(male announcer) 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.
[toy car motor whirs]
(woman) Theo. Theo!
Stop playing with the birthday presents.
Henry, hold still.
Mom, that hurts.
Theo.
Theo, it is not your birthday.
You're gonna break that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Got more on your face than in your tummy.
I want another piece of cake.
Oh yeah? We'll see, Puppy.
Theo?
Theo.
Theodore.
I'm right here. Stop yelling.
I have told you
a million times not to disappear like that.
You said don't play with the birthday presents.
I'm not. Sure.
Henry?
Where'd he go?
I don't know.
Henry?
Henry!
Henry.
(Cragen) 1-8 is sending
manpower to canvass.
There's four birthday parties going on.
Couple hundred kids and parents.
Nobody saw Henry Morton wander off.
Well, whoever took him knew how to be invisible.
Parents rent the party section.
There is public access.
But the employees have all been accounted for.
Picture from mom's wallet.
Now, we're covered from 23rd Street down to Tenth,
Second Avenue to Broadway.
Print up fliers.
Mom remember anything else?
No, she's too upset.
EMS took her to St. Vincent's.
Her husband's with her now.
Send Munch to get a statement
soon as she calms down.
(officer) Sighting. Lower Broadway.
Benson. SVU.
Description?
No, he has brown hair. Thanks.
Kid left alone. Blonde hair and khakis.
(Fin) Security tape's up.
I got Henry.
Okay, here's Henry with Mom.
She's coming toward us.
She's looking for the older kid.
Henry's right there with the yellow balloon.
Henry comes down the aisle.
He's still got the balloon.
Rounds the corner. Keeps going, going...
(Benson) Gone.
(Fin) There's the balloon on the floor.
Kid was out of camera range five seconds.
Hey, what about the cameras at the front door?
Nothing. Must've went out the back.
So we got ourselves one smart perv.
So smart that he's got his eye on the kid and the cameras.
Go away, Wolinsky!
That's no way to treat a concerned citizen.
You gotta stop listening
to that police scanner and get a life.
Just trying to pick up the slack for you guys.
It's Sunday.
Take the day off. Go to church.
Malcom Wolinsky. Yeah.
Association for the Protection of Children.
I know who you are. Get lost.
Me and my group, we have a legal right
to investigate and make arrests.
Last time you almost cost us the conviction.
Your daughter was molested, you'd want our help.
Officers, escort these gentlemen behind the barricade.
They cause any trouble, collar 'em.
Arrest us? For what?
Obstruction.
(woman) He was dragging the boy
down the street.
He had wavy red hair.
The man or the boy?
The father. The boy had brown hair.
I thought he was throwing a temper tantrum.
Ms. Lewis saw the guy
force the kid into a red jacket and a blue baseball cap.
I'll get out a description of the new clothes.
Hey, did you see where they went? The subway.
The kid was screaming his lungs out.
(woman's voice) Sure I remember him.
I was just clocking in.
Kid was fighting and kicking.
His dad was trying to buy a metro card
out of that machine.
Did he use paper or plastic? Machine's busted.
Only takes plastic. Got him.
What time'd you start work this morning?
1:00. It's Stabler.
I need Transit Bureau to run
a guy's credit card and address.
(kid) I want my mom! You're not my mom!
(Man) Shut up! You do what I tell you!
Hit it.
Jeffrey Jackson!
What the hell's going on?
Jeffrey Jackson,
get away from the boy, stand over here.
All right, step over here, sweetheart.
It's okay, Henry. It's okay.
Henry?
Who's Henry?
Elliot.
It's not him.
He's my stepson.
I want all your badge numbers.
I'm gonna sue your asses off.
(Cragen) Henry Morton's been missing for three hours,
and we've been chasing the wrong kid.
What else we got?
Mom wasn't much help.
Husband took her up to Riverdale an hour ago.
Liv and I'll go out there.
John, Fin, you coordinate the search.
Okay, get us something with the kid's scent on it.
I'll turn it into canine as soon as we get the sample.
We've gotta get a new picture of Henry.
The photo we've got is a year old.
(Stabler) Is that Henry's most recent picture?
This was taken six weeks ago.
It looks more like him.
Update the flyers.
You find something for the bloodhounds?
Yes.
Henry's socks in the dirty laundry.
This gonna be enough? Yeah, that should be fine.
Listen, we'd like to ask your wife
a few more questions.
I gave her a sedative so she could sleep.
I'm a psychiatrist.
Any patients with a grudge?
No one's made any threats.
How 'bout violence against children?
No, just your garden variety neurotics.
Detectives?
We've been canvassing the neighbors.
Kid next door saw a guy hanging around this morning.
(kid) I was in our driveway,
fixing my skateboard.
Henry was playing in his yard.
The man was in a car parked over there.
Did you happen to notice what he was wearing?
A baseball cap and sunglasses.
He was watching Henry.
Was the man black, white, young, old?
White.
Can you describe the car?
It looked like the Toyota
my mom used to drive.
(Stabler) What color?
Uh, black.
Did you get a look at
the license plate number or the state?
[sighs]
I didn't look.
I'm sorry, Dr. Morton.
I wish I told my mom this morning.
It's okay, Jake. You're helping us now.
Thanks.
Jake, listen...
I know the research on pedophiles.
What's the chance my son is still alive?
You can't lose hope now.
We're gonna get Jake's description of the man
out on the air, we'll run the car,
and we'll get these to the canine unit.
Where are these bloodhounds?
Coming in from Coney Island.
Another lost kid.
ETA's an hour.
We're gonna lose the light and the scent trail.
(Munch) Search team just found this in the gutter,
six blocks from the party place.
Same size and brand that Henry was wearing. We need those dogs.
(Stabler) Well, I'm not gonna stand around here waiting
with my thumb up my ass.
Maybe the sex offender unit got a hit on the car, huh?
(Monahan) Your witness said an old black
Toyota.
Best I've got's a '95 Honda, dark blue.
I'll take it.
I went back ten years.
We could go further, but this is a good hit.
Billy Turner?
Cases preschool playgrounds, picks a kid,
waits for the parents to show up, follows them home.
Now, our missing kid goes to a preschool on the east side.
Parole photo.
Last time Billy took a collar,
he drove all the way up to Hastings,
grabbed a kid, and fondled him in his car.
Got out two months ago.
These pervs just never stop.
Now, it says he has an apartment on Avenue B.
Car's not registered in his name?
It belongs to mom.
You worked Billy's case.
Any idea where he might've taken the kid?
He works nights at a plating shop.
Closed on Sunday. Could be there.
Have the sector car check out that shop.
Me and my partner are gonna hit his apartment.
Thank you.
(man) I'll beat it out of you, you son of a bitch!
(man #2) Please, don't hurt me!
(man #1) Tell me where he is!
(man #2) I don't know!
Where is he? I don't know!
I'm gonna hurt you, son of a bitch. Wolinsky!
Step away from him. Now.
What the hell are you doing here?
Looking for the kid.
Where's Henry?
I don't know. I told this crazy bastard.
Where did you stash him?
It wasn't me, I swear.
I'm cured.
Officers, take him, put him in the car.
Wait outside for CSU.
How'd you find out about Billy?
I heard you were looking for him on police radio--
You're done with this, do you understand me?
You are done with this.
Yeah, after I file a complaint for police brutality.
You're lucky I don't charge you with assault.
I didn't touch the baby raper.
You trashed this apartment.
If Henry Morton was here,
that means that you destroyed a crime scene.
You interfere again, you're doing time.
You take that perv scum's side over me.
I don't take anybody's side. Get outta here.
(Billy) I never heard of this kid.
I wasn't there.
I don't have those urges anymore.
We know. You're cured.
I told ya. I was at the laundromat.
All morning?
You musta had a lot of clothes.
(Stabler) His name is Henry.
He's five years old,
same age as that boy
you played doctor with up in Hastings.
What's a matter, Billy? Don't you wanna look?
I know you like to look.
My shrink says I can't.
Yeah, but you want to.
There ain't no doctor ever gonna put out that sick fire, huh?
(Benson) Where's your car, Billy?
I don't have one.
Oh, that's right, it's your mama's Honda.
Does she know what you do in that car?
Does she know that you take
little boys for rides? I don't do that anymore.
Really? 'Cause I called your mama.
No. And she says that you borrowed the car
and you didn't bring it back.
It was stolen.
(Stabler) Or you dumped it
because it was soaked with Henry's blood.
Your mom is gonna be very disappointed
when she finds out that you're back
to your old tricks again.
You leave my mom out of this!
We will.
As soon as you tell us where Henry is.
I don't know him.
Witness saw you in your car
outside that little boy's house this morning.
You don't know him?
Billy, it's gonna be better for everybody
if you just tell us the truth now.
[knock at door]
Fin just called. Canine has a scent.
Those bloodhounds are gonna find that boy, Billy.
You son of a bitch,
we better find him alive.
(Munch) She picked up Henry's scent
at the party place, and been taking us North ever since.
(Fin) The pooch is cool.
Gave her a sock, went right to work.
[dog barks]
You want inside, Bridey-girl?
I don't want her off the leash.
Pull her back a little.
[dog barks]
(Handler) Yeah girl.
We're gonna let you in.
Call an ambulance.
Not yet, Elliot.
Call an ambulance.
[dog barks]
This is it.
[dog whining]
(Benson) Henry.
(Benson) Dr. Warner will ask you to make a positive ID.
Will we recognize him?
Yes.
[mom cries]
I can't do this.
It's okay, honey.
I'll do it.
Are you ready?
Yes.
That's my son.
Was, uh...
Was he molested?
No.
Cause of death?
Suffocation.
I found small pebbles lodged in his trachea.
To silence him.
What else?
Brown animal hairs.
Do you have cat, Dr. Morton?
No.
Henry's allergic.
I sent the pebbles and hairs to the lab.
CSU is checking the apartment for matches.
Apartment?
Whose apartment?
You have a suspect.
Dr. Morton,
as soon as we make an arrest, I promise you,
you'll be the first to know.
I can handle it.
(Benson) But your wife can't.
I think she needs you.
Come on.
I'm holding you to that promise.
You call me the second you get
the bastard who murdered my son.
(Dr. Warner) I'm sorry.
I blew it.
I said too much.
(Benson) Can't blame you.
I've never seen a dad that composed.
That guy is a time bomb.
He keeps holding it in, he's gonna explode.
Let's go.
Where?
Back to Billy's apartment.
Crime Scene's got it covered.
Let's make sure.
Cat hair. You can tell by the barb.
Brown.
(Stabler) Where's the cat?
No sign of it.
No litter box, no cat food.
Billy gets worried about transfer evidence
and he dumps the cat, too?
You check the incinerator?
And the dumpster and the alley.
What about the rocks?
Uh, combed the rugs,
checked the soles of all his shoes.
(Stabler) You vacuum it? Benson.
No, we tweezed looking for all your damn cat hairs.
If the pebbles were here, we would've found them.
That was Munch.
Billy's car was found stripped and torched.
Let's bring Jake O'Hara in for a line up.
Just take your time, Jake.
There's no hurry.
I-I think, uh...
I think number three.
Jake, are your sure?
Or maybe two.
Okay, well, just take a look at all of 'em.
Take a good look and just focus.
(Jake) They all kinda look the same.
But, uh...
Three's the closest.
That's great, Jake. Thanks.
I'll take you back to your mom.
Come on.
Not bad.
It's not good.
You know as well as I do,
any lawyer can shred that idea on the stand.
Cat hairs are gonna match.
But it's still not enough for an indictment.
Break him.
Or we gotta cut him loose.
(Benson) Our witness picked
you out, Billy.
Your witness is wrong!
Cat hairs on the boy.
Cat hairs in your apartment.
I don't have a cat.
The landlady's cat wanders in--
I don't wanna hear about your landlady anymore!
It's over!
Now, you stalked that little boy.
You snatched him
and you got into his pants
and then you wanted to keep him quiet,
so you shoved rocks down his throat
until he choked to death.
I never killed anyone.
Only touched.
Maybe I did something I shouldn't have.
Like what, Billy?
Like what?
If I violate my parole,
they'll send me back inside.
I don't want to go back.
Okay-- That's why I didn't tell you.
I can talk to your parole officer and make sure that--
They'll send me back.
I'll get raped every single day.
I'm gonna make sure that that doesn't happen to you,
but you have got to tell me where you were.
I'm not allowed to be alone with kids.
But she asked me.
Who asked you?
She needed me to baby-sit her little boy.
The lady who lives next door.
Billy's neighbor didn't ask him. He volunteered.
How old is the kid?
Five, he said Billy never touched him.
But what about the mother?
She confirmed Billy's story.
Left at 8:30,
got back to the apartment at half past 11:00.
Could Billy have left the kid
alone for an hour and then come back?
No, the boy said Billy was with him
the whole three hours.
Okay, so your witness
puts Billy outside the Morton home
in Riverdale at 8:00 AM.
But Billy's Alibi puts him
back on Avenue B at 8:30.
Tight, but doable.
(Novak) Well, then he's gotta get back to Riverdale
to follow Henry into the birthday party.
Henry's mom says they left the house
no later than a quarter to 12:00.
And Billy didn't finish his babysitting gig
in Manhattan 'til 11:30.
Well, there's no way he got
to Riverdale in 15 minutes,
not even on a Sunday.
We got the wrong guy.
(Munch) Looks that way.
Lab says cat hairs from Billy's apartment
don't match the ones on Henry Morton.
(Novak) We gotta let Billy go.
We keep him here much longer,
we're gonna have one hell of a lawsuit.
I'll tell the perv he's going home.
(voice on megaphone) Pervert out!
[many voices chanting] Pervert out!
What the hell is this?
Hey!
Give a partner a hand with him?
Wolinsky.
You need a permit for the bullhorn
and to be on the street.
Now move it onto the sidewalk.
This is a peaceful protest.
Do we want a pervert in this neighborhood?
[all] No!
We want him out.
Last chance, Wolinsky.
Break it up. Now.
We want the perv gone.
Let's get him now!
[many voices chanting] We want him out!
Pervert out! Pervert out!
All right, you're under arrest for inciting a riot.
Surround him with your guys
and get him into the building.
Wait until parole gets here.
[phone rings]
Benson.
Bring this guy to our squad.
Thanks for making me a hero.
Yeah, we're on our way.
Elliot, we gotta go.
(O'Halloran) Forensic geologist ID'd
the pebbles in Henry's trachea.
Colorado quartz.
Not indigenous to this area.
So they could be from the alley
where the body was found.
I checked.
Didn't find any.
So you're saying the perp
brought 'em in from out of state?
What I'm saying is
the perp isn't who you think it is.
We dusted the pebbles.
Stone's porous. Got perfect prints.
And they're not Billy Turner's?
Or any other adults.
The fingers are too small.
Has to be a child's.
So Henry's.
Nope.
Don't match.
You have those pebbles?
Look familiar?
Just like the ones from that neighbor boy's front yard.
Jake O'Hara.
No wonder the kid was such a good witness.
(Novak) We are gonna charge a 13 year-old
with Henry's murder?
We better have a smoking gun.
We do, the stones in Henry's throat.
They were from Jake's front yard.
The prints are gonna be his.
(Benson) I bet if we go back to
the party security tapes,
we're gonna see Jake.
We weren't looking for a kid.
What about that man that Jake saw?
Well, he must've made that up.
(Novak) But Jake O'Hara picked Billy Turner
out of a line-up.
How could he have possibly known
Billy was a pedophile?
I don't know.
All right, well, let's not
hardball the kid 'til we get some answers.
We can't afford to make the same mistake twice.
(Jake's mom) I thought my son answered
all your questions.
We just have to follow up on a few things.
Now, Jake, this man that you picked out of the lineup.
You mean the guy who killed Henry.
Actually, he didn't do it.
Told you I wasn't sure.
It's okay, honey. You did your best.
I guess it was number two after all.
(Benson) No, Jake.
Number two was an off-duty cop.
I'm sorry.
They all looked alike with those sunglasses.
I only saw the picture for a minute.
What picture?
The guy you wanted me to pick out.
You never saw the man.
Well, I did, but--
I told that other detective
I wasn't sure I'd recognize him again.
That's when he showed me the picture.
What other detective?
What was his name?
I don't remember.
Do you remember what he looked like?
He was kinda bald and...
he had a mustache.
I'll be right back.
So what else did this detective say to you?
This is absurd.
Don't you people talk to each other?
He just asked me some questions.
Can you remember any of 'em?
Same stuff you guys asked me.
Hey, that's him.
'Scuse me.
Detective, can I have a word with you?
What are you doin'? What are you, crazy?
You sent me on a wild goose chase.
Waste my time? I was trying to help you guys.
You contaminated evidence!
You tell that kid you're a cop
to get him to make a false ID.
You got the perv, didn't you?
Wrong perv. I'll tell ya what.
Where you're going, you'll be meeting plenty of 'em.
What's going on here?
(Stabler) What's going on, Mrs. O'Hara,
is Jake identified a man he never saw.
You made it all up, didn't you, Jake?
I did what the detective told me to do.
I'm sure it was a misunderstanding.
Well, there's a few other things that we don't understand.
Like why Henry was covered up in cat hair.
Or how these stones from your yard
were found in his throat.
Henry must've picked 'em up.
Sweetheart,
what are they talking about?
I don't know, Mom. I swear.
(Benson) Sure you do, Jake.
You knew that Henry's mom was taking him
to the birthday party.
People saw you there.
They also saw you on the subway.
And you wanna know what else?
The fingerprints on these little stones
are gonna match
the ones on your soda can.
I-I was scared.
Henry saw me chasing Mrs. Brody's cat
and I fell on it and it died.
And Henry said I killed the cat.
And he was gonna tell on me.
I didn't wanna go back to that camp, but...
I knew you'd send me
if you thought I killed the cat.
Honey, I never would have done that.
You would!
I knew you would.
That's why I had to stop him.
I just wanted to talk to him,
but he kept saying he'd tell.
And...
I didn't mean to do it.
I was just so scared.
This is my fault because I sent Jake
to that camp a month ago.
What camp?
It's a tough love place.
They were supposed to help him.
Look at what they did to me.
They burned me.
They cut me.
They stuck things in me.
I'd rather be dead than go back there.
The other children tortured him.
If my son has done
anything wrong, it is because of what
they put him through.
Mrs. O'Hara, we still have to place Jake
under arrest.
I'm calling a lawyer.
(Henry's dad) Jake killed Henry?
He loves our boys. He...
He taught 'em how to throw a Frisbee. He...
He helped them build a fort in the backyard.
He confessed, Dr. Morton.
I-I can't believe this.
(Benson) Did you know
that his mother sent him to a boot camp?
Yes.
Yes...
Since Jake's father died,
he's been acting out.
Leslie was overwhelmed.
I recommended a place up in Rhinebeck.
Why, what--
It looks like he was brutalized up there.
Leslie never said anything to me.
What did they do to him?
Jake said he was sodomized.
And he showed us
some scars where
the other kids had burned him.
[groans]
I need to see Jake.
Please.
(Judge) I'll hear the people on bail.
(Novak) The people request 500,000, your honor.
(female lawyer) He's a child.
I'd argue for house arrest with an ankle bracelet.
And I'd be comfortable with a little more security.
The bail is set at 200,000.
Cash or bonds.
Let's take ten, everybody.
Casey.
This is Brett Morton,
Henry's father.
I'm very sorry.
Can I speak with Jake?
Uh, Cleo.
Can we have a minute, please?
Dr. Morton.
I'm so sorry.
Henry was my friend.
I know, Jake.
Why'd you do it?
I don't know.
Something's wrong with me.
Jake,
what did Henry say
before he died?
He said he wanted his mommy.
What's gonna happen to him?
(Novak) Without a plea bargain,
he'll stand trial and go to prison.
Hmm.
He's a juvenile.
He'll be out at 18.
Dr. Morton,
we're trying Jake as an adult.
No.
I lost a child.
And I know one thing, it's wrong
to lose another child to a life in prison.
As a parent, I can't imagine what you're going through.
Well, putting Jake in jail isn't justice.
And sending him to that camp
doesn't make you responsible for what he did.
Jake's had a hard life.
What he did isn't entirely his fault.
And that evidence will be introduced
at trial.
I'm sure you have the best intentions.
But you're wrong.
(Novak) Maybe I am wrong.
Brett Morton is caught
between his anger and his guilt.
What, just because he recommended that camp?
He feels responsible.
He feels that if Jake hadn't been abused there,
Jake wouldn't have killed Henry.
What do you think?
Jake suffered there, you know?
He was burned. He was possibly raped.
Well, lots of kids are traumatized.
They don't go out and kill other kids.
I mean, every time they shoot up a school,
we say it was because they were bullied. Sometimes they were.
And the question is
whether that's the reason why Jake killed Henry.
All right, what do you know about this camp?
Rhinebeck Survival.
No incidents of hazing or torture that I've heard of.
None that you've heard of?
The director is a psychiatrist named Burt Gleason.
I'm sure he'll talk to us.
(Gleason) We should never have admitted Jake
in the first place.
He's a very disturbed child.
Isn't that what this camp is for, Dr. Gleason?
Children with behavioral problems, yes.
Not kids with serious pathology.
Which the abuse here made worse.
You mean the accusations Jake made
against his bunkmates.
Well, Jake said those kids were the ones
with serious pathology.
Judge for yourself.
I'll arrange for you to talk to them.
(kid) He's sick, man.
He's crazy.
Jake said you helped torture him.
We did it to him?
Second day he's here, we're down at the lake.
He sneaks up,
whacks me on the head with a boat paddle.
I almost drowned.
Maybe he was just goofin' around.
You don't get it.
He held my head under water.
He wanted me to die.
When he finally let go,
he said, "Don't tell anybody or else."
Or else what?
Or else he'd kill me.
Are you sure he was serious?
Jake wasn't kidding. That psycho would do it.
I told Dr. Gleason.
What happened?
Dr. Gleason wouldn't believe me.
Next night I find a dead gopher in my bed.
Only guy around here sick enough to break a gopher's neck is--
Jake. He's the only one.
(Novak) You look like you could take care of yourself.
Couldn't. 'Til I started working out.
Did it 'cause I was afraid of him.
Why?
'Cause he's nuts, man.
He would always say,
"Oh, let's see who's tougher."
He'd take off his shirt,
put his arm next to mine,
and put a lit cigarette in between.
Jake says you burned him.
Man, I ain't no psycho.
Jake would just stand there,
hold a match in his fingers
'til his skin went on fire.
You could smell it. And he just laughed.
That dude is crazy.
Jake O'Hara burned himself?
The camp's director tried to explain to Jake's mother
that he should be institutionalized.
She didn't believe him. She threatened a lawsuit.
And then she took Jake home.
He was thrown out of two private schools in Brooklyn
for violent behavior and arson.
His mom had to move him to Riverdale.
The kid's a sociopath.
He's only 13.
Well, he has all the classic symptoms.
He's glib.
He lies.
He had no remorse, no empathy.
He's narcissistic.
And he's extremely manipulative.
He fooled both of us.
(Novak) Even Brett Morton and
he's also a psychiatrist.
He lives right next door.
He never saw how devious Jake really is.
If the boy is mentally ill,
we'll send him to a hospital.
(Huang) Sociopathy is
a personality disorder.
A lot of shrinks believe there's no cure.
What do you believe?
You can't grow a conscience.
(Novak) Jake knew what he was doing
was wrong and didn't care.
It's the right decision to try him as an adult.
It's too late.
(Novak) Why?
Dr. Morton came to see me this morning.
He begged me to send Jake to Family Court.
So I moved it.
Case is being heard right now.
(judge) The minor will be released
into the custody of his mother.
Fact-finding will begin tomorrow at 11:00.
Initial reports in my chamber today.
I'm very sorry to interrupt, Your Honor,
but we've made a mistake.
That's refreshing.
I don't often hear that in my courtroom.
The District Attorney's office has reconsidered
our decision to try Jake O'Hara in Family Court.
We request that the case be moved to Supreme Court
for trial as an adult.
Hearings have begun.
Jeopardy is attached.
If I dismiss now, the case is over.
These are highly unusual circumstances.
Jake O'Hara lied about his abuse.
All of his injuries
are self-inflicted.
What are you saying? Dr. Morton.
We interviewed witnesses at the camp.
They all told us Jake burned himself.
I believed you.
I fought for you.
(judge) Dr. Morton, sit down.
You lying little bastard.
The court officer will remove Dr. Morton
from this courtroom. You little prick!
You should rot in hell!
(Stabler) Let's go before she locks you up.
You bet I will.
Get him out of here.
Monster!
You murdered my son!
I don't believe this is happening.
I can't breathe.
Let's go outside and get some air. Relax.
Do you understand?
Jake will get out when he's 18.
He's a sociopath.
He will kill again.
And again and again.
I'm sorry for what happened, sir.
I really am.
You're not sorry.
You don't know what sorry means.
You have no feelings!
Leave my son alone.
Oh, my God! Oh, God!
Oh no! Oh no!
I knew the guy was wound too tight.
Shoulda seen it coming.
(Cragen) You didn't know Morton
would shoot him.
We all thought Jake was a victim.
The kid snowed everyone.
Elliot.
Jake's dead.
He never made it out of surgery.
Olivia.
Don't.
How could you let this happen?
You got some nerve, lady.
That kid was killed
because you sent him to Family Court.
I didn't stand there
and watch Brett Morton grab a gun.
You sure as hell put it in his hand.
What, you didn't wanna say no to a grieving father?
You afraid the press would call you a cold-hearted bitch.
If you two wanna blame each other, go ahead.
But I have a job to do.
Now, what's our decision on Dr. Morton?
Charge him.
Murder 2.
His son was killed by a psychopath who was gonna walk.
And that gives him the right to kill a kid?
I want him arraigned by tomorrow morning.
And you're just gonna cover her ass, huh?
Just sweep it all under the carpet.
My job is not to protect my boss.
Then do the right thing. You saw Morton.
The guy was out of his mind.
It's not Murder 2, it's Manslaughter.
How's Jake?
He died in surgery.
What have I done?
(Zierko) You were out of control, Brett.
You didn't know what you were doing.
If this isn't "extreme emotional disturbance",
I don't know what it is.
So you're going for an affirmative defense.
What do you want?
Man 2. Minimum time.
I have a better idea.
Why don't we just throw him a parade?
I don't like your tone.
I don't like 13 year-olds
being shot to death in the courthouse.
You think I meant to do it?
You grabbed a court officer's gun
and pulled the trigger.
I don't remember any of it.
I just snapped.
Well, that's convenient.
No, that's "extreme emotional disturbance".
Well, you'll have to
forgive me if I don't take
your client's word for it.
Fine.
Have your psychiatrist examine him.
(Huang) Do you recall your state of mind
after you shouted at Jake?
I walked out of the courtroom...
Nothing seemed real.
Detective Stabler was talking.
I couldn't understand what he was saying.
And what's the next thing that you remember happening?
Jake. Lying on the floor.
Blood everywhere.
The smell from the gun.
My heart...
beating so fast I thought it would explode.
I-I know I shot Jake.
Because the gun was in my hand.
I just don't know how it got there.
Dr. Morton,
when you heard that Jake had lied about being abused,
what went through your mind?
I had to get out of there.
I-I had to go outside and get some air.
I couldn't breathe.
And that's when you saw Jake.
I wasn't thinking about killing him.
What were you thinking about?
My son's face.
The last time in the morgue.
His last words.
I can hear him crying for his mother.
Well, does Brett Morton have a valid defense?
Well, it's a textbook presentation
of "extreme emotional disturbance."
Memory loss, vivid sensory recall.
He's got all the psychological symptoms.
I hear a "but" coming.
It's almost too perfect.
Okay.
Morton's a psychiatrist.
He knows exactly what to say.
Yeah, but just 'cause someone could be faking
doesn't mean that he is.
So should I plead him out?
I can't tell you what to do.
What Morton went through was unimaginable.
That kind of tragedy...
I sympathize with him.
But you still have doubts.
It's a tough call, Casey.
(Dr. Morton) I was out of my mind with grief.
I never would have shot Jake O'Hara
if I'd been thinking straight.
Now, let's be clear about this.
You testified you had no specific knowledge
of the incident itself.
But you do admit you killed him.
I don't remember doing it.
But I know I did.
I can't excuse it.
I can't explain it away.
And I'll live with the pain of that knowledge
the rest of my life.
(Zierko) Thank you.
No further questions.
(judge) Ms. Novak, we're waiting.
You don't remember grabbing the gun?
You don't remember shooting Jake O'Hara.
But do you remember
telling Detective Stabler that Jake was a sociopath?
No, I don't.
Or saying that Jake would kill again when he got out of jail?
I was overwhelmed.
I don't know...
what I said.
But did you think that Jake was a sociopath?
Sociopathy can't be diagnosed in children.
The DSM-4 prohibits it.
Until 18, children can
only be treated for conduct disorder.
But you don't agree.
Well, I adhere to the standards of my profession.
Your Honor, at this time,
I'd like to introduce into evidence
an article from the December 1992 issue
of Adolescent Behavior.
(judge) Counselor?
No objection.
Dr. Morton.
Would you please read the first highlighted passage?
If we fail to incarcerate these killer kids
for the rest of their natural lives,
they will surely kill again.
(Novak) And now the second one.
The American Psychiatric
Association does not let us
label these children as sociopaths.
But that does not change who and what they are.
They are born that way,
and we must take whatever
measures are necessary to protect society
from these amoral predators.
Who wrote that, Doctor?
I did.
But that was nearly 15 years ago.
My views have changed.
Have they?
Because what you told Detective Stabler
right before you shot Jake O'Hara
sounds like the passage
you just read.
All I meant was we should find a way
to protect people from sociopathic children.
And you found one, didn't you?
Objection. Sustained.
I didn't say we should kill them.
But if children like Jake
can't be treated,
what's the alternative?
Incarcerate them.
For the rest of their lives.
That's what I believe.
But on that day in court,
I wasn't thinking like a psychiatrist.
I was a grieving father.
(Stabler) You really went after Morton in there.
He killed a kid.
He knew what he was doing.
You're so sure about that
because of something he wrote
15 years ago?
Elliot, he's screwing with us.
This grief-crazed father crap--
It's all an act.
I spend my life locking up skells
for murdering children.
System says they go away to prison.
Fine.
But if it were my son lying on that slab,
I don't know what my rage would make me do.
(woman) Detective Stabler?
Yeah?
You're served.
Subpoena.
Zierko's calling me to testify for the defense.
(Zierko) Detective Stabler,
can you describe Dr. Morton's emotional state
when he identified his son's body.
Calm.
Detached.
In your experience,
is this unusual?
Unusual, yeah.
Were you concerned?
[clears throat]
Well, I thought that
if you hold your grief in like that,
at some point, you're gonna blow.
And that's
exactly what happened.
Nothing further.
Detective Stabler,
you just testified that Dr. Morton
was in control of his emotions
throughout the investigation.
So would it be fair to say
that he acted more like a calm, detached doctor
than a grieving father?
Up until that day at Family Court, yes.
And in that hallway,
right before he shot Jake O'Hara,
what did the defendant say to you?
He said Jake was a sociopath
and that he would kill again.
Does that sound like a father talking?
Or a psychiatrist?
Psychiatrist.
And one
who's written that sociopathic children
cannot be cured.
So.
I ask you, based on
your 12 years experience as a detective,
would you say the killing of Jake O'Hara
was the act of a grief-crazed father
or a calculated, deliberate execution?
I don't know.
(Zierko) So put yourself
in Brett Morton's place.
Imagine what it was like in that hallway.
The person who murdered your son
standing in front of you.
A disturbed young man
who killed your child
without mercy, without remorse.
He'll be getting out of jail at 18.
A birthday your child will never celebrate.
Could you lose control?
We all could.
We could lose sight of our beliefs and values.
Lose control for one moment,
and act blindly
out of raw grief
and despair.
That's what Dr. Morton did.
And the law says,
that's not murder.
None of us can imagine
enduring Brett Morton's grief.
But grief is not what drove him
to murder.
He acted, not out of emotion,
but out of his professional knowledge
and experience.
His act wasn't irrational.
In fact, it was perfectly consistent
with his long-held belief
that sociopathic children
cannot be cured.
Jake O'Hara pretended
remorse for the murder of Henry Morton.
And when the defendant learned
that Jake was a devious and manipulative child,
he also began to pretend.
He pretended he lost control.
He didn't.
Not for a single second.
He waited for the perfect opportunity.
Grabbed the court officer's gun,
and then shot a child.
That is not "extreme emotional disturbance."
It's murder,
and you must hold him responsible.
Has the jury reached a verdict?
(woman) We have, Your Honor.
On the charge of Murder in the Second degree,
how does the jury find?
We find the defendant
not guilty.
The court thanks the jury
for their service.
Ladies and gentlemen,
you are dismissed.
This court is now adjourned.
[gavel knocks]
And I think the jury understood.
I'll always regret what I did.
(Stabler) I didn't think they'd acquit him.
Well, this trial wasn't about Brett Morton
or "extreme emotional disturbance"
or even your testimony.
Jurors didn't want Jake O'Hara running loose
and Brett solved that problem.
We can't treat these kids, so we kill 'em?
I don't have the answers.
I don't think anyone does.
Maybe that's why they acquitted.
(Dr. Morton) Ms. Novak.
You seem pretty satisfied.
I am.
Well, you got away with it.
Oh, I suppose I did.
Tell me one thing.
When did you decide to kill Jake?
In the courtroom.
Once I knew what he was.
You were right.
I looked around,
saw the officer,
realized I could take the gun.
I just waited for the right moment.
You manipulated us just like Jake did.
There's one big difference.
Jake would've killed again.
I won't.