'MENTAL ILLNESS IS THE CRIMINAL, NOT EARL NASH': Actor who played Omar on 'The Wire' says health, prison system are to blame for his acting idol's Bronx sex attack

'MENTAL ILLNESS IS THE CRIMINAL, NOT EARL NASH': Actor who played Omar on 'The Wire' says health, prison system are to blame for his acting idol's Bronx sex attack : Speed News US

 Earl Nash, for 20 increasingly troubled years before his death on the wrong end of a tire iron, desperately needed help that never came.

Untreated mental illness shattered the mind of a young man regarded as a brilliant actor, model and athlete long before his brutal demise, recalled longtime friend Michael K. Williams, who starred in “The Wire.”

“Mental illness is the criminal here, not Earl Nash,” Williams told the Daily News. “He was a victim, too. He had a severe mental illness, and he did not have the proper treatment. Over and over, he was sent instead to jail.”

The Brooklyn-born Williams, who played the righteous stickup man Omar on HBO’s “The Wire,” recalled working opposite Nash in a National Black Theatre production, “Endangered Species,” two decades ago.

Bronx man fatally beats would-be rapist who attacked his wife

Nash was a Howard University student and aspiring actor when the two men first met.

“This man had all the promise in the world, and he’s the reason I got into acting,” recalled Williams. “He called me to the Bronx, wanted me to run lines with him.

“His knowledge of the craft, the way he transformed into the character right before my eyes — I had never seen anything more beautiful or fascinating.”

Williams, 49, said Nash’s woes began at age 22 with the death of his mother, sending him into a schizophrenic spiral that started with his arrest for trying to steal a car while wearing only his boxer shorts.

Nash returned home in worse shape than when he went in, with several of his teeth knocked out while behind bars on Rikers Island. Nash was eventually arrested 19 times, and was released from prison in July after a nine-year sentence for bribery and drug possession.

“The addicts belong in drug treatment,” said Williams. “And the mentally ill belong in a hospital, not in jail.”

The other Earl Nash, 43, died May 30, beaten to death with a tire iron by the husband of a woman Nash tried to rape, police said.

Mamadou Diallo, 61, was charged with assault after rushing to the aid of his wife. Cops said Nash banged on the Diallos’ Bronx apartment door, forced his way inside and tried to rape Nenegale Diallo.

“We are horrified and ashamed at what happened to Mrs. Diallo,” said Williams. “Earl was unmedicated when he attacked Mrs. Diallo.”

Jury should side with Bronx man who killed rapist in self-defense

Nash called Williams almost daily, and the two spoke just days before the tire iron beating. Williams said he could tell by the sound of his friend’s voice whether Nash was taking his prescriptions — or self-medicating with alcohol and street drugs.

Williams was shooting on location in Vancouver when his phone rang May 31. When he saw the number of Nash’s uncle appear, “I already knew,” said Williams. “My stomach started to drop.”

The details were worse than the actor could have imagined.

“My boy didn’t deserve to go out like that,” said Williams. “Hell, no, he didn’t deserve that. But he’s at peace now. He’s with his mother.”

Mamadou Diallo, who couldn’t be reached Tuesday, said after the violent clash he was defending himself and his wife.

“I don’t want to be a hero,” said Diallo, a cab driver. “I don’t want to be a killer.”
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