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INDEPENDENT LENS: When Claude Got Shot

Claude showing wounds.
Courtesy of Brad Lichtenstein
Claude showing wounds. After being shot in the face by 15-year-old Nathan King, Claude's path to recovery leads to forgiveness. But that path is paved with the complexities of race, violence, and justice.

Monday, May 9, 2022 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV / On demand with KPBS Video App

In 2014, Claude Motley and his family were visiting their former hometown of Milwaukee, WI when 15-year-old Nathan King attempted to carjack his rented Dodge Charger. In the process, Nathan shot Claude in the face. That moment is the axis on which Claude’s world turned, derailing him from his own legal career only to throw him in the middle of the criminal justice system as a victim, and the key to his shooter’s fate.

Trailer | When Claude Got Shot

"When Claude Got Shot" chronicles five years in Claude’s physical and mental recovery journey. Persisting through multiple surgeries, catastrophic health care bills, and the lingering emotional aftermath of that traumatic night, Claude finds himself torn between punishment for Nathan and the injustice of mass incarceration for Black men and boys.

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Claude Motley in hospital before surgery, after getting shot.
Courtesy of Brad Lichtenstein
Claude Motley in hospital before surgery, after getting shot.

For Claude, the path to recovery ultimately leads to forgiveness. But that path proves to be a fraught one, paved with all the complexities that race, violence, justice, and healthcare can possibly present.

Claude showing x-ray.
Courtesy of Brad Lichtenstein
Claude showing x-ray. After being shot in the face by 15-year-old Nathan King, Claude's path to recovery leads to forgiveness. But that path is paved with the complexities of race, violence, and justice.

Watch On Your Schedule: The film airs Monday, May 9 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV and will be available on demand on PBS.org and the PBS Video App.