Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 11, Episode 2 - Turnstile Justice - full transcript
A woman is killed by a homeless man. Later the man is caught and sent to prison. The woman's ex-husband thinks they should look into how the man who is clearly deranged, was allowed out. McCoy looks into it and learns the man was incarcerated and his condition was known but why was he released. McCoy learns that an HMO who runs the prison health care system chooses not to treat inmates who need expensive treatments. So McCoy decides to go after them.
NARRATOR:
In the criminal justice system
the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups,
the police
who investigate crime
and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
(MALE ANNOUNCER
CHATTERING OVER PA)
Excuse me. Excuse me,
officers, there's
a homeless woman...
There's a homeless woman
at the end of the platform,
she's being eyed by some men
and I'm concerned
that she's vulnerable.
What do you mean vulnerable?
I mean she's asleep on the
bench and she's vulnerable.
All right, lady, calm down. Show
us what you're talkin' about.
What are you lookin' at?
Come on, dear.
Rise and shine.
Hold on a minute.
Oh, dear God.
How come they call the squad for
a DOA on a subway platform?
Maybe it's a person
of great renown.
Maybe they thought we didn't
have anything else to do.
Come on, folks, let's go.
You two the ones
found the body?
Yeah.
Anybody see how it happened?
Not so far.
Cause of death?
Paramedic's best guess
is a cerebral hemorrhage.
There's an abrasion
on her scalp,
maybe from a fall, maybe not.
He figures she's been
dead about two hours.
Not much blood.
You got an ID?
M.E. gave us the green
light to tag and bag.
All I found were house keys, a
MetroCard and some kinda receipt.
No purse?
If she had one, it's gone.
ED: Well-dressed,
nails done,
she puts in
an honest day's work
and waits for the downtown
local to go home.
Yeah.
She caught the express.
Single blunt force trauma
to the vertex of the skull.
You know, it's hard to fall
on the top of your head.
The hemorrhage was
at the point of impact.
M.E. have any idea
what was used?
No. They found
particles of cement
and asphalt in her scalp.
You mean, like one of
those paving stones?
Hey, they were workin'
on the station.
That's what was laying around.
Looks like a hit-and-run.
ED: All right. Thanks.
No one's filed a report
with missing persons
fitting her description.
Which could mean
she was from out of town.
Oh, that's just what we need.
Female tourist beaten
to death on the subway.
Nah, she was dressed more like a
business woman than a tourist.
MetroCard ride history.
Thanks. Let's see.
Repeated evening entries at the
station where the body was found.
Corresponding morning entries
at Franklin Street.
So not a tourist.
We'll canvas with the photo,
see if somebody
can tell us who she is.
Sorry.
Her MetroCard indicates
that she came through here
Tuesday morning.
Sorry.
Nothin' about her jumps out?
Sorry.
Is this the only entrance?
For uptown service.
Downtown, you have to
go across the street.
I know, you're sorry
Excuse me, sir,
you here every day?
Rain or shine, boss.
Do you recognize this woman?
She don't look so good.
Well, you'll have to
forgive her. She's dead.
Take a look.
(EXHALES) If she's the lady
I'm thinkin',
she's a Wall Street Journal,
a Times, New Yorker, Advocate.
Advocate?
A gay monthly.
You notice which way
she comes from?
From 'cross the street.
And if she's the same lady,
she always had a cup of coffee.
Thank you.
Two?
We're tryin' to put a name
to this woman's face.
We wanna know if she gets
her morning coffee here.
Sheila does
the take-out.
Sheila! Sheila!
Come here a second.
These police are
lookin' for this broad.
ED: We actually want to know
if somebody recognizes her.
Yeah, I know her.
Comes in every morning
for coffee.
I haven't seen her
in a few days.
You know her name?
No.
What happened to her?
BRISCOE: Do you know
if she lived around here?
You're not gonna
tell me what happened?
She died.
Yeah, well, you can tell
that from the picture.
Another person I know gone.
And this one had kids.
How do you know that?
Every other week she's
in here with new pictures
that she just picked up
from next door.
BRISCOE: Thanks.
Yeah.
Maybe ours, maybe not ours.
What if somebody doesn't
pick 'em up right away?
In here.
It's dated two weeks ago.
The name on it's Donnatelli.
Is there a first name
or an account number?
Only last name.
Oh, it's her.
There's a number six
on the building.
We're gonna need these.
$12.41.
I should pay?
VAN BUREN: How we makin' out?
BRISCOE: There's 17 Donnatellis
listed in the book.
None of them with an address
in that neighborhood.
Well, I don't care if we have to
try her house keys door-to-door,
when the Post runs that
picture on the front page,
we're gonna have a suspect.
Well, apparently she takes an
interest in gay periodicals.
If that's significant.
Hey, there's
Stephanie Donnatelli.
611 West 18th Street.
Hey, there's the six
in the photograph.
ED: DMV faxed us
drivers license photos
of every female
Donnatelli over 21.
Hmm. If she lives
on West 18th Street,
why does she get
the subway at Franklin?
Good question.
Maybe we should see who
else lives at this address.
(DOORBELL BUZZES)
MAN: Yes?
New York City detectives.
Is this the home of
Stephanie Donnatelli?
PAUL: It's the home of her
children and her ex-husband.
Why?
(STAMMERS) May we come up?
(DOORBELL BUZZES)
I wondered why
I hadn't heard from her.
She was supposed to take
the kids to a matinée.
ED: You didn't call?
I figured she forgot.
Even though it's not
like her to forget,
and I was pissed and surprised.
I figured she had
a lot going on at work.
I didn't want to
make a whole thing of it.
I should have called.
Steph never would've forgotten
something involving the kids.
Where did she work?
She was a book editor
at Arcade Publishing.
They're at 23rd & Broadway.
That's a block away
from the subway.
Look, I know that
this is a lousy time
to ask questions like this
but we have to know who might
have known your ex-wife.
Now, can you tell us anything
about her private affairs?
You mean like her sex life?
Anything at all.
At the age of 30 Stephanie came
to the conclusion she was gay.
She still loved me, I still
loved her, she adored her kids.
We just needed to stop living
together as husband and wife.
Was she involved with anyone?
She hasn't been
for a long time.
This last month or so she's called
me up on the phone at night
and we've talked and talked.
And she's told me how... How
lonely she is. (CRYING)
We're really sorry
for your loss.
(SOBBING) Thank you.
Can you think of anything
she might've had with her?
Jewelry, a watch,
an address book?
She had
one of those funny watches,
a Swatch watch, I think it is,
with Winnie the Pooh on it.
She had different pins,
different bracelets,
there wasn't one
that she wore all the time.
(STUTTERS)
There was a cross
that my mother gave her.
A little gold cross
that she did wear all the time.
Yeah. We showed the
photograph around some bars
near where she lived,
no one recognized her
and the ex-husband says
that wasn't her scene.
So some nutcase goes after a
woman with a paving stone.
It's the Konchalavsky
woman all over again.
That guy went away, right?
It's a copycat.
Right. Thanks.
Well, apparently even though
she's dead her credit isn't.
Somebody used her
American Express card.
You don't check IDs?
Well, it's the cashier's
responsibility to do that.
I don't know what happened
in this particular instance.
The transaction record says the
credit approval came in at 11:43.
MANAGER: Okay.
Fast-forwarding.
I take it those persons don't have
authorization to use that credit card?
Ooh, you're good.
I'll make a copy of the tape.
No. We'll make a copy.
We're sure the cashier
didn't know them?
We talked to her on the way out.
She said no.
Well, when you do
find the girls,
I want you to add a charge
of felony bad taste.
Wearing white after Labor Day.
Someone just used
the card again.
Movie theater,
107th & Broadway.
(ALL CHATTERING)
How was the movie, ladies?
Do I know you?
No, but I know you.
You're both under arrest for
possession of stolen property.
ED: Let's go.
I found that card.
Sure. And it just happened to be in the
pocket of the woman it belonged to.
(CLICKS TONGUE) Please.
Let me break it down
for you, sweetheart.
That card belonged to a
woman who is now dead.
She was murdered
on her way home from work.
Hold up. We don't know
nothing about that.
Possession of a stolen
credit card's a felony.
If you didn't commit
the murder yourselves,
you're at least an
accessory after the fact.
Book 'em on that
and take 'em up to Central.
Hold up! Wait a minute!
We didn't have...
We have no choice.
They're just messin' with us.
ED: You think?
(KNOCKING ON GLASS)
What time's the next wagon
leave for Central booking?
In about 15 minutes.
Add these two to the list.
Wait a minute.
Wait. Hold up.
Darlene, don't you say nothin'.
Look, I can't be gettin'
put through this!
I gotta be graduatin' junior college,
I can't be gettin' put though this!
Who gave you the card?
Don't you say nothin', Darlene!
Trey Wiles gave us that card.
BRISCOE: Who's Trey Wiles?
Her boyfriend.
And he works in shipping on
Seventh Avenue and 39th Street.
She's a spiteful bitch! She know Trey
ain't had nothin' to do with this!
You still gonna
put us on that wagon?
MAN: Keep it comin'.
Trey Wiles?
Yeah?
Put your hands
behind your back, bro.
Hey, what's up with this?
Some questions came up
about your credit rating.
Yeah, we want to find out if
you're eligible for the gold card.
Yeah. Come on, man. My boss finds out
about this, I'm gonna lose my job.
Oh, you got bigger
troubles than that, kid.
The American Express
card you gave Shantay
belonged to a woman
who was murdered.
For real?
Where'd you get it?
Hey, look, man, don't know
nothin' about no murder, man.
Okay, here's the deal, Trey.
If I have to put your ass
in the back of this car,
and drive down to the precinct,
you're goin' upstate.
So, you tell us
who gave you the card
and you just had a bad day
and you're home by supper.
All right. I'll tell you
where I got it.
I bought it.
From who?
Street dude.
Street dude?
What's his name?
Raffi somethin' or somethin' Raffi, man.
I don't know.
He's a homeless dude.
He lives in the shelter on 127.
Comes around here
every now and then.
Sells stuff.
That's all, man.
You better hope
he's sleepin' in today.
Nah. He's under me. I'm the
chief administrator here.
We're lookin' for a certain
guest of this establishment.
A Raffi somethin'?
Raffi Lorraine?
Well, how many
Raff I's you got?
Ten beds back on the left.
Raffi Lorraine?
Come on, man,
it ain't time yet.
Early check out today.
Come on.
What did I do?
ED: This your stuff?
Yeah.
You wanna take it with you?
Where am I goin'?
You're comin'
for a ride with us,
you wanna take it
with you or not?
If I don't, it won't be
here when I get back.
ED: You mind
if I take a look?
There's no weapons or anything?
Anything that might hurt me?
No.
This yours?
Yes, sir.
BRISCOE: Buttons from
the wrong side, chief.
I'm not picky
about such matters.
ED: Where'd you find it?
Garbage can.
Now why would somebody throw away
a beautiful coat like this, huh?
RAFFI: People with money get tired
of their clothes sometimes.
They get tired of
their gold crosses, too?
Token clerk tells us
you're a regular, Raffi.
Yeah. And you're a real pain in
the ass to all the passengers.
I don't bother nobody!
The woman that cross belonged
to was beaten to death.
Do you understand?
I didn't do that.
Hey, we got you
on the subway platform
and we got you with
the victim's possessions.
Now you have somethin' to say? Because
the train's about to leave the station.
I saw who killed her.
BRISCOE: You sure
it wasn't you?
He was a black guy.
Maybe 30, 40. One of them
buggy guys goes off on you.
Yeah? What did you see
this buggy guy do?
He was walkin' around,
talkin' to himself.
(IMITATES MUMBLING)
Walkin' one end of the
platform to the other.
The train comes in, people
get on, except for that guy.
And you.
I'm workin' that platform.
I got garbage to go through.
Okay. What did you see?
This gal comes
through the turnstile,
stood near where the guy was,
and all of a sudden
he hits her with a rock!
She walks a little ways
away from him.
She grabs her head,
drops down to a bench
and he walks over and he grabs
her eye glasses off her
and then he walks
right out of the station.
And you robbed whatever
you could off the body.
That is what I did.
I'm not proud of myself for doin'
it but that is all that I did!
He knew about the paving stone.
Which doesn't guarantee him not
being the one who used it.
His rap sheet's
petty thefts and drugs.
I think he's tellin' the truth.
Okay. Well, why don't you run
down this buggy black guy story.
There was an EDP in the vicinity,
maybe there was a complaint.
Officer Carlson?
Yeah.
Detectives Green, Briscoe.
Sarge told me you'd be comin' around.
What's up?
A few days ago you responded
to an EDP in the subway.
Yeah. Guy took a leak
on the platform,
female passenger
took exception.
No collar?
Would've just been a summons.
Why, what happened?
You think you could ID him?
What did he do?
BRISCOE: We're lookin
at him for a homicide.
I don't believe it.
Did you get a name?
He wouldn't give us a name.
We tried to take him to a
shelter but he refused.
Manager of an S.R.O. on
Eighth Avenue owes me a favor,
took him over there.
(KNOCKING)
Somebody's in there.
New York City Police Department.
Open up.
Got a key?
It's okay, it's okay.
Take it easy.
All right. Come on. We're
gonna get you up now.
Need to take you outta here.
Where you takin' me?
To the police department.
We need to talk to you.
I need to finish
what I'm doing.
Oh, you'll have plenty
of time, don't worry.
Where is he?
Interrogation room.
He's refusing
to be fingerprinted.
I figured we didn't want to force
the issue, have him lawyer up.
Okay. Thanks.
You're welcome.
Sir, my name
is Abby Carmichael.
I'm an Assistant
District Attorney.
I understand there's some problem
with you letting us fingerprint you.
Sir?
(SCREAMS)
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
What ya doin'?
He does that every so often.
I need to go outside.
Okay. Sure.
But before you do, I want to
talk to you for a little while.
Is that all right?
The air in here is bad.
I need to go outside.
Can you tell me
where you got your glasses?
I needed 'em.
I couldn't see
who was talkin' to me.
Did you take them from
the woman on the subway?
I couldn't see who was talkin'
to me so that's why I took 'em.
Now I need to go outside.
Before I can let you go outside
I need to know who you are.
I'm Regis Philbin.
Is that your final answer?
Okay.
How about this?
You let us fingerprint you.
When the prints come back, they'll
confirm you're Regis Philbin
and then everyone will know.
How's that sound?
Brian Gallant.
Three misdemeanor convictions,
all involving some violence.
He got out of
Riker's a week ago.
Tell me he didn't get bail.
Court remanded him at his
arraignment for a 730 exam.
Is he competent?
Assuming Regis Philbin and all the
other nutsy stuff isn't an act,
I'd say borderline.
This also may not be the first
attack he's responsible for.
And do you remember the attack on
that Konchalavsky woman last year?
Don't tell me.
Confessed,
matches the composite.
(SIGHS) Okay.
I don't want to rely on the civil
commitment to keep him off the streets.
Find out who's doing
his evaluation.
Make sure we talk to them
before they write their report.
Got it.
Then let's talk to his lawyer.
Okay.
You have no forensics
linking him to the crime.
He was in possession of
the victim's eye glasses.
Somebody else
had the victim's coat.
Somebody else had
the victim's credit card.
We also have a witness.
A homeless drug addict with a
criminal record from here to Bayonne.
Mr. Gallant made admissions
to two separate attacks.
Counselors, we all know he wasn't
competent to waive counsel.
The psychiatrist
thinks he is competent.
Sure, they shovel medication
into him, he's competent.
He killed the mother
of two children.
Doesn't that enter
into this for you?
What are you looking for?
Manslaughter first degree.
Because that's what you think
he's guilty of
or it looks good
on your résumé?
You're kidding, right?
Tell me he's not insane, Jack.
I'll tell you you're not
getting him off based on that.
He stole property and ran.
And flight's the one indicator
juries love to rely on
when they reject
an insanity defense.
So it doesn't matter
whether or not he's insane.
What matters most is he
doesn't get to do this again.
Look at him, guys.
That's the master criminal you're looking
to unleash your prosecutorial zeal on.
There's a ten-year-old
and an eight-year-old
who just found out they don't
have a mother anymore.
Maybe you'd like to
come take a look at them.
Anything less
than Man One possible?
Man One's it.
(SIGHS)
Your Honor, I'm handing up
the psychiatric report
confirming this defendant's
competency to enter a plea of guilty
to Manslaughter in the First Degree
in the death of Stephanie Donnatelli
and Assault in the First Degree
arising out of an attack
on Nadine Konchalavsky.
You're satisfied with
this report, Mr. Jordan?
Yes, I am, Your Honor.
Very well.
Mr. Gallant, you understand
that by pleading guilty
you will be sentenced to
a period of 10 to 20 years.
Yes.
JUDGE MIZENER: Did you kill
Stephanie Donnatelli?
I need you to answer
for the stenographer.
Yes.
Did you attack
Nadine Konchalavsky?
GALLANT: Yes.
Can you tell us why you
committed these crimes?
No reason.
(SIGHS) Mr. McCoy,
I assume a motion
to vacate the charges
against the individual
currently incarcerated
for the attack on Miss
Konchalavsky has been filed.
It has, Your Honor.
He'll be released as soon as I let
Corrections know that we're done.
We're done.
We're done?
Please, Mr. Donnatelli.
You guys declare yourselves
done and they're done.
You say the one and only
person responsible
for Steph getting killed
is this lunatic,
you put a line
through it on your list
and then you pat
yourselves on the back!
JUDGE MIZENER: Mr. Donnatelli,
I understand you're upset,
but this isn't the time or
place to address these things.
Tell me what is the time and
place and I'll be there!
Tell me when you're gonna
hold someone accountable
for turning him loose on Steph
and I'll be there.
He did a year.
JACK: Misdemeanor assault.
He was released the night before
he killed Stephanie Donnatelli.
CARMICHAEL: He was dropped off at the
Queens Borough Plaza subway station
at midnight with a token
and a dollar and a half.
Who made that call?
CARMICHAEL: Standard
operating procedure.
We know from his medical chart that he
made 11 visits to the jail's clinic,
which means it's a safe bet someone knew
something about his mental condition.
Yeah. What did they know
and when did they know it?
Still, it's a long way from civil
negligence to criminal liability.
Yes, it is.
Well, before we go after the Department
of Corrections or Psychiatric Services
or whoever it is
who's responsible for this,
I'd like to know
we have a chance at winning.
We have some work to do
before you make that call.
CARMICHAEL: These are the inmates
treated at Riker's clinic
in the first six months
of last year.
These are the inmates treated
in the last six months.
Quite a disparity.
That's because they stopped
referring prisoners to hospitals.
Why?
Six months ago the city privatized
medical treatment at Riker's.
An HMO for inmates.
They gave a managed care contract to a
company called SMJ Medical Services.
SMJ gets a monthly bonus
when it holds down costs.
Which it does by not sending
inmates to hospitals.
Which is why Brian Gallant
was never referred.
JACK: Leon Greg
Thirty-four.
He was awaiting trial
for robbery
and his weight dropped 30
pounds in less than two months.
Your medical treatment consisted
of giving him an aspirin.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. This is the
Chief Executive Officer of the company.
Our understanding is not
that you're here to conduct
an open-ended inquiry
into inmate diagnosis.
In the past six months, four inmates
have died at the Riker's clinic,
three without ever seeing
the inside of a hospital.
Those six months correspond
to the period SMJ was hired
to oversee
the jail's medical services.
That's not fair.
Are the terms of
your client's contract
such that he receives a bonus
for denying a prisoner
access to a hospital?
Absolutely not.
He receives a certain
amount of incentive pay
for successfully
meeting targets.
An arrangement recently upheld by the
United States Supreme Court, by the way.
Is it your reading
of Pegram v. Herdrich
that people like Brian Gallant can get
released without warning the authorities,
without follow-up care?
Mr. Gallant had served his time.
My client had no choice.
Unless he was aware
of the danger Gallant posed.
I've reviewed the procedures
followed in Mr. Gallant's case.
I believe they were, in all
respects, correctly implemented.
Doctor's prescription?
Jessie Dobbs?
Is there some place
we can talk?
What about?
Brian Gallant?
I've got nothing to say.
You were his case manager.
You were transferred here the
day after he was arrested.
That's a Grand Jury
subpoena, Ms. Dobbs.
Now, we can either
do this here or there.
What do you want?
I want to know
who made the decision
for Brian Gallant
to be released.
Miss, I am a little person
working for a big company.
It's a simple question.
You were at Riker's
at the time.
And I'm not at Riker's
anymore, am I?
Were you sent here to keep you
away from an investigation?
You'd have to ask them that.
If it was your decision to
release him without meds,
I can understand how they
might want to make sure
you didn't make
the same mistake twice.
It wasn't my decision.
Then whose decision was it?
JACK: According
to Jessie Dobbs,
you were the doctor responsible for
the treatment of inmates at Riker's.
I oversaw the clinic.
CARMICHAEL: So for over a year
Brian Gallant was your patient.
I had limited contact with him,
but technically,
I guess I was his doctor.
Technically?
I'm only at Riker's
twice a week.
Most of his visits were
handled by his case manager.
Are you suggesting
a physician's assistant's
qualified to diagnose
his mental condition?
I didn't hear the word
"qualified" in what he said.
He's describing his contact
with the patient.
It's his lack of contact
that concerns us.
Eleven visits over
a year's time, Doctor.
On three occasions
Miss Dobb's notes indicate
Gallant was complaining of hearing
voices, having hallucinations.
I gave him medication.
But you never
had him evaluated.
Don't respond.
JACK:
You're lawyer's right.
Save your explanation
for a jury.
On what charge?
Manslaughter.
If he was aware of the danger Gallant
posed and recklessly ignored it.
Do you know how many inmates
I see on any given day?
How many?
Don't respond.
They want to try to get
an indictment, let them.
What are you nuts?
Look, I did the best I could.
I was paying off medical school
loans, a mortgage, I have two kids.
Doesn't excuse
what you did, Doctor.
I wasn't allowed
to have him evaluated!
You were told that?
Andrews fired a doctor for
making too many referrals.
Same day he calls me in,
he asks if I heard
about the firing
and if I was familiar with SMJ's
policy limiting referrals.
He told me he hoped I didn't
make the same mistake.
This is a very courageous man
you have sitting here.
I assume we'll be able
to work something out.
If he testifies his job was threatened,
there won't be any charges
I will ask him to surrender his
medical license for a year.
That's not right,
that's not right.
He took an oath.
And it wasn't to an HMO.
He was doing the best he could
under the circumstances.
Stop.
CARMICHAEL: Brian Gallant
was kept sedated
without ever being referred out
for treatment or evaluation.
Was SMJ aware of the danger
he posed to the public?
Dr. Sanders will testify
that Phillip Andrews fired
another doctor at Riker's
for excessive
hospital referrals
and then threatened to fire
him if he did the same thing.
Which, of course, Phillip
Andrews will deny doing.
If it comes down to credibility,
I think we're in good shape.
Nah. It comes down
to more than that.
If we go in there and start
taking pot shots at HMOs,
first of all, you're flying in
the face of Pegram v. Herdrich
and then secondly,
what if we prevail?
I mean, what does that do
to a healthcare system
that depends on HMOs
to provide their treatment?
You're not suggesting we give
them a free pass because of that?
No. I'm suggesting we look at the
fallout that's likely to ensue.
And be sure and differentiate
the conduct of this HMO
from the conduct
of HMOs in general.
That said, I'd like nothing better
than to hang their heads on our wall.
Phillip Andrews?
Yes?
You're under arrest for manslaughter
in the death of Stephanie Donnatelli.
Manslaughter? What is this?
A prank?
No prank.
Then there's been
a big fat mistake.
Get your commanding
officer on the phone.
I want to hear from him
that I should be arrested.
On your feet, pal.
Your coverage doesn't provide
for a second opinion.
Brian Gallant was
a patient at the clinic
throughout his incarceration
at Riker's Island?
Yes For what complaint?
He originally presented with periodic
auditory command hallucinations,
some delusional behavior.
What was done for him?
He was given varying doses of
Halcion, Ativan, and Valium.
Was he ever referred to a psychiatric
hospital for evaluation?
No.
Why not?
Mr. Gallant didn't meet the
criteria established by my employer
for a psychiatric referral.
Which criteria were those?
Mr. Gallant was controllable
with medication.
If I made the referral,
I'd have been fired.
Objection. Introduces
facts not in evidence.
Overruled.
JACK: Why do you say
you would've been fired?
Objection.
Calls for speculation.
Overruled. You're
annoying me, Mr. Axtell.
Another physician at the clinic
had referred an inmate under a similar
situation and was terminated.
Phillip Andrews warned me
not to make the same mistake.
JACK: What was
your last contact
with Mr. Gallant
prior to his release?
SANDERS: That would've
been on September 8th.
What, if anything,
transpired on that occasion?
I gave him his medication.
September 8th was four days
before Mr. Gallant's release.
Yes.
Was he examined
on the day of his release?
SANDERS: No.
Was he given any medication for him
to take subsequent to his release?
No.
Why was that?
He wasn't SMJ's
problem anymore.
Objection.
That's sustained.
Nothing further.
AXTELL: Dr. Sanders,
to the best of your knowledge
Phillip Andrews is not, himself,
a doctor, isn't that right?
I don't believe he is, no.
So, you understood,
did you not,
that he relied on the
determinations of doctors,
such as yourself,
to assess treatment?
Yes.
Did you ever tell him you believed
Brian Gallant to be psychotic?
No, I didn't.
No.
Did you ever tell him Brian
Gallant constituted a threat
to himself or others?
No.
Was that information
on his chart?
No.
Was he supposed to sense it
from crystals or magical beans?
Objection.
JUDGE MIZENER:
Sustained.
Wasn't it your responsibility,
Doctor, to tell him?
He wanted me to take care of it
the cheapest way
possible. Period!
The State Board of review
has revoked your license
to practice medicine,
isn't that so, Doctor?
Yes.
I'll bet you got somebody else
to blame for that, too.
JACK: Objection.
Withdrawn.
I hear these voices
inside my head.
Sometimes it's worse
than other times.
How was it during the time you were
incarcerated on Riker's Island?
Bad.
Did you bring that to the
attention of the prison doctor?
Yes.
What did he do?
Gave me medicine.
Were you ever examined
by a psychiatrist?
GALLANT: No.
Did you ever ask to be
examined by a psychiatrist?
I told 'em I was havin'
trouble with voices.
I told 'em it was
keepin' me up nights.
My bad uncle and my good uncle.
Sayin' about bringin'
the car down from Yonkers.
I said I ain't bringin'
no car down from Yonkers.
That's right.
On the day you were released,
were you given any medication?
No.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
(LAUGHS)
(AXTELL CLEARS THROAT)
What did you do with the
token they gave you?
Used it.
Used it to go into Manhattan?
Where you hit a woman over the head
with a paving stone and killed her.
I'm sorry.
Oh, I know you say
you're sorry, but...
You did know what you were
doing, didn't you, Mr. Gallant?
Objection. Irrelevant.
This man's state of mind is what my
client is on trial for, Your Honor.
No, Counselor.
Your client is on trial
for what he allegedly did.
I will allow you
some leeway on cross.
AXTELL: On the day you pled guilty
to manslaughter, Mr. Gallant,
did you or did you not,
in front of this same judge,
say that you were the person responsible
for the death of Stephanie Donnatelli?
Yes.
I'm done.
JACK: Redirect,
Your Honor.
Mr. Gallant, can you tell us why
you committed this horrible crime?
My bad uncle.
Your bad uncle told you to?
Yes.
Does he talk to you
all the time?
No.
When doesn't he talk to you?
When I take my medicine.
Then he stays in Yonkers.
I have nothing further.
Three weeks ago we said Brian
Gallant was responsible,
now we seem to be saying someone else
is responsible, that's gotta hurt us.
He was found competent by a
court-appointed psychiatrist.
And if that psychiatrist
hadn't found him competent,
I would've found
another one who did.
It's called prosecuting.
In any event, this one
could go either way.
You have a defendant responsible
for sending a dangerous psychotic
out among the citizens
of New York.
Whatever excuses he has, whatever
excuses the two of you have,
now that you've gone after him,
I want you to
run him to ground.
SMJ ls a for-profit company.
I'm not ashamed to admit that.
But at no time
did I ever allow finances
to dictate the course
of medical treatment.
To what do you attribute the
decline in hospital referrals?
Well, I attribute it to improved
medical service at the jail.
By focusing on efficiency, we've been
able to cut the need for hospitalization.
What about in
Brian Gallant's case?
I suspect Mr. Gallant's case would
present a challenge to any clinician,
given that the severity of it
was never communicated to me,
I was in no position to effectively
monitor his treatment regimen.
Had it been,
maybe there would've been
a different outcome.
Thank you.
Inmates diagnosed
with heartburn
who turn out
to have coronaries,
HIV patients left untreated,
psych patients
left unevaluated.
Is that your idea of improved
medical service, Mr. Andrews?
I'm not satisfied with our
diagnostic success rate.
And I think you're gonna see a
steady improvement on that score.
What you have to keep in mind
is we're still in the "shake-out
cruise" of a new program.
You're responsible for the bottom
line on the "shake-out cruise,"
are you not,
Mr. Andrews?
Yes, I am.
And there's no question but
that the bottom line is helped
the fewer hospital
referrals are made.
Like it or not, medical
care is a business today.
No HMO can survive
without conducting a realistic cost-benefit
analysis of its treatment protocols.
Brian Gallant
was treated 11 times.
Three violent altercations.
Another five visits
for irrational behavior.
Was your failure to authorize
even one psychiatric referral part
of that cost-benefit analysis?
I was relying on the clinic
physician's observations
to determine
a course of treatment.
You had him on
tranquilizers non-stop.
I didn't have him on anything.
That was Sanders' call.
And by the way,
according to his chart,
he was responding
to the medication.
So you were reviewing
his medical chart.
Mr. Andrews?
Periodically. Yes.
You were being kept aware of
his progress or lack thereof,
periodically.
Yes.
And you were
authorizing his medication.
I was authorizing
the expenditure,
I'm not the
prescribing physician.
Tell the jury
what Mr. Gallant's
complaint was
the last three times
he was seen at the clinic.
There's no complaint indicated.
No complaint?
In a company as
cost-conscious as yours,
isn't it a fact
that the only reason you would
be spending money on medication
when there was no complaint
would be to prevent what
was otherwise inevitable?
No.
Because you knew
that it was inevitable
that without medication Brian
Gallant would become violent!
That's not true.
And when the time came, you were
only too happy to see him go
because a hospital stay
or a psychiatric evaluation
would've been contrary to
your cost-benefit analysis.
AXTELL: Objection.
Counsel's making speeches.
Ask a question,
Mr. McCoy.
Isn't it a fact
that you knew exactly
what kind of danger
Brian Gallant posed
upon being released?
I didn't know.
You didn't want to know.
The big bad HMO.
Uncaring, unfeeling.
Placing profits before people in
its savage quest to make money.
A convenient political target
if ever there was one.
Criminally responsible for
one man killing another man?
Not on your life.
If there were an outbreak of
tuberculosis or if prisoners were dying
due to negligent medical care,
Phillip Andrews would
have to answer for that.
If he took
a money-be-damned approach
and dispensed medical care
at Riker's Island
as if it were the Mayo Clinic,
he would have to answer for
that, too And I might add,
answer to you, the
taxpayers, as well.
So, he does his job
professionally,
compassionately.
And for doing his job,
they want to send him to jail.
A few short weeks ago,
Brian Gallant pled guilty to
Manslaughter in the First Degree,
a plea that could
only be entered
with the approval
of this prosecutor.
And now, this same prosecutor
is back here
with bigger fish to fry.
Don't let the political ambitions
of a District Attorney
pervert this court of law.
Whatever political capital Mr. McCoy
and his boss can extract from it,
don't let it be done
to our system of justice.
Don't let it happen
to this innocent man.
No one should be heard to say
that providing medical care
at Riker's Island is easy,
nor is it the position of this
District Attorney's office
that there aren't legitimate financial
constraints on the provider.
We've heard that the defendant
operating under those constraints
is just a simple man
doing the best he could.
Let's look at that
a little bit.
Brian Gallant was
at Riker's for a year.
He was medicated
on a daily basis
by the defendant's company,
with the defendant's knowledge.
On the day he was released, he was
hallucinating and disoriented.
Nonetheless, he was handed over
to the Department of Corrections
who dropped him off at a subway
station in the middle of the night.
He was given no medication,
no referral for ongoing care,
not an address to go to,
not a phone number to call.
This was not done
by accident or oversight.
This was the express
instruction of the defendant.
Was not the violent behavior of
Brian Gallant a foreseeable event?
Was not the defendant
well aware,
not only of
Mr. Gallant's propensities,
but of the risk he constituted
for every person
he came in contact with?
The answer is,
of course he was aware of it.
Of course,
he chose to ignore it.
Of course,
it was his recklessness
that brought about
this woman's death.
Find him guilty,
ladies and gentlemen.
He deserves it.
JUDGE MIZENER: Madam Forelady, I
understand the jury's reached a verdict?
We have.
On the first count
of the indictment
charging Manslaughter
in the Second Degree,
we find the defendant
not guilty.
On the lesser included charge of
criminally negligent homicide,
we find the defendant guilty.
Okay, thanks.
Bye-bye.
Dateline wants to interview
me about the verdict.
CARMICHAEL: Jane Pauley
or Stone Phillips?
Stone Phillips.
He'll probably try
to get you to say
it opens the door to massive
malpractice claims.
Well, it's worth it if it changes the
way HMOs do business in this city.
How much time will Andrews
serve with good behavior?
Under a year.
LEWIN: Good.
That means jail,
not state prison.
He'll serve it at Riker's.
Let's hope he has
a good immune system.
In the criminal justice system
the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups,
the police
who investigate crime
and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
(MALE ANNOUNCER
CHATTERING OVER PA)
Excuse me. Excuse me,
officers, there's
a homeless woman...
There's a homeless woman
at the end of the platform,
she's being eyed by some men
and I'm concerned
that she's vulnerable.
What do you mean vulnerable?
I mean she's asleep on the
bench and she's vulnerable.
All right, lady, calm down. Show
us what you're talkin' about.
What are you lookin' at?
Come on, dear.
Rise and shine.
Hold on a minute.
Oh, dear God.
How come they call the squad for
a DOA on a subway platform?
Maybe it's a person
of great renown.
Maybe they thought we didn't
have anything else to do.
Come on, folks, let's go.
You two the ones
found the body?
Yeah.
Anybody see how it happened?
Not so far.
Cause of death?
Paramedic's best guess
is a cerebral hemorrhage.
There's an abrasion
on her scalp,
maybe from a fall, maybe not.
He figures she's been
dead about two hours.
Not much blood.
You got an ID?
M.E. gave us the green
light to tag and bag.
All I found were house keys, a
MetroCard and some kinda receipt.
No purse?
If she had one, it's gone.
ED: Well-dressed,
nails done,
she puts in
an honest day's work
and waits for the downtown
local to go home.
Yeah.
She caught the express.
Single blunt force trauma
to the vertex of the skull.
You know, it's hard to fall
on the top of your head.
The hemorrhage was
at the point of impact.
M.E. have any idea
what was used?
No. They found
particles of cement
and asphalt in her scalp.
You mean, like one of
those paving stones?
Hey, they were workin'
on the station.
That's what was laying around.
Looks like a hit-and-run.
ED: All right. Thanks.
No one's filed a report
with missing persons
fitting her description.
Which could mean
she was from out of town.
Oh, that's just what we need.
Female tourist beaten
to death on the subway.
Nah, she was dressed more like a
business woman than a tourist.
MetroCard ride history.
Thanks. Let's see.
Repeated evening entries at the
station where the body was found.
Corresponding morning entries
at Franklin Street.
So not a tourist.
We'll canvas with the photo,
see if somebody
can tell us who she is.
Sorry.
Her MetroCard indicates
that she came through here
Tuesday morning.
Sorry.
Nothin' about her jumps out?
Sorry.
Is this the only entrance?
For uptown service.
Downtown, you have to
go across the street.
I know, you're sorry
Excuse me, sir,
you here every day?
Rain or shine, boss.
Do you recognize this woman?
She don't look so good.
Well, you'll have to
forgive her. She's dead.
Take a look.
(EXHALES) If she's the lady
I'm thinkin',
she's a Wall Street Journal,
a Times, New Yorker, Advocate.
Advocate?
A gay monthly.
You notice which way
she comes from?
From 'cross the street.
And if she's the same lady,
she always had a cup of coffee.
Thank you.
Two?
We're tryin' to put a name
to this woman's face.
We wanna know if she gets
her morning coffee here.
Sheila does
the take-out.
Sheila! Sheila!
Come here a second.
These police are
lookin' for this broad.
ED: We actually want to know
if somebody recognizes her.
Yeah, I know her.
Comes in every morning
for coffee.
I haven't seen her
in a few days.
You know her name?
No.
What happened to her?
BRISCOE: Do you know
if she lived around here?
You're not gonna
tell me what happened?
She died.
Yeah, well, you can tell
that from the picture.
Another person I know gone.
And this one had kids.
How do you know that?
Every other week she's
in here with new pictures
that she just picked up
from next door.
BRISCOE: Thanks.
Yeah.
Maybe ours, maybe not ours.
What if somebody doesn't
pick 'em up right away?
In here.
It's dated two weeks ago.
The name on it's Donnatelli.
Is there a first name
or an account number?
Only last name.
Oh, it's her.
There's a number six
on the building.
We're gonna need these.
$12.41.
I should pay?
VAN BUREN: How we makin' out?
BRISCOE: There's 17 Donnatellis
listed in the book.
None of them with an address
in that neighborhood.
Well, I don't care if we have to
try her house keys door-to-door,
when the Post runs that
picture on the front page,
we're gonna have a suspect.
Well, apparently she takes an
interest in gay periodicals.
If that's significant.
Hey, there's
Stephanie Donnatelli.
611 West 18th Street.
Hey, there's the six
in the photograph.
ED: DMV faxed us
drivers license photos
of every female
Donnatelli over 21.
Hmm. If she lives
on West 18th Street,
why does she get
the subway at Franklin?
Good question.
Maybe we should see who
else lives at this address.
(DOORBELL BUZZES)
MAN: Yes?
New York City detectives.
Is this the home of
Stephanie Donnatelli?
PAUL: It's the home of her
children and her ex-husband.
Why?
(STAMMERS) May we come up?
(DOORBELL BUZZES)
I wondered why
I hadn't heard from her.
She was supposed to take
the kids to a matinée.
ED: You didn't call?
I figured she forgot.
Even though it's not
like her to forget,
and I was pissed and surprised.
I figured she had
a lot going on at work.
I didn't want to
make a whole thing of it.
I should have called.
Steph never would've forgotten
something involving the kids.
Where did she work?
She was a book editor
at Arcade Publishing.
They're at 23rd & Broadway.
That's a block away
from the subway.
Look, I know that
this is a lousy time
to ask questions like this
but we have to know who might
have known your ex-wife.
Now, can you tell us anything
about her private affairs?
You mean like her sex life?
Anything at all.
At the age of 30 Stephanie came
to the conclusion she was gay.
She still loved me, I still
loved her, she adored her kids.
We just needed to stop living
together as husband and wife.
Was she involved with anyone?
She hasn't been
for a long time.
This last month or so she's called
me up on the phone at night
and we've talked and talked.
And she's told me how... How
lonely she is. (CRYING)
We're really sorry
for your loss.
(SOBBING) Thank you.
Can you think of anything
she might've had with her?
Jewelry, a watch,
an address book?
She had
one of those funny watches,
a Swatch watch, I think it is,
with Winnie the Pooh on it.
She had different pins,
different bracelets,
there wasn't one
that she wore all the time.
(STUTTERS)
There was a cross
that my mother gave her.
A little gold cross
that she did wear all the time.
Yeah. We showed the
photograph around some bars
near where she lived,
no one recognized her
and the ex-husband says
that wasn't her scene.
So some nutcase goes after a
woman with a paving stone.
It's the Konchalavsky
woman all over again.
That guy went away, right?
It's a copycat.
Right. Thanks.
Well, apparently even though
she's dead her credit isn't.
Somebody used her
American Express card.
You don't check IDs?
Well, it's the cashier's
responsibility to do that.
I don't know what happened
in this particular instance.
The transaction record says the
credit approval came in at 11:43.
MANAGER: Okay.
Fast-forwarding.
I take it those persons don't have
authorization to use that credit card?
Ooh, you're good.
I'll make a copy of the tape.
No. We'll make a copy.
We're sure the cashier
didn't know them?
We talked to her on the way out.
She said no.
Well, when you do
find the girls,
I want you to add a charge
of felony bad taste.
Wearing white after Labor Day.
Someone just used
the card again.
Movie theater,
107th & Broadway.
(ALL CHATTERING)
How was the movie, ladies?
Do I know you?
No, but I know you.
You're both under arrest for
possession of stolen property.
ED: Let's go.
I found that card.
Sure. And it just happened to be in the
pocket of the woman it belonged to.
(CLICKS TONGUE) Please.
Let me break it down
for you, sweetheart.
That card belonged to a
woman who is now dead.
She was murdered
on her way home from work.
Hold up. We don't know
nothing about that.
Possession of a stolen
credit card's a felony.
If you didn't commit
the murder yourselves,
you're at least an
accessory after the fact.
Book 'em on that
and take 'em up to Central.
Hold up! Wait a minute!
We didn't have...
We have no choice.
They're just messin' with us.
ED: You think?
(KNOCKING ON GLASS)
What time's the next wagon
leave for Central booking?
In about 15 minutes.
Add these two to the list.
Wait a minute.
Wait. Hold up.
Darlene, don't you say nothin'.
Look, I can't be gettin'
put through this!
I gotta be graduatin' junior college,
I can't be gettin' put though this!
Who gave you the card?
Don't you say nothin', Darlene!
Trey Wiles gave us that card.
BRISCOE: Who's Trey Wiles?
Her boyfriend.
And he works in shipping on
Seventh Avenue and 39th Street.
She's a spiteful bitch! She know Trey
ain't had nothin' to do with this!
You still gonna
put us on that wagon?
MAN: Keep it comin'.
Trey Wiles?
Yeah?
Put your hands
behind your back, bro.
Hey, what's up with this?
Some questions came up
about your credit rating.
Yeah, we want to find out if
you're eligible for the gold card.
Yeah. Come on, man. My boss finds out
about this, I'm gonna lose my job.
Oh, you got bigger
troubles than that, kid.
The American Express
card you gave Shantay
belonged to a woman
who was murdered.
For real?
Where'd you get it?
Hey, look, man, don't know
nothin' about no murder, man.
Okay, here's the deal, Trey.
If I have to put your ass
in the back of this car,
and drive down to the precinct,
you're goin' upstate.
So, you tell us
who gave you the card
and you just had a bad day
and you're home by supper.
All right. I'll tell you
where I got it.
I bought it.
From who?
Street dude.
Street dude?
What's his name?
Raffi somethin' or somethin' Raffi, man.
I don't know.
He's a homeless dude.
He lives in the shelter on 127.
Comes around here
every now and then.
Sells stuff.
That's all, man.
You better hope
he's sleepin' in today.
Nah. He's under me. I'm the
chief administrator here.
We're lookin' for a certain
guest of this establishment.
A Raffi somethin'?
Raffi Lorraine?
Well, how many
Raff I's you got?
Ten beds back on the left.
Raffi Lorraine?
Come on, man,
it ain't time yet.
Early check out today.
Come on.
What did I do?
ED: This your stuff?
Yeah.
You wanna take it with you?
Where am I goin'?
You're comin'
for a ride with us,
you wanna take it
with you or not?
If I don't, it won't be
here when I get back.
ED: You mind
if I take a look?
There's no weapons or anything?
Anything that might hurt me?
No.
This yours?
Yes, sir.
BRISCOE: Buttons from
the wrong side, chief.
I'm not picky
about such matters.
ED: Where'd you find it?
Garbage can.
Now why would somebody throw away
a beautiful coat like this, huh?
RAFFI: People with money get tired
of their clothes sometimes.
They get tired of
their gold crosses, too?
Token clerk tells us
you're a regular, Raffi.
Yeah. And you're a real pain in
the ass to all the passengers.
I don't bother nobody!
The woman that cross belonged
to was beaten to death.
Do you understand?
I didn't do that.
Hey, we got you
on the subway platform
and we got you with
the victim's possessions.
Now you have somethin' to say? Because
the train's about to leave the station.
I saw who killed her.
BRISCOE: You sure
it wasn't you?
He was a black guy.
Maybe 30, 40. One of them
buggy guys goes off on you.
Yeah? What did you see
this buggy guy do?
He was walkin' around,
talkin' to himself.
(IMITATES MUMBLING)
Walkin' one end of the
platform to the other.
The train comes in, people
get on, except for that guy.
And you.
I'm workin' that platform.
I got garbage to go through.
Okay. What did you see?
This gal comes
through the turnstile,
stood near where the guy was,
and all of a sudden
he hits her with a rock!
She walks a little ways
away from him.
She grabs her head,
drops down to a bench
and he walks over and he grabs
her eye glasses off her
and then he walks
right out of the station.
And you robbed whatever
you could off the body.
That is what I did.
I'm not proud of myself for doin'
it but that is all that I did!
He knew about the paving stone.
Which doesn't guarantee him not
being the one who used it.
His rap sheet's
petty thefts and drugs.
I think he's tellin' the truth.
Okay. Well, why don't you run
down this buggy black guy story.
There was an EDP in the vicinity,
maybe there was a complaint.
Officer Carlson?
Yeah.
Detectives Green, Briscoe.
Sarge told me you'd be comin' around.
What's up?
A few days ago you responded
to an EDP in the subway.
Yeah. Guy took a leak
on the platform,
female passenger
took exception.
No collar?
Would've just been a summons.
Why, what happened?
You think you could ID him?
What did he do?
BRISCOE: We're lookin
at him for a homicide.
I don't believe it.
Did you get a name?
He wouldn't give us a name.
We tried to take him to a
shelter but he refused.
Manager of an S.R.O. on
Eighth Avenue owes me a favor,
took him over there.
(KNOCKING)
Somebody's in there.
New York City Police Department.
Open up.
Got a key?
It's okay, it's okay.
Take it easy.
All right. Come on. We're
gonna get you up now.
Need to take you outta here.
Where you takin' me?
To the police department.
We need to talk to you.
I need to finish
what I'm doing.
Oh, you'll have plenty
of time, don't worry.
Where is he?
Interrogation room.
He's refusing
to be fingerprinted.
I figured we didn't want to force
the issue, have him lawyer up.
Okay. Thanks.
You're welcome.
Sir, my name
is Abby Carmichael.
I'm an Assistant
District Attorney.
I understand there's some problem
with you letting us fingerprint you.
Sir?
(SCREAMS)
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
What ya doin'?
He does that every so often.
I need to go outside.
Okay. Sure.
But before you do, I want to
talk to you for a little while.
Is that all right?
The air in here is bad.
I need to go outside.
Can you tell me
where you got your glasses?
I needed 'em.
I couldn't see
who was talkin' to me.
Did you take them from
the woman on the subway?
I couldn't see who was talkin'
to me so that's why I took 'em.
Now I need to go outside.
Before I can let you go outside
I need to know who you are.
I'm Regis Philbin.
Is that your final answer?
Okay.
How about this?
You let us fingerprint you.
When the prints come back, they'll
confirm you're Regis Philbin
and then everyone will know.
How's that sound?
Brian Gallant.
Three misdemeanor convictions,
all involving some violence.
He got out of
Riker's a week ago.
Tell me he didn't get bail.
Court remanded him at his
arraignment for a 730 exam.
Is he competent?
Assuming Regis Philbin and all the
other nutsy stuff isn't an act,
I'd say borderline.
This also may not be the first
attack he's responsible for.
And do you remember the attack on
that Konchalavsky woman last year?
Don't tell me.
Confessed,
matches the composite.
(SIGHS) Okay.
I don't want to rely on the civil
commitment to keep him off the streets.
Find out who's doing
his evaluation.
Make sure we talk to them
before they write their report.
Got it.
Then let's talk to his lawyer.
Okay.
You have no forensics
linking him to the crime.
He was in possession of
the victim's eye glasses.
Somebody else
had the victim's coat.
Somebody else had
the victim's credit card.
We also have a witness.
A homeless drug addict with a
criminal record from here to Bayonne.
Mr. Gallant made admissions
to two separate attacks.
Counselors, we all know he wasn't
competent to waive counsel.
The psychiatrist
thinks he is competent.
Sure, they shovel medication
into him, he's competent.
He killed the mother
of two children.
Doesn't that enter
into this for you?
What are you looking for?
Manslaughter first degree.
Because that's what you think
he's guilty of
or it looks good
on your résumé?
You're kidding, right?
Tell me he's not insane, Jack.
I'll tell you you're not
getting him off based on that.
He stole property and ran.
And flight's the one indicator
juries love to rely on
when they reject
an insanity defense.
So it doesn't matter
whether or not he's insane.
What matters most is he
doesn't get to do this again.
Look at him, guys.
That's the master criminal you're looking
to unleash your prosecutorial zeal on.
There's a ten-year-old
and an eight-year-old
who just found out they don't
have a mother anymore.
Maybe you'd like to
come take a look at them.
Anything less
than Man One possible?
Man One's it.
(SIGHS)
Your Honor, I'm handing up
the psychiatric report
confirming this defendant's
competency to enter a plea of guilty
to Manslaughter in the First Degree
in the death of Stephanie Donnatelli
and Assault in the First Degree
arising out of an attack
on Nadine Konchalavsky.
You're satisfied with
this report, Mr. Jordan?
Yes, I am, Your Honor.
Very well.
Mr. Gallant, you understand
that by pleading guilty
you will be sentenced to
a period of 10 to 20 years.
Yes.
JUDGE MIZENER: Did you kill
Stephanie Donnatelli?
I need you to answer
for the stenographer.
Yes.
Did you attack
Nadine Konchalavsky?
GALLANT: Yes.
Can you tell us why you
committed these crimes?
No reason.
(SIGHS) Mr. McCoy,
I assume a motion
to vacate the charges
against the individual
currently incarcerated
for the attack on Miss
Konchalavsky has been filed.
It has, Your Honor.
He'll be released as soon as I let
Corrections know that we're done.
We're done.
We're done?
Please, Mr. Donnatelli.
You guys declare yourselves
done and they're done.
You say the one and only
person responsible
for Steph getting killed
is this lunatic,
you put a line
through it on your list
and then you pat
yourselves on the back!
JUDGE MIZENER: Mr. Donnatelli,
I understand you're upset,
but this isn't the time or
place to address these things.
Tell me what is the time and
place and I'll be there!
Tell me when you're gonna
hold someone accountable
for turning him loose on Steph
and I'll be there.
He did a year.
JACK: Misdemeanor assault.
He was released the night before
he killed Stephanie Donnatelli.
CARMICHAEL: He was dropped off at the
Queens Borough Plaza subway station
at midnight with a token
and a dollar and a half.
Who made that call?
CARMICHAEL: Standard
operating procedure.
We know from his medical chart that he
made 11 visits to the jail's clinic,
which means it's a safe bet someone knew
something about his mental condition.
Yeah. What did they know
and when did they know it?
Still, it's a long way from civil
negligence to criminal liability.
Yes, it is.
Well, before we go after the Department
of Corrections or Psychiatric Services
or whoever it is
who's responsible for this,
I'd like to know
we have a chance at winning.
We have some work to do
before you make that call.
CARMICHAEL: These are the inmates
treated at Riker's clinic
in the first six months
of last year.
These are the inmates treated
in the last six months.
Quite a disparity.
That's because they stopped
referring prisoners to hospitals.
Why?
Six months ago the city privatized
medical treatment at Riker's.
An HMO for inmates.
They gave a managed care contract to a
company called SMJ Medical Services.
SMJ gets a monthly bonus
when it holds down costs.
Which it does by not sending
inmates to hospitals.
Which is why Brian Gallant
was never referred.
JACK: Leon Greg
Thirty-four.
He was awaiting trial
for robbery
and his weight dropped 30
pounds in less than two months.
Your medical treatment consisted
of giving him an aspirin.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. This is the
Chief Executive Officer of the company.
Our understanding is not
that you're here to conduct
an open-ended inquiry
into inmate diagnosis.
In the past six months, four inmates
have died at the Riker's clinic,
three without ever seeing
the inside of a hospital.
Those six months correspond
to the period SMJ was hired
to oversee
the jail's medical services.
That's not fair.
Are the terms of
your client's contract
such that he receives a bonus
for denying a prisoner
access to a hospital?
Absolutely not.
He receives a certain
amount of incentive pay
for successfully
meeting targets.
An arrangement recently upheld by the
United States Supreme Court, by the way.
Is it your reading
of Pegram v. Herdrich
that people like Brian Gallant can get
released without warning the authorities,
without follow-up care?
Mr. Gallant had served his time.
My client had no choice.
Unless he was aware
of the danger Gallant posed.
I've reviewed the procedures
followed in Mr. Gallant's case.
I believe they were, in all
respects, correctly implemented.
Doctor's prescription?
Jessie Dobbs?
Is there some place
we can talk?
What about?
Brian Gallant?
I've got nothing to say.
You were his case manager.
You were transferred here the
day after he was arrested.
That's a Grand Jury
subpoena, Ms. Dobbs.
Now, we can either
do this here or there.
What do you want?
I want to know
who made the decision
for Brian Gallant
to be released.
Miss, I am a little person
working for a big company.
It's a simple question.
You were at Riker's
at the time.
And I'm not at Riker's
anymore, am I?
Were you sent here to keep you
away from an investigation?
You'd have to ask them that.
If it was your decision to
release him without meds,
I can understand how they
might want to make sure
you didn't make
the same mistake twice.
It wasn't my decision.
Then whose decision was it?
JACK: According
to Jessie Dobbs,
you were the doctor responsible for
the treatment of inmates at Riker's.
I oversaw the clinic.
CARMICHAEL: So for over a year
Brian Gallant was your patient.
I had limited contact with him,
but technically,
I guess I was his doctor.
Technically?
I'm only at Riker's
twice a week.
Most of his visits were
handled by his case manager.
Are you suggesting
a physician's assistant's
qualified to diagnose
his mental condition?
I didn't hear the word
"qualified" in what he said.
He's describing his contact
with the patient.
It's his lack of contact
that concerns us.
Eleven visits over
a year's time, Doctor.
On three occasions
Miss Dobb's notes indicate
Gallant was complaining of hearing
voices, having hallucinations.
I gave him medication.
But you never
had him evaluated.
Don't respond.
JACK:
You're lawyer's right.
Save your explanation
for a jury.
On what charge?
Manslaughter.
If he was aware of the danger Gallant
posed and recklessly ignored it.
Do you know how many inmates
I see on any given day?
How many?
Don't respond.
They want to try to get
an indictment, let them.
What are you nuts?
Look, I did the best I could.
I was paying off medical school
loans, a mortgage, I have two kids.
Doesn't excuse
what you did, Doctor.
I wasn't allowed
to have him evaluated!
You were told that?
Andrews fired a doctor for
making too many referrals.
Same day he calls me in,
he asks if I heard
about the firing
and if I was familiar with SMJ's
policy limiting referrals.
He told me he hoped I didn't
make the same mistake.
This is a very courageous man
you have sitting here.
I assume we'll be able
to work something out.
If he testifies his job was threatened,
there won't be any charges
I will ask him to surrender his
medical license for a year.
That's not right,
that's not right.
He took an oath.
And it wasn't to an HMO.
He was doing the best he could
under the circumstances.
Stop.
CARMICHAEL: Brian Gallant
was kept sedated
without ever being referred out
for treatment or evaluation.
Was SMJ aware of the danger
he posed to the public?
Dr. Sanders will testify
that Phillip Andrews fired
another doctor at Riker's
for excessive
hospital referrals
and then threatened to fire
him if he did the same thing.
Which, of course, Phillip
Andrews will deny doing.
If it comes down to credibility,
I think we're in good shape.
Nah. It comes down
to more than that.
If we go in there and start
taking pot shots at HMOs,
first of all, you're flying in
the face of Pegram v. Herdrich
and then secondly,
what if we prevail?
I mean, what does that do
to a healthcare system
that depends on HMOs
to provide their treatment?
You're not suggesting we give
them a free pass because of that?
No. I'm suggesting we look at the
fallout that's likely to ensue.
And be sure and differentiate
the conduct of this HMO
from the conduct
of HMOs in general.
That said, I'd like nothing better
than to hang their heads on our wall.
Phillip Andrews?
Yes?
You're under arrest for manslaughter
in the death of Stephanie Donnatelli.
Manslaughter? What is this?
A prank?
No prank.
Then there's been
a big fat mistake.
Get your commanding
officer on the phone.
I want to hear from him
that I should be arrested.
On your feet, pal.
Your coverage doesn't provide
for a second opinion.
Brian Gallant was
a patient at the clinic
throughout his incarceration
at Riker's Island?
Yes For what complaint?
He originally presented with periodic
auditory command hallucinations,
some delusional behavior.
What was done for him?
He was given varying doses of
Halcion, Ativan, and Valium.
Was he ever referred to a psychiatric
hospital for evaluation?
No.
Why not?
Mr. Gallant didn't meet the
criteria established by my employer
for a psychiatric referral.
Which criteria were those?
Mr. Gallant was controllable
with medication.
If I made the referral,
I'd have been fired.
Objection. Introduces
facts not in evidence.
Overruled.
JACK: Why do you say
you would've been fired?
Objection.
Calls for speculation.
Overruled. You're
annoying me, Mr. Axtell.
Another physician at the clinic
had referred an inmate under a similar
situation and was terminated.
Phillip Andrews warned me
not to make the same mistake.
JACK: What was
your last contact
with Mr. Gallant
prior to his release?
SANDERS: That would've
been on September 8th.
What, if anything,
transpired on that occasion?
I gave him his medication.
September 8th was four days
before Mr. Gallant's release.
Yes.
Was he examined
on the day of his release?
SANDERS: No.
Was he given any medication for him
to take subsequent to his release?
No.
Why was that?
He wasn't SMJ's
problem anymore.
Objection.
That's sustained.
Nothing further.
AXTELL: Dr. Sanders,
to the best of your knowledge
Phillip Andrews is not, himself,
a doctor, isn't that right?
I don't believe he is, no.
So, you understood,
did you not,
that he relied on the
determinations of doctors,
such as yourself,
to assess treatment?
Yes.
Did you ever tell him you believed
Brian Gallant to be psychotic?
No, I didn't.
No.
Did you ever tell him Brian
Gallant constituted a threat
to himself or others?
No.
Was that information
on his chart?
No.
Was he supposed to sense it
from crystals or magical beans?
Objection.
JUDGE MIZENER:
Sustained.
Wasn't it your responsibility,
Doctor, to tell him?
He wanted me to take care of it
the cheapest way
possible. Period!
The State Board of review
has revoked your license
to practice medicine,
isn't that so, Doctor?
Yes.
I'll bet you got somebody else
to blame for that, too.
JACK: Objection.
Withdrawn.
I hear these voices
inside my head.
Sometimes it's worse
than other times.
How was it during the time you were
incarcerated on Riker's Island?
Bad.
Did you bring that to the
attention of the prison doctor?
Yes.
What did he do?
Gave me medicine.
Were you ever examined
by a psychiatrist?
GALLANT: No.
Did you ever ask to be
examined by a psychiatrist?
I told 'em I was havin'
trouble with voices.
I told 'em it was
keepin' me up nights.
My bad uncle and my good uncle.
Sayin' about bringin'
the car down from Yonkers.
I said I ain't bringin'
no car down from Yonkers.
That's right.
On the day you were released,
were you given any medication?
No.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
(LAUGHS)
(AXTELL CLEARS THROAT)
What did you do with the
token they gave you?
Used it.
Used it to go into Manhattan?
Where you hit a woman over the head
with a paving stone and killed her.
I'm sorry.
Oh, I know you say
you're sorry, but...
You did know what you were
doing, didn't you, Mr. Gallant?
Objection. Irrelevant.
This man's state of mind is what my
client is on trial for, Your Honor.
No, Counselor.
Your client is on trial
for what he allegedly did.
I will allow you
some leeway on cross.
AXTELL: On the day you pled guilty
to manslaughter, Mr. Gallant,
did you or did you not,
in front of this same judge,
say that you were the person responsible
for the death of Stephanie Donnatelli?
Yes.
I'm done.
JACK: Redirect,
Your Honor.
Mr. Gallant, can you tell us why
you committed this horrible crime?
My bad uncle.
Your bad uncle told you to?
Yes.
Does he talk to you
all the time?
No.
When doesn't he talk to you?
When I take my medicine.
Then he stays in Yonkers.
I have nothing further.
Three weeks ago we said Brian
Gallant was responsible,
now we seem to be saying someone else
is responsible, that's gotta hurt us.
He was found competent by a
court-appointed psychiatrist.
And if that psychiatrist
hadn't found him competent,
I would've found
another one who did.
It's called prosecuting.
In any event, this one
could go either way.
You have a defendant responsible
for sending a dangerous psychotic
out among the citizens
of New York.
Whatever excuses he has, whatever
excuses the two of you have,
now that you've gone after him,
I want you to
run him to ground.
SMJ ls a for-profit company.
I'm not ashamed to admit that.
But at no time
did I ever allow finances
to dictate the course
of medical treatment.
To what do you attribute the
decline in hospital referrals?
Well, I attribute it to improved
medical service at the jail.
By focusing on efficiency, we've been
able to cut the need for hospitalization.
What about in
Brian Gallant's case?
I suspect Mr. Gallant's case would
present a challenge to any clinician,
given that the severity of it
was never communicated to me,
I was in no position to effectively
monitor his treatment regimen.
Had it been,
maybe there would've been
a different outcome.
Thank you.
Inmates diagnosed
with heartburn
who turn out
to have coronaries,
HIV patients left untreated,
psych patients
left unevaluated.
Is that your idea of improved
medical service, Mr. Andrews?
I'm not satisfied with our
diagnostic success rate.
And I think you're gonna see a
steady improvement on that score.
What you have to keep in mind
is we're still in the "shake-out
cruise" of a new program.
You're responsible for the bottom
line on the "shake-out cruise,"
are you not,
Mr. Andrews?
Yes, I am.
And there's no question but
that the bottom line is helped
the fewer hospital
referrals are made.
Like it or not, medical
care is a business today.
No HMO can survive
without conducting a realistic cost-benefit
analysis of its treatment protocols.
Brian Gallant
was treated 11 times.
Three violent altercations.
Another five visits
for irrational behavior.
Was your failure to authorize
even one psychiatric referral part
of that cost-benefit analysis?
I was relying on the clinic
physician's observations
to determine
a course of treatment.
You had him on
tranquilizers non-stop.
I didn't have him on anything.
That was Sanders' call.
And by the way,
according to his chart,
he was responding
to the medication.
So you were reviewing
his medical chart.
Mr. Andrews?
Periodically. Yes.
You were being kept aware of
his progress or lack thereof,
periodically.
Yes.
And you were
authorizing his medication.
I was authorizing
the expenditure,
I'm not the
prescribing physician.
Tell the jury
what Mr. Gallant's
complaint was
the last three times
he was seen at the clinic.
There's no complaint indicated.
No complaint?
In a company as
cost-conscious as yours,
isn't it a fact
that the only reason you would
be spending money on medication
when there was no complaint
would be to prevent what
was otherwise inevitable?
No.
Because you knew
that it was inevitable
that without medication Brian
Gallant would become violent!
That's not true.
And when the time came, you were
only too happy to see him go
because a hospital stay
or a psychiatric evaluation
would've been contrary to
your cost-benefit analysis.
AXTELL: Objection.
Counsel's making speeches.
Ask a question,
Mr. McCoy.
Isn't it a fact
that you knew exactly
what kind of danger
Brian Gallant posed
upon being released?
I didn't know.
You didn't want to know.
The big bad HMO.
Uncaring, unfeeling.
Placing profits before people in
its savage quest to make money.
A convenient political target
if ever there was one.
Criminally responsible for
one man killing another man?
Not on your life.
If there were an outbreak of
tuberculosis or if prisoners were dying
due to negligent medical care,
Phillip Andrews would
have to answer for that.
If he took
a money-be-damned approach
and dispensed medical care
at Riker's Island
as if it were the Mayo Clinic,
he would have to answer for
that, too And I might add,
answer to you, the
taxpayers, as well.
So, he does his job
professionally,
compassionately.
And for doing his job,
they want to send him to jail.
A few short weeks ago,
Brian Gallant pled guilty to
Manslaughter in the First Degree,
a plea that could
only be entered
with the approval
of this prosecutor.
And now, this same prosecutor
is back here
with bigger fish to fry.
Don't let the political ambitions
of a District Attorney
pervert this court of law.
Whatever political capital Mr. McCoy
and his boss can extract from it,
don't let it be done
to our system of justice.
Don't let it happen
to this innocent man.
No one should be heard to say
that providing medical care
at Riker's Island is easy,
nor is it the position of this
District Attorney's office
that there aren't legitimate financial
constraints on the provider.
We've heard that the defendant
operating under those constraints
is just a simple man
doing the best he could.
Let's look at that
a little bit.
Brian Gallant was
at Riker's for a year.
He was medicated
on a daily basis
by the defendant's company,
with the defendant's knowledge.
On the day he was released, he was
hallucinating and disoriented.
Nonetheless, he was handed over
to the Department of Corrections
who dropped him off at a subway
station in the middle of the night.
He was given no medication,
no referral for ongoing care,
not an address to go to,
not a phone number to call.
This was not done
by accident or oversight.
This was the express
instruction of the defendant.
Was not the violent behavior of
Brian Gallant a foreseeable event?
Was not the defendant
well aware,
not only of
Mr. Gallant's propensities,
but of the risk he constituted
for every person
he came in contact with?
The answer is,
of course he was aware of it.
Of course,
he chose to ignore it.
Of course,
it was his recklessness
that brought about
this woman's death.
Find him guilty,
ladies and gentlemen.
He deserves it.
JUDGE MIZENER: Madam Forelady, I
understand the jury's reached a verdict?
We have.
On the first count
of the indictment
charging Manslaughter
in the Second Degree,
we find the defendant
not guilty.
On the lesser included charge of
criminally negligent homicide,
we find the defendant guilty.
Okay, thanks.
Bye-bye.
Dateline wants to interview
me about the verdict.
CARMICHAEL: Jane Pauley
or Stone Phillips?
Stone Phillips.
He'll probably try
to get you to say
it opens the door to massive
malpractice claims.
Well, it's worth it if it changes the
way HMOs do business in this city.
How much time will Andrews
serve with good behavior?
Under a year.
LEWIN: Good.
That means jail,
not state prison.
He'll serve it at Riker's.
Let's hope he has
a good immune system.