S01.E10: Esme's Story

[statsgirl]

Quote

After a white nationalist plows his car into a peaceful demonstration and gets away, a survivor takes justice into her own hands.

With Abigail Breslin, Ian Anthony Dale

Airdate March 28 2023

[Snazzy Daisy]

Accused | 1x10 Promo "Esme's Story”

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by SnazzyDaisy

[psychfan]

That was heartbreaking. And also infuriating, because if they’d had any reason to believe the police would have looked into the info she shared it all would have been avoided, but it was clear that wasn’t going to happen.

[Spartan Girl]

It was sad as ever, but in a weird way it was kind of refreshing that for once it wasn’t about someone who was falsely or unjustly accused, taking the blame for someone else’s actions, or was in general screwed over. Esme did the crime and there were consequences. I did feel sorry for her and her girlfriend: the DA’s speech at the end was spot-on.

[Snazzy Daisy]

Aaliyah has opened a pandora box!

She infiltrated the white supremacist group against Essie’s advice. She recklessly sent Essie out to meet them when they doxxed her. She used Essie’s story as her online persona when it’s not her story to tell.

What Essie did is wrong, it’s premeditated but Aaliyah isn’t entirely blameless. She sent Essie down a rabbit hole. 😣

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by SnazzyDaisy

[dshgr]

I think I might be done with this show.  It has become a show about stupid people doing stupid things and getting in trouble.  Nobody at the protest captured any viable information at the protest to identify the car or the driver.  Aaliyah catfished a white supremist.  Neither Esme or Aaliyah thought to get a tag number from the car that arrived twice at their home.  Neither was able to give cogent information to the police officer that responded.  Esme twice got into a car with a stranger.  She didn't call police when she saw the men enter the gun store.  

This show makes me wonder how many people are in prison because they are just stupid.

[possibilities]

I don't think it would have made a difference, but I'm curious if Aaliyah would have been able to avoid testifying if she and Esme had been married. 

[gesundheit]

I didn't really understand what the trial was for -- what was the defense? Was it that they were trying to paint it as justifiable homicide or something? Also it cracked me up that they let Aaliyah deliver a tearful, heartfelt speech to the defendant in the middle of the trial.

Driving the car all the way back to their home in Brooklyn was also completely unhinged. 

[possibilities]

There was a trial because she refused to take a plea. So even if it was an open and shut case, they had to have the trial to show that to a jury.

[gesundheit]

8 hours ago, possibilities said:

There was a trial because she refused to take a plea. So even if it was an open and shut case, they had to have the trial to show that to a jury.

She refused to take a plea deal that involved apologizing and a charge/sentence reduction, but she did not seem to be pleading not guilty. So I was just confused about the trial for what appeared to be a guilty or no contest plea. Or maybe I misread it and it wasn't a trial at all but just a sentencing hearing.

 

(I don't know why I'm looking for legal verisimilitude in this show anyway, they don't really seem interested in that side of it other than the possibility for implausible courtroom theatrics)

[Madding crowd]

This story was poorly written. I saw nothing to let me believe Esme would get in a car with an unknown White supremist to go to his compound. The whole thing with the bomb was dumb too; how would they know where she would go ? If the bomb blew up with just her inside it would hardly make some kind of statement. I think they are just taking various hot button topics and then trying to make a story around them.

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 3/28/2023 at 9:27 PM, psychfan said:

That was heartbreaking. And also infuriating, because if they’d had any reason to believe the police would have looked into the info she shared it all would have been avoided, but it was clear that wasn’t going to happen.

Here's the thing: I can understand the frustration about the hit-and-run not having more attention put on it. But when White supremacist set off a car bomb and (presumably) kill at least one person, including a cop, it's not going to be something where the cops are going to be dicking around and not investing energy in solving it. It's going to be the feds. And no way are the feds going to blow off an investigation like that. Nor are they going to let Esme back on the white supremacy farm. Nor are they going to not find a trace of these guys for two weeks. The White Supremacists were able to somehow track Esme down through her IP address, but the cops can't use 88's handle to figure out who he is, or where he has been, or who his associates might be? 

On 3/30/2023 at 9:21 AM, dshgr said:

I think I might be done with this show.  It has become a show about stupid people doing stupid things and getting in trouble.  Nobody at the protest captured any viable information at the protest to identify the car or the driver.  Aaliyah catfished a white supremist.  Neither Esme or Aaliyah thought to get a tag number from the car that arrived twice at their home.  Neither was able to give cogent information to the police officer that responded.  Esme twice got into a car with a stranger.  She didn't call police when she saw the men enter the gun store.  

This show makes me wonder how many people are in prison because they are just stupid.

I can suspend disbelief that the crowd didn't get useful information on the car. Hell, I will suspend disbelief that the White supremacist somehow drove the car from Brooklyn all the way upstate without anyone noticing that there was a big ol' crack in it. And on top of that, that no one happened to connect the car seen on the viral video to the car that was driven by White Supremacist.

What I have a tough time buying includes the following:

1. The White Supremacist kept the car in its damaged state for no good reason.

2. The White Supremacist was specifically triggered to attempt murder at the sight of Esme and Aaliyah, but couldn't immediately place Esme

3. The White Supremacist apparently figured to recycle the car into a bomb which apparently was set to go off if someone opened the trunk and left the keys to the car in the car. 

On 3/30/2023 at 6:08 PM, possibilities said:

I don't think it would have made a difference, but I'm curious if Aaliyah would have been able to avoid testifying if she and Esme had been married. 

Looks like if she and Esme got married, Aaliyah would have been able to invoke spousal privilege even though the acts would have taken place before the wedding:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/marital_privilege#:~:text=Spousal testimonial privilege (Spousal immunity,before and during the marriage.

Other than the drama, I don't see what the purpose was for prosecutor to call her. It seemed like there was a huge chance of it backfiring if Aaliyah had come off as more sympathetic or if she had been a better liar. Aaliyah testified that Esme said things that Esme didn't actually say, at least in what the show put on display. What if she had testified that Esme had said, "I'm just watching to make sure it's them and then I'll call the police. Oh no, one of them is pulling a gun!" 

On 3/31/2023 at 9:34 PM, gesundheit said:

I didn't really understand what the trial was for -- what was the defense? Was it that they were trying to paint it as justifiable homicide or something? Also it cracked me up that they let Aaliyah deliver a tearful, heartfelt speech to the defendant in the middle of the trial.

Driving the car all the way back to their home in Brooklyn was also completely unhinged. 

Because this show doesn't really seem interested in talking about the legal stuff beyond the bare minimum, we don't get to see what the defense was. 

A couple plausible defenses include imperfect self-defense or temporary insanity. Under the facts of this case, the white supremacists literally tried to kill her three times -- once by running her over, another time at the compound and a third time by blowing up the car bomb. They portrayed her as a race traitor for being gay and loving a black woman. They know where she lives. They were trying to kill her because she knew too much and because they found her disgusting. They clearly pose an ongoing threat to her and Aaliyah, one the cops were for whatever reason not taking seriously. Would that approach have worked? Who knows? But a better show would have at least given the defense a chance to raise it. 

On 4/1/2023 at 10:26 AM, gesundheit said:

She refused to take a plea deal that involved apologizing and a charge/sentence reduction, but she did not seem to be pleading not guilty. So I was just confused about the trial for what appeared to be a guilty or no contest plea. Or maybe I misread it and it wasn't a trial at all but just a sentencing hearing.

 

(I don't know why I'm looking for legal verisimilitude in this show anyway, they don't really seem interested in that side of it other than the possibility for implausible courtroom theatrics)

The prosecutor at the end talked about the jury finding Esme guilty and was boasting that it was an open-and-shut case. So she apparently pled some flavor of not guilty and got convicted. 

[Irate Panda]

This episode was awful and had just too many places you need to suspend disbelief (Aliyah is so distraught about losing her friend that got killed, but has no problem offering up Esme to go hang out with the killer racists to get info, the racist is so outraged by the sight of interracial love, yet cant remember who the hell Esme is, a whole alley including at least one cop is blown up and nobody investigates where the racists are) The concept of the show is good, but the quality of each each episode is all over the place. The actors are generally good, but the show needs better writers.  

[Halting Hex]

On 4/3/2023 at 12:50 AM, Chicago Redshirt said:

What I have a tough time buying includes the following:

1. The White Supremacist kept the car in its damaged state for no good reason.

2. The White Supremacist was specifically triggered to attempt murder at the sight of Esme and Aaliyah, but couldn't immediately place Esme

3. The White Supremacist apparently figured to recycle the car into a bomb which apparently was set to go off if someone opened the trunk and left the keys to the car in the car. 

I'm reasonably sure that the Nazis knew Esme was a plant from the moment 88 got back and told them.  The whole bit where 88 "rescued" her from the other dude just so she could take the car (with the keys conveniently inside) was a way to set off the bomb.  (They probably hoped to kill her and Aaliyah, but getting a cop satisfied them as well.)

Indeed, I think Esme may have figured this out, which is why she had no compunctions in running over 88 as well.

Aaliyah really was the worst girlfriend, though.  (When I saw her in the courtroom, I was disappointed Esme wasn't on trial for killing her.) Not only does she contact proven killers behind Esme's back, not only does she use Esme's identity, not only does she use her knowledge of Esme's past to guilt her into doing her dirty work, but she's so controlling in her conversation.  "Let's put this behind us."  Excuse me, you don't get to make Esme's decisions for her, f-u very much.  Try "I'd like to" or "I'm hoping" rather than commanding your girlfriend.

And then there's that stupid courtroom speech (which somebody should have objected to, btw.) Aaliyah basically claims justification on Esme's behalf and never actually answers the question.  The DA asks Aaliyah if Esme told her she was planning to kill the victims.  The answer there is "No."  Because "I see them" isn't a statement of intent.  Anything could have happened between the phone call and when she ran them down.  Hell, maybe she was just going to drive close and scare them and her brakes locked up.

No wonder that Esme's lawyer wanted to plead her out, if she was going to be so incompetent she went for this "justification" defense.  How about self-defense?  The Nazis knew where to find her, they'd already tried to kill her once, the police weren't doing anything about it.  Even if you don't get a complete walk, that's a good path to "diminished capacity" and manslaughter-second-degree.

Also, how did they know she planned to kill them?  Maybe she just wanted to injure them as they injured Jordan.  (Yes, NY has that "reckless disregard for human life" murder-two statute so often used in Law and Order, but again, you could get diminished capacity on that.) Sitting in the car isn't premeditation; she could have been planning to call the cops when she saw them and just snapped.

And how did they know Esme did it in the first place?  Did she turn herself in?  Did Aaliyah rat her out to get a chance to get on her soapbox at the trial?

Agreement that the Orange County (NY) police were ridiculous to let Esme on the crime scene grounds.  (Not to mention that they should have found the gun store flyer themselves.)

Good work by Abigail (especially as she seems to have worked to lose weight between the flashback scenes and the trial ones; I guess prison food kills your appetite?), but annoying as usual.  Sigh.

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, Halting Hex said:

I'm reasonably sure that the Nazis knew Esme was a plant from the moment 88 got back and told them.  The whole bit where 88 "rescued" her from the other dude just so she could take the car (with the keys conveniently inside) was a way to set off the bomb.  (They probably hoped to kill her and Aaliyah, but getting a cop satisfied them as well.)

Indeed, I think Esme may have figured this out, which is why she had no compunctions in running over 88 as well.

Aaliyah really was the worst girlfriend, though.  (When I saw her in the courtroom, I was disappointed Esme wasn't on trial for killing her.) Not only does she contact proven killers behind Esme's back, not only does she use Esme's identity, not only does she use her knowledge of Esme's past to guilt her into doing her dirty work, but she's so controlling in her conversation.  "Let's put this behind us."  Excuse me, you don't get to make Esme's decisions for her, f-u very much.  Try "I'd like to" or "I'm hoping" rather than commanding your girlfriend.

And then there's that stupid courtroom speech (which somebody should have objected to, btw.) Aaliyah basically claims justification on Esme's behalf and never actually answers the question.  The DA asks Aaliyah if Esme told her she was planning to kill the victims.  The answer there is "No."  Because "I see them" isn't a statement of intent.  Anything could have happened between the phone call and when she ran them down.  Hell, maybe she was just going to drive close and scare them and her brakes locked up.

No wonder that Esme's lawyer wanted to plead her out, if she was going to be so incompetent she went for this "justification" defense.  How about self-defense?  The Nazis knew where to find her, they'd already tried to kill her once, the police weren't doing anything about it.  Even if you don't get a complete walk, that's a good path to "diminished capacity" and manslaughter-second-degree.

Also, how did they know she planned to kill them?  Maybe she just wanted to injure them as they injured Jordan.  (Yes, NY has that "reckless disregard for human life" murder-two statute so often used in Law and Order, but again, you could get diminished capacity on that.) Sitting in the car isn't premeditation; she could have been planning to call the cops when she saw them and just snapped.

And how did they know Esme did it in the first place?  Did she turn herself in?  Did Aaliyah rat her out to get a chance to get on her soapbox at the trial?

Agreement that the Orange County (NY) police were ridiculous to let Esme on the crime scene grounds.  (Not to mention that they should have found the gun store flyer themselves.)

Good work by Abigail (especially as she seems to have worked to lose weight between the flashback scenes and the trial ones; I guess prison food kills your appetite?), but annoying as usual.  Sigh.

I thought about the possibility that the Nazis were playing Esme. But two things lead me to disbelieve that is meant to be the case.

First, the show seems to go out of its way to establish some basic stuff. So if we were to take it that the Nazis set all this up so that Esme would take the car and that they would then use it to blow people up, they would probably have established that in dialogue somewhere. The second is that it just doesn't make much sense for the Nazis to have it as a plan because too many things could go wrong with it. They couldn't have planned that Esme would go off snooping where the car was, presumably. What if Esme decides to help 88 in trying to take out the leader? Or goes and gets one of the many guns lying around and shoots up some Nazis? What if she calls 911? What if she runs but tries for another car? What if she takes the car but ditches it somewhere between upstate NY and NYC for fear of getting caught? In short, not a great plan. It would be way smarter/better to just drive the car back to NYC and blow it up remotely.

Actual self-defense broadly speaking only works when there is an imminent threat of harm. Even though it would be reasonable for Esme to fear that the Nazis pose an eventual threat to her and Aaliyah, there's too much uncertainty for about it for it to IMO qualify as an imminent threat. That's why I talked about it being imperfect self-defense. The link below gives an overview about self-defense law (which, as it points out, varies from jurisdiction).

https://www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-law-basics/self-defense-overview.html

I'm OK with them skipping the details as to how the authorities found out Esme did it. It doesn't matter that much to me if she self-surrendered, if she was captured on security video for the gun store when she went close enough to confirm it was them or other video, if there was a match between the tire tracks and Esme's registered vehicle, if the cops traced her cell phone to the vicinity of the gun store, if when she tried to have body work/cleaning work on the car, someone noticed the blood and turned her in, or any number of other plausible ways they could have linked her to it. 

It's hard to not infer an intent to kill from lying in wait for someone for a couple weeks and driving a speeding car at them. Even being generous and thinking that she only meant to hurt and not kill them, she would still be guilty of felony-murder. 

[possibilities]

I agree Aaliyah should have just said "NO, Esme did not say she was going to kill them". Because, as far as we saw, she didn't.

There was plenty of other evidence, I'm sure. That was a busy parking lot, there were probably witnesses, for one thing.

But the question was: Did she say? and the answer is: No.

I actually thought they might be trying to get Aaliyah on a conspiracy or accomplice charge, by getting her to testify to foreknowledge of the crime. 

[Halting Hex]

OTOH, it was raining, it was night, and how many people can ID a generic white car that plows into some guys a few rows away and then speeds off?  If they had video that showed the plates that would be one thing.  But I don't have any reason to believe that.

Also, how is Esme being tried in Manhattan, exactly?  That sure didn't look like Goshen NY (the county seat for Orange County) there.  Heck, even the original incident was in Brooklyn, not Manhattan.

Goshen's courthouse, erected 1841.  Looks nice.  But clearly not where this was shot.