money for his college fund,

one good thing would come out of this.

Abel might see things that way, if we can get someone to talk some sense to him.

Why haven't you considered that he's innocent?

They're all innocent? What...

Maybe you're wrong.

Tell him not to confess if he's innocent.

Tell him to do whatever's right.

Me?

You care about those kids, all of them. We've seen that.

Just talk to him.

Hey, Abel.

Ms. Woodside? Who's she?

My principal.

How do you do?

How you doing, man? Good.

All right? Yeah.

We have to be sure everything we're saying is totally the truth.

I don't know, Ms. Woodside.

Yeah.

Yeah, I was thinking,

too, how many times you start out thinking you're doing just the right thing.

And then, uh, I don't know, you end up doing something else completely.

You lose your way.

You lose perspective.

Maybe we should have this conversation somewhere else.

Actually,

I think we're in exactly the right place.

What about you, Abel?

What's going on in there?

Can somebody tell me what's going on?

Principal Woodside is just talking to your son.

No police in there?

No police. Would you like a cup of coffee?

We can get you something.

Mrs. Dolan, would you send Moses in here for a moment?

Ms. Woodside, what is going on in there?

I'm sorry, Mrs. Dolan.

I'm really sorry.

Go ahead, son.

Do it.

I know who killed Cesar.

What are you talking about, Moses?

Abel told me, Mama. He told me to tell them.

Tell them what?

What is happening here?

He did it.

Him and his friends. They did it. He told me.

No, no, no, no! No, no, no, no!

Don't take him! Abel! No, Abel!

Don't take him from me, please! Abel, don't go! Abel!

So Moses gets the reward?

He gave us his brother, and his brother gave us the rest.

Abel and his friends ran into Cesar with Jolie.

They already hated the kids from the charter schools,

and some of the boys were jealous over Jolie.

Abel was upset over Moses.

And Cesar made the mistake of being a smart guy,

and trying to impress the girl.

Bad mistake.

Well, with Abel talking, Jolie will, too. It's all over.

We're negotiating pleas for both the murder and the rape.

What about the principal?

Riding a desk in Schools Administration until

they figure out what to do with her.

You could prosecute her for lying to the Grand Jury.

Well, she... She helped us in the end.

Is that enough extra credit to make up for an F?

Now you're grading like she did.