narrator: 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.
- I'll say this one last time.
I'm innocent.
- So all the allegations against you--
- Are false.
Diane, I spent 3 years, 2 months, and 11 days in prison
for a crime that I did not commit.
Like many people of color,
I was wrongfully charged, and wrongfully convicted.
I have never had non-consensual sex with anyone ever.
My mission in life is to make sure that those responsible
for this travesty of justice are held accountable.
Then, and only then, can we begin a path
towards a more enlightened and racially just society.
- What do we got?
- Young couple starts fooling around,
walks down the stairs to have sex--
their words, not mine--
until they see the dead guy bleeding out.
Over here. Name's Henry King.
- The singer? - Among other things.
Five gunshot wounds, .380 shell casings.
Four to the chest, one to the groin.
Doesn't look like a robbery either.
Wallet's still in his pocket, watch is still on his wrist.
- The over-under on this guy was nine months.
- I get it, but...
- But what?
- Every victim deserves respect...
Even the ones that rape 40 women.
- Henry was trying so hard to reclaim his life, his dignity.
- Mrs. King, where were you tonight
between the hours of 9:00 and 11:00?
- I had dinner with a few friends at a place called Orto,
on 86th and Columbus.
- And when did you return?
- About 10:45.
- You know, I noticed a bunch
of surveillance cameras around here.
We may need to see the video, if that's okay.
- That's not possible.
I haven't activated the system for years.
- Your husband's one of the most hated men
in America and you don't turn on the alarm?
- I'm from Banner Elk, North Carolina.
Barely a thousand people.
We never even think of locking the front door.
- With all due respect, you're a long way from Banner Elk.
- Since your husband was released from prison,
have there been any problems?
Have you noticed anything unusual?
- How about the women who accused him of rape?
Have any of them reached out to express their...
opinions on the recent court ruling?
- No.
Not that I'm aware of, anyway.
- When was the last time you spoke with your husband?
- About four hours ago, after he did that interview.
- I just got off with the Chief.
Before that, the Mayor.
Before that, the District Attorney.
- Oh, first time in 20 years people actually care
about a Black man getting shot.
- That's funny. If it was a joke.
If not, you can save your speech for someone else,
because I am not in the mood for politics right now.
- Music to my ears.
- And why is that, Frank?
- Excuse me? - Hey, hey,
we have a murder to solve,
a murder that's the lead of every news channel,
the headline of every paper.
So call me crazy,
but maybe we should focus on that right now.
- Just found a text on King's phone, sent two days ago.
It says, "It's over. I'm coming for you."
- Damn right I sent that text,
but I was threatening his career,
not his life. - What do you mean?
- I stood by Henry year after year,
despite all the allegations.
Then he fires me, three days ago,
just as we're about to close a $50 million deal
with some podcast company.
Son of a bitch
was trying to screw me out of my commission.
After all I did for that two-faced prick.
I even had to beg the CEO just to meet with the guy.
- That's a $5 million commission.
- Oh, please, I didn't shoot Henry.
- Oh, I believe you. I mean, you're an agent.
What's more honorable than that?
Unfortunately, some of my colleagues aren't as trusting,
so... - I was home in Westport.
Had dinner with my wife.
It was our anniversary. - Hmm.
Can you think of anyone else that may have had
a serious grudge against Mr. King?
- I can think of thousands, but I'm not aware
of any specific threats or anything like that.
- Did he owe anyone money?
Half the city.
Henry was the cheapest son of a bitch on earth.
Joke was, only reason he roofied those girls
was cause he was too cheap to pick up dinner.
- Are any of those people capable of murder?
- Eh, he told me some gangbanger was
shaking him down for a lot of money.
- Did he happen to name this gangbanger?
Hey, hey, how you doing?
We're looking for a guy named Shabazz Walker, seen him?
Yeah, a'ight--
- Yo, yo, I'm not done talking to you--
- Yo, kiss my ass! - What you say to me?
- Hey, hey, Frank. - What you gonna do, man?
- What you say to me? - Frank!
- It's not your neighborhood, man.
- We're good. We're good.
- Watch your boy, man.
- Come on. - Are you kiddin' me?
These young kids, they got no respect.
They get to say and do whatever they want.
It's like a free pass.
- Not sure what you mean by that.
- Uh, I mean, I'm white, he's Black.
I say the wrong thing and my career's over.
- Yeah, maybe. - Maybe?
Is there another way of looking at this?
- Hey, Frank, you came at him hot, man.
- I showed him my badge and I said, "How you doing?"
How's that's coming off hot?
Should I have offered him a croissant
and invited him to tea at the St. Regis?
- Maybe you should have treated him a little...
more polite.
Like a law-abiding citizen,
minding his own damn business.
- Truth is it's these damn phones.
They--they've ruined everything.
- Yeah, okay.
That's one way of looking at it.
- The other? - They hold us accountable.
- Look, Kev, I know we haven't been working together
for very long, but-- - Two months.
Which makes you the longest relationship
I've had in the last six years.
- Yeah, well, if we're gonna keep this thing going,
you gotta know something about me.
- Hmm?
- I speak my mind,
probably about things I shouldn't speak my mind about.
But it's just how I'm wired. - Oh, I've sensed that.
But do you.
Speak your truth.
- I appreciate that.
And that statement you made about cameras
holding us accountable... - Mm-hmm.
- I actually agree with you.
- Shabazz!
Hey!
- Every dude in that joint wanted
to bust Henry King's head wide open.
So my brother Donyell and his crew took care of him.
Kept his ass alive. - For a fee?
- Hundred grand a year for life,
whether or not he was on the inside.
But once Henry got sprung, he didn't wanna pay.
- It's not unreasonable.
- A deal's a deal, whether or not it's reasonable.
- Did you talk to Henry King about this?
- Yeah. He laughed at me.
So I slammed his ass into a wall.
Then some bodyguard comes running up,
breaks things up, and then pulls out his Glock.
- Oh, now I'm intrigued.
What happened next?
- Told him we needed to work out an arrangement.
- That's it? No violence, no threats?
- Nah, nothing like that. I was in a good mood.
Just had a baby boy, Lamarcus.
- Congratulations.
- Mm. - Just the same.
Where were you last night, 10:00?
- At a bar in Red Hook called Ray's,
talking to the bodyguard, trying to work things out.
- You make a deal? - No, he offered me 50K.
Told him he can go to hell. - Dumb move.
- Why's that?
- King's dead.
- For real? He gone?
- Somebody shot him.
- I needed that money, man.
- Well, unless he named you in his will,
you're out of luck.
We'll be in touch.
- Shabazz isn't our guy.
I talked to the bodyguard, confirmed
the meeting at the bar in Red Hook.
- Did he say anything else?
Witness any other altercations?
- He said King got into an argument with a woman
three days ago, on White Street, just west of Baxter.
- One of the rape victims?
- He wasn't sure. - Hmm.
- Hey, I got it.
Come check it out.
Look at this.
- Can you punch in on that woman?
- Mm-hmm.
You know, I'll run this through ECMS
and request facial recognition to rush it.
- No need. I know her.
She's a prosecutor. Her name's Jamie Ross.
- Henry King's been harassing me
since he was released from prison.
Blames me for ruining his life.
- Hmm. Why you?
- I was the lead prosecutor on his rape trial.
I was also the one who made the original promise
not to prosecute him. - Hmm.
- At the time, there was only one victim, Nicole.
And it was a tough case; there wasn't a lot of evidence.
So Nicole sued him.
But Henry refused to testify.
So I offered him immunity for that one case,
so that Nicole's lawyer could depose him.
- So you're the reason he went to prison
and the reason he was released.
- Something like that.
Once the lawsuit was settled,
the evidence just kept pouring in,
woman after woman talking about being drugged
and raped and sodomized.
And none of the cases was perfect,
but it was clear that Henry King was a predator.
So, I said screw it, let's--
let's roll the dice and take this bastard to trial.
And we did.
But as we all know,
the appellate court vacated the verdict.
Said my promise not to prosecute was binding.
- You screwed up.
- I did what I thought was best at the time.
- Why did you and Henry King meet the other day?
- He had a private investigator digging into my life, my cases.
So I called his lawyer, said I wanted to resolve the nonsense.
But he wasn't interested.
Said he was going to destroy me,
destroy my family, and I--
I just lost it.
- And because of your mistake,
he's walking out of jail a free man.
- What are you really asking me, Detective?
If I killed Henry King?
- Did you?
Get the hell out of my office.
- What the hell was that?
.
- Thanks. - Hey!
I just got a call from a friend at the DA's Office.
Did you really just-- - Damn right I did.
- Frank.
- She and King got in a heated argument
three days before the murder.
- All right, don't do this. Not to me.
- I'm sick of it, Lou. All they ever do is question
the way we do our jobs, our tactics,
our integrity.
It's like their goal is to pull our pants down at every turn.
- I get it, Frank. But Ross is solid.
She is not some progressive crusader
trying to get her name in the paper.
Like it or not, we're partners with these guys.
So you better stay above the fray.
- Yeah, well, I'm not so good at that,
especially when it's them that cause the fray.
- Yeah, thanks.
Just got off the phone with the manager at Orto.
He says Veronica left at 9:24.
He has her on video.
- Restaurant is ten blocks from the brownstone.
That's about a 12-minute walk.
She should have arrived around 9:36.
Not 10:45 like she said. - Mm-hmm.
- Hey, got a hit.
Here's King's wife on the corner
of 78th and Columbus,
two blocks from her house.
Time stamp says 9:33.
- That's 27 minutes before Henry got popped.
- Let's get a search warrant for her cell sites
and confirm her whereabouts prior to, during,
and after the murder. - Okay, I'm on it.
- I didn't lie.
I just left out a few details.
- That's what lawyers would call
a distinction without a difference.
- Or the cops might call a serious red flag.
So your husband is dead, lying on a concrete floor,
blood everywhere, and you decide to lie us
about what time you got home from dinner?
- My life was spinning upside down.
So I kept a few things to myself.
- Care to elaborate?
- After dinner, I started walking home,
but I knew Henry would still be awake.
and I couldn't bear it.
So I went to a bar a block away.
Maxwell's. Had a few drinks.
Helps me cope.
- So you were there when Henry got shot?
- Yes, I was having a martini.
I heard the sirens.
Word started to spread, people started buzzing around,
like something important had just happened.
And then I heard the bartender say,
"Serves the bastard right."
That's when I knew it was Henry.
- Okay, just so we're clear,
you didn't shoot him? - Correct.
- Did you hire someone to shoot him?
- If I was gonna kill Henry,
I'd want the satisfaction of seeing him pass
right in front of my eyes.
- So much for the grieving widow.
- All my grieving has been reserved
for the women whose lives Henry destroyed.
- I know we asked you this before, but...
did you notice anything unusual?
- Uh, this is probably nothing, but I...
did notice someone hanging out
at the end of the block a few times.
He had on a hoodie.
Green, I think.
And he was wearing sunglasses even though it was dark.
It felt odd.
- Veronica's telling the truth about the bar.
The bartender said she left about 10:15,
which is shortly after the news of Henry King's murder broke.
- She's also telling the truth
about the dude in the green hoodie.
Check it out.
Here he is standing on the corner
a block away from the brownstone.
Just like she said.
- Run the video.
Freeze it.
It's a long shot, but...
there's a chance that cigarette butt is still there.
- All right.
- Looks like it should be around here someplace.
Yup. This is it.
I am feeling lucky.
- I'm not. But that's just me.
- Bet you 20 bucks.
- Bet. - Deal.
- We got a hit from the DNA.
A woman named Nicole Bell.
Maiden name Nicole Atkins. - Mm-hmm.
- Nicole Atkins?
That makes a lot of sense.
Nicole Atkins was the first woman
to accuse Henry King of rape.
- Okay.
- A search warrant? For what?
- We're investigating a homicide.
- A homicide?
What are you talking about?
- Is your wife home? - No, she just left for work.
- Okay, guys, take upstairs.
- Wait.
Is this about Henry King?
You think-- - We're not thinking anything.
We're just executing a search warrant.
- She's the victim here. I mean, you get that, right?
She's the one that was drugged and raped--
- We understand, sir.
We're gonna need you to step aside, please.
All right, we won't be long.
- No GSR, blood, or DNA on the hoodie.
But it still puts her near the scene.
- Well, Nicole's subway card says she exited and entered
the 72nd Street subway station three times in the past week.
That's about four blocks from Henry King's brownstone.
- Where's Nicole live? - West Village.
Her yoga studio's down there, too.
- Got another hit on the person in the green hoodie,
except you can see her face in this one.
- Date? - December 9th, 9:27 p.m.,
about 33 minutes before the actual murder.
- It's definitely Nicole Bell.
- Where's she standing?
- On 74th, between Columbus and Central Park West,
about two blocks from King's brownstone.
- Detective Bernard, how's it going?
- We've been canvassing the area.
Found it in there.
- Called Sanitation and trash hasn't
been picked up for the past two days.
So if the shooter dumped it, it would still be here.
- We got a SIG 380.
That'll match the casings we found at the crime scene.
- Tuesday night?
I was home with my husband.
- Were you on the Upper West Side at all that day?
- I'm not sure.
- Hmm.
That is you, correct?
- Am I under arrest?
- Oh, no.
But if you keep lying to us, we'll have no choice.
- You gotta understand, no one in this building
thinks you did anything wrong.
Hell, if it were up to me, I'd give you the key to the city.
Prick King got what he deserved.
The other thing you gotta understand is
we got the whole thing on video.
Yeah, holding the SIG .380,
waiting outside the service entrance, shooting King.
There were two surveillance cameras
on the wall, hidden from plain view.
The video is perfect. We see your face, the gun,
the muzzle flash.
- If you already know what happened,
why are we even talking?
- Because we want to help you.
Like I said, no one here thinks you did anything wrong.
More importantly, nobody wants to prosecute you.
Nobody.
What prosecutor is gonna punish a good woman
like yourself for shooting the man who raped her?
That's a career killer.
Tell us what really happened.
Tell us your side of the story, so we can help you.
- Then what?
- You go home.
Nicole, you move on with your life.
I give you my word.
- Well, you saw his TV interview, right?
There was no remorse. None!
It was like he was mocking us.
I--I couldn't take it.
- So you killed him. - He needed to be stopped.
He would have kept raping people.
So, yes, I shot him.
- Okay. Okay.
So tell us what happened after you shot him.
- I tossed the gun in a dumpster and went home.
I took a shower, said a few prayers,
made my peace, and then went to sleep.
- Nicole Bell, you're under arrest for murder.
- What? You just said that--
- Yeah, I lied. - No! No!
.
all: Let her go, let her go!
Let her go! Let her go!
Let her go, let her go!
- Docket number 373-988, People versus Nicole S. Bell.
Murder in the second degree. - How does the defendant plead?
- Not guilty, Your Honor. - Mr. Price, bail?
- The defendant has no priors and is not a flight risk.
As such, we request bail be set at $200,000.
- Defense has no objection.
- Well, I do. This is a murder case.
Bail is set at $1 million.
- A million dollars, that's crazy!
- That's ridiculous! - She did the right thing!
Let her go! Let her go!
- Enough! - She's innocent!
- Keller filed a motion to suppress
Nicole Bell's confession.
- On what basis?
- The usual stuff.
Defendant wasn't properly Mirandized,
confession wasn't knowing and voluntary,
police used improper and coercive tactics.
- Did they? - Did they what?
- Use improper techniques.
- No. I watched the interrogation.
- Did Cosgrove lie?
- Yeah.
Did a good job, too.
- This case is front page news, Nolan.
- I get it. But, with all due respect,
that's not relevant.
When you asked me to come here, you said,
"I need someone who sees the world through a different lens,
someone with the guts to make hard decisions."
- I remember. I still feel that way.
But it's a legal confession, Nolan.
Cops are allowed to lie.
- They are, but it makes the confession less reliable.
Less ethical.
- No. If it's legal, it's ethical.
So where do we draw the line, Nolan?
One lie, two lies?
Or do we analyze the severity of the lie?
Do white lies count?
Do we examine how charming a detective is?
What about embellishments? Do they count?
What if a cop says we have five witnesses instead of four?
Do we throw it out? - I think we need to analyze it
on a case-by-case basis.
But, to be clear, in this case, it wasn't
one little lie or embellishment.
Cosgrove spun the suspect upside down.
He practically promised her immunity.
Told her that no one in the DA's Office
would even consider prosecuting her,
exploited the fact that she was a rape victim,
that she shot the man who assaulted her.
Why let the defense tear him apart on cross,
shift the focus away from the evidence
and onto her sympathetic client
and the big bad police department?
- Like it or not, Nolan,
"the big bad police department" is our partner.
And, in case you haven't been paying attention,
they're under attack.
Every decision, every arrest is scrutinized.
There are people trying to defund them, for God's sake.
And here you are, asking me to castrate them?
- That is not my intent.
I just wanna do what is best for this case.
- Can you win this trial without a confession?
- Yes.
- Your call.
As long as you're willing to live with the consequences.
- I am.
- Okay, then it's out.
- Thank you.
- We have video of the defendant,
two blocks from Henry King's brownstone,
approximately 30 minutes prior to the shooting,
and video of her, wearing the exact same clothing,
but this time covering her face, wearing sunglasses,
two blocks from the brownstone, tossing the murder weapon
into a dumpster, five minutes after the murder.
As for motive... well, she's got a good one.
Oldest one there is, actually.
Vengeance.
When the justice system failed her,
the defendant took matters into her own hands.
Got justice her way. The Old Testament way.
The evidence will prove that Henry King
did some despicable things to the defendant,
that she had every right to loathe him.
But the evidence will also prove that,
on the date of Henry King's death,
the defendant grabbed a SIG .380 handgun,
secreted herself in a dark place
outside the victim's home, and then shot him five times.
Henry King...
committed some abhorrent acts
of sexual violence to the defendant.
He took things from her that she will never get back.
Unfortunately for her,
that has no bearing on this trial.
In the eyes of the law,
when a good woman kills
a horrible man
in cold blood...
it's called murder.
- Your Honor, the Defense waives opening at this time.
- Mr. Price, call your first witness.
- Is this hooded sweatshirt similar to the one
you recovered from the defendant's apartment?
- Yeah, it appears identical.
- And where exactly did you recover
this green hooded sweatshirt?
- The defendant's apartment. I found it in the dryer.
It was damp, like it was just being washed.
- Now when was that search warrant executed?
- Day after Henry King was shot.
- Detective, where did you recover the murder weapon?
- There. ECT found it in that dumpster.
- This dumpster right behind the woman
in the green hoodie-- - Objection!
There is no evidence that the person
in this photo is a woman.
- Sustained. - Nothing further, Your Honor.
- Detective, you have no idea
that the hoodie you recovered is the actual hoodie
that the person in the photo is wearing?
- Correct.
- And there was no blood or DNA evidence
found on the hoodie that you recovered?
- Right.
- Okay, so help me out here.
If someone is wearing a sweatshirt
and shoots a man five times at close range,
there would likely be blood spatter all over it, correct?
- Not necessarily, and, like I said,
when we found the hoodie, it was damp
like she'd just washed it.
- But there was no blood on it.
- Yes, correct, because she washed it--
- So, what you're really saying is,
you have absolutely no evidence
that Nicole Bell committed this crime.
Just some random, blood-free hoodie
that vaguely resembles the hoodie
that the person in the photograph is wearing?
- No, that's not what I'm saying.
The woman in that green hoodie by that dumpster
is Nicole Bell.
And since we found the murder weapon
in that very dumpster-- - Objection, speculation.
The witness has no personal knowledge that
the person in the photo tossed the gun into the dumpster.
- Sustained. Detective, please refrain
from drawing conclusions.
- I apologize, Your Honor.
I'm not drawing conclusions.
Because the defendant actually told me
she tossed the murder weapon into that dumpster
when she confessed that she shot...
- Objection! - Henry King.
- Sustained!
Counsel, my chambers. Now.
- I move for a mistrial.
We had an agreement that the people
would not introduce this confession.
- Detective Cosgrove made a mistake.
- A mistake that the jury heard.
Heard that Nicole confessed to this crime.
- A confession you decided to toss.
So, what the hell is going on here, Price?
- As I said, Your Honor, Detective Cosgrove
made an honest mistake. - I know Cosgrove.
He's smart; he doesn't make honest mistakes.
Whatever he said, he said for a reason.
- It's possible. It's--it's still my fault.
I should have reminded Cosgrove
that the confession was inadmissible, I apologize.
But his testimony wasn't overly prejudicial.
A curative instruction can fix this.
- I agree.
I'll advise the jury to disregard Cosgrove's statement.
- What? No mistrial?
The jury cannot unhear what Cosgrove just said.
- They'll have to. Because we're moving forward.
- Frank, what the hell was that?
I told you five times
you're not allowed to mention the confession!
We're not using it.
Are you trying to blow the whole--
- Go to hell. - Excuse me?
- I catch 'em, you cook 'em.
That's how this is supposed to work.
- We talked about this--
- I don't care what we talked about!
I'm a cop. I'm a good cop.
Like it or not, I get paid to lie to people like Nicole Bell.
Just stop trying to change the world.
Do your damn job.
.
- If you're here to gloat about the confession snafu,
I'm not interested.
- No gloating here, I promise.
I am simply the bearer of information.
Just got notice that Nicole is claiming self-defense.
- What? Self-defense?
- Gets better, too.
King's wife was just added to the witness list.
She's going to testify that she actually saw
King attack Nicole right before the shooting.
- Saw him? She was in the bar.
- Well you don't see that every day.
Victim's wife committing perjury
to help the killer walk free.
- I heard Henry screaming at Nicole,
calling her a whore, a liar.
So I went downstairs to the maid's room.
- And what did you see next?
- Nicole was trying to hurry out the door.
Henry ran after her, grabbed her.
Then I heard gunshots.
- And did you tell any of this to the police?
- No. - How come?
- For the past 25 years,
my number one priority was to protect Henry's brand,
perpetuate the myth that he was a good man,
a kind man, a family man.
So that was my first instinct,
to protect Henry, even in death.
- Nothing further.
- At the time of your husband's murder,
you were actually at a bar called Maxwell's,
a block away from your home. Correct?
- No, I was home.
- The manager of Maxwell's, Daniel Connolly,
someone you've known for five years,
confirmed that you were there until approximately 10:15 p.m.
He also confirmed seeing you there
as word of Henry's murder began to circulate,
which means you're lying,
that you didn't witness any sort of altercation.
Correct? - No.
Daniel must have been mistaken. I left the bar before 10:00.
I saw Henry and Nicole fighting.
I heard the gunshots.
- So you're calling Daniel a liar?
- No, you are.
- Mrs. King...
the real reason you're testifying today
is because you're ashamed of yourself, correct?
- I'm testifying 'cause it's the right thing.
- The right thing for you.
Because you want to absolve yourself
from your husband's crimes,
from the anguish you caused
the defendant and the 39 other women that he raped.
- Of course I regret that.
What Henry did to those women, it's unthinkable!
- So you agree.
You're testifying because you feel guilty.
You're trying to help Nicole get away with murder,
so you can feel better about yourself.
- I am here to tell the truth.
- You mean rewrite the truth. Change your brand.
Go from Henry King supporter to Henry King hater.
- Objection! He is badgering the witness.
- Sustained. Move on, Mr. Price.
- Mrs. King...
You stood by your husband
even though 40 women accused him of rape.
You attacked their integrity and motives.
You called them tramps, gold diggers, fame sluts.
I can only imagine how much shame and remorse
you must feel. - Objection!
- Withdrawn. Nothing further.
- The defense calls Nicole Bell.
- He was the most charming man I ever met.
He was interested in everything I had to say,
everything I wanted to do.
We were going to open a business together,
a chain of yoga studios.
Then one day, we played tennis at his house in Connecticut.
When we were done, he started flirting,
said he wanted to have sex.
I told him that was a bad idea.
And he just glared at me.
All the charm and kindness in his eyes
just vanished in an instant.
- Then what happened?
- He pushed me down on the bed,
pulled up my skirt, and raped me.
- Did you call the police?
- No. - How come?
- I wanted to pretend it never happened.
- Are you okay to continue?
Did you and Henry remain friends after he raped you?
- Yes.
- How come?
- I thought maybe if we could both forget
about what happened, maybe things
could be like they were before.
- Is that what happened?
- No.
Next time I saw him, he drugged me.
Put Rohypnol in my wine.
I--
I lost control of my body.
I was still awake, but I was helpless.
And he raped me again.
I was only 24,
and he was one of the most famous men in America.
- So, knowing what Henry King is capable of doing,
why did you agree to go to his house that night?
- He said he wanted to apologize.
And I believed him.
- Did you bring a gun with you?
- Yes.
I took one from my husband's safe,
in case he tried to rape me again.
- And what happened at the house?
- He poured me a glass of wine. And I just stared at it.
I was afraid he might have put something in it.
He saw that I was nervous, and that infuriated him.
He--he started berating me. So I ran outside.
He followed me, grabbed me.
I thought he was going to kill me.
So I shot him.
Henry King ruined my life.
He ruined 39 other lives, too.
And some judge just let him walk free.
- Objection. She's making a speech.
- So I shot him!
So the women he raped could move on.
- Ms. Bell, please. That's enough.
You've already answered the question.
- I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
.
- She put on a hell of a show today.
- Jury ate it up, too.
Juror number four had tears in her eyes.
- I get it. Her story's heartbreaking.
But they have to know that she's lying,
that this self-defense claim is nonsense.
- They know. They just don't care.
I've been digging into her testimony.
She talked a lot about what she did the day of the murder--
where she went, what she was thinking.
But she left out something pretty significant.
She came to our offices,
came here at 4:45 the day of the murder,
to see ADA Ross.
Odd thing to omit.
I mean, if you're going to talk about
taking a walk, going to the gym...
why not slip in the fact you had a chat with
the prosecutor who actually tried Henry King for rape?
- Because the conversation was incriminating.
- Hi.
- Excuse me. We need to talk.
- Nolan, what the hell are you doing here?
- I would prefer to talk in private.
- I'm sorry.
Can you give me just a few minutes?
- You meet with Nicole Bell the day of the murder?
- No comment. - Jamie, don't do this.
- I'm not having this conversation.
- You're a prosecutor, for God's sake.
- I already ruined that woman's life.
I'm not doing it again.
- I need to know-- - I'm not talking.
- Did Nicole tell you she was going to kill Henry King?
Jamie, for God's sake,
don't ruin your career over this.
- I'm not talking.
- Then I'll subpoena you.
You wanna lie on the stand, that's up to you.
Well, you do what you have to do.
- ADA Ross, do you know the defendant?
- Yes, she was a witness in a case I tried,
the Henry King rape trial.
She was amazing, too. Strong, determined, fearless.
I have a great deal of respect for her.
- Did you meet with the defendant
on the day of the murder?
- I refuse to answer on the grounds
that it may incriminate me. - You're taking the Fifth?
- I refuse to answer on the grounds--
- Are you saying that you committed a crime?
- Objection! - Sustained.
Back off, Mr. Price.
- I'll try one more time.
Did the defendant tell you
she planned to kill Henry King?
- I refuse to answer on the grounds
that it may incriminate me.
- Nothing further.
- I have no questions, Your Honor.
- You may step down, Ms. Ross. - Thank you.
- Ms. Keller, call your next witness.
- The defense rests, Your Honor.
- We're adjourned.
We'll begin closing arguments tomorrow.
- We need to poke holes in their absurd defense
and reinforce the idea that the character of the victim
and of the defendant are irrelevant!
- They already know that, Nolan.
We've been pounding that it into their heads
from the beginning.
Like it or not, they want to believe Nicole's story
- But it's preposterous!
- I agree with Ms. Maroun.
The jury wants to acquit.
Irrespective of the facts. Irrespective of the law.
Too bad we didn't have a damn confession.
It's okay to play the hero, Nolan...
as long as you win.
And right now...
that appears highly unlikely.
- He's right.
Every woman on that jury hates me.
Right now, I'm just another man victimizing Nicole Bell.
We need to reframe the argument.
You told me a story
a while back
about your family.
- You're saying you want me to deliver the closing?
I'm a prosecutor.
I'm sworn to enforce the laws of this state.
Yet I understand the defendant's desire for revenge,
for street justice.
Nine years ago, my sister was raped and murdered in Georgia.
Police never arrested the offender.
But I knew who did it.
Police knew, too. Just couldn't prove it.
So it's easy to understand the defendant's rage,
her desire for vengeance,
her need for this son of a bitch to pay
for what he did to her,
to suffer like he made her suffer.
When Henry King was released from prison,
the defendant's thirst for revenge escalated.
Maybe she even began to fantasize about killing him.
Pictured herself grabbing a gun,
going to his house, waiting for him to show up.
She probably even planned what she was going to say,
where she was going to shoot him.
Those types of fantasies are perfectly normal.
Trust me.
They're also perfectly legal.
But to actually take the life of another human being...
to wait outside someone's house
and shoot him five times in cold blood...
that's not only wrong, that's criminal.
Just--just because you're suffering
and you're filled with anger
doesn't mean you get to play God.
Now that doesn't mean you shouldn't
have tremendous sympathy for the defendant,
that you shouldn't appreciate the pain
and the suffering she endured.
So, when you go back to the jury room to deliberate,
give yourself permission to feel sorry for her.
But that doesn't mean she's innocent,
that she should walk free.
This case comes down to one simple question.
Did Nicole Bell
intentionally shoot and kill Henry King?
If the answer is yes,
you must convict.
- Have you reached a verdict?
- Yes, Your Honor.
- What say you?
- On the count of Murder in the Second Degree,
we find the defendant guilty.
- Come on!
- I did this for you!
For all of us!
Move on!
Live your lives!
all: Let her go! Let her go!
- Order!
all: Let her go! - Order!
all: Let her go!
- Order!
all: Let her go! Let her go!
- Order!
all: Let her go! Let her go!
Let her go, let her go!
- The jury got it right, Sam.
- Doesn't feel right.
My goal is to help the victims, not send them to prison.
- If--if you try a good case,
if you do it the right way,
whatever the jury decides is right,
whether or not it feels good.
That's the only way I know how to do it.
Only way that lets me sleep at night.
- The only thing that will let me sleep is
you requesting the lightest sentence possible.