All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.S11E01.Endurance.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

In the criminal justice system
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.

Why can't I come up?

No, that's what you said
last night.

That's what you said
the night before.

Hey, Kendra, man, I blew off
the comp list at Justin's

because I thought
I was going to see you

and now you're telling me
your girlfriend's there...

I need your phone!

That's why I'm
standing on the...

Hey, what are
you, nuts?

My house is burning
and my son's inside.

I need
to report a fire.

The building's only 50% involved.

Our guys got here fast.

Not fast enough.

CO asphyxiation.

Never woke up.

What were
the suspicious origins?

Some kind of accelerant
was definitely used.

Is that the mother?

Yeah, Mrs. Parnell.

Mrs. Parnell,
I'm Detective Briscoe.

This is
Detective Green.

We're really very sorry
about what happened.

Were there any other family
members home at the time?

My daughter's at a sleepover.

It's good that she wasn't here.

Hey, hey, wait, hey

where do you think
you're going?!

What happened?
Who are you?

I'm Richie Zwick.

I have the store.

The store that's going
out of business?

There's one store.

I have the store.

Sir, why don't
you park your car?

We're going to need to take
some information from you.

This is a friggin' disaster.

I got a delivery today
of 200 Lladro.

Sir, you're in the
middle of the street.

I just got
the Leroy Nieman's series

of New York Yankee lithographs.

That's paper! It's burnt!

This woman just lost her son.

Shut your mouth

and move your car.

There's your accelerant.

Paint thinner.

Found it in the back hall.

Better stick close
to Mr. Zwick, there.

He's going to be really upset
when he finds out

there are people in this world

who'd deliberately cost him
his lithographs.

Note the alligator char
on the wall.

Wait, what is that?

Heavy char alternating
with untouched area.

You get that when the
fire's really running.

Are you sure
somebody used paint thinner?

We're sending three stairs
over to the lab.

I'm guessing we find accelerant
on all of them.

Any idea which floor
they were going for?

That's your department.

How long has this
Jacques Ricard

been "going out
of business"?

The neighbors say
five years.

Well, maybe he
decided it was time.

You had an electric fire
a year ago

that you claimed
a $275,000 loss from.

You had a flood
the year before

to the tune
of 400 grand.

No locusts?

Oh, cute.

You think I did it?

Destroy your own merchandise

to collect on the insurance?

No, you'd have to be
pretty desperate to do that.

Yeah, you'd
have to have

like, the State
Sales Tax Authority

padlock your front
door for non-payment.

That got
straightened out.

Because you came
into enough money

to pay off
the arrears.

100%, and you know how
I came into the money?

My partner went into
hock to the shys

and don't ask me
for any names

'cause I ain't
moving to Montana

in the witness
protection program.

Who's your partner?

Jack Anta--
Jacques Ricard.

Jack and Richie.

Why not?

He had a bypass.

He had to move
to Florida.

I keep the name
out of regard.

When did you get out?

What do you mean,
when did I get out?

You didn't get those tattoos
at a kid's birthday party.

When did you
get out?

A year ago.

What were you in for?

Possession with intent.

Your boss ever ask you
to do something

that might get you sent back?

No.

You know we're going
to be looking pretty hard

for somebody who starts a fire
that a kid dies in.

I don't know anything
about that, man.

You know somebody
who does?

That old woman sits in front of the
building all day.

If she saw anybody
around here last night

it wasn't me.

I got to get back.

I don't like telling tales,
but, you know

you've got all kinds
of characters on this block.

All kinds of sex business, drugs

people coming and going
all hours.

Did you see anybody
around last night

who might know something
about the fire?

I got my theories.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah, like this one,
with the store.

You saw somebody from
the store around here?

Last night was my program,
so I was watching the television

but this is
what these people do.

They wait
for some unsuspecting person

to come in from out of town
so they can cheat them.

They're not nice.

And if they can't make a dollar
any other way

they burn the place down.

All this poor woman's

been through until now,
and now this.

What has she been through
up until now?

Well, the handicapped son,
the husband-- all of it.

What is it about
the husband?

Well, I don't like
to tell tales

but, I mean,
there was a lot of problems.

When's the last time

you saw the
husband?

Yesterday.

Come on, Katie, let's go get some
ice cream.

Let me know if
you need anything.

I don't know
what I'd do

if I didn't have
her as a friend.

Mrs. Parnell,
what can you tell us

about your ex-husband?

What do you
want to know?

Well, when was the last time
you saw him?

I don't know, uh...

a few weeks ago, maybe.

What about last night?

Why do you ask that?

We were told that the two of you

used to quarrel
quite a bit.

That's true.

Um, it's probably
why we got divorced.

He wouldn't start a fire,
though.

That fire probably started
by something electrical.

That building had fuses blowing
all the time.

What can you tell us
about your son?

What do you mean?

What kind of condition
did he have, exactly?

What difference
does that make now?

Probably none.

It would just help us to
understand the situation.

He had...
developmental problems.

Um...

I had a difficult, um,
pregnancy, and...

he had respiratory problems,
and some learning disability.

Nothing that matters now.

Where can we find your
ex-husband, Mrs. Parnell?

Colin's off today.

Did he call in sick?

That's what they tell me.

In other words, you haven't
spoken to him yourself?

Me personally? No.

Who has heard from him?

Has anybody
talked to Colin?

I talked to him.

Did he say where
he'd be today?

No.

He just called in
to say he wouldn't be in?

He told me
what happened to his son

and said he wouldn't be in
all week.

He left a phone number
if I need to reach him.

Thank you.

Yeah?

Police Department.

We're looking
for Colin Parnell.

Can you tell me
what this is about?

We just need to ask him
a few questions.

He's in the other room.

You Colin Parnell?

Yeah.

I'm Detective Briscoe.

This is Detective Green.

We'd like
to speak to you.

About the fire?

Yeah. We'd like to fill in
a couple of the blanks.

Not a lot
I can help you with there.

Tough break
about your son.

What are the blanks
you'd like me to fill in?

It'd probably be better

if you came down
off the ladder.

Okay?

When was the last time
you spoke to your ex-wife?

I don't know.

I don't keep track.

When was the last time

you were over
to her apartment?

A month, six weeks--
I don't know.

Not more recently
than that?

No. Why--

did somebody
see me?

Will that determine
whether or not

you're going
to tell us the truth?

I've gone to see my kids
when they weren't there.

I wasn't counting those times.

Was yesterday one
of those times?

Yeah, yesterday
was one of them.

Does that make
me a suspect?

Is this, uh,
oil base or latex?

Oil.

You clean up
with paint thinner?

Yeah, so what?

So wipe your hands.

You're going for a ride.

Let me explain something
to you, Colin.

Somebody set the fire
that killed your son.

That makes it a homicide,
and that makes your life

and everybody else's life
in that building our business.

You think I'd
kill my son?

I don't know yet.

So what did you two used to fight about?

Everything,
from the wrong brand of beer

to a towel left
on the floor

to whether or not
we'd be better off

with Ian living
someplace else.

Because of a learning disability?

Is that what
Megan called it?

Yeah, a learning
disability

with some
respiratory problems.

Ian was borderline retarded,
epileptic

his digestive system
didn't work right

meaning he had to be fed
and cleaned up after

and just for laughs,
he had bad enough asthma

that he had to have
a respirator kept by his bed.

That'd be Megan calling it
a learning disability.

Was it your son's condition
that led to the breakup?

Megan saw him
as God's gift.

I'd look at him
and see God's curse.

On my best days, God's joke.

I hated her for how
she threw herself into it

how she never asked anything
of me, never complained.

She made me feel like

I didn't deserve to breathe
the same air as her.

I stood it for as long as I could stand
it.

Now you're feeling
good enough

to paint another woman's
apartment, huh?

I took off from work
because my son died.

I don't know you all that long,
Colin

but I'm guessing that you're
a guy who has a lot of guilt.

The Irish have a long, proud
tradition of that.

It got too much to take.

You didn't have to be thinking
about the consequences.

You were walking by the building that you
used to live

the family that
you walked out on.

You had the paint thinner

to take
to your girlfriend's apartment

and that Irish guilt
kicked in, huh?

I bought the paint thinner
this morning.

I have the receipt to prove it.

Where were you last night?

With Lori
and her friends

first having dinner at Leshko's,
and then back at her apartment.

Can you provide us
with proof of that?

Yeah.

Good, you'll
need to.

He was with me
the entire night.

With you where?

We had dinner at Leshko's

we took a walk
through Tomkins Square Park

we went back to my apartment

watched Yojimbo,
had sex, went to sleep.

What time was it when
you went to sleep?

1:30, quarter to two.

Had you had anything to drink, anything to
smoke before that?

You guys are a joke,
you know that?

Yeah, well,
we're just trying to figure out

if you might be off
about the time.

Nobody told you
about this kid and fire?

We're cops.
Nobody tells us anything.

The kid was obsessed with fire.

You couldn't put lit candles
on his birthday cake

'cause he wouldn't stop
staring at them.

He started fires a dozen times in the
past.

Why would neither his mother or father
have mentioned that?

They'd rather not think

about the possibility
that he did this to himself.

You talked to Colin?

Yeah, according to him

your son was
severely handicapped.

Sure, according to him.

He found the least little thing we had to
do for Ian utterly overwhelming.

We were told that Ian was prone to
starting fires.

I stopped smoking so there
wouldn't be matches around.

I replaced the gas stove in
the apartment with an electric.

Was he out of your sight long enough to
have set that fire?

Yeah.

Since you stopped smoking

where'd he get
the matches?

I don't know. I must've had
a pack hidden away somewhere.

Mommy! Mommy,
watch me!

Excuse me.

Wherever she hid them,
he must've found them.

And the paint thinner?

I kept the supply room locked,
always.

Where was the key?

Above the door.

How high is that?

Did Ian know
it was up there?

Maybe he did.

As long as I wasn't using
anything that made noise

he liked to hang around me.

When I mopped
or changed the light bulbs

I made it
like he was helping me.

He could've known
the key was up there, sure.

He had a history
of starting fires.

He could've set this one and then
forgotten about it.

Gone to sleep
and died of smoke inhalation.

I'm just not sure this kid was
capable of setting this fire.

But you said he set them
in the past.

Hey, setting a match
to a newspaper is one thing.

Here he's dragging
something to stand on

over to the closet door,
reaching up for the key

unlocking the door

pulling out the can
of paint thinner

opening it,
pouring it...

Yeah, but did he know
the paint thinner would work?

I mean,
what is this kid's IQ?

His father and his mother have
completely different stories.

Maybe you should talk
to someone else.

Ian had a condition

known as childhood
disintegrative disorder.

In some ways
it resembled severe autism

but then it comes accompanied

with a whole host
of other problems as well.

How long was he
a student here?

Five years.

At a certain point,
his condition worsened.

It became impossible for us
to care for him here.

In what way
did it worsen?

He'd become increasingly
aggressive, violent.

His motor skills deteriorated.

He required constant monitoring
of his respiratory

and digestive
functions.

When you say
his motor skills deteriorated

what does that mean?

Loss of hand-eye
coordination

balance, equilibrium.

Could he use a key to unlock a
door?

Possibly, if he was familiar
with the key and the door

and there were no additional
obstacles in his way.

How about finding something
to stand on

reaching over the door jamb,
and taking the key down?

Not this kid.

Thanks for your time, Doctor.

Ian used to be
a sweet, happy boy.

His mother worked so hard

at believing
that Ian could improve

that he could be mainstreamed.

What she found out was
that Ian would only get worse.

I watched it sink in
and I thought it would kill her.

It nearly did.

I'm sorry, Megan's not here.

Do you know where she is?

I think Katie had
a play date with a friend.

Excuse me. Could I possibly trouble you
for a glass of water?

Oh, it's not trouble at all.
Would you like some, too?

Great, yeah.

So how's Megan holding up?

She's hanging
in there.

I think spending time with Katie really
helps her.

Yeah, I guess if anything would
help, that would.

Thanks.

Megan and her daughter
sleep out here?

It's not the Carlyle

but we're making do.

Well, you're a good friend.

That's what counts
at a time like this.

Is this Megan's nightgown?

Uh-huh.

Didn't they want
to run those tests

on her article of clothing?

Oh, yeah, the guy kept calling me leaving
me messages.

I keep forgetting to
do anything about it.

Thank you.

You think she'd mind
if we took this?

What's it for?

The Fire Department.

Whenever there's a loss of life

they run
these trans-iridium tests.

I can't imagine she'd mind if you took it.

Well, thanks.

We'll get it back to her
as soon as they're done with it.

We're not seeing drugs
and alcohol involved.

From all reports,
she's a solid citizen.

The ex-husband's alibi
checks out?

Yep.

And the mother
hasn't taken up

with some skel
we should be looking at?

Her whole life's about caring for her son.

She hasn't taken
up with anybody.

It's hard for me to imagine

this fits the profile of mothers
who kill their own kids.

Lieutenant?

Yeah.

Thanks.

And you were your usual
painstaking selves

in obtaining the nightgown?

Absolutely.

Good, there's paint thinner
on it.

I went to bed at 10:30,
woke up, smelled smoke

and ran out of my room.

Where'd you go?

I told you where I went.

I went to try and save my son.

But you couldn't.

No, I couldn't.

I went to try to open his door

and the doorknob
was too hot to touch

plus there was flames and smoke
and I couldn't get in.

The problem is, Mrs. Parnell
is that your son's door

wasn't closed.

It wasn't closed?

No, these marks on the ceiling

show that
it was open.

I remember it being closed.

If I'm wrong

maybe I was in a
state of panic or...

You also never went to bed.

What are you talking about?

Your bedroom door was closed.

It slowed down the fire.

Your bed was
completely intact, see?

Blankets pulled up

all the way up
to the top of the bed.

That bed was never slept in.

It was a warm night.

I slept on top of the blankets.

You're not helping yourself,
Megan.

Are you saying
I killed my own son?

What we're saying is you were
in a desperate situation

and maybe without meaning to,
you looked to get out of it.

I never looked
to get out of anything.

The fire was set, Megan.

So what? So why is it

you think I'm the only one
who could've set it?

We found paint thinner
on your nightgown.

I think maybe I should
talk to a lawyer.

I think
maybe she's right.

Jack. Jack!

Good morning.

Good morning, Mr. Mayor. Mayor Giuliani.

I'm here to accompany Nora
on her first day of school.

Jack and I know each other

but Miss Carmichael, I don't believe we've
ever met.

No, we haven't. How do you do?

Well, to tell you the truth,
I'm a little nervous.

Nora and I
worked together

on many organized crime cases.

She was always nervous,
but always brilliant.

Well, it is a little daunting
coming in behind Adam Schiff.

He called me last night.
He said you were

a great interim appointment
and he was very impressed.

Gee, I don't think I've ever
known Adam to be impressed.

Well, he asked me not to repeat
that part.

Ahh.

Well, I've got to get back to City Hall.

You're going to be
absolutely terrific.

You've been doing
a great job, Jack.

Keep up the
good work.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you very much.

Did Adam say
where he was calling from?

Vienna.

He's been meeting
with Wiesenthal

on the Holocaust reparations.

He seems to be getting

a lot of satisfaction
from his work.

That's great, that's great.

Murder in the second degree.

How does
the defendant plead?

Barry Peck for the defense,
Your Honor.

I know who
you are, counselor.

My client pleads not guilty.

People request bail
in the amount of $500,000.

What an unconscionable abuse
of the judicial process.

Mr. Peck...

Your Honor, forgive me.

This woman has had to endure
the untimely death of one child.

She asks that
the imposition of bail

in any amount not serve to separate her

from her remaining child

pending resolution
of this matter.

This woman is charged
with bringing about

the untimely death of her child.

The heinous nature of the crime

requires the imposition
of high bail.

Why is she compounding
this woman's tragedy?

Your Honor, I hope
the Court recognizes

that this prosecution
would not

have been undertaken
had there not been

substantial evidence
of the defendant's guilt.

That is a blatant falsehood.

You know it to be a blatant falsehood, and
I'm offended

at having to address you
as an officer of the Court.

Can it, counselor.

Bail is set in the amount
of $100,000.

Call the next case.

Abbie, sorry about the rhetorical excesses
in there.

I'm kind of a take-no-prisoners type of
litigator.

That right?

Well, when you
get to know me

you'll see I don't take it outside the
courtroom.

I don't plan
to get to know you.

The heart's an unruly
little Chihuahua.

You might get to
know me very well.

You want to talk
about a deal, talk.

I have that rarest
of all birds, my sweet--

an innocent client.

The only deal I'm looking for is one in
which she walks away.

Well, then,
I'll see you in court.

Do me a favor.

Wear those heels?

What's her lawyer
hoping for?

He's hoping a jury will find her too
sympathetic to convict.

Is she?

Not as far
as I'm concerned.

She kills her son.

She sets fire to a building

endangers who knows
how many other people's lives?

Once you get past
her being pretty

I don't think she's got
a lot else going for her.

She did spend the last 12 years taking
care of this kid.

Well, that's what
she's supposed to do.

I understand.

We still have to expect them
to use her son's condition

to cultivate sympathy
for the defendant.

Then you use it

to cultivate sympathy
for her son.

Is taking the life of a person
with disabilities

any less of a crime

than taking the life of a person
without them?

Absolutely not.

Since the underlying
crime is arson

why aren't we trying her
for felony murder?

There's not a jury
in the world

that would convict her of it.

Are we vulnerable to a defense
of extreme emotional disturbance

bringing it down
to manslaughter?

I don't think
it's proximate enough in time.

The extreme
emotional disturbance

is one she was living with
for 12 years.

We have her deliberately
setting the fire?

Yes, and we have a witness

we're hoping will give us
her state of mind at the time.

Abbie needs to interview her.

Well, if we have her
for the fire

then we have her for murder two.

I saw him
at least once a month--

fractured skull,
broken wrist, broken ribs.

Was he being
physically abused?

Not at all.

The fractured skull came
from autistic-type head banging

the broken wrist
from an epileptic seizure

the broken ribs
from a fall.

The hospital also
treated his mother.

For what?

He was having a seizure

and she tried to hold him down
to protect him

and he threw her
halfway across the room

chipped a bone in her elbow.

I told her he needed to be

in a home.

And what did she say?

He'd be better off dead.

Your Honor

it's our contention--

and I think I'm on very solid legal ground
making it--

that this emergency room
doctor's testimony falls

squarely under the heading
of privileged communication

and should be excluded
per force.

Who was the patient at the time she made
the statement?

Her son was.

Privilege doesn't come
into play; the testimony's in.

What else?

Well, I think it's self-evident

that the nightgown
doesn't come in.

Assume it's not
self-evident.

No warrant,
no consent.

The defendant's friend
gave consent.

She didn't have the right
to give consent.

Case law says-- and I can
stack them as high as you like--

that where there's

a reasonable expectation
of privacy

cops can't go in
and start grabbing.

Where in the apartment was

the nightgown found?

The living room floor.

Has the defendant's friend
affirmed that?

She has, Your Honor.
We have a sworn affidavit.

Judge, even if you grant consent
to search

they had no right to seize.

"Consent to seize" motion
wasn't briefed, Your Honor.

Motion's denied.
Nightgown comes in.

Mr. Gee, did you undertake tests
on the back steps

leading up to the defendant's
apartment?

Yes, we used a methyl silicone
gum capillary to extract

volatile hydrocarbons.

What did you find?

Several alkaline peaks
that indicated

a class three
accelerant.

Can you be specific as to which
class three accelerant it was?

In my opinion,
it was paint thinner.

This is the chromatograph
in question?

Yes.

People's Exhibit 1A.

And... what does this represent?

That's from the nightgown.

People's Exhibit 1B.

These look
remarkably similar.

There was paint thinner
on the nightgown, too.

Thank you.

Mr. Gee, you maintain
that these graphs indicate

a class three accelerant,
such as paint thinner?

Correct.

What other class three
accelerants are there?

Dry cleaning solvents,

charcoal lighters...

So in other words...

this graph might show
paint thinner...

and this graph might show
lighter fluid?

It's not possible.

It's not possible
that Ms. Parnell was trying

to get a spot out of a dress,
or grilled up a hot dog

and that that's
what put the accelerant

on her nightgown,
that's not possible?

The number of peaks on the graph
would be different in this case.

What's on the nightgown

is paint thinner.

So you say.

I'm through with this witness.

Because her bedroom door
was closed

and the room itself was far away
from the point of origin

the damage to the defendant's
bed was relatively minor.

In what position did you find
her blanket?

As you can see
in the photos

it was still tucked in.

Are you aware of the defendant's
statement to the police

that she was asleep in bed
when the fire started?

Yes, I am.

Have you ever heard
of somebody

waking up with flames
all around them

and tucking in their blanket
before they run out the door?

Not in my experience.

How about closing the door
behind them after they run out?

No sir.

Thank you,
no more questions.

Your witness.

Is it possible to fall asleep
on top of the blankets?

It's possible.

On a hot night, you could
even say, could you not

that it was more than possible

it was common?

The night of the fire,
it was 54 degrees.

Well, if someone was reading
a book or a magazine

they might fall asleep on top
of their blankets

regardless of the temperature,
mightn't they?

They might.

No further questions.

But no books
or magazines were found

by the defendant's bed.

I saw Ms. Parnell two days
before the fire.

What did she say about her son at that
time?

She said that his seizures
were getting more violent

and more frequent

that the anticonvulsants weren't
working.

She said that she was afraid
for her son

and she didn't
know what to do.

What did you recommend?

I recommended

that she place him
in a residential facility.

What was her response?

She said she had
looked into it

but that every halfway decent
group home that was equipped

to handle her son's
medical needs

had at least a five-year
waiting list.

She said that if it came

to putting him
in an institution

that he'd be
better off dead.

Thank you, doctor.
I have nothing further.

Dr. Balakrishna, you're
from Pakistan, aren't you?

Objection. Irrelevant.

Sustained.

I'm sure that wherever
you're from

people exaggerate sometimes

don't they?

Yes.

Doesn't the phrase
"he'd be better off dead"

sound to you like
an exaggeration?

I thought so at the time.

Mm.

And what did you think
"at the time"

of Megan Parnell's feelings
toward her son?

I thought that she loved him

that she cared very deeply
about him.

Did you think "at the time"
that she wanted him dead?

Sustained.
Objection. Speculative.

Did she say she wanted him dead?

No.

As a matter of fact,
doctor

didn't she ask you
about alternative treatments

for her son?

Yes, she did.

Did she ask you about a place

she could take her son

somewhere
in the world

where she could
take her son

that something might
be done for him?

Yes, she did
ask me that.

Does that sound
to you like someone

who is looking to end
her son's life?

No, it doesn't.

Thank you, doctor.

I have nothing further.

I think we might've come
in a little high at Murder Two.

What was her intent?

Her intent was
to set a fire.

That doesn't mean an emotional
disturbance defense won't fly.

The fact is, she went to this
emergency room doctor that week

she was confronted
with the hopelessness

of her son's condition
and she reacted.

Is that a legal opinion
or an emotional response?

It's a legal opinion.

Is it your legal opinion
that justice is served

by letting her enter a plea
to manslaughter?

Yes.

Abbie?

I'll defer to Jack on this one.

Go to it.

Thank you.

Are you expecting us to fall
to our knees in gratitude?

I expect you to recognize
this is the best deal

you're going to get and advise
your client accordingly.

I'd have to go
to prison, though.

Any deal is going to entail
prison time.

I don't think I could bear to be separated

from my daughter.

If you're found
guilty of murder

you'll be separated

for a lot longer.

The long and short
of it, guys, is

we'll take our chances
with the jury.

You mean she'll take herchances
with the jury.

I don't distance myself
from my clients.

Okay. We're due in court.

At this time, Your Honor,
the defense moves

to dismiss all charges
against Megan Parnell

on the grounds that
the prosecution has failed

to make out a prima facie case.

Denied. Approach.

Is there a plea
to be worked out here?

We've offered Man One,
Your Honor

but defense counsel's
not interested.

Can you explain your thinking
on that one, Mr. Peck?

Your Honor

while I'm aware of the potential
cumulative impact

of the evidence

circumstantial
though it may be

I don't believe the interests of justice
are served

by exposing my client
to criminal penalties

a manslaughter plea
might entail.

Therefore at this time

after having consulted
with my client

I'd like to change
our plea to not guilty

by reason of mental
disease or defect.

What?

This was always anticipated as a
possibility.

Your Honor, this is
nothing more

than Mr. Peck's conceit
that he can pull

a rabbit out of a hat

and his never-ending love for
opportunities to hear himself talk.

I'd stake my life
that this doesn't represent

an informed decision
by the defendant herself.

I speak for the
defendant herself.

You've got a week.

What's this jury going to think

when they hear you change
your story

from she didn't do it
to she did do it

but she was insane at the time?

Well, they're going to think
that Megan Parnell is

a young woman of tragic
circumstances

and... I have beautiful eyes.

Short version?
She's not insane.

Not now, not the night
she set the fire.

And the long version?

For a murderess,
she's very appealing.

And when she's
released from prison

you can ask her out.

I meant appealing
from the standpoint

that she suffered from
significant mental problems.

Like what?

Acute anxiety,
depression

chronic sleep deprivation.

Her son never allowed her
to sleep

for more than two hours
at a time.

Well, I don't think
the penal code

has been amended
to include fatigue

as a defense for murder.

I feel for her.

She was terrified
by all kinds of images

she thought her son
would have to endure

if he was taken away
from her.

She was exhausted
beyond all measure.

For one short, horrible instant

she thought the way
to solve her problems

was to burn them down.

But she wasn't insane?

No, she wasn't insane.

There's a chemical reaction
in the brain

when you're under stress.

We can see the abnormalities
in a PET scan.

Can these abnormalities
be serious?

Absolutely.

Neurons stop transmitting;
glucose stops metabolizing.

Brain function of a severely
stressed individual

is indistinguishable from that
of a person who is mentally ill.

In your opinion, Doctor

was the defendant
severely stressed

at the time of the fire?

Based on my interviews
with Megan

there is no question
but that her stress level rose

to the clinical designation

of A.C.S.S.

And what is that,
Doctor?

Acute Caretaker Stress Syndrome.

A.C.S.S. is characterized
by irrational behavior

radical emotional dissonance
and cognitive malfunction.

Could she tell
the difference

between right and wrong?

In my opinion, no.

Thank you, Doctor.

Where'd you go
to medical school, Doctor?

My doctorate

is in applied kinesiology.

I did not go to medical school.

What's your background
in psychology?

I both read and lectured extensively

and I have a syndicated
radio program

now heard in most major markets.

In other words,
you're not a psychologist

but you play one on the radio.

Objection.
Counsel is mocking the witness.

Yes, I am.

Sustained.

This disorder
you speak of--

this A.C.S.S.--

I've been looking for it

in these very large
reference books

and I couldn't find it.

It's a relatively new diagnosis.

Invented by whom?

It was first identified
by myself.

Recognized by the American Psychiatric
Association? Not yet.

Any other professional
organizations?

It will be.

I'm glad
we're on the cutting edge.

Objection.

Mr. McCoy continues
to mock the witness.

Withdrawn.
I have nothing further.

I was Ian Parnell's
caseworker

at Children's Services
for the past two years.

So you were intimately involved in his
situation?

Yes, sir.

It was you
who placed Ian

in the Highcrest Home
for Disabled Children?

That was the best option
at the time.

Was it a viable option?

No.

Why not?

We weren't equipped for someone
with those kinds of problems.

Ian was ultra-sensitive
to noise.

A place like that
got very noisy.

And because he would
block it out

by banging his head
against the wall

he'd give himself
concussions.

So why didn't you put him
someplace else?

I couldn't find a suitable place that had
room.

And his mother
was more understanding

than I had any right
to expect her to be.

Unfortunately,
she only had two options:

put her son in a large,
state-run institution

or take care
of him herself.

Your witness.

Have you ever had
any other children

who had difficulty adjusting to
their new residential situation?

Yes.

Did any of their parents
kill their children?

Not to my knowledge.

Thank you.

First time I noticed something was
wrong with Ian

he just turned four.

He was singing his favorite
song, "Old MacDonald"

and he forgot that pigs
say "oink."

Then he started complaining

there was a bad mouse
inside his head.

In three months, he stopped
talking or using the toilet.

Would you describe yourself
as having

a sustained feeling
of desperation ever since?

Objection.
Leading.

Lay the foundation, counsel.

Since your son's condition
made itself known

have you been able
to regain anything

approaching normalcy?

Objection.

Leading.

Is Mr. McCoy
categorically opposed

to permitting this woman
to testify?

She has to testify according to the rules
of evidence, Mr. Peck

so let's see
if we can get her to do that.

Ms. Parnell,
when your son's health

began deteriorating,
what did you do?

Um, we tried Lovaas intervention

auditory interpretation

steroids,
several different diets

Clonidine...

Every month,
there was a new treatment...

a new miracle cure.

We'd have such high hopes...

nothing helped.

What about special ed?

He hated special ed.

It was always too loud

and disturbing.

When my marriage

started falling apart

we tried sending Ian
to respite care for the weekend

but they'd call us up
usually by Friday night

to take him back.

And then he started
having seizures and I...

I was... afraid that he'd...

kill himself, so...

Ian needed me,
but he was getting too big

and he stopped letting me
change his diaper

or brush his teeth
or give him medicine.

I couldn't take care of him
anymore.

Why didn't you send him
somewhere?

Whether it was an institution
or a group home.

Whatever it was

some place would have
taken him off your hands.

I couldn't.

To other people, he was...
just some weird... kid

who threw his poop
around the room.

To me

when he was listening...
to "Old MacDonald"

he was my baby.

I loved him so much.

Your witness, Mr. McCoy.

Ms. Parnell...

your plea is not guilty
by reason of insanity.

Yes.

That means that at the time
you set the fire

you didn't know right
from wrong.

I didn't know what I was doing.

You knew enough to lie
to the police.

I didn't mean
to lie to them.

You knew enough
to go downstairs

unlock the janitor's closet

pour paint thinner on the steps

and leave your son
to die in a fire.

No, I did not.

Ms. Parnell

is it or is it not true

that you willfully
and deliberately

set the fire
in which your son died?

My son didn't die in the fire.

He died before the fire.

The coroner's report states

that the cause of death
was smoke inhalation.

He was having
a seizure

and he went into convulsions

and I had the syringe
to give him his injection

to stop the convulsion

just like I've done
all those times before...

But this time, I...
I didn't do it...

I... watched his body
contorting in pain.

That poor, tortured body
had never stopped hurting

and I didn't do it.

I let him go

and then I went
into the bathroom

and I took his pills--
all of them--

and I swallowed them.

I set the fire, and I lay down
next to him to die myself.

But you changed your mind.

The smoke made me cough...

and the pills didn't work.

And I started to think
about my daughter

and I got up and I ran outside

and I grabbed a phone
out of some guy's hand and I...

I dialed 911

and I never would have
set the fire

if I'd known Ian was alive.

I never would have done that
to him.

I never would have made him
suffer like that.

He suffered so much in his life.

Is she telling the truth?

The M.E. said the kid
could have been in a coma

from the seizures.

She thought he was dead.

In fact, he was still breathing

just enough to get some smoke
into his lungs.

Why'd she wait this long

to tell us?

It's possible she suppressed
her memory of that night.

It's possible
she felt too guilty

to fully participate
in her own defense.

It's also possible

that her lawyer isn't an idiot
we take him for.

He held onto this

until he thought
it would do the most good.

No, he's an idiot.

What's the likelihood of getting
a conviction on murder two?

Nil.

Unless the jury thinks
she's lying.

I don't think
she's lying.

Assume she's not;
that's manslaughter.

Given her state of mind

and the extenuating
circumstances

I don't think what she did

warrants a conviction
for manslaughter.

Well, what do you think?

Marshall of the Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade?

I don't think we should be
sending her to prison.

Her failure to act comes under depraved
indifference.

It qualifies as manslaughter
under People v. Lyttle.

If that's what the judge
charges on

that's what the jury
will convict her for.

We have the evidence
to support that?

Yes.

In this case,
for this defendant

the penalties are too severe.

We can't let our sympathy
for a defendant

distort our primary
responsibility.

What are you saying?

You've got to do your job, Jack.

Do either of you intend

to bring a motion
for lesser-included offenses

to be charged to the jury?

The defense asks for a charge
on murder two only.

That's what the prosecution
got an indictment for

that's the burden of proof
they should be held to.

As usual, Mr. Peck

you've completely misstated
the law.

Mr. McCoy, you're entitled to
ask that my charge to the jury

include allowing them
to return guilty verdicts

on manslaughter one and two,
as well as murder.

The prosecution has no objection
to a charge

on murder two only.

Your Honor, may
I have a moment

to confer
with my colleague?

That's not necessary, Abbie.

We'll take our chances
on murder two.

Madam Foreperson,
has the jury reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

Will the defendant please rise?

What is your verdict?

We, the jury, on the charge
of murder in the second degree

find the defendant not guilty

by reason of mental disease
or defect.

Thank you for your verdict, ladies
and gentlemen.

The defendant is hereby remanded

to Kirby Forensics Center
for evaluation.

Tough case, McCoy.

A little tip from the other side of the
aisle:

next time you have a shot

at lesser-included
offenses, take it.

Thanks.

I heard about the verdict.

Yeah. You win some,
you lose some.

Which was this?

I would have gone for a conviction. Me,
too.

Which is why I'm glad
it was Jack trying the case.

Well, based on
what this woman did

she deserves to be punished.

I think she is.

Have a good night.

You, too.