Cyril O'Reily
Encyclopedia
Cyril O'Reily is a fictional character
, played by American
actor
Scott William Winters
, on the HBO drama Oz
. He is also mentioned in the companion book Oz: Behind These Walls: The Journal of Augustus Hill (HarperEntertainment, 2003), p. 58.
Cyril was an American
hoodlum like his brother (who's actually his half-brother, as was revealed by Suzanne Fitzgerald), Ryan
, Cyril was Ryan's lieutenant and bodyguard in the Bridge Street Gang until he was injured in a fight, suffering brain damage
. In the second season of Oz, Cyril murdered the husband of Dr. Gloria Nathan on orders from his brother, who was in love with Dr Nathan. Arriving in prison, Cyril was originally housed with Vernon Schillinger
, head of the Aryan Brotherhood
. After Schillinger raped Cyril, Ryan got his brother transferred to his own cell.
In the last season of the show, Cyril was executed despite Ryan's multiple attempts to save his brother, and despite Cyril's low mental capacity. Although Cyril is normally placid, he is prone to violent attacks on people when enraged, often showing great strength, which has earned him the resentment, but also the respect, of many inmates.
serving time in Oz. He first appears when Ryan has surgery for breast cancer
. Cyril is upset because their mother had died of cancer. After recovering, Ryan falls in love with Dr. Gloria Nathan, the prison doctor who helped save his life. Ryan feels that the only thing preventing a potential relationship with her is her husband, Preston, so he asks Cyril to murder him. Cyril does as he's told, and is sentenced to life in prison. Although Cyril is mentally challenged, he knows enough not to implicate Ryan in the crime as he worships his brother. Dr. Nathan and Unit Manager Tim McManus
know that Ryan is responsible and demand that he confess, but Ryan says nothing and Cyril arrives in Oz. When Cyril arrives in Unit B, he is approached by Vernon Schillinger
, who promises to take Cyril to see Ryan. Once Cyril is out of sight from the guards, however, he is gang raped by Schillinger and the other members of the Aryan Brotherhood
. When Ryan realizes what has happened, he orders Cyril to assault him and as Ryan is hit, Officer Joseph Mineo
takes Cyril to Ad Seg, isolated but safely away from Schillinger. Ryan cajoles McManus to bring his brother to Em City, but McManus refuses the move unless Ryan confesses to ordering his brother to kill Preston Nathan.
Later, a guard Eugene Rivera
is blinded and needs a blood transfusion, and Ryan is the only person among both the inmates and officers with the same blood type. Ryan refuses to donate his blood unless his brother is moved to Em City. McManus arranges the transfer. Later, upon considering what Cyril's life in prison would be like without his brother to protect him, Ryan finally confesses to orchestrating the murder of Preston. Ryan's parole
date is set back 40 years, but he can still protect Cyril from the other inmates, especially Schillinger.
suggests that Cyril be let off with a warning. Murphy is Black Irish
like the O'Reily brothers and understands that Ryan is trying to protect him. Murphy also helps McManus start the prison boxing tournament where each competitor represents one prison group. Ryan enrolls Cyril, who used to box before his injury, in the tournament to show everyone in Oz that Cyril is physically powerful.
In the first round, Cyril goes up against Robson. Ryan spikes Robson's water with drugs to ensure victory. Cyril wins the first fight against Robson in a knockout, and the Aryans leave off their taunts and threats afterward. Ryan spikes other boxer's drinks as well, as there is a lot of gambling money to be won. Ryan sees another opportunity to get back at the Aryans when Schillinger's heroin-addicted son Andrew arrives in Oz. Ryan, along with Cyril, Chris Keller
and Tobias Beecher
, who all have a vendetta against Schillinger, devise a plan to turn father against son. With Cyril as his bodyguard, Ryan sells drugs to Andrew then cuts him off, telling him that the only way he can buy drugs from now on is through the non-white inmates, something that the Aryan Brotherhood prohibits. Andrew eventually turns against his father, who bribes the guards to give him enough heroin to overdose. Cyril then fights in round two of the boxing tournament against Italian inmate Chucky Pancamo
. Pancamo is the favorite to win, as he has more than 60 pounds on Cyril and is one of the most physically imposing inmates in Oz. Ryan spikes Pancamo's water, leading to a victory for Cyril, to the shock of the prison population.
Cyril is now in the championship round and must face Hamid Khan
. Warden Glynn postpones the fight indefinitely, due to the racial tension that is building between Oz inmates, mainly between the Black Muslim and White Aryan inmates. Ryan and Khan convince Glynn to allow the fight, but Glynn stipulates that there would be no audience. Khan is encouraged by all the black inmates to kill Cyril while Cyril is encouraged to kill Khan by all the white inmates. In the meantime, Murphy discovers that Ryan has been spiking the fighters' water and threatens to expose him if he spikes Hamid Khan's water. Desperate to find a way to beat Khan, Ryan calls in their father, Seamus, whom he and Cyril despise, as a way to anger Cyril into a violent frenzy. Ryan then tells Cyril to use that anger to beat Khan who, like Pancamo, is an easy favorite. Cyril imagines Khan is their father and beats him into a coma. Cyril feels bad about hurting Khan, but Ryan tells him that it was necessary to survive inside Oz. Khan is hooked up to life support
which creates animosity among the black inmates and ratchets the racial tension up to an all-time high. A near race riot
breaks out, and Oz is locked down. Khan dies after his wife wins a lawsuit
to take him off of life support.
with prison psychologist "Sister Pete" Reimondo, who thinks interaction sessions with the families of Cyril's murder victims is the best way to clear his conscience
. The only family willing to participate in the interaction sessions is the Nathan family. Sister Pete demands that Ryan participate as well, as he ordered Preston's murder.
In the interaction sessions, Cyril expresses his remorse and the Nathan parents express their anger. Ryan, however, turns the tables on the Nathans when he suggests that Gloria Nathan cheated on her husband during a temporary separation. As a result, the relationship between Dr. Nathan and Ryan becomes increasingly hostile. In Em City, Cyril is later attacked by inmates Leroy Tidd
and Mondo Browne
, who threaten to rape him. Cyril, however, beats the both of them and is then sedated with a large dose of Haldol by an angry Dr. Nathan. Ryan and Simon Adebisi
, the leader of the Homeboys, then warn Tidd and Browne to stay away from Cyril. Dr. Nathan is raped in the meantime and she believes Ryan is responsible, punishing him by cutting off Cyril's treatment. With the help of Sister Pete, Ryan convinces Dr. Nathan that he wasn't responsible, and as a result she resumes Cyril's treatment.
In the midst of this, Em City is undergoing a demographic shift that worries Ryan, Chris Keller
and some other white inmates. The new unit manager, Martin Querns
, an African American
, has empowered the Homeboys to do whatever they wish in exchange for enforcing a state of non-violence in Em City. Consequently, more and more black inmates and guards are transferred in, replacing their white and Latino counterparts. Claire Howell
, one of the few white officers left, then develops a sexual relationship with Ryan which is discovered by Cyril. Concerned that Cyril will talk, Ryan brings Cyril to Sister Pete for counseling, telling her Cyril is "seeing things". Meanwhile, Ryan and Keller murder two inmates as a means of getting Querns fired and McManus reinstated. With the help of Muslim leader Kareem Said
, they obtain videotaped evidence showing the prohibited behavior that the Homeboys are being allowed to commit, forcing Warden Glynn to fire Querns.
After Asian inmate Jia Kenmin arrives in Oz, disputes erupt between him and both the Irish and Latino factions. Kenmin provokes Cyril and Ryan to the point where Cyril loses control, beating the Asian man into a coma
. McManus, angry and alarmed, considers transferring Cyril to the Connolly institute for the Mentally Unstable. Sister Pete, however, pushes him to send Cyril to Protective Custody for awhile so that he can calm down.
Back in Em City, Ryan and new inmate Padraig Connolly
, an IRA
member awaiting deportation, plan to blow up Oz. The bomb is a dud, but Ryan leaves the gas leaking in the cafeteria which eventually detonates, destroying both Emerald City and the cafeteria.
Throughout the season, as Dr. Nathan finally falls for Ryan, she becomes somewhat more forgiving towards Cyril for killing her husband.
and new Asian inmate Li Chen
attend some of the performing arts classes. Jia offers peace to the two of them which Cyril accepts but Ryan remains cautious about. In an attempt to set up the O'Reily brothers, Kenmin pays inmate Glen Shupe
to tell Ryan that Chen plans to rape Suzanne and as a result, he and Cyril attack Jia. Cyril picks up a knife from the two Asians during the fight and stabs Li Chen to death defending Ryan. Furious, Tim McManus
sends Ryan to the cage and Cyril to solitary but not before stating that Cyril will either be sent to the insane asylum or death row as he is growing tired of Cyril's behavior. As Ryan is in the common room cage, Kenmin informs him it was a set up in order to eliminate the two brothers.
On trial for murder, Cyril is represented by Katherine McClain who claims that she will do everything she can for Cyril but does not seem to be the best lawyer for this case. In a meeting with other family members to raise money for a better lawyer, Ryan, their Aunt Brenda, Suzanne, and abusive father Seamus decide that Cyril is better off dying than staying the rest of his life in Oz or a mental institution. A new inmate, Father Daniel Meehan
, offers to help and riles up Sister Pete and some anti-death penalty activists to protest that sentencing a man in Cyril's mental state to death is cruel and unusual. Meanwhile, Ryan exacts revenge by getting the Latinos to injure Glen Shupe
and manipulating the COs to kill Jia Kenmin
. Cyril's trial does not go well and he is found guilty of murder in the first degree. When being transferred to Death Row, Cyril attacks Officer Len Lopresti
and is then sedated by three additional COs. After a long talk with Father Meehan, Ryan finally agrees to protest Cyril's death by any means necessary.
, gets activist attorney Arnold Zelman to appeal his case. The appeals remonstrating the state's decision to kill a mentally handicapped person gather public support. In the meantime Sister Pete gives Cyril a hand puppet named Jericho whom Cyril speaks through with all his darker hidden thoughts. While speaking as Jericho, he uses his voice as it was before he became brain damaged rather than his present voice. In light of this disturbing behavior, Jericho is taken away from Cyril, who begins sobbing uncontrollably over the loss of his hand puppet. Cyril's crying angers Officer Lopresti
, the supervising officer on death row who, with the other COs, spray Cyril down with a fire hose to shut him up. In the meantime, Governor Devlin, in an attempt to make Cyril appear normal, orders Electroconvulsive therapy
to be done to him. This angers Ryan, Suzanne, and others concerned with Cyril's well being but they have no legal means of stopping the ECT treatment. Meanwhile, the appeals of Cyril's death sentence are not having any success and though protests continue, his execution date moves closer and closer. Originally, Ryan stated a preference for lethal injection
as the means of execution for Cyril but, after speaking with Dr. Nathan, Ryan concludes that it will be easier for Cyril to undergo the electric chair and he explains this to Cyril in terms of having one last "Special" ECT session. At this time their father Seamus arrives in Oz for killing a man in a fight.
As Cyril's execution approaches, Oz's prisoners, led by prisoner Jahfree Neema
, begin a protest. At the hour of Cyril's execution, Neema leads every inmate in Em City to tap on their cells. In the death room, while Cyril is being prepared to be electrocuted, his last statement to Warden Glynn is "Huh?". Right before the execution occurs, a 30 day stay is put in effect as new evidence is found in Cyril's case. Ryan then explains to Cyril that his session has been delayed. He is allowed to spend time with his brother during the days remaining before his new execution. As Cyril's final appeal fails, he is executed (he finally figures out what's going on as he is sitting in the chair once the black hood comes down, screaming for his brother- his last words being; "Mom! What's happening? Ryan? Ryan!"); as new warden Martin Querns
watches, he throws up. After Cyril's death, Ryan and Seamus finally make peace.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, played by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Scott William Winters
Scott William Winters
Scott William Winters is an American actor.Winters has three siblings: older brother Dean Winters, who is 12.5 months older, Bradford , and sister Blair. He is best known for playing Cyril O'Reily in the HBO drama Oz opposite his brother, Dean Winters, who appeared as Cyril's brother, Ryan...
, on the HBO drama 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...
. He is also mentioned in the companion book Oz: Behind These Walls: The Journal of Augustus Hill (HarperEntertainment, 2003), p. 58.
Character overview
Prisoner #98P284. Convicted July 1, 1998 - Murder in the first degree. Sentence: Life imprisonment, up for parole in 60 years. Convicted in 2002 of murder in the first degree and sentenced to death.Cyril was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hoodlum like his brother (who's actually his half-brother, as was revealed by Suzanne Fitzgerald), Ryan
Ryan O'Reily
Ryan O'Reily is a main character in the television series Oz. He was portrayed by Dean Winters from 1997 to 2003.-Character overview:Prisoner #97P904. Convicted July 12, 1997 - Two counts of vehicular manslaughter, five counts of reckless endangerment, possession of a controlled substance,...
, Cyril was Ryan's lieutenant and bodyguard in the Bridge Street Gang until he was injured in a fight, suffering brain damage
Brain damage
"Brain damage" or "brain injury" is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors...
. In the second season of Oz, Cyril murdered the husband of Dr. Gloria Nathan on orders from his brother, who was in love with Dr Nathan. Arriving in prison, Cyril was originally housed with 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...
, head of the Aryan Brotherhood
The Aryan Brotherhood in Oz
The Aryan Brotherhood in the TV series Oz is a gang of white supremacist inmates led by Vernon Schillinger.-Overview:The Aryans of Oz are a loosely organized gang of white supremacist inmates. As a minority, the Caucasian-American prisoners of the gang mostly come from criminal backgrounds already...
. After Schillinger raped Cyril, Ryan got his brother transferred to his own cell.
In the last season of the show, Cyril was executed despite Ryan's multiple attempts to save his brother, and despite Cyril's low mental capacity. Although Cyril is normally placid, he is prone to violent attacks on people when enraged, often showing great strength, which has earned him the resentment, but also the respect, of many inmates.
Season 2
Cyril O'Reily is the mentally handicapped brother of Ryan O'Reily, an Irish American sociopathPsychopathy
Psychopathy is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, and are very disproportionately responsible for violent crime...
serving time in Oz. He first appears when Ryan has surgery for breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. Cyril is upset because their mother had died of cancer. After recovering, Ryan falls in love with Dr. Gloria Nathan, the prison doctor who helped save his life. Ryan feels that the only thing preventing a potential relationship with her is her husband, Preston, so he asks Cyril to murder him. Cyril does as he's told, and is sentenced to life in prison. Although Cyril is mentally challenged, he knows enough not to implicate Ryan in the crime as he worships his brother. Dr. Nathan and 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...
know that Ryan is responsible and demand that he confess, but Ryan says nothing and Cyril arrives in Oz. When Cyril arrives in Unit B, he is approached by 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...
, who promises to take Cyril to see Ryan. Once Cyril is out of sight from the guards, however, he is gang raped by Schillinger and the other members of the Aryan Brotherhood
The Aryan Brotherhood in Oz
The Aryan Brotherhood in the TV series Oz is a gang of white supremacist inmates led by Vernon Schillinger.-Overview:The Aryans of Oz are a loosely organized gang of white supremacist inmates. As a minority, the Caucasian-American prisoners of the gang mostly come from criminal backgrounds already...
. When Ryan realizes what has happened, he orders Cyril to assault him and as Ryan is hit, Officer Joseph Mineo
Joseph Mineo
Joseph Mineo is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz, played by Philip V. Scozzarella.-Character overview:A veteran Correctional officer, he is often preferred by Unit Manager Tim McManus. For the most part Mineo is a good and honest CO and unlike some of the other Italian-Americans on the...
takes Cyril to Ad Seg, isolated but safely away from Schillinger. Ryan cajoles McManus to bring his brother to Em City, but McManus refuses the move unless Ryan confesses to ordering his brother to kill Preston Nathan.
Later, a guard Eugene Rivera
Eugene Rivera
Eugene Rivera is a fictional character played by Nelson Vasquez in the HBO drama Oz.-Character overview:A Latino Correctional Officer and a former member of the Los Diablos gang, he is an enemy of Latino inmate Raoul "El Cid" Hernandez. After seeing Rivera at work, Hernandez tells disgraced Latino...
is blinded and needs a blood transfusion, and Ryan is the only person among both the inmates and officers with the same blood type. Ryan refuses to donate his blood unless his brother is moved to Em City. McManus arranges the transfer. Later, upon considering what Cyril's life in prison would be like without his brother to protect him, Ryan finally confesses to orchestrating the murder of Preston. Ryan's parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
date is set back 40 years, but he can still protect Cyril from the other inmates, especially Schillinger.
Season 3
Cyril starts off this season working in the kitchen and essentially shadowing his brother. The Aryan inmates, especially Schillinger and James Robson, taunt Cyril and Ryan continuously over the rape he suffered at Schillinger's hands. Ryan wants to kill Schillinger, but does not get a chance. Cyril goes to work early one day, against Ryan's wishes, and Robson tries to rape him. Cyril fights back, seriously hurting his would-be assailant. McManus wants to put Cyril in isolation, but new head CO Sean MurphySean 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...
suggests that Cyril be let off with a warning. Murphy is Black Irish
Black Irish
Black Irish is an ambiguous term used mainly outside of Ireland. Over the course of history, it has been subject to several distinctive ascriptions, including religious affiliation and poverty. Modern traditionalists, however, maintain the term to be synonymous with a dark-haired phenotype...
like the O'Reily brothers and understands that Ryan is trying to protect him. Murphy also helps McManus start the prison boxing tournament where each competitor represents one prison group. Ryan enrolls Cyril, who used to box before his injury, in the tournament to show everyone in Oz that Cyril is physically powerful.
In the first round, Cyril goes up against Robson. Ryan spikes Robson's water with drugs to ensure victory. Cyril wins the first fight against Robson in a knockout, and the Aryans leave off their taunts and threats afterward. Ryan spikes other boxer's drinks as well, as there is a lot of gambling money to be won. Ryan sees another opportunity to get back at the Aryans when Schillinger's heroin-addicted son Andrew arrives in Oz. Ryan, along with Cyril, 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...
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...
, who all have a vendetta against Schillinger, devise a plan to turn father against son. With Cyril as his bodyguard, Ryan sells drugs to Andrew then cuts him off, telling him that the only way he can buy drugs from now on is through the non-white inmates, something that the Aryan Brotherhood prohibits. Andrew eventually turns against his father, who bribes the guards to give him enough heroin to overdose. Cyril then fights in round two of the boxing tournament against Italian inmate 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....
. Pancamo is the favorite to win, as he has more than 60 pounds on Cyril and is one of the most physically imposing inmates in Oz. Ryan spikes Pancamo's water, leading to a victory for Cyril, to the shock of the prison population.
Cyril is now in the championship round and must face Hamid Khan
Hamid Khan
Hamid Khan, played by Ernie Hudson Jr., is a fictional character in the HBO series Oz.- Character overview :Prisoner #99K515. Convicted March 6, 1999 - Aggravated assault. Sentence: 10 years, eligible for parole in five....
. Warden Glynn postpones the fight indefinitely, due to the racial tension that is building between Oz inmates, mainly between the Black Muslim and White Aryan inmates. Ryan and Khan convince Glynn to allow the fight, but Glynn stipulates that there would be no audience. Khan is encouraged by all the black inmates to kill Cyril while Cyril is encouraged to kill Khan by all the white inmates. In the meantime, Murphy discovers that Ryan has been spiking the fighters' water and threatens to expose him if he spikes Hamid Khan's water. Desperate to find a way to beat Khan, Ryan calls in their father, Seamus, whom he and Cyril despise, as a way to anger Cyril into a violent frenzy. Ryan then tells Cyril to use that anger to beat Khan who, like Pancamo, is an easy favorite. Cyril imagines Khan is their father and beats him into a coma. Cyril feels bad about hurting Khan, but Ryan tells him that it was necessary to survive inside Oz. Khan is hooked up to life support
Life support
Life support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patient's life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life...
which creates animosity among the black inmates and ratchets the racial tension up to an all-time high. A near race riot
Race riot
A race riot or racial riot is an outbreak of violent civil disorder in which race is a key factor. A phenomenon frequently confused with the concept of 'race riot' is sectarian violence, which involves public mass violence or conflict over non-racial factors.-United States:The term had entered the...
breaks out, and Oz is locked down. Khan dies after his wife wins a lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
to take him off of life support.
Season 4 Part I
The lockdown ends and Cyril is having nightmares over Khan's death. Ryan suggests psychotherapyPsychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
with prison psychologist "Sister Pete" Reimondo, who thinks interaction sessions with the families of Cyril's murder victims is the best way to clear his conscience
Conscience
Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms...
. The only family willing to participate in the interaction sessions is the Nathan family. Sister Pete demands that Ryan participate as well, as he ordered Preston's murder.
In the interaction sessions, Cyril expresses his remorse and the Nathan parents express their anger. Ryan, however, turns the tables on the Nathans when he suggests that Gloria Nathan cheated on her husband during a temporary separation. As a result, the relationship between Dr. Nathan and Ryan becomes increasingly hostile. In Em City, Cyril is later attacked by inmates Leroy Tidd
Leroy Tidd
Leroy Tidd is a fictional character on the series Oz, an African American inmate played by Jacques Smith.-Character overview:Prisoner #00T255. Convicted May 10, 2000 - Armed robbery, reckless endangerment. Sentence: 20 years, eligible for parole in 12.Imprisoned for armed robbery and running over a...
and Mondo Browne
Mondo Browne
Raymond "Mondo" Browne, played by Gano Grills, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #00B563. Convicted April 10, 2000 - First degree murder...
, who threaten to rape him. Cyril, however, beats the both of them and is then sedated with a large dose of Haldol by an angry Dr. Nathan. Ryan and 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...
, the leader of the Homeboys, then warn Tidd and Browne to stay away from Cyril. Dr. Nathan is raped in the meantime and she believes Ryan is responsible, punishing him by cutting off Cyril's treatment. With the help of Sister Pete, Ryan convinces Dr. Nathan that he wasn't responsible, and as a result she resumes Cyril's treatment.
In the midst of this, Em City is undergoing a demographic shift that worries Ryan, 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...
and some other white inmates. The new unit manager, Martin Querns
Martin Querns
Warden Martin Querns is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz, played by Reg E. Cathey.-Character overview:He is an African American prison unit manager who has a vast experience of handling various prison units. He is hired by Warden Leo Glynn after he is asked to find a competent black unit...
, 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...
, has empowered the Homeboys to do whatever they wish in exchange for enforcing a state of non-violence in Em City. Consequently, more and more black inmates and guards are transferred in, replacing their white and Latino counterparts. Claire Howell
Claire Howell
Claire Howell is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz portrayed by Kristin Rohde.-Character overview:A sexual predator serving as a guard in the eponymous prison, she preys on all the men in her orbit, prisoners and guards alike, as human sex toys who exist for her to dominate...
, one of the few white officers left, then develops a sexual relationship with Ryan which is discovered by Cyril. Concerned that Cyril will talk, Ryan brings Cyril to Sister Pete for counseling, telling her Cyril is "seeing things". Meanwhile, Ryan and Keller murder two inmates as a means of getting Querns fired and McManus reinstated. With the help of Muslim leader 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...
, they obtain videotaped evidence showing the prohibited behavior that the Homeboys are being allowed to commit, forcing Warden Glynn to fire Querns.
Season 4 Part II
In this half of the season, Cyril's violent behavior begins to worry the staff. First, reporter Jack Eldridge comes to Oz to do a news story. When Cyril and Ryan were younger, Eldridge wrote a story on Irish street gangs which depicted the O'Reily's gang as brutal and heartless. The story angered their mother Tess, who died of cancer shortly afterwards. Cyril recalls the incident and beats Eldridge severely; the story is subsequently quashed.After Asian inmate Jia Kenmin arrives in Oz, disputes erupt between him and both the Irish and Latino factions. Kenmin provokes Cyril and Ryan to the point where Cyril loses control, beating the Asian man into a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. McManus, angry and alarmed, considers transferring Cyril to the Connolly institute for the Mentally Unstable. Sister Pete, however, pushes him to send Cyril to Protective Custody for awhile so that he can calm down.
Back in Em City, Ryan and new inmate Padraig Connolly
Padraig Connolly
Padraic Connolly is a fictional character, portrayed by Brian F. O'Byrne on the HBO drama Oz. He appeared in three episodes in season 4: "Even the Score", "Famous Last Words", and "Orpheus Descending"."...
, an IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
member awaiting deportation, plan to blow up Oz. The bomb is a dud, but Ryan leaves the gas leaking in the cafeteria which eventually detonates, destroying both Emerald City and the cafeteria.
Throughout the season, as Dr. Nathan finally falls for Ryan, she becomes somewhat more forgiving towards Cyril for killing her husband.
Season 5
Ryan's birth mother Suzanne Fitzgerald turned herself in after being on the run with a radical group for more than 30 years. Governor Devlin however reduces her charges to 2 years of community service at Oz where she can see Ryan and Cyril. While Cyril was in Protective Custody, it was determined that he and Ryan were half-siblings with different mothers but Ryan and Suzanne keep this secret from him. They enjoy seeing her on a daily basis but this is short lived when Jia KenminJia Kenmin
Jia Kenmin is an Asian American inmate on the HBO drama Oz played by Michael Delmare.-Character overview:Prisoner 01J813. Convicted February 2, 2001 - Possession and distribution of a controlled substance...
and new Asian inmate Li Chen
Li Chen
Prisoner 02L333, Li Chen. Convicted January 4, 2002 for four counts of attempted murder. Sentence of 32 years, up for parole in 20.Li Chen, played by Nelson Lee was a character in the HBO series Oz...
attend some of the performing arts classes. Jia offers peace to the two of them which Cyril accepts but Ryan remains cautious about. In an attempt to set up the O'Reily brothers, Kenmin pays inmate Glen Shupe
Glen Shupe
Glen Shupe is a character at HBO drama Oz played by Joel West.-Character Overview:Prisoner 99S917,. Convicted on April 22, 1999 for manslaughter. Sentence of 15 years, up for parole in eight....
to tell Ryan that Chen plans to rape Suzanne and as a result, he and Cyril attack Jia. Cyril picks up a knife from the two Asians during the fight and stabs Li Chen to death defending Ryan. Furious, 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...
sends Ryan to the cage and Cyril to solitary but not before stating that Cyril will either be sent to the insane asylum or death row as he is growing tired of Cyril's behavior. As Ryan is in the common room cage, Kenmin informs him it was a set up in order to eliminate the two brothers.
On trial for murder, Cyril is represented by Katherine McClain who claims that she will do everything she can for Cyril but does not seem to be the best lawyer for this case. In a meeting with other family members to raise money for a better lawyer, Ryan, their Aunt Brenda, Suzanne, and abusive father Seamus decide that Cyril is better off dying than staying the rest of his life in Oz or a mental institution. A new inmate, Father Daniel Meehan
Daniel Meehan
Father Daniel Meehan is a fictional character on the HBO prison drama, Oz, played by Malachy McCourt.Meehan was an ordained Catholic priest convicted for a violent disruption of a protest against Amicus Chemicals Corporation that he took part in. During the protest he assaulted a police officer...
, offers to help and riles up Sister Pete and some anti-death penalty activists to protest that sentencing a man in Cyril's mental state to death is cruel and unusual. Meanwhile, Ryan exacts revenge by getting the Latinos to injure Glen Shupe
Glen Shupe
Glen Shupe is a character at HBO drama Oz played by Joel West.-Character Overview:Prisoner 99S917,. Convicted on April 22, 1999 for manslaughter. Sentence of 15 years, up for parole in eight....
and manipulating the COs to kill Jia Kenmin
Jia Kenmin
Jia Kenmin is an Asian American inmate on the HBO drama Oz played by Michael Delmare.-Character overview:Prisoner 01J813. Convicted February 2, 2001 - Possession and distribution of a controlled substance...
. Cyril's trial does not go well and he is found guilty of murder in the first degree. When being transferred to Death Row, Cyril attacks Officer Len Lopresti
Len Lopresti
Len Lopresti is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz, played by Carl DiMaggio.-Character overview:A corrections cfficer in the prison, Lopresti is a mean-spirited, racist bully who terrorizes non-white inmates...
and is then sedated by three additional COs. After a long talk with Father Meehan, Ryan finally agrees to protest Cyril's death by any means necessary.
Season 6
In effort to overturn Cyril's death sentence Ryan, with the help of Sister Pete and Father Daniel MeehanDaniel Meehan
Father Daniel Meehan is a fictional character on the HBO prison drama, Oz, played by Malachy McCourt.Meehan was an ordained Catholic priest convicted for a violent disruption of a protest against Amicus Chemicals Corporation that he took part in. During the protest he assaulted a police officer...
, gets activist attorney Arnold Zelman to appeal his case. The appeals remonstrating the state's decision to kill a mentally handicapped person gather public support. In the meantime Sister Pete gives Cyril a hand puppet named Jericho whom Cyril speaks through with all his darker hidden thoughts. While speaking as Jericho, he uses his voice as it was before he became brain damaged rather than his present voice. In light of this disturbing behavior, Jericho is taken away from Cyril, who begins sobbing uncontrollably over the loss of his hand puppet. Cyril's crying angers Officer Lopresti
Len Lopresti
Len Lopresti is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz, played by Carl DiMaggio.-Character overview:A corrections cfficer in the prison, Lopresti is a mean-spirited, racist bully who terrorizes non-white inmates...
, the supervising officer on death row who, with the other COs, spray Cyril down with a fire hose to shut him up. In the meantime, Governor Devlin, in an attempt to make Cyril appear normal, orders Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
to be done to him. This angers Ryan, Suzanne, and others concerned with Cyril's well being but they have no legal means of stopping the ECT treatment. Meanwhile, the appeals of Cyril's death sentence are not having any success and though protests continue, his execution date moves closer and closer. Originally, Ryan stated a preference for lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
as the means of execution for Cyril but, after speaking with Dr. Nathan, Ryan concludes that it will be easier for Cyril to undergo the electric chair and he explains this to Cyril in terms of having one last "Special" ECT session. At this time their father Seamus arrives in Oz for killing a man in a fight.
As Cyril's execution approaches, Oz's prisoners, led by prisoner Jahfree Neema
Jahfree Neema
Jahfree Neema is a character at HBO drama Oz played by Peter Francis James.-Character Overview:Prisoner 03N679, Convicted Jan. 10, 2003 - Kidnapping, Assault. Sentence - Seven years, eligible for parole in three....
, begin a protest. At the hour of Cyril's execution, Neema leads every inmate in Em City to tap on their cells. In the death room, while Cyril is being prepared to be electrocuted, his last statement to Warden Glynn is "Huh?". Right before the execution occurs, a 30 day stay is put in effect as new evidence is found in Cyril's case. Ryan then explains to Cyril that his session has been delayed. He is allowed to spend time with his brother during the days remaining before his new execution. As Cyril's final appeal fails, he is executed (he finally figures out what's going on as he is sitting in the chair once the black hood comes down, screaming for his brother- his last words being; "Mom! What's happening? Ryan? Ryan!"); as new warden Martin Querns
Martin Querns
Warden Martin Querns is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz, played by Reg E. Cathey.-Character overview:He is an African American prison unit manager who has a vast experience of handling various prison units. He is hired by Warden Leo Glynn after he is asked to find a competent black unit...
watches, he throws up. After Cyril's death, Ryan and Seamus finally make peace.