All language subtitles for Episode 01 Predators Amoung Us

Courthouses
are supposed to be places

of calm and dignity,

where order is maintained
and justice is served.

But often, when stakes and
emotions are at their highest,

cool heads
don't always prevail.

Coming up,

an enraged father
out for revenge.

You cannot put
other people in danger,

and you must respect justice.

Your job is to do your job,
not to worry about me.

You worry about
your self.

Defendants with
no respect for a judge

or a grieving family.

And a gang member
tries to silence a snitch.

You don't rat
on another individual.

-10,000.
-Are you serious?

I am serious.
Adios.

...Plus key insights
from our team of

crime and legal experts...

The emotion was raw,
it was real,

and it was stronger
than she could bear.

...On chaos in court.

Hailed as
the must-see sports doctor

known for treating america's
most elite gymnasts,

54-year-old larry nassar is
about to be sentenced by

judge janice cunningham after
pleading guilty to criminal

sexual conduct in
lansing, michigan.

Larry nassar is the former
sports doctor who used to treat

the u.S. Women's
gymnastics team,

also michigan
state university.

If you got
an appointment to see

larry nassar,
people thought it was like,

my god,
I got in to see him.

He's the olympic doctor.
He's a michigan state doctor.

Whatever I have hurting,
he's gonna get fixed.

You're talking about some of
gymnastics top names

in the business, some of
olympics' greatest --

simone biles
and aly raisman,

who were victimized
by this monster.

You are so sick,

I can't even comprehend how
angry I feel

when I think of you.

You lied to me and manipulated
me to think that when

you treated me,
you were closing your eyes

because you had
been working hard,

when you were really touching
me, an innocent child,

to pleasure yourself.

and he would, in many ways,
manipulate these young girls

into thinking that
what he was doing

was actually
medical treatment.

In 2017,
larry nassar received 60 years

on federal child
pornography charges.

A year later, in neighboring
ingham county, michigan,

nassar is sentenced on state
charges of up to 175 years for

seven counts of
criminal sexual conduct

in the first degree.

You're a danger.

Then,
just over a week later,

nassar's back in court in
another jurisdiction for

the third and final sentencing
for alleged activities against

another 50-plus young women
in eaton county, michigan.

The courtroom was packed.
I think every seat was taken.

were permitted to give
victim impact statements

that's made to the judge to try
to explain, from their vantage

point, what their experience
was with the defendant,

how that impacted their life,
and how or what they want

in terms of what
the sentencing will be.

It does affect us
in the way that we sentence.

It could be the difference
between 5 years or 10 years,

so impact statements
are important.

Randall margraves
is in the courtroom.

He is the father of
not one, not two,

but three of the women who are
victims of larry nassar.

I got to know randy through
the course of what occurred.

He is a hard-working father,

he is a loving father
and husband.

Randall margraves's
youngest daughter, madison,

an aspiring gymnast,

began seeing nassar
for medical treatment

when she was only
nine years old.

Nassar began touching
her inappropriately

and sexually assaulting her
during her physical exams.

During all of my many visits
in nassar's office at msu

sports med, one of my parents
was always in the room.

So even when things seemed
to be -- make me uncomfortable,

I never thought
anything of it.

Grewal:
I hate to use this word,

but he got off on having
the parents in the room.

The reason being is that
the parents are sitting there

talking to him as he is doing
this procedure

with his hands
underneath the sheet

on their daughters
in places they shouldn't be.

The parents have no idea
this is going on.

To my parents,

thank you for all your love
and support

through all of this.

To larry nassar,

I want you to know
that you no longer

hold power over me
or my thoughts.

Grewal:
He was looking down.

He was in denial,
and eventually,

he was not giving any of
these women

that ounce of respect,

to look at them when
they wanted to try and heal.

While training
to become a gymnast,

madison's sister,
lauren margraves,

was also assaulted several
times by nassar in 2006.

My mind immediately thought
about the time when I was 13,

just a kid,
laying on a table at msu,

and you put your ungloved
hands all over my rear

and slipped your thumb into the
most private area of my body.

To be able to face your
offender and for the offender

to face those that have accused
him of hellacious crimes is

an emotional state in which
words probably cannot describe.

This was the first time that
mr. Margraves heard from

his daughters' own voices

the sexual assault
that occurred by larry nassar

to each one of them,

and it was devastating to him.

I trusted you,
my parents trusted you,

and now I feel like I'll never
be able to trust another man

ever again.

As his daughters spoke,

I could see his body language,
that he began to tense up.

In most courtrooms,
parents are

also allowed to give
impact statements.

But when mr. Margraves
asks to take the podium,

he makes an unusual request.

I would ask you to,
as part of the sentencing,

to grant me five minutes in
a locked room with this demon.

Would you do that?

Yes or no?

And the judge denies that
request, because obviously,

we, as judges, cannot allow
someone to impose justice on

their own by having
a physical altercation

with even a convicted
person as mr. Nassar was.

Whitmore: From a father's
perspective, the role of

a father is of protector,
to keep them safe.

And to know and to hear that
every bit of his daughters'

innocence was taken from them by
larry nassar was completely

overwhelming for him.

Would you give me one minute?

Bove: You can understand that
that's what he wanted to do,

but right now, you have to
protect everybody in

the courtroom,
and right then and there,

your radar goes up like,
hey, all right, this guy's

talking stuff
that he wants to do.

He's agitated, so it's time
to tighten up your boots.

Judge: You know that I can't
do that -- that's not how

our legal system...
-Well, I'm gonna have to...

hands behind your back!

He bull rushes
after larry nassar.

The three court officers
get to him barely in time.

One of the court officers
steps in front between

larry nassar and the father,

and also the attorney
for larry nassar steps in.

Well, I'm gonna have to...

he backs up and is actually
pulled from the scene.

He is rescued
from this father.

This is not what nassar
expected when

he sat down
for this court proceeding.

Stay down! Stay down!
Stay down.

Let me at
that son of a!

Stay down.
-I want that!

Who wouldn't understand?
But the bottom line is,

their job as court officers
is to control the environment,

and if it takes
2, 3, 4 of these guys

to sit on dad
and get him cuffed,

that's what they gotta do.

Hands behind your back.

If they don't
want to be cuffed,

it's tough to get him cuffed.

Give me one minute
with that

once they get
the father standing,

he turns to the officers
and he says...

,,,and one of the officers
seemed to sympathize with him,

like I understand,
I understand.

Thankfully, the law
enforcement that tackled him

acted quickly,
because no one was injured.

After the father
lunged at larry nassar,

the judge obviously had him
detained and put him in

a holding cell.

That's not uncommon,
because you want to make sure

that you bring calmness and
control back to the courtroom.

After I spoke to mr.
Margraves in the holding cell,

both he and I
were brought up in front of

judge cunningham, because
this would be a contempt hearing

if he's to be held in
contempt of court.

You cannot put
other people in danger,

nor the judge,
and you must respect justice.

The judge is there
to do a job.

The judge knows
what she's gonna do.

My heart does go out to you

and your family because of
what you've gone through.

Three of your girls were
injured physically

and emotionally by somebody
sitting in a courtroom.

I can't fathom that --
there is no way that

this court is gonna issue
any type of punishment

given the circumstances of
this case.

She understood that this was
a highly emotional situation,

that the father just
lost control, and,

most importantly, that she was
gonna administer the justice to

mr. Nassar, and the father
didn't have to.

After being bombarded
by the press,

mr. Margraves addresses
reporters later that day.

I feel very remorseful, um,

very apologetic.

I was embarrassed.

I want to make it real clear
that I am no hero.

My daughters are the heroes
and all the victims

and the survivors of
this terrible atrocity.

You can tell from his demeanor,
from his actions,

that he reacted honestly,
and his apology

was heartfelt,
it was sincere.

Randall margraves's
eldest daughter, morgan,

who did not give a victim's
impact statement in court,

now speaks up for her father.

He reacted in a way that
I feel most fathers would

have done and probably wanted
to do in a situation

like this,

but after reflecting on what
happened earlier,

my father is --
is remorseful,

and justice cannot be served
by one individual.

It must go through
the judicial system.

Judge cunningham gives
larry nassar up to 125 years for

the sexual assault of
over 50 female athletes,

some as young
as six years old.

With all three
sentences combined,

larry nassar is given a life
sentence with no possibility

of parole.

There are over 500
victim-survivors

of larry nassar.

I actually think we are in
a watershed moment,

because you could look
at the weinstein case,

and look at the cosby case,
and even epstein, man.

I think sexual assault
survivors are being believed

for the first time
historically without having to

come forward,
being put on the stand,

being cross-examined,
and victim-shamed.

Dorsey: It's difficult,
but it's courageous,

and it's empowering,
I think,

when others see,
because you never know what

kind of an influence you have
on someone else who's watching,

who's saying me, too,
but no more.

Larry nassar will never
see the light of day again,

and that's as good as it gets.

Well, I'm gonna have to get...

Coming up,
a convicted gang member

testifies against
one of his own.

That's something
that you don't do.

a new u.S. Federal courthouse
has just opened.

25-year-old siale angilau,

also known by his gang street
name, c-down, is on trial for

his role in a string
of violent crimes.

This young man is part of
a tongan group, mostly

pacific islanders,

that is an offshoot of
the crip gang, and it's called

the tongan crip gang.

This gang has
a very specific m.O.

They tag everything, a little
graffiti on signs, on buildings.

They have a very complex
organization going on

in the salt lake city area.

Angilau's charges
include racketeering, robbery,

assault on a u.S. Marshal,
and weapons violations.

He faces up to 30 years
in a federal prison.

Dawson:
In fact, it's a rico case,

which means they've committed
several crimes over the course

of many years,
breaking many different laws.

The fbi began
rounding up these gang members

back in 2010.

They got 17 of
these violent criminals.

Now this guy's in court as

the last defendant
in this whole process.

He's the guy that's gonna
wrap up the case for the fbi.

So we're in
this new federal courthouse,

and the drapes
haven't even come in.

Now, drapes are used for
a very specific purpose.

They are to go around
the defendant's

and the prosecutor's table
so that

no one can tell whether or not
a defendant is in shackles

or handcuffs.

The drapes help
to disguise the shackles,

because you do not want
to prejudice the jury.

And in this case, the judge
decides, in fairness,

not to have the defendant
in his shackles at that time.

Bove:
Some of the court officers

didn't realize
that he wasn't shackled,

and in any type of law
enforcement situation like this,

the right hand always
has to know

what the left hand is
doing and vice versa,

because, at any time, it could
become an explosive situation.

And there's a big problem
for c-down.

The witness who's testifying
on this particular day

is what is commonly known
as a snitch.

His fellow gang
member, vaiola tenifa,

is already serving 30 years
for his role in

the racketeering enterprise.

Whitmore: There's a hierarchy
in gang, in membership,

and in that membership,
your friends, your brothers,

there is a level of trust,
and you don't rat on

another individual.

It is tense
in the courtroom.

The defendant, just to
the left of his attorney,

there's also the prosecution,
family members of victims.

This is the ultimate moment
for the folks in this courthouse

who have suffered from the
crimes this guy has committed.

If you look at
the defendant's table,

I didn't see any security
right next to the table,

and that really is shocking,
because you know that this is

a high-intensity,
high-emotional case.

So as this defendant realizes
that his fellow gang member

was about to be as disloyal

as anyone could be
about testifying against him,

everything changes
in a hot second.

The defendant walks
around his attorney,

he grabs a pen,
he grabs a pencil,

he grabs a highlighter.

You can kill somebody
with a pencil.

and as he is
literally mid-air,

a u.S. Marshal
jumps into action.

He fires shot after shot
after shot after shot.

four shots

that go directly
in to c-down.

this defendant goes down --
everybody in the courtroom

is shocked.

This has happened
in the blink of an eye.

The judge
and cooperating witness are

quickly ushered out
by court officers.

Three bullets
hit angilau in the back.

The other goes
in his left shoulder.

He dies later
at the hospital.

Whitmore: It is a rarity in
which the defendant actually

follows through with what he
wants to do, and in a moment's

notice he did what his --
his gut was telling him to do,

and the deputies
had to shoot him down

to protect the witness,

to protect the judge,
and those in the audience.

It's difficult to be put into
a situation where the situation

is constantly changing,

it's constantly changing
and evolving,

and we,
as law enforcement officers,

have to improvise and adapt
to an ever-changing situation.

Siale angilau's
grieving family holds a vigil

after his death
and doesn't believe

the shooting was justified.

Katoa: I was not in court
that day, and think goodness,

because honestly,
if I had been,

I wouldn't be here speaking,
because I would be dead, too.

You've got maybe
10 officers in there,

all fit, well-trained, armed.

They don't need
to shoot to kill

this young man who's going over
a witness partition.

They weren't entitled to use
the death penalty on him.

In my opinion, that firing
of the weapon was

a little excessive.

They had the ability to get
him under control physically,

either by using their hands
or even a taser,

but I don't believe that
shooting a gun in a courtroom

is the safest alternative,

especially because
you have a witness

just a few feet away.

The controversial
shooting sparks a five-year

fbi investigation into why
the prisoner wasn't shackled.

Angilau's family
also sues the federal

government and marshal service
for negligence.

Shootings in courthouses
are extremely rare,

and it was ultimately
determined that the shooting by

this court officer was
justified, and he was not found

responsible for negligence
in the civil lawsuit.

They neutralized the threat,

and unfortunately,
somebody died in the process.

The judge was not found to
have done anything wrong,

because she has the ability to

make sure her courtroom
is safe,

and she has the ability
to make certain decisions in

regard to how
her courtroom operates.

It's really too little,
too late.

Yeah, the judge admits
she made a mistake,

but their loved one
is still dead.

penelope soto.

at a bond hearing
in miami, florida,

before judge jorge
rodriguez-chomat.

Good morning, miss soto.

You're being
charged with possession

of xanax, b-a-r-s,
I don't know what that is.

-Bars.
-Man: Xanax bars.

-It's how they're referred to.
-Xanax bars.

Police encountered
penelope after responding

to a call about

an injured teenager
who'd crashed her bicycle

and suffered minor injuries.

Soto immediately
admits to police at

the scene
that she's high on xanax bars.

Xanax bars are really

just a slang term for xanax
pills that happen to have

a rectangular shape,
and penelope fesses up

right away that she's got
26 more of them in her purse.

When an individual
gets arrested,

the judge looks at the charges
against that person

and makes a determination
based as to what,

if any, appropriate bail
should be set.

-Man: Miss soto, you working?
-Yes.

How much money you making
a week, approximately?

Approximately
about 200 bucks a week.

While the judge is questioning
penelope on bond conditions,

penelope seems to be under
the influence of some type of

alcohol or narcotic.

Have you had any kind of drugs
in the last 24 hours?

Actually, no.

No?
Well, penelope's behavior

is about to get even
more bizarre.

penelope soto.

18-year-old
penelope soto is at

a bond hearing after being
arrested on drug

possession charges.

She's all smiles
and giggles and having

a really good time as she
appears in court.

Man: Okay, and do you own
any property of value?

A house, a car, bank accounts,
significant amounts of jewelry?

-Yes.
-What do you own?

I own a lot of jewelry,
all right.

Certainly, whatever happens
here could have life-altering

complications, if you will,

-for this young woman.
-How much would you say

your jewelry's worth?

the judge has to ask
penelope how much assets

she has for the purposes
of bond.

You just made me laugh.
I apologize.

It's all right.
How much is your jewelry worth.

-It's worth a lot of money.
-Like what?

Like...

It's worth...Money.
-Ma'am...

You'd think she would
act a little more demure,

maybe realize that she's
in a bit of a problem,

a bit of a jam.

We are not in a club --
be serious about it.

I'm serious about it --
you just made me laugh.

I can see you're serious,
all right.

At first, the judge is
kind of playing along,

nice and easy with
the young lady,

and what people
don't realize is that

it's that judge's courtroom.

Number one would be
5,000, proper cause found.

Well, the fun and games
had to stop

at some point,
and the judge decides

maybe it'll straighten her up
to impose the bond for bail.

$5,000 -- for somebody
who makes 200 a week,

you know --
that's gonna make a dent.

-Bye-bye.
-Adios.

The bottom line
is the judge does not

think that she's taking
this situation seriously.

Come back, ma'am.
Come back.

Come back.

And that's when he began to
take the attitude that, hey,

she's not respecting this
court, and I have to let her

know who's the boss
in this particular courtroom.

Count one will be 10,000.

her jaw literally drops.

-Are you serious?
-I am serious. Adios.

he doubles the bail
to $10,000,

and now she turns
her flip attitude

into flipping off the judge.

going back again.
Come back again.

And I'll tell, you when people
walk through the courtroom

or walk out of the courtroom
saying "f you" to a judge,

I've heard that a million
times, and it's always shocking.

You mother.

Come back again.

That judge wasn't having it,
and most judges wouldn't either.

Bring her back again.

-What's up?
-I believe I heard you saying

to...
-Yes, I did. I'm not going
to deny it.

I believe you --
did you say me?

-Actually, I did.
-Did you say that?

Yes, sir, I did.
-You did say that?

I find you in direct
criminal contempt.

30 days in the county jail.

She didn't realize
the judge can do that.

Rodriguez-chomat:
30 days in the county jail.

But after spending
just four days

in jail for contempt,
penelope is back in court,

and this time she has
a very different attitude.

My behavior was
very irrational,

and I apologize not only to
the court and you,

but to my family.

Penelope's attorney
provides an explanation

for her disrespectful
behavior in court.

Her judgment on that day
was impaired

by her ingestion
of drugs and alcohol.

She expresses remorse for her
behavior from the days before,

and the judge does
sympathize with her,

and he demands
that she goes into rehab.

Thank you.

Lucky for penelope,
the judge

vacates the remainder
of her sentence.

The lesson to be learned
is that drugs are bad,

and, most importantly,
don't act a fool in court.

-Are you serious?
-I am serious. Adios.

your job is to do your job,
not to worry about me.

That's what I'm saying --
well, I worry about me.

You worry about
your self.

talking back to judge charles
cunningham in October of 2019

at a hearing
to set a trial date.

He's accused of a gruesome
triple homicide in

louisville, kentucky.

Carrizales: Brice rhodes is
a 25-year-old gang member

with an extensive criminal
history and a local

rapper there in
louisville, kentucky.

Two of rhodes' victims
are teenagers, 16-year-old

maurice gordon
and his little brother,

14-year-old larry ordway.

They both appeared in one of
his rap videos in late 2015.

In may 2016,

rhodes is out
riding around in a car

with these two young teens.

Whitmore: He was somewhat
grooming them to become

more like him.

So imagine from the perspective
of a 16- and a 14-year-old

who are brothers,
who are trying to be cool,

to look up to brice,
to become the next best rapper.

While the three of them
are riding around in the car,

rhodes stops,

gets out, and guns down
a man on the street.

it's a guy he thinks
is out to get him.

40-year-old christopher jones,
is the wrong guy.

But now rhodes has
two witnesses.

So after the murder
of christopher jones,

rhodes gets nervous.

He's worried
that this 14-year-old

and 16-year-old
will snitch on him.

Two and a half weeks
passes, and, you know, rhodes

is getting even more
and more paranoid.

The teenage brothers
have not said a thing

to anybody,
but rhodes doesn't know that.

He thinks the worst.

How's he gonna
take care of it?

He's gonna eliminate
these teenage brothers.

But when the teenagers
don't come home

the night of may 21, 2016,
their mother is worried

and goes to the police.

The mother of these two boys,
marie wren, reports

both are missing.

Their bodies were found
a day later

behind an abandoned house.

mercy: Marie wren's two teenage
boys were stabbed,

beaten, and burnt to death,

one of the most
inhumane ways to die.

A few days later,
marie wren attends

a balloon release
for her murdered sons.

the grief-stricken mother
can't handle the pain

and collapses.

She's lost the only thing
that she ever had,

and it was her boys.

Brice rhodes is
arrested four days

after the teenage
boys' murders.

But a year and a half later,

marie wren is
still waiting for justice.

Rhodes's bad behavior
in several hearings has

caused one delay
after another.

A judge ordered his face
covered at one court appearance,

because he'd spit
on his first defense attorney.

Mercy: So at that point,
the judge had to make a choice.

He made the choice to put
a spit mask over brice rhodes.

Now here's the thing --
the spit mask,

although it protects
the attorneys, it is very

prejudicial
in brice rhodes's case.

It makes him look
like hannibal lecter.

Rhodes is now
on his third attorney.

Rhodes is just kind of workin'
the system here,

trying to basically delay
everything and make everything

draw out.

That can be painful
for family members

waiting for it to
play out.

But it's the law,
it's the way it works.

It's just so heartbreaking for
those that want justice.

In this 2018 hearing,
marie wren is

sitting only a few yards away
from her son's alleged killer,

just out of the camera's view.

Mercy: Essentially,
marie wren had to sit in

the same courthouse
in the same courtroom

with the bogeyman.

Then, suddenly, the
tense situation turns explosive.

25-year-old gang
member brice rhodes is accused

of killing teenage brothers
larry ordway and maurice gordon.

At this hearing, intended
to set a trial date,

rhodes seems to enjoy taunting
the victims' mother,

who is sitting behind him.

He enjoys the attention
and power he gets from

causing chaos.

Her rage
and anguish build until

it suddenly becomes
too much to bear.

Marie wren
couldn't take it anymore.

let me get to him!

That mama bear does emerge,
and it --

and it just happens
in such a huge way

she can't restrain herself --
she jumps at rhodes.

All she sees is red.

The emotion was raw,
it was real,

and it was stronger
than she could bear.

Wren: Every Sunday,
you go to church,

and you pray,
and you try to forgive.

The anger still
builds up in your soul.

Less than a year
after marie wren

lunged at rhodes in court,

she endures more bad behavior
at yet another hearing,

and he seems intent on making
her life a living hell.

In this scenario, you have
a family that's grieving,

and you want the court
to be in control.

But when you notice that
the defendant is starting to

control the entire courtroom
and the entire situation,

the family doesn't know if
anyone's gonna put

the defendant in check,

and they began to feel
helpless, and honestly,

that judge should put and end
to the situation.

You can't let the defendant
run your courtroom.

Rhodes continues to
provoke the victims' family.

-Look at me again.
-Man: Ma'am!

Mercy: Brice rhodes
is blowing kisses,

is making a mockery
of the court system.

Brice rhodes
symbolically waved

the middle finger
at marie wren.

Ma'am. Ma'am.

-He keeps turnin' around.
-Ma'am, I told you once before.

Let me please
help you understand.

If you can't handle him
lookin' at you,

respectfully, all I can tell you
to do is don't be in

my courtroom,
'cause he's gonna keep doin' it,

particularly now that he knows
that it irritates you.

Mercy: Brice rhodes
is a sinister man.

He likes inflicting pain.

He revels in the pain
of his victims.

And marie wren
and her two teenage boys

were no different.

rhodes will face the death
penalty or life without parole.

As of spring 2020,

that trial date still
has not been set,

and the family's
agony continues.

In my opinion, there's no type
of rehabilitation for somebody

who displays the behavior

and the complete lack of remorse
for this disgusting crime.

people vs. Brian taylor.

21-year-old
brian earl taylor is

in a michigan courtroom facing
judge darlene o'brien.

He's in front of the judge
for sentencing on two counts,

one unlawful imprisonment
and also carrying

a concealed weapon.

In November of 2015,
brian claims

someone stole his stepfather's
gun from him one night.

But by then,
an eyewitness

had already called the police.

At the time of his arrest,

he was already on parole for
two counts of larceny and had

multiple felony warrants.

Mr. Taylor, is there anything
you'd like to tell me

before I sentence?

When a defendant has
a statement to make prior

to sentencing,
the goal is to get

the sentence as favorable
to the defendant as possible,

so what you say is
very important.

But what this guy did,
was very unusual.

so I was facing, like,
17 years altogether,

so I just went with my inside

and my gut instinct,
and I just did it.

in this life I chose

in all my years as a prosecutor,
as a defense attorney,

I've never heard
an individual sing a song.

Mercy: You have to do
what you have to do.

I've seen people singing.

I've seen people
tap dance, dance.

I've seen people moonwalk.

You have to do
whatever you have to do

to get leniency
from the judge.

Whitmore:
So when you talk about crimes,

sometimes we talk
about premeditated.

In this situation,

the defendant
premeditated this song.

this song is inspired by
the popular singer adele,

but let's just call this
his special jailhouse edition.

He actually changed the lyrics
enough to prove that he took

some time and put some thought

into what he wanted
to present to the court.

it's like
when I hear a song,

and it does something to me,
I'm an artist.

When you hear something,
and you can hear pain

in the song, like it does
something to you.

thank you, your honor.

Did he think it was gonna
get him less time?

I'm not sure.

Did he think it was gonna
get him a record deal

once he made
his way out of prison?

I'm not sure
about that either,

but one thing for sure,

he does get points for being
unique and seeming to

be sincere.

I didn't really know what to
expect because when I was

watching her and I was
singing, like,

her cheeks were, like, red,
so I'm like,

is that a good thing
or a bad thing?

Thank you,
mr. Taylor.

Well, you're obviously
a talented young man,

and I hope that you'll be able
to use your time productively

when you're in the michigan
department of corrections

so you will be able to reach
your goals on your release.

I don't think it works.

It's -- I think the judge is
a backstreet boys fan because,

she sent him
bye, bye, bye.

Despite his
unique performance,

the judge sentences brian to
two years in the michigan

department of corrections for

illegally carrying a concealed
firearm and another 18 months

to 15 years for
unlawful imprisonment.

At that point in my life,

when I was about to go do time,
I was like, I finally reached,

like, my lowest of lows, like,
to me, it was like...

When I finally do get
from under this mess,

like, whatever transpires,
I'm a new person.

Hello, like, from the other
side, this is me.

In the end,
brian earl taylor

only spends 3.5 years
in prison,

but while behind bars,
he teaches himself

the keyboard and starts
writing his own songs.

so now he's moving in
a different direction,

maybe he's starting on
a new career,

and hopefully, he's putting
crime behind him.

and also, it was humbling,
because like, it just showed me,

like, hey, like...

No matter what trials
and tribulations you go through,

like, you can -- you can
do what you want in life.

Dorsey: He's really a good guy,
just made some poor choices

and realized in the 3.5 years
that he spent in jail,

that I need to do better
and I'm gonna do better,

and so everybody deserves
a second chance, and I hope

that he'll do well with
his singing career.

Coming up,
a judge's act of kindness

and life-changing impact.

When I get out,

I'm definitely gonna be
a better person.

judge amber wolf
holds back-to-back

hearings for a young couple
charged with robbery.

24-year-old james roeder
and his wife, ashley,

had been accused of
burglarizing a warehouse

and, you know, givin'
the five-finger discount

to six big tvs.

Both of these
individuals are in the courtroom

at the same time for hearings

on their respective cases.

three months earlier,
ashley was pregnant.

James has been locked up
in the county jail

and hasn't seen his wife
since they were arrested.

I know you have a no-contact
order between you

and miss roeder
that I have --

um, that I issued,
and I'm not changing that.

Yes, ma'am.

And the judge entered
a no-contact order,

likely for the purpose to make
sure that they didn't try to

connect or manipulate
their stories or their defenses.

I don't want you to say anything
to me about your case at all.

Don't say anything.

Your lawyer is not
present right now.

waits for her own hearing and
sits to the right of the judge

when judge wolf calls
james into the courtroom.

And during the time that
they were awaiting trial,

ashley had given birth.

James hadn't seen the baby.

Is this what you want to do?

All right, just stay right
there for just a second.

Ashley's in court with
the couple's newborn baby.

Just a month old,
and the judge sees this

and starts to realize wow,

this guy has never
met his son.

But I understand
that there is a chance

that you're gonna
go back to todd county

and that your baby
is a month old

and you haven't met that baby
yet, is that right?

Yes, ma'am.

Miss roeder, do you want
to come up here?

So even with that no contact
order in place,

the judge then decides
to give them

the extraordinary opportunity
to meet his newborn child.

I'm making a temporary
exception right in front of me

on the record so that
you can meet this baby.

This is your son.

Here.

I thought this would be
a good opportunity

to let him see his son
for the first time

and for probably the only time
in the near future.

My first time
actually being able to see him

is pretty emotional, for real.

I can't even remember if I said
thank you or anything.

It just made my day.

She's a judge
after my own heart.

When I watch this,
it really made my heart swell.

This is an example of

the fact that judges can
utilize discretion.

Watching him be given the
opportunity to hold his child

and then seeing how delicately

he holds his child
as ashley

has a tear running
down her face.

You see his little shirt?

Yeah. Yeah.

He's emotional.
He's holding his baby.

Baby's looking at him,
he's looking at the baby,

and then it's tissues
for everybody.

Yep.

All right.

Ashley:
Even the judge was crying.

Thank you.

She actually seen that,
you know, we're still people,

even though he's incarcerated
and I'm his co-defendant,

we're still people.

Dang.

Any small act of kindness
that we can do, whether it's in

a courtroom or just in general,

has a positive impact
on our community,

and it's the right thing to
do, and you don't even know

how far it can go for people.

This is your son.

I've always thought judges
was mean people, and,

you know, I really did.

You know, they didn't care to
throw people's life away.

When I get out, I'm definitely
gonna be a better person.

-Thank you.
-All right.

All right, mr. Roeder, we'll see
you back on August 29th, okay?

Heartfelt
emotion assigned,

james and ashley don't get
a free pass.

He's sentenced to four years
behind bars,

but with good behavior,

there's a possibility
he'll get out sooner

to see his family.

Ashley gets probation
so she can

take care of the couple's
two children.

It's incredibly important for
a judge to recognize that

a defendant is not defined
by that one bad action.

Um, he's -- he or she is defined
by much more than that.

And in fact,
it may change the way that

this young man behaves
for the rest of his life,

that judge showing that type
of compassion.