["Keep in the Dark" by Temples playing]
♪ Keep in the dark to stay out of the light ♪
♪ Just sleeping in the sunlight ♪
[siren wailing]
♪ La...
ERIC: I need an ambulance. Hurry.
My mom-- she's fucking dying, okay?
Just get over here.
♪ La...
[vocalizing]
have intensified with[Nancy moaning, rhythmic slapping]
the government-ordered culling of high-risk cattle
nearing 3,000 head per day.
The large-scale slaughter, which started Friday,
is the government's latest response to scientific...
[both moaning, grunting, TV continues faintly]
[alarm buzzes outside]
OFFICER: Count time, inmates!Don't-don't stop.
[grunts] Okay, okay. No.
Hold that thought. Hold it.Don't...
Hold it. I'll be right back.
ERIC: Fuck.
[panting]
OFFICER: Badges out.
Let's go, inmates.
Mitchell.
Check.
Rodriguez.
Check.
Gomes.
Check.Dominguez.
Check.
Come on. Fisher.
Check.
NANCY [gasps]: Oh, my God.
[both panting]
If it's that good now,
what's it gonna be like when I'm free?
[chuckles]
You okay?
[siren wailing]
[typewriter clacking] RUSSELL: On March 10, 1983,
Mary Fisher was murdered in her home in Sherman Oaks.
I was the primary investigating officer.
Last month's clearance rates, Russ.
I need them yesterday.
Uh, I'm almost done.
Mr. Fisher never, at any time,
displayed remorse for this brutal and senseless crime,
but there is additional evidence to consider,
evidence I received years after the murder,
new evidence that only further confirms Mr. Fisher's guilt,
evidence that leads me to recommend,
in the strongest possible terms,
that Mr. Fisher be denied parole at this time.
Make sure this goes out today.
REPORTER: For 18 years,
Jeremy Williams' claims of innocence
hit nothing but brick wallsNANCY: Oh, yeah.
in the American justice system.Harder.
That is, until Private Investigator
Charlie Shannon took on his case.
So, Charlie, how did you do it?
When a man is truly innocent-- I mean, truly--
when a man's been framed by corrupt cops,
there's always a way.
I mean, you just don't give up until you find it.
I find it.
I'm Charlie Shannon.
You need a guy like this, babe.
That ship has sailed, baby.
My hearing's next week.
Hey.
You don't think I'm gonna get parole?
How many lifers get parole first time up?
One percent?
But I've done the work.
I've got references,
statements of support, job offers,
and approved living arrangements
with my wife.
Honey, we got to talk.
Okay.
[sighs]
Before we met, I thought
this was gonna be...
I don't know, um, like, an arrangement.
Answer an ad, meet a guy.
I never thought that I would fall for you.
But I did.
All the way.
Me, too.
I mean, that's-that's why we got married.
Honey...
We got married so we could fuck,
and then it
turned into something else-- it turned into this
beautiful thing that I thought I could never have...
...because I didn't deserve it.
I'm sick of waiting until the next conjugal.
It's not enough.
I deserve more.
You taught me that. [chuckles]
And you'll have that...
with me.
I don't think so.
I'm sorry, honey.
You're hurting me.
I'm sorry, too.
HENRY [over phone]: Your parole hearing, Eric.
Are you ready?
[clears throat] Ready to go.
Yeah, I know.
I know you are, son.
I only wish I could be there to see it all pay off.
I'm really proud of you, boy. [coughing]
Dad, you okay?
Oh, yeah.
Hi, Eric, honey.
He's fine. He's just fine.
How are you? You doing your dream book?
How's Nancy doing?
HENRY: Eric, listen up.
I'm not going anywhere,
unless I can take you and...
And we're gonna go to a ball game, you hear me?
Eric?
Dad, I got to go. There's guys waiting.
Oh, God, let them wait. They...
No, I got to go.
[alarm beeping]
[indistinct broadcast over TV]
Oh, shit. Dad, hey!
Jesus.
Ow! Fuck!
Hey, you got to take the plastic off first.
Nomo won another one last night.
Nomo.
Our new star pitcher, the Chink.
Big-shot murder cop
doesn't give a shit about baseball anymore.
Motherfucker.
I filled out that housing req myself, just like you told me,
and it worked.
I move to my new pod tomorrow.
Thanks, man.
I don't want that.
I'm clean. Yeah, you do.
FRANKLIN: You call this a personal statement?
Where's the remorse?
Keep reading. No.
First, write a letter from her to you
asking why you killed her.
Why you would even do that.
Fine.
You don't want a release date.All right, all right, all right.
All right, wait.
How do I do that?
Put yourself in her shoes.
Write her letter first,
then your personal statement.
That thing's gonna be soaked in remorse.
♪
COMMISSIONER WEBB: Do you solemnly swear or affirm
that the testimony you're about to give
is the truth and nothing but the truth?
I do.
WEBB: You may be seated.
You were going through her purse
when your mother confronted you.
You beat her in the head with multiple blunt instruments
and stabbed her with two knives.
Yes, ma'am.
So how do you feel about the crime now?
Commissioner, perhaps you haven't...
Yeah, I read his personal statement.
I'd like to hear it from him.
I take full responsibility for my actions,
but the person who did this,
the person I was...
...that person doesn't exist anymore.
You know, my stepmother says, uh, I should be grateful.
I hadn't gone to prison, I'd be dead now from drugs.
But this version of me,
this Eric, he is dead,
and I'm alive, because I do take responsibility.
I stand before you
a changed man.
And how did you effect that change,
Mr. Fisher?Consciously, through hard work,
since the day I arrived here.
I've had continued involvement in 12 Step programs,
I've acquired a GED,
a paralegal degree...
Do you plan to continue your self-improvement
if given a parole date? Yes, sir.
If you choose to release me,
I will do everything I can to make you proud of me,
to make my parents
proud of me.
To make me proud of me.
First thing that I, uh, I want to do...
...I-I need to do
is, uh, go see her.
Visit her grave and, um...
...and beg her forgiveness.
Mr. Fisher, there is a report here
regarding a 1992 incident.
A corrections officer,
Armstrong, was stabbed to death in a...
There was a thorough investigation.
Mr. Fisher was cleared of all possible involvement.
HERNANDEZ: No gang affiliations?
No, sir.Would you be willing
to show us your left forearm? Yes, sir.
That's not a gang symbol?
Actually, I was going for a peace sign. [chuckles]
Uh, couldn't finish.
Hurts like hell getting a tattoo.
Prior criminality consisted
of traffic tickets and the use of illegal drugs.
I was a drug addict, yeah.
I still am.
In recovery.
And this,
before the murder, 1983 assault
on a young woman, Kimberly Decker.
Never happened.
Kimberly was a very troubled young woman.
Charges were never filed.
The investigating officer suggested your father
paid the Deckers not to file.
My father would never do that.
With all due respect, Commissioner, my dad is my hero.
He's the best man I've ever known.
I'm not gonna sit here and have you tell me he's not.
Mr. Fisher, your psychological evaluation at Sylmar
prior to trial.When I was 19, yeah.
11 years ago.
I've undergone a number
of extensive psych evals since then.
And I'm talking about this one.
"Subject was extremely aggressive,
"especially in charged emotional situations
where he feels he lacks control."
So... situation like this,
for example?
Like I said, I'm a changed man,
and frankly, sir, after this hearing,
if you don't believe that, then,
I mean, I would urge you to keep me in prison,
all of you.
[phone ringing]
HENRY [over recording]: You've reached Henry and Faith Fisher.
We accept charges for all collect calls.
Leave a message at the beep.
[beep]
I did good.
I, uh, I think it went all right.
Dad? [chuckles]
Faith? Anybody?
All right.
CHUCK: So you told them you did it?
You got to, Chuck.
If you want to get out, you got to tell them you did it
and you got to show remorse.
Remorse? I'll show them a shitload of remorse.
I'm just not gonna say that I did it,
'cause I didn't. I'm fucking innocent, man.OFFICER: Fisher.
Warden wants to see you.
Hey, man, looks like my man's got his date.
Cherry pie for everybody.INMATE: Oh, yeah! Whoo!
On Fisher.
Fisher man!
WARDEN FERGUSON: Come in. Have a seat.
You need to call home.
[phone line beeping]
ERIC: Faith?
[sighs] Honey, I'm sorry.
He's gone.
When?
[sighs] Two days ago.
It was a very peaceful transition.
He didn't want you to carry any bad thoughts into your hearing.
When's the funeral?
[sighs] Thursday,
at Mount Sinai.
And, uh, I already talked to your warden,
so maybe he could get you a pass.
It's my father's funeral, sir.
I need to be there.
You know the rules.I'll pay.
I've got an inheritance coming.
You're 16 to life.
I just had my hearing.
No day passes for lifers.
[buzzer blares]
[indistinct chatter]
The bucket. That's contraband, inmate.
I've had this thing for years, man.
I use it for laundry.
Ask your captain.The bucket.
Now.
[buzzer blares]
[indistinct announcement over P.A.]
[sniffs]
INMATE: That's right, man. You better give it to him!
[groans]
[indistinct chatter]
[buzzer blares][indistinct shouting]
[indistinct chatter]
Fuck y'all.
Goddamn it, Fisher, give it back.
Come here!
Get down!
[grunting and groaning]
All right, enough.
Stand down.
REPORTER [over radio]: ...witness stand in last year's trial of the century.
In the upcoming civil trial
set for September 9, O.J. Simpson will...
I'm not going in.
Dad, we're just checking it out.
No.
Fine. Stay here.
[car door slams shut]
Unfortunately,
Dad's insurance only covers a small portion
of our Level A care.Won't be a problem.
Here's $5,000-- that's first two months.
I don't know when he'll start, but I want to know
that he has a spot when he needs it.
One step at a time.
Why don't we get Dad in here for a tour?
I don't think he's in the touring mood.
We'll see about that.
[car horn honking]
We have a prospective resident outside.
[horn continues honking]
I said pull over!Oh, shit.
[siren wailing]
MAN: Get out of the road![horn honking]
Dave Russell, LAPD.Hey.
License and registration.My father.
He's retired off the job.
I told him to stay in the car.Okay.
RUSSELL: So I got this. Thanks, Officer.
Copy that.Thank you.
Hey, buddy, what are you doing?
Hey. I got his license.Hey, no, no, no, no.
Give me it. Can you give me the license?
No.
Let's give this guy back.
Sorry about that.
Come on. You don't have to go in.
I went...
You went where?I don't know.
Do you need some help?
Come on.We're good. Thanks.
You do this, I'll eat my gun.
[inmates arguing indistinctly]
[arguing continues]
MANNING: Don't say a word, kid.
Ed's a snitch.
ED: You okay?
Hey, you're the fucking snitch, Paulie!
MANNING: He wants you to confess.
ED: When was the last time you got high?
Shit, man, you killed her high.
Shut your own fucking mouth.
MANNING: Fine. Fine.
We're all snitches.
No one's listening to you, asshole!
HENRY: Eric.[breathing shakily]
Eric.
Dad?
You there?
Dad?
HENRY: Jesus loves you.
[gasps]
[panting]
[lock buzzes]
[inmates shouting indistinctly]
[indistinct chatter over officer's radio]
[grunts]
[groans]
This just came for you today.
Sure it's good news.
[sniffles]
MAN: China white.
Way it melts.
Covers the spoon.
[sighs] I can't stop thinking...
I'd say then don't, man. Leave.
Go score.No cross talk, Fisher.
No, no, no.
Shoot that shit up. Just stop fucking bitching.
COUNSELOR: No cross talk.
You know, somebody gave me some smack.
I flushed it.[chuckles]
You think that was easy?
Should've given it to you.
COUNSELOR: Sit down, Fisher.
[radio crackling]It's cool.
We're all cool.
MAN: Sit your ass down, man.
Keep coming back, shit bug.
[indistinct chatter][buzzer blares]
♪
[siren whooping]
[horns honking]
♪ Oh, the gentlemen are talking ♪
♪ And the midnight moon
♪ Is on the riverside
♪ They're drinking up
♪ And walking
♪ And it is time for me to slide ♪
♪ I live in another world
♪ Where life and death
♪ Are memorized [belt unbuckles]
♪ Where the earth is strung
♪ With lovers' pearls [trembling breaths]
♪ And all I see are dark eyes
[dog barking in distance]
♪ A cock is crowing far away
♪ And another soldier's
♪ Deep in prayer [sniffs]
♪ Some mother's child
♪ Has gone astray
♪ She can't find him
♪ Anywhere
♪ But I can hear another drum
♪ Beating for the dead
♪ That rise
♪ Whom nature's beast fears
♪ As they come [sniffing]
♪ And all I see
♪ Are dark eyes.
[indistinct chatter]
From your lawyers.
Yeah.
You're not even gonna look at them?
I get copies sent here.
That you don't read.
I know you've given up on parole,
but they're still working for you.
They say they're investigating.
They're just cashing checks.
They found something, honey.
A year ago.
Chris Keller.
He killed himself.
Shit.
What?
Not much of a note.
Well, what did you expect--
a confession?
Nobody is gonna give you a ticket out.
Not the parole board. Not Chris Keller.
You're gonna have to work for it.
You can't do it alone.
You need help.Ma'am.
You've got to ask for help.
Find someone who can get you out of here.
Ma'am.It's okay.
We're done.
Your father asked me...
Asked me to get you these right before he transitioned.
Just wanted
to go to one more ball game with his son.
He didn't have the strength,
so he asked for help.
Can you do that?
I can do that.
I can tell you exactly what happened that day, Mr. Shannon.
Charlie.
That's why I'm here.
[doorbell rings]
Hey, Mrs. Fisher.
How's it going?No. Chris, Jesus.
I told you yesterday you can't just drop in.N-No, I...
I just need some money for a bus ticket to get home.
Yeah...W... Wait!
Can I just call my mom?
It'll be a second.
How do you know this happened?Mean, he had to go back.
You know, he's still pissed from the day before.
He's still broke.
Where else would he go?
[clattering in distance]
What are you doing?
Nothing.
What's in the backpack?
What's the code to the safe?
[scoffs]
What's the fucking code?!
[Mary whimpering]
[both panting]
[screams]
Fuck!
Bitch.
Give me the fucking thing!
Gimme it![shouts]
[grunts]
[choking][knocking]
ERIC: Mom, it's me.
Mom, you there?
[door closes]
Mom?
SHANNON: Okay, I've heard enough.
Chris Keller didn't put you here.
We got to focus on what did.
The cops. The D.A. Your lawyer.
The judge. The evidence.
If you want my help, those are our targets.
Right, and that's what I'm saying.
Once Russell locked in on me, he locked everything else out,
including Chris.
But Russell interviewed Keller.Yeah,
in New Mexico, where he was in jail
for attempting to rob an old lady
with a fucking knife.
Right? Less than a month
after he killed my mom, and Russell knew that.
I read the transcript before the trial.
So, your friend Eric Fisher says that...
you did it.
We know that's not true.
ERIC: Everything Chris said pointed
to his guilt, and my lawyer wasn't even allowed
to mention his name.
You have that transcript?
It's okay. It's okay. Your hotshot lawyers do,
and if you read it, it was part of discovery.
That's just the tip of the iceberg.
Russell falsified tons of evidence.
He fucked me
every way he could.
There's no way he saw her through that window.
You have any proof?
Oh, I got all kinds of proof.
I just fucking love prison.
Your arrest report.
Russell's follow-up.
The chrono.
Witness statements. Trial transcripts.
We need everything.
My lawyers said that...Yeah, wild guess.
"Better we hold onto it, keep everything in one place."
You want a chance at getting out,
we got to work this ourselves.
You sign this, and I'll get you everything
your legal weasels have.
What they don't have,
whatever's missing, I'll find.
All right? Now, you know
you got to go through all of it.
Any mistakes.
Any evidence of misconduct.
$1,200 a week?
Plus expenses.
If Dave Russell framed you,
it's not the only time.
I'll look into him, hard.
If we can prove a pattern of corruption...
It gets me out.It's a start.
Jeremy Williams,
the guy you saw me on TV with?
He signed it.
He's free now.
[keys jingle] MAN: Built in '64.
Rock-solid.Mm.
Safe building?
For my daughter.
Well, you got a real-life cop living next door.
Active LAPD.
Moved in with his, uh, dad a couple years back.
Good guy, this cop?
Yeah, he's a great tenant.
Pays on time. Cash.
Six months at a clip.
You want an app?
There's always guys out there for themselves.
Problem with Rampart is it's putting a spotlight
on a whole group of scumbags.
Think Dave Russell fits with that?
Skimming and the shakedowns?
Russ?
He's the boss now.
He runs all the detective tables in Metro.
West Bureau gangs back in the '80s.
What, you think he never got his hands dirty?
Oh, fuck you.
You're working a convict case.
Squeezing the last dime out of some shitbird,
selling him hope that he don't deserve.
Well, some shitbirds are innocent.
Some shitbirds are framed by dirty cops.
[scoffs] Not Russ.
Compared to you?
He's got more real cop...
in his left nut.
Coffee?
Yes, please.
So, you a cop, too?
Used to be.
Now, apparently, I'm just an asshole.
No, you're not.
You sure?Oh,
trust me. [chuckles]
My ex was the king of assholes.
I'm an expert in this area.
[chuckles]I think what you need
is some sweet potato pie.
RADIO HOST: To prove her confidence in the work that...
[mutters softly]
...Y2K bugs in the agency's computers, FAA administrator...
[car alarm chirps]
[engine starts][humming]
[radio continuing indistinctly]
Nice car, Dave.
♪
Fancy house, Mr. Russell.
What do we got here?
[speaking indistinctly]
[car door closes]
Oh, this is his house.
See you, babe.
Where we going? Where we going? All right.
[engine starts]
The problem is, there's not much to find.
I looked into his other cases.
Russell seems like a pretty straight arrow.
Says who, the police?
Uh, look, I thought he showed
some weirdness on the financial side.
You know, big-ass Mercedes,
a mansion in Hancock Park,
paying cash for stuff.Well, he's taking payoffs.
Nope. Just a sad divorce.
And the wife traded up, from cop to doctor.
Married a guy she worked with at the ER.
Owns a bunch of high-end trauma centers.
The dad's an old-school copper, the kind that don't trust
the bank with their pension money,
so that could explain the cash flow.
Russell's dirty, man, he's got to be.
You and me, Eric.
We're two peas in the pod.
All right? We don't give up.
Yeah.
Okay. Look, I'll keep checking.
You need more money?
♪
Buy you a drink, Detective?
Charlie Shannon, P.I. Work for Eric Fisher.
I don't come to you with my problems.
Nice meeting you, too, Dave.
Mama, could I get a Macallan 12, double?
Are you sure?
I mean, Fisher's a big spender.
Eric Fisher is guilty as sin.
And if you're following me, asshole,
you want to stand the fuck down.
[chuckles softly]
Well, Fisher says Chris Keller killed his mother,
and you looked the other way.
Eric Fisher carved his mom wide open.
Crushed her head, stabbed her,
choked her out.
He's a piece of shit that deserves to die in prison.
And you work for him.
So what does that make you?
Hmm?
MATTHEW BRODERICK: That they'd have a black shirt and a gray shirt,
and I feel like they should pick one color scheme.
DAVID LETTERMAN: Well, you know what they're doing,[snoring]
the-the Mets are spending
all that World Series money on uniforms.
[audience groans]
[audience laughs, applauds]
They're big boys, they can handle themselves. Relax.
Not like I'm beating up on a chili guy, you know?
[indistinct chatter in distance]
[boxes thudding]
Got to get rid of some of this shit
if all this gonna fit in your cell.
[sighs]
MAN [in distance]: ♪ 55 bottles of beer in my cell ♪
♪ 55 bottles of beer
♪ Take one down, fuck it around ♪
♪ 54 bottles of beer in my cell ♪
♪ 54 bottles of beer
♪ Take one down, fuck it around ♪
♪ 53 bottles of beer in my cell ♪
♪ 53 bottles of beer...
Shut the fuck up!
Oh! You shut the fuck up!
Shut the fuck up!
Fuck, man!
[man yells indistinctly]
♪ You took one down... ♪
INMATE 2: Quiet your ass down, man!
♪ 52 bottles of beer in my cell ♪
♪ I wonder how they all fit ♪
♪ They took one down... ♪
RUSSELL: But there is additional evidence to consider.
Evidence I received
years after the murder.
"I met with Carl Horowitz,
"the new owner of the Fisher house,
"after receiving a call from him.
"Mr. Horowitz informed me
"that he had found $150
"hidden in the attic
above Eric Fisher's old bedroom."
He's lying.
Nobody found any money in that attic.
Are you kidding me? The only way up there
is the ladder from the garage.
There's no fucking way Keller did that, man.
He killed my mother, he took the money
and he split.
Lieutenant Russell straight-up lied
to my parole board in writing.
California Penal Code S134: "Any person guilty
"of preparing false documents to be used in any trial,
"proceeding or inquiry
is guilty of a fucking felony."
Yes. You just have to prove it.
No. No, that's your job.
Detective Russell ever came by to talk to you
about the Eric Fisher case?
You were right. Horowitz never found any money.
He never even met Dave Russell. I've got a sworn statement
to prove it.
LAPD Internal Affairs
has to go after Russell.
They're gonna do our job for us,
and they're gonna do it for free.
The higher up you are, the more I.A.
loves kicking your ass,
and Russell is a lieutenant.
We fucking got him.
We got him.
DUGAN: Where is your client, Ms. Harding?
He is not coming, Commissioner.
Mr. Fisher has instructed me to inform you
that he had nothing to do with his mother's murder
and he is no longer willing to claim otherwise
in order to be granted an early release date.
ERIC: The California Board of Prison Terms
received a letter from LAPD Lieutenant Dave Russell
on May 7, 1996
concerning the robbery and murder of my mother Mary Fisher
in our home in Sherman Oaks.
In this letter, Lieutenant Russell falsified evidence
against me in order to have my parole denied,
making him guilty of a felony.
I have proof of his false statement.
Lieutenant Russell's obvious contempt for the law
and his oath must not be rewarded.
He has lied to the parole board and lied to the courts.
Society deserves no less than to be relieved
of Russell's brand of willful corruption.
I ask that you give this matter
your utmost and immediate attention.
Sincerely,
Eric Fisher.