Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 7, Episode 18 - Mad Dog - full transcript

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.

I served 18 years
with a clean conduct record.

The last six, I worked
in the heating plant

without any
supervision whatsoever.

I got my GED and I finished two
years of college by correspondence.

That's very good.

What we'd like to know, Mr.
Darnell, is if you're released today,



how can we trust you won't
get in trouble again?

I'm not the same man
I was 18 years ago.

I've had therapy. I've got discipline.
I understand myself.

I'm responsible for my actions.

BOARD MEMBER: What does that
mean to you, to act responsibly?

If you grant me parole,
I plan to work hard

and support my daughter
and my grandchildren.

I plan to make restitution
to the people I hurt.

Nobody owes me a second chance.
I'm not saying I deserve one.

But I'm giving it
to you straight here,

I know in my own mind, I will
never harm anybody again.

Thank you, Mr.
Darnell. Mr. McCoy?

Thank you.

I don't think Mr.
Darnell's changed at all.



I think he's just as dangerous
as he was when I prosecuted him.

He was found guilty
of six vicious rapes.

He was a suspect
in seven others.

He raped young women, mostly
teenagers, at knife point,

in broad daylight,
in their own bedrooms.

He wrapped a pillowcase
around their faces,

to terrorize them and
heighten his pleasure.

I have here letters from those women.

They don't want
his restitution.

They don't want
anything from him.

All they ask is that we keep him
behind bars for the next 12 years,

to serve out the rest
of his sentence.

This is the third time
he's applied for release,

the third time I've
come here to oppose it.

I ask you now to
again deny him parole.

Let him pay his debt
to society in full.

BOARD MEMBER:
Thank you, Mr. McCoy.

(WHISPERING)

Mr. Darnell, we have taken into
account your psychiatric evaluation,

your conduct report, and
Warden Davies' recommendation.

Though we are mindful
of Mr. McCoy's concerns,

we hereby grant your
request for early release.

(SIGHS IN RELIEF)

(SNIFFLING)

The mother, Mrs. Perez, found her
in bed when she got home from work.

She thought she was sleeping.

At 3:00 in
the afternoon?

The girl had the flu.
She was staying home from school.

You check the
doors and windows?

(SIGHS) No sign
of forced entry.

But Mrs. Perez
says the front door

(SOBBING) Was locked with the latch.

CURTIS: And the building?

Well, the door to the roof
is padlocked from the inside.

The only way in is
through the main door,

and the super swears
it's always locked.

Now, the canvass turned up a
friend who saw her around noon.

(SIGHS) She was going to the basement to do laundry.
That's it right there.

BRISCOE: Is this
how Mom found her?

She was on her side,
facing the wall.

Any injuries?

There's a bruise on her right
hand, a small nick on her neck.

For all I know, she stroked
out or had an aneurysm.

Well, what are we doing here?

Ask the mother.

She says the girl
must've been raped,

because she never sleeps naked.

And you say?

Yesterday, I found out my
12-year-old is a vegetarian.

I think this girl just outgrew her Dr.
Denton's.

Except it's February
and she had the flu.

I didn't see anything forcible.

Do ripped panties count?

(POLICE RADIO CHATTERING)

You told the officer
that the front door

(SNIFFLING) Was locked
when you got home?

Yes. Just with
the handle, though.

Well, it locks by itself
when you close the door?

Yes.

(SOBBING)

Did Teresa have a boyfriend?

She didn't have time.
She was too busy with school.

Isn't it possible that she
could've found the time?

I wouldn't let her.

(SOBBING)

When I was her age, I was
pregnant with Teresa.

I didn't want that for her.

(SOBBING) Oh, God,
my baby's dead!

My beautiful baby.

I met her coming
down the stairs,

I thought she was
gonna pass out.

She was sweating and coughing.

I helped her carry her
wash down to the basement.

What time was this?
I don't know.

It was just before
I went to the store

with my mom,
maybe around 11:30.

Mmm-hmm.

Did Teresa say she was
expecting company later?

Her boyfriend, maybe?

No, she wasn't
expecting anybody.

But she did have
a boyfriend, right?

She didn't want
her mother to know.

It's Raymond Cartena.
He lives in the building next door.

Was she...
Was she having sex with him?

No. Teresa said they
talked about doing it.

He wanted to,
but she was scared.

I called her this morning to
see if she was feeling better.

We were trying to make arrangements
to get with each other.

And do what, go to the ballet?

The movies, you know?
I mean, something like that.

That's funny, because

we heard you had something
else in mind for her.

What's that supposed to mean?

She was found naked in her bed.
Did you do that, Raymond?

No!

Come on, Raymond, we're all fellows here.
We know how it is.

You're popping wood and she's
giving you the red light, right?

I did not do that.

No way.
Where were you today?

On West 83,
making a shower pan.

I'm gonna need that
contractor's number, all right?

You're sure about the times?
Okay, thank you very much.

Well, he got there at 10:00 a.
M., left just after 3:00.

Had lunch on the premises.

Well, he'll be relieved
to hear he didn't do it.

Plan B, it was an inside job.

The super said
Teresa's building

was locked tighter than Fort Knox.

Yeah, unlike this place.
The lock's busted. Anybody can get in.

Question is, can you get
from this building to hers?

If any of that
garbage from next door

got into my building,
I want to kill him.

What's in there?

People used to keep their strollers in
there, but we don't use it anymore.

It's locked.

(DOOR CREAKING)

CURTIS: Hey, Lennie.
BRISCOE: What's that?

Could be a conduit.

The city used to have pipes
running between the buildings.

CURTIS: It isn't nailed,
just jammed in.

BRISCOE: Well?

The boiler room next door.

RODGERS: The bruise on her wrist
might be a restraint wound.

What about the cut
on her throat?

(SIGHS) I've done worse
shaving my legs.

It's probably a small
knife or scissors.

You want to take a
flyer on how she died?

Suffocation, possibly.

There was petechial spotting on the
outer lining of her heart and lungs.

That and a confession
gets you cause of death.

We assumed there's
a sexual angle.

No, I checked all
three ports of entry.

No fluids, but the
cervix was bruised.

Same timeframe as her death?

I'd say during.
That's the whole point, isn't it?

Raping her while she's
in the throes of death?

It's not the same MO.

(JACK SIGHS)

A young woman
raped in her own bed

in the middle of
the day at knifepoint.

There's no evidence Darnell ever
tried to kill any of his victims.

(SIGHS) Maybe 18 years in prison
taught him not to leave any witnesses.

And to leave his pillowcase at home?
Wasn't that his fetish?

He found a new one. Death.

I want him investigated.

In the six weeks he's been out,

he's made all his meetings with his
parole officer every morning at 8:00.

He cuts sheet metal in the
village from 9:00 to 6:00.

His PO says he's got a
perfect attendance record.

He lives on West 50th with his
daughter and her two kids.

His PO checks in with him
every night at 7:00.

Have you talked to his boss yet?
Not yet.

We're still checking on a few other
mutts in the victim's neighborhood.

McCoy thinks
Darnell's a hot lead.

Yeah, well, maybe the victim
profile's on the money,

but from what I know,

these deviants find something that
gets them off, like a pillowcase,

they usually stick with it.

Besides, the perp would have to
know that building to get in,

and Darnell grew up in Ohio,

and there's no record of him ever having
lived in that building as an adult.

Except that 20 years ago, he committed
two rapes within five blocks of there.

I guess we're talking
to his boss, huh?

I've got five parolees working
for me, including my fianc?e.

The blonde file clerk?

Yeah. Twelve months in Bedford
for passing bad checks.

The heart wants what it wants.

Yeah, I guess if you're
gonna get cleaned out,

it might as well
be by a pro, huh?

So, is Lewis Darnell
invited to the wedding?

He's here six weeks.
Not a big social mixer,

but he's polite, he's helpful.

So he can be an usher.

Was he here all day on Wednesday?
Uh-huh.

Except for lunch.

The guys usually go down the
street to Feldman's Delicatessen.

BRISCOE: What time was that?

We knock off
12:00 to 1:00.

But Wednesday, Darnell said he had
to run an errand for his daughter.

Came back about
20 minutes late.

Oh, that poor girl!
It's so dangerous here.

Look at my locks.
You think they're any good?

Yeah, they're fine. Please, ma'am, if
you could just look at these pictures.

I've got a chain, too.

Maybe I should get a dog.
What do you think?

I think you should tell me if you
saw any of these men on Wednesday.

No, I've never seen them.

How about for windows?
What do you recommend?

(CLEARS THROAT) Moving.
CURTIS: Look at each picture.

YOUNG MOTHER:
No, I didn't see them.

Did one of them
kill Teresa Perez?

We don't know.

She was nice.
I saw her that day in the basement.

She was folding her laundry.

She was sick, but she helped me
put my clothes in the dryer.

(EXCLAIMS) It's so sad.

Yeah, it is.
Okay, thanks.

(SIGHS) Wrong MO, no eyewitness,
and no murder weapon.

This gets better all the time.

The laundry in the girl's room,
did it look folded to you?

What, the stuff in
the garbage bag? No.

There's nothing remarkable
about the laundry itself.

But I can tell you what brand
of fabric softener they use.

Pass.
We're thinking the perp

might've handled
the garbage bag.

Latent found only
the victim's prints on it.

But I noticed what looked like the
imprint of an ear in the plastic.

I side-lit the bag to highlight any
indentations and took a photo.

Want to dim the lights?

Here's what showed up.

I compared this image to the
autopsy photo of your victim.

They match.

Her face made an
impression on the bag

while she was being suffocated.

Looks like Darnell found a
bigger thrill than pillowcases.

It still doesn't
prove anything.

Unless we can put him in her
building, we're nowhere.

What about his alibi?

Well, the guy at the deli remembers
him getting a sandwich to go.

Leaves him just over
an hour unaccounted for.

Enough time to get to the
Perez place and back.

Depends what his daughter says about
this so-called errand he did for her.

Let me know.

(MACHINE WHIRRING)

JANEANE: Dad picked up some
clippers I brought in to get fixed.

There's a repair
shop near his work.

Can't be that close.

His supervisor says he was 20
minutes late getting back.

So maybe he had to wait.

Clipper repair, that's a
tax-deductible expense, right?

Yeah.
So you have the receipt?

Is there some problem with his
parole 'cause he was late?

Oh, we don't get out of bed
for parole violations.

See, Wednesday,
a young girl was raped

and murdered on
the Lower East Side.

And naturally you thought of my father.
He's not a murderer.

He happens to be
a convicted rapist.

Those are all lies.

If you could see him with
my kids, you would realize

that he's not that kind of man.

Miss, you want to
look for the receipt?

Cute photos. Who's this?

That's my father, when he
was seven, with my grandma.

He reminds me of my little boy.

Lennie, the statue
in the background.

Looks like Union Square.

Was this taken in New York?
I don't know.

Here it is. Right there.
The date, it's Wednesday.

There's no time stamped on it.
He could've gone there after work.

My father doesn't
get off work till 6:00.

The repair shop closes
at 5:00, all right?

Now, I've got customers waiting, okay?
Do you mind?

Go to prison and win your daughter's
undying love. If only I'd known.

So what do you
make of that picture?

Darnell's file has
him growing up in Ohio.

He's got a juvie record there.

Well, where was he
before he got a record?

Lewis Darnell, the lost years.

BRISCOE: Darnell's mother
was a war widow.

She wasn't in any of
the old city directories,

but Uncle Sam sent her GI survivor
benefits until she remarried in 1953

and moved to Ohio.

Until then, she shared
an apartment with her sister.

In the building
next to Teresa Perez.

What does Judge Richler say about
a search warrant for Darnell?

He turned us down.
Darnell's connection to the building

wasn't compelling enough
to support probable cause.

He wants to know
how many other rapists

lived in the building
in the last 50 years.

JACK: Can't Darnell's parole
officer order a search?

We can always ask.
Get on it.

And I want him examined for
scratches and bite marks.

If we're lucky, the
girl put up a fight.

Do I look like
Sandra Day O'Connor?

A judge already dinged the search warrant.
I can't overrule that.

Maybe, if you'd
have come to me first.

Hey, isn't busting your parolees'
chops part of your job?

Unfortunately, only for cause.

The judge said there isn't any.

Should've talked to me first.

See, I told you, Lennie.
It was a mistake listening to Ross.

Who's that?

Ah, she's an A.D.A.
, doesn't know her ass from her elbow.

She's the one who had the bright
idea to take it to a judge.

Yeah. I tried to tell her
there was a better way,

but you know how
these pushy career women are.

Yep. I work for one.
Look, I'd really like to help you guys.

You know, I just
thought of something.

Can you pull Darnell
in for a physical exam?

Sure, if I suspect drug use.
Should I suspect drug use?

Absolutely.

MUNRO: I don't need
you to agree, Lewis.

Drug use is a violation
of your parole.

You are required to
submit to an examination.

Fine. I'll pee in a cup
and I'll get out of here.

After the doctor checks
you for needle marks.

If you refuse, I'll violate
you right back to prison.

He says the word, you're on
the next bus to Sing Sing.

He had some minor cuts on
his hands and forearms,

but that's normal for someone
who works with sheet metal.

Other than that, there were no
scratches, nail gouges or bite marks.

Bruises? Nothing consistent
with a struggle.

But this bird has some peculiar habits.
Like what?

Mr. Darnell has
no body hair.

He told me he shaves it
for personal hygiene.

Said it was a habit
he picked up in prison.

Explains why we didn't find
any of his hair on the girl.

Hey, if rape was my business, I'd
shave before going to work, too.

Sounds like Mr. Darnell just gave
you cause to search his premises.

(BRISCOE EXCLAIMS)

Here you go, pal.
Go see Mommy. Thank you.

Come here, Jared.
Come here, sweetie.

Tami, can you take them over
to your place for a second?

Sure. Let's go, kids.
We can watch cartoons at my place, okay?

You've got no right to do this.

Take it up with him.

Uh, Detective. I found these
in a cupboard under the sink.

A few pair missing.

What? I use those
to color hair!

What's the hair salon for,
coffee klatches? Bag it.

Hey, Lennie, in here.
No trophies from the Perez girl,

but I found his stroke material.
Check out the titles.

"Of Female Bondage," "Get
On the Bitch," "Erase Her."

Yeah, and in case his VCR is on
the fritz, he's got magazines.

Page after page of rape scenes.

So much for 18
years of therapy.

What can I say? Some people like
vanilla, I like rocky road.

Yeah. I look at pictures of
ice cream, I get hungry.

Do these make
you hungry, Lewis?

(DOOR CLOSING)

I learned in therapy
to control my urges.

This material helps me
relieve the pressure

so it won't preoccupy my thoughts.

What you learned is a fancy way
to blow smoke up our ass, Lewis.

I have myself under control.
I see a state shrink every week.

Yeah? You tell him how you did that
Kojak number on your privates?

That's about hygiene.

It's about two body hairs found
in Deborah Rourke's bed.

That's what got you
convicted the first time.

So you didn't want to
make that mistake again.

That's a long time ago.
I want to talk about today.

I'm not under arrest,
but here I am.

You're detaining me illegally.

You're being detained at the
request of your parole officer.

This is one hell of a system.

Well, it wasn't designed
for your enjoyment, Lewis.

You ever wear disposable gloves?
DARNELL: No.

You sure? 'Cause
your prints were found

on a box of gloves
in your kitchen.

Perhaps I had to move it.

What about your silver
penknife, where's that?

I never had a penknife.

Somebody saw you
with it at work.

It's not in your locker,
it's not at home.

I never owned one.
Anything else? Yeah.

Teresa Perez.
Who?

You'd know her better as the
girl you raped and murdered

last Wednesday on
your lunch break.

I did no such thing.
I was running errands.

We know. You got a sandwich and
you picked up the clippers.

What'd you do with
the rest of the time?

I walked and I ate.

Write down where you went.

I don't remember.

Ever been to 122A
East 11th Street?

Doesn't ring a bell.

Are you sure? It's next door to where Ms.
Perez lived.

No, sorry.

You never went
down to the basement?

(BREATHING DEEPLY) No.

Not even when you were seven?

I don't have a clear
memory of my childhood.

So you don't remember climbing
through a hole in that basement?

DARNELL: No. But you do
remember that basement, right?

I don't want to talk anymore.

It's not up for a vote.

If you had anything on me, I'd
be under arrest right now.

I don't care if you violate
me, I'm going home.

Sit down.
JACK: Detective.

Now arrest him!

Hey, hump, you're in.
You just violated your parole.

CURTIS: You have the
right to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will be
used against you in a court of law.

I can stall a hearing on his parole
violation for 90 days, but that's it.

What are his chances at the hearing?

Well, he was late for work and he
walked out of a police interview.

In the world of parolees, gets
him the good citizen's award.

Mr. Munro, I'd like to know
we're on the same page here.

The object is to
keep him behind bars

until we can make a
murder case against him.

I'll talk to
the hearing officer,

I'll show him your
file on the Perez girl,

but I can't promise anything.

ROSS: Sounds like Darnell can start
planning his welcome home party.

It's three months he
won't be on the hunt.

Mr. McCoy?
This just came by messenger.

Darnell filed a writ
of habeas corpus.

Mr. Darnell's parole officer
signed off on his arrest.

With a 400-pound gorilla named Jack
McCoy breathing down his neck.

Your Honor, these
Mickey Mouse violations

are a pretext to
keep my client in prison

while Mr. McCoy
investigates a crime

totally unrelated
to his parole.

What crime is that?

A brutal rape and murder committed with Mr.
Darnell's signature on it.

It must've been in
disappearing ink.

There's no evidence
he was involved.

That's immaterial.

His parole conditions require him
to cooperate with the authorities.

GRANICK: He consented
to a physical exam.

He consented to
an interrogation.

He tried to leave.
After two hours of questioning.

It does seem unreasonable, Mr.
McCoy.

Your Honor, that's for a
parole hearing to determine.

With all due respect, he doesn't
have a remedy in this court.

He does, Your Honor, if
the detention is illegal.

I agree. Mr. McCoy, I don't see a
significant parole violation here.

I'm ordering
Mr. Darnell's release.

Isn't it heartening?

Even the rights of a disturbed
serial rapist are protected.

How disturbed is he?

There is a procedure for committing
dangerous people against their will.

Maybe we've just been
in the wrong court.

I've read the mental
hygiene law, Your Honor.

There's no way my client
qualifies for commitment.

He's a diagnosed serial rapist.
He's a danger to others.

You don't even have standing
to make this application.

Mr. Darnell's state-appointed
therapist does.

Your Honor, he's trying
to use a civil statute

to impose criminal
sanctions on my client.

It's outrageous.
I'm within the letter of the law.

No. Maybe within
the spirit, Mr. McCoy.

Now, I'll hear arguments
Thursday morning.

Mr. Darnell is scheduled for release
from Rikers this afternoon.

I want him held for observation
until the hearing.

That's fine with me.
Have the papers on my desk after lunch.

I don't see
a problem, Elizabeth.

His own therapist has agreed
to support the application.

A therapist with 300
court-ordered clients.

I doubt he could even pick
Darnell out of a lineup,

and I doubt it ever occurred to him to have
him committed until you brought it up.

Darnell rapes and kills.
Isn't that a sign something's wrong with him?

Like it or not, his abnormality

is not a recognized
mental illness.

If you want to commit him, petition
the American Psychiatric Association,

not a judge.
We're not reinventing the wheel here.

Six states have laws
to commit sexual predators.

And they're all being appealed
to the Supreme Court.

Until the nine Supremes rule otherwise,
I'm having Darnell locked up.

The same way the Soviets
filled the gulag.

It's using psychiatry
to punish people.

(EXCLAIMS) Hey!
It's legally brilliant.

Bound to be a hit
with the public.

And you've no
business doing it.

You're an assistant
district attorney.

You work in criminal term.
If you can't beat them there, that's it.

That's the end of the story.

You don't get psychiatrists to
front for you in civil term.

I'm leaning on the police,
but it could be months

before we have enough evidence
for a murder conviction.

Where do you
want him until then?

I'm on the side
of the angels here.

If I can stretch
the mental hygiene law,

it's worth doing to keep him off the street!
Hopefully for good.

After examining his file,

I'd say Mr. Darnell has a sexual
deviation known as preferential rape.

He'd rather rape than have
a normal sexual encounter.

He finds the force and fear
of rape sexually exciting.

What provokes him?

Any number of stress
factors. Work, family,

even waiting in line
at the grocery store.

The pressure builds until he
feels a compulsion to rape.

JACK: After he does,
what happens?

The pressures start to build again
and the cycle repeats itself.

Is his abnormality treatable?

Drugs can decrease
his sex drive.

His arousal can
be reconditioned.

But left untreated, do you agree with Mr.
Darnell's therapist

that he'll continue to rape?

Yes. I have no doubt.

Thank you.

Dr. Olivet, what's the characteristic
of my client's abnormality?

He commits sex crimes.

So he's abnormal because
he commits crimes.

Can't the same be said
of a thief or a mugger?

I don't know of any reported
case of compulsive mugging.

(LAUGHS)

The treatments you mentioned,

are they effective in controlling
my client's abnormality?

Yes, to varying degrees.

In other words,
there's no meaningful,

long-lasting treatment
for serial rapists, is there?

No. There's no cure,

and there's no guarantee
that he won't re-offend.

Thank you.

JANEANE: Before
they got divorced,

my mom would take me
to visit him every month,

and then later,
when I was older,

I would go out by myself on
the train every other week.

I waited 18 years to get my father back.
Now, he served his sentence,

and I don't think
they should just be able

to take him away again for
doing absolutely nothing.

GRANICK: Would you describe your
father as loving and supportive?

Yes. Yeah. He always told me to stay
in school and to get good grades,

and after my divorce he encouraged
me to start my own business,

and you should see
him with my kids.

He plays with them and he
reads stories to them.

Do you feel they're safe with him?
Yes.

Yeah, of course.
Look, my father is a very gentle man.

Thank you.

Ms. Darnell, did you know
that this "gentle man"

kept violent, sexually-explicit
magazines in his room?

Those aren't real, Mr. McCoy.
Those women are models.

It's fantasies. You can't lock
people up for their fantasies.

I want you to
look at these photos.

Those wounds aren't fantasies.
Those women aren't models.

Those are your
father's victims.

Objection.

JACK: Goes to credibility, Your Honor.
I'll allow it. Go on.

My father didn't do this.

He told his prison therapist
that he raped them.

He admitted his guilt
to the parole board.

Because he had to, or they
would have never let him out.

Did he tell you that he lied?

No. He didn't
have to tell me.

I just know he
never raped anybody.

JACK: Then how do you account for
the evidence used to convict him?

(EXCLAIMS)

I have read where people
get convicted of rape,

and then years later
they're found innocent.

Experts make mistakes,
Mr. McCoy. Witnesses lie.

Yes, Ms. Darnell,
and they can be deceived.

The whole time in prison.
I conducted myself in a responsible way.

That's why I was recommended
for early parole.

While you were in prison,

were you ever hospitalized
for psychiatric reasons?

DARNELL: No, sir. GRANICK: Did you
receive any kind of counseling?

I volunteered
for group therapy.

To change my
attitudes toward women

and to learn how to express
emotions in constructive ways.

Did you achieve those goals?
Yes.

Your Honor, I spent
18 years in prison

because Mr. McCoy said I had
a debt to pay to society.

Well, I paid that debt.
I shouldn't have to pay it again.

No more questions.

Mr. Darnell,
when was the last time

you had consensual
sex with a woman?

I don't know.
JACK: Oh, come on.

You were released from prison
more than two months ago.

By your own admission, you're
now a healthy, normal male.

The opportunity must've
presented itself.

Yes, I had sex.

Really? Who with?

I don't know her name.

JACK: Did she help you act
out your rape fantasies?

DARNELL: No, sir.
Did she charge extra for the pillow case?

Objection.
JACK: Withdrawn.

Mr. Darnell, the truth is, you
haven't changed at all, have you?

No, I have changed.
How?

You still have fantasies
about rape, don't you?

That's just in my head.
So,

you think about it constantly?
No, sir.

But you still have
the urge to rape.

I am not interested
in raping anyone!

In prison, I learned
to control myself.

In prison there were no women
available, were there?

I'm controlling
myself out here, too.

By sheer force of will?
Yes.

That works for you,

despite all the medical
evidence to the contrary?

Yes.

Even though you still are turned
on by depictions of rape?

Yes. Despite your
history of 13 rapes?

Despite being
investigated for the rape

and murder of Teresa
Perez two weeks ago?

I had nothing to do with that.

You're saying that you can control
yourself for the rest of your life?

That's what I'm saying.
You're lying.

Objection.

You lied to the parole board, you
lied to your prison psychiatrist,

you even lied to
your own daughter.

Sustained, Mr. McCoy.

You want me locked up because
of something I might do.

You can't do that!
It isn't right!

You roaming the streets
isn't right, Mr. Darnell.

Mr. McCoy!

Withdrawn. I'm through
with this witness.

Even if we grant that Mr.
Darnell is a serial rapist

and suffers from
a compulsion to rape,

Mr. McCoy still has no
right to lock him up.

I don't understand,
Mr. Granick.

Mr. McCoy has
a medical justification,

and he can prove
a continuing threat.

Isn't that what the mental
hygiene law envisions?

The statute mandates commitment
for the purpose of treatment

with the expectation
of eventual release.

The people's own
witnesses concede

there is no cure
for serial rapists.

Mr. McCoy is seeking indefinite
confinement for my client.

That's a gross violation of the
Eighth Amendment prohibition

against cruel and
unusual punishment.

If he's dangerous
and incurable,

all the more reason
to commit him.

Commit him because
he can't be cured.

He can't be cured,
so don't commit him.

This is a catch-22,
gentlemen.

It's Mr. McCoy looking for a second
bite at the confinement apple.

Mr. Darnell has already
served his time in prison.

Your Honor, the mental
hygiene law can be applied

as broadly or as
narrowly as you see fit.

We have a chance here to take a
serial rapist off the street,

to offer him some measure of
treatment, and to protect society.

Your Honor, if you
grant this application,

it will not stop
at serial rapists.

Anybody that they can't
convict in criminal court,

they'll ship off to Bellevue.

JACK: There's no slippery slope here, Your Honor.
This is sui generis.

Mr. Darnell is an exceptional
and egregious case.

JUDGE McLELLAN:
Thank you, Counselors.

I'll certainly consider
your arguments

and render a decision
when we reconvene.

Court will recess until
3:00 this afternoon.

(JUDGE POUNDS GAVEL)

JUDGE McLELLAN: The Supreme Court is presently
considering in Kansas v. Hendricks

the very issues
that you raised.

I'm loathe to precede Mr.
Rehnquist and his brethren

into uncharted territory.

Mr. McCoy, what you
propose is very tempting,

but I suspect very perilous.

I'm going to deny
your application.

Mr. Darnell is ordered
released forthwith.

(PEOPLE EXCLAIMING)

(CRYING) No! No! No!

(WOMAN CRYING)

We conducted
nearly 300 interviews,

we showed his photo to everyone
in the girl's neighborhood,

we canvassed subway stations,
bus stops, cab companies.

The man blends in
like warm butter.

I want follow-up interviews.
And keep showing his photo.

That's the plan.

Forensics compared every kind of
fiber from Darnell's work and home,

from clothing to carpeting, to
what was found at the Perez place.

Nothing matched.
That's not good enough.

I beg your pardon?

You've had this case for weeks.

You haven't given me a
single piece of evidence

I can hang
an arrest warrant on.

Mr. McCoy, when my
detectives get back

from their needlepoint classes,

I'll put them on
the case. Anything else?

Yes. Starting today, I want
round-the-clock surveillance on Darnell.

That was some
motivational speech.

Soon as we convict Darnell,
I'll send her flowers.

Open the case before the grand
jury and let's get them busy.

Doing what?

Start by subpoenaing everyone Darnell's
talked to in the last six weeks.

And I want a summary of the
Sex Offender Registration Act

on my desk by tomorrow morning.

Megan's Law?

I'm gonna give Darnell something
to think about besides rape.

By the time I'm through,
he'll run back to Sing Sing.

We've got a warrant to search Mr.
Darnell's locker.

Again? We're still
looking for a penknife.

You mind showing
these officers the way?

The warrant's also good
to search your work area,

which pretty much covers the entire place.
Start right here.

Okay! Everybody gather
around for mail call.

Do we have a Christopher White here?
CHRISTOPHER: Right here.

Here you go. It's an invitation
from the grand jury.

They want to talk to you about your
friendly neighborhood serial rapist.

Neal Dawson?
NEAL: Yeah, that's me.

Neal. Anybody who doesn't show
up gets cited for contempt.

I'm sure you'll all want to thank
your friend Lewis in a big way.

Rob McAllister?

We're finished with the search.
Sorry for the bother.

What about this?
You're dragging my neighbors into court.

It's not court,
it's the grand jury.

Yeah, well, I don't give a damn what you call it.
This is harassment.

We're conducting
a lawful investigation.

You live with a rapist
and a murderer,

you have to put up with a
few minor inconveniences.

This might be lawful
in Peking or in Havana,

but we're talking about
New York City here!

Look. Look at this!
Look at this crap!

You've got our phone number
and our address on here!

You have no right to do this!

That didn't come from the
department or the D.A.'s office.

Yeah? Whoever did this got the
information from somewhere.

Hey, Megan's Law says we have
to inform local agencies

that there's a sex offender
living in their area.

You got a problem with that,
call Governor Pataki.

(CAR ALARM BEEPS)

Hey, Lewis! Look at you.
Twenty-five blocks and hardly a drop of sweat.

I guess all that
walking around the yard

in Sing Sing
really paid off, huh?

So, what's the matter? Your local bodega
ran out of your favorite breakfast drink?

Hey, Rey, look what
I found on the floor.

Must have fallen off the board.

CURTIS: You know, that's a
really good likeness, Lewis.

GRANICK: He was
hounded from his job.

He hasn't been able to
find a new employer.

His face has been plastered
all over the West Side.

He's a virtual pariah
in his neighborhood.

He has no choice but to apply
for a change of residence.

Who do you know
in Binghamton, Lewis?

A cousin.

He owns a pizzeria. He said he can
give me a job making deliveries.

Mr. Munro, I notified the Broome
County District Attorney's office.

He plans to oppose
his relocation.

Lewis, is there anywhere
else in New York State?

JACK: We sent notifications to every
county in the state. No one wants him.

Mr. Darnell's been in contact
with a relative outside Akron.

Yes. George Radford
in Greensburg.

The Summit County D.A. Doesn't want Mr.
Darnell in his jurisdiction, either.

How did you know about Radford?

We have a court-approved wiretap
on your client's phone.

Now, if Mr. Darnell finds life
in New York so intolerable,

he can live on the grounds of
the Camp Gabriel's work farm.

I'm not going back to prison.

You wouldn't be an inmate.
You'd be on work release.

Work where?
It's in the middle of the damn woods.

Screw your work release.

Knock it off, Lewis.

Mr. Granick, my hands
are tied here.

Until Lewis comes up with a
community willing to take him,

I have to deny his request.

You son of a bitch!

I'm warning you.
You better step off, you understand?

You leave me the hell alone!

There's only three ways that's
gonna happen, Mr. Darnell.

Either you'll kill me, kill
yourself or go back to prison.

Here's one from the director
of the division of parole.

You're interfering with the proper
administration of their field services.

It was their brilliant idea to grant
him parole in the first place.

Save your witticisms for
the police commissioner.

His office thinks that your little
operation is costing too much overtime.

I'm prosecuting a murder.
I'm not looking to save pennies.

By the way, how is that case going?

He hasn't led his police escort

to a secret stash of evidence?

I'm stunned.

What am I supposed to do, Adam?

Darnell won't oblige
me with a confession.

I need to tell these
people what you're doing

serves some legitimate purpose.

I'm pushing hard to break a suspect.
Is that good enough?

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Darnell isn't going
back to prison quietly.

He got the Southern District Court
to issue a restraining order.

How bad is it?
He's putting us out of business.

And he's got the
A.C.L.U. On board.

(EXCLAIMS)
A. C... Oh, boy.

Forty-seven subpoenas, six search
warrants, three wiretap warrants,

24-hour surveillance.
It's abusive.

It's entirely within the scope

of my prosecutorial authority.

Your Honor,
an independent magistrate

signed off on each
and every warrant.

The Gambinos never got this
kind of attention, Your Honor.

Mr. McCoy, is there
a realistic hope

of uncovering
relevant evidence here?

We're looking for the
knife used in the crime,

the clothes worn
by Mr. Darnell,

and any person he might've
spoken to about the crime.

GRANICK: Some of these
witnesses have been called

before the grand
jury four times.

Mr. Darnell's home
and workplace have been

searched on three
separate occasions.

When does this stop?

When I'm satisfied all
leads have been exhausted.

I don't take a lot of comfort
from that, Mr. McCoy,

but Mr. Granick, I don't
see where your client's

civil rights
have been violated,

no matter what the A.C.L.
U. May have told you.

With due respect, Your Honor,
you're missing the big picture.

Now Mr. Darnell's name,
address and prison record

have been distributed
throughout his neighborhood

and made available
on a 900 number.

Now, the neighborhood watch,
school boards, women's groups

have all been
notified of the same...

All of which is required under the
Sex Offender Registration Act.

It's a high-tech
scarlet letter.

Now, the state
punished Mr. Darnell once.

It shouldn't have the right to punish
him again for the same crimes.

This is not punishment.
It's fair warning to his neighbors.

Mr. McCoy, my legal sense tells
me you're treading pretty close

to an injudicious use
of prosecutorial power.

I'm simply using the tools the
state has made available to me.

Yes, you are. And I'm gonna be
watching you very carefully.

Mr. Granick, the restraining
order is lifted

and your application for
an injunction is denied.

Step lightly, Mr. McCoy.

"9:00 a.m. Subject exited
premises to purchase a newspaper.

"2:26 p.m. Subject exited
premises for cigarettes.

"2:29 p.m. Subject looked in the
direction of the surveillance car

"and made an
obscene gesture."

At least he's keeping
his sense of humor.

Somebody isn't.

About once a day his daughter
comes by to spit on the car.

I'm sorry she's caught
in the middle of this.

Counselor, this
turning of the screws,

is this an
open-ended arrangement?

That's up to
Mr. Darnell.

The girl told her mother
just a few days ago.

Why did she wait so long?

She didn't want
her mother to know

she'd ditched school that day,

but when she saw the posters,
she recognized Darnell,

decided to do the right thing.

(PHONE RINGING)

Ms. Ross is from the
district attorney's office.

Why don't you tell
her what happened?

It was last month.
Natalie was home from school.

She was in the kitchen.
She heard noises at the front door.

Natalie, tell her.

Someone was jiggling the lock.

I saw it was that
man through the hole.

He said that the super wanted
him to check the radiators.

MOTHER: He kept asking her to open the door.
Tell them what you said.

I told him that if
he didn't go away,

I'd call the cops.
That scared him off.

It's that man. He's sick.
You gotta put him back in jail.

Thank you.

At the very least, it's attempted trespass.
We can violate Darnell.

And we can have this girl arrested
for impersonating a witness.

She might as well have been
reading off a teleprompter.

Hey, look, McCoy's been
pushing us hard for a break.

This one just walked in.

If he wants to look behind the
curtain, that's up to him.

Check out her story
and get back to me.

The school had a note on
file from the girl's mother

for the same day the girl
claims she ditched school.

It was for a dentist's appointment
she had during lunch.

That note's probably a fake.

The school verified
the mother's signature.

ADAM: What does
the dentist say?

He confirmed there was
an appointment that day.

So the girl went home
instead of the dentist's.

They seem to remember
she had her cavities filled.

"Seem to remember."

What does the girl say?

ROSS: She and her mother swear
they changed the appointment,

but I think
it's a non-starter.

Well, if this lie doesn't get Mr.
Darnell out of the neighborhood,

try a lynch mob.

If there's evidence
they're lying,

it's up to Darnell's lawyer
to present it to a jury.

You want to arrest him?

You'll do nothing of the kind.

The girl's story is credible on its face.
My evidentiary burden is met.

I don't care. You can thumb
your nose at a federal judge,

but I won't let
you drag the law

through a sewer to catch a rat.

It's not worth it.
To put him back in his box?

We arrest him now, it'll be six
months before a jury sorts it out.

Stop. Listen to
what you're suggesting.

An arrest you know is false.
The inquisition is over.

(DOOR OPENING)

I'm sorry, Jack.
I should've kept my mouth shut.

It's okay. He's right.

Mr. McCoy, Detective Briscoe's on line one.
He said it's urgent.

She was on her way
to her apartment

when she saw the door was open.

She heard noises inside,
so she came in.

The baseball bat was
in the umbrella stand.

(SIGHS)

He was on top of her friend.
He had a knife to her throat,

and that bag over her face.

She took two
major-league swings.

One to the right temple,
one to the forehead.

Her friend's in there.

She's got trauma from the rape
and the partial suffocation.

E.M.S. Says she'll be
all right, considering.

I guess the pressure got to Darnell.
He had no place else to go.

Where is she?
In here.

We'll get her statement
back at the squad room.

Make it painless,
and get her back home.

(POLICE RADIO CHATTERING)

I'm sorry it had
to happen this way.

Not all that sorry.

(SIRENS BLARING)

(POLICE CAR DOORS CLOSING)