Conviction

No!

Male Reporter: Hayes Morrison's rant about privilege

could not have been more fun to watch,

for everyone except her mother, Harper Morrison.

I screw up. Because of my last name, the cops call the D.A.

He calls my mom.

Strings are pulled.

I'm out on the street in an hour with a new job.

Harper's poll numbers have taken a hit

since Hayes revealed her mother helped her

escape punishment for cocaine possession

with the assistance of District Attorney Conner Wallace.

Hi, Jax. It's me.

Again.

I bet the apartment's really lonely without me.

I'm sorry about the interview.

Feel free to call and yell at me.

Just call me back.

Please.

Give me your poor, your tired,

your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

How come your suitcases and toiletries bag

- are in your office? - No reason.

Our next case, I want a worldclass underdog.

Disadvantaged, deprived, hapless in every way.

Her brother kicked her out after the interview,

and moving into the Four Seasons wouldn't

be self-punishing enough. How am I doing?

A David who got kicked in the ass by Goliath.

Someone? Anyone?

Tess: Jacob Atkins.

In prison for murder.

Atkins was on LSD during the interrogation.

The cops convinced him he was guilty.

Public or private defense attorney?

- Private. - Not poor enough. Next.

Maxine: Nicole Sanders.

Convicted of violating the Clean Air Act

- when her asbestos-removal firm... - Clean Air Act...

a hot-button topic for America's underclass. Next.

I'm sorry, are we supposed to pick a case

that soothes your privileged guilt?

There are worse things.

Glad you could make it, Frankie.

Sorry I'm late.

Case you want to pitch?

No.

- No, I'm good. - Sam: Will Jarrett.

Passed around by six court-appointed attorneys

before being sentenced to 40 years for murder.

Six court-appointed lawyers?

I can smell the deprivation from here.

Who's Will accused of offing?

Debra Porter.

Wealthy wife and mom of a friend of Will's.

Stabbed to death in her mansion in Forest Hills Estates.

The haves versus the have-nots.

Perfect.

Debra Porter, wife of David Porter, mother of Sean,

head of her neighborhood association,

and active in numerous charities.

According to the neighbors, they were the perfect family.

And the lies start right away. Perfect family, perfect B.S.

I remember this case.

Every detective in Queens worked double shifts until that kid was caught.

Nothing frees up overtime money like a rich, white family

and their manicured lawn being under attack.

October 7, 2007... Debra's son was away at boarding school.

David Porter came home from his hedge-fund job to find this...

Debra had been stabbed seven times, throat slashed.

It's so brutal.

What's the connection between the poor kid and the rich family again?

Will met the Porters through one of Debra's charities,

an organization for disadvantaged youth.

The prosecution must have had a field day.

How did they spin in?

Wealthy suburban family opens door to Oliver Twist,

- only to be repaid by murder? - Sam: Pretty much.

The murder weapon was never found,

but it was believed to have been a serrated steak knife

missing from the Porters' kitchen.

When Will was questioned by the police

if he was at the Porters' house on the day of the murder,

he said no, which proved to be a lie.

His skin cells were found

underneath Debra's fingernails.

Lying to the cops... generally not a sign of innocence.

Or of not trusting the police...

pretty much a default state when you're not white, wealthy, or both.

None of which changes Will's DNA tying him to the crime.

Let's go see if the "Blind Side" has an explanation.

Notify the Porter family.

Read up on the case, review the evidence,

and see if Will got the short end of the stick.

Will: Of course I didn't kill Mrs. Porter.

The Porters were the closest thing to family I ever had...

ever will have.

I never would have done anything to hurt her.

So, how did your skin get under her fingernails?

She was changing a light bulb and tripped,

and I caught her,

but she scratched my neck.

I know.

I wouldn't believe me, either, but it's the truth.

Unlike when you told the cops you didn't see Mrs. Porter that day.

I didn't mean to lie.

The cops asked me when I was last over there,

and I got the days mixed up.

I still can't believe Hayes Morrison is working on my case.

Maybe there's some hope for me after all.

If you're innocent, isn't there always?

I'm thinking you and I didn't grow up in the same place.

For me, there's never been much hope.

But the Porters changed all that.

They were always making up jobs for me

and then overpaying me for them.

They knew I had nothing.

Are you sure you weren't helping yourself

to more than they were offering?

The cops discovered missing valuables from the house after the murder.

Maybe Mrs. Porter caught you stealing, you...

Why would I risk that?

It would just mean I'd have to spend more time at my aunt's place.

Is that who you were living with... your aunt?

Officially, yeah.

My dad split before I was two,

and she took me in when my mom got busted for drugs.

But she had four kids.

And we were in this rat trap

in the Corona projects just outside of Forest Hills.

So close, yet so far away.

I got used to going to bed hungry.

But over at the Porters, there was always food,

tons of it.

And... Mrs. Porter was a great cook.

And she made Thanksgiving and invited me.

And me and Sean and his dad watched the game,

and we all had dinner together.

Best holiday of my life.

It was like,

for once, I had a family.

Any idea who else might have killed Mrs. Porter?

All I know is it wasn't me.

Maxine: Thank you both for meeting with me.

Oh, anything to accommodate the District Attorney's Office.

- - We can never repay you

for putting my wife's killer away.

Actually, the Conviction Integrity Unit

is taking another look at the case against Will Jarrett.

Why?

The... That animal's in prison, where he belongs.

I promise you, if the case holds up, that's where he'll stay.

Sean: I don't understand. Are you... Are you saying that

maybe Will didn't kill my mom?

That's a possible outcome of our review.

Mr. Jarrett may not have received an adequate defense.

"Mr. Jarrett," as you call him,

conned my entire family into trusting him.

Sean treated him like a brother,

Debra and I like a son.

Tell me more about Debra.

Well, she was so smart, driven.

Youngest partner at her law firm.

But she gave all that up after Sean was born.

We were lucky my success allowed her to stay home

and focus on the family and her charity work.

And that's how you met Will.

Yes.

Through the Youth Outreach Program my mom helped run.

- Were you two close? - We hung out.

I mean, he seemed nice.

Uh, I guess I felt bad

that he didn't have all the things that I did.

We wanted Sean to understand

that not everyone had the same privileges that he had.

So we opened our home to Will...

fed him, clothed him, made him part of the family.

And in return...

he destroyed us.

I think you've given me and Sean

more than enough to process.

Of course.

Eight more years?

I'm not gonna make it.

Do the time.

Don't let it do you.

I really thought I had a shot with my appeal.