All language subtitles for Law and order S15E11 - Fixed

the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups,

the police
who investigate crime

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

CROSSING GUARD: Come on, let's
shake a leg, there's the bell.

Good morning, sunshine,
you feeling better today?

Yeah.
Good.

Come on. It's a beautiful day,
let's make it a good one.

All right, young
man, come on, now.

Have a good day.

How are you?

I can't complain.
How's the family?

Lianajust got early
acceptance to Cornell.

You must be so proud.

How is your daughter?

Ten years old,
acting like Lil' Kim.

Mothers of daughters have more
gray hairs than mothers of sons.

Tell me about it. All you can do is pray.
(TIRES SCREECHING)

(CRASHING)

Oh, my word!

That didn't sound good.
Oh, no.

(GIRL SCREAMING)

Call 911. Now!

FONTANA: What you got?

Hit and run.

ED: So Why'd you call us?

I'm not sure it
was an accident.

Jacob Lowenstein.

Lowenstein?
The wife beater?

COP: The one who
killed his little kid.

I saw his coming out
photo a month ago.

I thought, you know, what's
this guy doing around a school?

You did the right
thing calling us.

Witnesses?

Yeah. A big black car,
maybe an SUV,

travelling at a high
rate of speed,

hit him as he jay walked
across the street,

and kept going. That's about it.
I'll keep looking.

What about Lowenstein?

Tore off his leg.

I thought he wouldn't
make it to the O.R.

Let us know what you
come up with, all right?

No skid marks, no indication the
driver tried not to hit him.

FONTANA: Talk about your public
service homicides. ED: If he dies.

Well, it is rush hour.

Guy's out a month,
someone runs him down.

Lowenstein's parole
got plenty of press.

That man beat his wife
until she didn't look human

and then he did
the same thing

to his five-year-old daughter
and left her to die.

And for that he winds
up doing 15 years.

You know, Donald Cragen
worked the original case.

We'll reach out to him.

We thought maybe we'd start
with Lowenstein's PO first

and then maybe his ex.

All right.

GRADY: Served the required
two-thirds of his sentence.

Model prisoner.
They had to let him out.

System sucks.

You gotta give him
some hope, I suppose.

That's what they say.

Without the carrot, these guys
would be impossible to control.

And you know, they're not
all as bad as Lowenstein.

Well, that's the point.

Someone like Lowenstein
short circuits the system.

So what were the rules
of his release?

A curfew, 9:00 to 7:00, drug
counseling random drug testing,

anger management classes,
a 12-step program.

Hey, it's all part of
a package these days.

You gotta try somethin'.

Anything else?

Well, no contact with minors, of course.
No contact with his kid.

Kid?
Yeah, there was a son.

Must have been two,
three, at the time.

He's living on
Long Island somewhere.

Lowenstein was supposed to be
staying in a halfway house?

For the first six months.

ED: You got an address?

They, uh...
They call me.

You lost track of him?

What am I supposed to do, call the
National Guard to find the guy?

Do you know how
many cases I got?

Do you have a more high profile
parolee than Lowenstein?

Why didn't you violate him?

Well, I'm going to,
aren't I,

as soon as I can
get to the paperwork.

Something tells me that your
workload is gonna get a lot lighter.

Whoa. Take it easy, man.

Lowenstein was a
coked-up, crazy creep.

He used Carla as a
punching bag for years.

Bruises, broken bones.

By the time we got there, herjaw
was so swollen she couldn't talk.

What about
the little girl?

She was black,
blue and burned.

When I'm havin'
a bad night,

this is the one that comes
back and haunts me.

His PO said
he had a son?

Ezra. Two years old.

Malnourished, neglected.

Spent most of his time tied
to the radiator, like a dog.

The parole officer also said
that he's living on Long Island.

I'll get you a name
and address.

He was doing well,
last I heard.

A happy ending,
considering.

Speaking of happy endings,
how's Lowenstein?

He's still on
the critical list.

I hope he lingers a long
time in excruciating pain.

Have you talked to
his ex yet, Carla?

ED: We're still
looking for her.

Her shrink might
be able to help you.

He resurrected her. Brought her
back from the dead. Literally.

Someone like Lowenstein
is a user, a predator.

He can smell weakness
vulnerability, and exploit it.

Like a hyena stalking
awounded animal.

Is that what happened with Carla?
Did he sniff her out?

Let's just say,
such a woman,

damaged, vulnerable, lonely,

under the sway of such a
man, would do anything

to win and keep his approval
no matter how depraved,

no matter what the damage
to herself or her children.

Would such a woman
still be under his sway?

Recovery is possible.
I've seen it myself.

Is it ever possible

that the prey animal attacked the
predator first before he could find her?

A prey animal doesn't attack a
predator unless it's cornered.

I mean, if he
came to her door,

maybe she might use a knife
or a gun to defend herself.

But follow him, stalk him, attack
him preemptively with a car?

No. I wouldn't think so.

You sound pretty passionate
about this, Doctor.

Maybe we be asking
you about your alibi?

I'm a lifelong New Yorker,
Detective.

I don't have a license,

and I don't drive.

Look, Doctor, we need
to talk to Carla,

if only to eliminate
her as a suspect.

I'll tell you what.
I'll call her.

If she's willing
to talk to you.

She works in
a nursery school.

We thought we'd take a ride out
there, see if she's got an alibi.

Her shrink says that we can cross
her off the list and move on.

I'll do it.

It had nothing to do with
what happened to Jacob.

VAN BUREN: So,
when he got paroled?

I panicked.

I walked away
from my job,

my apartment.

I was afraid
he would find me.

Why would he come
looking for you?

Because he still
blames me.

Can you believe it?

He never admitted
what he did.

Everything that ever happened
to him is someone else's fault.

Where were you
that morning?

I was here.
Drop-off starts at 7:30.

If I was still angry enough
to want to kill him,

it would mean I was still
tied to him emotionally.

And I can't afford that.

Even after what he did to
you and your children?

You know what
I want in life?

Not to think about him.

Not remember him.

Not talk about him.

Not hear his name.

That's all.

I don't believe she'd ever
go near that man again,

not even behind
the wheel of a tank.

How is Lowenstein?

Still critical. But we may be
able to talk to him tomorrow.

And we did get
a location on his son.

Yeah, Patchogue.

Well, this time of day, you're
better off taking the tunnel.

PLAYER: Set!

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

Ez! Brian! Two more
plays and we're done.

Come here, will you? These two
gentlemen want to talk to you.

Thanks, Coach.
How you doing, Ezra?

I'm Detective Green, this is
my partner, Detective Fontana.

Hi, Ezra. Do you
know why we're here?

I think so. I've been
reading the papers.

Is he gonna die?

He might.
It don't look good.

Okay.

Have you heard from him since
he's been out of prison?

It's okay if you have.

He called
a couple of times.

Have you seen him?

Hey, Ezra.

Dad.
What's going on?

New York City
Police Department, sir.

What's this about?

Jacob Lowenstein.

We werejust asking Ezra if
he'd seen him recently.

I can answer that.
No, he hasn't.

Uh, actually,
I have. Once.

He took the train out. I met him
at the station for a few minutes.

Don't be mad.
I was curious.

I'm not mad.

ED: What'd you
talk about?

He denied everything. Said it was
all lies, he never hurt anyone,

especially my birth
mother, my sister and me.

Anything else?

He asked me for money.

I told you he didn't
care about you.

It was like talking
to a creepy stranger.

NATE: That's exactly what he
is, Ezra, a creepy stranger.

I know. I'm sorry.

Excuse me, sir, but where were you
the day that Lowenstein got hit?

On the Long Island Rail Road, on
my way into my office in Midtown.

Where were you
that morning, Ezra?

School. You can check
with my homeroom teacher.

ED: Do you have a car?

Yeah.

We're gonna need to take a
look at both of your cars.

Go ahead. We have
nothing to hide.

FONTANA: When do you think
we'll be able to talk to him?

Well, maybe tomorrow. He's in and
out of lucidity. The morphine.

He have any visitors?

Uh, his lawyer
and his fiancée.

His fiancée?

That's what she said.

You remember her name?

She's down the hall,
in the lounge.

We got engaged
about a year ago,

when it started to look like
Jake's parole would come through.

"Jake." Can we talk
to you out here?

He gave me this ring
when he got out.

He spent every dime he
had in the world on it.

He loves me so much.

Sheryl.

Do you know why
he was in prison?

I was, like, in grammar
school when that happened.

If it happened.

So, you're not worried
about any of this?

About what?

Okay, listen, we're
gonna give you a card.

If you need anything.
What would I need?

How did you two meet?

Oh, I read
an article about him,

and then I wrote him a letter.
And he wrote back.

Sol looked him up on the
Corrections Department website.

They even had a map
and instructions.

Must have made
visiting day a snap.

Yeah, well, we just wanna put this all
behind us, you know, get married,

get on with our lives.

Jake's so good
with my kids.

(STAMMERS)
You have kids?

Yeah, a boy and a girl.

They've been so happy
since he moved in with us.

Wait a second. This guy
is living with you?

Since he left
the halfway house.

What the hell is
the matter with you?

If you want to
screw up your own life,

be our guest,
it's a free country,

but to bring this guy into
your house with your kids?

Yeah, he would
never ever hurt them.

Does his parole officer
know about this arrangement?

Jacob said he approved it,
and so did Dr. Draper.

Said it was his first step
in his return to normalcy.

Who's Dr. Draper?

Joyce Draper, the therapist
he worked with in prison.

She really helped him
deal with his anger.

About him being
incarcerated and all.

Oh, he was angry
about that, huh?

Oh, yeah.

But he was
getting through it.

He was doing really well, too.
And then this happened.

(SIGHS) I feel so guilty.

I mean, we lived right around the
corner from where he got hit.

But why would
you feel guilty?

The accident?

It happened right after he
dropped Emily off at school.

Joyce'll be right out. She's just
finishing up with a patient.

We understand your wife does some
work up at the penitentiary.

Couple of days a week.

The rest of the time, she sees
her regular patients here.

She ever talk about the
patients she treats?

You mean like
Jacob Lowenstein?

FONTANA: For instance.

We have a rule
in the house.

I don't talk about
calculus proofs,

she doesn't make pillow
talk about prisoners.

You said it wasn't
your choice?

If I had my druthers,
she'd do something else.

JOYCE: Ron?
In here, honey.

My wife,
Joyce Draper.

Hi. Detective G reen,
Detective Fontana.

Hi.

Well, I'll leave
you to it.

I imagine you're here
about Jacob Lowenstein.

Yes. Dr. Draper, what can
you tell us about him?

I'm not a doctor,
I'm a social worker.

Sorry.

Lowenstein was one of
a number of inmates

who volunteered to
have intensive therapy.

An experimental program.
Individual and group.

Did he want to
change his life?

Did he want to straighten
himself out? What?

Because it'd look good
on his parole application.

I'm not a babe in the woods. I don't
kid myself about their motives.

But that doesn't mean it didn't
do him some good, anyway.

Well, did it
do him any good?

I think it did, yes.
Definitely.

FONTANA: After he got out, did you
have any further contact with him?

My contact with an inmate
ends when he's released.

And then what happens?
He goes cold turkey?

He receives counseling as a part
of his parole. Just not from me.

He didn't call, try to
get in touch with you?

He did call once,
from the halfway house.

Told me how hard
it was to be out,

all eyes on him
all the time.

FONTANA: He didn't
want to see you?

I wasn't about to
violate the rules.

And that was it? You never
heard from him again?

I didn't give him what he
wanted, so he gave up.

Uh, did you know about
his fiancée, Sheryl?

Yes. Met her once,
after a therapy session.

Yeah. She's got children, two little kids.
He's living with them.

He's supposed to be
at the halfway house.

His parole officer
lost track of him.

That's not a good situation.

Well, if he lives, he's going back
to jail for violating his parole.

We talked to Carla's psychiatrist, Dr.
Clayburg.

Yes, he's well-respected.

Yeah. He says that guys like
Lowenstein were incurable.

There is that
school of thought.

Do you subscribe to
that school of thought?

If I did, I couldn't continue
to do the work that I do.

The son, Ezra? His car is clean.
(CELL PHONE RINGING)

What about
his father's SUV?

That's clean, too. Hello?

His alibi is solid.
He was in his office.

He had meetings
the whole morning.

Okay, okay, thanks.
It was the hospital.

Lowenstein?
Mmm-hmm.

He wants to talk to us.

It wasn't an accident? Somebody
did this deliberately?

What the hell? Why would
somebody wanna hurt me?

FONTANA:
You're kidding, right?

ED: Witnesses say they heard a car
accelerating before and after it hit you.

All those years in that godforsaken place.
I paid my dues.

Some people would say
you haven't even begun.

Forget about everything
you think you know.

I loved those kids, every
minute I was with them.

Yeah,youloved those kids
to death, didn't you?

That was all
the media's fault.

The whole thing from start to
finish, blown out of proportion.

You think they
were hard on you?

They took her side
all the way. Carla's.

And then when
they let me out,

they completely
made me a target,

with the cameras
and the news coverage.

Look what it got me.

What do you remember
about that morning?

I dropped Emily
off at school.

And then I was walking
to the corner to get a paper.

Next thing I know,
I wake up here,

and I'm missing my leg.
My leg, for God's sake.

Did you see the car
that hit you, sir?

I don't remember anything
after I dropped her off.

You ain't giving us
that much to work with.

I'm giving you
what I got.

So, you find the scumbag
who ran me over?

We're looking.

Not looking too hard,
are you?

I can't believe
I was safer inside.

FONTANA: How did
you manage that?

To stay safe
on the inside?

Guys like you, child
killers, molesters...

I never killed anybody.

They get taken
apart in the joint.

I got a law degree,

and I did legal work
for the other inmates.

Managed to get himself a
correspondence school J.D. inside.

ED: Kept him
in one piece.

Kept him busy, too.

He had 'em lining up
around the cell block.

Writs, appeals for new
trials, for parole hearings.

Well, he couldn't
have won any.

Of course not,
they're all guilty.

It doesn't stop
them from trying.

Well, was there
anyone in particular

who was bent out of shape
over losing an appeal?

This one inmate, Lowenstein
tried a couple of times

to get him a hearing
for a new trial.

He didn't take it at all well
when he got turned down.

Blamed it on his lawyer.

Don't they all?

Can we talk to him?

He got released,
couple of months ago.

I watched his back, he was
supposed to get me out.

But he screwed up
your appeal.

Twice. Till I got
me a real lawyer.

The Cockroach didn't have
a clue what he was doing.

"Cockroach"?

That was his nickname
inside the joint

'cause he gave
everybody the creeps.

Made your skin crawl.

Okay. You got an alibi for the
morning he got hit by that car?

You're lookin' at it.

Anyone else on the inside
have a beef with Lowenstein?

Yeah, take your pick.
Nobody liked him.

He was a whiner, a teacher's pet.
The therapist?

Her experimental
cognitive whatever.

You're talking
about Draper?

Lowenstein was
her pet project.

ED: You were
in her group, too?

Yeah. Wanna know the
best part about therapy?

Her ass.

Thanks. Joyce Draper drives
a 2002 Ford Explorer SUV.

Fits what the
crime lab said.

What if Lowenstein
was her pet project,

and what if,
for some reason,

she decided that this
was never gonna work,

he was never
gonna change.

Like Dr. Clayburg said.
Right.

Remember what he said?

He said that a woman like Carla
would not have the moxie

to kill Lowenstein
preemptively.

But Joyce Draper would.

Brother would she? With
plenty of moxie left over.

We need to look
into her car.

Hello?

Hospital?

Lowenstein just took
a turn for the worse.

Well, I hope he
doesn't settle out

before we get a chance
to talk to him

about his
favorite shrink.

Okay, we'll be
right there. Thanks.

Pulmonary embolism.

I guarantee you, she's the
only person in this world

that will ever shed
a tear over this guy.

We took a look at
Joyce Draper's car.

Without a warrant?

She offered it up. Just had
it washed and detailed,

didn't expect us
to find anything.

Did you?
Yeah.

A hairline crack
in the front grille

and trace DNA
on the bumper.

Can we match it?

It's a little bit degraded, but the M.E.
says it's definitely Lowenstein's.

What about her alibi?

Home alone,
no way to verify.

What about a motive?

Not so far. But we found
out she quit herjob

at the penitentiary
a week after he got paroled.

That's interesting.
So she bluffed on the car.

Well, let's ask her to come in
and talk to us voluntarily.

She can hardly
say no to that now.

I took a mental
health morning,

stayed home catching up on
back issues of The New Yorker.

You make any calls,
have any visitors?

No, sorry.

Nobody to vouch
for me but myself.

Where was your husband?

He had an early
lecture to give.

The police
examined your car.

I told them they could.

And found a crack
in the front grille.

I rear-ended
somebody ages ago.

It didn't seem worth getting fixed
just to jack up my insurance.

Mmm-hmm.

Crack in the front grille
and Jacob Lowenstein's DNA.

Jacob Lowenstein's DNA?
That's not possible.

Maybe you thought
you'd washed it away?

I really don't know how it could
have gotten there. Are you sure?

Look, Joyce,
we know why you did it.

You knew he shouldn't
be out on the street.

You probably did
the city a real service.

Hell, I wish I could
throw you a parade.

But you also knew he was in
violation of his parole.

If you'd picked up
the phone and called,

he would have been
sent back to prison.

Now, I know the D.A. would
consider a lesser charge.

Vehicular manslaughter,
maybe.

A couple of years in a
minimum security facility,

and you're paroled.

You can go on with your life.
Pick up where you left off.

We can work with you, Joyce.
You hear what I'm saying?

All you have to do is
tell us what happened.

I didn't do it.

The DNA cannot
be explained away.

Please, don't take
your chances at trial.

This here is
your best shot.

Come on.
Tell me what happened.

I can't continue
this conversation.

Not without a lawyer.

She was on the brink. Just couldn't
bring herself to give it up.

If she did, it'd be
the end of her career.

Well, maybe that's what
we should be looking at.

Her career?

Well, her work at the
prison with Lowenstein.

He had to volunteer for
her treatment program.

Maybe those sessions
were taped.

If they were, we might
get a better idea of

what was going on
between the two of them.

So do social workers have
privilege, like shrinks?

Well, it might
not matter.

If he was a prisoner in
an experimental program,

he probably had
to sign a waiver.

I was Joyce's
supervisor on the study.

I understand that
she resigned suddenly.

The recidivism of certain kinds of
offenders, sex offenders, sociopaths,

it's inevitable.
It's death and taxes.

And so is the eventual burn-out of
the people who try to help them.

That's what happened,
she burned out?

I've been Joyce's mentor since
graduate school. Her work is her life.

Her marriage,
personal life,

everything else
takes a back seat.

It's a shame.

She had eight years in on this
study, less than two to go.

What specifically
made her quit?

She hit a wall.

With Lowenstein?

The study has
a built-in component,

so each researcher
gets their own therapist.

I was Joyce's.
It's a firewall of sorts.

So, their personal feelings
about the inmates

don't start to color
the research.

How often did
you see her?

It was supposed
to be once a week.

But toward the end, Joyce upped
it to three times a week.

Do you know why?

Lowenstein was
about to be released.

Her stress level
was through the roof.

She was concerned
about what he'd do?

Take a look at the tape
and judge for yourself.

Oh, don't worry, I've
always been a good daddy.

He practically dared
Draper to stop him.

She must have tracked him from
the halfway house to Sheryl's.

If she was keeping tabs on the
kids, maybe she called the school.

This lady called the office,
said she was Emily's aunt.

Wanted to know
how she was feeling.

What did you tell her?

At first I didn't
tell her anything.

The nurse's office
is not supposed to.

But she was so nice
and so persistent,

and she said she was trying
to reach Emily's mother.

It's okay,
I don't blame you.

You're not going
to get into trouble.

I told her she was a real
trooper, which she is.

Writing and drawing,
even with the cast on.

We checked
the phone records.

Draper placed the call from her
office at the penitentiary

two days before she
ran Lowenstein down.

When does the little
girl break her wrist?

A week after Lowenstein moved in
with them, she fell off her bike.

Draper thought
Lowenstein was to blame.

It's a fair assumption.

And a strong motive.
Have the police pick her up.

Mrs. Draper.

Detectives?

You're under arrest for the
murder of Jacob Lowenstein.

Please don't
handcuff me.

We'll read you your rights in the car.
Come on.

If you're gonna let 'em out,
you'd better keep up with 'em.

We allowed him to go right
back into the same situation,

putting young children
in harm's way.

It's the limitations
of the system.

Too many people on parole,
not enough parole officers.

Well, what's the alternative? Keeping guys
like Lowenstein imprisoned indefinitely?

I wish.

Look, I understand that
everything is a trade-off.

I mean, obviously, the D.A. didn't
have a slam-dunk murder case.

Getting Lowenstein to
plead to manslaughter

was the best that
they could do.

That's what keeps
D.A.'s up at night.

You go for the max,
you could lose.

If you don't, the monster
gets back on the street.

They played the cards they
were dealt, just as we do.

And what Draper did was clearly
wrong, any way you look at it.

We can't countenance
vigilantism.

But realistically...

Realistically?

I know and you know, and Joyce
Draper knows better than any of us,

that the Lowensteins
of the world don't change.

But the law doesn't know.

Maybe the Chinese
have the best idea.

Summary execution.
A bullet to the brain.

And the family
pays for the bullet.

You're not serious?

No.

Therapists who do this
sort of work long enough,

end up in the
same dark place.

JACK: Which is?

They come to realize
they themselves

have been suffering from
narcissistic wishful thinking.

Did Joyce Draper think that she
could cure Jacob Lowenstein?

Objection.

Dr. Peters can't testify to
what Joyce Draper thought

Sustained.

You were her supervisor
and therapist?

Yes.

For how long?

Eight years, six months.

Until she resigned.

Yes.

Was her work at
the prison complete?

No, no. The study still
had 18 months to run.

Would you describe Joyce Draper
as dependable, conscientious?

More than that.
She was driven.

She was thoroughly
committed to her work.

JACK: Did she offer an explanation
about her sudden decision to resign?

In the beginning she'd thought she was
making some progress with Lowenstein,

then she came to realize
he'd been conning her.

Using her.
Those were her words.

How close in time was her resignation
to Lowenstein's release?

Within aweek
of his parole.

And that was the source
of her frustration?

In large part. Certainly
there were other factors.

Such as?

I'd say that the
stresses of her work life

had a ripple effect on other
areas of her life as well.

JACK: At home?

PETERS: This sort of work is bound
to cause strains in a marriage.

Can you say more about the
stress she was under at work?

You might say she
had a crisis of faith.

You see, it's not so much the
particular technique here

that makes the difference, it's
the therapeutic relationship.

Between Joyce Draper
and Jacob Lowenstein?

This kind of offender
tests the basic principle

that everyone
is redeemable.

Therapists have to work
through their own repulsion.

Was Joyce Draper repulsed
by Jacob Lowenstein?

PETERS: Certainly.

And Joyce held herself to
some very high standards.

She couldn't
stand to fail.

JACK: And she failed
with Jacob Lowenstein?

PETERS: Absolutely.

Anyone would.
He was beyond the pale.

Did you know that from the
beginning of the study?

Oh, yes.

But you let her go
ahead with it anyway?

I thought she'd be a better
therapist for it in the long run.

Why?

Joyce is very talented,
maybe too talented.

She thought she could
get through to anyone.

GOIDELL: And this experience
would humble her?

In away she needed to encounter
someone like Lowenstein.

We learn so much more from our
failures than from our successes.

And you set
her up to fail.

I think his testimony
may have cut both ways.

It helped paint
the portrait,

a woman under stress who snapped
when she saw Lowenstein

drop that little girl off at
school with her arm in a cast.

Someone the jury may very
well empathize with.

It's a strong
circumstantial case.

They're still gonna latch on to why a
woman like Draper, a professional woman,

did something so drastic,
so out of character.

It gives the jury cover.

She couldn't have done it, despite
all the evidence to the contrary.

So what about the videotape
from their last session?

Talk about
a two-edged sword.

It gives you such
a visceral sense

of how dangerous
Lowenstein was.

It also shows her motive.
You saw her reaction.

What he was saying to
her stopped her cold.

If the defense is going
forjury nullification...

The imminent threat to the little
girl, a sudden, impulsive act.

The tape supports
premeditation.

She started thinking
about killing him then,

not when she saw him on
the street with Emily.

That was just what made
her pull the trigger.

She'd already
loaded the gun.

It's a huge gamble.

It's your choice.

JACOB: (ON TV) I can't wait to
really get back to society.

Done with the
halfway house,

with some guy telling me
what I can and cannot do.

JOYCE: You still have almost seven
years of parole to comply with.

Oh, sure, I'll show up for
the obligatory urine tests,

and tell my PO exactly
where I am at all times.

Hey, Dr. Draper,
don't worry about it.

You know me, right?
I always follow the rules.

JOYCE: Good.

JACOB: I'm not
coming back here.

No, sir, no way.

You know what I'm really
looking forward to?

No, Jacob, what?

Spending time
with Sheryl.

That's natural.

I'm thinking of
moving in with her.

After you're done
with the halfway house?

Oh, sure, of course,
absolutely.

After that.

Don't you think
it'd be good for you

to have your own
place for a while?

Nah, I never
liked living alone.

I always...

I felt! needed a family,
you know?

A little girl.
Like my Didi.

You think that's wise? Besides the
terms of your parole, clearly...

I know, I know. No unsupervised
contact with minors.

Sheryl will supervise.

Sheryl has children?

I didn't realize that.

Oh, yeah, she has Emily,
a cute little first grader.

This is Emily. Isn't she cute?
Oh, what a face.

And this is her
little brother, Spence.

(CHUCKLING)

Oh, don't worry, I've
always been a good daddy.

(LAUGHING)

You're still here.

I'm writing my
closing statement.

You're going to take it
all the way to the jury.

No reason not to. That
tape was pretty damning.

That's your call,
but a part of me

wouldn't mind seeing this
whole thing go away.

Me, too.

You know, this office
has cut a deal

with the likes of
Jacob Lowenstein.

We could do the same thing
with Joyce Draper.

I'd be happy to if she'd
allocute to what she did.

She won't?

I spoke to her lawyer,
dangled the possibility.

She won't accept
any sort of guilty plea.

I guess she's determined to
see this thing through, too.

Apparently so.

He's putting her
on the stand.

(LAUGHS) Tread lightly.

You know, this case
reminds me of something

a wise old country
lawyer once said.

He said, "You know, the first question
that you ask in any murder case,

"'Did the deceased
deserve to die?"'

JOYCE: I left abruptly, but burnout
isn't exactly rare in my line of work.

GOIDELL: Did your resignation
have anything to do

with Jacob
Lowenstein's release?

No.

Lowenstein's release wasn't
the reason you resigned?

No, it wasn't.

Did you hate
Jacob Lowenstein?

No.

Can you describe
your feelings for him?

I found him fascinating.

Fascinating?

Highly intelligent,
in some ways.

Amoral. Without
conscience or scruple.

I wanted to know
what made him tick.

GOIDELL: Repulsive?

JOYCE: Oh, certainly.

And did you think that
you could help him?

I wanted to try.

Did you have
any success?

I think, through
our work together,

he may have gained some insight
into the sources of his behavior,

which is the first step
to controlling it.

And was he able
to do that?

I don't know.

Were you concerned
about that?

I was.

In fact you called Emily's school
pretending to be her aunt.

They told me she had a broken
wrist, she'd fallen off her bike.

Were you concerned?

Of course, but I didn't have
any proof Jacob was to blame.

And if you did?

I would have reported it
to the authorities.

But you knew that he was living
with Sheryl and her children.

Yes. I tried to reach his
parole officer several times.

Did you take your car
and run him down?

No, I didn't.

So how do you explain his DNA
on the bumper of your car?

I can't. I don't know
how it got there.

I keep my car in a garage. Any number
of people have access to the key.

Objection. Foundation.

Sustained.

GOIDELL: No more
questions, Your Honor.

We all saw the tape.

And during
that session,

didn't he as much as tell you he
was going to harm those children?

I thought he was
being provocative.

Provocative?

It's not uncommon
for patients to want

to end the therapeutic
relationship with a fight.

As a way to get over
their separation anxiety.

But you called the school
anyway to check on Emily.

Checking with the school
seemed unobtrusive and wise.

Why didn't you
call her mother?

I didn't think she'd
tell me the truth.

When you were told that
Emily had a wrist fracture,

did you call
her mother then?

To tell her that you thought
Lowenstein might be to blame?

I didn't want to
jump in too soon.

When would it have been a
good time to intervene?

When she was in a coma?

Objection.

The truth is, you weren't really
concerned about that little girl.

I was planning to check
on her every week.

If Emily had other injuries,
then I'd contact her mother.

Tell her to make
Lowenstein move out,

or I'd report her
to Social Services.

I was trying to
reach a parole officer.

You could have gone the police,
had them look into it.

Lowenstein was in
violation of his parole.

He would have been removed
from that household.

I was debating
when to do that.

You were waiting for the
right moment to kill him.

Objection.

JUDGE: Sustained.

Didn't you stalk
Jacob Lowenstein,

follow him from
his halfway house?

Stake out his fiancée's house?
No.

Follow him when he
brought Emily to school?

I didn't do that. I didn't
even know where they lived.

You knew which school
Emily attended.

All you had to do
was follow her home.

She'd lead you
directly to Lowenstein.

Isn't that
the simple truth?

I didn't do that.
I didn't.

You never intended to
call the police, did you?

There are several things to
remember about this case.

Lots of people hated
Jacob Lowenstein.

And with good reason.
He was a danger.

To the community,
to our children.

Other people had access
to Joyce Draper's car.

There's reasonable doubt here,
ladies and gentlemen.

And that reasonable doubt
is only strengthened

when you consider
who Joyce Draper is.

A professional woman.

Someone who has devoted her entire
life to helping other people.

There are people
who belong in prison,

like Jacob Lowenstein,

and there are
people who don't.

Joyce Draper does
not belong in prison.

It's frustrating,
as a prosecutor,

when you're sure
someone's a murderer

but the only thing you can convict
him of is tax evasion or assault.

It's frustrating.
But it's fundamental.

You can't punish a crime
that you can't prove.

That's where
the penal code

meets the Declaration
of Independence.

What do you do as a cop if you're
sure there's a bad man on your beat

but you don't have
a made case against him?

You don't frame him, you can't
harass him, you make the case.

You definitely
don't shoot him.

So, what should
you do as a citizen

if you're sure a monstrous predator
has been released from prison

because they couldn't hold
him anymore under the law?

Write your own law? Run
him down in the street?

You make sure that the
state enforces its rules.

You get him for
violating parole.

The day he moves
in with Sheryl,

you have the cops
at the door.

You make sure
they watch him.

And if they don't, if the system
messes up, if he hurts someone,

like Lowenstein could've
hurt Sheryl's little girl,

you sound the general alarm, you
call the police and the papers.

You go on TV.
You make a scandal.

Not a plan to
commit murder.

Joyce Draper is
talented and brilliant.

She might be the smartest
person in this room.

She's a sympathetic defendant, and Jacob
Lowenstein was a repulsive victim.

It doesn't matter. Joyce Draper
murdered Jacob Lowenstein,

deliberately,
with malice a forethought.

And there's no reasonable
doubt about that whatsoever.

She didn't even really try to
explain his blood on her car

because she's betting on you
to let her get away with it.

Citizens, no matter
what their role,

if it's a doctor, or a police
officer, a prosecutor,

or a juror,

may not take the law
into their own hands.

Joyce Draper
belongs in jail,

long enough to make it
plain that we as a society

will not tolerate citizens
choosing who lives and who dies.

And it's up to you
to put her there.

Is this a record-breaker?

No, but it is
pretty fast.

Thejury didn't have much choice,
after her story unraveled

and you countered Goidell's
wink-wink nudge-nudge to the jury.

We'll see.

All rise.

Have you reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

How say you?

On the charge of murder
in the second degree,

we find the defendant
not guilty.

They knew she was guilty but didn't
want to hold her accountable.

Goidell gave them a door to
walk through and they took it.

They don't think
the system works

for guys like Lowenstein
any more than we do.

So what's the answer?

Nobody has one.

I think that's exactly why Joyce
Draper's on her way home tonight.