Ep 6. #staywoke

In the sixth episode of Conviction's first season, titled "#staywoke," the CIU team takes on the case of Earl Slavitt, a white police officer who shot and killed a black man named Ezra Mills during a traffic stop. Earl claims that he fired in self-defense after Ezra reached for what he thought was a gun, but the evidence and eyewitness accounts are murky at best.

As they dig into the case, the CIU team realizes that the shooting occurred in the midst of a heated political climate in which racial tensions and police brutality were major issues. Ezra had been leaving a Black Lives Matter rally when he was pulled over, and there are conflicting stories about what he said and did in the moments leading up to his death.

Hayes Morrison, the head of the CIU and a former First Daughter with a checkered past, is determined to find out what really happened and bring justice to the family of Ezra Mills. She discovers that there are multiple versions of the police dashcam footage from the night of the shooting, and that Earl's fellow officers may be covering up important details.

Meanwhile, Maxine ("Max") Bohen, the CIU's lead investigator and a black woman with a complicated history with the police, is struggling to balance her desire for justice with her loyalty to her old friend and mentor, the police commissioner. She also grapples with feelings of guilt over the fact that her own son was killed in a police shooting years ago.

As the investigation heats up, the team encounters a variety of obstacles and setbacks, including conflicting witness statements, deleted social media posts, and a lack of transparency on the part of the police department. But they're determined to keep digging until they unearth the truth.

In the end, the case takes an unexpected turn when new evidence comes to light that changes everything the team thought they knew about the shooting. Hayes and her colleagues must scramble to come up with a new strategy and make some tough ethical choices.

Throughout the episode, the show explores themes of race, power, and accountability in the criminal justice system. It also delves into the personal struggles and motivations of the CIU team members, showing how their own experiences and biases can impact their work.

Overall, "#staywoke" is a tense and thought-provoking episode that highlights both the strengths and limitations of the CIU team's investigation techniques. It raises important questions about the role of the police in society and the importance of holding them accountable for their actions.