Giacomo Battistini, Jesse Deacon, Eva Bellini, Gabriele Chionna
Narrator (Opening Monologue)
“My name is Rubin Carter.
They called me ‘The Hurricane’.
I was a boxer, a fighter, and a believer in truth.
In 1966, I was convicted for a triple murder in New Jersey.
But I didn’t do it. I wasn’t there. I had witnesses.
Still, they made me a symbol of guilt… because I was Black.
This is not my trial.
This is the story of a man named Dominic Barbieri.
He found a piece of truth buried in silence—and had to decide whether to
speak, or survive.”
DOMINIC
Sarah Wilson, telephone logs for the Lafayette Bar, June 17. The raw records, not the
summary sheets.
SARAH
I already sent the signed copy to the precinct. Della Pesca picked it up himself.
DOMINIC
That version says the emergency call came in at 2:45 AM.
SARAH
Yes. That’s what I was told to write.
DOMINIC
But what time did it actually come in?
SARAH
2:28. I logged it myself. Then two detectives came in the next day. One said, “fix the log to
match the testimony.”
DOMINIC
They made you change a legal record?
SARAH
I didn’t change anything. They did. I just… looked away.
DOMINIC
Do you remember their names?
SARAH
One was Della Pesca. The other… I don’t know. I was scared. I still am.
DOMINIC
You were right to be scared. But you’re not alone now.
MONROE
Dominic, why are you sniffing around the phone company? Looking for a reason to get
yourself fired?
DOMINIC
I found a seventeen-minute gap. It clears Carter. He couldn’t have been there in time.
MONROE
Or maybe the times don’t matter. The witnesses saw him.
DOMINIC
One of the victims saw the shooters. He wasn’t one of them.
MONROE
Still doesn’t mean he’s innocent. People can make mistakes, he didn't see clearly.
DOMINIC
It means the system failed.
MONROE
The system didn’t fail. It worked like it always does—just not for him.
DOMINIC
You think that’s justice?
MONROE
I think that’s how it’s always been.
DELLA PESCA
I hear you're digging through old trash, Dominic. Looking for a promotion?
DOMINIC
I’m looking for the truth. You know what that is?
DELLA PESCA
It’s whatever keeps this city from burning. Carter was a loud mouth. He fit the story. We
gave the people closure.
DOMINIC
Closure isn’t justice.
DELLA PESCA
Neither is chaos. You try to clear him now? After two decades? You’ll look like a clown.
DOMINIC
Better a clown than a liar.
DELLA PESCA
Think of your wife. Your daughter. How would you feel if a report surfaced about her
daycare… incident last year?
DOMINIC
You’d ruin my family to protect a lie?
DELLA PESCA
No. You would. By not shutting up.
SARAH
They’ve called my boss. Twice. Told him I "misfiled" evidence. Told him I could lose my job.
DOMINIC
That’s how they work. Whisper threats behind closed doors.
SARAH
I didn’t ask for this.
DOMINIC
Neither did Carter.
SARAH
I want to help. But I can’t lose everything.
DOMINIC
No one’s asking you to sacrifice. Just to testify—if needed.
SARAH
You mean lie in front of them all?
DOMINIC
No. I mean finally tell the truth.
MONROE
He’s not gonna drop it. You see that, right? He’s too far in.
DELLA PESCA
Then he resigns. Or we erase him.
MONROE
Erase him how?
DELLA PESCA
Planted reports. Missed protocol. Internal review. Easy.
MONROE
He’s one of ours.
DELLA PESCA
He was. Now he’s a liability.
MONROE
(quietly) He was my friend.
DOMINIC
I joined this force to serve truth. Not frame boxers.
DELLA PESCA
Then truth will cost you your badge.
DOMINIC
Take it. I resign.
MONROE
You can’t walk away. That just gives them control.
DOMINIC
I’d rather be unemployed than corrupted.
NARRATOR (Closing Monologue)
“The call came in at 2:28. The record said 2:45.
Those seventeen minutes didn’t just alter a timeline—they took away nineteen
years of a man’s life.
Justice isn’t about who wins.
It’s about who fights, even when the system says, ‘Stay silent.’
I was Rubin Carter. I waited. But others spoke.
And that’s why I walked free.”
