Nathaniel Lahey, Sr.

"Get them all out of here! Get her out of here, too! Take your ho! Get the here on out of here! 'Cause I ain't signing nothing for no pig! Take your ho and get the here on out of here! I ain't signing a damn thing for you! I ain't signing nothing!"

—Nate Lahey, Sr. to Annalise and Nate.^[src]

Nathaniel Calvin^[1] Lahey, Sr., sometimes referred to as Senior, was a supporting character on How to Get Away with Murder. He was in prison for murder but signed to partake in Annalise's class action. Nate Sr was killed on orders of Xavier Castillo and Governor Lynne Birkhead to prove Annalise's class action would put dangerous criminals back on the street. Before his murder, prison guards Jim Wagner and Paula Gladden faked a violent tantrum on his behalf, making it look like he was still mentally ill.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

"He was in jail since I was a kid for drugs, stupid parole violations. We'd visit him every month, but Mom cut off contact after he beat another inmate to death. I was 15."

—Nate Lahey, Jr. to Annalise Keating^[src]

Before he went to jail, Nate met a girl and the two of them had a son which was named after him, Nate Lahey. After committing a crime involving drugs during 1983, Nate was appointed around 15 public defenders, each of them didn't represent him properly and ended in him pleading guilty for a crime which was never looked into properly and he got given additional time for him being black. During his time in prison, Nate was visited by his son every month until his son was 15 which was when his mother stopped him from coming. This was brought on after Nate, Sr. had beat an inmate to death. After doing time for his first charged crime, he came home from jail to a hefty bill from the court that he couldn’t pay, which automatically put him in a place of desperation where he would be forced to break parole. Worse — as a former boxer, he had a target on his back in prison as everyone wanted to see if they could take him. The man he murdered swung at him first and he snapped. This was after he’d been in solitary confinement for 12 months, which he thought had only been a month. Following this, he was put back in prison for violating his parole. ("He's a Bad Father", "Ask Him About Stella", "Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania")

Season 4[]

"Nate: "The guards will bring you in before court starts. It'll be crowded full gallery. Plus all the Justices and the clerks and You say that like you think I'm gonna flip out in there. I just want you to be prepared."
Nate, Sr.: "I've sit quiet for 30 years. I got this."

—Nate Lahey and Nate Lahey, Sr. talking about the hearing.^[src]

After being in solitary confinement, Nate Sr. is visited by his son. ("He's a Bad Father")

He was currently serving time for murder but had shoddy public defenders in the past amid questionable evidence. Visiting him in prison that night, Annalise and Nate learned he had been in solitary for years. They visited him because Annalise wanted him to be part of her class action lawsuit. He was suggested to her by Nate. Nate’s dad expressed surprise Annalise was interested in helping him. But he angrily told Nate, “You stopped being my son the moment you became a pig... a bench for the white man.” His outburst led him to be forcibly taken back to his cell. The next time, Nate went to see his dad again and they traded barbs, but Nate insisted his “brain is sick” thanks to “this place” and that he and Annalise could help him and others if he just signed on to the lawsuit. Nate then signed the document and handed it back to his son for him to give it to Annalise. ("He's a Bad Father")

Nate telling his father the bad news. ("Ask Him About Stella")

The following week, Annalise went to court with her class action but Annalise learned the case was being pulled from trial court in favor of written briefs to the State Supreme Court. She tried to fight it, arguing that her client was again being denied his day in court, but the judge went along with the state’s wishes. Nate broke the news to his dad in prison, insisting it wasn’t “bad,” and promised to have his father’s “back.” He wasn’t buying it. Later, Annalise wrote her written brief and presented it to the state supreme court. They voted to dismiss her case and the case ultimately ended. Nate not long after told his father they lost the case and his dad branded him a “liar.” Nate vowed to keep visiting him saying that he would not give up on him again, no matter how much his dad tried to push him away. ("Ask Him About Stella")

Nate Sr. at the Supreme Court ("Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania")

After Annalise pulled some strings in D.C., she managed to get her case reinstated and seen by the Supreme Court. Nate visited his father in prison and told him along with that he had permission to make the trip to the hearing. When Nate arrived in D.C., Olivia was disturbed to learn that their “face case” was the father of Annalise’s ex-boyfriend. On the day of the hearing, Nate prepared his father for his appearance by dressing him in a nice suit and then giving him a shave to make him look the part. With seconds to spare, Annalise made it to the plaintiff’s table during the hearing. In her statement, she argued Nate’s father was a victim of ineffective counsel in the criminal justice system and faced a battering of questions from the justices. As expected, Strickland gave her a hard time, pointing out that Nate’s father is a confessed killer. While this was going on, Annalise had her student gather a piece of evidence that would get Strickland on their side. Michaela and Marcus passed on information just in time. Annalise read Strickland’s own words from a 1995 case back to him to prove that race is a major factor in this matter. Annalise declared, questioning why money for prison owners was “more important than humanity” and “criminality is confused with mental health.” She demanded the Sixth Amendment be enforced for all as intended. Following the hearing, Nate along with the other plaintiffs await the verdict of the supreme court. ("Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania")

Following the case, the court eventually got back with a result and the justices' has voted in favor of the case and as a result, all of the cases involved in the class action lawsuit, including Nate's, were to be retried in court. ("Nobody Else Is Dying")

Season 5[]

A couple of months later, Annalise Keating and Nate Lahey visit him in prison. When entering, he gives Annalise a hug. Annalise then sits down and tells Nate, Sr that their plan for his trial is to use an insanity defense. Annalise informs him that the judge of the case is requesting proof of his mental competence, therefore, requiring him to be psychologically evaluated. Annalise hands Nate a list of questions that the psychiatrist could ask and reminds him that they will have to talk about the murder. Nate pushes the paper away from him and tells Annalise that he isn't trying to remember the past. His son tells him that he can handle it. With this positive reinforcement, Nate agrees and tells them that he just wants to get out of prison and on to his son's couch. Sometime later, Annalise and Nate return to the prison and Annalise runs Nate through a mock interview with her list of questions. Nate tells his story. Annalise then asks Nate about the murder, and what he did after, specifically why he asked one of the guards for a slice of cake with blood still on his hands. Flustered by why he would ever ask for something like that after he had just done, Nate has trouble coming to terms with his apparent mental state on the night of the murder. Annalise reminds him that this question will most likely determine his release. Later, Nate has his evaluation with the psychiatrist and tells her the story and that he didn't know that what he had done was wrong, referring to the murder. After, Nate is visited by his son. His son tells him that he won't be living with him after they win the trial, as he will be remanded to a psychiatric facility. Nate asks whether the facility would be better than prison to which his son tells him that it would. Nate then tells his son that he doesn't care as he can still see his son more often. ("It's Her Kid")

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During his transfer to the psychiatric facility, two of the guards shot Nate in the head, killing him while under the orders of Lynne Birkhead. The two guards then staged the crime scene to make it appear that Nate tried to attack them. Following an investigation, the investigators found that the death of Nate was justified. ("We Can Find Him", "I Got Played")

Murders Committed[]

Gerald Reinhoff: Beat him to death while in prison while mentally unstable due to being locked in solitary confinement for over a year. According to a report, after he killed Gerald, Nate asked the guard for some cake, apparently not realising what had just happened. ("Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania", "It's Her Kid")

Trivia[]

Nate had around 15 public defenders. ("Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania")

Appearances[]

Season 4
"I'm Going Away"	"I'm Not Her"	"It's for the Greater Good"	"Was She Ever Good at Her Job?"
"I Love Her"	"Stay Strong, Mama"	"Nobody Roots for Goliath"	"Live. Live. Live."
"He's Dead"	"Everything We Did Was For Nothing"	"He's a Bad Father"	"Ask Him About Stella"

"Lahey v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania"

"The Day Before He Died"

"Nobody Else Is Dying"

Season 5
"Your Funeral"	"Whose Blood Is That?"	"The Baby Was Never Dead"	"It's Her Kid"
"It Was the Worst Day of My Life"	"We Can Find Him"	"I Got Played"	"I Want to Love You Until the Day I Die"
"He Betrayed Us Both"	"Don't Go Dark on Me"	"Be the Martyr"	"We Know Everything"