For Life

I, Aaron Wallace, am under the permanent custody

of the state of New York, serving a life sentence

for something I didn't do.

Being a prison paralegal,

representing fellow inmates... that's my only commodity.

Being a lawyer, proving my innocence...

that's how I'm gonna get myself out of here.

Every day, every second I'm not there for her... for you...

Are you saying the District Attorney's office is racist?

There's no question the system's broke

for anybody who doesn't have power or money.

Maskins, who's in a neck-and-neck battle

for Attorney General against Anya Harrison.

You didn't tell me

Aaron Wallace was going scorched earth on Maskins.

I'm gonna need you to let things cool down

till after the election.

That was the deal we made with Maskins.

It's gonna be a blessing, Dad.

But you have to get out of here to be a part of it.

In the outside world, you make all kinds of promises.

Promises you think you can keep.

In here, we don't call them promises.

We call them debts.

And right now, I owe a big one to the wrong kinds of people.

There's gonna be a lot of my fellow inmates

who don't like that...

...but if you set everything up just right,

play one debt against another,

you can sometimes get what you need the most...

another chance.

We need to upgrade

our security checks and surveillance.

Do you need me for this?

Uh, no.

Why don't you round up medical staff for a status report?

Sure. And if I'm not there in 20,

you can get started.

Sit down.

I didn't know you ate here.

Talk the talk, gotta walk the walk.

I met with the Prison Board yesterday,

and my only chance of shutting down solitary

is if I can show some extenuating circumstances

around Knox and his assault charge.

I told you, repping Joey's

gonna cost me big time in my community.

Have a look at this.

Joey walks right up to Lassiter.

No provocation.

Something feels wrong to me.

You know, maybe there's history.

What do you need?

My police file.

I'm gonna sue the NYPD to release it.

It'll be litigated outside the Bronx,

the DA's office won't be mentioned,

and I swear, no press.

You won't be able to control that.

Petition gets filed in Manhattan Criminal Court.

They won't be looking for me there.

Anybody shows, I say, "No comment."

Without this file, I have nothing.

Manhattan.

No mention of Maskins.

No.

And no press.

Deal.

Look alive, Knox.

You got a visitor.

The hell are you doing here?

Wild Bill asked me to come.

I owe the man a solid.

Yeah? What for?

Daugherty forged a letter for me...

...which I used in my last case.

Let's just say Jose Rodriguez

is walking around a free man right now.

That supposed to impress me?

I saw your record.

Six years, no violent incidents,

no trouble with custody.

And suddenly you haul off and go after a guard?

You see the video of the fight?

He provoke you? You afraid to rat him out?

I ain't afraid...

and I ain't no rat.

You know how soft this warden is.

Give me half a shot,

I can get you back into gen pop.

Cell, yard restrictions, maybe phone,

but there's something to be done here, I'm telling you.

Yeah.

Maybe I'll think about that.

Now get the hell out.

- Henry Roswell. On the visitor list. - Yeah? To see who?

Boy, you really get off

on that miniscule piece of authority.

You know I'm here for Wallace.

Yo, Aaron, you seeing that Roswell dude again today?

What is it to you, Bobby D?

Mind ya business.

I'm just sayin',

maybe he can sponsor me, too.

No reason I can't be a lawyer.

Yeah.

All you gotta do is spend the next seven years

getting your degree and passing the bar.

By the time that happens, I'll be out.

Maybe I can sponsor you.

First you gotta learn how to read.

Submitting requests to access your files from the DA's office

is one thing.

Suing the NYPD...

that's a whole different beast.

Well, last I checked, I was in here for life.

What do I care about rattling cages?

Because you're still new at this

and you're already two strikes down because of who you are.

You get a reputation for frivolous litigation,

judges are gonna start denying you

without even reading your arguments.

Well, I looked it up.

A writ of mandamus is appropriate here.

Aaron, this is like demanding

that the commissioner of baseball

force the New York Yankees to fire their manager.

It's just not done.

Not until now.

Don't you understand everyone's watching you?

You made sure of that already by talking to the press.

I've been in here nine years.

Nine years, they've been denying me information

I got a right to see by law.

Now, you got any better ideas on how I can fight this?

If so, I'm all ears.

No, I don't.

Look, I know it's a Hail Mary.

But I really need your help.

There's not gonna be a lot of precedents out there,

but I'll get you what I can.

Thank you, Henry.

At your service. As always.

I got Henry running down some research for me.

Hopefully, he finds something.

If not, I'm gonna have to wing it.

Wing it?

Well, not really, but let's just say

I'm a bit more motivated to get all this moving.

Oh, must have been a ton landing on you.

She's 17, Marie.

We're gonna be grandparents.

Do you think if you were here, it wouldn't have happened?

Not on you. On me.

Don't do that to yourself.

I've already had enough sleepless nights

over this for the both of us.

I think it's about time I met Ronnie.

Yeah.

I'll talk to Jazz about getting him up there.

Aaron?

Aaron.

Sorry. A guard just walked by.

I better go.

Good luck in court.

Let me know how it goes.

Yeah, I will.

Bye, Marie.

The blue one.

Surprised to hear you took Joey Knox's case.

I am prisoner rep.

Are you?

Or is it warden rep?

I get on this bus,

that's an "order to produce" from the court.

Warden's got no jurisdiction over this.

Come on.

One notation in your file

that you're a disciplinary problem...

What's your point, Captain?

Point is... you oughta be more concerned

about how my boys are gonna feel

with you defending that Nazi dirtbag

than gettin' favors from the warden.

Make sure he gets to court on time.

Suing the police, huh?

Good luck.

A writ of mandamus?

Used to compel a government agency...

Yeah, I understand what a writ does, counselor,

but whipping it out here's

like using a sledgehammer to drive a finishing nail.

The great writ is supposed to be a last resort.

Which it is, Your Honor.

Nine years, a dozen requests...

Of the District Attorney's office, not the NYPD.

You're all working together. I'm not wasting any more time asking.

Well, I'm sorry you're feeling inconvenienced,

but filing a writ for this particular file

is totally premature