Original subtitles

In the criminal justice system,

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.

You look great.

Are you sure?

I swear.

You're perfect.

Okay, people.

Places, everyone.

Places!

Quiet on set!

And action.

My Best Defense.

It literally does everything.

Shields your skin from harmful UV rays, hides blemishes,

leaves you looking and feeling flawless.

Use it as part of your daily skincare routine.

It's the only protection you'll ever need.

And cut!

Beautiful.

Let's reset and do it one more time.

There's a guy downstairs looking for you.

She's a kid.

Can't be more than 16, 17.

MLI says body temp and rigidity puts time of death

between 7:00 and 10:00 p.m.

We got a name?

No. No wallet, no ID, no phone.

Oh, boy.

Looks like she went face first into this dumpster, huh?

Yeah, she was strangled too.

Got petechial hemorrhaging in her eyes, marks on her neck.

Oh.

Necktie.

Make sure we get that to the lab and have that tested.

Clothing still intact, so probably not a sexual assault.

Who found the body?

Maintenance guy from the flower shop nearby.

911 call came in at 8:07 p.m.

You know, I noticed they had a camera.

Let's make sure we get that footage, okay?

Mm-hmm.

Somebody lost their child tonight.

And they probably don't even know it.

About an hour ago, I was taking out the trash.

I saw her legs.

And then all of a sudden, a guy bolted

from behind the dumpster.

Which way did he go?

- Up towards that corner. - Thank you.

You get a good look at him?

Yeah, uh, white, thin, about 5'5".

- Hair color? - Blond.

And he was wearing a blue puffy jacket.

Okay.

We're looking for a male, 5'5", thin, blond hair,

wearing a blue jacket.

Let's set up a perimeter north of Christopher, south of Bank.

Let's go.

Yeah, blue puffer. Hey, kid.

Hey! Police!

Kid, stop!

NYPD!

Hey! Stop!

Hey! Do not move!

Keep your hands right there.

Get on the van.

That's nice. Where'd you get this?

- I found it. - You found it, huh? Where?

- In the trash. - In the trash.

- How old are you? - 18.

- Try again. - 15.

15.

He's 15.

We recovered the murder weapon,

and we're getting it tested for DNA.

And if it's a match, that means life in prison.

I didn't kill anyone, though.

Does this kid look like he wears a necktie?

We got a witness that says they saw him running away

from the dead woman's body.

He was found with a very expensive piece of women's jewelry.

Now, I'm willing to bet that we will

be able to prove that that bracelet

belongs to the dead girl.

Yeah.

I was looking for food.

And she was already dead, so I took the bracelet.

All right, and how about her phone and her wallet?

That's all there was.

I swear.

You living on the street?

His mother has a problem with drugs.

How about your father?

I don't have one.

All right.

We will be right back.

Did the kid's story check out?

Got video from the flower shop

that was near the crime scene.

Check this out.

So that is our victim

27 minutes before the maintenance guy found her.

But keep watching. It gets interesting.

Whoever the mystery man is, he drags her

in the direction of the dumpster,

where the body was found.

And then...

24 minutes later, there's Joey walking towards the dumpster...

no cameras back there.

Then three minutes later, he comes back out

with the vic's bracelet.

He's telling the truth.

- Okay, call Social Services. - Already did.

Uh, how'd you make out at Missing Persons?

I cross-checked all the new reports.

No luck.

Facial rec?

Flower shop footage is too grainy.

This is the only other photo we have of her,

and her face is too messed up to make a comparison.

Poor kid.

The victim's DNA is on the necktie,

along with someone else's.

You run it through the database?

It's not in the system, so we can eliminate convicted felons.

Anything else?

Well, it's likely a Caucasian male,

but there's no shared genetic makeup with the victim.

So we can eliminate biological family members.

Well, that only leaves us

with a few hundred million suspects.

Yeah.

Well, in the more bad news department,

I still haven't been able to determine

this victim's identity.

I can't believe her parents

haven't reported her missing yet.

I know.

- Thank you. - Yeah.

Vince, I need you guys to go back and canvass the area

around the crime scene, see if anybody can identify

the picture of the vic.

Have you seen this woman?

Sorry.

- Any luck? - None.

Excuse me, miss?

Have you seen this woman?

Yeah, I've seen her around the neighborhood.

Do you know her name?

I've got ten preschool kids to keep an eye on.

I don't really have time to socialize.

How about yesterday? You see her yesterday?

Yeah.

She was with a guy, and he was yelling at her.

Could you hear what he was saying?

No.

What time was this?

Well, I was on my way home from work, so around 4:30.

And this guy, had you ever seen him before?

No, sorry.

Can you describe what he looked like?

Uh, white, medium build, medium height, bald.

How old was he?

Old. Like, 50?

Oh, and he was smoking a cigarette.

Can you show us where he was standing?

Thank you.

I don't see any cigarette butts.

Mm.

Here we go.

It's a long shot.

Maybe we can get some prints off the box.

I'll call the lab, see if they can rush it.

Yeah, if we can't get him on murder,

maybe we can get him for littering.

Mr. Paven, NYPD.

Need to ask you a few questions.

Hey, what's up?

You know this woman?

What'd she say?

- Nothing now. - You got a gun on you?

- Yeah. - Hands on the car.

Oh, wait, man!

But the gun is legal.

All right? I'm on the job.

You're a limo driver.

Yeah, I also work private security.

Yeah, well, if everything checks out, you'll get it back.

- Come on. - I'm not going anywhere, man.

My client is in that building.

Tell him he's gotta find another ride.

Is this really necessary?

Look, whatever that bitch said, it is a lie.

You've got a lot of anger towards this young woman...

girl...

and she's dead.

And we have a witness who saw you bullying her a few hours

before she was killed.

Now, why were you, a grown man, yelling at a teenage girl

on the sidewalk?

Maybe I should have a lawyer here or something.

That's fine by me.

In the meantime, I'm going to confiscate your gun.

Wait, look, I need that for work.

I've got a license for it.

You can't just take that from me.

Yes, I can.

You're a person of interest in a murder case.

You're refusing to cooperate with the police.

As far as I'm concerned, that makes you a threat to public safety.

H... hold on.

Look.

My son, all right, he follows that girl on social media.

She was pushing some new sports drink.

You know, said that it would make him strong

and full of energy or some bull like that.

I mean, this girl made it a contest.

How many can you drink in a row?

So my kid ended up downing, like, five of them in less than an hour.

And there was so much caffeine in it

that he ended up having a freaking heart attack.

I'm serious, all right? He almost died.

How did you find her?

That girl posted, like, everything she did,

literally everything.

So I knew that she was doing a commercial.

She even said the name of the studio.

So I looked it up, went down there,

and, you know, I had a little talk with her.

Okay, where were you between 7:00 and 10:00 p.m. last night?

I was in Jersey with a client.

I can give you his contact info if you need.

Yeah, I'm gonna need the name of the young woman you accosted.

Kaitlyn was so special.

She's beautiful, inside and out.

I've gotta ask, is there a reason

that you didn't report your daughter missing?

She didn't live here. We didn't know.

She doesn't live here anymore.

She was 17?

Yeah, um...

She's a... a...

she was a model,

so she lived with a group of models.

No school?

She graduated early.

But we're still very much involved.

We... we spoke to her every night.

Just not last night.

We were at a premiere, Michelle's premiere.

She's a... she's a film director.

I promised my daughter I'd take her this weekend.

Was Kaitlyn having any problems with anyone?

She... She had a boyfriend.

He's... he's a little older.

They were in the process of breaking up.

Who the hell lets their daughter live alone at 17?

What do you mean?

Kids leave for college all the time at 18.

- Same thing. - No, no, no.

Big difference between 17 and 18.

And college is filled with college kids, you know?

You gotta let them fly at some point, bro.

All I know is, when my daughter turns 17,

she's not shacking up with some 20-year-old dude named Dylan.

She's dead?

Oh.

That's, like, surreal.

Yeah.

Uh, hey, hey, Dylan.

Yeah?

Are you planning on going somewhere?

I just got back from Paris.

I was there for a magazine shoot.

When's the last time you spoke to Kaitlyn?

I texted her last night at 8:00 when I landed at JFK.

Never heard back.

Did that surprise you?

We've been fighting a lot.

About what?

She was cheating on me.

What makes you say that?

She'd been acting all weird, spending a lot of time

with other people.

And she didn't wanna be, you know, intimate.

Any idea who she was seeing?

Can you show us her room?

This her laptop?

You know the password?

Two hours before the murder, she googled

the address of Daisy's Donuts.

Four blocks from the murder scene.

Looks like they make a hell of a cruller,

I'll give them that.

Does anyone remember seeing Kaitlyn?

- Nope. - Did they have cameras?

They weren't working.

Manager just emailed me the credit card receipts.

Is her boyfriend's name in there?

I don't see it.

This is interesting, though.

Did you find something?

Do you know who killed my daughter?

We need to speak to your husband right now.

- Is he here? - Yes, yes. Of course.

Come in. He's...

What's going on?

- Do you guys have an update? - We do.

We can talk about it down at the precinct.

Now?

Right now.

It's a little late in the day.

Couldn't we do this first thing in the morning?

No, this can't wait.

And we would prefer to do it in our office.

So we need you to come with us.

I don't understand. What's the problem?

Am I under arrest?

We're giving you an opportunity

to come in voluntarily.

But if not...

I guess so.

We've got a credit card receipt that puts you

in a café a few blocks from the crime scene

a half hour before Kaitlyn was killed.

And Kaitlyn just happened to google the address of that café

a couple hours before she was killed.

And we got surveillance video from a flower shop

down the block that picked you up after you left the café.

It shows a man who looks a lot like you

grabbing Kaitlyn by the arm and pushing her

in the direction of the crime scene.

And you told us that you didn't talk to Kaitlyn

the day that she was murdered.

- Isn't that right? - Mm-hmm, yeah. Yeah.

You lied about your alibi, too, didn't you?

Said you were at a movie premiere?

No, I was...

I was at the premiere.

Really.

Well, the time stamp on the bill here

says that you paid six minutes after the movie started.

- So help me out here. - Correct.

I had coffee with my daughter, and then I went to the movie.

- I got there late. - Hmm.

Here's me and Michelle at the theater.

That corroborates my client's alibi.

The theater is, like, 15 minutes from the crime scene.

He could have killed Kaitlyn and gotten back to the theater

before the movie was over.

Still, I'm confused.

Didn't the ME tell you the DNA on the murder weapon

didn't come from anyone in Kaitlyn's family?

The ME said that the killer's DNA profile

didn't share any genetic similarities with the victim.

He's not Kaitlyn's biological father?

According to family court records,

Ron adopted Kaitlyn after he married Michelle

about ten years ago.

Can I go home now?

No.

We have a few more questions.

Hold him while you get a warrant for his DNA.

If it matches the necktie, charge him with murder.

Calling docket ending in 5912,

People v. Ronald Lawson,

charging murder in the second degree.

How do you plead, sir?

My client pleads not guilty.

I'll hear the People on bail.

The victim in this case is the defendant's daughter.

The evidence shows that Mr. Lawson

pushed her into a dumpster, causing a severe head wound.

Then, as she lay bleeding on the pavement,

he strangled her with his necktie.

We have video and credit card statement

putting him near the crime scene.

His DNA is on the weapon.

We'd submit that he's a danger to the community

and a flight risk. People request remand.

The only thing worse than losing your child, Your Honor,

is losing your child and then being falsely accused of killing her.

The People have no case, no motive, no eyewitnesses.

My client is a respected member of his community.

My client's wife, Michelle Burns,

who is also the victim's mother,

has signed an affidavit affirming that

they were at a movie premiere at the time of the murder.

It was a three-hour film.

He had more than enough time to kill his daughter

and saunter back into the theater

to enjoy his wife's movie.

The bail is set at 20 million.

Don't worry, I got you.

Okay?

The victim's mother posted bail for the killer?

It was a first for me as well.

She also doubled down on her husband's so-called alibi.

She obviously believes in Lawson's innocence.

Are we sure we got the right guy?

Yeah, evidence is strong.

What about motive?

Why would Lawson kill his own child?

That is the one missing piece.

Have we done a deep dive into their texts, emails?

Well, I just finished, actually,

and, uh, I think we have the answer.

Kaitlyn made a video, was supposed to go live

the day she was killed.

It's horrific.

My father, Ron Lawson...

sexually abused me.

It started when I was 14, and he's still doing it.

I know it sounds weird, but, uh,

at first, it made me feel special.

I actually thought I was in love with him.

But recently, I... I started to realize

how horrible and abusive it actually is.

So...

I told him to stop.

He wouldn't.

So, um, I told my mother.

But she wasn't... she wasn't able to help.

That's why I'm making this video,

to tell the world my truth.

The defendant killed Kaitlyn Lawson

because he was afraid of exposure.

He didn't want the world to know

his disgusting, perverted secret.

The evidence will show that he invited her to a café,

where he tried to talk her out of posting the video.

When she refused, he grabbed her by the arm

and dragged her behind a flower shop.

He shoved her face-first into a dumpster,

and then he used his necktie to strangle the life out of her.

Ron Lawson thought by killing Kaitlyn,

his secret would be safe, but...

But now we all know what Kaitlyn knew.

The defendant is a pedophile.

He is also a killer.

And he must answer to that.

We're going to take a brief recess.

I'll see you all back here in 20 minutes.

Get back! Get back!

Stay...

No, no, no, no!

Back!

Hey. Ron, put the gun down!

Put it down!

Do not do anything stupid.

Put it down.

No, no, no!

- That was... - Yeah.

I don't even know how to process it.

Everybody okay?

I'm just glad no one else was hurt.

Where do we go from here?

I presume you're gonna file a motion to dismiss the charges?

Yeah, we'll have to.

Well, bastard got off easy, if you ask me.

Now nobody gets held accountable.

Maybe we should look into the mother.

Well, unfortunately, posting bail

for your abusive husband isn't a crime.

She didn't just post bail.

She was aware that her daughter was being abused,

and she did nothing to protect her.

She just let it happen.

Hard to imagine.

Is there a reason she just looked the other way?

Oh, no idea.

Makes no sense to me.

Her movies are all about female empowerment and gender equality.

So what do you wanna do?

I wanna charge her with endangering the welfare of a child.

Can we prove Michelle had knowledge of the abuse?

We have Kaitlyn's video.

Maybe.

If we offer it for the truth,

it'll likely be excluded as hearsay.

But I'm with you, Nolan.

Michelle Burns had a duty to protect her child,

and she didn't, and now the girl's dead, so.

Talk to Brady.

Maybe she can figure out a way to get Michelle to admit

she knew what was going on

between her husband and Kaitlyn.

- Michelle. - Oh.

- Hi. - Hi.

Thanks so much for coming in.

Do you want a coffee or water or something?

No. No, thank you.

Well, I can't imagine what you're going through.

Yeah, it's, uh...

it's been a long few days.

I'm really very sorry, but I won't

take up much of your time.

I just... I just need to tie up a few loose ends.

Have a seat.

Some of Kaitlyn's personal effects.

I thought they might be of some sentimental value.

You can take them if you want.

I just need you to sign that form.

I have a lot of respect for your work.

I think your movies are very powerful,

and they remind me of Alice Munro.

I know she's a novelist, but, um...

I really admire her work as well.

Yeah, you two have a lot in common.

I mean, you're both feminists that wanted to raise

strong, opinionated daughters, and...

And both stayed with men

even after we knew about their failings?

Well, yeah, that's what I was gonna say.

I know.

I'm not here to judge, Michelle, really.

Honestly, I'm just trying to tie up some loose ends.

But now that you mention it, actually, I'm...

I must say, I'm curious.

About what?

Well, you're a brilliant and talented woman,

a powerful woman.

I... I... I just don't see how you could

sit there and let that happen.

I suppose I felt the same way Alice did.

You know, I love them both very much,

and I suppose I decided that it was their business,

and it wasn't my place to get involved.

Not your place?

Well, I know on some level, yes.

I mean, if you eliminate patriarchal norms

and expectations, why should I be expected to dismiss

my own wants and desires,

or even worse, dismiss those wants and desires for my child?

So you knew about the video Kaitlyn made?

Yes.

And what about your husband? Did he know?

Yes, I... I told him.

Well.

Michelle, I have to tell you, you make me sick.

- What? - Get up.

- What the hell are you doing? - Stand up.

Put your hands behind your back.

You're under arrest.

She told her husband about the video?

That Kaitlyn was planning to expose her?

Sure did.

She might as well have handed him a loaded gun.

Ask me, this is more than child endangerment.

You want me to charge her with manslaughter?

Man two.

Michelle Burns had a duty to protect her child,

and her reckless actions and inactions

directly led to her daughter's death.

Sam.

- Hi. - Hey, how are you?

I'm good.

You represent Michelle Burns?

I wish I wasn't.

I can't believe you're actually prosecuting her.

She's a victim.

Her daughter was murdered.

Yeah, I get it.

But she had a duty, a legal duty to protect her daughter.

She didn't. So.

Well, you may be right,

but it's more complicated than that.

What are you talking about?

Kaitlyn wasn't the only woman Ron Lawson abused.

I'm requesting the court's permission to allow

an expert witness at trial...

a psychologist who can testify to my client's state of mind

as a victim of physical and sexual abuse.

How is that relevant to this case?

Mr. Price has a point.

What does a psychologist's opinion

have to do with this matter?

Well, the People are required to prove that my client

ignored an unjustifiable risk

that someone's death would occur.

I'd like to tell the jury why she failed to act.

Context is important.

It cuts to the very core of our defense.

The defendant's reasons have no legal significance.

This is just a veiled attempt

to elicit sympathy from the jury.

I'll allow counsel to conduct a voir dire

outside of the presence of the jury

to see what this witness has to say.

I'll issue my decision afterwards.

Dr. Mankin, did you conduct a forensic evaluation

- of the defendant? - I did.

She reported that she was in a physically

and emotionally abusive marriage.

Did she describe specific instances of violence?

A fractured eye socket, a broken ankle, a concussion,

and numerous bruises and cuts.

Did she tell you about her childhood?

Do I have to sit here and listen to this?

Your lawyer asked for this hearing.

Please control your client.

Please answer the question.

When she was nine years old,

Michelle was the victim of sexual abuse

at the hands of an uncle.

Did that surprise you?

No. Children who are raised in abusive homes

are six times more likely to find themselves

in abusive relationships as adults.

Why is that?

For women like Michelle,

abuse becomes their definition of love.

Thank you.

Nothing further.

Cross-examination?

Did the defendant ever report any of this abuse?

When she was a child, she told her parents,

but they didn't believe her, and that was shattering.

It reinforced her sense of powerlessness.

While the defendant may have been suffering,

wasn't she still capable of protecting her daughter?

I believe Michelle suffers from dissociative disorder.

Her survival depends on her ability

to disengage emotionally.

As a result, she lost her ability to recognize danger,

along with her maternal instincts of protection.

You're not saying she's legally insane, are you?

No, I'm not saying that.

Thank you. Nothing further.

You are excused.

While what Ms. Burns is alleging is tragic,

it is clearly not relevant to this case.

And as such, the law requires

that you deny the defendant's motion.

Respectfully, the defense has the right

to present a full and complete picture

of what happened... more specifically,

why this happened.

I agree with Mr. Price.

But Your Honor, as a woman, how can you possibly...

Don't go there, Counsel.

My decision is based on the law.

And I find that the defendant's state of mind

has no legal significance in this case.

Therefore, the defendant's motion is denied.

Dr. Mankin will not be allowed in this trial.

We're adjourned.

I'll see you all here tomorrow morning.

I'm not sure about this.

Sure about what?

Leaving this evidence out or even prosecuting Michelle.

She's a victim, Nolan.

Hey.

I've subpoenaed Michelle's medical records.

They corroborate the psychologist's testimony.

In the last ten years, Michelle was treated

for a broken ankle, fractured eye socket,

and a concussion.

I also found a police report from Westport, Connecticut,

where Michelle and Ron used to live.

Shows she called 911 to report domestic violence.

Withdrew her complaint a week later.

Well, there was also a report from Cleveland,

where Michelle grew up.

Teacher suspected there was abuse in the home.

I don't dispute that the abuse happened

and that it's horrific.

Jesus.

It also certainly explains why Michelle would stay with a man

who was abusing her daughter.

Yeah.

But the fact remains, Michelle Burns

had an obligation to protect her kid,

and she did the exact opposite.

She wasn't capable of helping.

She was fighting for her own survival.

You're right about that,

but she let her husband abuse Kaitlyn for years.

And if that weren't enough, she told

a violent, sexually abusive man that

he was about to be exposed as a pedophile,

which directly led to her child's death.

She was more a perpetrator than victim in this instance anyway.

What kind of precedent would it be setting

if we gave her a pass?

Society demands that people in positions of power

protect those who have none.

Parents are the ones who hold that power.

Yeah, I agree.

But it doesn't mean that we don't have an obligation

to protect Michelle too.

She's an adult. Kaitlyn was a kid, a teenager.

In case of a tie, Michelle loses.

Sorry.

Move forward with the trial.

Lieutenant Brady, did you speak with the defendant?

I did.

And she told me she was aware that her husband had been

sexually abusing her daughter and that the abuse

had gone on for several years.

And did the defendant tell her husband that Kaitlyn

- was going to expose him? - She did.

And less than 24 hours later, Kaitlyn was dead.

Thank you. Nothing further.

Cross-examination?

My client didn't kill anyone.

Fair to say?

Fair to say.

In fact, my client wasn't present when Kaitlyn died, was she?

Objection, relevance?

Overruled. You may answer.

I don't believe she was, no.

The person who actually did kill Kaitlyn,

Ron Lawson, shot himself.

So he's gone.

And now you and Mr. Price are trying to compound this tragedy

by blaming it on his wife.

Objection, argumentative.

Withdrawn.

Nothing further.

I love my daughter very much.

More than I can even...

And I tried very hard to protect her.

I know it wasn't enough, but I tried.

Tell the jury what you mean by that.

I taught Kaitlyn to be a strong, independent woman.

I took her to self-defense classes.

I... I helped her become financially independent.

I... I talked to her about her sex, about her body.

And when I became aware of what

was going on with Ron, I...

I encouraged her to move out of the house as soon as possible.

But you were having your own problems.

Objection.

Sustained.

We've been through this, Ms. Hogan.

Your witness.

Cross-examination?

After your husband was arrested

for killing your daughter,

you posted his bail, didn't you?

- Yes. - He was in custody.

He was behind bars. And you helped him get out?

I did.

You also helped him create a false alibi?

Yes.

I know that this won't make any sense, but I was afraid.

And so I did what he said

because that's the way it's always been.

Because if I disappointed him, he became violent!

- Your Honor. - Next question.

You have made several very successful films, haven't you?

I suppose.

One of your movies is about a young woman

who was abused by a family member.

Objection, relevance.

Overruled.

Please answer.

It was an exploration

in a complicated family relationship.

In that movie, the daughter is hurt so badly,

she dies, doesn't she?

Objection. Where is he going with this?

The People are required to prove that the defendant

consciously disregarded a substantial risk to her child,

knowing that death could result.

I'm simply trying to establish that the defendant was aware

of the risk involved in not reporting her husband's abuse

because she made a film about it.

The objection is overruled.

Please answer.

In the film, the daughter dies.

In your home, your husband's abuse of your daughter

went on for years, didn't it?

Unfortunately.

And you told your husband that Kaitlyn

was going to expose him, didn't you?

Yes.

And 24 hours later, she was dead.

- Did I get that right? - I...

I made a mistake.

I made a mistake.

I wish I could do it all over again,

be a different person, a stronger person.

But I wasn't, and I didn't.

And I have to live with that for the rest of my life.

I'm afraid you do.

I have nothing further.

Nolan.

What you did in there, using her film

against her in that way?

That was fair game, Sam.

No, no, that was legal.

But it wasn't fair.

I...

you're the one who always says trials are supposed

to be a search for the truth.

So please tell me how the hell the jury is supposed to

make a decision about Michelle, about this case

when they don't have all the facts,

when they don't actually know the truth.

The jury decides what is and isn't true based on the facts,

on the relevant facts.

I respect that you are a man of principle,

but I have my principles too.

Well, then we'll just have to agree to disagree.

No.

Do you really think that you know more

about domestic violence than I do?

I... I have counseled victims.

I've volunteered at shelters.

I studied the psychological impact of trauma.

And there's my sister, who died at the hands of an abuser.

So please don't tell me what Michelle should have done

or what she was legally required to do.

She spent most of her life being abused.

And the truth is, Nolan, she wasn't

capable of protecting herself, let alone her daughter.

And there is no punishment in the world

that is going to change that.

Now, if you don't respect my opinion

when it comes to this issue,

then I don't know what the hell I'm doing in this office.

What do you mean, you wanna cut a deal?

We've been through this.

We agreed Michelle Burns failed in her duty to protect her child.

I'm having second thoughts.

Sam has been pretty passionate in her defense

of Michelle Burns, and...

I'm starting to see her point of view.

I'm not so sure that sending an abuse victim to prison

for 15 years is the right call.

Neither am I.

But I have to look at the big picture.

There are larger societal implications here.

You're right.

But let's face it, Nick, Sam knows more about these issues than we do.

Maybe it's time for us to start listening to her,

instead of telling her why she's wrong.

Your Honor, the defendant has agreed to plead guilty,

and we have a sentencing recommendation

- for the court's consideration. - I'll hear it.

The defendant will admit to so much

of the complaint that alleges endangering

the welfare of a child,

and she will serve one year in jail,

followed by three years of post-release supervision.

Defense?

We have agreed to the terms.

Okay, Ms. Burns, I will accept your change of plea

and sentence you to one year in jail.

Court is adjourned.

Thank you for hearing me.

- Synced and corrected by chamallow - - www.addic7ed.com -