Chicago Justice (2017) s01e03 Episode Script
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Danny was a scholar, you know? He was studying for his PhD in physics.
He had a big future, Mr.
Stone.
I know how painful this must be.
He had dinner with us every Sunday night.
The night that he was killed They know all this, honey.
We usually walked him to the bus stop.
That night [voice breaks.]
I was too tired, and you had to watch your game.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Nasiri, I'm so sorry about Danny.
Get him away from us.
Damn, dude.
I just wanted to tell you I didn't kill him.
Byron, come on.
Let's go.
Danny didn't do anything to that boy.
Except look different.
I assure you: most Americans will not tolerate the murder of an innocent boy.
We should go.
Monday morning, around 1:45 a.
m.
, we found the body in an abandoned building on South Kimbark.
He was already deceased when we arrived.
You didn't just happen by the building, I assume.
It isn't counsel's place to assume facts not in evidence.
Rephrase: did you merely happen by the building on South Counsel is leading the witness.
And counsel forgets this is a preliminary hearing, not a trial.
Rephrase: what brought you to that abandoned building on South Kimbark, Sergeant? An anonymous call from what we later learned was a tweaker who was squatting in the building.
What condition was Danny Nasiri in when you found him? He was dead.
He had been beaten to death with a tire iron that we found in an adjacent dumpster.
Is this how you found Danny Nasiri? It is.
- And this? - Yep.
What initially led you to suspect the defendant, Byron Welch? We learned from campus police there had been a prior altercation between him and Danny Nasiri.
And why did you eventually arrest Byron Welch? We found a sweatshirt that was stained with what turned out to be Danny Nasiri's blood.
It had been shoved into the back of Byron's closet under his dirty underwear.
- [muffled laughter.]
- Dude, knock it off.
You think this is some kind of joke? - [muffled laughter.]
- [whispering.]
Stop.
How dare you? [speaking Arabic.]
[all shouting at once.]
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
[all shouting at once.]
- No! Mrs.
Nasiri! - Order! Byron Welch, a sophomore lacrosse player over at CCU, brutalized a physics grad student named Danny Nasiri.
He left him to die in an abandoned building on South Kimbark.
Jealousy, money, or revenge? Danny was Muslim.
Ah.
Byron must have wiped the tire iron.
There were no prints on it.
But we did find traces of Danny's blood.
Oh, it gets better.
This wasn't Byron's only run-in with Danny.
Six weeks ago, he left Danny with a bloody nose, black eyes, and broken ribs.
Danny reported it to campus police, but for some reason withdrew the complaint.
Aside from that, any motive? CPD checked both their computers, phone records, and class schedules.
There wasn't any obvious connection.
What can I say? It looks like a garden-variety hate crime to me, but Stone wants us to dot all the Is.
Last time I was at a frat house Never mind.
Come on.
You know you're gonna tell me eventually.
You do know there's free porn on the Internet now.
Whoa, Nagel, I didn't say anything about porn.
Mm-hmm.
Oh, stale beer and something nasty.
- That's called hormones.
- [scoffs.]
We're investigators from the State Attorney's Office.
What's that? Like, better than cops? It's, like, different.
You're here about Byron, right? Look, there's no way he killed that guy.
He's a good dude.
As in he's a good beer pong partner? Yeah.
That, too.
All right, so, what was his problem with Danny Nasiri? Yeah, why don't we all just get along? Uh Are you saying Byron didn't like Muslims? You know what the school does - for the towel heads.
- Not now.
They know what I'm talking about.
I mean, they're part of the soon-to-be white minority.
Take another look, pal.
All Joey's trying to say is that the school bends over backwards for a small group of students They play the damn call to prayer during Islam Awareness Week.
It's like who's not aware of Muslims, you know? - Damn it, Joey.
- So Byron was just doing the majority a favor? Byron didn't even know the guy.
Look, his brother was killed in Kabul.
When he beat up Danny, he was drunk, and, I don't know, morose about Bobby.
Oh, so it could've been any Muslim? Yeah.
Wrong time, wrong place.
Maybe we can see Byron's room.
There's our motive: his brother getting killed in Afghanistan.
- Yeah, you've seen one Muslim - That's not what I meant.
Look, I'm not saying what those assholes said was right, but we do seem to go out of our way to make them feel comfortable.
When I was in uniform, me and McKay, we would drive past a mosque every day.
And every day when they saw us, the people would scatter.
One day, McKay buys an extra coffee He gives the extra cup to this old dude, Ameer, before he can get away.
Next day, we drive by Ameer's there with a box of donuts.
The day after that, Ameer brings his wife, Fadi, and his cousin Saad.
Donut diplomacy.
Why does Byron have a Koran? Maybe he wants to get to know the enemy.
"From Addie.
" Who is Addie? You knew Danny? He was a good friend.
Actually, I'm the one who convinced him to drop his complaint against Byron.
Why would you do that? Just doing my part in showing that Islam is a religion of peace.
Um, I'm a member of Come Together.
We promote understanding between Muslims and students of other religions.
Byron felt really bad after he beat up Danny.
He came to a meeting.
That's when I met him.
- And you gave him the Koran? - I wanted him to see there's nothing in there about blowing up Westerners.
The truth is I'm sure Byron didn't kill Danny.
Because he read the Koran? Because he was with me all night.
He's about to go on trial for murder, Addie.
You didn't maybe think to tell someone? I wanted to, but my dad He doesn't know about me and Byron.
He wouldn't approve? My real name is Adara.
It means "virgin.
" If he found out Byron was only thinking of me.
He made me promise to keep my mouth shut unless things turned really bad for him.
They have.
Is there anything else, Addie? We made it the night Danny was killed.
It doesn't prove anything.
Proves Byron didn't hate all Muslims.
It's time stamped 12:30 a.
m.
the night Danny was killed.
Before that, he was with his buddies from about 9:30 to 11:00.
And that still leaves a gap in the timeline.
So, he commits a brutal hate crime, and then makes a sex tape with his Muslim girlfriend? I once convicted a bookie who cut off his client's arm and then went to his daughter's bat mitzvah.
That's different.
That's about money.
This is about I don't really know what this is about.
So find out.
When I was in school, I would have six roomies in a place like this.
Saturday nights must have been fun.
"The Schrodinger Equation.
" Who writes a whole book on one equation? Same filing system I used.
Check this out: it's a receipt to a local dry cleaner.
Dated three months ago, addressed to Jafar Boustani.
Maybe Danny did have a roomie.
Maybe he knows something.
Danny and I were roommates for six years.
Admissions put us together when we were freshmen.
One Muslim's got to get along with another, right? Did you and Danny get along? We lived in the dorms for four years.
And then we got an apartment off Ellis Street when we started grad school.
You didn't really answer the question.
Yes.
We were great friends.
We're both studying theoretical physics.
Like the Schrodinger equation? Yeah.
Danny never quite got the hang of that.
So, why'd you move out? A girl.
I moved in with her.
Then we broke up.
I wanted to move back in with Danny, but he decided he liked to live alone.
Now I wish I would've insisted.
Sorry, but we have to ask: where were you The night Danny was killed? Studying.
In the stacks.
Like every night.
You're gonna convict Byron, right? You know Byron Welch? I was there the first time he attacked Danny.
It would've been a lot worse if I hadn't stopped it.
Your name wasn't on the police report.
I didn't want any trouble.
I mean, you don't know what it's like on campus.
I don't need enemies.
Thank you, Jafar.
Of course.
Anything I can do to help.
Hey.
Your old girlfriend What was her name? Melanie Burke.
- Have a nice day.
- Yeah.
- You don't believe him? - No.
There's no way that guy stops a lacrosse player like Byron Welch.
Jafar and I lived together for maybe a month.
He wasn't a bad guy.
Not exactly a rave review.
What do you want me to say? It didn't last.
We'd like to know why.
Why? Jafar was handsome and he treated me okay, but I don't know the exact word for it Insecure, maybe.
Maybe paranoid.
He always felt like the outsider of the group, you know? Like everyone hated him.
Yeah.
We met a couple of guys like that.
So, you didn't like the guilt by association? I'm dating a guy from Egypt now.
Did Jafar ever mention Danny Nasiri? Does all the time count? He was convinced that Danny was plagiarizing his research Some science stuff nobody cares about.
Anyway, he said that if Danny did it again, he'd hurt him bad.
You do know that Danny was murdered? - Yeah, sure.
- And you never thought to say something? What, and be labeled an Islamaphobe? Look, I got to get to class.
Yeah.
Thanks.
A fight between a couple of eggheads? As good a motive as any.
That's your guy Jafar leaving his building at 7:37 on the night Danny was murdered.
He doesn't return until 12:24.
Put 'em side by side, Ty.
I never took theoretical physics, but I doubt it requires a complete change of clothes.
But whacking someone with a tire iron might.
Damn.
Ty, zoom in.
Lower.
The Flu Game.
Jafar changed everything but his shoes.
Doesn't prove anything.
Thanks, Ty.
[sighs.]
All right, are you kidding me? Don't look at me.
You guys eliminated plagiarism as a motive.
Yeah, Jafar lied to us.
And Danny's blood is on Byron's sweatshirt.
In a case against Jafar, that is reasonable doubt.
That blood could've come from their first fight.
No way to prove it either way.
I'm not trying to be difficult here, but we'll need more if we're gonna try Because Jafar's Muslim? Because we already indicted someone else.
You didn't happen to find Danny's phone in his apartment, did you? It wasn't logged into Evidence.
I mean, there might be something on his phone that's not on his computer.
He probably dropped it when he was attacked, and we don't know where that was.
- Find My Phone.
- Okay? That's the thing on the computer that tells you where your phone is.
Ty? We still have Danny's computer, don't we? Yeah.
It should be right here.
Let me see that.
He's right.
We should be standing on it.
Maybe we are.
Bingo.
Now all we have to do is get it.
That is why everybody loves a fireman.
- It's dead.
- Yeah, not my department.
I'll take it to the communications lab.
Let's separate and canvass.
Somebody might have seen something.
- Sorry.
- Maybe you heard something - outside.
- Look, I'm sorry.
Hey, guys, have you ever seen this man? No.
I heard people shouting, so I looked out this window, and there were two boys fighting.
- Was this one of them? - Yes.
He's handsome.
You're sure? It was dark.
And right under the street light.
It's so bright it keeps me up at night.
Was this the other boy? No.
I think he was Muslim too.
So, you got a good look at him? Yes.
He was shorter, thinner.
He was wearing a red T-shirt.
He had his hands around the other one's throat, shoved him into a car, and drove off.
Yes.
That's him.
Antiquarks have the same mass and spin as their respective quarks.
Excuse me.
This will just take a minute.
[desk clatters.]
Stop! Police! Hey! Jafar! Jafar, what are you doing? [grunts.]
[crowd gasping.]
What the hell, dude? Hey.
Jafar Boustani, you're under arrest for the murder of Danny Nasiri.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Danny was the star student, Jafar the also ran.
We think Jafar killed Danny out of jealousy.
And Danny's DNA was on Jafar's shoes.
"Finally, someone putting those Muslim" I'll skip the next two words, but they begin with M and F "In their place.
" Why do you read that crap, Mark? Don't kid yourself.
As goes the Twitter-verse, so goes the jury.
Truth be told, Jafar is a better defendant than Byron.
A Muslim? If you get the right jury.
- All due respect, but I can't believe what I'm hearing.
Well, with a jury, there's a lot more than the law and facts that have to be considered.
As long as you know that what you're both saying is Well, it starts with an R.
Republican? Racist.
If you don't need me anymore What happened to the due respect? I thought it was a mistake from the get-go.
No way they had WMD.
I mean, was any of it worth it? Thank you.
I'll use a peremptory, Your Honor.
You're excused.
Every Sunday.
Christ Chapel of Bucktown.
It was my parents' church.
- Do you have children? - I have a son, Lucas.
He's in college.
That's great.
May I ask where? He's a junior at Liberty University in Virginia.
Thank you.
She's fine.
Do you live in a house or an apartment? - An apartment.
- Do you own or rent? - Rent.
- Good for me, Your Honor.
Yes, I have two.
A boy and a girl.
Did they go to college? Jennifer went to Northwestern for two years.
She didn't like it? No she liked it okay.
She just wanted to do something important.
- Good for her.
What did she do? - She joined the Army.
- And your son? - He's in the Marines.
Thank you.
- Where'd your boy deploy to? - He's in the UAE.
It would be an honor to have you on the jury, sir.
Everybody seems to be in on this but me.
O'Boyle let you stack the deck with - Patriots, Anna.
- I still don't understand why he'd want jurors who might be biased against a Muslim defendant.
You're forgetting the victim was Muslim, too.
I'm good.
Mr.
Stone! - Oh.
- Honor to be in the courtroom - with you today.
- Thank you, Mr.
O'Boyle.
Call me Billy.
Hell of a case we got, huh? Between me and you, I'd just as soon settle this sucker and call it a day, but my client well, you know.
Everybody's innocent.
Well, good luck to you.
And you, miss.
Thank you.
Oh, that eyewitness of yours.
The Miss Kalila Rafiq.
The names in this thing are just killing me.
I noticed she did not testify at the Grand Jury.
She was out of town.
And yet you still got an indictment? Be gentle, Mr.
Stone.
Be gentle.
Tell me about Kalila Rafiq.
We couldn't ask for a better witness.
She's attractive, articulate, and she saw the whole thing go down.
From the fractures of the thyroid cartilage and the hyoid bone, as well as the lack of blood in his lungs, I determined that the cause of death was cerebral anoxia.
Strangulation.
The beating was definitely postmortem.
- Were there ligature marks? - No.
No.
The victim was strangled manually, and that caused him to empty his bladder.
And that's what's caused his DNA to end up on the soles of the defendant's shoes? That's correct.
Thank you.
Dr.
Fletcher, are you aware that Mr.
Boustani and the deceased were roommates? No.
- Six long years.
- Objection.
Withdrawn.
- Do you live with a guy? - Irrelevant.
Well, there is a point.
And Dr.
Fletcher, I'm sure you have heard of this: sometimes a guy How do I put this? A guy will miss the pot he's trying to pee in.
And when that happens, and one roommate steps in the other guy's miscue, isn't it possible that Roommate B would end up with DNA from Roommate A on the bottom of his shoes? It is possible.
Was there any blood on Mr.
Boustani's shoes? No.
Well, isn't that odd? DNA from pee, but no blood.
Nothing further.
Call your next witness, Mr.
Stone.
The State calls Kalila Rafiq.
Your Honor, I move that the witness remove her face covering before she testifies.
Please approach.
The Sixth Amendment guarantees the defendant's right to confront all witnesses against him.
How is Mr.
Boustani supposed to confront Ms.
Rafiq if he can't see her face? The First Amendment.
It guarantees everyone Even the witness The right to practice his or her religion.
The court cannot force Ms.
Rafiq to do something her religion forbids.
- She's necessary to your case? - She's an eyewitness, Judge.
Rock and a hard place.
You can appeal if you like, Mr.
O'Boyle, but I'm going to allow her to testify, niqab and all.
I was reading in my bedroom when I thought I heard a scream.
- And what happened then? - I went to my window.
- And what did you see? - Two men boys, really.
They were fighting.
One had his hands around the other one's neck.
I show you what has been marked as People's Exhibit 11.
Do you recognize the man in this photo? - I do.
- And how do you recognize him? He was the man being strangled.
And who was strangling him? The man sitting there.
Let the record show that the witness indicates the defendant, Jafar Boustani.
What happened then, Ms.
Rafiq? The man in the photo He went limp.
- How limp? - Like a dead weight.
- Objection as to "dead.
" - Sustained.
What happened after Danny's body went limp? The other man, the defendant He pushed him into a car.
Did Danny resist at all? - No, sir.
- What happened then? The defendant got into the driver's side of the car.
Did Danny do anything? I could see him through the car window.
His head fell forward against the dashboard.
Thank you, Ms.
Rafiq.
I have nothing further.
Good afternoon, Ms.
Rafiq.
Oh, pardon me.
Is that the proper way to address you? I'm I am unfamiliar with your culture.
I was born in London.
I've lived in this country for over 20 years.
- Legally, I presume.
- Yes, I am a citizen.
And I'm married.
You can call me Mrs.
Rafiq.
Oh, well, you'll have to pardon me.
I couldn't see the ring.
- Is there a question? - Yes, there is.
As I was saying, I couldn't see your hands because your your What what do you call that? That's a a hijab? It's a niqab, sir.
Oh, and your husband makes you wear that, does he? It's required by custom.
Well, that's what I meant.
I mean, if you were to go to the beach - Objection.
- What's the point you're trying to make, Mr.
O'Boyle? I'm getting there, Judge.
I promise.
Do it quickly.
So, walking to the market or to the post office - Yes.
- Ms.
Rafiq, you You don't get a lot of sun, do you? I ask the court to admonish Mr.
O'Boyle for making light of the witness's religious customs.
"Making light.
" That's very funny, Mr.
Stone.
Ms.
Rafiq, are you aware that almost the entire body's intake of vitamin D - comes from direct sunlight? - No.
Did you know that women who wear the full niqab are chronically deficient in vitamin D? The witness is not a medical professional.
- I'll allow it.
- Did you know that a chronic deficiency in vitamin D leads to devastating disorders: cardiovascular disease, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes? Do you have diabetes, Ms.
Rafiq? Yes.
And one of the consequences of diabetes is the gradual loss of one's eyesight.
Isn't that true? - Yes.
- Hmm.
When did you see the two men struggling? - It was around 11:45.
- At night.
Yes.
But there was a streetlight.
I saw everything that happened, sir.
How do you know? Nothing further.
- Redirect, Your Honor? - Go ahead.
Ms.
Rafiq, do you have Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? - Type 1.
- That's also called juvenile diabetes, isn't it? - Yes.
- When were you first diagnosed? When I was three.
And when did you start wearing a niqab? When I was 16.
Deputy Corcoran, could you please raise some fingers? Can you see how many fingers the deputy has raised? Yes.
Three.
And are you wearing contacts right now? No.
Nothing more.
[knocks on door.]
You killed it today.
That was the best redirect I have ever seen.
In your three years of practice? Seriously.
It was Atticus Finch, Tom Cruise kicking the crap out of Nicholson.
What if Kalila had adult onset diabetes? What if she said the deputy had two fingers raised? Hm? Never ask a question you don't already know the answer to.
I was naked out there.
I know I screwed up, Peter; I should've asked if she wore a Forget it.
Forget it.
You know I played baseball, right? I pitched.
It was Cubs, Sox, 2007.
Bottom of the ninth.
We're up one.
I throw the sinker, and it's an easy grounder to third A sure double-play until my third baseman boots it, and just like that, we lose.
Now, the entire north side of Chicago They blamed the third baseman.
But the only person I blamed was myself.
See, if I'd have thrown the splitter, the batter would've popped it up to right, and we would've won.
[phone rings.]
Stone.
You're kidding.
Okay.
- What? - O'Boyle.
He's putting Jafar on the stand.
Good.
He'll hang himself.
Yeah, maybe.
Six years we were together since we were freshmen.
- You were friendly? - We were.
And then something happened to change that? - Yes.
- And that's why you moved out? Yes.
And why did you move out, Jafar? Danny started watching videos of Anwar al-Awlaki.
I'm unfamiliar.
He recruits Americans to jihad.
[speaking Arabic.]
[speaking Arabic.]
Order.
Whoa, whoa.
So you're saying that Danny was a terrorist? - Objection.
- Sustained.
Well, are you saying that you actually witnessed him watching these videos on his computer? No.
It was on his cell phone.
- This is ridiculous! - Order.
[both shouting in Arabic.]
- Did you see - Tell the truth! Order! Well, that's the cell phone.
Ah, it's already marked "People's 23.
" Perhaps we should look at it.
Our technicians weren't able to access the phone, Your Honor.
- I know Danny's code.
- Thank you, Jafar.
Then there is no reason we shouldn't see what's there.
This is a good time to break.
We'll have a look.
[bangs gavel.]
[speaking Arabic.]
My brothers and sisters Come to jihad and feel the honor and happiness we are feeling.
What prevents you from attaining martyrdom and the pleasure of our Lord? [speaking Arabic.]
That's the video you saw Danny watching? One of them.
And how did you react to those videos? I told Danny he was being crazy.
He wouldn't listen.
He said that Christians have been oppressing Muslims for 1,000 years, and that jihad was the only weapon the weak had to conquer the powerful.
Well, I thought Islam was a religion of peace.
Not to Danny.
He quoted the Koran to me.
Sura 47:4.
"So when you meet those who disbelieve, strike their necks until you have inflicted slaughter on them.
" - Well, that's harsh.
- He took it all out of context.
So then what happened when you decided to move out? There was something different about Danny.
One day, he asks me for money.
What did he want money for? He went to the gardening store.
He bought a 100-pound bag of fertilizer.
He lives in an apartment.
What then? He went to several electronics stores.
He bought cell phones, wires, timers, things like that.
You thought he was making an explosive? I knew it.
I tried to talk him out of it.
He wouldn't listen.
That's why I killed him.
Jafar, you you could've called the police.
You could've called the FBI.
And then what? Americans always complain why moderate Muslims don't do anything to stop terrorism.
But when we try, nobody takes us seriously.
Like the Orlando club.
The FBI knew the shooter was dangerous.
They knew it.
His first wife told them as much.
But they did nothing.
They didn't want to be called bigots.
I did something.
I'm a good American.
I'm a hero.
I am not a criminal.
Thank you, Jafar.
Now it looks like we're prosecuting a damn hero.
We don't know that.
I don't have videos like that on my cell phone.
Do you? Danny Nasiri had a good life, a loving family.
I don't believe a kid like that would self-radicalize.
Why do people from Ferguson, Baltimore, and Milwaukee burn down their own neighborhoods? I honestly don't know.
And you never will.
What I want to know is how Nasiri slipped under everybody's radar.
That's the funny thing about freedom.
It gives our enemies the freedom to destroy us.
Cut a deal.
O'Boyle said Jafar is not interested in a deal.
Of course he did.
He suckered you into picking his damn jury for him.
- So, you're a good American? - Yes, sir.
- And a hero? - That's right.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't killing Danny have been sufficient? I don't understand.
Well, you strangled Danny until he was dead.
That's what the ME testified.
And then you dragged him into an abandoned building where you beat him Well, no, you brutalized him with a tire iron.
Now tell me, Mr.
Boustani: would a hero do all that and then try to pin it on another student? Well, the answer is no.
Withdrawn.
Does Danny does he have a storage locker? - Not that I know of.
- Did he have a car? - No.
- Well, that's interesting, because my investigators have been to his apartment, and they, uh, they didn't find any any fertilizer, any cell phones, or any timers.
I don't hear a question, Your Honor.
What's the Fleishman Prize, Mr.
Boustani? It's an award given out by the physics department.
- To the best student? - Yes.
How many times have you won it? None.
How many times did Danny Nasiri win it? Four or five.
Ooh, that must have pissed you off.
- Objection.
- Withdrawn.
You didn't kill Danny because of his politics, did you? You killed him out of jealousy.
Isn't that right? - No.
- It's difficult, isn't it, Mr.
Boustani, to work, to study, to dream of being Albert Einstein, and then realize it's never going to happen? I've accepted my limitations.
Yes.
But Danny Nasiri, your friend, your roommate He didn't have to.
That would piss me off.
[shaky breathing.]
Dan Danny [hits table.]
Danny might've been a better scientist than me.
He might've done great things someday that no one in this room can even imagine.
I admit that.
But what I did, Mr.
Stone, when I killed him That was the one Probably the only Great thing that I will ever do.
I usually love writing a closing argument.
Did you ever play the "Would You" game? "If you could, would you marry your high school prom date?" "Would you have stolen the formula for Coke?" Things like that.
The one sure "yes" is always, "If you met the baby Hitler, would you have killed him?" It sounds like you approve of what Jafar did.
Whatever motivated Jafar, Danny may well have been a terrorist.
Yes, but we'll never know for sure, will we? Besides, Jafar's the one on trial, not Danny.
Somehow I doubt a jury of patriots will see it that way.
What? Me, I never fought in a war, but my nephew, Eddie, he's overseas right now.
Now, we keep in touch with that Skype thing.
Last month, he gets in touch with me and he lets me know that his best buddy over there he stepped on an IED, and he blew his legs off.
I started to tell him just how sorry I was, but he cut me off.
"No, no, Uncle Billy," he says, "No.
We do it so you don't have to.
" Now, this case, there's no issue.
He did it.
Jafar he admitted he killed Danny Nasiri.
He killed.
He killed to prevent the deaths of God knows how many other innocent fellow citizens.
Now, we all hear them tell us, "If you see something, say something.
" Well, Jafar He saw something.
But he took it one step further.
He did something about it.
He did it so you don't have to.
So you don't have to.
When I selected this jury, I was being a clever lawyer.
Perhaps too clever by half.
I selected you, ma'am, because you went to church.
Christ Chapel of Bucktown.
And your son he's matriculated at Liberty University.
That's Evangelical, if I'm not mistaken.
You, sir.
You have a son in the Marines and a daughter in the Army.
I selected each one of you for a very specific reason.
You're patriots.
You believe in God.
You have law enforcement in the family.
You voted for the right politician.
At the end of the day, you're all great Americans.
And I expected you to convict Jafar Boustani because of who he is, not because of what he did.
Now, my mistake at the time was I forgot that that's not what great Americans do.
Great Americans look to the law that binds us together as a people.
They ignore what their gut tells them is right, choosing instead what we as a civilized society have collectively determined is the right thing to do.
Why? Because that's the only way a great country stays great.
"Someone had to do something about Danny Nasiri before he did something unspeakable," says our guts.
"Someone had to murder him in cold blood, without a trial, without a verdict, without the Constitutional guarantees that Mr.
O'Boyle's nephew is risking his life for every day.
That's the right thing to do," says our hearts.
But our heads All I'm asking of you is that you continue to be great Americans Continue to be patriots, continue to fear whatever God you worship when you discuss this case among yourselves, and you think of Mr.
O'Boyle's nephew and his buddies and what they're fighting for when you discuss this case, when you determine the guilt or the innocence of Jafar Boustani.
- Have you reached a verdict? - We have.
In the People of the State of Illinois versus Jafar Boustani, the jury finds the defendant guilty of Murder in the First Degree.
[clears throat.]
I had a trial tricks professor who said, "All good trial lawyers drink, but the great ones drink Scotch.
" Oh, you are a damn good trial lawyer, Mr.
O'Boyle.
That "Danny's a terrorist" thing, you know, that was my plan B.
Would never have come up if the niqab lady hadn't testified.
You know what? The law should be pure, like physics.
It should be better than media and politics.
It should exist outside of race.
Well, if it's any consolation, when it comes to Muslims, we're all a tad racist.
Hell, we bend over backwards trying to avoid confronting it.
That's a pretty broad brushstroke.
It's our nature.
Everybody wants to be tolerant.
A white guy goes into a church in Charleston, blows away a black Bible study class.
What do we do about it? We ban the Confederate flag.
A Muslim murders 49 kids at a nightclub, and we admonish each other not to blame the entire religion.
We are naturally racist.
But at the same time, we feel guilty about it.
Was Danny really a terrorist? Well, you mean: do I believe my client? Well, I'm supposed to, right? [chuckles.]
I hated physics.
He had a big future, Mr.
Stone.
I know how painful this must be.
He had dinner with us every Sunday night.
The night that he was killed They know all this, honey.
We usually walked him to the bus stop.
That night [voice breaks.]
I was too tired, and you had to watch your game.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Nasiri, I'm so sorry about Danny.
Get him away from us.
Damn, dude.
I just wanted to tell you I didn't kill him.
Byron, come on.
Let's go.
Danny didn't do anything to that boy.
Except look different.
I assure you: most Americans will not tolerate the murder of an innocent boy.
We should go.
Monday morning, around 1:45 a.
m.
, we found the body in an abandoned building on South Kimbark.
He was already deceased when we arrived.
You didn't just happen by the building, I assume.
It isn't counsel's place to assume facts not in evidence.
Rephrase: did you merely happen by the building on South Counsel is leading the witness.
And counsel forgets this is a preliminary hearing, not a trial.
Rephrase: what brought you to that abandoned building on South Kimbark, Sergeant? An anonymous call from what we later learned was a tweaker who was squatting in the building.
What condition was Danny Nasiri in when you found him? He was dead.
He had been beaten to death with a tire iron that we found in an adjacent dumpster.
Is this how you found Danny Nasiri? It is.
- And this? - Yep.
What initially led you to suspect the defendant, Byron Welch? We learned from campus police there had been a prior altercation between him and Danny Nasiri.
And why did you eventually arrest Byron Welch? We found a sweatshirt that was stained with what turned out to be Danny Nasiri's blood.
It had been shoved into the back of Byron's closet under his dirty underwear.
- [muffled laughter.]
- Dude, knock it off.
You think this is some kind of joke? - [muffled laughter.]
- [whispering.]
Stop.
How dare you? [speaking Arabic.]
[all shouting at once.]
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
[all shouting at once.]
- No! Mrs.
Nasiri! - Order! Byron Welch, a sophomore lacrosse player over at CCU, brutalized a physics grad student named Danny Nasiri.
He left him to die in an abandoned building on South Kimbark.
Jealousy, money, or revenge? Danny was Muslim.
Ah.
Byron must have wiped the tire iron.
There were no prints on it.
But we did find traces of Danny's blood.
Oh, it gets better.
This wasn't Byron's only run-in with Danny.
Six weeks ago, he left Danny with a bloody nose, black eyes, and broken ribs.
Danny reported it to campus police, but for some reason withdrew the complaint.
Aside from that, any motive? CPD checked both their computers, phone records, and class schedules.
There wasn't any obvious connection.
What can I say? It looks like a garden-variety hate crime to me, but Stone wants us to dot all the Is.
Last time I was at a frat house Never mind.
Come on.
You know you're gonna tell me eventually.
You do know there's free porn on the Internet now.
Whoa, Nagel, I didn't say anything about porn.
Mm-hmm.
Oh, stale beer and something nasty.
- That's called hormones.
- [scoffs.]
We're investigators from the State Attorney's Office.
What's that? Like, better than cops? It's, like, different.
You're here about Byron, right? Look, there's no way he killed that guy.
He's a good dude.
As in he's a good beer pong partner? Yeah.
That, too.
All right, so, what was his problem with Danny Nasiri? Yeah, why don't we all just get along? Uh Are you saying Byron didn't like Muslims? You know what the school does - for the towel heads.
- Not now.
They know what I'm talking about.
I mean, they're part of the soon-to-be white minority.
Take another look, pal.
All Joey's trying to say is that the school bends over backwards for a small group of students They play the damn call to prayer during Islam Awareness Week.
It's like who's not aware of Muslims, you know? - Damn it, Joey.
- So Byron was just doing the majority a favor? Byron didn't even know the guy.
Look, his brother was killed in Kabul.
When he beat up Danny, he was drunk, and, I don't know, morose about Bobby.
Oh, so it could've been any Muslim? Yeah.
Wrong time, wrong place.
Maybe we can see Byron's room.
There's our motive: his brother getting killed in Afghanistan.
- Yeah, you've seen one Muslim - That's not what I meant.
Look, I'm not saying what those assholes said was right, but we do seem to go out of our way to make them feel comfortable.
When I was in uniform, me and McKay, we would drive past a mosque every day.
And every day when they saw us, the people would scatter.
One day, McKay buys an extra coffee He gives the extra cup to this old dude, Ameer, before he can get away.
Next day, we drive by Ameer's there with a box of donuts.
The day after that, Ameer brings his wife, Fadi, and his cousin Saad.
Donut diplomacy.
Why does Byron have a Koran? Maybe he wants to get to know the enemy.
"From Addie.
" Who is Addie? You knew Danny? He was a good friend.
Actually, I'm the one who convinced him to drop his complaint against Byron.
Why would you do that? Just doing my part in showing that Islam is a religion of peace.
Um, I'm a member of Come Together.
We promote understanding between Muslims and students of other religions.
Byron felt really bad after he beat up Danny.
He came to a meeting.
That's when I met him.
- And you gave him the Koran? - I wanted him to see there's nothing in there about blowing up Westerners.
The truth is I'm sure Byron didn't kill Danny.
Because he read the Koran? Because he was with me all night.
He's about to go on trial for murder, Addie.
You didn't maybe think to tell someone? I wanted to, but my dad He doesn't know about me and Byron.
He wouldn't approve? My real name is Adara.
It means "virgin.
" If he found out Byron was only thinking of me.
He made me promise to keep my mouth shut unless things turned really bad for him.
They have.
Is there anything else, Addie? We made it the night Danny was killed.
It doesn't prove anything.
Proves Byron didn't hate all Muslims.
It's time stamped 12:30 a.
m.
the night Danny was killed.
Before that, he was with his buddies from about 9:30 to 11:00.
And that still leaves a gap in the timeline.
So, he commits a brutal hate crime, and then makes a sex tape with his Muslim girlfriend? I once convicted a bookie who cut off his client's arm and then went to his daughter's bat mitzvah.
That's different.
That's about money.
This is about I don't really know what this is about.
So find out.
When I was in school, I would have six roomies in a place like this.
Saturday nights must have been fun.
"The Schrodinger Equation.
" Who writes a whole book on one equation? Same filing system I used.
Check this out: it's a receipt to a local dry cleaner.
Dated three months ago, addressed to Jafar Boustani.
Maybe Danny did have a roomie.
Maybe he knows something.
Danny and I were roommates for six years.
Admissions put us together when we were freshmen.
One Muslim's got to get along with another, right? Did you and Danny get along? We lived in the dorms for four years.
And then we got an apartment off Ellis Street when we started grad school.
You didn't really answer the question.
Yes.
We were great friends.
We're both studying theoretical physics.
Like the Schrodinger equation? Yeah.
Danny never quite got the hang of that.
So, why'd you move out? A girl.
I moved in with her.
Then we broke up.
I wanted to move back in with Danny, but he decided he liked to live alone.
Now I wish I would've insisted.
Sorry, but we have to ask: where were you The night Danny was killed? Studying.
In the stacks.
Like every night.
You're gonna convict Byron, right? You know Byron Welch? I was there the first time he attacked Danny.
It would've been a lot worse if I hadn't stopped it.
Your name wasn't on the police report.
I didn't want any trouble.
I mean, you don't know what it's like on campus.
I don't need enemies.
Thank you, Jafar.
Of course.
Anything I can do to help.
Hey.
Your old girlfriend What was her name? Melanie Burke.
- Have a nice day.
- Yeah.
- You don't believe him? - No.
There's no way that guy stops a lacrosse player like Byron Welch.
Jafar and I lived together for maybe a month.
He wasn't a bad guy.
Not exactly a rave review.
What do you want me to say? It didn't last.
We'd like to know why.
Why? Jafar was handsome and he treated me okay, but I don't know the exact word for it Insecure, maybe.
Maybe paranoid.
He always felt like the outsider of the group, you know? Like everyone hated him.
Yeah.
We met a couple of guys like that.
So, you didn't like the guilt by association? I'm dating a guy from Egypt now.
Did Jafar ever mention Danny Nasiri? Does all the time count? He was convinced that Danny was plagiarizing his research Some science stuff nobody cares about.
Anyway, he said that if Danny did it again, he'd hurt him bad.
You do know that Danny was murdered? - Yeah, sure.
- And you never thought to say something? What, and be labeled an Islamaphobe? Look, I got to get to class.
Yeah.
Thanks.
A fight between a couple of eggheads? As good a motive as any.
That's your guy Jafar leaving his building at 7:37 on the night Danny was murdered.
He doesn't return until 12:24.
Put 'em side by side, Ty.
I never took theoretical physics, but I doubt it requires a complete change of clothes.
But whacking someone with a tire iron might.
Damn.
Ty, zoom in.
Lower.
The Flu Game.
Jafar changed everything but his shoes.
Doesn't prove anything.
Thanks, Ty.
[sighs.]
All right, are you kidding me? Don't look at me.
You guys eliminated plagiarism as a motive.
Yeah, Jafar lied to us.
And Danny's blood is on Byron's sweatshirt.
In a case against Jafar, that is reasonable doubt.
That blood could've come from their first fight.
No way to prove it either way.
I'm not trying to be difficult here, but we'll need more if we're gonna try Because Jafar's Muslim? Because we already indicted someone else.
You didn't happen to find Danny's phone in his apartment, did you? It wasn't logged into Evidence.
I mean, there might be something on his phone that's not on his computer.
He probably dropped it when he was attacked, and we don't know where that was.
- Find My Phone.
- Okay? That's the thing on the computer that tells you where your phone is.
Ty? We still have Danny's computer, don't we? Yeah.
It should be right here.
Let me see that.
He's right.
We should be standing on it.
Maybe we are.
Bingo.
Now all we have to do is get it.
That is why everybody loves a fireman.
- It's dead.
- Yeah, not my department.
I'll take it to the communications lab.
Let's separate and canvass.
Somebody might have seen something.
- Sorry.
- Maybe you heard something - outside.
- Look, I'm sorry.
Hey, guys, have you ever seen this man? No.
I heard people shouting, so I looked out this window, and there were two boys fighting.
- Was this one of them? - Yes.
He's handsome.
You're sure? It was dark.
And right under the street light.
It's so bright it keeps me up at night.
Was this the other boy? No.
I think he was Muslim too.
So, you got a good look at him? Yes.
He was shorter, thinner.
He was wearing a red T-shirt.
He had his hands around the other one's throat, shoved him into a car, and drove off.
Yes.
That's him.
Antiquarks have the same mass and spin as their respective quarks.
Excuse me.
This will just take a minute.
[desk clatters.]
Stop! Police! Hey! Jafar! Jafar, what are you doing? [grunts.]
[crowd gasping.]
What the hell, dude? Hey.
Jafar Boustani, you're under arrest for the murder of Danny Nasiri.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
Danny was the star student, Jafar the also ran.
We think Jafar killed Danny out of jealousy.
And Danny's DNA was on Jafar's shoes.
"Finally, someone putting those Muslim" I'll skip the next two words, but they begin with M and F "In their place.
" Why do you read that crap, Mark? Don't kid yourself.
As goes the Twitter-verse, so goes the jury.
Truth be told, Jafar is a better defendant than Byron.
A Muslim? If you get the right jury.
- All due respect, but I can't believe what I'm hearing.
Well, with a jury, there's a lot more than the law and facts that have to be considered.
As long as you know that what you're both saying is Well, it starts with an R.
Republican? Racist.
If you don't need me anymore What happened to the due respect? I thought it was a mistake from the get-go.
No way they had WMD.
I mean, was any of it worth it? Thank you.
I'll use a peremptory, Your Honor.
You're excused.
Every Sunday.
Christ Chapel of Bucktown.
It was my parents' church.
- Do you have children? - I have a son, Lucas.
He's in college.
That's great.
May I ask where? He's a junior at Liberty University in Virginia.
Thank you.
She's fine.
Do you live in a house or an apartment? - An apartment.
- Do you own or rent? - Rent.
- Good for me, Your Honor.
Yes, I have two.
A boy and a girl.
Did they go to college? Jennifer went to Northwestern for two years.
She didn't like it? No she liked it okay.
She just wanted to do something important.
- Good for her.
What did she do? - She joined the Army.
- And your son? - He's in the Marines.
Thank you.
- Where'd your boy deploy to? - He's in the UAE.
It would be an honor to have you on the jury, sir.
Everybody seems to be in on this but me.
O'Boyle let you stack the deck with - Patriots, Anna.
- I still don't understand why he'd want jurors who might be biased against a Muslim defendant.
You're forgetting the victim was Muslim, too.
I'm good.
Mr.
Stone! - Oh.
- Honor to be in the courtroom - with you today.
- Thank you, Mr.
O'Boyle.
Call me Billy.
Hell of a case we got, huh? Between me and you, I'd just as soon settle this sucker and call it a day, but my client well, you know.
Everybody's innocent.
Well, good luck to you.
And you, miss.
Thank you.
Oh, that eyewitness of yours.
The Miss Kalila Rafiq.
The names in this thing are just killing me.
I noticed she did not testify at the Grand Jury.
She was out of town.
And yet you still got an indictment? Be gentle, Mr.
Stone.
Be gentle.
Tell me about Kalila Rafiq.
We couldn't ask for a better witness.
She's attractive, articulate, and she saw the whole thing go down.
From the fractures of the thyroid cartilage and the hyoid bone, as well as the lack of blood in his lungs, I determined that the cause of death was cerebral anoxia.
Strangulation.
The beating was definitely postmortem.
- Were there ligature marks? - No.
No.
The victim was strangled manually, and that caused him to empty his bladder.
And that's what's caused his DNA to end up on the soles of the defendant's shoes? That's correct.
Thank you.
Dr.
Fletcher, are you aware that Mr.
Boustani and the deceased were roommates? No.
- Six long years.
- Objection.
Withdrawn.
- Do you live with a guy? - Irrelevant.
Well, there is a point.
And Dr.
Fletcher, I'm sure you have heard of this: sometimes a guy How do I put this? A guy will miss the pot he's trying to pee in.
And when that happens, and one roommate steps in the other guy's miscue, isn't it possible that Roommate B would end up with DNA from Roommate A on the bottom of his shoes? It is possible.
Was there any blood on Mr.
Boustani's shoes? No.
Well, isn't that odd? DNA from pee, but no blood.
Nothing further.
Call your next witness, Mr.
Stone.
The State calls Kalila Rafiq.
Your Honor, I move that the witness remove her face covering before she testifies.
Please approach.
The Sixth Amendment guarantees the defendant's right to confront all witnesses against him.
How is Mr.
Boustani supposed to confront Ms.
Rafiq if he can't see her face? The First Amendment.
It guarantees everyone Even the witness The right to practice his or her religion.
The court cannot force Ms.
Rafiq to do something her religion forbids.
- She's necessary to your case? - She's an eyewitness, Judge.
Rock and a hard place.
You can appeal if you like, Mr.
O'Boyle, but I'm going to allow her to testify, niqab and all.
I was reading in my bedroom when I thought I heard a scream.
- And what happened then? - I went to my window.
- And what did you see? - Two men boys, really.
They were fighting.
One had his hands around the other one's neck.
I show you what has been marked as People's Exhibit 11.
Do you recognize the man in this photo? - I do.
- And how do you recognize him? He was the man being strangled.
And who was strangling him? The man sitting there.
Let the record show that the witness indicates the defendant, Jafar Boustani.
What happened then, Ms.
Rafiq? The man in the photo He went limp.
- How limp? - Like a dead weight.
- Objection as to "dead.
" - Sustained.
What happened after Danny's body went limp? The other man, the defendant He pushed him into a car.
Did Danny resist at all? - No, sir.
- What happened then? The defendant got into the driver's side of the car.
Did Danny do anything? I could see him through the car window.
His head fell forward against the dashboard.
Thank you, Ms.
Rafiq.
I have nothing further.
Good afternoon, Ms.
Rafiq.
Oh, pardon me.
Is that the proper way to address you? I'm I am unfamiliar with your culture.
I was born in London.
I've lived in this country for over 20 years.
- Legally, I presume.
- Yes, I am a citizen.
And I'm married.
You can call me Mrs.
Rafiq.
Oh, well, you'll have to pardon me.
I couldn't see the ring.
- Is there a question? - Yes, there is.
As I was saying, I couldn't see your hands because your your What what do you call that? That's a a hijab? It's a niqab, sir.
Oh, and your husband makes you wear that, does he? It's required by custom.
Well, that's what I meant.
I mean, if you were to go to the beach - Objection.
- What's the point you're trying to make, Mr.
O'Boyle? I'm getting there, Judge.
I promise.
Do it quickly.
So, walking to the market or to the post office - Yes.
- Ms.
Rafiq, you You don't get a lot of sun, do you? I ask the court to admonish Mr.
O'Boyle for making light of the witness's religious customs.
"Making light.
" That's very funny, Mr.
Stone.
Ms.
Rafiq, are you aware that almost the entire body's intake of vitamin D - comes from direct sunlight? - No.
Did you know that women who wear the full niqab are chronically deficient in vitamin D? The witness is not a medical professional.
- I'll allow it.
- Did you know that a chronic deficiency in vitamin D leads to devastating disorders: cardiovascular disease, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes? Do you have diabetes, Ms.
Rafiq? Yes.
And one of the consequences of diabetes is the gradual loss of one's eyesight.
Isn't that true? - Yes.
- Hmm.
When did you see the two men struggling? - It was around 11:45.
- At night.
Yes.
But there was a streetlight.
I saw everything that happened, sir.
How do you know? Nothing further.
- Redirect, Your Honor? - Go ahead.
Ms.
Rafiq, do you have Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes? - Type 1.
- That's also called juvenile diabetes, isn't it? - Yes.
- When were you first diagnosed? When I was three.
And when did you start wearing a niqab? When I was 16.
Deputy Corcoran, could you please raise some fingers? Can you see how many fingers the deputy has raised? Yes.
Three.
And are you wearing contacts right now? No.
Nothing more.
[knocks on door.]
You killed it today.
That was the best redirect I have ever seen.
In your three years of practice? Seriously.
It was Atticus Finch, Tom Cruise kicking the crap out of Nicholson.
What if Kalila had adult onset diabetes? What if she said the deputy had two fingers raised? Hm? Never ask a question you don't already know the answer to.
I was naked out there.
I know I screwed up, Peter; I should've asked if she wore a Forget it.
Forget it.
You know I played baseball, right? I pitched.
It was Cubs, Sox, 2007.
Bottom of the ninth.
We're up one.
I throw the sinker, and it's an easy grounder to third A sure double-play until my third baseman boots it, and just like that, we lose.
Now, the entire north side of Chicago They blamed the third baseman.
But the only person I blamed was myself.
See, if I'd have thrown the splitter, the batter would've popped it up to right, and we would've won.
[phone rings.]
Stone.
You're kidding.
Okay.
- What? - O'Boyle.
He's putting Jafar on the stand.
Good.
He'll hang himself.
Yeah, maybe.
Six years we were together since we were freshmen.
- You were friendly? - We were.
And then something happened to change that? - Yes.
- And that's why you moved out? Yes.
And why did you move out, Jafar? Danny started watching videos of Anwar al-Awlaki.
I'm unfamiliar.
He recruits Americans to jihad.
[speaking Arabic.]
[speaking Arabic.]
Order.
Whoa, whoa.
So you're saying that Danny was a terrorist? - Objection.
- Sustained.
Well, are you saying that you actually witnessed him watching these videos on his computer? No.
It was on his cell phone.
- This is ridiculous! - Order.
[both shouting in Arabic.]
- Did you see - Tell the truth! Order! Well, that's the cell phone.
Ah, it's already marked "People's 23.
" Perhaps we should look at it.
Our technicians weren't able to access the phone, Your Honor.
- I know Danny's code.
- Thank you, Jafar.
Then there is no reason we shouldn't see what's there.
This is a good time to break.
We'll have a look.
[bangs gavel.]
[speaking Arabic.]
My brothers and sisters Come to jihad and feel the honor and happiness we are feeling.
What prevents you from attaining martyrdom and the pleasure of our Lord? [speaking Arabic.]
That's the video you saw Danny watching? One of them.
And how did you react to those videos? I told Danny he was being crazy.
He wouldn't listen.
He said that Christians have been oppressing Muslims for 1,000 years, and that jihad was the only weapon the weak had to conquer the powerful.
Well, I thought Islam was a religion of peace.
Not to Danny.
He quoted the Koran to me.
Sura 47:4.
"So when you meet those who disbelieve, strike their necks until you have inflicted slaughter on them.
" - Well, that's harsh.
- He took it all out of context.
So then what happened when you decided to move out? There was something different about Danny.
One day, he asks me for money.
What did he want money for? He went to the gardening store.
He bought a 100-pound bag of fertilizer.
He lives in an apartment.
What then? He went to several electronics stores.
He bought cell phones, wires, timers, things like that.
You thought he was making an explosive? I knew it.
I tried to talk him out of it.
He wouldn't listen.
That's why I killed him.
Jafar, you you could've called the police.
You could've called the FBI.
And then what? Americans always complain why moderate Muslims don't do anything to stop terrorism.
But when we try, nobody takes us seriously.
Like the Orlando club.
The FBI knew the shooter was dangerous.
They knew it.
His first wife told them as much.
But they did nothing.
They didn't want to be called bigots.
I did something.
I'm a good American.
I'm a hero.
I am not a criminal.
Thank you, Jafar.
Now it looks like we're prosecuting a damn hero.
We don't know that.
I don't have videos like that on my cell phone.
Do you? Danny Nasiri had a good life, a loving family.
I don't believe a kid like that would self-radicalize.
Why do people from Ferguson, Baltimore, and Milwaukee burn down their own neighborhoods? I honestly don't know.
And you never will.
What I want to know is how Nasiri slipped under everybody's radar.
That's the funny thing about freedom.
It gives our enemies the freedom to destroy us.
Cut a deal.
O'Boyle said Jafar is not interested in a deal.
Of course he did.
He suckered you into picking his damn jury for him.
- So, you're a good American? - Yes, sir.
- And a hero? - That's right.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't killing Danny have been sufficient? I don't understand.
Well, you strangled Danny until he was dead.
That's what the ME testified.
And then you dragged him into an abandoned building where you beat him Well, no, you brutalized him with a tire iron.
Now tell me, Mr.
Boustani: would a hero do all that and then try to pin it on another student? Well, the answer is no.
Withdrawn.
Does Danny does he have a storage locker? - Not that I know of.
- Did he have a car? - No.
- Well, that's interesting, because my investigators have been to his apartment, and they, uh, they didn't find any any fertilizer, any cell phones, or any timers.
I don't hear a question, Your Honor.
What's the Fleishman Prize, Mr.
Boustani? It's an award given out by the physics department.
- To the best student? - Yes.
How many times have you won it? None.
How many times did Danny Nasiri win it? Four or five.
Ooh, that must have pissed you off.
- Objection.
- Withdrawn.
You didn't kill Danny because of his politics, did you? You killed him out of jealousy.
Isn't that right? - No.
- It's difficult, isn't it, Mr.
Boustani, to work, to study, to dream of being Albert Einstein, and then realize it's never going to happen? I've accepted my limitations.
Yes.
But Danny Nasiri, your friend, your roommate He didn't have to.
That would piss me off.
[shaky breathing.]
Dan Danny [hits table.]
Danny might've been a better scientist than me.
He might've done great things someday that no one in this room can even imagine.
I admit that.
But what I did, Mr.
Stone, when I killed him That was the one Probably the only Great thing that I will ever do.
I usually love writing a closing argument.
Did you ever play the "Would You" game? "If you could, would you marry your high school prom date?" "Would you have stolen the formula for Coke?" Things like that.
The one sure "yes" is always, "If you met the baby Hitler, would you have killed him?" It sounds like you approve of what Jafar did.
Whatever motivated Jafar, Danny may well have been a terrorist.
Yes, but we'll never know for sure, will we? Besides, Jafar's the one on trial, not Danny.
Somehow I doubt a jury of patriots will see it that way.
What? Me, I never fought in a war, but my nephew, Eddie, he's overseas right now.
Now, we keep in touch with that Skype thing.
Last month, he gets in touch with me and he lets me know that his best buddy over there he stepped on an IED, and he blew his legs off.
I started to tell him just how sorry I was, but he cut me off.
"No, no, Uncle Billy," he says, "No.
We do it so you don't have to.
" Now, this case, there's no issue.
He did it.
Jafar he admitted he killed Danny Nasiri.
He killed.
He killed to prevent the deaths of God knows how many other innocent fellow citizens.
Now, we all hear them tell us, "If you see something, say something.
" Well, Jafar He saw something.
But he took it one step further.
He did something about it.
He did it so you don't have to.
So you don't have to.
When I selected this jury, I was being a clever lawyer.
Perhaps too clever by half.
I selected you, ma'am, because you went to church.
Christ Chapel of Bucktown.
And your son he's matriculated at Liberty University.
That's Evangelical, if I'm not mistaken.
You, sir.
You have a son in the Marines and a daughter in the Army.
I selected each one of you for a very specific reason.
You're patriots.
You believe in God.
You have law enforcement in the family.
You voted for the right politician.
At the end of the day, you're all great Americans.
And I expected you to convict Jafar Boustani because of who he is, not because of what he did.
Now, my mistake at the time was I forgot that that's not what great Americans do.
Great Americans look to the law that binds us together as a people.
They ignore what their gut tells them is right, choosing instead what we as a civilized society have collectively determined is the right thing to do.
Why? Because that's the only way a great country stays great.
"Someone had to do something about Danny Nasiri before he did something unspeakable," says our guts.
"Someone had to murder him in cold blood, without a trial, without a verdict, without the Constitutional guarantees that Mr.
O'Boyle's nephew is risking his life for every day.
That's the right thing to do," says our hearts.
But our heads All I'm asking of you is that you continue to be great Americans Continue to be patriots, continue to fear whatever God you worship when you discuss this case among yourselves, and you think of Mr.
O'Boyle's nephew and his buddies and what they're fighting for when you discuss this case, when you determine the guilt or the innocence of Jafar Boustani.
- Have you reached a verdict? - We have.
In the People of the State of Illinois versus Jafar Boustani, the jury finds the defendant guilty of Murder in the First Degree.
[clears throat.]
I had a trial tricks professor who said, "All good trial lawyers drink, but the great ones drink Scotch.
" Oh, you are a damn good trial lawyer, Mr.
O'Boyle.
That "Danny's a terrorist" thing, you know, that was my plan B.
Would never have come up if the niqab lady hadn't testified.
You know what? The law should be pure, like physics.
It should be better than media and politics.
It should exist outside of race.
Well, if it's any consolation, when it comes to Muslims, we're all a tad racist.
Hell, we bend over backwards trying to avoid confronting it.
That's a pretty broad brushstroke.
It's our nature.
Everybody wants to be tolerant.
A white guy goes into a church in Charleston, blows away a black Bible study class.
What do we do about it? We ban the Confederate flag.
A Muslim murders 49 kids at a nightclub, and we admonish each other not to blame the entire religion.
We are naturally racist.
But at the same time, we feel guilty about it.
Was Danny really a terrorist? Well, you mean: do I believe my client? Well, I'm supposed to, right? [chuckles.]
I hated physics.