Original subtitles

It feels like a lifetime ago that I got arrested.

I was innocent.

And I became a lawyer to get myself out.

Don't forget about us!

Don't forget.

I won't.

Helping you was the only thing I ever did

that's gonna make a difference.

That's not true.

You changed the culture in that place.

You could have had any man you wanted,

but you had to go with my best friend.

You're moving out?

I love you, Marie.

But if I stay now, this will finish us.

What happened to you...

happened to me, too.

I want to fix this, Marie.

I just don't know how.

Synced & corrected by -robtor- www.addic7ed.com

The number of people infected by

a mysterious respiratory...

Case of China's new and deadly coronavirus...

The novel coronavirus outbreak

spreading across the world.

...how quickly the first case popped up here in the U.S.

Coronavirus has arrived here in Manhattan.

...the United States from coast to coast...

100 cases...

in more than a dozen states.

Mom?

Hey.

I'm, uh, leaving you and your father a few masks.

They only last for six hours, so I would only use them

if you absolutely have to go somewhere.

Here.

Do you really have to do this?

It's my job.

I'm gonna need you to be strong.

Aren't I always?

When it's about you.

When it's about me or Jazz, you tend to worry.

You're going off to war.

Ah, that supposed to comfort me?

You said you had that list for me.

- Plumber, electrician? - Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I put it on the kitchen table.

Has all the contacts.

All right.

Here.

What's this?

My financial information...

Bank accounts, Jazz's college fund...

Marie.

You need to have it.

Hey.

Am I allowed to tell you how incredible you are?

You know, you don't have to stay down here.

- You can take my room. - Okay?

Yeah.

Jazz, I'm leaving now.

Come here.

Mm.

Take care of each other.

? Good night, sweet AJ ?

? Good night, my boy ?

? Grandpa loves you so much ?

Sorry, Wallace, no visitors.

I'm here as an attorney,

to see Jamal Bishop.

We're on quarantine.

Nobody allowed from the outside.

Come on, Kent. I got my negative test.

I got my mask, everything.

Ah, there's no exceptions.

You can take that up with the Prison Board.

Now, turn it around.

Come on. Back it out.

_

So, you don't know when this is gonna end?

No, honey, I don't know. Nobody does.

Well, Oliver says it could be two years.

I don't think so.

Where'd he hear that?

His parents. They work at the U.N.

Sorry, honey.

Hello?

Hey, uh, it's Aaron.

Wallace.

Oh, hi.

I got your number from Henry Roswell.

I hope it's okay I'm calling.

Of course.

How you doing with all this?

Family okay?

Yeah, thanks. We're all fine.

Holed up like everybody else now.

Good.

Uh, listen...

you still have connections at the Prison Board?

Sure.

I mean, not that I got much juice there anymore.

Well, I'm at Bellmore,

and they're closed to visitors.

Any way of finding out what's going on?

Of course.

I'll do it right away.

Thanks.

As we begin the third week

of a nearly nationwide lockdown...

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. No, we got it. No problem.

Okay.

Aaron wants us to make some calls.

Inmates' families.

See if we can't sniff out what's going on over there.

Yes, of course.

Does he have all the contact info, or do we need to...

Ah, distance, remember?

- Mm-hmm. - In there, those boxes.

Now, I've been talking to the CDC

about this since February.

I mean, everybody knew this was coming,

but releasing prisoners is the only real way to combat this.

And nobody on the board will consider that?

I've been pushing it for weeks, and they give it lip service,

but they've basically marginalized me.

So they'd rather, what, risk having outbreaks?

They let people go now, what happens in a year or two

when COVID is done?

They'll be forced to consolidate,

and then you've got prisons closing.

Yeah, and the C.O. union won't go for that.

Mm, no, 'course not.

And... And there's no way

to get an independent observer in there?

Mm, not without a court order.

Eh, I'm not getting a court order without any evidence.

Then you better find some.

And your last conversation was when?

Of course you want information.

Yeah, of course. That's why we're calling families.

Yes. I'll tell Mr. Wallace,

and we'll get back to you just as soon as we know something.

Thank you.

Last contact was Wednesday.

They were expecting to talk Friday.

Never got a call.

I keep hearing the same thing over and over.

They shut the phones off without any warning.

Four days ago, something happened there.

Jamal?

No, it's Walter.

Yo, they took Jamal away.

Took him where?

Man, I don't even know.

I don't know if he got sick

or he got into it with the guards about something or what.

All right, how'd you get the phone?

Somebody left it in my cell while I was sleeping.

And Jamal erases all his text messages,

so I didn't have your number till you texted today.

And when did all this happen?

I don't know. Like, a few days ago.

Come on, Walter.

I need to know exactly when.

Man.

You know... you know, maybe it was Thursday.

Like... Like four days ago.

All right.

But Aaron Wallace is the attorney of record

in Mr. Bishop's case.

Uh, yes, Your Honor.

He's driving back from Bellmore

and given the exigent circumstances,

I'm appearing on his behalf.

And what is the issue?

Mr. Wallace has been denied access to see his client,

who we now learn has been forcibly removed from his cell.

We have no information where he is or what his condition is.

Also of note, the prison is on a full lockdown,

but there's been no notification to any of the families

as to what the actual situation is there.

And what are you asking for?

We'd like a court order for myself and Mr. Wallace

to conduct an inspection of the premises.

That would be up to the Board of Health or the Governor's Office.

But I will give you access to your client.

You have to understand that...

That will be the sum total of what I'll entertain today.

And feel free to thank me, Counselor.

I'd say welcome back, but...

It's good to see you, man.

How you been?

Must be great to be home.

Yeah.

Your family okay?

I wouldn't know.

I've been sleeping in the car.

Just keep them safe.

Anyway, you'll be in here.

We'll bring Jamal in a few minutes.

Thanks.

You know, he's sleeping in his car, he's so scared.

Feels like they're understaffed,

which means guards are calling in sick or taking vacation time.

What do you know about the new warden?

According to my friend at the Prison Board,

he came up through the ranks as a C.O.

Generally regarded as tough but fair.

Better than Hunt.

Must be strange for you,

being back like this.

What about you?

Taking on the world?

Well, I mean, the way it ended here,

it's not exactly a bright spot on my r�sum�.

Plus...

there's a lawsuit pending.

Somebody's suing you?

It's Captain Foster's family.

They're going after everybody, but I'm named.

Well, if you need a character reference, or a star witness...

I've been following what you've been doing...

The medical-racism case in Westchester

and... and that Collars for Dollars thing

you're doing with Henry. It's...

Yeah.

Police union's been dragging the whole thing out for months.

Then they bury us in 200 pounds worth of paperwork

off the subpoena.

Grind you down till you give up,

which you won't.

We'll see.

And being home? How's that going?

Ups and downs. You know.

And your wife... she must really be in the thick of it.

Yeah, she was working in Manhattan,

but the Bronx got hit real hard,

so she transferred to County Hospital.

Underserved communities are getting the worst of it.

She can't even come home.

She's worried about infecting us.

And what about your wife? She okay with you being here?

I mean, with the exposure.

Uh, not exactly.

I dropped the kids off at her place before I drove up.

They'll stay with her a couple of weeks.

You split up?

A trial separation that...

seems to be headed for divorce, yeah.

Oh, man.

I'm so sorry.

Yo, put your masks on.

Why? You sick?

Nah, nah. I... I'm good.

Uh, reason I'm in solitary was 'cause I was...

I was agitating.

They kept stuffing us in the cafeteria and the yard.

But they stopped that. Yeah.

They're doing the right thing.

Is anybody infected?

Not that I know of.

The new warden... he's on top of that, though.

We gotta get you out of solitary, then.

Yeah.

Yeah, that'd be nice.

Hassan's prisoner rep now.

You talk to him?

Yeah, yeah, movement's restricted.

Plus, he don't get it the way you did.

Well, I just wanted to make sure you were cool.

Everything's tied up in the courts right now anyways,

so we can discuss your case another time.

Good to see you, bro.

I mean that.

You, too, ma'am.

Really miss you around here.

Surveillance.

Yeah, I know.

You got what you came for.

We can see you out now.

You know, I got a lot of families calling me.

While we're here, I kind of feel like we should, uh...

We should maybe talk to the warden.

Yeah, if you tell him I'm here, I'm sure he'll pop in,

as a courtesy.

Yeah, sure.

No problem.

_

Mr. Wallace, Ms. Masry.

Victor Hernandez.

I understand you asked to see me.

Oh, uh, sorry. We're not distancing?

Well, you've both been tested. So have I.

This whole thing is overblown, in my opinion,

but I have the guards you'll be interacting with wearing masks.

So what can I do for you?

We understand that Xavier Barnwell died last week

- from a heart attack. - That's right.

Can you tell us when that was?

It was Wednesday night.

And the next day, you mandated a quarantine

and cut off all phone privileges.

What is this?

Our colleague Henry Roswell spoke to Mr. Barnwell's family.

They say he called them two days before he died,

complaining of a fever and sore throat.

This is the first I'm hearing of it.

Apparently, he asked the guards to be taken to the infirmary.

Do you know if that happened?

No. He died in his cell.

Well, he told his family that he was afraid he might have COVID.

Well, I told all the C.O.s anyone with symptoms

should be taken to the infirmary.

Then why didn't that happen with him?

I don't know,

but I will certainly speak to the guards on his block.

Well, his mother is requesting an autopsy.

His father authorized a cremation.

Didn't they tell you?

Hold on.

Now, I'm not sure I get this.

You think the COVID's exaggerated,

but you order a lockdown the day after a prisoner dies?

Doesn't quite connect.

Look, everyone has their opinion, okay?

The Prison Board wouldn't approve people wearing masks

until two days ago.

I'm understaffed now as it is, and then Barnwell dies.

The guards come to me.

They say they want a lockdown for their own safety.

I'm here less than six weeks.

I'm thinking I gotta respect what they're asking for.

I quarantine.

I order masks for the C.O.s who want to wear them.

I think maybe we should talk to the medical staff,

hear from them what the situation is.

Absolutely.

I don't think you know Dr. Mirza.

He started here three months ago,

after you were both gone.

I understand you'd like to know how we're handling things.

I think maybe we should just start with

how many cases you have.

Right now, nine, all relatively mild,

all being observed in the infirmary.

We had, uh, two others that were more severe,

but they were both sent to St. Vincent's in Tarrytown.

And when you say mild...?

Fever, sore throat, fatigue.

And what about testing?

Well, we obviously don't have enough tests right now

to cover the prison population.

But you have for the guards.

If they have symptoms.

But why not before, to make sure they're not

contagious to the inmates?

Well, that's not his call.

And we're following the protocols mandated

by the Board of Health and reviewed by the Prison Board.

How many guards have tested positive?

Only two.

They were sent home immediately.

But not before they brought a virus in here.

We have almost 600 employees here.

We're being as careful as we can.

And you never saw Xavier Barnwell?

No.

Did you examine his body after he died?

Well, of course, but there's no way of knowing at that point

whether or not he had COVID.

Yeah, not without an autopsy.

Again, that was not his call.

If you have any more questions outside his domain,

I think we can let him get back to work.

Thank you, Dr. Mirza.

We'll call you if we have anything more.

I understand your concern, and the media hasn't helped,

but the numbers here are better

than some neighborhoods in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Yeah, but the people in Brooklyn and the Bronx

haven't had their phones taken away.

The phone banks are a highly contagious area.

Seems to me like you want to have it both ways.

I'm too lenient and too strict?

I haven't decided that yet,

but we want to walk the blocks.

You know I can't let you do that.

Well, if there's nothing to hide,

it shouldn't be a problem, right?

We've both been tested,

and we'll sign liability waivers.

You can call the Governor.

You can call the Board of Health.

This is way over my head.

I think that request would be better coming from you.

But you might want to remind whoever you talk to

that there's already one civil case against Bellmore,

and they probably don't want another.

Hey, Jazz.

Just checking in on you, making sure you're all right.

Call me, all right?

Love you.

She home alone?

No.

She got her boyfriend with her there now.

Must be tough for her.

Sometimes she finds it hard

accepting that I'm gonna be home for good...

- Mm-hmm. - ...especially since...

Since what?

I've been living in my office.

I only moved back to the house to help Jazz and the baby

while Marie's at the hospital.

When'd you move out?

Four months ago.

We're in counseling now.

They say I'm bringing a prison mentality into it.

That's why I can't figure out how to trust Marie.

Nine years is a long time.

She didn't lie to me, but...

I guess I have a... A black-and-white way

of looking at loyalty 'cause of my time in here.

"Binary."

That's what the therapist calls it.

Sometimes they like to use really irritating words

to put you in a box and justify their fees.

Yeah. And their degrees.

Yeah.

You never did that, though.

You always talked straight to everybody.

I tried.

I never did ask you.

I'm sure you had a lot of choices.

What made you want to work here?

I was working at this think tank,

writing these abstract reports on criminal-justice reform,

and I thought, "This is ridiculous.

I gotta do something in the real world."

And my wife had a friend at the Prison Board,

and I had these ideas that I thought could...

And you know the rest of that part.

Did it change you?

Well, how could it not?

They keep telling me

that I'm never gonna get over it unless...

I think they want me to cry on the couch or something.

You know?

Like you see in those movies.

And what do you think?

I'm not sure I want to get over it.

I hear that.

Got him stabilized.

You all right?

I just had to tell this man to leave.

His wife's on the ventilator, probably won't make it,

and, uh, I had to send him home.

She's gonna die alone.

No, she's not.

Because you're gonna hold her hand

the way you always do.

This is only the beginning, Marie.

If you're not up for it...

It's not that.

It's not that at all. It's just...

...if something happens to me,

there's just so many things that aren't resolved.

Brought you some food and some more water.

Seems like they're expecting us to be here for a while.

Everything's pre-packaged, so COVID-safe.

We got a microwave and a hot pot here for you.

We've been waiting three hours.

I think we need to see the superintendent again.

He'll be here in a minute.

Yo, Henderson.

Come on, man. What's going on?

I just work here, man.

Mr. Wallace. Ms. Masry.

As you know, I've been on the phone for hours,

trying to get this situation sorted out.

In the process, Attorney General Burke

has taken the initiative and appointed Mr. O'Reilly

to represent the State in this matter.

Of all the people Burke could've sent...

If you'll do me the courtesy of hearing me out,

I assure you I've tested negative,

and I think you'll be pleased with what I'm going to propose.

Here's the deal, okay?

We acknowledge the guy had a heart attack,

and nobody knows whether or not it was COVID-related.

Because they got rid of the body.

They got rid of the body because there are no funerals,

and the family didn't want to pay thousands of dollars

for a burial they couldn't attend.

The family says they were pushed into that decision.

Look, pushed or not, it was their choice.

In any case, we recognize that none of this looks good,

and nobody wants a public relations disaster.

So...

I'm here to discuss prisoner releases.

We are assuming that's what you came here for to begin with?

So this is a payoff, to keep us quiet.

Mr. Wallace, you forced the issue.

But everyone in Albany's already been looking at this for weeks,

and we acknowledge it's time to start the process.

How many we talking about?

Right now, we're prepared to release 7.5% of the population.

We figure this out, in the next 24 hours,

132 men will walk out of here.

You want to fight about walking the blocks,

you can go back to court for that.

You may win, you may lose,

but what we have here in this moment

could most certainly go away.

Even though Albany thinks it's the right thing to do.

We need a minute.

We'll let go of walking the blocks for now,

but in lieu of that,

we want to talk to the prisoner rep, Hassan Nawaz.

And when we talk to him,

no C.O.s, no warden,

and these... They go away.

Are you suggesting he doesn't feel safe speaking freely?

Let's call it attorney-client privilege.

We don't get that, we got no deal.

So let's call him in.

Hello, Hassan.

Thank you both for coming.

I know it couldn't have been easy.

I told you I wouldn't forget.

Supe says you have to stand eight feet apart.

How about I just go over here?

I need to record this, if that's okay.

That's fine, yeah.

So tell us what's going on in there.

I wouldn't know exactly.

I spent the last five days in my cell.

I asked them to let me walk the blocks to see for myself,

but they shot that down.

And the conditions?

No yard time, even in small groups?

No, I don't think they have the manpower for that.

Word is half the C.O.s aren't showing up for work.

So what about your three meals?

It's one meal. Triple calorie count.

We're supposed to ration, but...

Look, a lot of the guys are so paranoid,

they won't even touch it.

And they're still double-bunking?

Only way to avoid that is to lower the inmate count.

You know that.

No one's protesting?

First couple days, everybody's hollering.

But now it's just eerie quiet,

like our spirit's broken.

And what about Xavier Barnwell?

You hear about that?

No. Something happen to him?

He died.

And we think maybe of COVID.

No.

Hassan, did you see or hear about

anyone else who got sick?

Um, there was a couple of guys on my pod,

but they took them, um...

They took them to the...

Hassan?

Xavier really died?

Hey, listen to me, all right?

We're here to fix this,

get some people out.

It may take us a couple of days, but we will get something done.

You get the word out?

Yeah. Yeah, of course, man.

So, you're supposed to stay there overnight?

Yeah, it's gonna take them hours to get all the inmate files,

so we agreed to start in the morning.

And the probation office gave you an exemption for this?

Yeah. Scotty went to bat.

I guess he understands what it means

to get all these guys out of here.

Are you gonna try for Jamal?

No.

They're only considering nonviolent offenders.

So you're calling to say you're doing this or to ask me?

I already asked Ronnie

to go over to the house to be with Jazz.

I'm not doing this without your blessing.

Is it gonna be okay for you, being there overnight?

It's against the COVID protocol for us to leave.

It's a price worth paying.

Okay.

But no walking the blocks, Aaron.

I don't care what kind of protection they give you.

I can't have you doing that,

not with me here, already taking on this risk.

You're right. Thank you.

I appreciate you asking me, really.

I guess I'm learning.

I'll tell you something else.

From what I've seen,

there is no way that that prison with 1,700 people

only has 11 cases.

No way.

We replenished your water supply.

Anything else you need tonight, someone will be right outside.

You can take these.

I'm not wearing them.

Fair enough.

Thank you, Mike. Much appreciated.

Is there anything else we can do for you?

Yeah. You can answer me one question.

Why was Hassan Nawaz

not allowed to walk the blocks as the prisoner rep?

He didn't ask to.

Oh, he asked the C.O.s.

Well, it never got back to me.

And how do you account for that?

I don't know.

But I assure you I'll look into it.

Something's not right here.

Maybe he's just in over his head.

You see how the guards are acting.

And you saw Jamal.

We don't have a move, Aaron.

Unless you want to go back to court,

and that could take days or weeks.

We have 132 men we can get out right now,

and when we do, we can get more information then.

Close cell four!

Hey, I think the warden's telling us what he knows,

which means it's the guards acting on their own.

Some of the guards.

Others don't like it but are too scared to say.

The only way Walter could've got a burner phone

was from a guard who wanted a leak.

Well, then we find out who that was

and see if we can break him.

Walter's not texting me back,

which means the guard already took the phone back.

Could be getting cold feet.

If they're putting the sick prisoners somewhere...

It's gotta be solitary.

Jamal wanted out of there so bad.

And if we're right, that means that Xavier Barnwell was there

when he had his heart attack and not in his cell.

Hey, you think we can get a subpoena for the security cams?

If we get Barnwell's family to threaten a lawsuit,

O'Reilly folds like a house of cards.

As long as you give us power of attorney,

we can draw up a complaint

and get it over to Aaron Wallace at Bellmore.

That'll get us access to the cameras

so we can find out what really happened.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

- You finished? - Almost.

- Henry, distance. - Sorry.

- Distance. - Sorry.

This better not be a wild-goose chase.

Oh, we'd hate to waste 20 minutes of your time, Dez.

He's having a heart attack.

They're trying to decide what to do.

We don't even know if Barnwell's in that cell.

He's calling someone.

Well, not the infirmary. We know that.

Can you fast-forward, please?

They know he's dead.

They're trying to figure out how to save their asses.

I'm sick to my stomach.

Call the Attorney General.

We want full PPE and a walk through solitary,

right now.

Listen, I trust Hernandez at this point.

We don't have to do this anymore.

I do, Aaron.

I'm glad you're not insisting.

I promised Marie.

? It might be nothing at all

Get these doors open right now.

I need some help.

Please, please, let me out.

You can put it all on us, but this was from the union.

What the hell are you talking about?

One of the reps got the word out.

We need the numbers to stay low,

otherwise somebody's gonna come in here,

start emptying the place.

Next thing you know, they're closing prisons,

and people are losing their jobs.

And when Xavier Barnwell died in there,

that didn't change your minds?

Nobody knows if that had anything to do with it.

It's a damn flu.

Yeah. And you gave 'em Tylenol.

You are seriously telling us

that you did all of this because of the union?

Because you don't want to lose your job?

No, man.

This is about us doing our jobs,

not wanting to let out a bunch of guys like him.

Yeah, they told us that people would be coming in here,

looking to do this, and now here you are.

So I guess I was right.

I want the name of that union rep.

I got no idea who it was.

You gotta go to the captains.

But I wouldn't count on anybody opening their mouths.

I want a criminal investigation here.

Look, I understand that,

and I promise you we will get into it.

But in the meantime,

let's get started on these prisoner releases.

You mean the 15%?

Well, 7.5% is not gonna be enough

to eliminate double-bunking.

He's right. 15% is what we need.

You have enough nonviolent offenders to hit that number?

We should, yeah.

Seven of the sick inmates are being treated in the infirmary.

The ones with more serious symptoms

were taken to the hospital in Tarrytown.

What about Jamal?

We've isolated and tested him, but he has no symptoms.

We also contacted the Board of Health.

We're having four more doctors sent here.

We need empty cells and distancing.

That's what everyone out in the world is doing.

Well, we've settled on 15%,

and, obviously, we'll review all the protocols.

It's not enough.

Look, I've already spoken to the Attorney General.

I can't go higher than that right now.

They need regular phone contact with their families.

- Agreed. - And three meals a day.

We'll make it happen.

Monitoring and weekly reports on population,

diagnosis, and treatment plans.

Yes, we will do that.

This is Burke. Will you excuse me?

Hello?

Hey, you all right?

Be glad you didn't see it.

It was the union.

Word came from the mountaintop.

There were good men who went along with this.

Systems are bigger than people.

That's what Henry always says.

The Attorney General has informed me

that he is willing to expand the window of eligibility

and release an additional 103 inmates,

20% of the total inmate population,

for a total of 354.

In exchange for what?

We need you to drop your civil suit against the NYPD

and no more press about Collars for Dollars.

That's why he sent you.

He knew he was gonna make this play.

Look, on my father's grave,

I had no idea until three minutes ago.

I'm assuming you need to consult

with Mr. Roswell and Ms. Guerrero?

I already know what they're gonna say. So do you.

That's why this is happening.

Look, I swear we will do everything in our power

to go after the C.O. union.

But you can't have everything.

You'll give away the store to protect the police.

It's 354 men.

Dudding! Ramirez! Koga! Let's go!

All right, fall in line. Let's go!

Goodleaf, you're out of here.

Hassan?

Pack your things. You're going home.

I really didn't think this place could break my heart again.

Thank you for letting me do this.

As long as you're all right.

You know, being back here like this...

I know I got some things to figure out for myself,

but there's no confusion when it comes to being with you.

No?

No, I don't need to figure out how to trust you again, Marie,

or to put you through the wringer

about anything you've done anymore.

I just want you to come home safe

as soon as all this over,

'cause that's all that matters.

Yeah, it is.

I got 354 going out!

Are you outside the gates?

Yeah.

Well, can I see the buses?

I want to see your brothers coming out.

Yeah, hold on.

Can you see them?

354.

354 going home.