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Teenage Wasteland

This week's Law and Order episode focuses on the capital punishment debate, when a deliveryman for a Chinese restaurant is found savagely beaten to death outside a vacant apartment. The investigation leads the detectives to a group of teenagers who had been seen in the area. When arrested, each of the teenagers points to another as a killer, with the exception of Nick Simms. He tells Jack McCoy that the group had decided to order Chinese food despite their lack of money and planned to rob the deliveryman. After McCoy persuasively describes Simms' dire situation, Nick further states that his friend Mitch wrestled the victim down to the ground and beat him with a rock.

Since Mitch happens to be the only defendant over the age of 18, he is the only one facing the death penalty. Jack, Abbie, and Nora are discussing whether to seek this punishment, when they get a phone call informing them that Mitch has just pled guilty to first degree murder in exchange for a life sentence.

Jack appeals this plea, correctly arguing that Hynes v. Tomei bars a defendant from pleading guilty to first degree murder, while the required notice of intent to seek the death penalty is pending. Defense counsel argues that the government had not yet filed its notice, so it was not pending. The Hynes case goes both ways on this point; while it does prevent a plea bargain on a first degree murder charge, while the notice of intent to seek the death penalty is pending, it also holds that such a plea is permissible if the notice has not been filed. The appellate judge, however, agrees with McCoy and sets aside the plea bargain, holding that the district attorney must be given the full 120 days to decide whether to request the death penalty. Furthermore, even without such a ruling, the plea should be struck down as an impermissible ex-parte communication between the judge and the defense, because Jack was never given an opportunity to oppose or assent to the plea bargain.

Nora holds a meeting with the senior staff to discuss whether to ask the jury for the lethal injection of a man barely past his eighteenth birthday, and the issue is examined from all viewpoints. One of the attorneys presents a flawed argument stating, "I haven't heard anything indicating that he's not the killer." This disregards the fact that every district attorney who files a notice of intent to seek the death penalty strongly believes the evidence is against the defendant. Jack also presents a somewhat misplaced argument by pointing out that "black crack dealers are sent to prison while white dealers get a rehab program." It would have been more on point for Jack to refer to the studies showing that blacks are several times more likely to receive the death penalty than whites for the same crime. After this meeting, Nora holds a press conference to announce that the prosecution will seek the death penalty, despite her personal beliefs.

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The episode then fast forwards to the penalty phase of the trial, where the medical examiner is McCoy's sole witness. The ME makes the brutality of the murder very clear, testifying that the victim had thrown up and aspirated blood before the final fatal blow was delivered. Testifying in his defense, Mitch claims that the incident was only intended as a "joke" and that he wishes the event had not occurred, "not just after my birthday like that." On cross-examination, Jack establishes that the victim never had an opportunity to see Mitch's face, so the defendant's stated reason for his conduct- eliminating a witness to the crime- does not hold up. It is no surprise when the jury returns with a death sentence for Mitch.

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