Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–…): Season 5, Episode 22 - Painless - full transcript
Housekeepers discover a woman, Christina Nerrit, hand-cuffed to a bed, with a plastic bag over her head, near death. Detectives investigate the crime, believing it to be a rape/attempted murder, but evidence soon lead them to a more bizarre scenario involving the terminally ill, and a suicide-support website. When Christina dies mysteriously while recovering in the hospital, and it is determined that she died from a self-inflicted overdose of insulin that had to have been brought to her from outside the hospital, it changes the focus of the investigation again. The right to ends ones own life, and the culpability of someone assisting a suicide, becomes a hot topic when trying to decide who gets punished for what. Amy Solway, a terminally ill doctor, and owner of the Suicide Train website, is found to be the person who brought Christina the insulin, and is charged in her death, leaving it up to a jury to decide her fate.
NARRATOR:
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.
This apartment's
not scheduled
till 1:00.
We get in trouble,
I'm blaming you.
We clean the place early,
we go home early.
Lady's gonna be pissed
if she walks in
and we scare
the crap out of her.
That's the beauty of it.
The lady got a new job.
She'll be gone all day.
How do you know?
Janey cleaned
this apartment last week.
Ew! This bathroom
is disgusting.
No wonder.
That lazy bitch
always does a half-assed job.
Oh, my God!
What?
Oh, my God!
What?
Oh, she's dead!
She's dead!
Call the cops.
Get an ambulance right now!
Ma'am? Ma'am?
Lady? Lady?
Ma'am? Ma'am,
can you hear me?
Ma'am?
She's not breathing!
Lady, come on,
wake up.
Ma'am?
WOMAN:
Name's Christina Nerrit.
Unconscious,
but EMS said she was breathing
on her own the whole way in.
We know what made
her unconscious?
Cleaning woman
found her handcuffed
with a plastic bag
taped over her head.
We don't know how long
she was deprived of oxygen.
We're doing an EEG
to assess brain activity.
Rape kit?
Negative for hairs
and fluids.
And the paramedics say her hair
was soaked when they found her.
As soon as I know more,
I'll call you.
Victim was wet.
( pager beeping )
Perp must have tried
to clean her up.
So much for trace evidence.
M.E.'s office. Urgent.
Crime Scene sent urine
samples from the toilet
in the victim's bathroom.
Even you can't get DNA
back that fast.
No, but I ran
other tests.
Urine's got high levels
of creatinine
and blood urea nitrogen.
Both by-products
of protein.
What does that mean?
Your victim or your perp
is dying of kidney failure.
Captioning sponsored by
UNIVERSAL NETWORK TELEVISION
Neighbor down the hall said
the victim was
some kind of artist.
How did you guys do?
Middle of the day,
hardly anyone around.
The maids didn't
hear or see squat.
And unfortunately,
this building
doesn't have
security cameras.
So all we've got is a perp
that may have kidney failure.
The urine I sent to the M.E.
came from two spots I found
on the rim of the bowl.
What makes you so sure
it's the perps?
The victim's a woman
living alone.
The toilet seat was up.
Some guys never learn.
Soap's wet, so your theory
that the perp made her
take a shower
holds water.
I'll check the drain
for hairs.
The only thing that doesn't
make sense is the bed.
What about it?
Guy goes to all this trouble
to cover his tracks,
leaves his sheets. Why?
Cash and credit cards
are still in her wallet,
along with this receipt
from this morning.
Restaurant at
the Hotel Kennedy.
70 bucks. Had to be at least
two people eating.
So, Christina
buys him breakfast,
he rapes her for lunch.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I remember her.
Breakfast rush. Table ten.
She with anyone?
Uh, some suit.
You know, custom shirt,
hundred-dollar tie.
Wish I'd had the balls
to spill something on it.
Bad tipper?
Guy takes one bite
of his potatoes,
spits them out and starts
screaming, he told me no salt.
He had a health problem.
Yeah, or a mental problem.
I mean, I write
everything down.
He never said no salt.
Remember
anything else?
Woman seemed a little PMS,
mood-wise.
I bring out the coffee,
she's all happy and smiley.
When I come back
with the entrées,
she's bawling
like a baby.
About what?
I don't stand around
eavesdropping.
You didn't happen to hear
the guy's name either?
No. You know, but I can
get it for you.
It's not gonna be there.
She paid for breakfast.
Yeah, but he had a bar tab.
Couple Bloody Mary's
while he was waiting for her.
Yeah, that's it.
Guy named Brooks Harmon.
Corporate credit card,
Blossner House Publishing.
I just hired Christina
as Director of Medical
Illustration.
Will she be okay?
We're waiting to hear
from the hospital.
I had a feeling
something was wrong
when she didn't show up
for the 11:00 staff meeting.
I tried her cell phone,
but it went right
to voice mail.
Did Christina tell you
where she was going
after breakfast?
Home to pick up
a few things.
And then she was coming
right back here.
Anything bothering her?
Not that I know of.
We were celebrating
her new position.
BENSON:
Really?
'Cause we heard she was crying.
Christina is our best
freelance illustrator.
She has no management
experience;
she was anxious about being able
to handle the job.
Do you have a problem handling
salt, Mr. Harmon?
No. I just don't like
the whole shaker
being poured over my breakfast.
( phone ringing )
What does it have
to do with Christina?
Can you tell us where you
went after the restaurant?
Straight back to the office.
You didn't answer my question.
You were the last person
seen with Christina
before she was attacked.
That makes me a suspect?
Not if you don't mind
letting our medical examiner
take some blood for a DNA sample
to rule you out.
No problem.
When?
Tomorrow. We'll set it
up and give you a call.
Any time is fine.
Thanks for the help.
Mm-hmm.
That was Cragen. He wants us
to recanvass all the tenants
who weren't there
when we got there.
What, Munch and Fin
taking a personal day?
They're at the hospital.
Christina's awake.
I was opening the door
to my apartment
when he came up behind me,
said he had a gun.
Told me not to scream.
FIN:
After you got inside,
what did he do?
He made me take off my clothes
and lie in bed.
He said he'd kill me
if I looked at him.
Then he...
( sighs )
...cuffed me to the headboard
and... raped me.
What happened next?
He put the bag over my head.
Thank God the maids found me.
Were you ever able
to get a look at him?
No. I was too scared.
Oh.
Christina...
Oh!
My sister, Allison.
These men are police detectives.
Here's your laptop, but...
I wish you would
just get some rest.
Working will help me forget
what happened.
MUNCH:
We can give you the names
of some counselors.
I'm not talking to any shrinks!
I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to snap like that.
I-I... You're
just trying to help.
( sighs )
Couple of big holes
in her story.
Christina gets home at 10:00,
the maids find her at 11:30.
That means she and the perp were
alone for an hour and a half.
It's a long time not
to get a look at him.
Doesn't mean
she made it up.
This might.
She didn't mention
taking a shower.
Rapist makes
you clean up,
Now, that's a hard
thing to forget.
Not to mention the fact,
just happens to sneak out
in the nick of time.
Couldn't have had more
than six minutes
after he put the bag
on her head
or Christina
would've asphyxiated.
Anything from the
second canvass?
Just that this is the only way
in or out of that building.
So, either no one wants
to fess up letting a stranger in
or they really didn't see him.
Maybe candid camera did.
Store's got one pointing
this way.
I cued it back to
just before 10:00
like you said, zoomed it in.
STABLER:
Christina. Right on time.
BENSON:
Nobody followed her in.
Fast-forward it to 11:30.
I don't have to.
I already
dubbed the tape.
BENSON:
Hold it. Look at that.
Brooks Harmon.
He rapes her,
but he used a condom.
That's why
he gave us the DNA.
BENSON:
So you went in
at ten after 11:00,
and you left at 11:30.
STABLER:
What were you doing there,
Brooks?
I wanted to make sure
she was okay.
Why wouldn't she be?
Because she never
came back to work.
I knocked on her
apartment door.
No answer.
So you stayed for 20 minutes?
At the same time she just
happened to be suffocating?
I swear, I had nothing
to do with it.
You called your office to cancel
your 11:00 staff meeting.
Now, that sounds to me
like you had someplace to go.
Brooks, I'm going to
tell you what I think.
You tried to kill Christina
so your wife wouldn't find out
you were banging her. Hmm.
( sharp exhale )
Okay.
We were having an affair.
So why didn't you
just tell us that?
I was trying to
end it at breakfast.
That's why
Christina was crying.
Are you sure that it wasn't
because you told her
that you wanted to tie her up?
What are you talking about?
We found your handcuffs,
Brooks.
I don't do that.
Toilet seat was up.
You do that?
What the hell
does that mean?
It means you sprinkled
when you tinkled.
Our medical examiner tested
the urine you left behind.
You're dying
of kidney failure.
That's impossible.
I just... I just
had a physical.
I am in perfect health.
( knock at door )
( door opening )
Mr. Harmon,
I'm Captain Cragen.
There's been a misunderstanding.
You're free to go.
I can leave?
With our apologies.
You people are nuts.
Captain...
Warner thinks
it's somebody else.
I sent Munch and Fin to see her.
I found cervical cells
in the urine.
Whoever used the toilet
is female.
And it's not Christina.
If her kidneys were failing,
it would have shown up
in her blood work from the ER.
Christina's labs
all came back normal.
So the person with her
was a woman.
Christina's a bisexual?
Harmon knocks on her door,
she doesn't answer
'cause she's
with her girlfriend.
She makes Christina
take a shower,
she cuffs her to the bed
and tapes a bag over her head.
But instead of having sex,
bitch leaves Christina
to suffocate.
So why's Christina crying rape
to protect her?
I don't want
to talk about it.
She tried to kill you.
It was, it was an accident.
Doesn't look that way.
Did she threaten you
not to talk?
No.
Look, I'm not here
to judge you, believe me.
But no matter how much
you love this woman,
she doesn't deserve
your loyalty.
What happened in my apartment
was-was not a crime.
Falsely reporting
a rape is.
I'm really tired.
I-I'd like to go back
to my room.
I need you to tell me
what really happened.
Don't worry about me.
Are you all right?
Yes, I'm okay now.
Whoa! Whoa!
I need some help in here!
I need some help now!
Help!
Bring the cart!
( gagging )
Medical examiner's
on the way.
We're treating Ms. Nerrit's
death as suspicious.
What happened to her?
Severe hypoglycemic shock.
Her blood sugar crashed.
Our doctors did a finger stick
while they were trying
to resuscitate her.
She had a glucose
level of two.
That sounds low.
Oh, yeah.
Normal's around 90.
So, I ran some tests on
blood drawn during the code.
Ms. Nerrit's insulin level
was five times normal.
Are you saying
she was murdered?
I can't say anything
officially yet, of course,
but someone injected
Ms. Nerrit
with a massive dose
of insulin.
When?
No more than 15, 20 minutes
before seizures began.
Hospital pharmacy went
through their inventory.
All their insulin
is accounted for.
So someone brought it in
from the outside.
Christina have any visitors
besides her sister?
Staff didn't notice anyone.
The perp could've
been dressed like
they work here.
Or the real deal.
Psycho doc or killer nurse,
like the guy in Jersey,
gets off watching people die.
Either one would have
access to insulin.
You'd better be sure
about this.
Hospital pathologist said
Christina was
definitely injected.
I get stuck with a needle
and die,
my husband and kids get
both your pensions.
Now we just have to find
the right syringe.
How're we going to know?
That's the easy part.
Hospitals order one brand
in bulk.
This one... is different
from the others.
Hospital confirms it never
used that brand of syringe.
The lab found prints on
the cylinder and plunger
and traces of insulin.
Injected how?
No needle punctures
in Christina's body,
so had to be through
the port in her IV.
Young, otherwise healthy,
about to be discharged.
Angel of mercy usually likes
them old and sick.
Hospital hasn't had any
suspicious deaths in years,
but we're checking personnel
files just in case.
Could be our mystery
woman didn't want
to risk Christina
ratting her out.
Christina's sister Allison
was the last person
seen in the hospital room.
The sister have any reason
to want Christina dead?
Christina may have
killed herself.
Where did you get that?
Computer Crimes.
They found something
very interesting on her laptop.
Gentlemen, your so-called victim
has been doing
a little blogging.
That's daily, almost
hourly trips to one Web site.
"Catching-the-train-dot-com."
Catching the train where?
Apparently, to the afterlife.
It's a bunch of people
talking about suicide.
Listen to this.
"Welcome to the station.
"The train's pulling in.
Click here for your ticket
to everlasting peace."
Can you believe that?
Christina Nerrit's handle
on this site was C-U.
As in "later."
Who was she writing to?
MAN:
Mostly someone with
the screen name "Conductor."
That's why she
was so hot
for her laptop
at the hospital.
She wanted to chat
with these whackos.
Christina started a thread
the day you found her.
Titled it "Still Here."
"Christina:
'Missed the train today.'"
"Conductor:
'What happened?'"
"Christina:
'Maids came early and found me.
Ripped the bag off.
I'm in the hospital.'"
"Conductor:...
'What..."
'What now?'"
"Christina: 'Something quick
before anyone figures it out.'"
"Conductor:
'Hospitals have insulin.'"
STABLER:
First time Christina tries
to off herself, she lives.
She made sure
that wouldn't happen again.
CRAGEN:
We've got plenty of cases
with living victims.
We got to move on
if this was a suicide.
MUNCH:
Assisted suicide, Captain.
That's second degree
manslaughter.
Maybe Christina's
mystery girlfriend
with kidney failure
is our Conductor.
We can ID her off her ISP.
I found where Christina
ordered her insulin.
Online prescription mill.
Staten Island.
( door slams open )
Police! Stand up, step away
from your computers
and do not touch anything.
I'm Marvin Friedman,
Chairman and CEO.
You can all wait outside
till our lawyers arrive.
This is a search warrant
signed by a federal judge,
allowing us to look for evidence
your company dispenses
medication without
prescriptions.
Everything we do here
is legal.
FIN:
How did this woman
buy insulin from you
to kill herself?
Oh, she probably lied
on the questionnaire.
Our doctors won't send
anything out
to anyone unless they've
signed their medical records.
Right, and I'm sure
you decline any order
that's may be unnecessary
or dangerous.
I don't have to answer that.
I bet these so-called
doctors will
once we threaten to take
their licenses.
What do you want from me?
Check when that
order went out.
It went out overnight
two days ago.
You keep all these invoices
in your head?
She called me.
Frantic because I won't ship it
to a post-office box.
Where did she have
the insulin sent?
Her home address.
I'm packing up
Christina's things.
I guess I'll give
most of it away.
What are you looking for?
Any packages that came
after Christina went
into the hospital?
Just this.
You know what's in it?
I think it's insulin.
Christina wasn't diabetic.
Allison, we think your sister
used insulin to kill herself.
No, that can't be.
It's right here.
She couldn't get it,
so someone got it for her.
If Christina
committed suicide,
then why are
the police interested?
Because someone
helped her
and that's a crime.
Do any of Christina's friends
have keys to the apartment?
Christina didn't
have any friends.
Allison, I need to know
where you were yesterday.
You think it was me?
I have to ask.
You were the last one
seen with her in the hospital
before she died.
I loved her.
I would never help
her kill herself.
FIN:
Sorry to interrupt.
That's okay.
We're done.
I'd like to finish packing.
Computer Crimes
found our Conductor.
FIN:
Dr. Amy Solwey?
WOMAN:
Just a second.
These men
are police officers.
Can you help us
out here?
Detectives Munch
and Tutuola.
We need to talk to you
in private.
My assistant
can translate.
FIN:
Well, this is
official business.
We'll call an interpreter
down to our precinct.
Fine. Just give me a moment.
Should we call you Dr. Solwey
or Conductor?
Conductor on the Internet.
In person, my name is Amy.
So, Amy, how do you know
Christina Nerrit?
I'm sorry, I don't.
How about C-U from the
catching-the-train Web site?
That's my site.
I know the name.
Did you help Christina Nerrit
kill herself?
I gave her advice.
FIN:
Bad advice.
She didn't think so.
She was in pain.
And suicide was the cure?
What kind of doctor are you?
Ph.D. I'm an embryologist.
FIN:
So you help women get pregnant
and in your spare time, you tell
them how to kill themselves.
By telling them exactly
how to do it.
"If you're using cyanide,
mix it with water
"and test the pH.
"Make sure it's
not too acidic or alkaline
so it doesn't burn
going down."
Your Web site is like
"Suicide for Dummies."
My Web site also prevents people
from killing
themselves.
But it's just talk.
You know, free speech.
Where were you
two days ago, Amy?
Around lunchtime?
I was at work.
Ask my assistant.
You don't seem too upset
about Christina's death.
I'm not.
She's happy now.
I'm sure she called to thank you
right after she died.
Christina didn't commit
a crime and neither did I.
Now, if that's all,
I've got to get back to work.
Thank you.
An officer will drive you.
She's lying.
How you know that?
Her coat-- it's Burberry.
I've seen it before.
Where?
Benson:
There.
You can't seen her face,
but that's Amy Solwey leaving
Christina's building.
Two minutes after
Christina's boss.
He was banging on the door
for 15 minutes.
Amy must've waited until after
he left so he wouldn't see her.
Probably helped to put on
the cuffs and the bag.
The urine on the toilet
belongs to a woman.
It's got to be Amy's.
How do you know that?
She's probably got
Alport's syndrome.
It's a rare genetic disorder
that causes deafness
and kidney failure.
Is that enough
to collar her?
I'd like to connect her
to the insulin first.
She works in a doctor's office.
Not all doctors keep
insulin around.
Hers would.
It's a fertility clinic
and OB/GYN.
They need it for pregnant women
with gestational diabetes.
The insulin is stored upstairs.
We have no use for it down here.
The warrant covers
the entire office.
Please... you're
literally holding
potential lives in your hands.
You must know
what that's like.
I got the insulin.
Where did you find it?
Desk in her office.
Amy Solwey, you are under arrest
for assisting a suicide.
You have the right
to remain silent.
If you give up that right,
anything you say can be used
against you in a court of law.
MAN:
Man two is a stretch.
You're wrong about my client.
Any advice Amy gave
to Christina Nerrit
regarding suicide is protected
by the First Amendment.
As deplorable as I find
her Web site,
if all she did was exercise her
right to free speech,
we wouldn't be here.
We can explain
those insulin vials
in her office.
After they give birth, our
gestational diabetes patients
sometimes bring their
leftover insulin back
to the office.
Last week a woman
gave me hers.
Dr. Solwey got busy,
put them in her desk
and forgot about them.
Honest mistake.
MUNCH:
Nice try, but the syringe used
to inject Christina
is the same brand used
in your client's office.
And thousands
of other doctor's offices,
clinics and hospitals.
We have her on tape leaving
Christina's building
just before she was found.
That a coincidence, too?
Christina called me.
Asked me if I could come over.
I met her in the hallway.
She told me her plans.
I tried to talk
her out of it.
Really? Doesn't that go against
your whole belief system?
You can't possibly understand.
MUNCH:
You're right.
We don't.
Why are we debating this?
Nobody saw Amy enter Christina's
apartment or hospital room.
She's innocent,
give us blood for DNA.
Dr. Huang's right on the money.
Amy Solwey has
Alport's syndrome.
Woman's a scientist.
She's got to know
we had something on her.
Why agree to a blood test?
Probably because she thought
she could fool us
by giving right after dialysis.
But her kidneys are
in such bad shape
the dialysis only helped
a little.
( phone ringing )
There's
something else.
Tutuola.
Amy's blood has higher
than normal levels of calcium
and parathyroid hormone.
I think she has a condition
called renal osteodystrophy.
What's that?
A disorder
that causes
severe bone deterioration
and eventually death.
Almost always seen in people
who've been on dialysis
at least five years.
So what's keeping her alive
is also killing her.
Slowly
and painfully.
She's in so much excruciating,
constant pain
that she might consider suicide.
Crime lab says the print
on the syringe plunger
is Christina's.
MUNCH:
So that means Christina
injected herself
with insulin.
And Amy Solwey definitely
brought it to her.
Her print's the one
on the cylinder.
CLERK:
Docket ending four-one-four,
People v. Amy Solwey.
One count, manslaughter
in the second degree.
I see you've hired
a new attorney, Ms. Solwey.
Barry Moredock
for the defense, Your Honor.
How does your
client plead?
Not Guilty.
Bail, Ms. Novak?
Can we approach?
The People believe
Ms. Solwey is a
suicide risk.
Based on what?
The pain caused by
her debilitating
bone disease.
So you want
to keep an eye on her?
For her own
protection.
That's unfair, Your Honor.
What my client needs
is continued access
to her dialysis
three days a week.
Which she'll have in the prison
ward of Bellevue Hospital,
along with three squares a day
and indoor plumbing.
Step back.
Defendant is remanded
without bail.
( gavel bangs )
MOREDOCK:
Ms. Novak.
I believe in
the constitution.
I'll bet you do, too.
You're reaching,
Mr. Moredock.
This case is about murder,
not free speech.
I disagree. So
does my client.
Your client handed
Christina Nerrit the weapon
she killed herself with.
She didn't force
Christina to use it.
The law doesn't make
that distinction.
The law in this
case is the problem,
not what Amy Solwey did.
Your client's not a violent,
cold-blooded killer.
We may be open to a deal.
Oh, we're not interested
in a deal, Ms. Novak.
Amy wants
her day in court.
She does, or you do?
I represent my client's
interests, not my own.
Well, then talk to her.
Don't let her spend
what time she has
left in prison.
You've already
locked her up,
and for no good reason.
I'm sorry. I can't
take the chance you're wrong.
Then let your
Dr. Huang evaluate her.
He'll tell you Amy's no more
suicidal than you or I.
HUANG:
You have Alport's syndrome,
so you've been deaf
since you were born.
Was it hard
growing up like that way?
No. My father was deaf,
so I've never known
anything else.
Even the kidney failure
didn't bother me
because I knew it was coming.
What I wasn't ready for
was the pain.
Are you on the list for
a kidney transplant?
Yeah.
But they haven't found
a match for me yet.
The pain is what made me
first think about suicide.
Did you talk
to a therapist?
Three.
They put me on
antidepressants,
but I told them
that didn't
change the fact
that I was dying
of kidney failure,
so I stopped seeing them.
And yet, you're still here,
so you must've found
some way to cope.
I started a blog.
People responded.
Turned into my own little
community of support.
Yes.
One day, someone wrote
that she wanted
to kill herself.
She was suffering mentally,
not physically.
What did you tell her?
To get help.
That she should be thankful
that she wasn't dying.
She wrote back, and asked me
who was I to assume
that her suffering
couldn't be as bad
or worse than mine.
Well, how did that
make you feel?
I realized
that I was judging her
just like the
shrinks judged me.
So I wrote back,
and I told her she was right...
that I supported her choice.
But you did more than that
with Christina Nerrit.
You helped her die.
She could have been helped
to want to live.
You believe that suicide's wrong
because it's your job
to save people.
Medicine and psychiatry
are about how to improve
the quality of life,
not how to end it.
Antidepressants and therapy
never worked for me.
I still think about
suicide every day.
But something keeps
you from doing it.
Those people on the Internet,
who'd help them if I'm gone?
The irony is that her Web site
gives her a reason to live.
Playing god with people's lives.
She's like Kevorkian.
Come on, Munch, all the
stuff you whine about,
don't tell me you haven't once
thought about hanging it up.
I believe life's worth living.
Amen.
BENSON:
I don't know.
If I had something
like Huntington's disease,
and all I had to look forward to
was a long and horrible death,
I can't say
I wouldn't think about suicide.
Moredock going to try and stack
the jury with people like you.
He's going to put the assisted
suicide statute on trial.
Jury nullifies,
precedent's set.
Then the law
can be ignored.
Which is exactly
what Amy wants--
the right to take
our own lives.
HUANG:
Amy Solwey isn't depressed
or mentally ill,
but she is
in constant pain,
and she deals with this
by spreading the message
that suicide is our right.
NOVAK:
As a psychiatrist,
how would you assess that view?
Mainstream medicine
and psychiatry wouldn't agree.
But Amy wouldn't have
a reason to live
if she didn't help people die.
What about Christina Nerrit?
Was she depressed?
Based upon interviews
I did with her family
and coworkers,
I'd say yes.
Was her disorder
treatable?
With therapy, medication
and hard work,
Christina probably could have
led a full, happy life.
Thank you, Doctor.
What if Christina didn't want
to go through your therapy,
had told you she had a
plan to take her own life?
What would you
have done?
Checked her into a psychiatric
facility on a 72-hour hold.
You would deprive her
of her liberty
despite the fact
that suicide's not illegal?
The intention
isn't to imprison her.
It's to protect her
from herself.
98%
of all successful suicides
are committed by people
with a treatable mental illness.
And you can cure all of them,
isn't that right?
I said treatable.
Not all are curable.
Then sometimes your medication
and therapy just don't work.
In severe cases, yes.
The truth is, Doctor,
you can't sit there and say
that there's no such thing
as a terminal mental illness,
can you?
No.
Christina called me.
She was happy.
Said it was time.
I went to her apartment
to give her moral support.
She told me she was
using the plastic bag
and the handcuffs so
she couldn't rip it off.
What did you do?
Wished her a safe
journey and left.
What happened
in the hospital?
Christina called again.
Told me she couldn't
find any insulin,
and asked me
to bring her some.
I filled a syringe
and took it to her.
Amy,
did you, at any time, coerce
or convince Christina Nerrit
to take her own life?
No.
It was her decision.
You're sure about that?
Yes.
The day
she tried to suffocate herself,
did Christina tell you
that the man
that she'd had an affair with
had just dumped her?
I didn't ask.
Did you ever consider
that she might be under strain
and not thinking rationally?
We didn't talk
about her boyfriend.
Of course not. I mean, you
couldn't assess her mental state
because you're not a trained
mental health professional.
Objection.
Argumentative.
Withdrawn.
Do you have criteria?
For what?
Whom you choose to help
on their final journey.
I mean, has it only been adults?
Or have there been teenagers,
children,
the developmentally disabled?
This is badgering,
Your Honor.
I help people who don't
want to suffer anymore.
Well, the truth is, you don't
know who they are, do you?
They're just names
on a computer screen.
Stop!
They're in pain!
I know what pain is!
I live with it every day!
You don't!
How can you judge me?!
How can you judge them?!
This case
isn't just about Amy Solwey
helping Christina Nerrit
kill herself.
Time and again,
the highest court in the land
has ruled our government
can't tell us
what to do with our bodies.
Why should suicide
be any different?
Ms. Novak will tell you
it's your duty
to uphold the law.
But if you convict Amy Solwey,
you're sending a message
that the government
can dictate how we live our
lives and how we end them.
Our constitutional rights
to privacy and free speech
are at stake.
Return a verdict
of not guilty.
Send the message
that Amy Solwey is right--
We should all have the choice
to live and die
on our own terms.
NOVAK:
No one has the right
to kill another human being.
So why should Amy Solwey
be allowed
to help Christina Nerrit
murder herself?
Now, we'll never know
Christina Nerrit's pain.
But what we do know
is that many depressed people
who attempt suicide
are later thankful
they lived through it.
But Christina Nerrit
never got the chance
to get treatment,
or be grateful she was alive
because Amy Solwey
made it her mission
to help Christina die.
So when you're in the jury room,
you ask yourselves:
If your parent, your child,
your friend or spouse
was suicidal,
what would you want?
Your loved one to get help,
or Amy Solwey telling them
it's okay to give up?
JUDGE:
Ladies and gentlemen
of the jury,
is there any chance
that with more time
you can reach a verdict?
No, Your Honor.
We're hopelessly deadlocked.
Then I have no choice but
to declare a mistrial.
You are dismissed
with the thanks of the court.
We're adjourned.
How could they
not convict her?
The jury deadlocked
10 to 2.
I underestimated the power
of Moredock's argument.
You can't blame yourself
because two people
wanted to acquit Amy.
The two holdouts
were for conviction.
The majority voted
to let Amy walk.
Well, just let me know when
you need me for the retrial.
There's not going
to be a retrial, John.
Why the hell not?
Because the D.A. doesn't want
to make Amy Solwey a martyr
for assisted suicide.
Translation:
We lose so we're
letting her off the hook.
We'll, we'll get her,
and it's only a matter of time
before she does it again.
So we let her help
someone else die.
I don't like it either, John.
but I don't have a choice.
Well, that's great.
I can't wait to tell
Christina's sister.
Maybe if dying's
what Christina really wanted,
it's okay.
MUNCH:
She never told you
she was suicidal, did she?
Not once.
I could have helped her.
Allison, none of this
is your fault.
Why couldn't she
just have talked to me?
Maybe she didn't want
to burden you.
But now I'm all alone.
She should have thought
about that.
( sighs )
People who commit suicide
don't always consider the mess
they leave behind,
or they think people will be
better off without them.
She was wrong.
You have every right to be mad
at Christina.
I'm not.
I could have stopped her...
the second time
if I'd listened
to the message.
What message?
On her answering
machine.
The night after she tried
to suffocate herself.
I didn't play it
till after the funeral.
Do you still have it?
Yeah.
Over here.
WOMAN ( on tape ):
Sorry you missed the train,
but this time we'll go together.
I'll bring enough to the
hospital for both of us.
Lab's got the actual machine
and tape.
They made a dub
so you could hear it.
Whose voice is that?
It's a TTY relay operator.
Solwey's LUDS show
she made the call
the night before Christina died.
This was
a suicide pact.
Pretty one-sided.
I guess
Amy changed her mind.
Or lied to Christina
to push her over the edge.
Either way,
I'm going to ask the D.A.
to let us
take another crack at Amy.
What's different now?
The charge.
Second degree murder?
Is this the way
you people retaliate?
Simmer down,
Mr. Moredock.
It's not personal.
Sure it is.
Your district attorney branch
hates losing to me.
You'd better not be wasting
my time with politics,
Ms. Novak.
I'm not,
Your Honor.
We can prove Amy Solwey entered
into a suicide pact
with Christina Nerrit.
Ms. Solwey's still alive,
so clearly had no intention
of going through with it.
She just wants
my client to plead out
to a spurious charge...
Read the statute.
When two people enter
into a suicide pact
and one of them pulls out
for personal gain
after the other one is dead,
that's Murder Two.
What could
Amy Solwey possibly gain
by Christina Nerrit's death?
Validation
of her cause.
Which is exactly
what she got
when that jury
deadlocked.
You're not gonna
let her sell you
this bill of goods,
are you, Judge?
Don't insult my intelligence,
Mr. Moredock.
That's how the law's written.
Unless you can prove
Ms. Novak wrong,
we're going back to trial.
How did it go?
Grand Jury took
15 minutes to indict.
You okay?
Amy Solwey deserves
to be put away,
but convicting her is not
going to change a damn thing.
John...
She broke the law.
Okay. Amy goes to prison,
someone takes over her Web site.
More people die
who don't have to.
Gotta be some way
to shut it down.
Maybe not.
I just read
about this Web site where
they're teaching young girls
how to become anorectic and then
hide it from their parents.
Look, there's always going to be
hate and racism on the Internet.
What are you going
to do about it?
Freedom of speech, man.
Someone talks, there's always
somebody there to listen.
BENSON:
You look like you
could use a drink.
Wish I had time.
I'm headed over
to Bellevue.
Thought you might
want to come.
Amy Solwey's
refusing dialysis.
When Judge Bradley hears
about this stunt,
he's gonna blow a gasket.
There's a lot I'd do
to win a case, Ms. Novak,
but I'm on
your side here.
Why are you doing this?
I would rather die now
than in prison.
You mean you'd rather
be a martyr, don't you?
Stop calling me that!
Or do you finally feel
some guilt
over tricking Christina Nerrit
into your bogus suicide pact?
I did not trick her.
I thought by saying
I would die with her,
it would make her feel
more comfortable.
Feel better about her decision.
Her decision.
This won't work.
I'll get a court order
to force the dialysis.
You know full well
no judge will ever issue
such an order.
BENSON:
I can still try.
You can't force me to eat.
I'll just starve.
I thought you're
all about avoiding pain.
When you don't eat,
your body releases endorphins
as it breaks down
its own tissue for fuel.
I'm told it's a very pleasant
and painless death.
( sighs )
I'm looking for Casey Novak.
Yes. Can I help you?
I'm Dr. Nemarich.
Amy Solwey's nephrologist.
I'm sorry,
I can't talk to you.
You may want to contact her
defense attorney.
I did.
He told me to come see you.
About what?
This.
Just faxed over from UNOS--
the National Organ Registry.
They found her a kidney?
We don't have much time.
( knock at door )
( insistent knocking )
Coming. I'm coming.
John, what are you
doing here?
Why the hell
didn't you call me?
There's nothing
anyone can do.
Amy's made her choice.
Which is?
Well, if we're just going
to put her in prison,
it's a waste of a kidney.
Then plead her out
to a lesser charge.
Excuse me?
Don't let her do
this to herself.
You're the one who wanted me
to jump through hoops
to retry her.
Why are you so invested in this?
Her dying isn't worth it.
If we cave on Amy,
it opens the door
for any other perp
who wants to force a plea
by threatening suicide.
I can't jump just because
she's got a gun to my head.
She's different.
No, she's not, John.
I'm sorry.
So am I.
Can you read my lips?
( sighs )
Yes.
Why won't you
take this kidney?
My life. My decision.
Yeah, well,
it's the wrong decision.
Leave me alone.
Why? So you can die alone
in this dump?
Get out!
Great way to catch
that train, isn't it?
I don't want to hurt anymore.
Then let them do the transplant.
No!
It'll take away
your pain.
So I can go to prison?
So you can live.
What do you care
if I live or die?
Because my father killed
himself.
( sighs )
When I was a kid.
I thought it was my fault.
The night before
he blew his brains out,
he punished me
for being a wiseass.
( sighs )
I told him I hated his guts.
Those were the last words
I ever said to him.
( sighs )
It haunts me to this day.
You're the only person
I've ever told.
Why me?
Because
we're the same.
I feel guilty my
father was suffering
and I couldn't help him.
You feel guilty because of
what you did to Christina.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
I know.
I don't want you to die.
Help me help you.
Please.
Captioning sponsored by
UNIVERSAL NETWORK TELEVISION
and NBC
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.
This apartment's
not scheduled
till 1:00.
We get in trouble,
I'm blaming you.
We clean the place early,
we go home early.
Lady's gonna be pissed
if she walks in
and we scare
the crap out of her.
That's the beauty of it.
The lady got a new job.
She'll be gone all day.
How do you know?
Janey cleaned
this apartment last week.
Ew! This bathroom
is disgusting.
No wonder.
That lazy bitch
always does a half-assed job.
Oh, my God!
What?
Oh, my God!
What?
Oh, she's dead!
She's dead!
Call the cops.
Get an ambulance right now!
Ma'am? Ma'am?
Lady? Lady?
Ma'am? Ma'am,
can you hear me?
Ma'am?
She's not breathing!
Lady, come on,
wake up.
Ma'am?
WOMAN:
Name's Christina Nerrit.
Unconscious,
but EMS said she was breathing
on her own the whole way in.
We know what made
her unconscious?
Cleaning woman
found her handcuffed
with a plastic bag
taped over her head.
We don't know how long
she was deprived of oxygen.
We're doing an EEG
to assess brain activity.
Rape kit?
Negative for hairs
and fluids.
And the paramedics say her hair
was soaked when they found her.
As soon as I know more,
I'll call you.
Victim was wet.
( pager beeping )
Perp must have tried
to clean her up.
So much for trace evidence.
M.E.'s office. Urgent.
Crime Scene sent urine
samples from the toilet
in the victim's bathroom.
Even you can't get DNA
back that fast.
No, but I ran
other tests.
Urine's got high levels
of creatinine
and blood urea nitrogen.
Both by-products
of protein.
What does that mean?
Your victim or your perp
is dying of kidney failure.
Captioning sponsored by
UNIVERSAL NETWORK TELEVISION
Neighbor down the hall said
the victim was
some kind of artist.
How did you guys do?
Middle of the day,
hardly anyone around.
The maids didn't
hear or see squat.
And unfortunately,
this building
doesn't have
security cameras.
So all we've got is a perp
that may have kidney failure.
The urine I sent to the M.E.
came from two spots I found
on the rim of the bowl.
What makes you so sure
it's the perps?
The victim's a woman
living alone.
The toilet seat was up.
Some guys never learn.
Soap's wet, so your theory
that the perp made her
take a shower
holds water.
I'll check the drain
for hairs.
The only thing that doesn't
make sense is the bed.
What about it?
Guy goes to all this trouble
to cover his tracks,
leaves his sheets. Why?
Cash and credit cards
are still in her wallet,
along with this receipt
from this morning.
Restaurant at
the Hotel Kennedy.
70 bucks. Had to be at least
two people eating.
So, Christina
buys him breakfast,
he rapes her for lunch.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I remember her.
Breakfast rush. Table ten.
She with anyone?
Uh, some suit.
You know, custom shirt,
hundred-dollar tie.
Wish I'd had the balls
to spill something on it.
Bad tipper?
Guy takes one bite
of his potatoes,
spits them out and starts
screaming, he told me no salt.
He had a health problem.
Yeah, or a mental problem.
I mean, I write
everything down.
He never said no salt.
Remember
anything else?
Woman seemed a little PMS,
mood-wise.
I bring out the coffee,
she's all happy and smiley.
When I come back
with the entrées,
she's bawling
like a baby.
About what?
I don't stand around
eavesdropping.
You didn't happen to hear
the guy's name either?
No. You know, but I can
get it for you.
It's not gonna be there.
She paid for breakfast.
Yeah, but he had a bar tab.
Couple Bloody Mary's
while he was waiting for her.
Yeah, that's it.
Guy named Brooks Harmon.
Corporate credit card,
Blossner House Publishing.
I just hired Christina
as Director of Medical
Illustration.
Will she be okay?
We're waiting to hear
from the hospital.
I had a feeling
something was wrong
when she didn't show up
for the 11:00 staff meeting.
I tried her cell phone,
but it went right
to voice mail.
Did Christina tell you
where she was going
after breakfast?
Home to pick up
a few things.
And then she was coming
right back here.
Anything bothering her?
Not that I know of.
We were celebrating
her new position.
BENSON:
Really?
'Cause we heard she was crying.
Christina is our best
freelance illustrator.
She has no management
experience;
she was anxious about being able
to handle the job.
Do you have a problem handling
salt, Mr. Harmon?
No. I just don't like
the whole shaker
being poured over my breakfast.
( phone ringing )
What does it have
to do with Christina?
Can you tell us where you
went after the restaurant?
Straight back to the office.
You didn't answer my question.
You were the last person
seen with Christina
before she was attacked.
That makes me a suspect?
Not if you don't mind
letting our medical examiner
take some blood for a DNA sample
to rule you out.
No problem.
When?
Tomorrow. We'll set it
up and give you a call.
Any time is fine.
Thanks for the help.
Mm-hmm.
That was Cragen. He wants us
to recanvass all the tenants
who weren't there
when we got there.
What, Munch and Fin
taking a personal day?
They're at the hospital.
Christina's awake.
I was opening the door
to my apartment
when he came up behind me,
said he had a gun.
Told me not to scream.
FIN:
After you got inside,
what did he do?
He made me take off my clothes
and lie in bed.
He said he'd kill me
if I looked at him.
Then he...
( sighs )
...cuffed me to the headboard
and... raped me.
What happened next?
He put the bag over my head.
Thank God the maids found me.
Were you ever able
to get a look at him?
No. I was too scared.
Oh.
Christina...
Oh!
My sister, Allison.
These men are police detectives.
Here's your laptop, but...
I wish you would
just get some rest.
Working will help me forget
what happened.
MUNCH:
We can give you the names
of some counselors.
I'm not talking to any shrinks!
I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to snap like that.
I-I... You're
just trying to help.
( sighs )
Couple of big holes
in her story.
Christina gets home at 10:00,
the maids find her at 11:30.
That means she and the perp were
alone for an hour and a half.
It's a long time not
to get a look at him.
Doesn't mean
she made it up.
This might.
She didn't mention
taking a shower.
Rapist makes
you clean up,
Now, that's a hard
thing to forget.
Not to mention the fact,
just happens to sneak out
in the nick of time.
Couldn't have had more
than six minutes
after he put the bag
on her head
or Christina
would've asphyxiated.
Anything from the
second canvass?
Just that this is the only way
in or out of that building.
So, either no one wants
to fess up letting a stranger in
or they really didn't see him.
Maybe candid camera did.
Store's got one pointing
this way.
I cued it back to
just before 10:00
like you said, zoomed it in.
STABLER:
Christina. Right on time.
BENSON:
Nobody followed her in.
Fast-forward it to 11:30.
I don't have to.
I already
dubbed the tape.
BENSON:
Hold it. Look at that.
Brooks Harmon.
He rapes her,
but he used a condom.
That's why
he gave us the DNA.
BENSON:
So you went in
at ten after 11:00,
and you left at 11:30.
STABLER:
What were you doing there,
Brooks?
I wanted to make sure
she was okay.
Why wouldn't she be?
Because she never
came back to work.
I knocked on her
apartment door.
No answer.
So you stayed for 20 minutes?
At the same time she just
happened to be suffocating?
I swear, I had nothing
to do with it.
You called your office to cancel
your 11:00 staff meeting.
Now, that sounds to me
like you had someplace to go.
Brooks, I'm going to
tell you what I think.
You tried to kill Christina
so your wife wouldn't find out
you were banging her. Hmm.
( sharp exhale )
Okay.
We were having an affair.
So why didn't you
just tell us that?
I was trying to
end it at breakfast.
That's why
Christina was crying.
Are you sure that it wasn't
because you told her
that you wanted to tie her up?
What are you talking about?
We found your handcuffs,
Brooks.
I don't do that.
Toilet seat was up.
You do that?
What the hell
does that mean?
It means you sprinkled
when you tinkled.
Our medical examiner tested
the urine you left behind.
You're dying
of kidney failure.
That's impossible.
I just... I just
had a physical.
I am in perfect health.
( knock at door )
( door opening )
Mr. Harmon,
I'm Captain Cragen.
There's been a misunderstanding.
You're free to go.
I can leave?
With our apologies.
You people are nuts.
Captain...
Warner thinks
it's somebody else.
I sent Munch and Fin to see her.
I found cervical cells
in the urine.
Whoever used the toilet
is female.
And it's not Christina.
If her kidneys were failing,
it would have shown up
in her blood work from the ER.
Christina's labs
all came back normal.
So the person with her
was a woman.
Christina's a bisexual?
Harmon knocks on her door,
she doesn't answer
'cause she's
with her girlfriend.
She makes Christina
take a shower,
she cuffs her to the bed
and tapes a bag over her head.
But instead of having sex,
bitch leaves Christina
to suffocate.
So why's Christina crying rape
to protect her?
I don't want
to talk about it.
She tried to kill you.
It was, it was an accident.
Doesn't look that way.
Did she threaten you
not to talk?
No.
Look, I'm not here
to judge you, believe me.
But no matter how much
you love this woman,
she doesn't deserve
your loyalty.
What happened in my apartment
was-was not a crime.
Falsely reporting
a rape is.
I'm really tired.
I-I'd like to go back
to my room.
I need you to tell me
what really happened.
Don't worry about me.
Are you all right?
Yes, I'm okay now.
Whoa! Whoa!
I need some help in here!
I need some help now!
Help!
Bring the cart!
( gagging )
Medical examiner's
on the way.
We're treating Ms. Nerrit's
death as suspicious.
What happened to her?
Severe hypoglycemic shock.
Her blood sugar crashed.
Our doctors did a finger stick
while they were trying
to resuscitate her.
She had a glucose
level of two.
That sounds low.
Oh, yeah.
Normal's around 90.
So, I ran some tests on
blood drawn during the code.
Ms. Nerrit's insulin level
was five times normal.
Are you saying
she was murdered?
I can't say anything
officially yet, of course,
but someone injected
Ms. Nerrit
with a massive dose
of insulin.
When?
No more than 15, 20 minutes
before seizures began.
Hospital pharmacy went
through their inventory.
All their insulin
is accounted for.
So someone brought it in
from the outside.
Christina have any visitors
besides her sister?
Staff didn't notice anyone.
The perp could've
been dressed like
they work here.
Or the real deal.
Psycho doc or killer nurse,
like the guy in Jersey,
gets off watching people die.
Either one would have
access to insulin.
You'd better be sure
about this.
Hospital pathologist said
Christina was
definitely injected.
I get stuck with a needle
and die,
my husband and kids get
both your pensions.
Now we just have to find
the right syringe.
How're we going to know?
That's the easy part.
Hospitals order one brand
in bulk.
This one... is different
from the others.
Hospital confirms it never
used that brand of syringe.
The lab found prints on
the cylinder and plunger
and traces of insulin.
Injected how?
No needle punctures
in Christina's body,
so had to be through
the port in her IV.
Young, otherwise healthy,
about to be discharged.
Angel of mercy usually likes
them old and sick.
Hospital hasn't had any
suspicious deaths in years,
but we're checking personnel
files just in case.
Could be our mystery
woman didn't want
to risk Christina
ratting her out.
Christina's sister Allison
was the last person
seen in the hospital room.
The sister have any reason
to want Christina dead?
Christina may have
killed herself.
Where did you get that?
Computer Crimes.
They found something
very interesting on her laptop.
Gentlemen, your so-called victim
has been doing
a little blogging.
That's daily, almost
hourly trips to one Web site.
"Catching-the-train-dot-com."
Catching the train where?
Apparently, to the afterlife.
It's a bunch of people
talking about suicide.
Listen to this.
"Welcome to the station.
"The train's pulling in.
Click here for your ticket
to everlasting peace."
Can you believe that?
Christina Nerrit's handle
on this site was C-U.
As in "later."
Who was she writing to?
MAN:
Mostly someone with
the screen name "Conductor."
That's why she
was so hot
for her laptop
at the hospital.
She wanted to chat
with these whackos.
Christina started a thread
the day you found her.
Titled it "Still Here."
"Christina:
'Missed the train today.'"
"Conductor:
'What happened?'"
"Christina:
'Maids came early and found me.
Ripped the bag off.
I'm in the hospital.'"
"Conductor:...
'What..."
'What now?'"
"Christina: 'Something quick
before anyone figures it out.'"
"Conductor:
'Hospitals have insulin.'"
STABLER:
First time Christina tries
to off herself, she lives.
She made sure
that wouldn't happen again.
CRAGEN:
We've got plenty of cases
with living victims.
We got to move on
if this was a suicide.
MUNCH:
Assisted suicide, Captain.
That's second degree
manslaughter.
Maybe Christina's
mystery girlfriend
with kidney failure
is our Conductor.
We can ID her off her ISP.
I found where Christina
ordered her insulin.
Online prescription mill.
Staten Island.
( door slams open )
Police! Stand up, step away
from your computers
and do not touch anything.
I'm Marvin Friedman,
Chairman and CEO.
You can all wait outside
till our lawyers arrive.
This is a search warrant
signed by a federal judge,
allowing us to look for evidence
your company dispenses
medication without
prescriptions.
Everything we do here
is legal.
FIN:
How did this woman
buy insulin from you
to kill herself?
Oh, she probably lied
on the questionnaire.
Our doctors won't send
anything out
to anyone unless they've
signed their medical records.
Right, and I'm sure
you decline any order
that's may be unnecessary
or dangerous.
I don't have to answer that.
I bet these so-called
doctors will
once we threaten to take
their licenses.
What do you want from me?
Check when that
order went out.
It went out overnight
two days ago.
You keep all these invoices
in your head?
She called me.
Frantic because I won't ship it
to a post-office box.
Where did she have
the insulin sent?
Her home address.
I'm packing up
Christina's things.
I guess I'll give
most of it away.
What are you looking for?
Any packages that came
after Christina went
into the hospital?
Just this.
You know what's in it?
I think it's insulin.
Christina wasn't diabetic.
Allison, we think your sister
used insulin to kill herself.
No, that can't be.
It's right here.
She couldn't get it,
so someone got it for her.
If Christina
committed suicide,
then why are
the police interested?
Because someone
helped her
and that's a crime.
Do any of Christina's friends
have keys to the apartment?
Christina didn't
have any friends.
Allison, I need to know
where you were yesterday.
You think it was me?
I have to ask.
You were the last one
seen with her in the hospital
before she died.
I loved her.
I would never help
her kill herself.
FIN:
Sorry to interrupt.
That's okay.
We're done.
I'd like to finish packing.
Computer Crimes
found our Conductor.
FIN:
Dr. Amy Solwey?
WOMAN:
Just a second.
These men
are police officers.
Can you help us
out here?
Detectives Munch
and Tutuola.
We need to talk to you
in private.
My assistant
can translate.
FIN:
Well, this is
official business.
We'll call an interpreter
down to our precinct.
Fine. Just give me a moment.
Should we call you Dr. Solwey
or Conductor?
Conductor on the Internet.
In person, my name is Amy.
So, Amy, how do you know
Christina Nerrit?
I'm sorry, I don't.
How about C-U from the
catching-the-train Web site?
That's my site.
I know the name.
Did you help Christina Nerrit
kill herself?
I gave her advice.
FIN:
Bad advice.
She didn't think so.
She was in pain.
And suicide was the cure?
What kind of doctor are you?
Ph.D. I'm an embryologist.
FIN:
So you help women get pregnant
and in your spare time, you tell
them how to kill themselves.
By telling them exactly
how to do it.
"If you're using cyanide,
mix it with water
"and test the pH.
"Make sure it's
not too acidic or alkaline
so it doesn't burn
going down."
Your Web site is like
"Suicide for Dummies."
My Web site also prevents people
from killing
themselves.
But it's just talk.
You know, free speech.
Where were you
two days ago, Amy?
Around lunchtime?
I was at work.
Ask my assistant.
You don't seem too upset
about Christina's death.
I'm not.
She's happy now.
I'm sure she called to thank you
right after she died.
Christina didn't commit
a crime and neither did I.
Now, if that's all,
I've got to get back to work.
Thank you.
An officer will drive you.
She's lying.
How you know that?
Her coat-- it's Burberry.
I've seen it before.
Where?
Benson:
There.
You can't seen her face,
but that's Amy Solwey leaving
Christina's building.
Two minutes after
Christina's boss.
He was banging on the door
for 15 minutes.
Amy must've waited until after
he left so he wouldn't see her.
Probably helped to put on
the cuffs and the bag.
The urine on the toilet
belongs to a woman.
It's got to be Amy's.
How do you know that?
She's probably got
Alport's syndrome.
It's a rare genetic disorder
that causes deafness
and kidney failure.
Is that enough
to collar her?
I'd like to connect her
to the insulin first.
She works in a doctor's office.
Not all doctors keep
insulin around.
Hers would.
It's a fertility clinic
and OB/GYN.
They need it for pregnant women
with gestational diabetes.
The insulin is stored upstairs.
We have no use for it down here.
The warrant covers
the entire office.
Please... you're
literally holding
potential lives in your hands.
You must know
what that's like.
I got the insulin.
Where did you find it?
Desk in her office.
Amy Solwey, you are under arrest
for assisting a suicide.
You have the right
to remain silent.
If you give up that right,
anything you say can be used
against you in a court of law.
MAN:
Man two is a stretch.
You're wrong about my client.
Any advice Amy gave
to Christina Nerrit
regarding suicide is protected
by the First Amendment.
As deplorable as I find
her Web site,
if all she did was exercise her
right to free speech,
we wouldn't be here.
We can explain
those insulin vials
in her office.
After they give birth, our
gestational diabetes patients
sometimes bring their
leftover insulin back
to the office.
Last week a woman
gave me hers.
Dr. Solwey got busy,
put them in her desk
and forgot about them.
Honest mistake.
MUNCH:
Nice try, but the syringe used
to inject Christina
is the same brand used
in your client's office.
And thousands
of other doctor's offices,
clinics and hospitals.
We have her on tape leaving
Christina's building
just before she was found.
That a coincidence, too?
Christina called me.
Asked me if I could come over.
I met her in the hallway.
She told me her plans.
I tried to talk
her out of it.
Really? Doesn't that go against
your whole belief system?
You can't possibly understand.
MUNCH:
You're right.
We don't.
Why are we debating this?
Nobody saw Amy enter Christina's
apartment or hospital room.
She's innocent,
give us blood for DNA.
Dr. Huang's right on the money.
Amy Solwey has
Alport's syndrome.
Woman's a scientist.
She's got to know
we had something on her.
Why agree to a blood test?
Probably because she thought
she could fool us
by giving right after dialysis.
But her kidneys are
in such bad shape
the dialysis only helped
a little.
( phone ringing )
There's
something else.
Tutuola.
Amy's blood has higher
than normal levels of calcium
and parathyroid hormone.
I think she has a condition
called renal osteodystrophy.
What's that?
A disorder
that causes
severe bone deterioration
and eventually death.
Almost always seen in people
who've been on dialysis
at least five years.
So what's keeping her alive
is also killing her.
Slowly
and painfully.
She's in so much excruciating,
constant pain
that she might consider suicide.
Crime lab says the print
on the syringe plunger
is Christina's.
MUNCH:
So that means Christina
injected herself
with insulin.
And Amy Solwey definitely
brought it to her.
Her print's the one
on the cylinder.
CLERK:
Docket ending four-one-four,
People v. Amy Solwey.
One count, manslaughter
in the second degree.
I see you've hired
a new attorney, Ms. Solwey.
Barry Moredock
for the defense, Your Honor.
How does your
client plead?
Not Guilty.
Bail, Ms. Novak?
Can we approach?
The People believe
Ms. Solwey is a
suicide risk.
Based on what?
The pain caused by
her debilitating
bone disease.
So you want
to keep an eye on her?
For her own
protection.
That's unfair, Your Honor.
What my client needs
is continued access
to her dialysis
three days a week.
Which she'll have in the prison
ward of Bellevue Hospital,
along with three squares a day
and indoor plumbing.
Step back.
Defendant is remanded
without bail.
( gavel bangs )
MOREDOCK:
Ms. Novak.
I believe in
the constitution.
I'll bet you do, too.
You're reaching,
Mr. Moredock.
This case is about murder,
not free speech.
I disagree. So
does my client.
Your client handed
Christina Nerrit the weapon
she killed herself with.
She didn't force
Christina to use it.
The law doesn't make
that distinction.
The law in this
case is the problem,
not what Amy Solwey did.
Your client's not a violent,
cold-blooded killer.
We may be open to a deal.
Oh, we're not interested
in a deal, Ms. Novak.
Amy wants
her day in court.
She does, or you do?
I represent my client's
interests, not my own.
Well, then talk to her.
Don't let her spend
what time she has
left in prison.
You've already
locked her up,
and for no good reason.
I'm sorry. I can't
take the chance you're wrong.
Then let your
Dr. Huang evaluate her.
He'll tell you Amy's no more
suicidal than you or I.
HUANG:
You have Alport's syndrome,
so you've been deaf
since you were born.
Was it hard
growing up like that way?
No. My father was deaf,
so I've never known
anything else.
Even the kidney failure
didn't bother me
because I knew it was coming.
What I wasn't ready for
was the pain.
Are you on the list for
a kidney transplant?
Yeah.
But they haven't found
a match for me yet.
The pain is what made me
first think about suicide.
Did you talk
to a therapist?
Three.
They put me on
antidepressants,
but I told them
that didn't
change the fact
that I was dying
of kidney failure,
so I stopped seeing them.
And yet, you're still here,
so you must've found
some way to cope.
I started a blog.
People responded.
Turned into my own little
community of support.
Yes.
One day, someone wrote
that she wanted
to kill herself.
She was suffering mentally,
not physically.
What did you tell her?
To get help.
That she should be thankful
that she wasn't dying.
She wrote back, and asked me
who was I to assume
that her suffering
couldn't be as bad
or worse than mine.
Well, how did that
make you feel?
I realized
that I was judging her
just like the
shrinks judged me.
So I wrote back,
and I told her she was right...
that I supported her choice.
But you did more than that
with Christina Nerrit.
You helped her die.
She could have been helped
to want to live.
You believe that suicide's wrong
because it's your job
to save people.
Medicine and psychiatry
are about how to improve
the quality of life,
not how to end it.
Antidepressants and therapy
never worked for me.
I still think about
suicide every day.
But something keeps
you from doing it.
Those people on the Internet,
who'd help them if I'm gone?
The irony is that her Web site
gives her a reason to live.
Playing god with people's lives.
She's like Kevorkian.
Come on, Munch, all the
stuff you whine about,
don't tell me you haven't once
thought about hanging it up.
I believe life's worth living.
Amen.
BENSON:
I don't know.
If I had something
like Huntington's disease,
and all I had to look forward to
was a long and horrible death,
I can't say
I wouldn't think about suicide.
Moredock going to try and stack
the jury with people like you.
He's going to put the assisted
suicide statute on trial.
Jury nullifies,
precedent's set.
Then the law
can be ignored.
Which is exactly
what Amy wants--
the right to take
our own lives.
HUANG:
Amy Solwey isn't depressed
or mentally ill,
but she is
in constant pain,
and she deals with this
by spreading the message
that suicide is our right.
NOVAK:
As a psychiatrist,
how would you assess that view?
Mainstream medicine
and psychiatry wouldn't agree.
But Amy wouldn't have
a reason to live
if she didn't help people die.
What about Christina Nerrit?
Was she depressed?
Based upon interviews
I did with her family
and coworkers,
I'd say yes.
Was her disorder
treatable?
With therapy, medication
and hard work,
Christina probably could have
led a full, happy life.
Thank you, Doctor.
What if Christina didn't want
to go through your therapy,
had told you she had a
plan to take her own life?
What would you
have done?
Checked her into a psychiatric
facility on a 72-hour hold.
You would deprive her
of her liberty
despite the fact
that suicide's not illegal?
The intention
isn't to imprison her.
It's to protect her
from herself.
98%
of all successful suicides
are committed by people
with a treatable mental illness.
And you can cure all of them,
isn't that right?
I said treatable.
Not all are curable.
Then sometimes your medication
and therapy just don't work.
In severe cases, yes.
The truth is, Doctor,
you can't sit there and say
that there's no such thing
as a terminal mental illness,
can you?
No.
Christina called me.
She was happy.
Said it was time.
I went to her apartment
to give her moral support.
She told me she was
using the plastic bag
and the handcuffs so
she couldn't rip it off.
What did you do?
Wished her a safe
journey and left.
What happened
in the hospital?
Christina called again.
Told me she couldn't
find any insulin,
and asked me
to bring her some.
I filled a syringe
and took it to her.
Amy,
did you, at any time, coerce
or convince Christina Nerrit
to take her own life?
No.
It was her decision.
You're sure about that?
Yes.
The day
she tried to suffocate herself,
did Christina tell you
that the man
that she'd had an affair with
had just dumped her?
I didn't ask.
Did you ever consider
that she might be under strain
and not thinking rationally?
We didn't talk
about her boyfriend.
Of course not. I mean, you
couldn't assess her mental state
because you're not a trained
mental health professional.
Objection.
Argumentative.
Withdrawn.
Do you have criteria?
For what?
Whom you choose to help
on their final journey.
I mean, has it only been adults?
Or have there been teenagers,
children,
the developmentally disabled?
This is badgering,
Your Honor.
I help people who don't
want to suffer anymore.
Well, the truth is, you don't
know who they are, do you?
They're just names
on a computer screen.
Stop!
They're in pain!
I know what pain is!
I live with it every day!
You don't!
How can you judge me?!
How can you judge them?!
This case
isn't just about Amy Solwey
helping Christina Nerrit
kill herself.
Time and again,
the highest court in the land
has ruled our government
can't tell us
what to do with our bodies.
Why should suicide
be any different?
Ms. Novak will tell you
it's your duty
to uphold the law.
But if you convict Amy Solwey,
you're sending a message
that the government
can dictate how we live our
lives and how we end them.
Our constitutional rights
to privacy and free speech
are at stake.
Return a verdict
of not guilty.
Send the message
that Amy Solwey is right--
We should all have the choice
to live and die
on our own terms.
NOVAK:
No one has the right
to kill another human being.
So why should Amy Solwey
be allowed
to help Christina Nerrit
murder herself?
Now, we'll never know
Christina Nerrit's pain.
But what we do know
is that many depressed people
who attempt suicide
are later thankful
they lived through it.
But Christina Nerrit
never got the chance
to get treatment,
or be grateful she was alive
because Amy Solwey
made it her mission
to help Christina die.
So when you're in the jury room,
you ask yourselves:
If your parent, your child,
your friend or spouse
was suicidal,
what would you want?
Your loved one to get help,
or Amy Solwey telling them
it's okay to give up?
JUDGE:
Ladies and gentlemen
of the jury,
is there any chance
that with more time
you can reach a verdict?
No, Your Honor.
We're hopelessly deadlocked.
Then I have no choice but
to declare a mistrial.
You are dismissed
with the thanks of the court.
We're adjourned.
How could they
not convict her?
The jury deadlocked
10 to 2.
I underestimated the power
of Moredock's argument.
You can't blame yourself
because two people
wanted to acquit Amy.
The two holdouts
were for conviction.
The majority voted
to let Amy walk.
Well, just let me know when
you need me for the retrial.
There's not going
to be a retrial, John.
Why the hell not?
Because the D.A. doesn't want
to make Amy Solwey a martyr
for assisted suicide.
Translation:
We lose so we're
letting her off the hook.
We'll, we'll get her,
and it's only a matter of time
before she does it again.
So we let her help
someone else die.
I don't like it either, John.
but I don't have a choice.
Well, that's great.
I can't wait to tell
Christina's sister.
Maybe if dying's
what Christina really wanted,
it's okay.
MUNCH:
She never told you
she was suicidal, did she?
Not once.
I could have helped her.
Allison, none of this
is your fault.
Why couldn't she
just have talked to me?
Maybe she didn't want
to burden you.
But now I'm all alone.
She should have thought
about that.
( sighs )
People who commit suicide
don't always consider the mess
they leave behind,
or they think people will be
better off without them.
She was wrong.
You have every right to be mad
at Christina.
I'm not.
I could have stopped her...
the second time
if I'd listened
to the message.
What message?
On her answering
machine.
The night after she tried
to suffocate herself.
I didn't play it
till after the funeral.
Do you still have it?
Yeah.
Over here.
WOMAN ( on tape ):
Sorry you missed the train,
but this time we'll go together.
I'll bring enough to the
hospital for both of us.
Lab's got the actual machine
and tape.
They made a dub
so you could hear it.
Whose voice is that?
It's a TTY relay operator.
Solwey's LUDS show
she made the call
the night before Christina died.
This was
a suicide pact.
Pretty one-sided.
I guess
Amy changed her mind.
Or lied to Christina
to push her over the edge.
Either way,
I'm going to ask the D.A.
to let us
take another crack at Amy.
What's different now?
The charge.
Second degree murder?
Is this the way
you people retaliate?
Simmer down,
Mr. Moredock.
It's not personal.
Sure it is.
Your district attorney branch
hates losing to me.
You'd better not be wasting
my time with politics,
Ms. Novak.
I'm not,
Your Honor.
We can prove Amy Solwey entered
into a suicide pact
with Christina Nerrit.
Ms. Solwey's still alive,
so clearly had no intention
of going through with it.
She just wants
my client to plead out
to a spurious charge...
Read the statute.
When two people enter
into a suicide pact
and one of them pulls out
for personal gain
after the other one is dead,
that's Murder Two.
What could
Amy Solwey possibly gain
by Christina Nerrit's death?
Validation
of her cause.
Which is exactly
what she got
when that jury
deadlocked.
You're not gonna
let her sell you
this bill of goods,
are you, Judge?
Don't insult my intelligence,
Mr. Moredock.
That's how the law's written.
Unless you can prove
Ms. Novak wrong,
we're going back to trial.
How did it go?
Grand Jury took
15 minutes to indict.
You okay?
Amy Solwey deserves
to be put away,
but convicting her is not
going to change a damn thing.
John...
She broke the law.
Okay. Amy goes to prison,
someone takes over her Web site.
More people die
who don't have to.
Gotta be some way
to shut it down.
Maybe not.
I just read
about this Web site where
they're teaching young girls
how to become anorectic and then
hide it from their parents.
Look, there's always going to be
hate and racism on the Internet.
What are you going
to do about it?
Freedom of speech, man.
Someone talks, there's always
somebody there to listen.
BENSON:
You look like you
could use a drink.
Wish I had time.
I'm headed over
to Bellevue.
Thought you might
want to come.
Amy Solwey's
refusing dialysis.
When Judge Bradley hears
about this stunt,
he's gonna blow a gasket.
There's a lot I'd do
to win a case, Ms. Novak,
but I'm on
your side here.
Why are you doing this?
I would rather die now
than in prison.
You mean you'd rather
be a martyr, don't you?
Stop calling me that!
Or do you finally feel
some guilt
over tricking Christina Nerrit
into your bogus suicide pact?
I did not trick her.
I thought by saying
I would die with her,
it would make her feel
more comfortable.
Feel better about her decision.
Her decision.
This won't work.
I'll get a court order
to force the dialysis.
You know full well
no judge will ever issue
such an order.
BENSON:
I can still try.
You can't force me to eat.
I'll just starve.
I thought you're
all about avoiding pain.
When you don't eat,
your body releases endorphins
as it breaks down
its own tissue for fuel.
I'm told it's a very pleasant
and painless death.
( sighs )
I'm looking for Casey Novak.
Yes. Can I help you?
I'm Dr. Nemarich.
Amy Solwey's nephrologist.
I'm sorry,
I can't talk to you.
You may want to contact her
defense attorney.
I did.
He told me to come see you.
About what?
This.
Just faxed over from UNOS--
the National Organ Registry.
They found her a kidney?
We don't have much time.
( knock at door )
( insistent knocking )
Coming. I'm coming.
John, what are you
doing here?
Why the hell
didn't you call me?
There's nothing
anyone can do.
Amy's made her choice.
Which is?
Well, if we're just going
to put her in prison,
it's a waste of a kidney.
Then plead her out
to a lesser charge.
Excuse me?
Don't let her do
this to herself.
You're the one who wanted me
to jump through hoops
to retry her.
Why are you so invested in this?
Her dying isn't worth it.
If we cave on Amy,
it opens the door
for any other perp
who wants to force a plea
by threatening suicide.
I can't jump just because
she's got a gun to my head.
She's different.
No, she's not, John.
I'm sorry.
So am I.
Can you read my lips?
( sighs )
Yes.
Why won't you
take this kidney?
My life. My decision.
Yeah, well,
it's the wrong decision.
Leave me alone.
Why? So you can die alone
in this dump?
Get out!
Great way to catch
that train, isn't it?
I don't want to hurt anymore.
Then let them do the transplant.
No!
It'll take away
your pain.
So I can go to prison?
So you can live.
What do you care
if I live or die?
Because my father killed
himself.
( sighs )
When I was a kid.
I thought it was my fault.
The night before
he blew his brains out,
he punished me
for being a wiseass.
( sighs )
I told him I hated his guts.
Those were the last words
I ever said to him.
( sighs )
It haunts me to this day.
You're the only person
I've ever told.
Why me?
Because
we're the same.
I feel guilty my
father was suffering
and I couldn't help him.
You feel guilty because of
what you did to Christina.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
I know.
I don't want you to die.
Help me help you.
Please.
Captioning sponsored by
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