The link in the OP is to an interview with Vince Gilligan in which he points out that Jesse’s fingerprints are all over that meth lab and he could be connected to the deaths of Hank and Steven Gomez (and I believe his prints are already in the system). You might imagine that the authorities didn’t bother to check for prints, because they assumed that Walter White and the dead neo-Nazis were the only ones who worked in that lab. On the other hand, they might also notice evidence of someone leaving the compound in a big hurry (the gates were broken out). So they might want to investigate who that was.
Would prints on location be enough to convict him of anything?
Perhaps not convict him but I’m sure that the DEA and local police would like to know why his fingerprints are all over a neo-Nazi meth lab.
If Jesse is caught and cooperates fully , it all comes down to whether he can convince them he’s telling the truth or not. But there would be quite a lot of evidence to back his story up.
• The chain and pulley system and the cage in the meth lab would both have plenty of his DNA and prints so he could prove he was held captive and was not cooking willingly.
• The fact that the neo nazis killed Hank and Gomez can be backed up by ballistics evidence, and conveniently the police now have all the Neo Nazis guns to match up to the shells they found in the desert.
• The fact that Andrea, his former lover was killed by the neo nazis to punish him for an escape attempt can also presumably be backed up by ballistics and is further evidence that he wasn’t working for them willingly.
• Marie could confirm that Jesse was cooperating with Hank to attempt to catch Walter White.
• Hanks phone records, eg the picture of the barrel of money that he sent to Walter White would match Jesse’s story and give the plausible explanation of why he was in the desert when Hank and Gomez were killed.
• Jesses confession tape may have been destroyed, but some of Hank’s notes into his private investigation of Walter White might have survived, which would further confirm Jesses story.
If Jesse breaks down and confesses everything, which I think is quite likely, then I can see him being charged with Gail’s murder. I’d like to think that his confession and full cooperation gets him a reduced sentence 5-10 years and he then goes and lives in Alaska somewhere.
That’s President Pinkman to you.
Ah, I forgot about Todd’s killing of Drew. That qualifies him as guilty of felony murder for being part of the crime where an innocent was killed. Guess he’ll be staying in jail longer.
Jesse plainly wants to be punished for what he’s done. Part of me suspects that he never tried to escape to Alaska but directly went and turned himself in after the events of the last episode.
Still I’d hope he eventually gets out, finally feels that he’s paid for his sins, and has some peace the rest of his life.
Brock is staying with his grandmother and he’s better off there. I think even Jesse would acknowledge that, and with a shot at freedom I don’t think Jesse would add kidnapping to his list of crimes. And Ed the Relocator is no longer an option since Jesse already blew his chance with him and has no way to contact him without Saul.
Jesse did a lot of awful things in the series, but unlike Walt, he was aware of that and felt remorse, even for the things he was manipulated into doing. He chose to get out a while ago, and at this stage I’d feel comfortable saying he’s repaid his debt. Not in the legal sense, of course, but in the moral sense: he took countless beatings, experienced the deaths of two women he loved, and spent months trapped with the Nazis. He lost the life he’d made for himself, bad as it was. This stuff will always weigh on his conscience, but then again, he has a conscience. I’d like to think that the end of the series showed us that he still has some life left in him. I think Vince Gilligan said Jesse is a leader who believes he’s a follower, and maybe after finding his freedom he discovers that. Becoming a chemistry teacher might be a little too much to ask, but a bush pilot, a dad with an interest in woodworking and chemistry, and someone who helps other people stay sober? That might be achievable.
I’m not sure how interested the DEA would be in Jesse at the end of the series. On the one hand, yes, his fingerprints would be on the chains Todd was strangled with and he has links to the killings of Hank and Gomie. On the other, I think there’s more than enough evidence to show those killings were perpetrated by the neo-Nazis who happen to be piled up nice and neat and dead in the rumpus room of their compound. Oh, and Heisenberg is there, too, having taken out his own business partners. I think the government might be satisfied that this case is wrapped up and everybody involved is toast. Jesse’s just a loose end. He probably doesn’t have any money, but if he’s alive he might have the resourcefulness to start over.