Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–…): Season 3, Episode 9 - Care - full transcript

In the criminal justice system,

sexually based offenses are
considered especially heinous.

In New York City,

the dedicated detectives who
investigate these vicious felonies

are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit.

These are their stories.

Damn it to crap, Brody.

We're only a day
behind schedule.

Yeah, well, I got
drywallers starting.

So I suggest you shift
your lazy ass into high gear.

Catch the hell up.



Maybe you should think twice before
insulting a man wearing a tool belt.

Yeah, you know, if you
weren't married to my sister...

What the hell is this?

That wasn't here when we left.

Son of a bitch.

The little girl's body was discovered by
the general contractor and a carpenter

at 6:53 a.m. This
our point of entry?

Yeah, one nail holding a piece of
plywood. Didn't take a Herculean effort.

And they both handled the
sword, so it's contaminated.

She was killed with a sword?

No stab wounds,

but hematemesis
indicates internal bleeding.

Blunt force trauma.
Bruises, sternum to toe.

With this? We'll check
it for trace evidence.



Looks like it was made
here out of floor scraps.

Is this the victim's braid?

Looks like it. I'd say cut
with a knife, not scissors.

Restraint marks on the wrists
and ankles. Where's the rope?

Didn't find any.

Signs of sexual abuse?

Extensive bruising and swelling
in the pelvic region. I'll run a kit.

What's her name?
Any idea who killed her?

All right, guys, please. That's enough.
This way, ma'am, please. Come on.

I went in to check
on my... I understand.

My little girl.

But Cassie wasn't
in her bed, and I...

How old is your daughter?

She's five. She's
my foster daughter.

Okay. Can you
describe her for us?

She's black. She got
her hair in little braids.

She's, like, 40 pounds.

Why don't you
come with me, okay?

Excuse me, sir. Pardon me.

Sound like we have
an ID? Yeah, it's bad.

Excuse me. Excuse me, Captain
Cragen, can you give us anything?

We'll have a statement shortly.

Oh, my God! No!

Victim is Cassie
Adams, aged five.

She was found beaten to death at
a construction site across her street.

Someone snatched
her right out of bed.

Foster mom said they'd been
having problems with her sleepwalking.

Is there a foster dad?

Everything but.

Foster mom, foster grandmother,
the victim's two sisters.

I believe the grandmother
has a foster kid of her own.

Full house. What's
this, a sword?

Yeah, with the
victim's braid attached.

Some kind of ritual
killing? Or a gang symbol.

There's a crew on 149th Street
that wears a Sword of Damascus tat.

Could be the prop
of some whack job.

Or an ex-con.

This is basically
a big old shiv.

Well, let's start with known
pedophiles in the area.

Canvass the block. Let's find
out who had access to that site.

Oh, and check out this
address. It was on the victim.

We ran it, but there's
no phone connected.

Want us to interview
the foster family?

Benson and Stabler
are there right now.

Level 7.

Tanya, now when did
you last see Cassie?

When I went to bed. Okay.

Glenn, honey, turn
that thing down.

Grandma.

And did you hear
anything last night? No.

We're good? Yeah.

Which one was Cassie's bed?

The bottom bunk.
Tanya has the top.

And Whitley's is
three feet away.

All they know is she was
gone when they woke up.

Well, we'd like to take
everyone down to our precinct.

Fewer distractions, they
might remember something.

They have been through
so much. The dad died in jail.

The mom used to drag
them out panhandling.

She'd use them as sympathy.

Mother still in the picture?
No. Supervised visits.

We'd meet her at
McDonald's every two weeks.

It always really upset
Cassie for days after.

When was the last visitation?

Day and a half ago.

And it's only the
mom on these visits?

She brought her
boyfriend the last time.

Made the girls
very uncomfortable.

Do you know a Cassie Adams?

How's that concern
you? Take that as a yes.

Why are you asking
about my daughter?

Child Services
didn't contact you?

About what?

We're very sorry to have to tell you
this, but your daughter Cassie is dead.

No.

No! God, no! No, no, no!

No! No! No!

Anger management
an issue with her?

At ACS, yeah, man. She was
fighting like hell to get them back.

So having a close friend snatch
one back isn't out of the question.

You know, girl doesn't want
to go, puts up a struggle.

Accidents happen.

Why you talking to
me like I'm a suspect?

Account for your whereabouts
last night and I'll adjust my tone.

I play sax at Harvel's.

I just got Tashandra
a job waitressing there,

and we were both there
until 3:00 this morning.

Tashandra lives here with you?

Officially, she's still at the
shelter, but she's spending nights.

Then why was Cassie
carrying this address?

I don't know. You
gotta ask Shandra.

I always wrote down
where I was for her.

It was a comfort.

I need to be with my babies.

They're okay.

They're with the detectives
trying to sort this out.

You know, Cassie's my middle child,
but she was always the mother hen.

And I don't know what Whitley and
Tanya are going to do without her.

How long have you been apart?

Ten months.

I'll get them back now, won't I?

It's up to Children's Services.

But it's their fault.
They stole my kids.

I thought if I had my girls
with me, I could protect them.

You tell them that I need to
protect the two that I got left.

That's not my call.

You have to take me to see them.

I'm sorry, I really
can't. Please.

Please, don't make me
have to go to them and beg.

Please.

Liv's upstairs with the eight-year-old
sister, Wong's got the three-year-old,

and I'm running out of rooms.

I'll put up a "Do Not Disturb" sign.
Talk to the boy in observation...

- You lousy bitch!
- Tashandra...

What did you do to my daughter?
What did you do to my daughter?

Tashandra, please, this isn't
helping. How could you let this happen?

Calm down, ma'am,
okay, calm down.

No, no, I want to see my
daughters. Whitley! Tanya!

My office here. Let's go.

Here's your juice.

So Tanya, can you tell me
what happened last night?

I don't know.

Well, when you went to
bed, who was in the room?

Whitley and Cassie.

Tanya, we know that Cassie left the
room last night, but do you know how?

No.

Hey, Glenn, tell
me about Cassie.

She was always bugging me to use
my PlayStation, but she was too little.

I wish I had let her now.

It must have been hard for you,
all of a sudden having three sisters.

No.

I like being a big
brother. Do you?

You look out for them?

I try to.

Did you ever go over
to the construction site?

Yeah.

How about Cassie?

She's not supposed to
cross the street by herself.

She'd ask me to take her.

Why?

She likes to talk to
one of the workers.

Did you and Cassie ever go to
the building site without Glenn?

Mmm-hmm.

And when you guys would go
over there, who would Cassie talk to?

Danny. Who's Danny?

He's nice. The other
ones chased us away.

Oh. How is Danny nice?

He gave us gum and
showed us stuff in the house.

Gotta be Danny Marston.

You don't mind him conducting
his Fun Time Learning Emporium

on company time?

Hey, Danny's one of
the hardest workers I got.

Guy that's good with kids
must have a bunch of his own.

Not yet. But he
coaches Little League

and he volunteers in a
bunch of youth programs.

Where's Danny now?

I had to send my whole crew home
after you declared it a crime scene.

Where's he hang his hardhat?

My secretary can
give you his address.

If he's not at home, try the
Youth Rec Center on 123rd.

Guy's a saint.

Danny Marston? Yeah.

Steal a minute of your time?

Sure.

Hey, keep it going guys.

Little girl was found
dead at your place of work.

We understand that you
and her were buddies.

God, it's tragic.

I mean, she came
around every day.

Budding architect, asking
me hundreds of questions.

See, he wasn't being
inappropriately friendly,

he was schmoozing
up a future boss.

Inappropriate?

Listen, the kid never
had a father figure.

I mean, most of the kids I
work with are in that situation.

You make toys for all of them?

I made her a little airplane out
of scrap. Took all of two seconds.

What? Where were you last night?

Home. FIN: Can
anyone verify that?

No.

Why would they need to?

Maybe we should finish
this down at the squad room.

We're in the middle
of a game here.

You really want to do
this in front of them?

Damage their little psyches?

Andre, take over here.

I am not a pedophile.

And I refuse to stop helping kids in
need just to avoid being labeled one.

I didn't do it.

Tell me how I prove a negative.

Tell the truth.

You've never seen anyone at
that construction site after hours?

I never even thought of it until I
started getting the third degree.

I left my thermos
there last week.

When I went back, a
couple of kids had broken in.

Vandals?

No. Who?

Cassie and an older kid.

Listen, I know it looks bad,
but I'm sure it's just coincidence.

What is?

They both had sticks. When I
went in, they were sword fighting.

You need to describe
this older kid to us.

A white boy she's always with.

I think his name's Glenn.

Her foster brother?

He had access to the
home and to the crime scene.

And he did fail to mention
that his sister's murder site

was also their
secret playground.

This family is still grieving
the loss of one child.

We're gonna need a hell of a lot
more before we take away another.

It could be that he had motive.
He was an only child, a little slow.

Three younger, cuter sisters move
in, attention gets split four ways.

Fourteen years old,
raging hormones.

Look, before you place
this kid on death row,

let's see if we can place
him at the crime scene.

Why do we always get stuck with
looking for the needle in the haystack?

Takes me back to the
Easter-egg hunts of my youth.

You're Jewish. Your
parents hid eggs?

My point exactly. All those
futile hours of searching.

Now, if you were still a bright-eyed little
kid, what would that look like to you?

A deathtrap.

You're pathetic. That's
the coolest fort ever.

You had a traumatic
childhood too, huh, Sherlock?

Mother lode. Comic books.

Walkman.

Penknife.

That look sharp enough
to cut off a braid of hair?

If it is, you win the
chocolate bunny.

Glenn's been sent to the
Guidance Center many times.

Fights? Yeah.

He's a bully?

On the contrary.
He's the one bullied.

This is where he spends half his
day with the other Special Ed students.

You know, I've talked to
Glenn. He's... He's borderline.

He's a little slower than the
average student, a little bigger,

and he won't fight back, which
makes him a constant target.

That's gotta get
to him. It did once.

He threw a chair across the
room. It exploded into pieces.

Are you doing anything to
protect these targeted kids?

Glenn has a rich fantasy
life that he retreats to.

Whenever I try to
discuss his problems,

all he'll talk about is this
Camelot-type video game.

Camelot? Like, jousting?
Sword-fighting? That kind of thing?

Yeah. His teachers have tried to interest
him in books with similar mythical themes,

but there's something
about this game.

Graphic violence.

Read his case file.
It's nothing new.

Glenn was one of
our saddest cases.

It's a miracle he's
adjusted as well as he has.

Abuse?

While his mother was out
prostituting herself for drug money,

the boyfriend was at
home molesting Glenn.

Sometimes he'd
resort to objects.

And when did you get
him? Not soon enough.

The abuse started at
two. We got him at four.

If you'd seen the
emptiness in that boy's eyes.

Did he bounce
around for a long time?

On that front he was lucky.

We placed him with
Dorothy Rudd right away.

She's had him ever since.

She ever have any troubles
with him? Not that I know of.

Women like Dorothy
are hard to find.

With a lot of these kids, the families
have no idea what they're getting into.

Still, with Glenn's background,

weren't you at all concerned about
placing three young girls in the house?

No.

My case worker met with the boy,
and he seemed very excited about it.

Stainless steel. Mass-produced.
Swiss Army knock-off.

Standard issue for any boy over
eight. Anything making this one unique?

Say, maybe some kid carving
his initials in the handle?

Oh, better.

Ten-point gem.

I ran it, but he's
not in the system.

System doesn't include juvies.

The size and shape are consistent
with a boy on the large side or a woman.

Although given these, I'd stick
with a lonely, frustrated adolescent.

An outcast with $4-a-day
cheese puff habit.

You lift those from
the comic books?

Corner of every page.

The girl didn't die from a paper
cut. Anything else on the knife?

Just a hair caught in the fold.

It's the one on the left. The
one on the right's the victim's.

It's identical.

Which puts Cheese Puff Boy at the
crime scene the night of the murder.

Now you've just got
that one little hitch.

What's that?

The sword is not
your murder weapon.

But she was hit with it.

See the imperfections
in the wood?

With this level of impact, it would have
picked up fiber or soft tissue evidence.

Maybe he wiped it clean.

Pattern doesn't match.

Bleeds spread their mass out
differently depending on the weapon.

These came from something
perfectly cylindrical with no rough edges.

Broomstick? Baseball bat? What?

Heavier than a broomstick,
narrower than a bat.

There was a pile of copper
piping at the crime scene.

Maybe.

Whatever it was, it was
hefty enough to cause these.

Subcutaneous bruises,
multiple fractures,

metacarpals, tibia, humerus.

What killed her?

Bled out from a lacerated
liver. A slow death.

Rape kit results in yet?

There were no fluids. I found
no evidence of penetration.

I thought you said you did.

I said there was swelling.
It was from the beating.

Anything else?

Look at the different
hues from the trauma.

The most recent are
erythematous with welts.

The purplish areas with extravasation
were already forming hematomas.

Meaning that she was beaten
over an extended period of time.

At least 12 hours.

Did you notice any bruises on
Cassie when you put her to bed?

No. But she was...

Neither of us put her to bed. She
was already asleep when we got home.

You were out?

Just for a few hours, yeah.

Where were you? Delia
Nathan's, right up the street.

We play cards every Tuesday.

Why didn't you
mention this before?

Because it was a lot
earlier in the evening.

We checked in on
her when we got home.

Who was babysitting?

Glenn.

No, he didn't do anything wrong.
She was tucked soundly in bed.

Glenn ever play
rough with the girls?

Well, he liked to wrestle.

He's big for his age, and sometimes
he didn't know his own strength.

He did. He did play rough
with them sometimes.

We're going to need
to speak with Glenn.

Glenn?

- Glenn, honey, please...
- Just a minute.

Kill the Gorgon or
the princess shall die.

Hi, Glenn. What are you playing?

Come on, come
on. One more level.

Glenn, stop. This is serious.

They need to talk to you now.

Elliot.

Right down to the braid of hair.

Glenn, we found your sword.

The one that you
left with Cassie.

Okay, what's a Gorgon?

Gonna be okay, Glenn.

Can you tell us what
happened that night?

Got to help her...
Save Cassie...

Were you watching the girls?

Cassie. Cassie. Cassie.

Glenn.

Glenn, do you know
how Cassie got hurt?

Were you playing games?
Gorgon. Gorgon killed her.

Please, I know he didn't mean
to. It had to be an accident.

Mrs. Rudd...

Tell them, Glenn. Tell
them it was an accident.

It was... It's those
video games.

Stop it. You're
hurting yourself.

Glenn.

You're hurting him!
You're hurting him!

You're hurting him!

How's Glenn doing?
Psych unit at Hillview.

You read the report?

Yeah. Agitation, aggression,
paranoid delusions.

Your boy had a psychotic break.

Almost took our
two-way with him.

His mind didn't short-circuit for no reason.
He's clearly under tremendous pressure.

Guilty conscience?

Need to confess versus
self-preservation. That'll make you crazy.

Damn it! ELECTRONIC
VOICE: You have lost.

Pathetic. Give me that.
Show you how to do this.

Maybe we should rethink
the squad room video arcade.

Glenn retreated into that game.

Well, considering what he went through
his first four years of life, who wouldn't?

Not to mention the physical and
emotional abuse he's taken at school.

Let's just make this case.

The Super Mario Brothers
up there can re-canvass.

You two, go visit the boy.

Mrs. Rudd.

What are you doing here?

We need to see
Glenn. No, you don't.

You stay away from him.

That's okay. You know
what? Why don't we sit down?

Tried to get him a snack. Stuck.

It's his favorite.

How's Glenn holding up?

I've never seen him like this.

Glenn is...

He's a sick boy.

And if we do this right, we can make
sure wherever he goes, he gets help.

Maybe I was too old when I
took him in. I thought I was up to it.

But I was being selfish.

It's just... I love
having kids around.

Mrs. Rudd, you do understand
that we need to talk to Glenn.

Doesn't he have any rights?

Yes, he does,
but he's a juvenile.

You can waive Miranda for him.

I don't know.

The last time you questioned
him, he was so upset, I...

No, I think I should
talk to a lawyer.

Mrs. Rudd... No, I can
stand. I don't need any help.

ELECTRONIC
VOICE: Level Thirteen.

Game's over. Looks like
Dorothy's going to lawyer up the kid.

How long have you
been playing that game?

Your Captain's found his calling.
He made it to the final level.

I defeated the Gorgon, freed
the forest from evil demons,

and rescued the dying
princess from her dungeon.

Princess? Nice.

Oh, wait till you hear how he
lifted the spell she was under.

A sword and a lock of her hair.

It gets better.

I carried her to
the secret cave,

I tied the hair to the sword
and placed it at the entrance.

She's as good as new.

So if we follow the game, then Glenn
killed Cassie and then tried to save her?

Killer's remorse?

What doesn't track is Glenn identified
with the boy hero, not the Gorgon.

Wait, what exactly is a Gorgon?

Are you familiar with Medusa?

Glenn's monster's a woman.

Captain!

That was Jane Rudd. Guess who
just snatched her two other girls?

I was in the kitchen when
Tanya got in from school,

and she comes in and she
says, "Oh, Whitley, it's time to go."

And I said, "Hey,
go where, honey?"

And that's when I saw them
standing in the doorway...

Are you talking about
Tashandra and her boyfriend?

His name was Duke. I don't
remember his last name.

That's okay, we do. Why
don't you have a seat, Jane?

We already have people
covering their home and their work.

We've given out their descriptions
to every bus and train station.

Don't worry about it.
We're gonna find them.

Did they say anything that might
tell us where they were heading?

All she did was curse at me. God,
I wish my mother had been here!

They do this?

Oh, God. BENSON:
Did they hurt you?

Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, my God.

Benson.

Great. We're on our way.

Ticket agent at Port
Authority recognized the girls.

They left two minutes
ago on a bus to Atlanta.

I'm sorry.

Everyone remain seated. We'll
have you on your way in a minute.

In the back on your right.

Sir, come with me, please.

I'm sorry, babe.

Come on.

Tashandra...

Please just let us go.

Just let us go, and I won't be
any more trouble to you, I promise.

You know that's
not the way it works.

You can say you didn't find us.

I understand that you just want your kids
back, but this is not the way to do it.

Trust me, this needs to end now.

Let's go.

Cassie was murdered.

Did you just expect me to sit by and let
the same thing happen to my other two?

That doesn't
mitigate what you did.

Trespassing,
assault, kidnapping.

Minimum, you're looking
at custodial interference.

That's a felony. I
didn't have a choice.

They were in danger. I
had to get them out of there.

That woman murdered my daughter.

Mrs. Adams, I understand that
you're under a lot of pressure.

Tanya told me.

What did she
tell you? Not a lot.

But that's only because that
woman had her too scared.

She finally let on that
Cassie got beaten all the time.

By whom?

Momma Rudd.

We put them back with
Jane. May we see the file?

You know, there are over
500,000 kids in foster care.

It's not easy trying to
find a place for all of them.

Do you realize that a serious
allegation has been made against her?

By Tashandra Adams.

It's about the only
thing she hasn't tried.

What's this letter from
the Bluebell Agency?

That was a reference check.

Jane had two foster kids
before the Adams girls.

This other agency removed them.
Two months later, she came here.

Why were they removed?

Seems Jane "experienced difficulty
understanding her role as a foster parent."

What does that mean?

The children were
found with soiled clothes.

Jane missed appointments
with her case worker.

But she was new.

But the letter goes on to say,

"We recommend that no more
children be placed with her."

You felt comfortable placing
three little girls with this woman?

We had her take a
parenting seminar.

A seminar? And she moved
back in with her mother.

That was a provision.

Dorothy Rudd has a
long history with us.

Still, it was Jane's care
that you put them in.

Believe me, if the Bluebell
Agency had sensed any real danger,

they would have taken
steps to have her decertified.

We worded that
letter very carefully.

Phones call out, too. Did you ever think
of reporting Jane to the state hotline?

The violations we had
evidence of weren't that extreme.

The woman's a hopper. A what?

The city contracts out to 73
private foster care agencies.

We're not interlinked.

When we turned her down,
she had 72 more chances.

And you're sure she's unfit?

Yeah, I've been in
this business 20 years.

I interviewed Jane personally.
The woman's not stable.

We can't go after Jane based
on a case worker's bad feeling.

We have Tanya's
revised statement.

Obtained after
Tashandra took them.

They're tainted.
It'll never hold up.

We haven't talked
to Dorothy yet.

If she turned a blind
eye to the abuse,

then she'll protect the
daughter over the foster son.

Then we gotta get to Glenn now,
before she gets a lawyer. Alex?

There is king for a day.

What, another video game?

It's where we get a law guardian
appointed who will play ball.

He'll let us talk to Glenn, provided
everything the boy says is off the record.

And any law
guardian will do this?

It might take a
little sweet-talking.

Hey, Glenn.

You know why I'm here?

I heard you were the guy
to see about video games.

You ever play Swordquest?

That's my game.

Mine, too.

I made it to level 13.
Bagged myself a Gorgon.

I hate the Gorgon.

Is that who took Cassie
to the cave that night?

No.

It was me.

Why?

To protect her.

Who was hurting her?

Glenn.

It's my job to help kids who
have problems with Gorgons.

You have one in
real life, don't you?

Who is it?

You don't have to worry. Remember?
I'm a level 13er. She'll never get past me.

What is it, Glenn?

The Gorgon.

What's going on here?

I had no idea what a horrible
influence that video game was.

Actually, it's very educational.

The monster in it is
based on Greek mythology.

A Gorgon, one of three sister
monsters with snakes for hair

and the ability to turn anyone
that looks at them into stone.

Stones can't talk.

Why would Glenn
call you a Gorgon?

His imagination.

If I'm guilty of anything, it's of
being too protective of my children.

Come again?

I know I should have turned
Glenn in when he first told me.

But he's my son.

You're a good mother.

But if you want
to help your son,

we have to know the
circumstances that led up to it.

You have to understand, Glenn
lives in a world of his own creation.

In his mind, he was
rescuing Cassie.

Yes. MUNCH: From what?

What was going on with Cassie
that he felt she needed rescuing?

Cassie is prone to violent tantrums.
She'd been out of control for two days.

Since seeing her biological mom.

When she came back she
was saying horrible things.

I couldn't get her to sleep.

When I finally did, she wet the
bed. Next day, more tantrums.

With hypertension, that kind of stress
can't be good for your blood pressure.

I've taken in 12 children
over the last years.

They all come damaged.
Starved for love and discipline.

You had to discipline Cassie.
We can understand that.

I had to send her to
the "time out" chair.

Did you hit her?

I spanked her.

With what? My hand.

But poor Glenn always wanted
to rescue a damsel in distress.

He was, from being
beaten to death.

It was Glenn who killed her.

He must have really knocked her around
when he moved her over to that house.

That's what killed her.

The thing is, Cassie had rope
burns on her wrists and ankles.

Glenn didn't tie her up.

No.

That was Jane.

Thirteen broken bones. We
know about the "time out" chair.

I told her to be good or something
bad would happen. I told her.

She just wouldn't listen.
No, she was so headstrong.

She was always talking back.
She wouldn't do as she was told.

And, oh, the incessant
questions, it'd get to anybody.

So you tied her up.

She couldn't even
fend off the blows.

All Cassie had to do was be a
good girl. Is that too much to ask?

Like you were
when you were little?

What happened when
you weren't a good girl?

She used to do the same
things to you, didn't she?

Well, she wants the perfect
child, obedient and grateful.

She won't accept anything less.

Jane, it's still not enough.

She tried to pin this
whole thing on you.

No, she didn't. No, she didn't.

Oh, Jane, yes, she did.

We have a signed statement saying
you were the one that tied Cassie up.

My mother made me tie her up.

Jane. I never hit her,
never. Not once, ever.

But you knew what
was gonna happen.

How could you bring
children into that house?

I didn't want to. I
didn't want kids.

Your mother made
you do that, too?

No, she wanted to
be a grandmother.

So you took in foster
grandbabies for her to abuse.

Jane, what happened to Cassie?

Cassie always fought her.

Told her she hated her, told
her that she was gonna tell.

She said the beatings were not
gonna keep her quiet anymore.

So my mother

beat her

all day long.

She used her cane, didn't she?

Counselor, I got some more
ammunition for you on the Rudd case.

Warner says Dorothy's cane
matches the wound patterns,

and we found the
rope in the apartment.

Good. Jane just cut a deal.

Well, not too cherry, I hope.

Five to ten, conditional on her
testimony against her mother.

She's an accessory, so her
testimony needs to be corroborated.

Well, you got Glenn.

Who's currently in a psych ward.

Did you guys have any luck
tracking down other foster kids?

Benson and Stabler did find one.
Definitely abused. He can't face Dorothy.

Well, that's one down. Dorothy's
had a dozen over the years.

Who have scattered to
the four corners of the earth.

Once they turn 18, the system
doesn't want to know from them.

Good night. Hey, honest opinion.

Can I put Glenn on the stand?

Well, I talked to his doctors.

He doesn't have any organic mental illness,
but I don't think he's strong enough.

What if I prep the
hell out of him?

Unless you get this kid
where he feels completely safe,

you'll be putting
him at further risk.

That's where the judge will be?

Yeah.

You want to try it out?

Now, the courtroom will be
full of people supporting you.

There'll be your law guardian,
and your friend, Captain Cragen,

and I will be at that
chair right there.

Will my mom be here?

Dorothy will be at
that table right there,

but she can't talk to you
and she can't touch you.

Are you sure?

Do you remember what
the Court Officers do?

Keep everybody safe.

Now, the other attorney is
allowed to ask you questions,

but you just have to
answer them honestly, okay?

Okay.

You know, Glenn, if
this is too much for you

or you decide you don't
want to do it, you don't have to.

You understand?

But it's to help Cassie, right?

Yeah.

Then I want to do it.

When did your mom put
Cassie in the yellow chair?

Early in the morning.

And why that
chair in particular?

It's for punishment.

What had Cassie done wrong?

Glenn, what had
Cassie done wrong?

She peed in her bed.

What was her punishment?

She had to drink
lots and lots of water.

Until?

She wet her pants.

Was that the end
of her punishment?

No.

What happened next?

She was begging for help. I
needed to save her. She was...

Glenn, just take your time.

I needed to help
her. Cassie was hurt.

Your Honor, I object to the blatant ongoing
intimidation tactics by the defendant.

I didn't do anything. Liar!

You beat her. You
beat her the whole day.

I took you in when no
one else wanted you!

Cassie was crying,
and you kept hitting her.

She tried to run away and you
made Aunt Jane tie her down.

She was so little.

You were supposed
to protect her.

But you beat her
with the cane all day.

You killed her.

You killed her.

Who died?

Dorothy Rudd.

Please tell me you're kidding.

Just got a call from Rikers,
massive heart attack.

Bitch didn't even suffer.

Anybody else feel cheated?

Prosecution abated
by death. It sucks.

That's it. No
vindication, nobody pays.

Jane'll do a couple of
years. Slap on the wrist.

Her deal is done.

What about the foster agency?

They signed Cassie's death
warrant the day they placed her there.

No laws on the books
will let me prosecute them

even if they knew
the house was unsafe.

Tashandra Adams knew. And
you know what bites the most?

She still doesn't
have her kids back.

Of course reunification
is our objective.

But she hasn't met the criteria
of her discharge plan yet.

I checked. A Family Court judge ruled that
these kids could be paroled to Tashandra

as soon as she obtained
appropriate housing.

Which she has not done yet.

Part of your obligation
is to help her do that.

I know what my job is.

And I know mine.

Enforcing criminal sanctions
against agencies like yours

that knowingly place their
wards in unsafe homes.

I had no idea.

Well, the good people at the
Bluebell Agency will testify that you did.

If Ms. Adams does not get
her children back immediately,

I will indict you for
child endangerment.

That's blackmail.

And if you drag your
feet, manslaughter.

Momma.

Don't cry. It's okay.

Why don't we give them
a little privacy? Yeah.

Can Glenn come live here, too?

The boy that tried to help Cassie,
what's gonna happen to him?

He's in good hands. Bye.

What is going to
happen to Glenn?

Emergency foster placement.

Right back in the system.