James Robson
Encyclopedia
James Robson is a fictional character in the television series Oz
, portrayed by R.E. Rodgers. Originally, Robson was supposed to be on for one episode ("The Tip") and then never to be seen again. However, series creator Tom Fontana
was impressed by Rodgers, so Robson became a regular starting in from the third season to the final episode.
A sadistic racist, Robson is imprisoned for murdering a black man whom he saw walking home with his girlfriend. In Oz, Robson acts as Vernon Schillinger
's main lieutenant and is one of the most savage members of the Aryan Brotherhood
. He is highly regarded by Schillinger until a dentist tells Robson that he had implanted the gums of an African-American into Robson's mouth. Once word gets around, Schillinger casts Robson out of the Brotherhood even though Robson cuts the skin grafts out of his mouth. Without the protection of the Brotherhood Robson does whatever is necessary to survive, becoming Wolfgang Cutler
's sex slave
so that Cutler would protect him. Unknowingly, Robson contracts HIV
from Cutler. Along with Shirley Bellinger
and Moses Deyell
, Robson is never housed in Emerald City, and is the only one of the three to survive the series.
During His time in the series, Robson is the main enforcer of the Aryans and takes a sadistic pleasure in committing horrific acts of violence and sexual abuse against weaker inmates. He is often allowed to do such things due to the Aryans backing Him up. When his ties with the group are severed, he is revealed as weak and cowardly though still cunning at times. His time as Cutler's slave changed him and at the climax of the series he begins to feel a sense of remorse for his actions.
and Bob Rebadow
, since Emerald City had transferred all of its inmates over to his cellblock after the riot. The whole prison is now under lockdown until things settle down, but until then, the cellblock is overcrowded. Robson tries to force Beecher to perform oral sex
on him, but Beecher turns the tables on him by biting off the tip of his penis
.
, but unbeknownst to him, Cyril's older brother Ryan
had spiked Robson's drinking water with Chloral Hydrate
(stolen and smuggled from the prison hospital) to make sure Cyril wouldn't lose. Robson, incapacitated by the drug, loses the fight.
leader Jeremiah Cloutier
, Robson temporarily runs the Aryan Brotherhood's business, gradually becoming disillusioned with his former mentor. He is thrown into The Hole after getting in a fight over a joke that the Muslim
s overheard. Robson blames Muslim leader Kareem Said
, and forms an alliance with black inmate Leroy Tidd
, who also hated Said for killing his friend, Simon Adebisi
. The two plot to kill Said. Tidd pretends to convert to Islam
to get close to Said. However, when Tidd's conversion became genuine, he pulls out of the plan. Robson then bullies a younger inmate named Carl Jenkins
into killing Said by promising to initiate him into the Brotherhood, as well as threatening to sell him as a sex slave (i.e. a prag) to the Black inmates if he fails. Jenkins kills Tidd instead when Tidd protects Said, and is thrown into solitary confinement. Cloutier, on Said's behalf, approaches Jenkins and convinces him to give up Robson as the man who ordered the murder. Jenkins does so, but later commits suicide
for fear of the Aryans' retaliation. Since prison authorities have no testimony against Robson; he is released from solitary and cleared of the charge. He then enrages Said by taunting him about the deaths of Tidd and Jenkins. Said beats Robson unconscious, further escalating the war between the Aryans and the Muslims. By this time, Schillinger has resumed running the Brotherhood, much to Robson's relief. The war worsens when the Muslims protect Beecher, Schillinger's longtime enemy, when he comes up for parole
. When Robson and Schillinger taunt Beecher for losing his parole, Said shanks both of them. They both end up in the hospital with severe stab wounds and deepened rancor toward Beecher and Said.
, leader of the Sicilians, had his son Hank
killed, he goes after them, and Robson himself shanks Pancamo, putting him in the hospital. Later Peter Schibetta
makes an unsuccessful attempt on Schillinger's life, and is raped by Robson, Schillinger, and another nameless Aryan, who berate him with ethnic slurs and Schibetta's previous rape by Adebisi.
Soon afterward, two new white inmates, Franklin Winthrop and Adam Guenzel, arrive in Oz to serve time for raping a college girl. They are young and weak, and the Aryans used this weakness to their advantage. In Unit B, the Aryans save Winthrop from an overweight black inmate named Clarence Seroy
who tries to rape him — only to keep him as their sexual slave. After parading Winthrop in drag
, Robson tells Beecher he would rape Guenzel (a family friend). Beecher then enlists the Italians to protect Guenzel. In the gym, Robson tries to rape Guenzel, but Frank Urbano
defends him and puts Robson in the hospital. Schillinger manipulates Guenzel into turning against Beecher, who then retracts his protection. Robson then kills a young Muslim named Ahmad Lalar with the help of another Aryan inmate.
When Robson visits the infirmary, prison dentist Dr. Tariq Faraj
tells him that he has gum disease and needs new gums grafted from a cadaver
. Robson hurls racial slurs at the Pakistani dentist, but agrees to the surgery. After the surgery, however, Faraj takes revenge by telling Robson that his new gums are from a black man. Panicked, Robson asks Schillinger for advice, and Schillinger confers with the outside leader of the Aryan nations. The two leaders conclude that if in fact Robson received these gums then he is to be cast out of the gang, as he is no longer considered "pure". Faraj secretly pays black inmate Arnold "Poet" Jackson to spread the word about Robson's gums, which actually are those of a black man. In the cafeteria, Poet and Ryan O'Reilly, who hate Robson, announce to the entire prison population that Robson has "dirty ghetto gums." Furious, Robson demands to know whose gums were put in his mouth and attacks Faraj, who after hitting him in the mouth with a phone reveals he deliberately put in a black man's gums. The guards take him to the isolation ward. After he is released, the rest of the Aryans abandon him. Desperate to get back in, he buys heroine , or slang term " tits" to use as an anaesthetic in an attempt to personally remove his new gums with a razorblade. The heroine turns out to be woefully inadequate as a painkiller, with Robson being almost immediately overcome with severe pain and bringing guards to his cell with his loud screams. After being thrown in solitary, Robson is next seen with the gums fully attached.
, who agrees to protect Robson in return for Robson becoming his sex slave. After talking with Sister Pete, Robson reveals that he was raped by his father when he was six years old, and asks if it is acceptable to do "anything" to survive. Afterwards, Robson accepts Cutler's offer, who immediately sodomizes
him with a dessert spoon. Cutler then forces him to dress in drag
and perform bizarre sexual favors. In return, Cutler defends Robson (now his cellmate) from Pancamo. The Italians then offer Robson a deal: they would call a truce and become his allies if he kills Cutler. Robson persuades Cutler to try auto-erotic asphyxiation
and tells Sister Pete that Cutler is suicidal
. The next morning Cutler's body is found in his cell, hanging by a noose tied to the bunkbed. The authorities rule Cutler's death as a suicide.
Robson is allowed to re-enter the Brotherhood and now is free from both Cutler and the Italians, but his rape still haunts him. During a visit with his wife, he violently manhandles her to the point where she called him a "cocksucker." Angered, Robson assaults her and ends up in the hole. Remorseful, he goes to psychotherapy
sessions and a rape support group
. At the support group meeting, he learns from the other inmates, who all finish their stories of being violated with the phrase "I had no choice." He briefly recovers his equilibrium, but soon learns that he is HIV-positive. Department of Corrections standards mean that he is transferred to Unit F, the AIDS
ward. Before he goes, he thanks the support group for helping him through the trauma
and says that he initially blamed Cutler for his infection, but since he had unprotected sex before, he comes to claim the responsibility as his.
In the extended version of the finale "Exeunt Omnes", Robson is shown once again allowing himself to be raped by black inmate Clarence Seroy
(Robson knowing that Seroy will become infected). He then tells Schillinger that he will be transferred to the AIDS ward. As Seroy walks by them, he tells Schillinger that he raped Robson. Schillinger, disgusted that Robson would let a black man rape him, throws Robson out of the Brotherhood for good, with Robson stating that he doesn't care and that not all of the inmates living in the AIDS ward are gay
. Robson then tells Seroy to get tested because he might be HIV-positive. Angered, Seroy punches Robson before he is taken away by the COs. Robson then taunts a terrified Schillinger with his blood. He is later transferred out of Oz when the prison becomes contaminated by anthrax
; meanwhile, Seroy learns he has been infected with HIV after raping Robson.
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...
, portrayed by R.E. Rodgers. Originally, Robson was supposed to be on for one episode ("The Tip") and then never to be seen again. However, series creator Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana is an American writer and producer.-TV career:Fontana has been a writer/producer for such series as Oz , The Jury, The Beat, The Bedford Diaries, Homicide: Life on the Street, St...
was impressed by Rodgers, so Robson became a regular starting in from the third season to the final episode.
Character overview
Prisoner #97R492. Convicted November 7, 1997 - Murder in the first degree, assault. Sentence: Life imprisonment, eligible for parole in 25 years.A sadistic racist, Robson is imprisoned for murdering a black man whom he saw walking home with his girlfriend. In Oz, Robson acts as 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...
's main lieutenant and is one of the most savage 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...
. He is highly regarded by Schillinger until a dentist tells Robson that he had implanted the gums of an African-American into Robson's mouth. Once word gets around, Schillinger casts Robson out of the Brotherhood even though Robson cuts the skin grafts out of his mouth. Without the protection of the Brotherhood Robson does whatever is necessary to survive, becoming Wolfgang Cutler
Wolfgang Cutler
Wolfgang Cutler is a fictional character on the television show Oz, played by Brendan Kelly.-Character overview:Prisoner #02C773. Convicted February 20, 2003 - Murder in the first degree. Sentence: Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole....
's sex slave
Sexual slavery
Sexual slavery is when unwilling people are coerced into slavery for sexual exploitation. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO, with the cooperation of various international agencies...
so that Cutler would protect him. Unknowingly, Robson contracts HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
from Cutler. Along with Shirley Bellinger
Shirley Bellinger
Shirley Bellinger is a fictional character in the HBO series Oz played by Kathryn Erbe and also referenced in the related book OZ: Behind These Walls: The Journal of Augustus Hill.-Character overview:...
and Moses Deyell
Moses Deyell
Moses Deyell is a character in HBO's 1997-2003 drama Oz played by Erik King. Deyell appeared in episodes from 2000 to 2001."Prisoner 00D718. Convicted February 3, 2000 - Two counts of murder in the first degree...
, Robson is never housed in Emerald City, and is the only one of the three to survive the series.
During His time in the series, Robson is the main enforcer of the Aryans and takes a sadistic pleasure in committing horrific acts of violence and sexual abuse against weaker inmates. He is often allowed to do such things due to the Aryans backing Him up. When his ties with the group are severed, he is revealed as weak and cowardly though still cunning at times. His time as Cutler's slave changed him and at the climax of the series he begins to feel a sense of remorse for his actions.
Season 2
In 1997, Robson is forced to bunk with his current cellmate, Peter Vinyard as well as Tobias BeecherTobias 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...
and 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:...
, since Emerald City had transferred all of its inmates over to his cellblock after the riot. The whole prison is now under lockdown until things settle down, but until then, the cellblock is overcrowded. Robson tries to force Beecher to perform oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
on him, but Beecher turns the tables on him by biting off the tip of his penis
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
.
Season 3
Robson reappears, this time as a full-fledged member of the Aryan Brotherhood inside of Oz. He serves little purpose in season 3 other than following Schillinger's schemes and encouraging him to do whatever he needs to do to maintain the power of the Brotherhood. He also participates in Oz's boxing tournament, as the Aryans' representative. He faced Cyril O'ReilyCyril O'Reily
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 , p. 58.-Character overview:...
, but unbeknownst to him, Cyril's older brother 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,...
had spiked Robson's drinking water with Chloral Hydrate
Chloral hydrate
Chloral hydrate is a sedative and hypnotic drug as well as a chemical reagent and precursor. The name chloral hydrate indicates that it is formed from chloral by the addition of one molecule of water. Its chemical formula is C2H3Cl3O2....
(stolen and smuggled from the prison hospital) to make sure Cyril wouldn't lose. Robson, incapacitated by the drug, loses the fight.
Season 4
For the first half of the season, Robson is mainly seen as a supporter of Schillinger and the rest of his Aryan brothers, aiding in whatever plot he could. In the latter half, however, he slowly evolves into a more significant character. When Schillinger begins to spend more time with ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
leader Jeremiah Cloutier
Jeremiah Cloutier
Reverend Jeremiah Cloutier is a fictional character on the HBO prison drama Oz, portrayed by Luke Perry.-Character overview:Prisoner #00C966. Convicted December 27, 2000 - Embezzlement and petty larceny. Sentence: nine years, up for parole in five....
, Robson temporarily runs the Aryan Brotherhood's business, gradually becoming disillusioned with his former mentor. He is thrown into The Hole after getting in a fight over a joke that the 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...
s overheard. Robson blames 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...
, and forms an alliance with black inmate 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...
, who also hated Said for killing his friend, 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 two plot to kill Said. Tidd pretends to convert to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
to get close to Said. However, when Tidd's conversion became genuine, he pulls out of the plan. Robson then bullies a younger inmate named Carl Jenkins
Carl Jenkins (Oz)
Carl Jenkins, played by Joshua Harto, is an inmate on the HBO drama Oz.-Season 4 Part II:A young white inmate, he is told that he will be let into the Aryan Brotherhood by his current protector James Robson if he kills Muslim inmate Kareem Said. Robson also tells him that if he fails, the Aryans...
into killing Said by promising to initiate him into the Brotherhood, as well as threatening to sell him as a sex slave (i.e. a prag) to the Black inmates if he fails. Jenkins kills Tidd instead when Tidd protects Said, and is thrown into solitary confinement. Cloutier, on Said's behalf, approaches Jenkins and convinces him to give up Robson as the man who ordered the murder. Jenkins does so, but later commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
for fear of the Aryans' retaliation. Since prison authorities have no testimony against Robson; he is released from solitary and cleared of the charge. He then enrages Said by taunting him about the deaths of Tidd and Jenkins. Said beats Robson unconscious, further escalating the war between the Aryans and the Muslims. By this time, Schillinger has resumed running the Brotherhood, much to Robson's relief. The war worsens when the Muslims protect Beecher, Schillinger's longtime enemy, when he comes up for 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...
. When Robson and Schillinger taunt Beecher for losing his parole, Said shanks both of them. They both end up in the hospital with severe stab wounds and deepened rancor toward Beecher and Said.
Season 5
Both Robson and Schillinger return to Oz after recovering from their wounds, ready to take revenge. The war is put on hold, however, when Schillinger participates in interaction sessions with Said, Beecher, and Sister Peter Marie to help prevent more violence. When Schillinger finds out that Chucky PancamoChucky 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....
, leader of the Sicilians, had his son Hank
Hank Schillinger
Henry "Hank" Schillinger, played by Andrew Barchilon, is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz.-Character overview:His father Vern Schillinger is an inmate who runs the Aryan Brotherhood within Oz. An amoral drug addict, Hank, like his younger brother Andrew, has been raised on white...
killed, he goes after them, and Robson himself shanks Pancamo, putting him in the hospital. Later Peter Schibetta
Peter Schibetta
Peter Schibetta is a fictional character on the HBO series Oz, portrayed by Eddie Malavarca.-Character overview:Prisoner #98S112. Convicted May 19, 1998 - Five counts of extortion: money laundering. Sentence: 35 years, eligible for parole in 20....
makes an unsuccessful attempt on Schillinger's life, and is raped by Robson, Schillinger, and another nameless Aryan, who berate him with ethnic slurs and Schibetta's previous rape by Adebisi.
Soon afterward, two new white inmates, Franklin Winthrop and Adam Guenzel, arrive in Oz to serve time for raping a college girl. They are young and weak, and the Aryans used this weakness to their advantage. In Unit B, the Aryans save Winthrop from an overweight black inmate named Clarence Seroy
Clarence Seroy
Clarence Seroy is a fictional character played by Emmanuel Yarborough on the HBO drama Oz.Prisoner #02S243. Convicted March 24, 2002 - 40 counts of arson in the first degree...
who tries to rape him — only to keep him as their sexual slave. After parading Winthrop in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
, Robson tells Beecher he would rape Guenzel (a family friend). Beecher then enlists the Italians to protect Guenzel. In the gym, Robson tries to rape Guenzel, but 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...
defends him and puts Robson in the hospital. Schillinger manipulates Guenzel into turning against Beecher, who then retracts his protection. Robson then kills a young Muslim named Ahmad Lalar with the help of another Aryan inmate.
When Robson visits the infirmary, prison dentist Dr. Tariq Faraj
Dr. Tariq Faraj
Dr. Tariq Faraj is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz played by Aasif Mandvi.-Season 5:Of Pakistani origin, he is hired as Oz's dentist after Dr. Kochurn leaves. He appears in Season 5 when Aryan Brotherhood member James Robson needs a dental check up...
tells him that he has gum disease and needs new gums grafted from a cadaver
Cadaver
A cadaver is a dead human body.Cadaver may also refer to:* Cadaver tomb, tomb featuring an effigy in the form of a decomposing body* Cadaver , a video game* cadaver A command-line WebDAV client for Unix....
. Robson hurls racial slurs at the Pakistani dentist, but agrees to the surgery. After the surgery, however, Faraj takes revenge by telling Robson that his new gums are from a black man. Panicked, Robson asks Schillinger for advice, and Schillinger confers with the outside leader of the Aryan nations. The two leaders conclude that if in fact Robson received these gums then he is to be cast out of the gang, as he is no longer considered "pure". Faraj secretly pays black inmate Arnold "Poet" Jackson to spread the word about Robson's gums, which actually are those of a black man. In the cafeteria, Poet and Ryan O'Reilly, who hate Robson, announce to the entire prison population that Robson has "dirty ghetto gums." Furious, Robson demands to know whose gums were put in his mouth and attacks Faraj, who after hitting him in the mouth with a phone reveals he deliberately put in a black man's gums. The guards take him to the isolation ward. After he is released, the rest of the Aryans abandon him. Desperate to get back in, he buys heroine , or slang term " tits" to use as an anaesthetic in an attempt to personally remove his new gums with a razorblade. The heroine turns out to be woefully inadequate as a painkiller, with Robson being almost immediately overcome with severe pain and bringing guards to his cell with his loud screams. After being thrown in solitary, Robson is next seen with the gums fully attached.
Season 6
In the final season of Oz, Pancamo recovers from the shank wound Robson gave him and is released from the infirmary. With no allies to back him up, Robson now faces a grave threat from Pancamo's Italians. He asks for protection from the Aryans, who refuse, except for Wolfgang CutlerWolfgang Cutler
Wolfgang Cutler is a fictional character on the television show Oz, played by Brendan Kelly.-Character overview:Prisoner #02C773. Convicted February 20, 2003 - Murder in the first degree. Sentence: Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole....
, who agrees to protect Robson in return for Robson becoming his sex slave. After talking with Sister Pete, Robson reveals that he was raped by his father when he was six years old, and asks if it is acceptable to do "anything" to survive. Afterwards, Robson accepts Cutler's offer, who immediately sodomizes
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
him with a dessert spoon. Cutler then forces him to dress in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
and perform bizarre sexual favors. In return, Cutler defends Robson (now his cellmate) from Pancamo. The Italians then offer Robson a deal: they would call a truce and become his allies if he kills Cutler. Robson persuades Cutler to try auto-erotic asphyxiation
Erotic asphyxiation
Erotic asphyxiation or breath control play is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for sexual arousal. The sexual preference for that behavior is variously called asphyxiophilia, autoerotic asphyxia, hypoxyphilia. Colloquially, a person engaging in the activity is sometimes called a...
and tells Sister Pete that Cutler is suicidal
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. The next morning Cutler's body is found in his cell, hanging by a noose tied to the bunkbed. The authorities rule Cutler's death as a suicide.
Robson is allowed to re-enter the Brotherhood and now is free from both Cutler and the Italians, but his rape still haunts him. During a visit with his wife, he violently manhandles her to the point where she called him a "cocksucker." Angered, Robson assaults her and ends up in the hole. Remorseful, he goes to psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
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...
sessions and a rape support group
Support group
In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic...
. At the support group meeting, he learns from the other inmates, who all finish their stories of being violated with the phrase "I had no choice." He briefly recovers his equilibrium, but soon learns that he is HIV-positive. Department of Corrections standards mean that he is transferred to Unit F, the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
ward. Before he goes, he thanks the support group for helping him through the trauma
Psychological trauma
Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event...
and says that he initially blamed Cutler for his infection, but since he had unprotected sex before, he comes to claim the responsibility as his.
In the extended version of the finale "Exeunt Omnes", Robson is shown once again allowing himself to be raped by black inmate Clarence Seroy
Clarence Seroy
Clarence Seroy is a fictional character played by Emmanuel Yarborough on the HBO drama Oz.Prisoner #02S243. Convicted March 24, 2002 - 40 counts of arson in the first degree...
(Robson knowing that Seroy will become infected). He then tells Schillinger that he will be transferred to the AIDS ward. As Seroy walks by them, he tells Schillinger that he raped Robson. Schillinger, disgusted that Robson would let a black man rape him, throws Robson out of the Brotherhood for good, with Robson stating that he doesn't care and that not all of the inmates living in the AIDS ward are gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
. Robson then tells Seroy to get tested because he might be HIV-positive. Angered, Seroy punches Robson before he is taken away by the COs. Robson then taunts a terrified Schillinger with his blood. He is later transferred out of Oz when the prison becomes contaminated by anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
; meanwhile, Seroy learns he has been infected with HIV after raping Robson.