Conviction – The 1% Solution

By: Marie Thong

The fifth episode of “Conviction” titled, The 1% Solution starts off with a women entering her house after a workout. As she puts down the mail on the front table we see a man approaching from a dark room behind her. In slow-motion now, a struggle ensues, her screams and the fight reverberating on our screens as her arm is sliced. She claws for the phone her significant blood loss is significant and she collapses to the ground. Seizing the moment of weakness the killer pulls her up by the head and begins stabbing her, ultimately killing her.

We then cut to Hayes’ (Hayley Atwell) office where we see a mess of empty take away containers, jewellery and a bottle of alcohol, panning to her cosied up in a blanket on her couch, sleeping. She is shocked awake by a member of the maintenance crew who is buffing the floor. Awake now, she gets up and heads to the bathrooms, fluffy slippers and all. Soon she emerges in bright blue pumps, dressed and ready to tackle the day. Cut to Hayes on the phone, leaving her brother Jackson (Daniel Franzese) an apologetic message, urging him to call her back. Sighing she decides to continue her day, walking into the conference room where Sam (Shawn Ashmore), Maxine (Merrin Dungey) and Tess (Emily Kinney) are seated, waiting for her. Tess is curious about why Hayes is now living in her office but Hayes decides to deflect, turning to Sam, requesting their next case to be a “world class underdog, disadvantaged, deprived, hapless in every way.” However, her co-workers are not done with the topic as Maxine explains to Tess that Hayes’ brother kicked her out. Still wanting to divert the focus, Hayes continues with her request for the case. Tess and Maxine offer up a couple of suggestions but are denied. Frankie (Manny Montana) walks into the room, receiving a comment from Hayes regarding his tardiness. Seeing the case file he’s holding she asks him if it is a case he wants to pitch but he says no, sliding it away from view. Sam speaks up now with a case that interests Hayes keenly, they have found the “perfect” case.

Sam moves across the screen holding a picture of the victim explaining the case to his fellow co-workers before placing the picture on the work-in-progress murder board behind him. After returning home from work David Porter (Kelly AuCoin) finds his wife, Debra, (Sarah Stevens) stabbed seven times with her throat slashed. After a question from Maxine regarding the link between the “poor kid and the rich family” the group discuss. The murder weapon, which was never found was believed to be a steak knife missing from the Porter’s kitchen. Will Jarrett (Grayson DeJesus), the convicted killer, told police he was not in the house the day of the murder yet skin cells underneath Debra’s fingernails say otherwise. Following a comment from Maxine about how lying to the police isn’t a sign of innocence, Frankie finally speaks up and says that Will could have just not trusted the police. At this Hayes decides it’s time to talk to Will, tasking the group with notifying the Porters and reading up on the evidence.

Now at the prison, Sam and Hayes sit across from Will who denies having killed Debra Porter, stating the Porters were the closest thing he’s had to family. Getting straight to the point, Sam questions Will on his DNA under Debra’s fingernails. Responding with a questionable alibi, Will retorts that he wouldn’t believe himself either but ensures it’s the truth. He goes on to say that he may have a chance now that Hayes Morrison is on his case and begins reminiscing about how well the Porter’s treated him. He would never steal or treat them negatively at the risk of having to go back to his aunt and live in conditions that were subpar. He also adds that he knows was that it wasn’t him who killed Debra.

At the Porter’s estate Maxine is talking to David and Sean (Thomas E. Sullivan) Porter, Debra’s husband and son, explaining to them that the CIU (Conviction Integrity Unit) are taking another look at the case. Much like many of the families the CIU have to notify, David and Sean are baffled. With a prompt from Maxine the two men begin talking about Debra, her achievements, endeavours and their relationships with her – receiving all endearing and positive remarks. They comment on how well they treated Will before David decides to end the interaction, stating that Maxine has given them more than enough to process.

Frankie is now shown at a prison sitting opposite his friend, Rey (Ian Paola), talking about his recent appeal failure. Rey asks Frankie to get Hayes to help out and at first Frankie is uncomfortable, but assures his friend he’ll try. They end the visit with intimate hand holding beneath the table. Frankie arrives back at the office, finding Tess working at her desk. He notices the same case file from before and she begins to question him about it. Frankie gives her the short story, explaining that Rey was his cellmate who has been trying to get out via appeals. Tess advises him to talk to Hayes, but the conversation doesn’t progress much further as a worker walks in with an evidence box for the Porter case. Seeing Frankie is still affected by their conversation, Tess offers to take a look at the case before he pitches it to Hayes, an offer in which he accepts. Carts full of evidence boxes are then rolled into the office, surprising the two co-workers.

Meanwhile, Hayes has gone to visit Wallace (Eddie Cahill) at his office, but he doesn’t take her appearance too kindly. He is still pissed off due to her recent antics which resulted in him being investigated by the US Attorney. She walks in as he’s watching agents roll out boxes of his files and belongings. She reveals she has brought him a gift, a huge bottle of ibuprofen, to which Hayes explains “for the agony of me.” Wallace responds by dumping the gift in the bin. Hayes tries to salvage their relationship, but Wallace isn’t having any of it stating he’s done and then reveals that “blackmailing” Hayes into the job was a mistake for him personally. Professionally it was smart and that part of their relationship will continue doesn’t want any part otherwise. Stunned, Hayes leaves.

Back at the office, Frankie and Tess are still combing through the countless evidence boxes when Tess finds a lab report of a bloody shoe print, a size 9. Will Jarret was a size 11. She explains that the bloody shoeprint was never introduced by the defence, leaving them confused. Hayes who is still sleeping in her office is awakened the next morning by the mailman rolling his cart past her office. Ringing Jackson again, she informs him that she’ll be calling him every day until he answers. With the team assembled in the conference room Sam is questioning why the blood footprint was not used when Hayes walks in still in pyjamas. She banters with Maxine about her wardrobe choice before requesting to be filled in. Tess informs her that the prosecution turned it over to the defense, but were shocked when they didn’t use it. As long as the prosecution provide the defense with all their evidence they are allowed to enter or omit whatever they want. Because of Will’s many lawyers the box containing the boot-print was lost, an error which could have changed the verdict completely. After some searching, Frankie found that David Porter had purchased a pair of the boots. Adding to this new information, Tess points out that David had contacted a divorce attorney months before the murder. Maxine offers to go back and talk to David; however, Hayes jumps at the opportunity.

At the Porter estate, David explains to Hayes and Frankie that he consulted the lawyer but never went through with it as he and Debra decided to work through their problems in counselling. He revealed that their problems mostly came from Sean. she spearheaded him going to boarding school to teach him discipline. Poking his buttons, Frankie and Hayes ask if he killed his wife, but he denied it profusely. Frankie then asks about the boots, David revealing he had given them to his gardener (Nicco Lorezo Garcia). Maxine and Frankie confront Luis who tries to make a run for it, but is quickly stopped by Frankie.

The next day, Hayes is calling Jackson again, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Sam and Maxine question Luis who reveals he had found Debra and attempted CPR. He had been stealing from the Porters which is why he’d been in the house. Desperate, he accuses Will again noting he can prove it as Will had broken his arm in the past. Back at the prison, Hayes and Sam listen as Will refutes these new claims and states that he confronted Luis after finding him sneaking out of the Porter’s house – breaking Luis’ arm whilst he was defending himself. At CIU, Tess talks to Frankie about his friend’s case, but it’s not looking good. Hayes and Sam return to the office where Maxine shows them the murder weapon that they found in the gardener’s truck.

The next morning, Hayes is…you guessed it, leaving Jackson another voicemail. Later in the conference room the team go through the evidence. They have more than enough to arrest Luis, but Hayes is not convinced. Her doubt has the team doubting too, the knife turning up suddenly is too neat, too convenient. That night, Hayes is in her office taking the edge off with a drink, talking about her rocky relationships with Wallace and Jackson. She has no one to talk to so calls her mother Harper (Bess Armstrong). She apologizes for the damage she’s done before asking her mother for advice about repairing her relationships. She is soon called away, but not before Harper is able to leave Hayes some sage advice. Frankie has found that Luis was set up by none other than Sean Porter.

The next day, Sam and Hayes have David, Sean and their lawyer in the office for an interrogation. David, having had enough of it all, decides to cooperate. He informs the pair that Sean did plant the knife, but only because Will had told him to, threatening to hurt him if he didn’t. Frankie and Hayes catch Will up on the case, shocked to learn who is their latest suspect. After hearing the latest story, he backtracks and claims everything is true and he and he alone killed Debra Porter leaving the duo stunned.

Deducing the visit, Frankie and Hayes figure out that love was the true motivation for this murder – Sean and Will had been in a relationship, a relationship Debra hadn’t approved of. Back at the Porter residence, Sam, Tess and Frankie recreate the crime where they find out what had truly happened. Will had attacked Debra first, but he was hesitant, reluctant. Letting her escape, she ran into Sean who she thought was going to save her. Will grabbed her again and began to stab her, but he couldn’t get the job done. This is where Sean took over, stabbing his mother deeply and savagely. Back at the office, they confirm the theory – now trying to figure out how to get Sean in custody. Hayes goes back to the prison in an attempt to get Will to confess that he and Sean worked together. Pushing the right buttons, she is able to get evidence that implicates Sean for his mother’s murder.

Attempting to reach out to Jackson again, Hayes video calls him – a call which he answers and surprises Hayes. After a lot of grovelling and apologies, he forgives her and the brother-sister relationship is back and on the mend. Later in the day, the police arrest Sean at his house and the case is closed. Afterward, Hayes goes to visit Wallace again, trying to salvage their relationship again. Unfortunately, he reveals that he has hired outside counsel to help him, Naomi Golden. Hayes is shocked as he has hired his ex-girlfriend. Hurt, she leaves. Back at CIU, she finds Frankie waiting in her office with Rey’s case file. He reveals that he wants to give her the case, but he is afraid that it is not the right thing to do. He’s not a good guy, but didn’t want to admit it until now because he loved Rey. He agrees to let her know what he decides to do before leaving her alone in her office.