An inmate on the
HBO prison drama
Oz, played by
Harold Perrineau.
Prisoner Number 95H522
Convicted, November 6, 1995, possession of illegal substances; murder in the second degree. Sentence: life imprisonment. Up for parole in 20 years.
When the cops busted into Augustus Hill’s home to arrest him, he bolted
buck naked out the window and led them on a rooftop chase. One cop peeked his head over the edge of one roof and Hill shot him in the head, killing him. When the cops caught up to Hill, they pitched him off the roof because he killed their buddy. Hill survived, but he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. And in prison, shipped off to
Oswald State Penitentiary.
On the show, Hill serves as a sort of
Greek chorus, narrating the didactic skits at the beginning of each show. In the moral vacuum that is Oz, Hill is one of the most sympathetic characters, despite the fact that he’s a
cop killer. He closely associates with other African-American inmates, but doesn’t participate in gang activities or use drugs. His interactions with others prove that the now drug free Hill had turned over a new leaf. He tried to convince
Jackson Vayhue to stay off drugs and succeeded in convincing him to save the life of
Eugene Dobbins by carrying him out of
Emerald City during the riot. Hill ratted out
Malcolm Coyle, a man who murdered an entire family,
on principle, and at the risk of his life, feeling that Coyle should pay for his crimes.
So far this season,
Omar Redding claimed that
Supreme Allah had ratted out Hill to the cops and was thus responsible for Hill being in jail and a wheelchair. Redding had fought with Hill’s father in
Vietnam and took care of his family after Hill’s father was killed. Hill felt indebted to Redding (despite the fact that Redding was responsible for dragging Hill into a
life of crime, but betrayed him to stop the gang war and associated bloodshed he planned.