NARRATOR: In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. Ripped By mstoll
In New York City,
the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
So the man who attacked you was black?
Yes.
Young, about six-foot.
And what was he wearing?
A hoodie and a baseball cap.
He's black, tall, in his 20s.
And he followed you?
Yeah, he was right behind me...
I barely saw his face.
I walked faster and I put my key in my door,
but he was right there.
Did he say anything to you?
He said, "I know you want it."
Then he pushed me into my doorway,
threw me to the ground,
said he had a gun.
Did you see a gun?
I felt it, against my back.
Then he raped me.
And he used a condom?
Yes.
Do you mean there's no way that you can prove it was him?
We'll get him.
Two Upper West Side vics, both single white women
over 40, raped in their doorways.
Their attacker's young, black male, six-foot,
wears a hoodie and a baseball cap.
Well, that narrows it down. They were push-ins.
He said he had a gun, said, "I know you want it."
No extra points for originality.
No. But I think we're looking at a serial.
Same MO. Same verbiage.
I think we need a sketch artist down here, now.
Now? No.
We've already spent enough overtime on those missing girls.
We'll do it first thing in the morning.
Get some rest.
Both of you.
Hey, gorgeous.
What's the matter? You got a smile for me?
(GRUNTS)
(PANTING)
I'm sorry. Okay.
Guys say stuff like that to me all the time. And I just...
I went off on him.
I'm a New York City cop. I can't go around beating people up.
Do you remember what we talked about last session?
Yes. How I was upset that Lewis got the drop on me.
How I should have reached for my gun.
But this is different. This wasn't Lewis.
You know I hear you beating yourself up,
first for under reacting to Lewis
and now, for overreacting to this guy.
I can't get anything right. I'm all over the place.
"All over the place."
If a crime victim said that to Detective Olivia Benson
less than three months after an assault, what would you say to her?
I'd say that survivors can experience
a wide range of reactions
from stress, to fear, to numbness.
Depression? Anger? Flashbacks?
All of the above.
Have you ever known someone to take a self-defense course or obtain a gun,
or resolve never to be a victim again?
Of course.
So you might see this kind of overreaction to be emotionally triggered.
You might tell her that, over time she'll recognize those triggers
and temper her responses.
(GROANS)
And what if she doesn't believe me?
Well, then you might ask her to forgive herself
and remember she's going through a process.
And that healing takes time.
This sketch is useless.
It's a start, Fin.
We're checking traffic cams on Riverside Drive.
Any forensics on this guy?
NICK: No DNA on either vic.
He used a condom, left no traces.
He sounds like a pro.
Any recently released sex offenders?
None that match the sketch.
But the lab did get a hit on the condom lubricant.
It's a brand called Sultan Ecstasy.
Sold in every bodega in the city.
Hey. Sorry I'm late.
You're allowed, Liv.
Please don't say that.
This sketch is useless.
That's what I said.
You never know. Give it a shot.
Alert the media, the neighborhood.
Maybe we'll catch a break.
It's too late.
FIN: Can you describe him?
He was African-American, in a hoodie.
When I got to my front door,
he put a gun against my back,
said, "I know you want it."
You saw the gun?
I felt it.
He pulled up my skirt,
threw me face down on the floor while he...
Put on a condom.
He raped me.
I begged him to stop, but he just started beating me.
BENSON: Okay, everybody, listen up.
Uh, we're looking for a serial on the Upper West Side.
All three rapes occurred within a half mile of each other,
between the hours of 10:00 and 1:00.
Suspect is a six-foot black male,
wears a hoodie and a cap.
Follows single women home, pushes his way in.
BENSON: He's escalating. He's getting more violent.
We need every block covered.
Buildings, storefronts, bus stops.
NICK: There's a tip line set up, number's on the flyer.
He may be carrying Sultan Ecstasy condoms.
He may be armed.
BENSON: You know the drill.
250s, 250s, 250s.
Stop and frisk 'till we get this guy.
How long this gonna take, man?
Why? You late for the opera?
I already got a cop-and-feel
from one of you people this afternoon.
Good, then you know what comes next.
You live around here, homie?
Close enough.
Got any ID?
I don't have to give you that.
How about you put your hands up?
What do you want?
Huh. That's a nicely rolled blunt.
Party tonight?
(GUNSHOT IN DISTANCE)
(SIRENS WAILING)
Drop the gun.
Put the gun down now.
Drop it.
He was attacking me.
Hands up. Let's see your hands. Step back.
Step back, ma'am.
Keep your hands up and step back. Back up.
I got a pulse.
Put a rush on a bus. Riverside and 87th Street.
Victim appears likely.
He was following me.
He was going to rape me.
Suspect is Mehcad Carter. He's 16.
He was shot once in the chest by the vic.
He's still in surgery. His parents are on their way.
Sixteen? Did he have a gun?
No. We recovered a cell phone from his pocket.
And what about the victim?
It's Jolene Castille, the celebrity chef.
She told us that she shot him in self-defense.
Is this kid our serial?
Similar MO and description.
We're waiting on an ID from the other vics.
The parents, I know they're worried about their son,
but find out what he was doing in that neighborhood.
Mr. And Mrs. Carter?
How did our son get shot?
We're trying to sort that out now.
He's a good kid, never any trouble.
I... I want to see Mehcad.
Well, he's still in surgery.
We'd actually like to ask you some questions while you wait.
I don't understand.
My boy's been shot.
Who did it?
Why? Why?
I told you, he tried to rape me.
BENSON: Okay.
So why don't we start at the beginning.
Well, I was on my way home from a benefit.
My driver pulled over to let me walk on the Avenue.
I just wanted some fresh air.
And when did you first see the suspect?
When I turned on my street, he was just following me.
He, um...
He had on a dark hoodie, exactly what's on the poster.
So then what happened?
I asked him what he wanted.
He didn't answer.
He just kept coming.
I went through my brownstone gate and he did, too.
I said, "Get back, go back."
Did he respond?
No.
He had his hand in his pocket.
I thought he had a gun.
So I pulled out my pistol.
A Smith & Wesson.38.
Yes, I have a carry permit.
I pointed my gun at him
and yelled,
"Stop. Get back."
But he just kept coming. He lunged.
He assaulted you physically?
No, he didn't get a chance to.
I was terrified. I knew he was going to rape me.
I shot him once, to stop him.
It was horrible.
I've never shot a person before.
Miss Castille, the boy you shot is in critical condition.
The boy?
But he will recover, won't he?
Oh, God.
I had to do it. I had no choice.
This woman claims our son was threatening her?
That's not possible.
You live in Harlem? You have any idea
why he was in the West 80s at 10:30?
Probably walking home.
He plays basketball down near the boat basin.
That's about three miles. That's a long walk.
He usually takes the subway, or the M5.
And Mehcad does live with you?
Of course he does.
He's 16.
Is he home most nights?
CORY: During the school year he's home studying.
In the summer...
Right, and he was playing basketball tonight?
How about last night, Monday?
Yes, he went out.
And Saturday?
Yes.
Can you tell us what time he got home those nights?
What are you saying?
We... We saw on the news those other women were raped.
Are you... Are you thinking it was Mehcad?
We have her version.
We're just starting our investigation.
CORY: Absolutely not.
My son's an honor student. He's not a rapist.
And if that woman...
If she's saying Mehcad tried to rape her,
she's lying.
This woman shot our son in cold blood.
You need to arrest her.
My boy, he didn't do this.
He's here? In the same hospital?
We don't know if it's him.
And there's a police guard outside the ICU.
I can see the press outside my window.
They won't talk to you. Okay? Don't worry.
It's just...
If you feel up to it,
there's some photos I'd like you to look at.
Okay, but you have him, don't you?
I'm sorry. It was dark.
I didn't see his face clearly.
I'm, I'm just not positive.
It's okay. All right, we'll be in touch.
Okay.
No go.
Bethenny couldn't make the ID.
Chloe picked Mehcad's photo out right away.
So did Aubrey.
Okay, we've got two vic IDs,
one vic shoots him in the act,
but there's no gun on the suspect?
None of the other women saw the gun.
Whatever he threatened them with was hidden.
Probably the same pocketed cell phone he threatened Jolene with.
Find anything on that cell phone?
The usual messages about hooking up, hanging out.
But the GPS puts him in the West 80s
every night that rapist hit.
Anyone think that's a coincidence?
ROLLINS: His parents say that he went downtown to Riverside Park
summer nights to play basketball.
And they can't or won't confirm what time he got home.
Does he have a record?
No, he's an honor student, church choir.
And everybody who knows him says he's a good kid.
We've all heard that one before.
It's amazing how much trouble these honor students get into.
Uh, does Jolene Castille's story hold up?
She did sound genuinely terrified.
I mean, I know that he's only 16, but he is six-foot.
She shouts, "Stop," he doesn't. Bang.
He was wearing ear buds.
BENSON: He stalked her, right?
It's an empty street. It was dark.
I believe that she was in fear for her life.
A rich, white celebrity shoots a black teenager.
The papers are already hailing her as the Ragin' Cajun.
Let's just make sure this kid is the rapist.
RAFAEL: Thank you so much for coming in, Ms. Castille, Mr. Cohen.
Hello.
I hear you've ID'd Mehcad Carter as the West Side Rapist?
Yeah, the detectives are working the case. Julie.
I was shocked to hear he was only 16.
He seemed so much older.
You were close enough to see his face?
Absolutely.
And when you first saw the suspect, he was following you?
Yes. I asked him what he wanted
and he didn't say a word, just kept coming.
The faster I walked, the faster he walked.
When did you tell him to get back?
Once on the street, once at my gate.
Um, could you tell if he could hear you?
He was wearing ear buds.
COHEN: Hold on. Hold on.
How would she know that?
He was also wearing a hoodie.
I yelled, loudly. He smiled at me.
Didn't say a word.
I felt a fear for my life. I pulled out my revolver.
And that's when he lunged at you?
Take your time.
Okay, he opened my gate.
I said get back.
He had his hand in his pocket.
I thought it was a gun.
I pulled out my revolver.
I said to him, "Get back," again,
but he just kept coming.
I shot him.
Approximately how far away was he? Less than a yard?
Maybe one or two feet.
Hmm, a foot or two.
Close enough to see your revolver?
Now listen. He could have turned, left, but he lunged.
He got shot in the chest.
Not the back. The chest.
JOLENE: I'm sorry for his parents.
But I'd do it again if I had to.
Those other women are mistaken.
I have known Mehcad and his family his whole life.
Do you have any video or DNA?
We're still working the case.
That means no.
He wouldn't have attacked anyone.
His cell puts him in the vicinity of all three rapes.
He was just playing basketball.
Mr. And Mrs. Carter?
(SIGHS)
I know Mehcad.
He didn't do this.
LISA: (SCREAMING) No.
What?
No, not my baby. No.
Not my baby.
(LISA SOBBING)
No, no.
Fin, we got one in progress.
What do we got here, Willie?
Hey, you use this gun to rape anyone else?
I didn't rape nobody. They wanted it.
Yeah, you do, too.
(CHUCKLES) Don't you, bitch?
Shut up.
Oh!
Let's go.
Get in the car.
This guy claims Liv went off on him?
No, I was right there. He's a liar.
She was screaming because she wanted it.
And that gun was planted.
You're on parole in Detroit.
What are you even doing here?
I got a job. Recycling oil and lard.
Yeah, did you collect any oil Monday night?
What, you talking about those West Side rapes?
You won't find my DNA there.
Besides, the paper says that boy,
you know, the one who got shot,
he's the one who did them.
We got a problem here, Nick.
Go tell Barba.
Willie Smith, a level three sex offender, just paroled in Michigan.
The rapes fit his old MO.
Uh, he's been sleeping at a shelter for the last two weeks
that is within ten blocks of each rape.
Any chance that we're looking at a copycat?
Had to ask.
Uh, what about the two victims who ID'd Mehcad?
Similar look and cross race IDs.
So, how about we bring them back in
and see if they can ID Willie in a lineup.
And if they do, then they'll have ID'd two different suspects.
That just about defines reasonable doubt.
So you don't want us to bring them in?
I don't know. Uh...
There's the one vic who did not ID Mehcad. Bring her in first.
Just throw out the other two cases?
Do we have anything else to tie him to them
other than MO and cross race IDs?
Willie said that he recycles cooking oil.
And we should get CSU to check their clothing
and his for lard or oil residue.
And if we do get a match?
Jolene may have shot an innocent kid.
Question is did she know that?
Tell Warner I need that autopsy.
Now.
(BETHENNY SIGHING)
It's him.
Number two. It's him.
Even though you didn't see his face?
It's not his face.
I stared at those hands the whole time he...
Oh, my God.
What is it, Chloe?
It wasn't the other boy. It's him, number two.
I can feel him on me.
I can smell the oil.
Oil?
Rancid oil like a fast food place.
My God, that poor boy who got shot.
They were both black, in hoodies.
Please don't think I'm a racist.
Kids can survive incredible trauma,
but when they crump, they crump quick.
Crump?
All the vitals go south all at once.
So are we looking at a homicide?
Is getting shot what killed him? Yeah.
Jolene said that she fired in self-defense.
I can't speak to that.
But there was no fouling or stippling on his body.
He wasn't that close to her.
Is it possible the stippling disappeared during surgery?
It can't. Stippling burns into skin.
What about on the clothing?
You mean after EMS
the Evidence Mangling Service
cut his clothes off through the bullet hole?
I will hunt them down and kill them.
Melinda.
Sorry.
Jolene said that he was a foot away.
Well, she's either lying or confused.
Find out which one it is.
Fin, before you go to Chez Jolene you might want to use our men's room.
Come again?
My ex's nephew worked there.
When the kitchen toilet broke,
she wouldn't let the "help" use the customer restroom.
They had to use a diner across the street.
Thanks.
Summer, lunchtime this place is packed.
She's becoming a damn folk hero.
Detective Benson, how nice to see you. Oh, hello.
This is Detective Tutuola, SVU.
Nice place.
Thank you. Can I get you a table?
Actually, we just have a few questions.
Okay, let's take this in the back. Okay.
I saw you caught another rapist.
This new suspect may be responsible for all the West Side rapes.
But what about the victims who ID'd my attacker?
Well, sometimes victims can get details wrong.
They can misapprehend the situation.
I didn't misapprehend one iota.
That boy kept coming. I had to shoot him.
When you fired, how far away was he?
Close. Right on me.
This close? Close enough to touch you?
Get your hands off me.
(SIGHS) I'm sorry.
Please, I'm still a little jumpy. You understand.
Our M. E...
She thinks that Mehcad was farther away than you're remembering.
Well, she wasn't there. Was she, honey?
That boy was going to rape me.
He said, "I know you want it."
You never told us that before.
I wasn't comfortable with his patois.
You think just because you caught a black rapist, he's the only one?
(ALL CHANTING) No justice, no peace. No justice, no peace.
No justice, no peace.
Yes, sir.
I do know what a long, hot summer is.
Understood.
The D.A.'s suddenly concerned?
I guess it's an election year.
No comment.
So...
Willie Taylor,
he's good for all the West Side rapes?
Palm oil, olive oil, peanut oil, and lard on Willie and the vics.
Mehcad was just a kid in a hoodie.
Wrong place, wrong time.
Wrong skin.
Okay.
Devil's advocate.
What was he doing in that neighborhood?
His friends told us that he lost his MetroCard.
He was walking home.
Okay, then why did he follow her to the gate?
His parents said he liked watching the Cooking Channel.
Maybe he recognized Jolene, just wanted an autograph.
And Jolene, she's still sticking to her story?
BENSON: Try embellishing.
Now she's claiming that Mehcad told her, "You know you want it."
The day after it was leaked to the press.
How'd she react to the M.E. Report?
She doubled down.
Even though not one neighbor heard her scream.
Her story's a house of cards.
She's just hiding behind self-defense.
Self-defense? More like a hate crime.
Look, what we saw...
This feels racially motivated.
Hmm.
If it is, she'll have a history.
Find it.
This isn't going away.
You're just afraid of that mob.
Y'all are trying to bury my ass to cover yours.
Jolene, it's their kitchen, not yours.
But she's right. This is a farce.
Turn to the side.
New York is just blacks, Jews, and liberals.
The D.A. Wants their votes.
It's not the D.A.'s call, Ms. Castille. It's mine.
Print her.
Your left hand, please, ma'am.
Where are you from, honey, Georgia?
How'd they put you up to this charade?
Excuse me?
We both know if we were down home, I'd be getting a medal.
BENSON: Get back. Coming through.
Mr. Barba, didn't Jolene have the right to defend herself?
Everyone in New York has the right to walk the streets
without fearing for their life
and that includes 16-year-old Mehcad Carter.
Jolene, are you a racist?
Is that why you shot Mehcad?
Absolutely not. I was in fear for my life.
COHEN: All right, no more questions.
Excuse us.
Did you find any stippling or fouling
on the body of Mehcad Carter?
None.
But, uh, Jolene Castille told police that she was inches away
from Mehcad when she fired.
She wasn't. We tested the same gun and bullets that Ms. Castille used.
The shot that killed Mehcad Carter
was fired from a distance of at least five feet.
I mean this is not an empty phrase.
Mehcad was truly a choirboy.
A sweet, angelic, evolved soul.
Never hurt anyone.
Thank you, Reverend. Nothing further.
Reverend, you saw Mehcad Carter in his Sunday best
at choir practice and services?
I have known him since he was four.
Have you ever been out with him at night,
with his friends, when they've been partying?
Well, no. But that's...
Reverend, have you ever been surprised by congregants
who were Sunday saints but Saturday sinners?
Of course, but Mehcad wasn't the type.
Thank you, Reverend. No further questions.
Mehcad was a fan of Jolene's.
I think that's why he followed her home.
Objection, Your Honor. Speculation.
Sustained.
Miss Carter, was Mehcad ever in trouble with the law?
No, never.
And, um, when he left home that night,
did you see him take anything with him?
His... His cell phone.
And his bubble gum.
Bubble gum?
Cherry.
I...
I know he was tall,
but he...
He just turned 16.
He was still...
Still my boy.
(SOBBING) I lost my little boy.
(SNIFFS)
RAFAEL: You arrested Willie Taylor at that scene?
Yes.
We then conclusively linked him to the three open rapes on the West Side.
So Mehcad Carter was no longer a suspect
in those rapes or any other rapes? That is correct.
Thank you, Detective. There's nothing further.
Detective, does Jolene Castille
fit the profile of the rapist's other victims?
Yes.
And, um, Mehcad Carter's appearance,
the way he was, uh, dressed and, um, how he followed her, does that...
Does that match the rapist's profile?
You're asking me if he was a young, black male on a public sidewalk?
Your Honor. Answer the question, Detective.
Um, yes, he fit the pattern.
Initially, didn't two prior victims identify
Mehcad Carter as their attacker?
From a photo ID they later recanted.
But they did ID him, which...
Which means SVU also believed he was the rapist.
He was a suspect.
After we investigated further we realized that a mistake had been made.
What further? When?
Forty eight hours?
So, if SVU and two victims
believed that Mehcad Carter was the rapist,
how... how could Jolene Castille,
a woman alone
on a dark street,
be expected to know he wasn't in the blink of an eye?
What just happened in there? RAFAEL: I'm sorry.
We were... I was wrong.
That lawyer can just slander him like that?
I think the jury understands Mehcad was not a threat.
The burden is on her to prove self-defense.
Then you need to go after her.
You need to make them see her for who she really is.
He will do all he can.
Jolene takes the stand tomorrow.
She fooled you people.
Are you going to let her fool a jury?
COHEN: No, no, no, this is a show trial.
Jolene Castille defended her life that night.
And she'll defend herself on the stand. Thank you.
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
Jolene's deposition from a civil suit, nine years ago,
brought by five black male kitchen employees.
Discrimination, hostile environment?
And wrongful termination.
She accused the dishwashers of stealing.
"You know these field hands,
"you can't let them into the kitchen,
"they'll rob you blind."
Field hands? ROLLINS: Yeah.
Those statements were legally obtained.
These were more prejudicial than probative, Your Honor,
in an already emotionally charged case.
We've been blindsided.
Really? By your client's own words from a civil suit
in which your firm represented her.
You care to tell me how that rises to the level of blindsided?
Mr. Cohen, were you unaware of these depositions
or simply hoping the prosecution wouldn't gain access?
They were subsequently sealed, Your Honor.
So you were aware of them.
I won't allow these to be admitted.
But if the witness opens the door,
prosecution can question her attitudes.
Like most chefs, I do have a temper.
It gets hot in the kitchen and words get exchanged.
The next night we drink and laugh about it.
I love all of my employees, black and white.
My black friends know what's in my heart.
Thank you, Ms. Castille.
Ms. Castille, you just said
you love your black employees.
I love all my employees.
I have a gay Chinese assistant. Good for you.
But your black employees
are the only ones that you refer to as "field hands"?
Well, that was blurted out during a moment of duress.
It's a vestige of the way I was raised.
I meant no disrespect.
And when you denied black employees
the use of the dining room bathrooms,
that was also just a vestige?
Our restaurants are about hospitality.
I have never denied an employee a fair working environment, promotion.
As long as they don't serve food to white customers or use their bathrooms?
Objection.
Mr. Barba, move on.
The first Chez Jolene was in New Orleans.
Did you carry a gun then?
No, there was no need.
So you only started carrying a concealed gun in New York. Why is that?
When I moved up here I was a public figure. I felt more threatened.
Because New York was less segregated than you're used to?
I didn't say that.
But you did say in Les Bons Temps Magazine,
"Nobody takes the subway in New York, unless they have to.
"It's like a jungle train through the Congo."
Everybody knows that was just a joke.
A telling joke.
On the night you saw Mehcad Carter,
did you see a field hand,
a jungle animal,
or just a boy trying to make his way home?
Objection. No, I want to answer that.
I saw a hooded man following me.
I told him to back off and he came through my gate.
So if it had been a white man who was walking behind you,
would you have told him to get back?
Would you have pulled your gun? COHEN: Objection.
If it was a white boy I wouldn't have been afraid.
So, let's be clear.
Mehcad Carter didn't have to do anything,
he didn't have to say anything.
He just had to be a black boy standing on your sidewalk
and that gave you the right to shoot him.
That's not what I said.
Isn't it?
Nothing further.
I'm going to offer a plea.
Why? She's on the defensive.
For now. It's still a "he said, she said,"
only this time the "he" is dead.
Because "she" shot him.
Which means the jury only has her side.
They're never going to hear his.
She won't take the plea.
You didn't want me on the stand,
how come the defense does?
Mr. Tutuola, the night Mehcad Carter was shot,
you were one of the first officers on the scene?
Yes. You were in the neighborhood
working the case of the West Side Rapist? That's right.
I'd like to refer you, sir, to defense exhibit 43.
Your 250 reports from that night,
otherwise known as your stop and frisk reports.
Yes.
Now according to your reports,
you stopped and frisked 12 men that night.
What was their race and age?
They were all young, black males.
That was the description of the suspect we were looking for.
I see. And in your experience,
is a young, black male
an unusual description for a rape suspect?
There are all kinds of suspects.
But isn't it true that in New York
black males between the ages of 14 and 35
constitute less than five percent of the general population,
yet commit 50 percent of the rapes?
Objection. COHEN: Withdrawn.
Would you say that the NYPD
disproportionately targets young, black males
when conducting their stop and frisk operations?
I just try and do my job.
COHEN: As do we all.
And are you aware that your own Mayor
is on record as saying that the NYPD, and I quote,
"disproportionately stops whites too much and minorities too little"?
I saw the story.
Do you consider yourself prejudiced against young, black males?
No, of course not.
So, on the night in question,
when you stopped and frisked
12 young, black males,
that was not racially motivated?
No.
Because you were suspicious of men who fit the profile.
So how is my client racist
for doing exactly the same thing?
There's a huge difference between frisking someone and shooting someone.
So you expected her to read him his rights?
Maybe to arraign him
for, I don't know, trespassing?
He was 16.
She had options.
Cross the street, dial 911.
Oh, I'm... I'm sorry.
I didn't realize you were there that night, Detective.
No further questions.
So, for 48 hours
NYPD's elite SVU unit
believed Mehcad Carter was their rapist,
as did two prior victims.
So when Jolene Castille told you that
if a white man had been following her
she wouldn't have been afraid,
she was merely reacting the same way the police did.
The same way many New Yorkers, white and black do.
So that night, that night,
when NYPD was flooding the zone
and stopping and frisking young, black males,
Jolene Castille alone,
backed up against the wall,
had every reason to fear for her life.
Because even when she told him to stop,
Mehcad Carter just kept coming at her.
He just kept coming right at her.
Now, hindsight is 20-20, because this...
(CHUCKLES)
I mean, this was self-defense.
And if it had been you,
or your wife,
or God forbid, your daughter,
you'd want her to have the right to protect herself.
Thank you.
RAFAEL: Mehcad Carter was a 16-year-old honor student enjoying his summer.
Singing in the church choir, watching, uh,
cooking shows on TV,
playing basketball with his friends.
And then he forgot his MetroCard
and was embarrassed to tell his parents.
So he chose to walk home.
That's what Mehcad was doing on the night he was killed.
He was heading home to his parents.
But he never made it.
Because Jolene Castille didn't like the way he walked.
She didn't like the way he dressed.
She didn't like the way he looked.
The defendant claims that Mehcad was stalking her,
that he was going to rape her.
But how can we believe her?
How can we believe her when she has lied about
every other detail in this case?
About his having a gun,
about what he said to her.
She even claimed that Mehcad lunged at her.
But you heard the M.E. Testify
that Mehcad had to have been at least five feet away from her
when she murdered him.
In a system where it is all of our rights
to be presumed innocent until proven guilty,
Jolene presumed Mehcad guilty
and she became his judge, his jury, and his executioner.
She got to go home to her brownstone that night.
Mehcad will never go home again.
Well, this is awkward.
The two of us alone.
I'll get out of your way.
I was afraid for my life.
He was 16.
He was six-foot tall. And he was coming after me.
You're a cop. You've known what it's like to be a woman,
alone, vulnerable.
He wasn't a rapist.
He was just a boy.
I know. I know.
I don't have any children.
My restaurants are my babies.
God, the look in his parents' eyes.
That boy is dead and there's not anything I can do about it.
I'm sorry.
JUDGE ONG: In the matter of the People v. Jolene Castille,
on the charge of manslaughter, how do you find?
We find the defendant not guilty.
JUDGE ONG: Order. Order. (GAVEL POUNDING)
Order! Order!
Jolene Castille, you're free to go.
The jury is dismissed. The State of New York thanks you for your service.
Jolene, do you feel vindicated?
What do you say to Mehcad's parents?
REVEREND CURTIS: We are disappointed in the verdict,
but ultimately we respect that the jury has spoken.
Do you think there will be rioting tonight?
If there are any protests, we ask that they be peaceful.
There's been enough senseless violence already.
Please, for Mehcad's sake, for all our sons' sake.
Let this end now.
A juror told me they were split in the first poll.
What happened?
Fear won out.
I'm sorry. I...
No.
FIN: It's not on you.
It's just how it is. Ripped By mstoll