All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.Special.Victims.Unit.S19E03.Contrapasso.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-NTb_track3_[eng]

.

- 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.

[dramatic music]

- So I'm eight years old.
I go to the store with my mom.

- Now, while she's paying,
I end up boosting

some, uh--some Rolos.

- When I was that age,
I was all about Jujubes.

- So what am I gonna do, right?

We get outside, pull the Rolos
out of my BVDs.

She busts me.

She makes me go back
into the store.

I got to cop to everything.

I cried--
I cried like a little baby,

and then I had to do it
all over again on Sunday

at confession,
but bless her heart,

she never did tell my old man.

- My pops would've backhanded
me if I did something stupid.

I stayed out of trouble
mostly out of fear.

What we got?

- We caught a job
off a 911 call.

People screaming in room 240.

When we got up here,
nobody answered the door.

Security let us in.

- We got a bloody steak knife
in the sink here.

- It is nasty,
but why call SVU?

- Take a look
in that ice bucket.

- Aw! Come on.

- If I'm not mistaken,
that's a set of testicles.

- Aw, jeez.
- Confirmed.

You found these on ice?

- They were on the bed.

I put 'em in there.

- Good thinking.

[flashlight clicks on]

Hey, Carisi, check this out.

[suspenseful music]

*

- He's still alive.

[dramatic music]

.

- Jason Karr,
the unfortunate recipient

of an amateur gonadectomy.

- Okay. Patrol said that they
recovered the missing parts

and brought them here?

- Once the spermatic cord
is severed,

the testicles are
just medical waste.

Good news is he'll be okay
with some plastic surgery,

prosthetics,
hormone replacement therapy.

- Depends what you mean
by okay.

- Yeah. Any defensive wounds?

- None, but his tox screen
showed a high level

of alprazolam,
and his BAC was 0.19.

Lucky for Mr. Karr,
he was thoroughly zonked

when he gave up
the family jewels.

- And how soon
can we talk to him?

- Once his anesthesia
wears off,

we'll move him to the ICU.

[phone buzzing]
- Okay.

- Thanks.
- Mm-hmm.

- Benson. Oh, hi.

Thank you so very much.
That is--that is great news.

Yeah, thank you.
Thank you very much.

The DA cleared me.

They are closing
the investigation

of Noah's bruises.
[exhales deeply]

- Liv, I'm so sorry
you had to go through that.

- [softly] Yeah, well...

happy ending at least.

[dramatic music]

- I called 911 a few minutes
after I left the hotel.

- Why were you there?

- I was visiting a friend
who was staying there.

As I was going to the elevator,

I heard people screaming
at each other in room 240.

A man and a woman.

- Did you hear what they were
saying, Ms. Galen?

- Nora. Not really.
It was mostly profanity.

- So why not knock on the door,
see if anyone needed help?

- Well, it was none of
my business, really.

But as soon as I left,
I started to feel guilty

I didn't do anything.

I hope everybody's okay.

- Let's just say it's
a good thing you called us.

[knocking on door]

Julie Wade?

- That's right.

- Detective Tutuola
and Detective Carisi,

from SVU in the city.

- Oh, hi.
What's going on?

- We're investigating
an incident that happened

in Manhattan last night.

- Manhattan?
- Yeah, you made a reservation

at the Midtown Skyline Hotel.

Checked in around 6:30
in the evening?

- No, there must be
some mistake.

I was here with my boyfriend.

- Well, it was booked
under your VISA card.

- Hold on a second.

- Julie!
Where the hell are you?

Who are these mopes?
- Police officers.

Something about one
of my credit cards.

- Well, get rid of 'em
and make me something to eat.

I'm gonna be late.
- Sure, babe.

- Oh, my God!
My card is gone.

- Okay, well, when was
the last time you saw it?

- I remember using it
at Costco on Monday.

I must've left it there.

- Know this guy?

- No.

Why?
Did something happen to him?

- That's all we need.
Sorry about bothering you.

- Guess I should cancel
my card.

- That seem sketch to you?

- People do lose
their credit cards.

- Especially after cutting
some guy's testes off.

- What, her?

- No, my money goes on
Stanley Kowalski in there.

TARU will run the E-ZPasses.

- I ducked into a hotel bar
to kill some time,

and there was an attractive
woman at the bar, and I...

I start talking to her.

- And what was her name?
- Angela.

Said she was in the city
on business.

- Okay, can you describe her?

- [sighs] Dark hair.
Uh, late 20s.

Maybe 5'6".

- Is that--is that Angela?

- Not even close.

- So, Mr. Karr, tell us exactly
what happened.

- [stammers]

We had some cocktails,
and--and then she invited me

up to her room, and she made me
a drink from the minibar.

And...

we started getting friendly.

Like you do, you know?

And that's--that's the last
thing I remember.

I just--I came to
on the bed,

and--and I was sitting
in a...

[crying]
In a bloody, sticky mess.

[breathing shakily]

Jesus, I haven't even
called my wife yet.

I mean, what am I gonna say?

- I can certainly
call her for you

and tell her
that you're here,

and that you were a victim of--
of an assault.

- [exhales]

Yeah.
I mean, and then what?

- We're going to find
the person who did this to you.

You're gonna get through this,
Mr. Karr.

- Jason Karr, age 46.

He works as a copy editor

for a company that publishes
trade magazines.

He's married, no kids.
Lives on Grand Street.

- Fin, you get anything
from the hotel bartender?

- Not much. He remembers Karr
with a woman during happy hour.

They paid cash.

- And I get the whole
seduction-robbery thing.

That's been going on for ages.
But why castrate the guy?

- Somebody with anger issues.

- This kind of act is almost
always motivated by revenge.

And there's a sexual component.

- Yeah, but Karr says
he doesn't know the perp.

Could be some psycho
that hates men.

- Or the cutter's taking care
of somebody else's business.

- Yeah, a jilted lover.
Pissed spouse.

- Stanley Kowalski, huh?
Wait, hang on a second.

I think I got something
on the hotel security video.

This is two minutes
before the 911 call.

Fin, you recognize
anybody here?

- That's Julie Wade.

- That's the woman
with the stolen credit card.

- That's right.
So much for being in Yonkers

with her boyfriend that night.

- Am I in some kind of trouble?

- Well, why don't you tell us
about your VISA card again?

- I'm pretty sure I left it
at Costco.

- Well,
that's an out-and-out lie,

because you were
at the Skyline Hotel

on 10th Avenue that night.

- That isn't me.
I mean, it looks like me.

But I was home.

- Okay, well, we also have
your E-ZPass

going into the city
at 5:07 p.m.

*

- So how do you know
Jason Karr?

- Who?
- Come on.

Julie, you're just
digging yourself

into a deeper and deeper hole
right now.

- I don't know him.

- Then why was he
in your hotel room?

- And why did he leave
that room minus his balls?

- I'm sorry, what?

- He was castrated.

- Wait, am I under arrest
for this?

- Not yet.

- Then I better get home.

- Before your boyfriend misses
his 4:00 feeding?

- He doesn't need to know
about this, okay?

- Julie's not a good liar.

- She's terrified.

- So how do we connect her
to Karr?

- Rollins and I showed Karr
her DMV license.

He says he doesn't know her.

- I understand why she would
lie, but why would he lie?

- Fin, did the lab get back
to you about the name

that was on the knife that
we found at the hotel room?

- Cheyenne.

- Cheyenne?

Isn't that a steak house
in Hell's Kitchen?

It's three blocks
from her hotel.

- Maybe that's where
their night started.

I'll check.

[dramatic music]

[lounge music]

- I'm not really good
with faces.

I'm more of a word person.

- Here's a word. Focus.

- What my partner means to say

is that maybe you're just
underestimating yourself.

- I don't think so.

- Okay, Lyla, you on Instagram?

- Yeah.
- What about Tinder?

- Wouldn't you like to know.

- I'll take that as a yes.
What about Facebook?

- Duh.
- See? Photos. Selfies.

Faces, Lyla. You're a pro,
and you didn't even know it.

So do me a favor.

Take a look at these photos
one more time.

Please.

- [sighs]

This guy
I've never seen before.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure
she was here that night.

She had dinner
with one of our bar regulars,

a girl named Evelyn.

- Last name?

- Let me check the tab.

Evelyn Bundy.

She had a rez
for a party of three.

A Nora Galen picked up the tab
on her AmEx.

- I don't really understand why
you want to talk to me again.

- We'll explain everything
to you when we sit down.

[indistinct conversation]

- We appreciate you
calling 911, Nora,

but now we want to know
what you were doing

at the hotel that night.

Sit down.

- I told you,
I was visiting a friend.

- We'll need that friend's
name and room number.

Just to verify.

- I can't really give you that.
- Why not?

- Because I'm just
not comfortable

giving out that information.

- Mm.

- Okay, let's try this.
Who were you with

before you went to the hotel?

- I was by myself.
- Nope.

You were having dinner
at the Cheyenne Steakhouse

with a woman named Julie Wade.

- Oh, okay. Yes, Julie.
Now I remember.

- Ah.
- And Evelyn Bundy?

- Evelyn?
I don't know who that is.

- Nora, you're killing me here.

- Oh, you mean Eve.

Sorry, I just met her
that night,

and Julie introduced us.
- Mm.

- But you just pretended
not to know her

when you walked past her
in our squad room.

- That was her?
I didn't recognize her.

- Okay, after dinner, did you
go back to Julie's room?

- Or did you meet Jason Karr
at the hotel bar?

- I just went
to visit my friend.

- Which one? Julie or Jason?

- Okay, it was Julie.

I just didn't want
to get her involved.

- Involved in what?

- [scoffs] You know what?

It's time to cut the crap,
Nora.

- I--I think
I've said everything

I want to say about this.

- I go to that bar a lot.

Half-price drinks
at happy hour.

I met those ladies there.

They were nice enough
to buy me dinner.

- And you had never met
the other two women?

Julie? Nora?
- Nope.

- All right, and what about
a man named Jason Karr?

- Look, I meet a lot of men
all the time.

I really don't keep track
of all of them.

- Maybe this will
jog your memory.

- No.

- What are you doing?
- I have meds.

- What kind of meds?

- Anxiety. Look, I have
a prescription, okay?

- So pills, booze.

What's going on in your life
right now, Evelyn?

- Nothing you need
to know about.

Okay, are we about done here?
- Not really, no.

- Okay, well, maybe you can
tell me what's going on?

- That's fair.

This guy, he was castrated
a couple hours

after you and the ladies were
enjoying a medium-rare rib eye.

- Yeah, okay.

So if you're gonna
keep me here,

I am gonna need my meds,
and I'm gonna need a lawyer.

- Nora works real estate
in Hastings.

Julie keeps house for some bro
in Yonkers.

And Evelyn tends bar here
in the city.

- Hold on.

But her driver's license
address is in Katonah,

which means
that all three of them

have ties to
Westchester County.

- Born in 1979, '78.

What high school
did they go to?

- Nora Galen's
LinkedIn page says

that she went to Packard Prep
in Rye Brook.

- Okay, is there a yearbook
online? Maybe 1995?

- Got it.

Julie was a junior,

and Nora and Evelyn
were sophomores.

- They all name-check something

called the Updike Club
in their bios.

- Okay, is there a photo
of that club?

- The Updike Literary Club.

Look who
their faculty advisor was.

- Jason Karr.

*

.

- It's been nearly 20 years
since I taught at Packard.

I mean, some of these faces
are familiar, but...

- Okay, well, you know what?
Here's an update.

This is Julie Wade.
This is Nora Galen.

This is Evelyn Bundy.

- You think one of these women
mutilated my husband?

- Why don't you tell us,
Mr. Karr?

- They had nothing
to do with it.

- Why would you think it's one
of Jason's former students?

- We're just ruling out
some possibilities.

- Julie Wade here,

she's the one
that booked the hotel room

where you were assaulted.

And Nora made the 911 call
from the hotel.

- And saved your life.

- I don't know
what to tell you.

- So that's all you have
to say?

- Look, uh, it was hard enough
telling my wife

that I went up to a hotel room
with another woman.

And given what's happened,
she's forgiven me.

Haven't you, honey?
- Totally.

- But we'd--we'd like to focus
on my recovery

and put this whole debacle
behind us,

so it's--it's probably best
if you guys leave,

but thank you.

- One thing we did learn,

his child bride knows
he's hiding something.

- Yeah.

- The three women got together

20 years after high school,

and within a few hours,

one of their teachers was found
castrated in a hotel room.

- What's the presumed motive?

- It wasn't
for giving 'em all Cs.

- Given the nature
of the injury,

there's a sexual motivation
behind it.

- Explains why Karr won't talk.

- Yeah, I can't prosecute
the assault

unless the victim makes
an ID.

- Okay, well, how about
we charge the three women

with obstruction?

- For asserting their
Fifth Amendment rights?

- After they lied to us and
obfuscated our investigation.

- Obfuscate. Yummy.

- Hold on, Rafa.

An obstruction charge
would certainly

leverage some cooperation.

If you can't prove the crime,
prove the cover-up.

- You'd have reasonable cause
for an arrest,

but my advice is,
get Jason Karr on board,

or this train is
going nowhere.

- Which we know is
not gonna happen.

- Okay, so we are going to
follow Carisi's suggestion.

Arrest them for obstruction,

and put them all
in the same holding cell.

- You don't return my calls.

- Hi. I am so sorry.

It has been crazy around here,

but I did want to tell you
that both the DA's office

and ACS have closed
their case files.

- Not about that.

Back when I filed
your application for custody,

I was under the impression that

both of Ellie Porter's
parents were dead.

- Yeah.
That's what she told me.

- Ellie lied to you, Olivia.

Her mother is alive.

Shelia Porter.

She hired a PI
to track down her daughter.

They--they somehow found out
about Noah,

and she has now
filed a petition

to vacate Noah's adoption.

- Wow.

Why didn't you corroborate

what Ellie told me
about her parents?

- You're blaming me?
- Yeah, I'm blaming you.

You didn't do your homework.

- Do you know how many Porters
there are in New York State?

- This woman is in New York?
- New Hampshire.

- This is unbelievable.

The one thing
that you had to get right.

- You said she had
no relatives.

- I am not a lawyer.

- You have a database.
- For police business!

- All right, I'm not gonna
stand here and defend myself.

- You better defend yourself.

- We'll fight this, Liv.

- If I lose Noah
after everything

that I've been through...

- That is not going to happen.

Liv, there is no legal basis
to vacate this adoption.

- We both know

that Judge Linden fast-tracked
this adoption for me.

- I know.
Even so, there is--

- Please leave.

Please leave.

[dramatic music]

*

[door closes]

*

[indistinct conversation]

- All right,
who's doing the paperwork

on the obstruction collars?

- Well, your idea,
so I guess that would be you.

- They know we're lying,
Evelyn.

- You clocking this?
- Of course they do!

You have to tell them
what happened.

- I can't.

- Because I'm not going
to jail...

[indistinct conversation]

If you tell them the truth,
they'll go easier on you.

- We want to talk to you.

- We'll call your lawyers.
- We don't want lawyers.

We want to tell you the truth.

.

- I was a sophomore at Packard.

I'd just transferred
from public school,

and I didn't have
any friends there.

The best part of my week
was Mr. Karr's poetry class.

Every time I volunteered,
he complimented me.

He gave me confidence,

like a good teacher
is supposed to.

- He wrote notes on my paper
about how smart I was,

or he'd make a joke

about something
somebody said in class.

- One day, he asked me
to stay after class.

He made me a mixtape.

He knew I was really
into grunge.

I was constantly wearing
the same Nirvana T-shirt.

- [scoffs]
All that extra attention,

it made me feel special.

- So when all the rest
of the kids had left,

he pulls this big seashell

out of his bag.

A conch shell
that he'd found at the beach.

He said it was a metaphor
for me.

A treasure washed up
by the waves.

It looked plain on the outside,

but inside,
it was shiny and smooth,

with pink and orange swirls.

So yeah, I was 16.

And he took my breath away.

- And the first time
we had sex,

he invited me
to his apartment near school

to watch a film.

- He asked me if I wanted
to smoke some weed,

listen to some music,
so we went out to his car.

We got high.

- And I knew what we were doing
wasn't cool,

but it was too late.

I'd already accepted
all of his attention.

- Then one day I went
to the coffee place,

like we'd arranged,
and he never showed up.

I felt worthless.

That's when I started
cutting myself.

- So at our 20th reunion,
I'm at the bar

with a couple of girls I know
from the Updike Club,

Julie and Nora,
and Mr. Karr's name comes up.

And we kind of look
at each other.

Julie was the first one
to admit it.

So we told each other
our stories, and we realized

how Mr. Karr
had screwed us all up.

How Julie took her shame out
on her own body,

how Nora's always alone because
she can't trust anybody,

and me, well...

So Nora Googled him.

And we saw that he has a job
in the city now.

We had this idea
that if we could confront him

about what he did, then maybe
we could get some closure.

So Julie reached out to him,

and he agreed to meet her
at the hotel bar.

Nora and I were waiting
in the room

when Julie brought him
upstairs.

- And then what happened?

- Then...

You don't understand.
You're a man.

- Listen to me, Evelyn.

That man is a predator,

and he should be in prison.

- Yeah, what do you know
about it?

- You're right. I don't know.

But I do have a niece.

If I found out one of her
teachers was doing that to her,

cop or no cop, I would beat
the living crap out of him.

- At first...

at first we just asked him

if he remembered
what he did to us.

You could tell he never even
gave it a second thought.

He said he was a great teacher.

He encouraged
our love of the arts,

and--and anyways, we had a lot
of experience with boys

and we seduced him.

Okay, that's when I lost it.

That's when I knew
I needed to damage him

the same way
he damaged me.

- What did you do?

- I spiked his drink
with my pills.

And when he passed out,

I got the knife that I stole
from the restaurant

and I told Julie and Nora
to leave, and I...

Do you know
what contrapasso means?

- No.

- It's from Dante's "Inferno."

A punishment
a sinner gets in hell

is the opposite of his sin.

So thank you, Mr. Karr.

You always did encourage me

to read the classics.

- [exhales slowly]

Hey, Lieutenant.
Evelyn says the other women

had no idea it was coming.

They did not participate.

- They tried to cover it up.

- But they came clean, so
the obstruction charge is moot.

- Okay, so charge Evelyn
with Assault One.

Call Barba, and get her
downtown to arraignment.

- You know what, though?

With what he did to these women
in high school,

if the statute of limitations
hadn't already expired,

we'd be charging Jason Karr
too right now.

- You're right.

Get Evelyn back here tomorrow
with her lawyer.

Maybe we can get
a quick plea deal

and put this whole thing
to bed.

- My client's interested in
pleading guilty to the assault,

but first we'd like to give you
a little more context

if you agree not to use it
in court.

- Okay, I'll have to run any
disposition by the DA's office.

Let's get started.

- Look, I know I did
a terrible thing.

I--I was so freaked out
to see him again,

and--and I had
way too much to drink,

and then I just snapped.

You know, when he said that
it was our fault,

that we were responsible...

- And I wish we could
arrest him

for what he did 20 years ago,

but the prosecutions

for the statutory rapes
that he committed at Packard

are now barred by the statute
of limitations.

- Right, but you're still
gonna charge me.

- You didn't punch him
in the face

and break his nose, Evelyn.

You disfigured him.

You took a knife.

- Yeah, I took a knife
for protection.

- Protection from what?
- From Karr.

He can get violent.
- Violent how?

- It was the last time
I went to his apartment.

I went over there to tell him
that it was over,

because I'd heard he was
seeing some other girl.

A senior in his advisory.

And he got angry.

And he told me that he wasn't
ready to say good-bye yet.

And then he...

He took a corkscrew,
and he held it to my face.

And he told me not to scream,

and then he held me down

and forced me to have sex
with him, so...

[knocks on glass]
- You on this?

- Force. Rape One.
- No statute of limitations.

- Now hold on. Did she just
come up with that

because Vincent told her
that we can't prosecute Karr?

- That's not what I saw.

- For Evelyn to do
what she did to him,

I believe every word of it.

[suspenseful music]

*

- I told you, I have nothing
more to say about this.

- Mr. Karr, please step outside
and turn around.

- What are you--what?
Why are you arresting me?

- You're charged with rape
in the first degree

on the complaint
of Evelyn Bundy.

- Are you serious?
After what she did to him?

- Ma'am. Ma'am!
- This is outrageous!

- Stop.

*

.

- I'm Lieutenant Benson--

- How can you do this
to my husband?

- I can't imagine having to--

- Do you even understand
what that bitch did to him?

- Of course I do.
And it is awful.

- But he's the one
being prosecuted

for something 20 years ago
that probably never happened.

- With all due respect,
you weren't there, were you?

- [scoffs]

- I understand why you would
want to support your husband.

- Jason is not a rapist!

- You know, I'm curious.

How did you two meet?

- So you think
because he's older than me,

that he has, what?
Some kind of fetish?

- I didn't say that.

- We met four years ago.

I had a summer internship

at the publisher
he was working for.

- So you were in college.

- We fell in love.

We wanted to have a family.
So much for that.

- You know, I have a son.

And I adopted him, and he--

he is what makes
everything worth it.

- After what my husband
has been through,

it would just be a reminder
of the night

he stopped being a man.

You're really going to try
to put him in jail after that?

- I'm sorry for what happened
to you.

I really am.

But that's not up to me.

[melancholy music]

*

- It was the spring
of my sophomore year.

There was a rumor going around
that Mr. Karr was hooking up

with a girl
in the senior class,

so I went to tell him

that I wouldn't be coming over
to his apartment anymore.

And he lost it.

He told me that I couldn't
break up with him.

Only he could break up with me.

Then he grabbed me,
threw me down on the floor,

pulled my pants off.

I tried to tell him to stop,
but he got on top of me.

I tried to get away from him,

but he grabbed a corkscrew
off the coffee table

and held it to my face.

He told me if I screamed,
he would cut me with it.

- What did he do then?

- Then he put his penis
in my vagina, and he raped me.

- Thank you, Evelyn.

No further questions.

- But you didn't tell anyone
at the time

that this had happened?

Not a parent, a friend,
a guidance counselor?

- I didn't think anyone
would believe me.

- Because for six months you'd
been having consensual sex?

- No, I wasn't old enough
to consent.

I...acquiesced.

- That's a fancy word
that means you liked it?

- Objection.
- Overruled.

I'll allow it.

- At the time,
I was young and confused.

- Were you young and confused
when you stole a steak knife

and castrated him?

- No.

No, yes, I was.
I was confused.

- Maybe you're confused
right now

about what he did to you
in high school.

- No, I'm not confused
about that.

- Maybe this story
of forcible rape

has come 20 years
after the fact

because that's the only way
my client

can be prosecuted now.

- He should be prosecuted
for all of it.

I was 16 years old,

and a teacher
that I looked up to,

that I trusted,
took advantage of me.

Do you remember this, Mr. Karr?

Jason?

I saved it as a reminder
of what happened between us.

- Move to strike.
This is not responsive.

[shell shatters]

- [breathing shakily]

[dramatic music]

*

- We're in recess.

Let's get her some
medical attention, please.

*

- Mrs. Karr.

- There's something
you should see.

Jason kept a box of papers

from his teaching days
in the basement.

After I saw Evelyn in court,

I went downstairs to see
what was in there.

- "Packard Literary Journal,"
from '95.

- Look at page 15.

- It's a poem.

- Why are you showing this
to us?

You know this could hurt
your husband's case.

- [scoffs]

*

.

- I was three years
out of college

when Evelyn was
in my poetry class.

- You've heard her testimony.

Did you do the things
she claims you did?

- I need to explain this.

I--I was young and immature,
and Evelyn...

[sighs]
I had real feelings for her.

I know that sounds creepy now,
but I was just 24 years old,

and I developed a crush on her.

And when I look back on it now,
I know that there's no excuse

for--for my behavior,
whatever my feelings were.

I took advantage of my position
of power, and that was wrong.

And for that, I am truly,
truly sorry.

But I never used physical force
to get Evelyn

to have sex with me.
Never.

- Did you explain this to her

when she confronted you
in that hotel room?

- I tried to.
That's why I agreed

to go see Julie that night,

to say that I was sorry.

- Can you describe for us

how that encounter
impacted your life?

- Well, after I was maimed,
I had plastic surgery

to reconstruct my scrotum.

I have prosthetic testicles.

I'll be on hormone replacement
for the rest of my life.

I have nightmares.

And every time
I look down there,

I, uh--I'm reminded
all over again

that I'm never gonna
have children.

[crying] I'm never gonna be
able to raise a family.

- Do you need a moment, Jason?

- That someone could do this
to another human being...

I know that I behaved badly
when I was at Packard,

and I will regret that
for the rest of my life.

But haven't I suffered enough?

- When you--
when you taught at Packard,

there was
a student literary journal.

Is that correct?

- Yes.

- And so the students would--

would submit their writing
for inclusion in the magazine?

- That's correct.

- Okay.

I'd like to have that marked
as People's Seven

for identification.

Could you read the poem
on page 15 to the jury, please?

- Move to strike.
Where is this going?

- It'll become readily apparent
in short order, Your Honor.

- I'll give you some latitude,
Mr. Barba, but get to it.

- Thank you.

Please read the poem aloud,
Mr. Karr.

Start with the title.

- "Corkscrew."

"Friday afternoons
will never be the same,

"no golden sunlight streaming

"or songbirds serenading
in the trees.

"Just the rank taste
of cheap wine

"and the brown stain
on the ceiling

"as numb and naive I lie,

"pinned to your filthy floor

"and you,
corkscrew in your sweaty fist,

crush my soul."

- As a former teacher
of literature,

could you conclude
that the author of this poem

had personally endured
an act of sexual violence?

- Everybody knows that poems
are feats of imagination.

Projections, or metaphors.

- Right.
Who wrote that poem, sir?

[tense music]

*

- Evelyn Bundy.

- When?

- April, '95.

- Nothing further.

*

- You mind?

- Am I that predictable?

- You are...

but this is a tough case.

- Listen, I'm...

considering offering a deal.

Karr does the same four years
Evelyn Bundy agreed to.

- You proved forcible rape.

- If she cut off his finger,
if she poked him in the eye--

- It shouldn't make
a difference.

- We don't live in a vacuum.

I can assure you,
the seven guys on that jury,

they feel Karr's pain.

- And if Karr wasn't castrated,
if he had cancer--

- It's not the same thing.
- It should be.

Why do we do this, Raphael?

Because the next girl
who gets raped needs to know

that that person is us.

No matter what.

[dramatic music]

- The question then becomes,
what is justice?

Or more precisely,
exactly how much retribution

does a criminal owe?

How much vengeance
does a victim deserve?

Sure, we can pore over volumes
and volumes of legal doctrine,

but when push comes to shove,

the answer is way more visceral
than it is scholarly.

It's human nature.
It's hard-wired into us,

like eating and sleeping.

You're wronged.
You need to wrong someone back.

To be sure,
Evelyn Bundy already took

Jason Karr's
metaphorical eye.

Now what Mr. Barba wants

is for you to throw in
an ear as well.

But is that just?

Our innate sense of fair play

tells us that
to cause Jason to suffer

any more than he already has

would be tantamount
to giving Evelyn

more justice
than she actually deserves.

My friends, please.
That simply wouldn't be fair.

Thank you.

[crumpling paper]

- Hasn't he suffered enough?

My vote is yes, he has.

I mean, Jason assaulted Evelyn.
Evelyn assaulted him back.

That sounds fair to me.
Sounds like justice at work.

To be just, it has to be fair.

I mean, that's what
Ms. Rivers asserts.

You know, I can't really
disagree with that.

In purely pound of flesh terms,
Mr. Karr certainly gave up

a hell of a lot more
than he got.

Fair? Not a chance.

To be totally fair,

you should give Jason
one of Evelyn's breasts.

An arm, maybe.
That's only fair.

And as we have now decided,
that means it's just.

Jason Karr forcibly raped
Evelyn Bundy

when she was little more
than a child.

But to tack a prison sentence

on Mr. Karr's already
gargantuan suffering

would tip the balance of
justice in Ms. Bundy's favor,

and hey,
there's no way that's fair,

so there's no way that's just.

A man whose store burns down
rushes out, buys some gasoline,

a book of matches, and sets the
house of the arsonist on fire.

Hey! It's fair,
so that means it's just!

A man whose children
have been murdered buys a gun

and splatters the brains
of the killer's children

all over their bedroom walls.

It's fair. It's just.

Why bother with cops or courts?

If it's fair,
it has to be just!

Let the blood flow
in the streets, I say!

Oh, wait, you don't like it?

I say get a bigger pair
of boots.

[dramatic music]

*

- Has the jury
reached a verdict?

- We have, Your Honor.

- How do you find?

- We find the defendant,
Jason Karr,

guilty of rape
in the first degree.

*

- "So Peter Rabbit was so tired
that he flopped down

"on the nice, soft sand

"on the floor
of the rabbit hole,

"and he shut his eyes.

His mother was busy cooking."

- What was she cooking?

- Probably sushi.

- [laughs]
Rabbits don't eat sushi.

- "She wondered what he had
done with his clothes.

"It was the second
little jacket and shoes

that Peter had lost
in a fortnight--"

[knocking on door]

Did you invite
somebody over?

- No, you did.

- No, I didn't.

Let me check who it is,
sweetie.

[knocking continues]

- Olivia Benson?

- Yes.

- I'm Sheila Porter.
Noah's grandmother.

*