Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 8, Episode 4 - Harvest - full transcript

The prosecution of the shooter in the death of a young mother and wife hits a snag when it is suggested that her doctor may have killed her to give away her organs and advance his career.

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.

Does your wife
know you're single?

(CHUCKLES) Come on,
I wouldn't lie to you.

What's this?

(SIGHS)

it's a friendship ring.

It's from a girl
I don't even see anymore.



You know, you are so married,
you talk like your wife.

Oh, come on.

Tell your partner that he's...
(DOOR OPENING)

Help me, please!

Save her!

My wife. She's been shot.
She needs help.

I've got to roll somebody.
I need people out here stat.

WOMAN ON PA:
Dr. Nassuk, report to the E.R.

Looks like a head shot!

DOWNEY: What happened?
Please.

Tell me what happened.
Please, save her. Save her, please!

Please!

Seven shots so far.
All from the outside.

What'd they do?
Empty the whole clip?



I guess somebody
really hated this car.

This one did the damage.

Downey, what do
we know about her?

Nancy O'Neal, 29.
Her husband Marty brought her in.

Had their little girl
with them. She's okay.

How's the mom doing?

Touch-and-go
last I checked.

Where did
this happen?

Near the G.W. Bridge,
near Cabrini and 180th.

We got reports of
shots fired around 12:30.

What's this decal?

Permit for the
North Shore Beach Club.

What, are they from
Long Island?

Queens. He says he
manages that swim club.

So, what were they
doing out here?

They were driving home from her
parents' house in New Jersey.

They got lost
coming off the bridge.

Started driving
around in circles.

Next thing you knows, somebody's
throwing shots at his car.

What, just for
the hell of it?

That's what he says.
He was inside.

Thanks.

Well, I can see
how this played out.

He's driving, he's lost,

she tells him to pull over, ask
for directions, he keeps driving.

Or he did ask, and that's
the answer he got.

That's why I always
carry a street map.

She's still breathing.

I told her husband we
got a patient who just

ran the marathon
with a .22 in his head.

Dr. Sunshine.

Between you and me, she'll
be lucky to wake up.

MARTY: I was just trying to get
back to the Cross Bronx Expressway.

When I got down to
the end of the block,

I made a U-turn and I drove
back the way we came.

And that's when
all hell broke loose.

Now, the guys that shot at you,
did they say anything to you?

No.
You say anything to them?

No. Nothing.
I swear to God.

There were three of them

and they just started
shooting for no reason.

Thank God Bess was
asleep in the back seat.

MRS. FULLER: Marty?

My God. Bess.
What happened?

Nancy got shot.

I came around this way,
then I drove to about there.

(OFFICERS CHATTERING ON RADIO)

It was dark.
It looked different.

The guys were
over there somewhere.

Lennie! Found a shell
casing near the curb.

Get back up
on the sidewalk.

He's got more of them.

You got more?

Come over here.
Let me see.

Come on.
Hand them over.

Where'd you
pick these up?

All right.

So, is that where
those guys were standing?

Yes. I took off.
I turned left down there.

Can I get back to my wife?

Officer! Run Mr.
O'Neal back to the hospital. Thank you.

What have you got?

Pint of Tally-Ho,
cash receipt, $2.66.

Time stamped
11:16 last night,

liquor store
two blocks from here.

LUCITA: We close at 11:00.

I can't remember
everybody who buys booze.

This sale was
after you closed.

Well, maybe
the clock's busted.

And maybe you let
somebody in after hours.

Tell you what, why don't we just
wait around, ask your boss?

Don't do that.

Well, then quit jerking us around.
Who bought the brandy?

He doesn't
bother nobody.

Then, he won't
mind talking to us.

(SIGHS)

His name is Tico.
He comes in every night for his bottle.

Last night he was late.
He tapped on the window.

Where can we find him?

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

(LAUGHING)

When he drinks,
he doesn't see anything.

Me, I saw two
of everything.

Hey! Look, Tico.

You don't talk,
you don't eat!

Oh, boy!
This beef and barely soup.

This is good for you.
Lots of vitamins and minerals.

No cholesterol either!

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

Very fast.

What kind of car?

(SPEAKING SPANISH)
Give me my soup.

What kind of car?

Om (GROANS)

White Ford.

The O'Neals were driving a blue Ford.
You sure it wasn't blue?

I know blue.
I know white.

It was a white Ford!

Did you see
who was driving?

No.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

Please, give me my soup.

(SIGHS IN RELIEF)

It was in the front seat.
A .380. Very good condition.

You find the gun,
we'll match it.

You mean the gun
that's in the river

under the George
Washington Bridge.

What about
these trajectories?

So far, they converge
at a point

about 20 feet out
in front of the car.

So, the car and the
shooter weren't moving.

Everybody was
standing still.

CURTIS: What about this one?

Looks like the shot
came from this side.

The shooter probably fired just as the
car was turning right to get away.

Except O'Neal
could only turn left.

Unless

the door was open when
the shooting started.

Marty left that part out.

Yeah. He didn't tell us
the car was stopped either.

Maybe because
he wasn't in the car.

He shot his wife while his
kid's asleep in the back seat?

Hey, you get mad enough, you
forget who's in the back seat.

I was sleeping with Pooh.

Then I heard noises,
like firecrackers.

Did you see
where your daddy was?

No. It was dark
and I was scared.

And then Daddy
drove real fast.

Sweetheart,
before the firecrackers,

did you hear your mommy
and daddy talking?

It's okay, honey.
Tell the truth.

(CRYING) Mommy and Daddy
were fighting, Grandma.

Daddy was yelling.

Mommy wanted to go home,
but Daddy said no.

That's all right, Bess.
You were a good girl.

She's answered
enough questions.

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Hello? it's Marty.

Yes, Dad's here with Bess.

What?

Oh, Marty.

I'm so sorry.

Marty.

No, you did
the right thing.

Yes, we'll come right over.

God bless her.

David, our baby is gone.

(MRS. FULLER CRYING)

The doctors took
her off life support.

Marty signed the form.

They said
there was no hope.

We're very sorry.

The doctors are taking
her organs to donate.

It was going to be her
30th birthday tomorrow.

We like the husband.

His story's off, and his kid
says they were fighting.

It's still a stretch, killing her
with his daughter right there.

Maybe she kept telling him
to stop for directions.

That could
drive a guy nuts.

CURTIS: Hey, LT.

O'Neal's bank just faxed over
his mortgage application.

Turns out his wife was
insured for 50 grand.

50 grand? Hardly buys
a pot roast anymore.

Yeah? Well, check this out.
Under O'Neal's work history,

he worked five summers as a
life guard at Highbridge Pool,

in Washington Heights.

Isn't that just a few
blocks from the shooting?

Right. He was lost.

I saw the signs
to the hospital.

That's how I ended up
at Woodward.

Never been in
that neighborhood?

No. Never.

I just followed the signs.

Yeah. We followed
the signs, too, Marty.

We wound up at
the Highbridge Pool,

where you used to work.

That was a long time ago.
I just forgot where I was.

Like you forgot
your car was stopped.

And your door was open.

CURTIS: And you had
a fight with your wife.

We know about that,
too, Marty.

BRISCOE: She wanted to
go home, but you said no.

You had a surprise
for her birthday.

Yeah, a nice, shiny
bullet to the head.

No! It wasn't like that!

Well, then help us to
understand then, Marty.

She must have done something
to deserve it, right?

No! No, she didn't
deserve it.

It's my fault.

I was going to buy
a diamond ring for her

from this guy, Tony.

This Tony is a fence?
We need to talk to him.

(CRYING)
All I got is his pager.

I was meeting him on Cabrini, on
account of we were coming from Jersey.

I wanted Nancy to
pick out the diamond.

But Tony wasn't there.

He was supposed to be waiting
in his car, this white Ford.

Nancy just wanted
to forget it.

But I had to buy the diamond
before the party. (STUTTERS)

I wanted her parents to
see the ring on her finger.

Then, I saw these guys.

I thought Tony was with them.

So I got out,

and they just
started shooting.

(CRYING HYSTERICALLY)

They killed Nancy.

Oh, my God.

It's my fault.

I should have
listened to her.

We paged this guy Tony
and left O'Neal's number.

No call back.

Better luck paging the
Easter Bunny.

I think
O'Neal's on the level.

He said Tony drives a white Ford.
That's what the drunk saw.

And we believe this liar
because a juice head says so?

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

I ran down
that beeper number.

It's registered
to a Loretta Mason.

She works at Ricky Reeds on 19th.

Loretta? She sounds like
a lot of fun.

Ask her how well
she knows Mr. O'Neal.

Marty O'Neal? Sorry, Irish men
don't do anything for me.

Well, how about
Italians named Tony?

Oh, I know
a lot of Tonys.

The one who got you
those rocks.

His name was Irving.

You mind if
I use your phone?

Go ahead.

Anyway, I lost that
pager three months ago.

This one's much better.

It vibrates.

My boyfriend's
a real sweetie.

Sometimes he pages me
for no reason at all.

What? You lose your pager and you
don't bother to cancel the account?

I paid a year's
service in advance.

They weren't going
to give me a refund.

So what the heck, let the guy who
stole it get my money's worth.

(PHONE RINGING)

Ricky Reeds.
Good afternoon.

Loretta? Yeah. She's here.
Who should I say is calling?

Tony? Just a moment.

I paged him and
gave him this number.

There's a coffee shop
right down the street.

You tell him that you're
going to meet him outside.

You got that, Loretta?

Baby, what's the problem?

Tony, I'm sorry.
They made me do it.

You're a tough guy
to get a hold of, Tony.

Whoa! Easy!
Look, I wasn't on Cabrini Boulevard.

I don't know
any Marty O'Neal.

That's personal property.

Yeah, right. From
your family estate, huh?

One last time, Tony.

Friday night.
Cabrini Boulevard.

I wasn't there.

Don't lie to the police.

Okay! Look, I was there, okay?
But Marty never showed.

And what's it got
to do with you guys?

You don't read the papers?
His wife got shot on Cabrini.

I only saw the headlines.
That was his old lady?

Oh, man.

I had a feeling
about those guys.

What guys are those?

When I was waiting for O'Neal,
these three guys come along,

and one was showing the
other two a big silver gun.

I was holding
nine diamond rings.

I wasn't going
to stick around.

What did these
guys look like?

Guy with the gun was big, and
the other two were smaller.

And one had short
blond hair. Dominicans.

What? They were wearing
the national costume?

They were drinking
Barahona,

Dominican beer.

Nobody else
drinks that crap.

I saw them come out
of this little club.

What club?

This Dominican place, in a basement
around the corner from 180th.

This is a private club.
Yeah.

We're looking for
three of your members.

They were here Friday,
around midnight.

Big man with two other guys.
One had blond hair.

I don't want any trouble.

BRISCOE: Neither do we.

And we know your liquor
license isn't posted

because it's out someplace
being framed, right?

Look, these guys shot a woman
four blocks from here, Friday.

They came this close to
killing her little girl.

(TOILET FLUSHING)

Put your hands on your head, now!
Get down on your stomach.

Do it!
it's dirty, man.

Get down on the floor!

I get all dirty here, man.

What are you
complaining about?

We're the ones
who have to smell you.

Come on. Get up.

The bartender said Leo was there
Friday, with his brother, Victor.

She said they were
drinking with a third guy.

Thinks his name was Eli.

Description fits
what the fence told us.

Well, this bartender earned her
club a little police protection.

Say hello to Victor Ramos,
Leo's brother.

Victor here declines to
cooperate with the authorities.

VAN BUREN:
Put him in Room B.

We tossed their place.
No gun, but I found their phone book.

Under the letter "E",
Elias Camacho.

Prefix in the Bronx.

He's not here.
Why do you want him?

We're arresting him,
Mrs. Camacho.

What, again? You arrested him
two days ago, on Saturday.

He's not here.
I told you that.

He's in Rikers jail.
He was caught selling drugs.

Don't you know that?

Routine buy and bust.

This lame ass, Camacho, could
only sell me eight balloons.

I tell him I need 50.
(SCOFFS)

Punk gets scared, lifts his
shirt, shows me he's strapped.

What's it look like to you?

Nickel plate, .
380 Brownie, I figure.

We're going
to need that gun.

I'd love to have
it to give to you.

He says he's going to
get me the 50 balloons.

Backup unit lost him.

By the time we collared
him, the gun was gone.

Are you sure it was a .38
0? Uh-huh.

If you want to know where it is,
you're going to have to ask him.

ROSS: This case will never
make without the gun.

But the fence lD'd Camacho
from a photo array.

The bartender said he was
drinking with the Ramos brothers.

Did O'Neal
ID any of them?

No.
For what it's worth,

Camacho probably doesn't
even know he killed anybody.

Otherwise, he wouldn't
have flashed that gun

to an undercover
the next morning.

What, he doesn't
watch the news?

He got locked up before
the news hit the street.

Which A.D.A. caught
the drug bust?

Charlie Harmon. I know him.

Are the Ramos brothers
still in holding? Uh-huh.

Keep them there.
Lose their paperwork.

If Camacho doesn't know about the
murder, I don't want them telling him.

You never call, you never write,
but when you want a favor...

You sound like my mother, Charlie.
This is important.

Money never
changed hands, Jamie.

The case is a loser.

What do you
want with it?

Camacho's a murder suspect.

I need the gun
he was carrying.

A murder case?

I could use some R&R
from the war on drugs.

I would kill to be second
chair in a murder trial.

I'm second chair.

Say, "I'll do my best."

On the next one.

Thanks.

You're welcome.

(DOOR BUZZING)

I'm sorry. Mr. Sutter, hi.
I'm Jamie Ross.

I'm just playing catch-up,
here.

Mr. Harmon was busy.
He just dumped all this into my lap.

Oh!

Well, you'll see
it's a very weak case.

Don't get your hopes up.

Why do you think Harmon
laid it off on you?

(SIGHS)

I see your client had eight
heroin balloons on him

when he was arrested.

It was for his
own personal use.

(SIGHS)

I'm not that green,
Mr. Sutter.

I'd like to
work with you.

The police say you showed a gun
to the undercover officer.

I don't have no gun.

ROSS: Nickel-plated, semi-automatic.

I'd like to come out
of this looking good.

The mayor has this
"Guns Off The Street" program.

Maybe you heard of it?

You turn in your gun, we reduce the
drug charge to simple possession.

Time served.
A year's probation.

No weapons charge.

No weapons charge.

With reduced bail, he
could be out by tonight.

(CHUCKLES)

it's a good deal,
Mr. Camacho.

Okay.
I'll tell you where the gun is.

(GUN FIRING)

The action's
a little rough.

Mr. Camacho ought to clean
his weapon more often.

I'll mention it to him.

You know, these people have no
respect for their instruments.

I mean, that's a beautiful piece
of American craftsmanship.

Feel the finish
on the walnut stock.

It caresses the hand
like a woman's thigh.

Yeah, a big selling
point for Camacho.

This is the slug
from your victim's head.

Now, I'm looking at two projectiles
fired from the same gun.

No question.
That's your murder weapon.

Then we better roll. Camacho just made
bail on that reduced dope charge.

He's going to be leaving
Rikers in an hour.

Thanks.

I'm going to miss my
bus, man, what's up?

Elias Camacho?
Yeah?

You're under arrest.
Turn around.

Hey, what the hell, man?

That bitch promised
me no charges, man!

This is for the murder
of Nancy O'Neal.

You have the right
to remain silent.

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

You have the right to
an attorney...

SUTTER: She submarined us,
Your Honor.

She didn't tell us my client was a
suspect in a murder investigation!

Mr. Camacho knew he'd
used the gun in a shooting.

If he's dumb enough
to hand it over...

It was bad faith.

We gave him a year's
probation on the drug charge

and a walk on
the weapons charge.

We're standing by the deal.

She lied to us, Your Honor.

Did you, Ms. Ross?

Not exactly, Your Honor.

Anyway, the courts have allowed the
police to use deceit to obtain evidence.

The police. I expect more from
an Assistant District Attorney.

Whatever the reason,

Mr. Camacho turned over the
gun on the advice of counsel

and of his own free will.

His rights weren't violated.
Your Honor.

SCHREIBER: Mr. Sutter,

the law is on
Ms. Ross' side.

Your motion to
suppress is denied.

And you, I'm not happy with.

I'm sending a note to
the ethics committee,

and then I'm going
to talk to Adam Schiff.

Camacho alone is
responsible for this crime.

It was his gun.
Only his prints were on it.

Which is why Mr.
Ramos and his brother

are only charged
with facilitation.

Leo has applied for legal immigration.
He has a clean record.

He'd like to
keep it that way.

He testifies against Camacho,
we drop the charge.

(SIGHS)

Camacho was pointing
the gun at everything.

We told him,
"Don't be stupid."

And then this Ford comes by, and
this white guy's checking us out.

And he stops and he
gets out of the car.

Camacho says he wants
to scare the white guy,

so he shoots at the car.

The white guy drives off.
Camacho's laughing.

Me and my brother,
we get scared. We run away.

We didn't know about
nobody getting hurt.

The other brother
confirmed the story.

Camacho just wanted
to scare O'Neal away.

It doesn't matter.
He shot into an occupied car.

It's depraved indifference.
it's still murder.

I'll have the brothers
sign their statements,

then I'll write up
their dismissal note.

Good.

Jack.

Nancy O'Neal's
hospital chart.

It says she was in the O.R.
prepped for organ retrieval at 11:22.

So?

Here, check the time of death
on her death certificate.

11:55.

They were getting ready
to take her organs out

half an hour before
she was declared dead?

Clerical error.

She was dead when the bullet
turned her brain to mush.

I'd hate for Camacho to be acquitted
on a dumb clerical error.

(SIGHS)

Who signed the
death certificate?

Maybe I signed it at 11:55,

but she was brain dead a
good half hour before that.

We're going to need her exact
time of death, Dr. Hsu.

I don't have
the exact time.

We have to tell
the jury something.

Look, she failed the
apnea test,

then she was brought into the O.R.

The apnea test?

Once the patient's
brain function ceases,

we take her
off the ventilator.

If she can't breathe
on her own for one minute,

then she's brain dead.

That's what happened
to Nancy O'Neal?

Yes.

Who else would've noted
her actual time of death?

Ask Dr. Cosgrove.
He was in charge of the organ retrieval.

I'm just the neurosurgeon.

(CAR ALARM BEEPING)

There were seven surgeons in O.
R., Ms. Ross.

If you've never seen
an organ retrieval,

it's like a sale
at Loehmann's.

Please, use my car.
Thanks.

Once it starts, there's
no time for taking notes.

That's what
nurses are for.

I'm talking about
before the retrieval began.

Don't you have the time
she failed her apnea test?

It's on her chart.
Yes.

11:20.
That's the time of death.

Because that's when Dr.
Hsu said she was brain dead?

Right. When a neurosurgeon
says you're dead, you're dead.

Now, if you'll excuse me,
I have a meeting to go to.

It was nice
talking to you.

She wasn't declared dead until
they were about to cut her open?

That's terrific.

It's a technicality.

She was dead when she
failed the breathing test.

And their expert
will say otherwise.

You don't want the jury scratching
their heads going into deliberations.

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

Camacho's lawyer's
been calling.

He's looking to make a deal.

Good. Call him back.

Because of some
sloppy record-keeping?

Half a loaf, Counselor.
Better than nothing.

We'll take man
one for 10 years.

10-to-20.

20-to-life,
on murder two.

(LAUGHS)

With the Ramos brothers saying
he didn't mean to kill anybody?

The jury won't care.

SUTTER: We'd settle
for 12-and-a-half-to-25.

You have a deal.

I can do 12, no sweat.

Quiet, Elias.

(EXHALES) That was too easy.
What's the catch?

You've got eyewitnesses,
ballistics, the murder weapon.

Fingerprints. I mean, someone
slip happy pills in your coffee?

The deal's on the table
for another 30 seconds.

I got bent over a chair by Ms.
Ross before.

Now I'm getting another tingling
sensation in my butt. Why is that?

Wishful thinking?

Your time is up,
Mr. Sutter.

Come on, man,
make the deal.

That's what
they'd like us to do.

I want to see everything
you've got.

I want to see statements,
police reports, everything.

Then we can talk
about a deal, okay?

Come on.

This minor record-keeping glitch, as Mr.
McCoy keeps calling it,

means my client
didn't kill Nancy O'Neal.

That's nonsense, Your Honor.

What's pertinent here is when
she failed the apnea test.

That's when
she was brain dead.

SUTTER: According to whom,
Your Honor?

Dr. Hsu, the neurosurgeon who
signed her death certificate.

Did he tell
Mr. McCoy or Ms. Ross

that he administered
the apnea test?

He told me Mrs. O'Neal
failed the apnea test.

SUTTER: Because someone
told him she did.

In fact,
he wasn't even there.

According to his affidavit, the test was
administered by a Dr. Donald Cosgrove,

outside the presence
of a neurosurgeon

and in violation
of medical protocol.

Mrs. O'Neal was
technically alive

when they began
harvesting her organs.

That's what
caused her death.

Not my client.
JACK: Your Honor,

Mr. Sutter can wave the death
certificate around all he wants.

The fact is his client fired a
bullet into Mrs. O'Neal's brain.

That's why she failed
the apnea test.

That's why she
was declared dead.

And that's why I'm going to deny
your motion to dismiss, Mr. Sutter.

Your Honor, the fact that my
client didn't kill Mrs. O'Neal...

SCHREIBER:
Is for a jury to decide.

You can present this
evidence at trial.

We're done.

I didn't lie, Ms. Ross.
You just never asked.

You lied by omission.

You let me assume you
conducted that apnea test.

You assumed
at your own risk.

You falsely signed
an official document.

She was dead when I signed
her death certificate.

I told you to
talk to Cosgrove.

I took his word
she failed the test.

I'm sorry.

(SIGHS)

I screwed up, Jack.

I heard what
I wanted to hear.

I heard what I wanted to hear, too.

We're going to need
Cosgrove's testimony.

Talk to him.
Make sure we're in sync.

An RN, Judy Paxton, made the
notation on the O'Neal chart,

but I don't see that she was present when Dr.
Cosgrove did the test.

Then I should really
talk to Dr. Cosgrove.

Yes. Do you have his number
at Hudson Medical Center?

He doesn't
work here anymore?

His last day was Friday.

He took everybody by surprise.

Was he facing disciplinary
action here over the apnea test?

No. He was going to
leave sooner or later.

Thanks to our
insurance company,

Woodward will be out of the heart
transplant business by the end of the year.

There are just
too many risks.

Dr. Cosgrove
must've been disappointed.

I doubt it. If you're a heart
man, Hudson is the place to be.

I called Hudson Medical Center,
Cosgrove wasn't available.

His assistant said he's too
busy settling into his new job.

Hudson? Didn't they get some
of Nancy O'Neal's organs?

They put her heart and lungs
in a high school student.

According to his assistant,
Cosgrove hand-carried the organs

and assisted
in the transplant.

(SCOFFS)

Sounds more like he was
arranging a job transplant.

The senior administrator
at Woodward Hospital said

he's been sending out his
resume for the past six months.

No takers. He was pricing himself
right out of the market.

Until Hudson came along.

They're among the
top ten in the country.

They can afford him.

How fortunate
for Dr. Cosgrove.

The notion that Hudson
Medical had a quid pro quo

with Dr. Cosgrove
is ridiculous.

We don't barter for organs.

So it's just
a coincidence?

Yes. Cosgrove is a first-rate doctor.
That's the reason he's here.

You're aware there was no neurologist
at the donor's apnea test,

the one he says she failed?

No, I didn't know that.

I'm sure
there's an explanation.

Dr. Cosgrove
hasn't provided one.

Hmm.

This transplant was very
important for your hospital.

Every transplant is,
especially to the patient.

The girl had
Eisenmenger's syndrome,

literally days away from death
when Cosgrove came through.

I meant financially.

Oh.

I read that Hudson recently had
its Center of Excellence rating

renewed by Medicare.

That's right.

Doesn't that mean that Medicare
will help defray the costs

of organ retrievals
and heart transplants?

Yes.
You've done your research.

And that rating is
predicated on the number

of successful transplants performed each year.
Including this one.

I see where you're going.
Good.

What did Dr.
Cosgrove promise you with regards to

Nancy O'Neal's
heart and lungs?

I think I better have a talk
with our in-house counsel.

Fine. And after him, you can
talk to the grand jury.

There was another matching
donor in Virginia.

We were on the phone with
them and with Cosgrove.

Waiting to see
who would die first.

Yes.

Cosgrove guaranteed me he could
deliver a heart-lung block.

I made the notation in her chart because Dr.
Cosgrove told me to.

I wasn't there for the test.

Was anyone
besides Cosgrove?

He said Dr. Hsu was.

Look, he was
chief of the floor.

If he'd told me Elmer Fudd
had witnessed the test,

that would
be okay with me.

Ms. Paxton, do you believe
she failed the test?

(SIGHS)
I don't know anymore.

I was there the first two times
Cosgrove and Hsu tested her.

She passed.

An hour later, Cosgrove told me
they tested her again, she failed.

He ordered five milligrams of Vec
and told me to get her to the O.R.

Vec, what's that?
Vecuronium.

They give it to organ
donors before harvesting

to stop any postmortem
muscle spasms.

It paralyzes them?

Head to toe.

Cosgrove declares her dead and
then kills her with a blow dart.

So now he's your murderer,
not Camacho?

Cosgrove had the motive,
to advance his career,

plus he had the means
and the opportunity.

And the man who put a bullet in
Nancy O'Neal's brain goes home?

Public won't be happy.

They're both liable
for her death.

In this room, not in court.

The doctor's intentional intervening
act negates Camacho's liability.

Camacho acted with depraved
indifference when he fired at the car.

He sent Nancy O'Neal to the hospital,

in a coma with
a bullet in her brain.

That she might die there,
for whatever reason,

including Cosgrove's
intentional act,

was a foreseeable consequence
of shooting her.

Foreseeable? If she'd died of a
heart attack on an operating table,

that would be a
foreseeable consequence.

And if it had
been malpractice?

Isn't that also
a foreseeable consequence?

ADAM: What's your point?

Malpractice isn't that
far from what Cosgrove did.

It doesn't let
Camacho off the hook.

I see.

Are you gonna hold the jury's
hand to make the leap?

I'll hold both their hands.

I'll tell you, if either
conviction survives an appeal,

I'll buy a new hat.

Let them appeal.

Five years from now, they
might get a new trial,

which I'll be
glad to prosecute.

For now, this is
the right thing to do.

"Docket number 558806,
People v. Donald Cosgrove,

"Murder in the Second Degree."

Your Honor, my client's already been arraigned.
What is he doing here?

Let me get a plea.
Mr. Cosgrove?

Doctor. Not guilty.

TORLEDSKY: Bail, Ms. Ross?

$500,000 on the doctor,
Your Honor,

and status quo
for Mr. Camacho.

I'm sorry.
I still don't see why we're here.

People request the cases against Mr.
Camacho and Dr. Cosgrove

be consolidated.
On what grounds?

The people allege they
both killed Nancy O'Neal.

What? Me and this gangster?

Your Honor, Dr.
Cosgrove is a respected surgeon.

Enough.

Elias Camacho
remains remanded.

Bail is set for Donald
Cosgrove at $500,000.

Now go yell
at somebody else.

SUTTER: They're not co-conspirators,
they're not accomplices.

They acted independently
of each other, Your Honor.

Now, if the
doctor killed her,

there's no legal basis to charge Mr.
Camacho with her murder.

In People v. Stewart,

a stabbing victim died
on the operating table

because of a medical error
unrelated to the wound.

The court ruled that
the doctor's intervening act

did not nullify the
assailant's responsibility.

And if I may observe,
Your Honor,

that in Stewart the doctor
was never even charged.

Because that doctor made
an honest medical mistake.

There's nothing honest about what
your client did to Nancy O'Neal.

Your Honor, I don't know what these
lawyers think they know about medicine...

Donald, please.
No, really.

I saved the life of a
16-year-old girl that night.

And to be lumped in with this
street scum is beyond anything...

Doctor, that's enough.

Now you'd be advised to let your
lawyer do the talking. Hmm?

I'm sorry, Your Honor.

Your Honor,
the People's evidence

simply doesn't
support the allegations.

Which makes this an issue
of fact for a jury to decide.

Your Honor.
Your Honor.

Gentlemen, please.
Ms. Ross is right.

Since there's enough here to sustain
charges against both defendants,

I'm going to let
a jury sort it out.

MARTY: After I brought
Nancy in,

the emergency doctor
told me she was critical,

but that she
might pull through.

JACK: Did Dr. Cosgrove
talk to you?

Yes.

He kept coming by.

I was sitting next
to Nancy in the ICU.

He examined her,

then said I should expect her
to die in a short while.

JACK: Mr. O'Neal, what did you expect
the hospital to do for your wife?

It's a hospital.

These doctors were supposed
to help her, to save her life.

Not kill her.

No more questions.

Mr. O'Neal,
just to be clear,

when you brought your wife
to Woodward, she was alive?

Yes. Absolutely.

Thank you.

After your wife was shot,

did she ever
regain consciousness?

No.

She was in a coma.

But they told me
she might get better.

Might?

Didn't you have a lengthy consultation
that evening at 8:47 with Dr. Hsu

who told you that your
wife was near brain dead?

That she would never be aware
of her surroundings again?

Yes. He told me she was
close to brain death.

But what does he know?

I mean, I could see she
was breathing on her own.

Move to strike.

Mr. O'Neal is not qualified to assess
the condition of a comatose patient.

It doesn't take
an expert to know

when someone's
breathing, Your Honor.

Sit down, Mr. McCoy.

The jury will disregard.

MARTY: Why?

She was alive, Judge.

My wife was alive.

SCHREIBER: Mr. O'Neal, please.

You're to respond
only to the questions.

Mr. Hilburne.

Nothing more, Your Honor.

HSU: I was on a phone consultation
with a doctor in Queens,

when I got called to
the O.R. by Dr. Cosgrove.

He told me Mrs. O'Neal
had failed the apnea test.

He asked me to sign the
death certificate. I did.

I shouldn't have, but
by then it was too late.

You signed it even though
you didn't witness the test?

Aren't you admitting that
you violated medical protocol?

Yes.

Making you subject to
professional sanctions?

Yes.

Thank you.
No more questions.

No questions, Your Honor.

HILBURNE:
You had six other patients

with brain injuries in the ICU
that day, is that correct?

HSU: Yes, that sounds right.

Well, do you remember that day
a patient named Roberto Lopez?

47-year-old Hispanic male,
aortic aneurysm.

Yes, now I remember.

I signed a brain death notice
for him that afternoon.

And do you recall how many apnea
tests he underwent that day?

I'd have to check.

His chart says four.

But of those tests,
how many did you witness?

I'm not sure.
Another neurosurgeon,

Dr. Koblin, might've
witnessed one of them.

The chart says you
were present for two.

Then that's what it is.

How about
Francine Waters, black,

pulmonary edema?
She had three tests.

Were you present
for all of them?

I don't recall.

Her chart says you were.

Just as Nancy O'Neal's chart says
you were there for her last test.

Yes, but I wasn't.

How can you be sure?

I wasn't there.
Why would I lie?

I don't know, Doctor.

Maybe it's
professional jealousy?

Maybe my client has a better
parking spot than you.

Objection.
Withdrawn.

No more questions.

Last year, Cosgrove bought a house
in Sands Point from a judge's widow.

$1.3 million.
That's a big nut to carry.

Locks down his
financial motive.

Might not make any difference.
Dr. Hsu's a wash.

In the win column, we have the
ballistics expert, the Ramos brothers.

Marty O'Neal's a toss-up.

So we've got a good chance
of convicting Camacho,

and slim-to-none on Cosgrove?

Put yourself in
the jury's shoes.

Camacho blew
a woman's brains out.

That's an easy
concept to grasp.

All the rest of it,
brain death, apnea tests.

I get a headache
just thinking about it.

Aspirin's in
the top right drawer.

Jack, Nancy O'Neal was, for all
intents and purposes, dead.

She was breathing.
On her own.

That's life, as far as the State
of New York is concerned.

But what kind of a life?

It doesn't matter.

This was not a mercy killing,
it was murder for profit.

Jamie, can dead people
feel pain?

(CHUCKLES) Trick question?
The word "dead" speaks for itself.

Look at this.

COSGROVE:
Mrs. O'Neal was near death.

Her husband had given
a "do not resuscitate" order.

We were waiting for her
to die.

HILBURNE: What did you do?

We performed
a third apnea test.

We took her
off the ventilator.

She stopped breathing.
She was brain dead.

When you say "we,"
who do you mean?

Myself and Dr. Hsu.

I can't understand
why he doesn't remember.

But I do.
He was there.

HILBURNE: After Mrs.
O'Neal failed the test, what did you do?

COSGROVE: I put her
back on the ventilator.

Then, I told Nurse Paxton to make a note
in her chart and to prep her for the O.R.

And what happened there?

A team of surgeons
harvested her organs.

Her heart and her lungs went
to a high school student.

Her kidneys went to
California and to Arkansas,

and her corneas
went to Chicago.

Thanks to
Mrs. O'Neal's gifts,

a half a dozen people now
lead normal, healthier lives.

Thank you.
Thank you, Doctor.

No questions.

Doctor, we heard testimony that you
guaranteed Hudson Medical Center

you'd have a heart-lung block
for them to transplant.

They misunderstood.

And now you're
working at Hudson.

You'd been wanting to leave Woodward
for some time, isn't that true?

Yes. Their insurance
company is forcing them

to stop doing
heart transplants.

You'd applied to other hospitals?
Yes.

And you'd been turned down because
of your salary demands, correct?

I really couldn't say.

Your monthly financial
obligations are substantial.

Alimony, child support
for two kids,

payments on a condo
in the city,

a home in Sands Point,
two luxury cars...

Yes, yes.

You need that big
paycheck, don't you?

And Hudson Medical Center was the only
hospital willing to meet your price.

Yes.

If you delivered a heart-lung
block to them that night.

No, that is ridiculous.
They hired me because of my qualifications.

Doctor, we've heard testimony
from several neurologists

that Nancy O'Neal would
have survived her injuries.

Well, they're wrong.
The fact is, she did not survive.

She failed the apnea test.
She was dead.

Brain dead?
Yes.

You're absolutely sure?

According to the medical
standards that we live by,

yes, there's no question
that she was dead.

People's 79.

An itemized bill for Nancy O'Neal's
stay at Woodward Hospital.

It includes all charges incurred
during the organ harvest.

Doctor, there's an item highlighted.
Please tell us what it says.

It's a morphine drip.

What's it used for?

It's a painkiller.

You were giving
Nancy O'Neal a painkiller

while you were
harvesting her organs?

No.

This is a mistake.
it's not on her hospital chart.

You're right, it isn't.

But we checked with
the hospital dispensary.

People's 80.

According to their records,
you signed out a morphine drip

10 minutes before Nancy O'Neal
was wheeled into the O.R.

Isn't that what this says?

Yes.

Why would a person you were
absolutely sure was brain dead

need a painkiller?

She wouldn't. She didn't.

Because if she were as
dead as this piece of wood,

she wouldn't feel any pain,
isn't that right?

She was dead.

She was alive.

For all your
godlike pronouncements,

you knew that, didn't you?
HILBURNE: Objection!

That's why you had to
pump her full of morphine!

So she wouldn't bolt upright,

screaming in the operating room
while you cut her heart out.

(GAVEL POUNDING)
Mr. McCoy.

I have nothing further.

Man one,
1 2-and-a-half-to-25?

Jack, you've got to
take into consideration

the quality of the life
that was taken.

I don't make
those distinctions.

Murder two, 15-to-life.
Or we go back to the jury.

Done. Send me
the paperwork.

Mr. McCoy,

if you had seen
her lying there,

there was no
hope of recovery.

She was either going to
die then or 10 days later.

It wasn't your decision
to make, Doctor.

Donald.

Of course it was.

Cosgrove confused his own
needs with his patient's.

He got arrogant.

An occupational
hazard of people

with the power
over life and death.

Like doctors.

Prosecutors.
One guilty plea, one guilty verdict.

Good work.
And good night.

(CHUCKLES)

Tomorrow, we start on Camacho's
sentence recommendation.

There's gonna be
some fallout from this.

People are gonna think twice
before signing their donor cards.

Cosgrove was an aberration.

I'm not worried about
a shortage of organs.

Better not be.

Especially livers.

Good night, Jack.