- "Every night, Hector Ayala goes out and risks his life to keep his neighborhood safe, to protect his community. So ask yourselves, does this sound like the type of man who'd murder a police officer in cold blood? He is a man of integrity. The community says so. The police say so. The mask doesn't make the man. And whether Hector Ayala's wearing a White Tiger Suit or not, he's a hero."
- ―Matt Murdock[src]
The People v. Hector Ayala was a criminal trial for Hector Ayala, who was accused of murdering Kel Shanahan.
Background[]
- "All I was trying to do was help a guy out."
"Well, that's not their story. They're saying you approached two officers on the platform."
"No, man. Esos hijos de puta[3] on the platform never said they were cops. They never said nothing. Look, all I was trying to do was break up a beating, okay?" - ―Hector Ayala and Matt Murdock[src]
.png){kind=link}
Hector Ayala intervenes to help Nicky Torres
Nicky Torres worked for Connor Powell and Kel Shanahan as their informant, although they noticed that he had been avoiding him lately. Powell and Shanahan eventually cornered Torres at the 168th Street Station, pressuring and harassing him until things went violent. Hector Ayala, who was on his way home to his wife, saw Torres being attacked and attempted to intervene. Ayala jumped in and tried to ward Powell and Shanahan off Torres, who promptly ran away as soon as they got distracted.
Connor Powell arrests Hector Ayala
In an ensuing struggle, Shanahan charged at Ayala, but he evaded the attack and Shanahan stumbled over Powell and fell onto the tracks. At that moment, an oncoming train drove through and killed Shanahan instantly, which stopped the fight. Powell then revealed himself to be a New York City Police Department officer and arrested Ayala, taking him to the 15th Precinct Police Station. Being charged with the murder of Shanahan, Ayala was pressured into taking responsibility, before Matt Murdock approached him and offered to represent him in court.
Kirsten McDuffie initially objected to taking on Ayala's case, claiming that with their current workload, Murdock & McDuffie would not be able to handle something that serious. Cherry also chimed in, pointing out that Ayala was being viewed as a cop killer, so defending him was to make enemies of the entire police force. Murdock refused to budge and convinced McDuffie that Ayala needed their help, so she reluctantly agreed. However, he still asked Cherry to look into their client as Murdock was suspicious of his story.[2]
Trial[]
Benjamin Hochberg requests to keep Hector Ayala in custody
- "In the matter of The People v. Hector Ayala, on the count of murder in the first degree, the jury finds the defendant... not guilty."
- ―Jury Foreperson[src]
During the initial hearings, Matt Murdock and Kirsten McDuffie joined Hector Ayala in the courtroom, before Benjamin Hochberg arrived. Hochberg immediately asked Jerry Cooper to keep Ayala in custody without bail and Cooper granted the motion immediately. Matt Murdock attempted to object and cited Ayala's role in his community, but Cooper refused to listen and denied his request. Ayala was taken to Rikers Island until his trial date, while Murdock and McDuffie continued to work on their case.
Matt Murdock requests not to bring up White Tiger
During a visit to Ayala Residence and a talk with Soledad Ayala, Cherry discovered the White Tiger Suit and informed Murdock of Ayala's secret identity. Murdock officially reported the discovery to the court, Murdock and Hochberg met with Cooper, during which Murdock requested to not bring up the evidence related to Ayala being White Tiger on trial, to avoid unnecessary bias within the jury. Hochberg protested and claimed that Ayala being a vigilante suggested a pattern of behavior that led to him killing Kel Shanahan. Cooper ended up siding with Murdock and ruled to suppress anything related to White Tiger during the proceedings.[2]
Matt Murdock cross-examines Connor Powell
On the day of the trial, Connor Powell was summoned to take the witness stand and testify about what happened in the subway. Reminiscing on their friendship and police service, Powell stated that Ayala showed up out of nowhere and attacked both of them unprovoked, killing his partner. Murdock cross-examined Powell's testimony and questioned his claims of Powell and Shanahan being alone at the station, specifically bringing up Nicky Torres, whose presence Powell omitted, and openly accused him. Some of the New York City Police Department officers in the courtroom talked about not letting Torres testify, which Murdock overheard.
Nicky Torres lies in his testimony
Despite Powell's attempts to intercept them, Cherry and Forrest Tam successfully brought Torres to the courtroom, so he could take the stand and testify. During the testimony, Murdock revealed to the court that Torres was a former drug dealer who worked closely with Powell and Shanahan as their informant. When Murdock specifically asked if Torres was present at the station during the incident, but Torres committed perjury and lied to the court that he went straight home that night. Murdock attempted to pressure Torres into telling the truth, but Cooper forced him to stand down and Murdock ended up withdrawing the witness.
Matt Murdock outs Hector Ayala as White Tiger
Theorizing that the NYPD likely threatened Torres into corroborating Powell's testimony, Murdock and McDuffie realized that they were out of options. Murdock then ended up taking Ayala himself to the stand, so he could tell the court his side of the story. Ayala testified what happened, that he only wanted to help Torres when he was being assaulted by Powell and Shanahan, and that he had no intention to kill anybody. Murdock used it as a leading statement to discuss Ayala's willingness to risk his life to save another and suddenly revealed to the court that Ayala was White Tiger.
Jerry Cooper confronts Matt Murdock
In light of the revelation, Cooper immediately adjourned the court and summoned Murdock and Hochberg to his chambers, greatly frustrated. Cooper was furious that Murdock dared to pull a stunt like that after he himself asked not to bring up White Tiger during the court. Murdock claimed that his witness was tampered with, so he had to use White Tiger's heroics to suggest a pattern of Ayala's good behavior, which infuriated Hochberg. Cooper briefly considered striking it from the record or declaring a mistrial, but none of that would be viable, so he reluctantly allowed the trial to continue.
Kirsten McDuffie defends Hector Ayala in court
With Ayala's secret being in the open now, Murdock and McDuffie were able to take statements from civilians that were rescued by White Tiger, such as Michael Burgos and Gianna Moreno, as well as some police officers on his side. They also brought up several police reports about White Tiger's heroics and had Ayala to tell the court that he helped all those people just because he could and it was the right thing to do. Murdock stated to the court that Ayala was a man of integrity, which his own community agreed with, so him killing a police officer in cold blood was highly unlikely.
Hector Ayala is pronounced not guilty
In response, Hochberg tried to convince the jury that Ayala being a good person did not absolve him of what he had done, remarking how agonizing Shanahan's death would have been. He claimed that the police also risk their lives for the sake of New York City and its people, although they do that without masks, suggesting that a true hero would have no reason to hide. Regardless, the jury ultimately reached the verdict and Ayala was found not guilty on all counts, being allowed to walk free, even though his secret was revealed in the process.[4]
Aftermath[]
Wilson Fisk comments on Hector Ayala's verdict
- "The Ayala verdict is an absolute miscarriage of justice."
"Well, sir, a court and a jury found him not guilty."
"Courts fail. Juries get it wrong. I should know." - ―Wilson Fisk and BB Urich[src]
As the media covered Hector Ayala's acquittal with Murdock & McDuffie defending him, Wilson Fisk organized an interview for The BB Report to discuss it. Talking to BB Urich, Fisk called Ayala's verdict a miscarriage of justice, claiming that he was personally aware of the imperfections of the justice system. He insisted that vigilantes were a menace to society and the law meant to protect it, denouncing any suggestions that Ayala was a hero. Fisk also brought up his anti-vigilante platform and promised to uphold the rule of law in light of Ayala's acquittal.[4]
White Tiger gets killed by Cole North
Cole North, who was following the course of the trial, was infuriated that Kel Shanahan's killer was allowed to walk free and decided to take matter into his own hands.[5] On that night, Ayala donned his White Tiger Suit and the Amulet of Power and walked out on the streets to resume his mission, despite no longer being incognito. As he heard the woman screaming in the distance and rushed to help her, North in a Punisher Vest approached White Tiger from behind and gunned him down, avenging Shanahan.[4]
Ayala's body was discovered on the next day, but since no traces of a bullet that killed him was found, the investigation had no suspects. Angela Del Toro was inconsolable that her uncle had to die after being found not guilty and blamed the New York City Police Department, angered that Ayala's killer got away scot-free. Confirming that Connor Powell was likely uninvolved, Matt Murdock managed to find the bullet casing with a skull insignia on it and brought it up with Frank Castle, discussing the uptick of police officers idolizing Punisher's brutality against criminals.[6]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Daredevil: Born Again S1 set in 2027 | Episode 1 is 2025-2026
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Daredevil: Born Again: 1.02: Optics
- ↑ Translates from Spanish to: "Those sons of bitches"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Daredevil: Born Again: 1.03: The Hollow of His Hand
- ↑ Daredevil: Born Again: 1.09: Straight to Hell
- ↑ Daredevil: Born Again: 1.04: Sic Semper Systema