Third In Our Series Of Guest Reviews Of Criminal Justice Themed Television
By Jake Morask
SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 3
Episode three of HBO’s incredible mini series “The Night of” took us to the horrific Riker’s Island this week as Nasir was remanded there without bail last week. Nasir’s face is in a perpetual state of calm terror as he’s forced to absorb all that Riker’s has to offer, which isn’t good. He’s become a celebrity in a way now, as the media as they always do and as the show accurately portrays, immediately placed emphasis on religion and sex ensuring the case and Nasir would become Tabloid news. Tabloid news hits prison too and once people knew who Naz was and that he was being indicted for the rape and murder of a 22 year old girl, most of them wanted to destroy him. As the show’s Freddy tells Naz, Rikers has its own “criminal justice system.”
Nasir prays with fellow Islamic followers in the prison but is then reminded that they might not be the true Muslim that Naz is. Enter the awesome Freddy, played by Michael K. Williams from the legedary series; “The Wire.” Immediately once you see Freddy you just want to shout Omar! The charisma Omar had is something that Freddy has too.
Freddy mysteriously offers Nasir his protection from the other inmates, and proves he has lots of power for a prisoner here. It’s unknown why he’s willing to protect Naz or what Naz will have to give up but based on the ending to the episode in which Nasir sees his mattress burn and then another inmate give him the old line across his throat motion, Nasir would be foolish and downright looking to die if he doesn’t accept it. Freddy also has the monologue which lends the episode its title, “Dark Crate.” Freddys veal story is highly disturbing as he explains how these baby animals are prepared all their life in a dark crate to die and become food. They don’t get to experience the light, and they die blind and without love or hope from the outside world. The story is a sad parallel to Nasirs plight, as many times his face looks like that of a baby animal terrifyingly taking in a surrounding hostile setting. He’s without love, nearly without hope, and the system seems to be preparing him to die whether he’s innocent or not, which this episode continually pushes me to believe him innocent.
I’ve seen some reviews mention maybe Nasir is really a vicious sociopath and is playing his role but I think it would be too big a character leap to do a “Prime Evil” like twist.
But the details of the crime scene and the mystery surrounding it are only background components to what the show runners decide to place at the forefront; which is the terrible terribleness of our justice system. It may sound like beating a dead horse but our justice system, especially in highly populated places, is more likely to treat inmates as just general cattle going to the slaughter, or maybe Veal, while the government can seize up whatever is left of them or their innocent family in asset forfeiture proceedings.
Unfortunately for the defendant and his family, such proceedings are incredibly broad and as civil proceedings wipe out any Constitutional rights accorded a defendant in a criminal forum. This issue is brought to light too when the police tell Nasir’s father, a cab driver, that his cab can’t be regained by him without a civil suit or a long wait. Of course he can’t afford this, and neither can the people he with whom he shares his cab. The government is making desperate people more desperate. This show excels at portraying the incredibly devastating power and tools the Government has at its disposal to achieve their goal.
Even if Naz is guilty, the police and state have already harmed innocents in this investigation; how is Nasir’s family going to make ends meet? How are his partners families going to make ends meet? In one fell swoop the police have made a group of people pay for an individual action of which they haven’t determined the validity of happening. As many have said the process is what’s most important here, and it’s a horrifying process.
It’s also telling as people have mentioned that Nasir’s parents’ conversation of defense attorneys is centered around finance. Even though one could easily argue the corporate lawyer the family goes with is a better option than Stone, the fact that she is doing it pro bono is the biggest boon. Nasir’s life is now being defined by the amount of dollars he can throw behind his defense. This is where the idea that innocent until proven guilty is actually true in our court system is mostly a sham.
The state, even before starting, has the upperhand on a person like Nasir due to his poverty, and race. The State can throw more money behind their venture to convict Naz, than Naz can throw behind his to argue his innocence. Nasir is powerless and running out of time. He’s given a direct link to the little cat that Stone takes into the shelter. The cat is quickly put through the system and Stone is told that it will be only ten days before they put him down if he can’t be saved. The parallel’s were mentioned by multiple reviewers and it makes sense. Nasir now has two direct comparisons to young animals trapped in the darkness, running out of time. One is predator, and one is prey but neither animal deserves to die. We shouldn’t discard the meaning of the victim, Andrea’s life, she matters too here, obviously. If Nasir did it, than yes maybe the ending to his fate is deserved, even if the process is still horrifying.
However the likelihood that Naz did do it grows slimmer each week. I don’t think he has the personality for it and I believe his body and clothes would be spattered with blood if he did what the police say he did and stabbed her over twenty times. I also don’t think his knife matches that of the murder weapon. The DA (and media) is taking advantage of the sexual component to this crime, making Nasir seem sexually predatory. In fact there’s a lot of “othering” the media and State try to do to Naz. They separate him from others based on his race, religion, and then make him seem all the more predatory for it. It’s horribly biased, and horribly realistic. The DA mentions she wants to use it to alienate Nasir from other Muslims too. It’s easy to forget that we know more than the police, and we know that Nasir’s sexual encounter was at first at least most definitely consensual. Still it just makes it all the more frustrating and sad to watch.
Another thing to get to is how I’ve mentioned as have many others before me is how the case is viewed publicly after the fact. Not only does the media ask the state if Naz has any ties to “foreign organizations” but Box makes his subordinate officers keep the report of one of them throwing up at the scene. A pretty savvy move that continues to turn Nasir into more of a monster in the hearts and minds of people.
Stone recognizes this fact and rips it apart in the same spot as the Police press conference. However Stone is now no longer on the case, in maybe one of the most emotionally tough scenes of the series so far. Stone isn’t an altruist and he’s not defending Nasir out of the goodness of his heart, but I don’t think he’s a straight opportunist. Maybe he was at first but he seems to genuinely care for Naz as I said last week. He brings him clothes and he’s the first willing to defend him. He charges the family a $50,000 flat fee which is pretty low for a murder case of this magnitude. However it’s possible that it’s because Stone never wants this to go to trial and is trying to plea out his client’s life and get his money. But I don’t think so. I think Stone after examining Nasir and the crime scene will be convinced more than ever that this is a kid worth defending and that it would be horrible to watch him die. Which makes his and Nasir’s last meeting so sad. For all the problems the two seem to have at first, especially on the topic of how “truth” factors into the case, this meeting shows the underdog caring side of Stone, who brings clothes to his client.
Also Nasir confirmed to his parents that he likes Stone, seeming to see more behind the man than others are willing to and being justly suspicious of some big time lawyer doing this pro bono. The lawyer than uses a young women with Hindu descent to manipulate the Khans into comfort with their new defense team. Stone tells her that she’s just a pro. Seeing Stone’s face upon the news that he was being let go was heartbreaking and I sincerely hope that Stone turns out to be a key contributor is helping Naz get justice if he’s innocent. Stone is a system man, using the broken down shell of the criminal justice system to advance himself as a lawyer. Or maybe one could argue he’s working from the inside out to change it or maybe he’s just a human being with very human flaws and ambition but also a sense of justice and humanity.
