Augustus Hill
Encyclopedia
Augustus Hill is a fictional character, played by Harold Perrineau on the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 show Oz
Oz (TV series)
Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...

, serving as the show's narrator.

Character overview

Prisoner #95H522. Convicted November 6, 1995 - Possession of illegal substances, murder in the second degree. Sentence: Life imprisonment, up for parole in 20 years.

Mentored by his godfather Burr Redding
Burr Redding
Burr Redding is one of Oz's oldest inmates.-Character overview:Prisoner #01R289. Convicted January 11, 2001 - Murder in the first degree, seven counts of attempted murder...

, Hill has been selling and using drugs since his teenage years. In 1995, a SWAT
SWAT
A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...

 team came after him on a drug warrant on a tip from a friend named Kevin Ketchum, who gave up his location to avoid going to jail on an old warrant himself (this wasn't revealed until the fourth season of the show). The details of his capture are revealed in the second episode of the show. The SWAT team busted his apartment door down while he and his wife were having sex. He escaped out the window and raced up to the roof. Cornered there, Hill shot and killed one of the SWAT officers. In retaliation, he was thrown off the roof by another cop and was left paralyzed from the waist down.

In prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

, he remains a neutral figure until Redding shows up and takes charge of the black inmates. As he uses a wheelchair and is not associated with any gang members, Hill remains one of the more consistently decent characters on the show, struggling to avoid moral compromise while staying alive in the dangerous world of Oswald Maximum Security Prison. In the fifth season finale, Hill accidentally sacrifices himself to save Burr Redding from the Italian inmates, although he continues to show up in narration segments.

Season 1

Hill is one of the inmates let into Em City. A wheelchair user, he poses no threat to any inmate or guard and remains a neutral figure, getting along with everyone for the most part. In Em City, he works in the dress factory with inmates such as Bob Rebadow
Bob Rebadow
Robert 'Bob' Rebadow is a fictional character from the television series Oz, a drama series on HBO that portrays a maximum security prison and follows the lives of the inmates in the prison. He is portrayed by George Morfogen.-Character overview:...

 and Tobias Beecher
Tobias Beecher
Tobias Beecher is a main character on the television show Oz, played by Lee Tergesen. He is one of only eight regular characters to survive the entire run of the show...

. Hill does not really like Beecher, as he was a lawyer on the outside, a profession that he despises. When conjugal visits are allowed, Hill sleeps with his wife Annabella for the last time. Being paraplegic, he has no sensation below his waist so he cannot determine the pleasure received during sex. When Simon Adebisi
Simon Adebisi
Simon Adebisi is a fictional character played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on the HBO dramatic series Oz, set in an experimental prison unit.-Character overview:Prisoner #93A234. Convicted May 2, 1993 - Murder in the first degree...

 asks him why he even wants to have sex with his wife without sensation, he claims that it is all for her.

Hill also takes part in the drug rehab program and has been clean for almost two years. He takes a break from this however when his hero NBA player, Jackson Vahue
Jackson Vahue
Jackson Vahue is a fictional character from the HBO prison drama Oz played by Rick Fox, a former NBA basketball star and champion with the Los Angeles Lakers.-Character overview:...

, arrives in Oz and encourages him to use drugs. After using one time and seeing how much of a bad person Vahue really is, he stops using drugs.

Hill admires new inmate Eugene Dobbins
Eugene Dobbins
Eugene Dobbins, played by Zuill Bailey, was a character on the HBO prison drama "Oz".-Character Overview:Prisoner #97D403. Convicted August 18, 1997. Murder in the second degree. Sentence: 22 years, up for parole in eight....

 who has a gift for playing the cello. When Dobbins is harassed by Vahue for no apparent reason, Hill tells him stop and recognize the gift that Dobbins has. He even gets a fellow prisonser, who plays the trumpet, to accompany him in rehearsals. This all goes awry with Vahue breaks into the chaplain's office and smashes Dobbins' prized instrument.

Meanwhile, the tension in Em City erupts into a riot where Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 inmate Kareem Said
Kareem Said
Kareem Saïd is a character played by British actor Eamonn Walker on the American television show Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #97S444. Convicted June 6, 1997 - Arson in the second degree. Sentence: 18 years, eligible for parole in five...

 leads the takeover. Hill forces Vahue to carry out the wounded Dobbins who gets stabbed by a black inmate during the riot and then hides with the rest of the prisoners as the SORT team recaptures the unit.

Season 2

The inmates from Em City are transferred to the general population as the unit has been destroyed through the riot. Law school dean Alvah Case investigates the causes of the riot and asks Hill several questions pertaining to its causes. Hill is then told that Eugene Dobbins died and the unit that the inmates stay in becomes overcrowded. When Em City is reopened, Hill is let back in as an "Other" inmate with Bob Rebadow
Bob Rebadow
Robert 'Bob' Rebadow is a fictional character from the television series Oz, a drama series on HBO that portrays a maximum security prison and follows the lives of the inmates in the prison. He is portrayed by George Morfogen.-Character overview:...

, Agamemnon Busmalis
Agamemnon Busmalis
Agamemnon "Aggie" Busmalis a.k.a. The Mole is a fictional character of the television series Oz, portrayed by Tom Mardirosian. He is also referenced in OZ: Behind These Walls: The Journal of Augustus Hill.-Character's backstory:...

, and his new cellmate Tobias Beecher. Hill is angered and thinks Unit Manager Tim McManus
Tim McManus
Tim McManus is a fictional character on HBO's prison drama Oz, played by Terry Kinney.-Character overview:McManus, the idealistic manager of Emerald City, is unlike the rest of the staff members at Oz as he has never been a CO, has a college education, and generally believes in the inmates as...

 should have classified him as one of the Homeboys, the black gangsters in Oz. Augustus is also wary of rooming with Beecher as Beecher had recently bitten off the tip of inmate James Robson's penis. Hill cannot sleep with Beecher as his roommate, constantly protecting his genitalia at nighttime and is relieved when Chris Keller
Chris Keller
Chris Keller is a fictional character on the HBO series Oz, portrayed by Christopher Meloni from 1998 to 2003.-Character overview:Prisoner ID 98K514. Convicted June 16, 1998 - felony murder, two counts of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, driving under the influence and...

 arrives and replaces him as Beecher's cellmate.

In the Em City council, Hill represents the Others. Augustus then sees that his judge during the trial has been imprisoned for receiving bribes during the sentencing of various inmates. Angered, he gets Said to represent him in an attempt to free himself. Said speaks powerfully in Hill's favor but the judges and defense attorneys conclude that the judge had fairly sentenced him, as no mention of a bribe occurred during his trial. Frustrated, Hill spends the rest of the season figuring out ways of escaping Oz.

Season 3

In this season Hill faces a major conflict. Inmate Malcolm Coyle
Malcolm Coyle
Malcolm "Snake" Coyle is a prisoner on the television show Oz played by Treach of the rap group Naughty By Nature.-Character overview:Prisoner #99C122. Convicted January 17, 1999 - Grand larceny, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, assault of a police officer...

 confesses to Hill that he murdered an Italian-American family for fun and never got caught for it. Hill is sickened to find out that he is telling the truth about the murder. He then talks with Said about what he should do. After listening to Said, Hill convinces Coyle to send up a video tape proving his guilt. Hill and Said then tell Warden Leo Glynn
Warden Leo Glynn
Leo Glynn is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz. He is the warden of the Oswald state correctional facility-Character overview:...

, who immediately contacts the local district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...

. Scheming for revenge, Kenny Wangler
Kenny Wangler
Kenny "Bricks" Wangler is a fictional character in the HBO drama Oz, played by actor J.D. Williams.-Character overview:Prisoner #97W566. Convicted July 6, 1997 - murder in the first degree . Sentence: 20 years, eligible for parole in six.He was sent to prison for murdering a student he was...

 and the Homeboys look to murder Hill, who is placed in protective custody. Said sees this and then convinces Antonio Nappa
Antonio Nappa
Antonio Nappa is a fictional character played by Mark Margolis on the HBO dramatic series Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #98N744. Convicted June 4, 1998 - Murder in the second degree. Sentence: 80 years, eligible for parole in 50...

, Carmen Guerra
Carmen Guerra
Carmen "Chico" Guerra is a fictional character on the HBO series Oz, played by Otto Sanchez.-Character overview:Prisoner #96G522. Convicted June 4, 1996 - Murder in the first degree...

, and even Aryan Brotherhood
Aryan Brotherhood
The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as The Brand, the AB, or the One-Two, is a white supremacist prison gang and organized crime syndicate in the United States with about 20,000 members in and out of prison...

 leader Vernon Schillinger
Vernon Schillinger
Vernon Schillinger is a fictional character, played by American actor J. K. Simmons, on the HBO series Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #92S110. Convicted October 21, 1992 – Aggravated assault in the first degree. Sentence: Eight years, eligible for parole in five...

 to have their respective gangs help the Muslims protect Hill. All three agree and then Nappa makes Hill's protection easier by murdering Coyle before his trial. Wangler then sees not to touch Hill at all getting a loud and clear message about what will happen. Simon Adebisi
Simon Adebisi
Simon Adebisi is a fictional character played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on the HBO dramatic series Oz, set in an experimental prison unit.-Character overview:Prisoner #93A234. Convicted May 2, 1993 - Murder in the first degree...

 then comes back and takes over the Homeboys. In taking over the Homeboys, he stirs up racial issues in Oz to the point that the inmates in Em City lose their pornographic
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...

 magazines. Adebisi then asks Hill to join them, giving him a confiscated magazine as a truce. CO Supervisor Sean Murphy
Sean Murphy
Sean Murphy may refer to:* Sean Murphy , cartoonist* Sean Murphy , professor at Royal Holloway, University of London* Seán Murphy , retired Irish football player...

 later sees the magazine and has Hill thrown into the hole, sans wheelchair. After Hill is led away, Oz's black inmates shout "Set Hill Free" and organize to take over the prison. As this happens, the racial tension reaches new heights, and Oz is locked down by Warden Glynn.

Season 4 Part I

Let back into Em City after three weeks, Hill sponsors and rooms with Desmond Mobay, a Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

n drug dealer. Unknown to Hill, Mobay is actually a police detective named Johnny Basil who is looking to put a stop to the drug trade in Oz. Mobay asks Hill who to buy drugs from, and he points to Kenny Wangler
Kenny Wangler
Kenny "Bricks" Wangler is a fictional character in the HBO drama Oz, played by actor J.D. Williams.-Character overview:Prisoner #97W566. Convicted July 6, 1997 - murder in the first degree . Sentence: 20 years, eligible for parole in six.He was sent to prison for murdering a student he was...

 and Junior Pierce
Junior Pierce
Junior Pierce, played by Malé B. Alexander is a fictional character on the American HBO drama Oz.-Character overview:Pierce is an enforcer of the Homeboys, Oz's main African-American prison gang...

. In the visiting room, Mobay is visiting his girlfriend while Hill visits his wife. Augustus thinks he recognizes Mobay's girlfriend (who is indeed an undercover cop) and states this to Mobay. Mobay tells her to stop visiting for a while as a result. Hill then states that he thinks his wife is losing him as the visits seem more and more meaningless. Later, a shootout in Em City occurs killing Wangler and Pierce, among others. Guillaume Tarrant
Guillaume Tarrant
Guillaume Tarrant was a fictional character on the HBO prison series Oz played by Lothaire Bluteau.- Character Overview :Prisoner #00T416. Convicted January 2, 2000 - Destruction of private property, concealment of a deadly weapon. Sentence: 10 years, eligible for parole in 3.Guillaume Tarrant was...

, an intimidated white inmate, shoots them after Simon Adebisi
Simon Adebisi
Simon Adebisi is a fictional character played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on the HBO dramatic series Oz, set in an experimental prison unit.-Character overview:Prisoner #93A234. Convicted May 2, 1993 - Murder in the first degree...

 places a gun in his cell.

This shooting stirs up issues in Em City that lead to the firing of Unit Manager Tim McManus
Tim McManus
Tim McManus is a fictional character on HBO's prison drama Oz, played by Terry Kinney.-Character overview:McManus, the idealistic manager of Emerald City, is unlike the rest of the staff members at Oz as he has never been a CO, has a college education, and generally believes in the inmates as...

 and the pressure to hire an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 unit manager from both black inmates and community leaders. Meanwhile, Mobay is snorting excessive amounts of heroin and must kill a random inmate to get in the good graces of the gangster inmates. Mobay asks Hill to help him; Hill initially refuses, but is manipulated to do so and watches as Desmond pushes inmate Bruno Goergen
Bruno Goergen
Bruno Goergen is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz, played by Harry O'Reilly.-Character overview:Georgen is a corrupt,bullying bigoted police detective serving time for murdering an arms and weapons dealer. He is given a new identity upon entering Oz as he has turned State's evidence on a...

 down an elevator shaft. Mobay also accidentally loses his accent one night, drawing Hill's suspicion.

Hill recognizes Mobay as a cop and calls him a fraud who breaks the law to enforce it. He also recognizes Mobay's supposed girlfriend Kina as a uniformed officer who was present during the night of his arrest, after he was thrown off the roof. Furious, Mobay beats Hill out of his wheelchair, but gets the message and turns himself in for murdering Bruno Goergen
Bruno Goergen
Bruno Goergen is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz, played by Harry O'Reilly.-Character overview:Georgen is a corrupt,bullying bigoted police detective serving time for murdering an arms and weapons dealer. He is given a new identity upon entering Oz as he has turned State's evidence on a...

.

Season 4 Part II

Em City is running back to normal as McManus is rehired as the unit manager. The Homeboys, meanwhile, are in disarray and out of the drug trade in the wake of Adebisi's death. Possible salvation appears when Hill's stepfather, Burr Redding, comes to Oz and immediately takes control of the Homeboys from current leader Arnold "Poet" Jackson. Hill is glad to see Redding and becomes more involved with the Homeboys as a result. Chucky Pancamo
Chucky Pancamo
Charles "Chucky The Enforcer" Pancamo is a fictional character, played by Chuck Zito, on the HBO series Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #97P468. Convicted June 4, 1997 - Second degree murder. Sentence: 35 years, eligible for parole in 15....

, the leader of the Italians, and Enrique Morales
Enrique Morales
Enrique Morales is a fictional character played by NYPD officer turned actor David Zayas on the HBO drama Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #00M871. Convicted April 6, 2000 - Murder in the second degree. Sentence: 25 years, up for parole in 15....

, leader of the Latinos, look to eliminate Redding, who intends on taking their power away from them in the drug scene. Supreme Allah
Supreme Allah
Supreme Allah is a fictional character of the HBO drama Oz. He is portrayed by Lord Jamar of hip hop group Brand Nubian.-Character overview:Prisoner #00K251. Convicted March 22, 2000 - Second degree murder...

, whom Redding despises, is then released from solitary confinement and offered a third in the drug trade from Pancamo and Morales. When Hill asks why Redding hates Supreme Allah, he tells him the truth about his arrest. Redding tells him that on the night of his arrest, Supreme Allah was arrested on an old warrant and gave up Hill's location to the police as a means of beating the charge. Furious, Hill attacks Supreme Allah, who merely throws him out of his wheelchair and kicks him to the point of hospitalization. Angered, Redding calls in Tug Daniels
Tug Daniels
Carlton "Tug" Daniels, played by Method Man of the Wu-Tang Clan, is a character in the HBO prison drama Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #01D251. Convicted February 20, 2001 - Attempted first degree murder. Sentence: 28 years, eligible for parole in 14....

, the brother of a man Supreme Allah killed. In the visiting room, Daniels uses a sharpened toothbrush to try and kill Supreme Allah, who nevertheless lives.

Redding then plans to eliminate all the enemies of the Homeboys, a move that Hill questions. Hill does not want anyone to die, so he alerts head guard Sean Murphy
Sean Murphy (Oz)
Sean Murphy is an Irish American Correctional Officer on the HBO drama Oz, played by Robert Clohessy. A fair and honest officer, Murphy is handpicked by Tim McManus to act as the head CO of Emerald City as he and McManus are lifelong friends...

 of Redding's plan. Murphy gets the SORT team to break up a murder attempt on the Italian and Latino inmates. Furious, Redding casts Hill out of the gang.

Meanwhile Hill sabotages the parole of Jackson Vahue
Jackson Vahue
Jackson Vahue is a fictional character from the HBO prison drama Oz played by Rick Fox, a former NBA basketball star and champion with the Los Angeles Lakers.-Character overview:...

, whom he feels has no remorse
Remorse
Remorse is an emotional expression of personal regret felt by a person after he or she has committed an act which they deem to be shameful, hurtful, or violent. Remorse is closely allied to guilt and self-directed resentment...

 and should not leave Oz. As the war between the Homeboys, Latinos, and Italians escalates, Supreme Allah decides he wants to ally himself with Hill. For his part, Hill feels he is insincere and is right, as Supreme is only trying to use him to kill Redding. For informing on Redding, Hill is harassed by Tug Daniels, who Supreme Allah warns to back off. Daniels dies shortly afterwards when Redding has discovered that he is a traitor and Supreme Allah warns Hill that they are next in line to die. When Supreme Allah is set to kill Redding on his own, Hill remembers some information critical to Supreme Allah's health. After paying Christian inmate Harden to see the medical records, Hill sees that Supreme Allah is lethally allergic
Allergy
An Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid...

 to eggs. With this information, he informs Poet who works in the cafeteria who then with the other Homeboys mixes Supreme Allah's food with a heavy concentration of eggs. Supreme Allah dies in the cafeteria and Redding forgives Hill, allowing him to rejoin the Homeboys, which Hill respectfully declines but maintains Burr's respect and love nonetheless.

Season 5

As Em City is reopened following the explosion that closed the fourth season, Hill is let back in and is awaiting a visit from his mother, Eugenia. Eugenia is coming to warn him that his wife wishes to divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

 him. His mother dies when the visitor's bus crashes, but Hill finds this information out from a letter sent by her lawyers in the city. Distraught that his wife is divorcing him and his mother has died, he becomes a complete emotional wreck.

Hill then goes to Poet wanting some heroin to relieve his pain. Under the influence, Hill forgets to clean his catheter and goes into kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...

 failure. In the hospital Hill nearly dies, and Dr. Gloria Nathan informs McManus that heroin has engulfed the prisoner's blood. Furious, McManus attacks Redding, whom he believes is responsible for selling Hill the drugs. Redding then explains he had nothing to do with it and will bring down the men responsible.

Redding first goes after Poet, who denies having anything to do with it. Poet then gets Agamemnon Busmalis
Agamemnon Busmalis
Agamemnon "Aggie" Busmalis a.k.a. The Mole is a fictional character of the television series Oz, portrayed by Tom Mardirosian. He is also referenced in OZ: Behind These Walls: The Journal of Augustus Hill.-Character's backstory:...

, a witness with no vested interest, to say that Italian inmate Salvatore DeSanto
Salvatore DeSanto
Salvatore DeSanto, played by Phil Campanella, is an Italian inmate on the HBO drama Oz.-Character overview:Salvatore DeSanto is falsely accused of drugging inmate Augustus Hill...

 sold Hill the drugs. Angered, Redding who now runs the cafeteria has Poet put a lethal amount of LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...

 in DeSanto's food, causing his brain to fail. The food is cleaned up, however, and the staff thereby has no evidence to convict Redding of the murder. In the hospital, McManus interrogates Hill as to who sold him the drugs. Hill will not give up Poet but does say that the Italians are innocent of selling him the drugs. McManus passes this information to Redding, who demands to see his stepson. McManus then refuses to let Redding see Hill, as he does not want to help Redding kill the men who gave his godson the drugs.

Angry, Redding searches for Busmalis to find the men responsible. Poet forces Busmalis to say Carmen Guerra
Carmen Guerra
Carmen "Chico" Guerra is a fictional character on the HBO series Oz, played by Otto Sanchez.-Character overview:Prisoner #96G522. Convicted June 4, 1996 - Murder in the first degree...

 and the Latinos were behind it. The Homeboys are allied with the Latinos during this time but that alliance dies when Redding angrily accuses Guerra to Latino leader Enrique Morales
Enrique Morales
Enrique Morales is a fictional character played by NYPD officer turned actor David Zayas on the HBO drama Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #00M871. Convicted April 6, 2000 - Murder in the second degree. Sentence: 25 years, up for parole in 15....

. Morales and Redding both go to the hole after they fight due to this accusation and upon their release Augustus is released from the hospital. When released Poet begs him not to snitch which is something Hill would not have done any way. Redding then has a long talk with Hill, stating that he is sorry for ever encouraging him to do or sell drugs in the first place. During this talk, the Latinos and Italians renew their alliance on the condition that the Italians kill Redding. Frank Urbano
Frank Urbano
Francis Urbano aka "Frank the Fixer", played by Antoni Corone, is an Italian inmate on the HBO drama Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #02U672. Convicted January 7, 2002 - Murder in the first degree. Sentence: Life imprisonment, eligible for parole in 25 years.A famed hitman, he was given a life...

charges at Redding with a knife but is stopped by Hill, who dies defending his adoptive father. His last words were to McManus, saying "I can feel my legs." His death puts Redding in complete disarray and motivates him to have the Homeboys drop out of the drug trade in Season 6.

External links

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