All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.S08E20.Burden.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

by two separate
yet equally important groups,

the police
who investigate crime

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

My baby,
I can't wake him.
He's not breathing.

Was he choking?
I don't know.

I came to
change his diaper,
and he wouldn't wake up.

This kid wears diapers?

He's a quadriplegic.
Help him!

Get an airway.
Right.

Can I get a hand with the O2?
Got it.

Here we go.
Pupils fixed.

You got a...
No, nothing.

This kid's blue.
Temp is way down.

Mom, what's wrong
with Mikey?

I don't know, honey.

This kid's gone.
Still nothing.

You're not giving up!

We're not stopping.

Three, four, five.

There's something wrong here.

I think you need
to call Homicide.

Increasing the rate.

Are you guys
the detectives?

We're undercover.

Special jaywalking
duty on 14th Street.

He's got writer's cramp.
Must've given out
20 tickets.

What's this about?

Michael Sutter, 12.
His mother says he was
paralyzed from the neck down.

She's the one that
called 911 at 5:17.

The paramedics
pronounced him dead.

So a sick kid dies.
Why call us?

Ask him.
Check his lips.

Blue tint.

Cyanosis. Kid's got
micro-hemorrhaging
in both eyes.

Suffocated?
Looks that way.

No, you're wrong.

You must be wrong.
Nobody could have
done that.

I was alone with him
all afternoon.

Why don't you
take Mrs. Sutter and her
daughter to the living room?

Did I just
hear a confession?

Michael used to be
all straight As.
Played soccer.

But then
Dad took him
skiing two years ago.

They were driving back,
and hit some ice.

There was only
one airbag. Dad's.

Was anybody else here
when your mother
found Michael?

Just Mom. We don't
get a lot of company.

What about your dad?

He was working.
On Long Island.

He's a landscape engineer.

And where were
you this afternoon?

After school, I hung
out with some friends,

and then I had to
pick up some groceries.

Then I came home, and...

And he was...

Michael's care is your
mother's responsibility?

The insurance
stopped covering
the health care worker,

so Mom had to quit
her counseling job.

Your mom
get along with Michael?

Nobody gets along
with Michael.

His brain was
like a baby's.

We were at
the hospital today.

Every Tuesday
he goes for dialysis.

We came home around 3:00.

He fell asleep on
the way back in the van.

And from 3:00
until you found him,
did you check in on him?

Do you do this kind
of questioning after
every family tragedy?

Only when we need answers.

So you never went out
for coffee or anything?

I went to
pick up the paper.

I wasn't gone more
than five minutes.

And nobody dropped by?

Nobody.

You take care of
your son by yourself.
You gave up your career?

It was no sacrifice.

You were holed up
with your kid for
two years.

You couldn't have
been too happy about it.

What are you saying?

You think I killed him?

Michael was my son.

He was a sick little boy.

He just died.
God just took
my boy away!

Kid was a quadriplegic.

Could he have just
stopped breathing?

The M.E. says that
if somebody hadn't
suffocated him,

he would've
kept on breathing
for another 60 years.

And there were no marks?
No abrasions around his
mouth or nose?

No. It wouldn't have
taken much pressure.
Probably a pillow.

M.E.'s preliminary report
sets the time of death
around 3:30, 4:00.

Well, the call to
911 came in at 5:17.

That gives
Mom plenty of
time to clean up.

So the mother
might have tampered

with evidence that
might have existed.

Unless somebody
came in while she was
out getting the paper,

and did her the favor of
killing the kid.

Well, so far,
she's the only one
with the boy all afternoon.

Did he get any kind of
insurance settlement?
Maybe in trust?

Single car accident.
Nobody to sue.

The insurance covers most
of the medical bills,
but that's it.

What's the daughter think?

That Mom's not
a happy camper.

See if Mr. Sutter agrees.

And, guys, about this
jaywalking assignment,

it came from the top.

It's all about my
lawsuit. I'm sorry.

It's not natural, picking
out a casket for your son.

Salesman starts
telling me about
mahogany and hardware,

like I'm comparison
shopping or something.

We appreciate how
hard this is for you.

Mrs. Sutter,
she was the one

who usually took
care of Michael?

Well, I did
what I could
on the weekends.

Was your wife
resentful about
being stuck at home?

You know,
Lois warned me
about you guys.

Look, if she were happy
about it, she'd be a fool.

She quit being
a social worker,

I quit going
for overtime,

which has
made us practically broke,
as I'm sure you know by now.

Mr. Sutter,
we're trying to be fair.

But your wife was home,
and your son was murdered.

I don't believe that.

Well, can you
think of anyone else who
would want to hurt Michael?

Nobody wanted
to hurt Michael.

I mean, maybe
somebody broke in
when Lois stepped out.

Tried to rob the place.

There was no sign of that.

I mean, you didn't find
anything missing, right?

Anyone outside
of your family have
a key to your apartment?

There's our neighbors,
the Hodges.

I think they still have a key.
But they didn't kill Michael,
either.

He was a nice boy.

You know, Joe blamed himself
for what happened, driving
so fast.

Next drawer over.

Joe saved
the boy's life.

Gave him CPR
for half an hour.

Could the key be missing?

No, no, no.
It's in here someplace.

Did you see any of the
Sutters Tuesday afternoon?

I said hi when
Lois brought Michael
home from the hospital.

I was on my way out.

Tuesdays it's ceramics,
and today it was art class.

I tried
to encourage
Lois to do that.

Bridge, book club,
something.

I know she started
going to a dance studio
right around the corner.

She needs to get out.
No one should have
such tsuris.

Here it is.

She was pretty bitter, huh?
Alone with Michael all day?

She seemed
happier lately.

That's the makeup.
She started painting
her face again.

Can't change the inside,
you change the outside.

Would you two like to
be fixed up with partners?

No, we're together.
You have a student
named Lois Sutter?

Lois? Yes. Yes.
She comes every
Friday afternoon.

How long she
been coming here?

About three months now.

Quite talented. She's
moved up to intermediate.

I mean, really,
she's a natural
at salsa and tango.

Any particular student
she's friendly with?

I couldn't say.
I teach beginners.

Mr. Gilbert teaches
the Latin steps,
but he's off today.

I'm sure he'd know.

He sometimes
shares a cab
with her.

Excuse me.
Something I really
have to put a stop to.

She shares a taxi for
a half-a-block ride?

I'm guessing
Gilbert's bedroom's
a little further away.

Who I share a taxi with
is none of your business.

And I haven't
done anything improper
with any of my students.

Maybe we should
get them all together
for a teacher evaluation.

Yeah, women are
a little harder
to charm

when they find out they're
number 12 in the conga line.

I teach dance. It's sensual.

It's only natural
that bonds would form.

With Lois Sutter?

Mr. Gilbert,
we're not the press corps,
and you're not the President.

We need an honest answer.

It's not
what you think.
We've grown very close.

Close enough she'd share
confidences about her family?

Yes.
I'd say her husband
doesn't understand her,

but Lois's husband
doesn't even know her.

What about her son?
She talk about him, too?

Husband, son,
her daughter.

She wanted out
of that situation.

She told you that?

Foreplay generally
consisted of letting
her vent for half an hour.

When she was
here on Tuesday,
it was the same drill.

This Tuesday? What time?

She came by mid-afternoon,
around 3:30.

She left at 4:40.

You seem pretty sure
about the time.

Well, she
looked at her watch.
She said she had to go.

Anybody see you two together?

Well,
the whole point
was not to be seen.

She checked
her watch, huh?

Guess you couldn't
have been all that good.

Please don't
tell my husband.

It'll just kill him.

Tell him what?

About Gilbert, or
that you killed your son?

I did not kill Michael.

No, you were
too busy doing the
horizontal cha-cha.

Yes.

It's a nice alibi,
but we're not buying it.

You wanted out
of your marriage.
No.

You couldn't stand sleeping
next to a guy who'd turned
your son into a potted plant.

As long as Michael
was still alive,

you didn't have
the guts to walk out.

No. No, please.

How'd you do it?
With a pillow?
A blanket?

Michael just died.

Here's the
Medical Examiner's report.
Read what it says right here.

"Hemorrhaging in
his eyes, cyanosis,

"depleted oxygen
in his blood stream."

You know what that means?

That can't be Michael.

"Michael B. Sutter."
That's your son.

"Death by
manual asphyxiation."

No, it can't be.

That's impossible.

It's right there
in black and white.

She couldn't have.
Who?

I can't believe
she'd hurt him.

Who'd hurt him?

I left him
with Stephanie.

Your daughter?

Oh, God.

I don't care
what you say,
I wasn't home,

and Mom was
watching Michael.

Your mother
spent the afternoon
with her boyfriend.

Now, we don't know
what she told you
she was doing,

but she told us that you
were at home covering
for her.

You killed your brother.

She... She said that?

Why'd you do it, Stephanie?

Were you jealous of
all the attention he got?
All the trouble he caused?

No.
Come on.

The whole family
was falling apart
because of him.

Okay, take it easy,
take it easy.

You're a minor,
your family has
big problems.

The judge is
gonna be sympathetic.

You just have to
tell us what happened.

I mean, your brother was
barely living anyway,
right?

I wasn't there.
I was with Kara
from my bio class.

Your mom's a better liar
than you are, Stephanie.

It's the truth.

My mom was always
sticking me with him.

I mean, all he ever did
was lie in bed.

And all
he ever cared about
was watching TV, eating,

and crapping his pants.

So as soon as my mom left,

I ditched him.

I'm sorry.
I just couldn't stand
to be with him anymore.

Hooked up with
Stephanie around
a quarter after 3:00.

Where'd you go?

The Asteroid Palace,
down on Broadway.

We played
video games.

How long
were you there?

I don't know,
about an hour.

She have anything to
say about her brother?

Steph's always
got something to
say about the vegetable.

That's what
she called him.

He's a pain in the ass.

Why? She used
to trip over him?

Steph and I
were gonna go away
to college together.

Not anymore. No money.

Stephanie was pretty
angry about that, huh?

Look, Stephanie's
not a bad person.

Just nothing ever
seems to go her way.

What was her mood
Tuesday afternoon?

I don't know.
She was fine.

She seem nervous?
Distracted?

Yeah, she was
distracted by one

of those guys that
gives you the quarters.

I think he was
hot for me, though.

Couple of
the arcade workers
confirm the girl was there.

Yeah,
and in high spirits.

Her brother's dead,
all her problems
are solved.

That's pretty cold-blooded.
Is that the kind of girl
she is?

I didn't see a lot
of ice in her veins.

She walked out on her brother.
She's cut from the same
iceberg as her mother.

So the
boy was alone
from 3:00 to 5:00,

which is when
he got murdered.

Go back to the M.E.
Nail down the time
of death.

Forget the time
he actually died.

He was poisoned
two hours before that.

Poison?

When you called,
I had the lab pull out
all the stops.

Kid's tox screens
spiked for nicotine.

I knew he was
a 12-year-old
quadriplegic,

so I figured
he wasn't a smoker.

Unless somebody
was holding the
cigarette for him.

I checked
the intestinal contents.

What we thought were carrots
tested positive for coniine.
Hemlock root.

Poison hemlock?
Isn't that what
Socrates died from?

Forensics says
the stuff grows wild.

Not just in ancient Greece.

Paralyzes the muscles,
and finally the lungs.

Already paralyzed,
nobody'd notice
he was dying.

Nobody'd notice because
no one was watching him.

The kid had lunch
at the hospital
with his mother.

Thanks.

Michael Sutter
came in at 9:30

and was discharged at 2:15.

He was in this room.

It's okay,
you don't have to get up.

So you talked
to Mrs. Sutter?

Yes, about Michael.

Unfortunately, nothing had
changed since the accident.

Mr. Blake, you're not
feeling too dizzy
this afternoon?

Good.

Michael was
a real trouper.

The kind of
damage he suffered
is terribly tragic.

More than Mrs. Sutter
could deal with?

You can't
imagine the pressure
this puts on a family.

If Mrs. Sutter
did do something to
help end her son's pain,

nobody can fault her
for feeling the way
she did.

Did she fix his lunch?

Michael was supposed to
have a hospital lunch.
Why?

The meal may have
been tampered with.

Anyone other than
Mrs. Sutter have
access to it?

Uh, that I don't know.
I wasn't in the hospital
at lunchtime.

Oh. Here we go.
Michael had his
usual meal at 1:00.

One of
the candy stripers
would've delivered it.

My school's vocational program
lets me work here two days
a week.

I hope I'm not
in any trouble.

No, no trouble, Martha.

Did you keep an eye
on your food cart
last Tuesday?

I don't watch it
all the time,

but I just leave it
alone in the corridor

for a sec when I'm
in the patient's room.

Do you remember bringing
a food tray to Michael Sutter?

Michael? Sure. Nice family.

Who'd you hand the tray to?

I don't remember.

I might
have just put it
on his bed table.

Did you happen
to notice if his mother
did anything to his food?

No, I don't remember
seeing her.

Okay. Thanks, Martha.

Any visitors?

I don't know.
People come, people go.

I don't much notice.

What about
the food cart?

You notice anybody
messing with it?

Nobody. That I'd notice.
Excuse me.

The girl doesn't remember
seeing Mrs. Sutter
near the food.

Well, somebody
had to feed the kid.

And somebody had
to see them do it.

There are two beds
in the room.

I've had too many
difficult days lately.

Dialysis once a week
for two years.

Just like the Sutter boy.

Last Tuesday,
he was in your room

at Hudson Terrace,
the next bed.

Plays his TV too loud.

You recall
you both ate lunch
in your room that day?

I certainly do.
Meatloaf. Too dry.

I hate dietetic pudding.

You know, Michael can't
even wipe his own chin.

On Tuesday,
you remember seeing

Michael's mother
feed him his lunch?

No, I don't.

His father fed him.

He cared enough
to bring something

with a little taste
to put on the food.

Lord knows, it needs it.

The stuff
he put on the food,
what did it look like?

I couldn't really see it.
He said it was cinnamon.

Hemlock?
What's that got to
do with Joe Sutter?

Well, it grows wild.

You're in
the landscape business.

He works for you.

Yeah, for nine years.

Helped turn
my business around.

Nobody worked
harder than Joe.

Worked?
When did he
stop working hard?

His kid's condition
made it impossible for
him to pull a full week.

He resent that?

I resented that.

When I heard
the kid died,

part of me
actually felt relief.

I get Joe back,
he gets his life back.

Well, if I had a kid
like Michael,

I wouldn't want
to see him suffering.

Is that how Joe felt?
Who wouldn't?

One time, after work,
Joe hoisted a few too many.

Said he wished he'd
never breathed air
into his kid.

Said he didn't save Michael,
only pieces of him.

So the hemlock, would
Joe know where to find it?

Any one of us
could find it.
Why?

We're gonna need a list
of Sutter's last few
projects, all right?

Yeah.

You're backed
up against a wall.
Your life's falling apart.

It was somebody else.
The hospital.

I mean, they kept
changing the nurses,

and then they stuck us
with this doctor, Semenko.

I mean,
they didn't
give a damn.

They had no reason to
want to see him dead.
You did.

Look what's happened
to your beautiful family.

Your wife's sleeping
with some dance teacher,

your daughter's
one step away from
living on the street,

and you have no money,
and all because of that kid.

You don't know me.

If you knew me,
you would see.

I know you.

If you had the stones...

You don't know
this man, Lennie.

Look, this isn't
about money or
adultery

or anything like that,
is it, Joe?

My wife's got MS.

I picture her life
10 years from now
and it kills me

because it might
not be a pretty picture.

You see your boy,
he used to be strong.

Played soccer, yeah?
Yes.

My wife used to
run three miles
every morning.

Did you imagine Michael at
20 years old? Forty years old?

Still in that same room,
same bed, same tortured pain?

Yeah.

Me, too.

And you want to
know the worst thing?
I know why it's happening.

It's my fault.

God is punishing her
because of something
I did.

No. No, see, you cannot
think like that.

I tell myself that, but...

Every time
I look at her,
I feel the guilt.

Every time I think of her,

every time I think of
my daughters and what
they're going to lose.

Someone you love
is suffering.

They have no hope.

What can you do
to help this person?

I mean, how often have
you asked yourself
this question?

When you bathe him?

Every time
I kissed him good night.

And you knew there
was only one answer.

You had to do it.

You had to do it
because you loved him.

Let it go.

It was an act of love, Joe.

I loved Michael.

All right, maybe I...

But I didn't do this.

I didn't kill him.

I thought Curtis had him.

Three months ago,

Sutter spent
a week replanting the median
on the Southern State Parkway.

Forensics
surveyed the area.

"Conium maculatum.
Hemlock, two acres
scattered growth,

"30 meters east of
construction site."

Not exactly
a smoking gun.

We've got motive,
access to the exact poison,

a witness
to the feeding.
They can't all confess.

Can I leave now?

Not for about
another 30 years.

You're
under arrest for
the murder of your son.

You have the right to
remain silent.

Anything you do say can
and will be used against you
in a court of law.

You have
the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford one...

Mr. Sutter's
not a flight risk.

His only family's
here in New York.

He's charged with
killing a member
of that family.

Even if we accept
the People's allegations,

Mr. Sutter can't be
considered a threat
to the community.

Bail is set at $100,000.
Next case.

"Docket number
661254..."

Excuse me.
Who do I see
about posting bail?

Who are you?

Roy Cashman.

You're posting bail
for Joe Sutter?

Yeah, so what?

I have you down as
a prosecution witness.

You told the police he said
he wished he'd never saved
his son.

I never said
anything like that.

Look, I know what
Joe is going through.

I'm not going to
help you put him
in jail.

Cashman's going to
testify for Sutter.

Briscoe and Curtis can rebut.

Plus, we've got two others
who confirm Sutter wanted
the boy dead.

I spoke to the kid's
doctor, Lyle Semenko.

He's backing off, too.

This father kills his kid,
and the world still
loves him.

They think
he committed
an act of mercy.

Character witnesses, Cashman,
Semenko, none of it matters.

Who told us his
father spiked
the food?

That's your witness
to nail down.

Miss Goring told me
I didn't have to
talk to you.

She was wrong.
What did you tell her?

That I was in the room
when Mr. Sutter was
feeding Michael.

That he didn't do
anything to the food.

You told her?
Or she told you?

I'm pretty
sure about it.
I was in the room.

Mrs. Bing says
she saw Mr. Sutter
spike Michael's food.

She also
doesn't remember
you being in the room.

Maybe Mrs. Bing's wrong.

Martha,
Miss Goring's job
is protecting murderers.

You're helping her do that.

I used to talk to
the Sutters all the time.

I saw the way
they were with Michael.

They loved Michael.

I see Martha McSorley
all the time.

She works hard,
but she cares
too much.

Whenever
somebody dies,
it becomes personal.

She says she stayed
in the Sutters' room
right through lunch.

She's got 30 trays
to deliver. You know
how much time that takes?

No way she can hang out
in one patient's room

and deliver
all those trays.

No way she could do it,
or you know she didn't
do it?

You told the police
you saw her during
her rounds.

You're gonna
want me to testify?

That's the idea.

Guess I can't
say for sure.
It was quiet.

I snuck out to the
stairwell for a smoke.

Then how do you know
nobody tampered with
the food?

'Cause nobody could have.

'Cause when I ducked out,
there was a doctor
standing by the food cart

doing some paperwork.
He was still there
when I came back.

Nobody's gonna
mess with trays while
a doctor's right there.

Do you remember which doctor?

Dr. Semenko.

McSorley's
definitely lying.

We've got
a bigger problem.
Dr. Semenko's lying, too.

The boy's doctor?

An orderly said he saw
Semenko hanging around
the food cart

while McSorley
was making her rounds.

Semenko told
Briscoe and Curtis
he was out of the building.

You sure he didn't
just forget where
he was?

I just hope
we didn't put the Sutters

through the wringer
for nothing.

Talk to Semenko's boss.
Find out if he's just
absent-minded.

Semenko's
a good physician.

Well-liked, hard-working,
responsible.

Even Dr. Schweitzer
had his detractors.

Well, there
was one complaint.
About three months ago.

A young woman badly
injured in a car accident.

She'd been here four days,
seemed to be out of danger,

then she just died.

Unexplained
respiratory
failure.

She was in
Dr. Semenko's care?

She was under the care
of several specialists.

Dr. Semenko
wasn't even
her primary.

What was the conclusion?

An investigation determined
the patient died of natural
causes.

Stuff like that just happens.

Whose investigation?
Ours.

And you never thought
to mention any of this
to the police?

Our counsel advised
we were under
no legal obligation.

And like I said, Semenko
and the others were cleared.

Just this one incident?
How long has he worked here?

A little over six months.

But I think you're
barking up the wrong tree.

Where did
he work before Hudson?

Bergen County
Clinical in New Jersey.
He came highly recommended.

It was a mutual decision.

We were facing cutbacks.
Dr. Semenko wanted to
move to the city.

The fact that
his mortality rate

was 14 times that of
any other staff physician

had nothing
to do with your
decision to cut him loose?

How did you know...

I just came from
the County Coroner.

A 61-year-old woman
has gallbladder surgery,

a 17-year-old boy
having back surgery,

and about
a half dozen others.

None of them had
life-threatening
problems.

All of them were
treated by Dr. Semenko,
and now they're all dead.

He was cleared of
any malpractice charges.

We're talking about murder.

He was cleared in each of
the incidents you mentioned.

By your own
impartial review board?

The primary concern
of this hospital
is our patients' well-being.

If one of our doctors
is a danger,

we want to deal
with the problem.

By passing it along
to the next hospital.

Dr. Semenko is
a responsible physician.

I've watched him work.

When his patients
suffered setbacks,

he always compiled
complete case studies.

He attended
every postmortem.

And yet
his patients
kept right on dying.

You can't predict
an appendix patient
having an aneurysm.

You can't
predict a high school senior
suffering nicotine poisoning.

Nicotine poisoning?
It happens.

There's no
way Dr. Semenko
could have known.

The boy's parents
didn't even know
he used tobacco.

Nice botany books, Doc.

Anything in here on
how to grow poison
hemlock?

I'm surprised
you don't seize
my anatomy books

and arrest me
on porno charges.

Got stuff here
looks like oregano.
Smells like oregano, too.

And is oregano.

If you're making
pasta later,
take some.

No other greens except
for some Romaine lettuce

that I can tell you
is for real.

But you can get rid of it.
You got no snap in your stems.

Can I have my home
back now?

Hey, Doc,

where do you
keep this baby?

We'd like to take
a look under the hood.

I don't own a car.

You just collect the manuals?

I sold that car.

What's this? "Car-Finder."

This one of
those satellite
locating systems?

It was an expensive car.
I was concerned about
it getting stolen.

Well, why don't we
activate the system,
see what turns up?

Lake Hill Country Club.
Dr. Lyle Semenko.

What, you threw the
clubs in with the car?

Hey, Lennie, what's this?
More oregano?

Wouldn't want to
sprinkle this on
my pasta.

Unless you want some.

You're under arrest
for murder, Doc.

You have the right
to remain silent.

Anything you say can
and will be used against you
in a court of law.

You've
got no witnesses.

You've got no
forensic evidence

linking my client to
Michael Sutter's food.

We've got poison hemlock
in his car.

I'd love to hear his
explanation for that.

You and I both know that
the jury will crucify him.

Murder two. He does 25.

Your client
took the life of
a defenseless child.

What life?

That boy was
in constant pain.

You want us to start weighing
crimes based on the value of
the victim?

I had
a 95-year-old
client in Florida.

Shot his agonizing,
cancer-ridden wife
to death.

Jury hit him with a $50 fine.

This jury's gonna
know that Dr. Semenko

was acting out of compassion
for the victim.

I think your client's shown
a little too much compassion.

We've looked into
his employment history.

I estimate he's responsible
for 17 deaths at four
different hospitals.

The hospitals
let him skate by,
but the buck stops here.

Get your affairs in order.

We're going to trial.

You're spending the rest
of your life behind bars.

Mercy killing.

It worked for Dr. Kevorkian.

This guy's no Kevorkian.

I'm giving you my opinion
without having met the guy,

but he sounds
like what we call

a custodial poisoner
or asphyxiator.

Plain vanilla
serial killer?

A little more
charming than most,
but yeah.

He rubbernecked at
every patient's
postmortem,

like a kid
torturing a bug
and watching it die.

And these deaths.
Starts with ODs on
prescription medicines.

Then he gets bolder,
uses poisons.

Stuffs bandages
down some lady's throat.

He didn't get charged
on that one?

Half a dozen of the staff
had access to the patient.

The hospital
just fired them all.

You don't think Semenko
wanted to get caught?

No.

No, he got bolder because
he got more confident.

He believed he was
operating above
the rules.

When nobody caught him,
everything got reinforced.

We haven't caught him
yet, either.

Motion in limine.

Semenko's lawyer
wants to preclude

any mention of
the other deaths.

Oh, yeah.

A doctor
has a run of bad luck,

but that does not
make him a killer.

Bad luck had
nothing to do with this.

Mr. Semenko is
a serial killer.

He was never charged
in those other deaths.

Your Honor,
People v. Molineux.

They are prior bad acts.
The evidence is not
admissible.

It's not even relevant,
Mr. McCoy.

People v. Mees.
These acts establish motive.

The defendant is trying
to convince a jury

that he acted out of mercy

when he has
a track record of killing
perfectly healthy patients.

Molineux, even
as extended by Mees,

allows only
similar prior bad acts.

Not one of
these other deaths
involved a patient

who had zero expectation
of recovery.

This is perverse!

Mr. Gillum is saying that
because this killer never
showed mercy,

he should be allowed to argue
that he's a mercy killer
this time.

You have a point, Mr. McCoy.

But this doesn't meet
the Molineux exceptions.

And if
I have to choose
between an A.D.A.

and the Court of Appeals,
guess who wins?

The evidence
is suppressed.

Michael Sutter was
murdered by the defendant.

This is not in dispute.

The defense will
give you reasons why
it's not a bad thing.

They'll tell you
that Michael Sutter
had no quality of life.

It's true that Michael Sutter
wasn't going to grow up to be

a teacher or an engineer or
a doctor, like the defendant.

But he liked to watch TV.

He loved his family.

And he was alive.

The defense will tell you

that taking
Michael Sutter's life
was the merciful thing to do.

Michael Sutter's family
will tell you that they
loved Michael.

They miss Michael.

This case
is not a debate
about euthanasia.

It's about a thrill
killing by a monster

masquerading as
an angel of mercy.

Michael Sutter is dead.

He was murdered.
That's all that matters.

Mr. McCoy is right,
the law is simple.

It only sees
black and white.

But reality?

Well, reality has
all sorts of shades
of gray, doesn't it?

Dr. Semenko didn't
just wake up one morning

and on a whim decide
to kill Michael Sutter.

Michael Sutter's
parents know that.

And although
it may be very hard
for them to admit it,

they wanted this death.

And they made that
very clear to Dr. Semenko,

who had the courage,
in the face of
an antiquated law,

to act in the
best interests of
a suffering child.

The State tries to
lock up people
like this.

They have put
Dr. Jack Kevorkian
on trial

over and over again,
but he's never been
convicted.

Because juries,
juries just like you,

have always
recognized the truth.

Dr. Lyle Semenko
is not a criminal.

He's a hero.

I read him stories
every night.

It's funny,

he had the
same favorites
he did as a baby.

After all
the suffering,
after all the damage,

he was still
the same little boy.

Did you love him,
Mr. Sutter?

You don't stop
loving your son
when he gets hurt.

And you don't stop
loving your son
when he dies.

Mr. Sutter, did you
ever ask Dr. Semenko
to end your son's life?

No.

It's horrifying

that he could
blame this on us.

I mean, that anybody
could think

that we wanted this.

Mr. Sutter, Michael's care has
cost you almost a quarter
of a million dollars

since the accident,
hasn't it?

Whatever it was,
it was worth it.

I understand.

But you had
a college fund
for your daughter,

and now
that's gone,
isn't that right?

Yes.

And your relationship with
your wife has grown strained?

She was having an affair?

Michael's condition made
things very difficult
for all of us.

And he wasn't going
to get any better, was he?

We hoped.

But, no.

In fact,
there was only one way

that Michael's suffering
was going to end,

and you knew that,
didn't you?

No.

I could never take...
Now, on December 12th,

did you take Michael to
an appointment with
Dr. Semenko?

I took Michael to
many appointments.

And did you say to Dr. Semenko
that Michael didn't deserve
to live like this?

Didn't you tell Dr. Semenko

that you wished Michael's
suffering would end?

No, I might
have said that,

but I didn't mean
I wanted him dead.

Mr. Sutter,

if you had to do
it all over again,

I mean, if you had known
how much Michael was
going to suffer,

would you have
pulled him out
of that car?

I loved Michael.

I know that, Mr. Sutter.

But would you
have saved his life?

No.
Thank you.

Do you remember
coming to the hospital
with your daughter Stephanie

on a Saturday morning
last November?

Michael woke up
with a fever of 103.

It turned out
to be a flu virus.

And did Stephanie want
to come to the hospital?

Her brother was sick.

Didn't she tell you that
she would rather be
skating with her friends?

Objection.
He's leading
his own witness.

Sustained.

Did you fight
with your daughter at
the hospital?

I don't recall.

Do you
recall Dr. Semenko
being in the room

when you were arguing
with Stephanie?

Objection.
She doesn't recall arguing.

A priori, she can't recall
who might have been present.

Next question, Mr. Gillum.

Your Honor,
permission to treat
this witness as hostile.

Go ahead.

Didn't Stephanie tell you
that she didn't give
a damn about Michael?

That she had stuff to do?

Objection. Hearsay.

Offered to show the
defendant's state
of mind, Your Honor.

Overruled.
The witness will answer.

She might have
said some things
she shouldn't have.

Like calling Michael
a vegetable?

She was angry.
She wanted to hurt me.

Wasn't she worried about
hurting her brother?

He couldn't understand.

Exactly.

He couldn't
even understand
when his own sister said

that she wished
he were dead,
could he?

She didn't mean it.

She just didn't want to
see Michael suffer anymore.

None of us did.

I know.

Thank you.

Mrs. Sutter, did you

ever tell Dr. Semenko
to end Michael's life?

No.

Thank you.

Dr. Semenko,
does Hudson Terrace
Hospital

have a policy regarding
assisted suicide?

Yes.
In all New York hospitals
it's strictly prohibited.

And is this ever
a subject of discussion

amongst your
fellow physicians?

Frequently.

The rules reflect
a wrong-headed view

of dealing with
death and dying.

Do you and your colleagues
have methods to get around
these rules?

We physicians
risk being charged
with trafficking in drugs

just by
providing morphine
to terminal patients.

The State doesn't want us
to turn them into junkies.

And every day, in every
hospital in this country,

a doctor calls
for a slow code.

Objection.
Contrary to what
the defendant thinks,

he can't possibly
know what goes on

in every hospital
in the country.

Sustained.

Dr. Semenko,
would you please
define the term "slow code"?

When a patient is beyond hope
and requires life-saving
measures,

a slow code means
the staff just goes
through the motions.

They let the patient die.

And this is
done according to the
patient's instructions?

No, it's done when,
in the attending
physician's opinion,

death would be best.

Michael Sutter
wasn't terminal.

He could
have lived another,
what, 50, 60 years?

His heart would
have kept on beating,

his lungs would
have kept on breathing,

and the pain
would never stop.

Sometimes
I have to tell people

the worst news they
think they'll ever hear,

the death of
their loved one.

But somehow they wake up
the next morning,
and their life goes on.

People couldn't function
if they couldn't move on.

The Sutters
couldn't move on.
They needed to move on.

Did the Sutters ask you
to end their son's life?

There was no doubt
about what they wanted.

They knew
their son's life,

in any meaningful way,
was over.

I was just the instrument,
doing what they wanted done.

What they couldn't
bring themselves to do.

Thank you, Doctor.
Your witness.

Your Honor,
it's almost 12:00.

I wonder if we could
take our noon recess?

The jury's buying it.
Semenko's hammering us.

He's smart,
he's confident,
he's charming.

Same pathology that
makes him a serial killer

makes him
a hell of a witness.

He must have
some weakness.

You ever once hear
him question
what he did?

The Sutters
needed to move on.

Absolute knowledge.
Absolute certainty.

Some kind of God complex?

His narcissism.

Power to save life,
power to end life.

More fascinated
with death.

Jack,
somebody that's
in love with himself

isn't going
to like having his
opinions challenged.

He'll hate it.

One weakness
he does have,

he's not afraid of you.

Mr. McCoy,
are you ready to proceed?

Yes, Your Honor.

Michael Sutter isn't the first
severely handicapped patient

you've had in your care,
is he?

No. I've had many.

Did you kill them all?

Objection!

Sustained.
Watch your step, Mr. McCoy.

I'll rephrase.

When dealing
with other patients
with similar difficulties,

how did you
justify allowing
some of them to live?

Every case
must be assessed
on its own merits.

By you? No need to
consult the family?

The Sutters
had already made
their wishes known.

But ultimately,
it was your decision,

and you weren't
afraid to make it?

I have the training.

The training to decide
who should die, and when?

The training to recognize
when there is no more hope.

And did your training
tell you to use hemlock
to kill a helpless boy?

Coniine,
the active ingredient,
causes the lungs to shut down.

It's an effective
agent of death.

It causes all muscles
to shut down.

It's a horribly
painful death,
isn't it?

My specialty is
spinal cord injuries.

That's why
the Sutters chose me
to care for their boy.

Michael's death was
relatively pain-free.

Relatively?

Wouldn't potassium
chloride have been quick
and completely pain-free?

The difference is,

that would have
raised red flags

all around
the hospital,
isn't that right?

If you're implying
that my medical opinion
was compromised

by a desire not to be
detected, you're right.

I would rather be in
a hospital right now,
caring for my patients,

than defending
this ridiculous charge.

But Michael Sutter's
death was humane.

You have no doubt at all?

No. It was the
right thing to do.

Then why didn't
you come forward

when Mr. Sutter was
charged with murder?

Come on, Dr. Semenko.

If you have
such confidence
in your own goodness,

why let an innocent man
go to jail?

Objection, Your Honor.

Overruled.

Dr. Semenko,
answer his question.

I don't know.

Is it because deep
in your heart you knew
what you did was wrong?

That you had
committed murder?

No more questions.

No, I want to answer.

I have confidence
in the judicial system.

I knew Mr. Sutter
would be found innocent.

If I stepped forward,
I'd lose my license.

I'd lose my ability to
continue my work
to care for my patients.

He's awfully slick.
The bastard.

He said
the Sutters chose him.

Joe Sutter told the police
the hospital assigned
Semenko to them.

Maybe Semenko's lying,
trying to build himself up.

Check it out.

Has the jury reached
a verdict?

Yes, we have,
Your Honor.

On the first
count of the indictment,

Murder in
the Second Degree,
how do you find?

We find the defendant
not guilty.

On the second
count of the indictment,

Manslaughter in
the First Degree,
how do you find?

We find
the defendant not guilty.

And on the final
count of the indictment,

Manslaughter in
the Second Degree,
how do you find?

We find the defendant guilty.

They're calling Semenko
the next Kevorkian.

Read on.

They've already
received donations

for his appeal
from all 50 states.

Yeah, well,
don't be surprised

if the Sutters kick
in a few extra bucks.

The hospital confirmed
Joe Sutter asked
for their son

to be transferred
to Semenko's care.

I don't want to hear this.

I pulled
Lois Sutter's resume.

Her last job,
she spent two days a week
at Bergen County Clinical.

She was there for
five of Semenko's
suspicious deaths.

They knew.
They put their kid in
front of a loaded gun.

What are you
gonna do about it?

You couldn't even convict
Semenko of murder.

Who's joining me for dinner?