61st Street (2022) s01e08 Episode Script

1 Previously on "61st Street" Her boy was a snitch, but she keeps making a big noise about this, you understand what I'm sayin'? Hey, what y'all takin' me down here for, I didn't do nothing Is this your service weapon? - It's my gun.
- I watched you decide to lie! You want the truth? I love you.
What's that? That ain't mine! Y'all plantin' stuff now?! - How's that goin'? - I'm a pro, boss.
- What is this? - Rufus.
He was a problem.
If you use this, I can't live with you.
Mom? Dad? Wake up.
There's somebody on fire.
There's a man on fire outside our house.
- Where? - We got to put him out.
Get up.
We need to put him out.
Okay, baby.
Okay, okay.
Oh, my God.
Mom! I-I need to put him out.
Stay up here! Stay up here! Stay up here! David! Get in here! No! Mom, I No! - No, no, no, no.
- I want to put him out.
- Stay up there.
- Got to put him out.
- No.
- I-I want to help Dad.
Stay up there.
Got to put him out.
Stop.
Stop.
Mom! I want to put him out! No, no.
Mom! David, come on.
- I don't want to go to school.
- Just take it.
- Take your headphones.
- I'm taking it.
It's fine.
Mrs.
Evans is gonna be there.
I don't care.
It's not the right time to go to school.
Baby, just come on, please.
It's the wrong time.
I'm not going.
You know what? Stay with your father.
Can I help you, Dad? Franklin, be careful.
True colors.
Reminds everybody what we're fighting against.
And it shows that they're agitated.
So we should leak it to the press? Leak it to the press? - What do you think this is? 1950? - You know Can I trouble you for a comment? On what? The end of your career.
I'm sorry? We're running the Joshua drug money story in tomorrow's paper.
- You can't do that.
- Why not? Halfway through a trial, no way you run something as prejudicial as that if it hasn't been heard in evidence.
You mean it would have to come from the witness stand first? What prompted you to start surveillance of Joshua Johnson? We'd found drugs in the Johnson home and it matched what we seized on the streets.
We wanted to find out how much the family is involved in the business.
Do you know where the money from Joshua's Drug-dealing earnings has been going? There's no evidence of any obvious increased spending No new car, new clothes or shoes.
From which you conclude what? Joshua's out selling drugs for The Nation street gang, and the money he earns all goes to one thing.
Which is? The Moses Johnson defense fund.
Created by? His mother.
To pay for? Him.
Okay.
I didn't know.
You didn't know.
We're finished, aren't we? - A part of going big is coming clean.
- What? We call Joshua, and he tells it like it is.
Call our witness to confirm we're funded by a street gang? - Okay.
- That cop is lying.
I'd have seen them.
In our neighborhood? That kind of surveillance? Ain't no way we wouldn't have seen them.
Okay, I'm I'm gonna be straight with you.
Right now, Moses is going don.
He needs his brother.
To do what? Are you a member of The Nation street gang? Yes.
Since when? I just joined.
Why did you do that? For money.
For my brother.
Pay for this.
Can you earn the same kind of money outside the criminal economy? No.
Are there jobs out there for you? - On the South Side? - Uh-huh.
You got to be kidding, Mr.
Franklin.
Yesterday, Officer Frater swore on his mother's life that when he and his partner took you out of the station that day, it was to revisit the crime scene.
Is that true? Joshua? Is that true? On his mom's life, he said that? Mm-hmm.
He did.
Uh, that's not true.
But he did take you out of the police station that day? Yes.
Where did he take you? To the river.
Why? They They needed a name.
Did you give him a name? Yeah.
What name did you give him? Moses.
Did you give him your brother's name voluntarily? Uh, no, I didn't.
They They woulda killed me.
They? Uh, Officer Frater and Officer Young.
What did they do? I didn't do nothing! Please! What are y'all doing?! I-I can't.
I'm sorry.
It's okay.
It's alright.
You've been selling drugs to support your brother.
No.
Yes.
Not for personal gain? No.
And you know of course that drugs destroy people's lives? - Yes.
- But you put your brother first, above other people's pain? Yes.
What wouldn't you do to help your brother? - I don't know.
- How about lying? Would you do that? Would you lie under oath? Look, they needed a name, alright? I had to give it to them.
You feel bad about that? Yes.
Guilt was eating you up? Is that why you invented that story about being taken down to the river? What? No.
You snitched on your own brother, you feel terrible about it, and now you're playing the victim in order to allay the guilt.
No.
Did you tell your mom what happened? - No.
- Did you tell anybody? - No! - Until now.
That's kind of convenient.
Oh, did you go see a doctor? There wasn't nothing to show.
I don't know.
No.
Because it never happened.
What? Ask them about the river.
They know about it.
Tell everybody the truth.
Yeah, tell them what you did.
What you looking like that for, huh? Mr.
Johnson, control yourself.
- Control myself? - Yep.
Where was the control when When these savages tried to violate me, huh? - Jo.
- I'm warning you, Mr.
Johnson.
Where was the control when these crooked-ass police tried to destroy my family, huh? - That's enough.
- Cowards, both of you.
Deputies, remove this witness from court.
Y'all cowards! Y'all cowards! Y'all hurt my family! Mom! Mom! My brother! - My fucking brother! - Jojo! - Give us a name.
- Then tell me something I want to hear then.
- I don't know anything! - Tell me something.
- Give me a name.
- No, no! - I don't know anything! - Tell me something.
Just tell me something then.
Talk.
All you gotta do is talk.
Give us a name.
Get me a name! That's my son.
That's my son.
Stop! Stop! Please! No! - Please stop! - It's me, it's me.
Please, please.
Because Joshua didn't finish his cross-examination, I'm afraid everything he just told us will be erased from the record.
What they did to Jojo, man is foul.
- He a kid.
- I know.
I know.
But it's down to you now.
You smell like smoke.
Everybody saying in trials like these, the accused don't normally take the stand.
How can a jury know your state of mind if you don't tell them? They can't read the mind of a man who won't talk to them.
You don't get up on the stand? I look like a fool for promising it.
Is this about you, or is it about me? Do you know why I smell like smoke? They burned an effigy outside my home this morning.
Swinging from a tree.
Swinging from a tree again.
I-I'm sorry.
I That's horrible.
You just doing your job.
It wasn't my effigy they were burning.
- Where is he? - Last stall.
Immunity and protection for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
So help you if you fuck this up.
Thank you.
I'll do it.
Call your witness, Counselor.
Something's come up, Your Honor.
Are you gonna tell us what it is? Who, not what.
Moses been working for The Nation.
When? Now.
In County.
Objection.
Hearsay.
Let's hear what the evidence says first.
Doing what? Picking up packages that come over the wall.
- Containing what? - Heroin.
L-Like I said, Your Honor, that that's hearsay.
This witness hasn't witnessed anything.
- Sure I have.
- H-How? You ain't currently incarcerated in Cook County.
- I know what I know.
- You don't know.
How you know what you know? That package that was me.
I threw it over the wall.
I saw Moses collect it.
You okay, Counselor? Yeah, I-I-I just need a moment with my client.
Yes, you do.
Counselor? Okay, Counselor? Yeah.
I just Yeah, I'm Deputy, call the medic.
What are we doin' here? Come on.
- Hey, buddy.
- Hey, Brannigan.
Good to see ya.
How's retirement? Ah, good, yeah.
Gentlemen, what's your pleasure? We'll have whatever the Deputy Chief's having.
Two Bunnahabhain 25s, straight up.
Hey.
Hey.
Hey.
Hello.
Hey, there.
Bring it down.
What? What? You want me to bring it down a little bit? - Yeah.
- Okay.
Alright.
Hey, that's better.
How you doing? How you Oh, um, I'm sorry.
I-I can come back.
Who's there? Oh, it's fine.
Come on.
Come on.
That sounds like Nicole.
It is Nicole.
What'd the judge say? He talked to Moses.
What'd he say? If he wants a new trial and new lawyers, he can have that.
What did Moses say? He has until morning to decide.
He has till morning.
Here, put this back on.
Martha? Would you stay with him? You're You're leaving? I know my husband, and there's only one thing that's gonna get him back on his feet.
Appreciate what you did on the witness stand Thinking on your feet, seeing the play without being told what it was.
You had the gun switched? There's this thing that, uh, all top sportsmen know.
When you're Roger Federer Don't ask why.
Mm? Don't try to understand why you can do what you can do because talking about a thing can fuck with a thing.
Why am I here? Chief's telling you how much he loves you.
The swelling in your prostate caused a backup in your bladder.
Mm.
The fever, nausea? That was your body screaming at you.
You're septic, Franklin.
That's not good, is it? We need to get this infection under control, then a urostomy.
The Foley catheter's only good for so long, so I'd like to do it as soon as possible.
But not now.
We want to talk to Dante.
That ain't how it work.
You know who this is? Yeah, I know who you are.
So show some respect.
That still ain't how it work.
Well, it ain't for a skinny-ass corner boy like you to decide.
So you tell Dante Martha Roberts needs a face to face.
Appreciate what you did on the witness stand Thinking on your feet, seeing the play without being told what it was.
I, uh I sh I should've told you.
I'm sorry.
The judge say the defense you're running is reckless.
He doesn't see it the bigger picture.
I need you to stay with me, Moses.
Sounds like the wrong way 'round to me Lawyer needing the client.
I think we're a long way past lawyer/client.
It's much, much more than that.
Hm.
The thing about dying, son it's kind of a freedom.
I'm not scared of nobody.
Nothing can hurt me anymore.
And that's what you need in your corner right now.
The whole time.
Got a minute? Pretty sure it's against the rules, you talking to me.
Pretty sure you don't follow the rules.
GSR report Michael Rossi's clothing the day he died.
Gunshot residue on the shirt.
Where'd that come from? I said my piece on the stand.
Then I'll answer my own question.
The residue came from you.
You transferred it to him while you were giving him CPR right after you shot at Moses.
What do you want? That's when you saw the wire, Took it, didn't tell Brannigan or anyone else in your department, and you've been wrestling with your conscience ever since.
And right now, your conscience has gotten the upper hand Which is why you left the tape on my doorstep last night.
See, I think we got this the wrong way 'round.
I should be asking you what you want.
It wasn't me.
I didn't leave anything at your house.
You know there's something foul about your Lieutenant.
Even your partner knew.
What do you want me to do? First thing tomorrow morning, go back up on the stand, And tell the jury you lied about your gun.
Michael Rossi was prepared to follow his conscience.
Are you? Hello, Mr.
Dante.
So? So you discover a snitch in your organization, and they die.
Has to be.
And if the snitch isn't around, someone else has to go, so everybody knows how you feel about snitching.
That's how it works.
- So? - I think that's old.
I think that's an old way of doing things.
- Hm.
- Yeah.
And you strike me as a modern man.
Ah.
A leader who leads with the cool side of his brain and not the hot.
What you want? A life.
I want to save a life.
- Who is he? - She.
It's a she.
I think you can win this election.
Knowing everything you know about him, you're sure you want to keep your attorney? With everything I know about him, yes.
I was looking right at Rufus when he got shot down.
- Who shot him? - The cops.
How did that make you feel? Scared for my life.
What did you do? I ran.
What did you think would happen if you didn't run? I thought it would be me next.
How did you feel about Michael Rossi? You know, I'm deeply sorry for his family, honestly, from the bottom of my heart, but I just I don't know how we got here.
When you were down that dead-end street and he came to arrest you We all want to know, and the jury needs to hear What was in your mind? Wasn't in my mind.
Deeper than that.
In that moment, in my bones, it's just that thing that everybody know If a cop come for you and a cop get ahold of you? You could die.
So what did you do? There was, like, cages with these, uh, containers at the end, and, uh, the only way out I could see was over the containers.
And he was between me and that.
And then, uh And then I I tried to get over there.
Stop! And, uh he stepped across to To block my path.
- It's over.
- And It's over.
There was, uh, some sh-shoulder-to-sh There was some shoulder contact.
Shoulder-to-shoulder contact? He fell back.
Hit his Hit his head.
His back of his head hit Hit the iron bar in In the ground, and there was Breathe! Come on, breathe! there was all this blood all of a sudden, and Yo! Breathe! Hey, stay with me, man! Stay with me! What happened when the second police officer arrived on the scene? He took a shot at me.
Had you shown any aggressive intent toward him? No, I-I was running away, and I had my back turned to him.
He shot at your back? What did that tell you? That he was trying to kill me and that I was right to run away and I-I was right to protect myself.
Thank you.
This won't take long.
When the police arrived on the corner, Did you know they were cops? Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
And when you ran from the corner, it was to escape police officers? - Yes.
- And down that dead-end street, nothing had changed? How do you mean? You knew Michael Rossi was a police officer.
You knew he wanted to arrest you.
Yes.
Did he draw his weapon? No.
Did he make any aggressive move toward you? He was a cop.
What else did you know about Michael Rossi in that moment? Nothing.
You didn't know he had an exemplary service record? You didn't know he had a wife and five small children, or where he was born, or how much he loved baseball? No.
What does this have to do with anything? You made an assumption based on the one thing you knew about him.
That he was a cop.
- What? - What does that make you? You You just don't get it, lady.
- I mean, how could you? - Mr.
Johnson.
No, no, no.
She just gonna ask me a question and just get to sit down? No.
The way I was raised That's called rude.
- Mr.
Johnson.
- No, man, that's not right.
Your Honor, I'm entitled to redirect.
Would you like to continue with what you were saying? - Yes.
- Please continue.
She's talking about assumptions.
She don't know nothing about me.
You making assumptions that I'm one of these little hood rats on the corner.
That's not me.
Every day, I train.
Every day, I train my butt off to get where I'm trying to go.
And you talking about that I'm making assumptions.
I have never been in trouble a day in my life.
You can ask everybody.
Everybody know me.
Everybody know I stay out the way.
And you can ask everybody where I'm from Everybody know we talk about the same thing about cops.
The world has given cops the permission to To to to hurt us, to kill us, and there's no repercussions at all.
And if you And if you manage to get out of there alive, they will always be believed, they will always be the truth.
We will always be the liars.
Dead or in jail Those are our only options.
Unless there's 9 minutes and 26 seconds of footage showing a murder in broad daylight, there is no good outcome for us.
And And what does that make me? How does that make me feel? I'll tell you.
Sad.
Angry.
Tired.
But you But you think you can just stand there and And call me a bigot or Or whatever nonsense and sit down and not even have the decency to look at me when I'm talking to you.
I'm not gonna take that from her or anybody.
Not no more.
Your Honor No, I don't need to hear from you, Counselor.
Deputy, remove the jury, please.
No.
What we just heard from the defendant is a confession.
- What? - "I knew he was a cop.
- What did he - I ran anyway.
He identified himself as a cop.
- I resisted arrest.
" - What? No.
For self-defense to even be an option - for the jury to consider - Frank, man.
the threat the accused is facing must be unlawful.
We've heard nothing to suggest that anything What? these police officers have done was unlawful.
So I'm telling you what Moses Johnson just said on the stand - Oh, no, no - is an admission of guilt.
- Your Honor, no.
- Mr.
Johnson That's not what just happened.
- I have no choice.
- No, Your Honor.
I'm going to direct the jury to find you guilty.
- No, Your Honor, you're wrong.
- No, you can't do that.
- You can't do that.
- I've heard everything I need to hear.
- You can't do that, Your Honor.
- Franklin, you told I can beat this.
The whole trial, I'm just giving you a word nobody was saying.
- Come on, man.
- Hold on.
Hold on.
One second.
No, no, no, no, no.
Hold on.
Counselor, what's going on? Uh, hold on one second, Your Honor.
Uh, Your Honor, I would like to, uh A prosecution witness recalled.
- What? - Yes, Your Honor.
Who? You told us you had no knowledge of the man you shot dead on the corner that day.
Correct.
That you didn't know his name then.
Correct.
And you certainly wouldn't have known his street name.
No.
Or his relationship with the CPD.
I don't know what you mean.
I need you to think carefully about your answers now.
I have.
And I have no idea what you're talking about.
Look I don't care who we take down.
These people are all the same to me.
But they havegot to be paying for that pass The Faction.
Paying who? It's just where the heat is now.
His theory or yours? Oh, his.
He got a name? Your man in The Nation.
Yeah.
Tutu.
Which is it, Lieutenant? Are you suffering from memory loss or are you a shameless liar? I forgive you.
Excuse me? You have to do your job I understand.
But what you're saying? Total fiction.
Let me be clear about something.
Right now, there's no difference between me the lawyer and me the human being.
I'm not a storyteller, I'm not doing a job, this is me.
I'm calling you out.
What you did to Rufus Porter was an execution.
When Moses ran, he was running from a killer with the letters P-O-L-I-C-E on his chest.
That's you.
Lieutenant Brannigan.
He told me.
Told me Rufus was a snitch.
Why would he do that? Told me that, too.
It was to get me to keep Rufus' mom quiet.
Janet.
Yep, Janet.
One more thing.
Hmm? On behalf of my son and my community, I'd like to answer the question that he just dodged.
Okay.
Lieutenant Brannigan? He is a shameless liar.
I used to think the system was broken.
I don't think that anymore.
The system's not broken.
It works the way it was supposed to work by the people who designed it.
The prosecution says this is all about the rule of law.
The judge will tell you when I'm done that what Moses did was outside the law and that you have no choice but to find him guilty of murder.
But slavery was the law.
Interracial marriage was against the law.
Apartheid South Africa was upheld by the law.
And the murder of Black men, women, and children by the lynch law was ignored by the so-called real law.
So the law is not always right.
In fact, it took people like yourselves to change those laws and to remind us that the law is supposed to be about what is for the people, not to serve the powerful at the expense of the people.
So, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the moment is with you.
Moses is in your hands.
Today you are the law.
Slavery was lawful, and it was wrong.
Segregation was wrong.
Apartheid was the law, and it was straight-up evil.
Somebody had to say it then.
You are going to have to say it again today.
Moses was right to run, he was right to defend himself and the law is wrong.
Deep down in each of you, I know there's a sacred part of being human.
Socrates died for it.
You don't need God or a judge to tell you what is right and what is wrong Your conscience does that for you.
Look to your conscience, look everything else right in the eye, and with the strength your conscience gives you, bring home a verdict that sends from this courtroom a message of hope for a brighter future and a deep consolation for the corrupted past built and protected by the law.
Thank you.
Martha Roberts! Alright, now.
Martha! Martha.
Hey, Martha.
Girl.
Black people, how y'all feeling? How you feeling? Thank y'all for bringing the family out.
- Thank you for coming out to vote.
- Thank you.
You know this important, right? Yeah.
Thank you.
My condolences.
I scratched your back twice.
May the best man win.
Really? Has the jury reached a verdict? Yes, we have, Your Honor.
Will the defendant please rise? In the case of The State of Illinois vs.
Moses Johnson, on the single count of murder in the first degree the jury hereby finds the accused not guilty.
Thank you, man.
Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Man.
I love you so much.
I love you so much.
- Oh! - Moses! - Who's coming home?! - Moses! - Who's coming home?! - Moses! - Who's coming home?! - Moses! - Who's coming home?! - Moses! - Who's coming home?! - Moses! - Who's coming home?! - Moses! He saves the day ♪ - Hey! Hey! - That's right.
That's right.
That's you.
You did that.
Thank you.
No greater love ♪ A love like this ♪ Makes my heart beat ♪ And I promise you ♪ All I wanna do is make you proud of me ♪ That's why ♪ I don't wanna love nobody but you ♪ Hey, hey, hey, hey.
Everybody.
Martha Roberts' office.
Martha.
You'll get this one.
Yeah.
No matter what No matter what, right? No matter what No matter what, I thank y'all.
Yes, this is Martha Roberts.
Right.
Well, I appreciate your call.
Thank you.
You have a good night.
We won.
He saves the day ♪ - He will come through ♪ - Mama! You did it! I knew you would! I love you! He won't bow, that's not what superheroes do ♪ - See, I will never find ♪ - You did it! - No greater love ♪ - You did it! A love like this ♪ Makes my heart beat ♪ Forever an a day ♪ All I wanna do is make you proud of me ♪ Let me say it again ♪ He saves the day ♪ He will come through ♪ Where's Dad? It feels so good ♪ I don't know, baby.
- Good job, Mom.
- We did it.
No greater love ♪ Hallelujah ♪ Makes my heart beat ♪ For the rest of my life ♪ All I wanna do is make you proud of me ♪ Everybody sing ♪ Oh! You're home! - Yeah.
- I missed you.
- I missed you.
Oh, God.
- I missed you.
Daddy! Daddy! - You good? Yeah.
- Daddy! - Hey, that's for you.
- Thank you.
Hey, hey, hey, hey! - Jessica, I-I - Don't worry.
I told him.
What? After the verdict, I told Brannigan it was me who gave them the recording, that you could never do a thing like that Betray the brotherhood just for the truth.
So you're good.
You can go back to your life.
Just don't look in the mirror.
Your form's a little ragged.
You'll get it back.
Let's go again.
Yeah.
Coach, you said you wanted him back.
Here he is.
Take good care of him.
Will do.
- Alright, now.
- Alright.
Looking good.
Thanks, Mr.
Franklin.
I appreciate you.
Alright, here we go.
One more time.