Diksha Sundriyal
The second season of Fox’s ‘Accused’ brings Michael Chiklis back with another case where he plays the role of a man accused of being the reason for a tragic death at a school. In the first season, Chiklis played the role of a father whose son is behind a tragic school shooting. In the second season, he plays a wrestling coach named Justin of a boy named TJ, who dies suddenly following a wrestling match. An investigation into TJ’s death reveals a terrible picture of ambition mixed with desperation and the consequences of sweeping things under the rug. SPOILERS AHEAD
Was Justin Guilty? Does He Go to Prison?
The accusation on Justin is that in trying to get TJ to make a career in wrestling, he ended up pushing the boy so hard that TJ died of a heart attack shortly after winning a wrestling match that would have secured him a college and paved the path for his future as a wrestler. At first, it seems that Justin may have made TJ focus too much on physical training, tiring him to such an extent that he couldn’t take it anymore. The truth, however, is much more complicated.
It’s true that Justin had been very focused on TJ’s success. Having lived in the town of Moss Hill his entire life, Justin knew what it was like to get stuck there. He had left town for a while, but coming back, he could feel the loss and failure set in. He had seen the same thing happen to others like him, all of whose lives ended in tragedy. Someone died by suicide, someone became an addict, and someone else turned to a life of crime. Justin didn’t want TJ to be left behind in the town and end up with the same fate. TJ, too, felt the pressure of performing well because this was his only chance to secure a place at the college of his choice. His heart was set on Duke University, and if his wrestling thing didn’t come through, if GPA wouldn’t be enough to get him an admission there.
The pressure of success led TJ to turn to drugs. It started as a rare thing to get the steam off, but then he started to turn towards it more frequently, with it eventually becoming a thing that would allow him to perform better, or so he thought. What TJ didn’t realize was that the drugs and the steroids were impacting his health from the inside, and the effects had started to show. By the time Justin found out about his drug habit, his health had already been significantly impacted. At first, Justin decided to tell his family about it, but he had to step back when it turned out that a coach from the university had seen TJ perform and was on the brink of signing him on to the team.
If Justin revealed TJ’s drug history, then the only chance of his going to college would be taken away from him. It would create a stain on his reputation and he would never be able to get into a good college, no matter how much he worked on his GPA. So, Justin decides not to report anything and tells TJ to swear off drugs. TJ sticks to his promise and doesn’t do drugs anymore. He also completely focuses on his training, which, not unexpectedly, starts to take a toll on him. What neither Justin nor TJ realizes is that the sudden and complete withdrawal is not the way to go. There is a process of weaning off from drugs, but they didn’t follow it, and it exacerbated TJ’s health problems. It all culminated on the day of his fight, which he won, but then lost everything when the drug abuse caught up to him, and he died on the mat.
Why Doesn’t Justin Let the Prosecutor Question Erica?
When Justin is put on trial, his defense finds his health records, where it is revealed that he had been having heart palpitations and other symptoms for three months before Justin found out about his drug abuse. It is a huge discovery as it can be used to turn the whole thing around on the doctor who treated Justin and didn’t reveal the truth then. However, Justin discovers that due to the financial strain on their family and the lack of insurance coverage, TJ’s mother, Erica, never took TJ to a doctor. She knew about his health conditions, but she didn’t realize they were because of the drugs. She thought it was simply because TJ was working out too much, and she thought her son would get better if he rested a bit.
Erica didn’t even tell her husband about it because she knew that if he found out about TJ’s health problems, he would tell his son to stop, and that would put an end to his wrestling career. If TJ didn’t do well in wrestling and didn’t go to college, his future would be ruined. His twin brother had already suffered that loss due to an injury in his spine when he was younger. Their family hadn’t been doing well, which meant that TJ’s loss was the whole family’s loss, and Erica couldn’t bear to have that. She confesses the whole thing about the medical reports and keeping them a secret, and she is ready to be confronted about that in court. But then, Justin tells his lawyer not to use those records.
Putting Erica through the questioning on the stand in front of her family would mean ruining whatever remained of their family. If it were revealed that Erica was responsible for TJ’s death, she, too, would be taken from her family, and Justin didn’t want that, especially for her other son, who was already mourning his brother. Moreover, Justin knew that he was at fault for not reporting on TJ when he discovered the drug thing. He shouldn’t have allowed it to slide, and had he taken the right approach, TJ would have gotten the help he needed, and he would still be alive. Even if he didn’t have a bright future in wrestling, he would at least have the possibility of a future. So, Justin decides to take responsibility for his actions. He is found guilty by the jury and is sent to prison. The only silver lining is that it is believed that he wouldn’t receive the whole five years. The sentence could be reduced to three, and he could come out earlier on good behavior.
Read More: Best Lawyer and Courtroom Movies on Netflix
