All language subtitles for Law and order S13E10 - Mothers Day

NARRATOR:
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.

We don't serve
quiche, young miss.

I hate quiche.
Do you have any coffee?

Yes. I'll even charge you $3.75 if
it'll make you feel more at home.

I appreciate that, but no special
treatment required, or foam.

Just lots of sugar.

Black's fine.

What language is that?

Advanced Chemistry,
but it might as well be Greek.

Yeah, my boy took that.
Now he's, uh, washing dishes.

(CELL PHONE RINGS)

I'm already here. The
question is, where are you?

Okay.

Stood you up, huh?

How much?
Oh, coffee's free.

Conversation's a buck.

Thanks.

Anybody need a refill?

WOMAN: Hmm, yes, please.

(TIRES SQUEALING)

(WOMAN SCREAMS)
(COLLISION)

(CAR SPEEDING AWAY)

You see here, how this starts
out dark and gets lighter?

That's made by a tire
spinning under acceleration.

So you're saying some dude was just
waiting for her to hit his crosshairs?

Ready, aim, fire.

Detectives,
got a witness over there.

Cabbie stopped at a red light,
he saw the whole thing.

The girl came out
of that diner over there.

You want to take the diner?

Yeah, I could use
a cup of coffee.

So?

She seemed like a nice kid.

You knew her?
No.

She left 2 bucks on a dollar cup of
coffee, which she didn't even touch.

Doesn't say much
for your coffee.

Well, she was supposed
to meet somebody.

Did you get an idea who?

No, but I overheard her on her cell phone.
I couldn't catch a name.

Okay, thanks.

MIGDAL: My guess, back's
broken, skull's crushed.

She was definitely DOA.

She doesn't look more than 18.

Emily Milius, 17 next month.

This might have been her cell.

Well, I guess star-69's
out of the question.

You can still order LUDS.

Gee, we should have gone
to medical school.

Anyway, our guy was driving a Saturn.
Green, maybe blue.

Emily went to
Rockingham Day School.

It's a private girls' school
down on Park Avenue.

What the hell was she doing
all the way up here?

You mean other than
being a crash dummy?

(WOMAN GASPS)

No!

Mrs. Milius?
Can I get you some water?

Maybe if you sat down
over here...

Why did this happen?
How did this happen?

Oh, my husband is gonna die.

Can you think of any reason why your daughter
was up in Washington Heights last night?

Washington Heights?
No. No. She was with Blair.

She called me from there.
Gramercy Park.

Was it a drunk?

We're not sure yet.
Oh, this is not good.

This is not good at all.

When Ronald
comes home tonight...

Oh, God, what a mess!

Oh, Mrs. Milius, we're gonna get
somebody to take you home, okay?

(SOBBING) Yeah.

ALSTON: I wonder,
should we close the school?

That would be up to you. The City
does provide grief counselors.

Yes. Well, naturally, we'll
take care of that ourselves.

How can I help?

We were wondering if Emily
had a friend named Blair.

Blair Silverman.
Yes, they were very close.

Why do you ask? I thought
this was a hit and run.

Well, we have to cover
all the bases.

ALSTON: Surely, you don't think
this was done on purpose.

We don't know yet.

Well, I do.

Rockingham is one of the
finest schools in the city.

And Emily wasn't just popular,
she was gifted, generous.

No offense, ma'am, but I don't think
she was uptown handing out turkeys.

I know what you're insinuating.

Emily was the captain
of our lacrosse team.

Her biggest problem was deciding
between Yale and Harvard.

There is no way
she was on drugs.

ED: Of course not.
Her friend, Blair Silverman?

We were wondering
if we could talk to her.

Of course.

Emily's mom said you
two were pretty tight.

Like sisters.

Caroline, I mean, Mrs. Milius,
was my second mom.

So you and Emily were out
together last night?

I've been grounded
for the past six weeks

for staying out all night
at a rave.

Mom number one didn't like it.

ED: Ecstasy, huh?

What's going on?
Are you two narcs?

We're just wondering why Emily would tell
her mom she was with you in Gramercy Park

when she was up on 187th street.

Look, we did E maybe twice.

It's not like we're druggies
or anything.

It's actually perfectly age-appropriate.
Ask any shrink.

Anyway, if Emily wanted to
score, there were other ways.

BRISCOE: For instance?

Maddi Donlou.
You know, one of our tokens.

Poor people.

She lives uptown someplace.

I really liked Emily,
respected her.

We were friends, I mean...

It's just that she wasn't doing
so well in Advanced Chemistry.

She asked me to help.

It's a long way to go for some lab notes.
I'm not buying it.

If you didn't want your dad to know
that you're about to fail, you would.

Her father's some kind of bigwig
at a pharmaceutical company.

She was supposed to walk
in his shoes.

What about boyfriends?
Was she seeing anybody?

Todd Block.
He's at Stanford.

Stanford? That must've
made her dad smile.

She wished.

Mr. Milius wouldn't even let Emily
see Todd over Thanksgiving.

I really...
I have to go.

ED: Okay, thank you.

Emily was smart, rich, pretty.

Getting dumped by a girl like
that would sure piss me off.

Well, let's go see the mom, see if
she's in a more talkative mood.

In other words,
you have nothing.

It's a drunk driver, Ronald.

It's not like they're
gonna find fingerprints.

Your wife has a point, sir.

MR. MILIUS: Do we actually
know it was a drunk driver?

Okay, hit and run,
what's the difference?

There's a difference!

I'm sorry.

This whole thing,
you can't imagine.

BRISCOE: Actually, I can.

You don't know who to
be mad at, do you?

Uh, if you don't mind, we'd
like to ask you some questions

about Emily's boyfriend.

She doesn't have one.

What does that have
to do with anything?

You don't think
this was an accident?

There is some evidence
that it might not be.

Oh, my God.
ED: Somebody named Todd?

No. There's no way
Todd would hurt her.

Mr. Milius, we heard that
you didn't care for him.

She was only 17.

What was he doing with her?

I ain't saying he killed her, but there
was something off about that guy.

Off, how?

It was like he wanted it
to be a drunk driver.

You checked the boyfriend out?
(CELL PHONE RINGS)

He hasn't been on a plane
since the semester started.

I think you're way off base.
Briscoe.

Sure. Where?

Half an hour. Hey, maybe
not that far off base.

Ronald Milius wants to
talk with us privately.

MR. MILIUS: It's just that
Caroline would never understand.

I'm not sure we do, either.

I'm the CFO of a Fortune
500 corporation.

I personally audited
the books of my company,

Frasier & Frasier
Pharmaceuticals.

Which is just two baby steps
away from bankruptcy.

Because of you?
No.

The CEO and the rest
of his foursome,

they're being investigated
for illegally pocketing

hundreds of millions of dollars.

And you have evidence
incriminating them?

The Feds promised me if I cooperated,
my name would be kept out of it.

Do you think they killed
Emily to shut you up?

You're the ones that said
it wasn't an accident.

Who else would want to hurt her?

I shouldn't even
be talking to you.

Mr. Milius,
we're not done.

You'd think if they
wanted to keep him quiet,

he'd be the one facing the
front end of a Saturn.

It's too obvious.

He still has his wife
to worry about.

Yeah.

Okay, good. Do me a favor,
send that over to Forensics.

All right, thanks.

Parking Violations, they just
found an abandoned green Saturn.

Let me guess, there's a
dent in the front end.

ED:
Tell me something good, Borak.

My kid got a B+ in Spanish.

Oh, you mean about the car.

That's an A.

Fibers from the grill matched
fibers from your girl's sweater.

Prints? More than you
can shake a stick at.

ED: Hey, life is good.

Life is great.

Car's registered to a Diane
Payton, 237 East 13th Street.

MRS. PAYTON: Emily Milius?

No, I don't think I know her.

And you weren't up in
Washington Heights last night?

I work in a greeting card
store in the Village.

That'd be over an hour on the
subway during rush hour.

Not if you had a car.

Two hours, then.

Well, your car's a green
Saturn, isn't it, Mrs. Payton?

Oh, my God. There's
been an accident?

Please don't tell me
Danny was hurt.

Danny?

My son. He's had the car
the last couple of days.

Oh, my God.
He's hurt.

No, no.

We think he may have
witnessed a hit and run.

Uh, if you could give us his
address, we'd like to talk to him.

Oh, okay.

(KNOCKING)

Mr. Payton.

Danny Payton, police.

Do it.

If you don't mind.

Who is this guy,
Frosty the Snowman?

Ed!

He's Frosty, all right.

ED: All the windows in this
guy's apartment were wide open.

So he liked fresh air.

That, or we're dealing with somebody
with experience in the Forensic arts.

The M.E. Couldn't use body temp
to approximate the time of death.

Murder weapon?

We found a carving knife
in the dish rack.

Well, at least our
bad guy's tidy.

Danny Payton's prints
were all over that car.

You're thinking Danny
was hired to hit Emily Milius?

And whoever hired him, decided
he was no longer useful

to Frasier & Frasier
Pharmaceuticals.

Is there proof of any of this?

Danny didn't have a record.

Yeah, we'd check his LUDS, but
he didn't have a phone, either.

He certainly doesn't sound like
someone I'd hire for a hit.

Talk to people who knew him.

His super said
he never got any visitors.

Well, maybe his mother kept
tabs on his social schedule.

After the morgue, I didn't know
what to do, so I went to work.

Mr. Lawson sent me home.

Who would...

We thought if you could tell us the
names of some of his friends...

I don't know.

I mean, Danny,

he was, kind of, a loner.

This is my fault.
I didn't like to pry.

We had breakfast
yesterday before work.

Since Danny's dad left us...

When was that?

MRS. PAYTON:
When Danny was 12.

Every week we've had
at least one meal together.

If he was in trouble,
I should have known.

He should have been able
to talk to me.

I don't think
it would have mattered.

I don't make much money,
but if he owed someone...

ED: What makes you think
that he was in debt?

Twenty-one-years-old and
still making minimum wage.

CHUCK: As far as I know,
there's no law

that says I have to
employ crack addicts.

You're sure he was on the stuff?

Man, crack, uppers, downers,
what do I know?

You know,
he should have been smarter

than to do that stuff in front
of my place of business, here.

Hey, Cazzie, give me that.
I'll tell you something.

I thought the guy
was gonna work out, too.

You know, he's kind of nice,
polite, worked his butt off.

Then one day he's, like,
whacked out of his skull.

He scared two of my customers out of here
before they even got out of the car.

But when he was sober, did
he ever mention any friends?

No. We never got
that close, sir.

Cazzie... Excuse me.
Cazzie, what is this?

You got a habit to feed
but you're busted.

All you have to do is run down this anonymous
girl and you're back on cloud nine.

Maybe the M.E.'s got something
by now.

Seven stab wounds,
most likely made by this.

No defensive wounds.
Nothing under his nails.

Nobody just lies there
and takes it.

Somebody sleeping would.

Or somebody stoned
out of his mind.

No, not this guy.

Tox screen was negative.

I don't know. This many stab wounds
usually means a crime of passion.

Or somebody wanted it
to look that way.

No, I don't think so.

These two are superficial. What
we call hesitation wounds.

Not only was your
bad guy not a pro,

he wasn't sure he wanted to
do what he was about to do.

Well, he eventually
made up his mind.

ED: Is this his?

Yeah. It's on its
way up to Forensics.

This is a
self-winding watch.

And it stopped
at 5:00 p.m. Yesterday.

I doubt if he was swinging his arm
up and down, being that he was dead.

That's right, but these watches
run 18 hours, more or less,

without movement, meaning
that the time of death

would have been 11:00
the night before.

Makes it pretty tough for him to be
eating scrambled eggs with Mom yesterday.

We're following up
on a few leads.

Who?

I'm sorry. I can't disclose that information
right now. I'm sure you understand.

You know what I understand?
I understand grief.

You have to tell me. Is this
because of Ronald's company?

Yes, I know all about it.
He told me.

We're just not sure yet, Mrs.
Milius.

What's going on?
Who is she?

She killed my baby, didn't she?

I thought you said
Danny was just a witness.

Things may have changed.

He didn't even know that girl.
Why would he kill her?

Why do people kill?
Love. Money. Both.

I would've given him money.

No offense, but I think he was looking for
a lot more than you had lying around.

ED: What we think happened,
Mrs. Payton, is that

Danny was hired to kill Emily
Milius and whoever hired him

wanted to make sure that he didn't
tell anybody about the deal.

That's crazy.
You don't know Danny.

But you did.

Better than anyone.

That's right, he told you everything
at your weekly breakfasts.

That's right.

Only we happen to know you
didn't have breakfast with Danny

the morning
after Emily was murdered.

Mrs. Payton, if you lie to us,
we can't help you.

Maybe I got my day wrong.

Yeah,
and maybe I'll run for Pope.

You think I killed him?

Five-to-ten,
you know what did happen.

You had a key to his apartment.

I was his mother. BRISCOE:
And maybe that explains

your prints on the towel rack
right near the murder weapon.

What's going on here?

Just having a little tête-à-tête with Mrs.
Payton here.

Is she accused of something?
Not yet.

We don't treat people like this.

I'm sorry,
Mrs. Payton.

Can I get you a cup of coffee?

Detective Green, would you please escort
Mrs. Payton to Interview Room One?

You'll be a lot more
comfortable there.

Are you hungry, Mrs. Payton?
There's a deli around the corner.

I can get you a hot pastrami.
That's enough.

I really have no idea
what he's talking about.

Of course.

Did she ask for a lawyer?

Why would an innocent
woman need one?

Give me 30 minutes.

Again, I apologize
for my detectives.

They're just doing their job.

Well, their job description
doesn't include rude behavior.

I know how difficult this must be, Mrs.
Payton. I have kids.

How you get up in the morning
after losing a child,

I just don't know.

And the way it happened...

When my Ric was six years old,

they thought
he might have scoliosis.

That would mean spinal surgery,

a year in a full body cast,
sitting in waiting rooms,

waiting for test
results, I thought,

"How am I going to
get through this?"

Is he okay?
Knock on wood.

How old is he?

Thirteen.

That's nice.

Boys at 13.

I remember.

I swear our mothers
had it easier,

what with the drugs today
and violence in the schools.

No one ever said
it was supposed to be easy.

No time off.
No vacations.

There's just got to be a point

when it's their life

and there's no place
for the mother... No.

They are always your life.

You're right.

You're only as happy
as your unhappiest kid.

What can I say, you have
great expectations.

You start out with that, slowly
it turns into disappointment,

and it's topped off with an
unbearable dose of guilt.

(SIGHS)

But what if...

I can't...

A mother shouldn't...

What?

A mother shouldn't
kill her baby.

(SOBBING) I gave Danny life,

and I took it away!

(SOBBING)

Docket number 61459.

"People v. Diane Payton.

"Murder in the Second Degree."

Do I see defendant's counsel?

No excuse for tardiness. I apologize
to the court, Your Honor.

Hartley. Kay Hartley
for the defense, Your Honor.

I'm sorry, Your Honor.

Casual day at Wittman, Worth. I
wasn't expecting a court appearance.

And your client pleads how,
Ms. Hartley?

Not guilty.

Question of bail?

Remand, Your Honor. The defendant
brutally murdered her own son.

Allegedly.
As I was saying,

she confessed to murdering
her own child.

And for that she gets remanded
without bail. Next.

(GAVEL BANGS)

Long time, Serena.

You don't remember?

You sat three seats
ahead of me in Contracts.

Of course, you were probably
busy paying attention.

Wittman, Worth? You must've been
paying attention to something.

What can I say? They make us
do this pro bono stuff.

The choices we make, huh?

I don't know.
Anti-trust litigation

never got my socks
rolling up and down.

So you do remember?

I read the alumni rag.

So, can I buy you
a cup of coffee?

I can pay for my own, thank you.

Look up "snob" in your Webster
and you'll see her picture.

Kay Hartley had one foot on Wall
Street from the first day of school.

What's she doing here?

It's Wittman, Worth pretending
they have a heart,

justifying their fees
in case there's a Hell.

Maybe that's a good thing,
considering we don't have anything

even resembling a motive.

We don't need a motive,
we have a confession.

Believe me,
this will be a quickie.

I thought this was going to be
me and you, Serena.

Jack McCoy, Kay Hartley.

Mr. McCoy is the Executive
Assistant District Attorney.

Sorry to disappoint,
Ms. Hartley.

No, no, that's fine.

So, how does this work?

Considering we have
a signed confession,

it appears
you don't have any leverage.

I can offer murder two with
a sentence recommendation.

In the corporate world,
you know you have a good deal

when both sides
walk away unhappy.

Sure, I'm new
to this criminal stuff,

but I think you're both
smiling just a bit too much.

Be that as it may,
I can't go any lower.

Well, maybe you'll reconsider
when the confession is tossed.

JACK: Excuse me?

Mrs. Payton doesn't remember
anyone reading her her rights.

She wasn't being interrogated.

Be that as it may,

one of our first year associates
is drafting a motion as we speak.

So much for quick.

HARTLEY: The Miranda Court emphasized that
in order for a confession to be admissible

against a defendant,
it must be voluntary.

I think you can skip the primer on
coerced confessions, Counselor.

Of course, Your Honor,
but when a lieutenant

grills a suspect
for nearly an hour...

Lieutenant Van Buren drank
coffee with the defendant,

and they discussed
their children.

I'm sure she wasn't there
for the cuisine, Mr. McCoy.

There was a discrepancy
in a timeline

that she had given the police concerning
a hit and run her son was involved in

a few days earlier.

Mrs. Payton
was never a suspect.

The mere fact she was in
a police station...

JUDGE: Is irrelevant. What controls
is whether the police knew

or should have known that their
actions would lead to a confession.

Read Rhode Island v. Innis if you
want back up on that, Ms. Hartley.

If the police didn't consider Mrs.
Payton a suspect in the murder,

they certainly couldn't
have expected a confession.

But, Your Honor...
The confession is in.

Hey, how's this for timing?

Right, just a coincidence.

Serena... Look, you already
had your chance at a deal.

I'm not here to negotiate. I'm
here to ask a friend for a favor.

Right, you lose your motion
and suddenly we're friends?

I'm sorry, Kay, but I think
you're gonna have to slum it down

on Centre Street
for a few weeks.

I'm not slumming, Serena.

Look, growing up, Danny Payton was special.
Everybody loved him.

And then one day when he was
18, he woke up hearing voices.

A lot of voices. Only nobody
else could hear them.

Wait a minute. Are you
saying he was crazy?

And he was violent, and he took it out
on the person who was closest to him.

Especially after
my uncle ran off.

Your uncle?

Danny was my cousin.

So this pro bono?

Is really a leave of absence.

Wow.
Look, I know my aunt.

And I know how much she loved Danny.
And she wouldn't have...

She couldn't have
unless he was hurting her.

If you're gonna try and make this
a case for self-defense, Kay,

I don't buy it.
He was asleep.

She stabbed him
while he was sleeping.

Serena, Danny flipped out and ran
over Emily Milius for no reason

other than she was there.

Do you have any proof
of this whatsoever?

Well...

Kay, as your new best friend,
if you don't have any proof,

I would advise you
to resign as counsel

and make yourself
a character witness.

It's a tiny favor, Serena.

Please. Help me get a look
at his medical records.

ARTHUR: She wants us to get the
doctor-patient privilege waived?

We're not supposed to make the
defense's case for them, Serena.

Our job's to get a conviction.

I thought it had something
to do with justice, Jack.

I've got photos of seven stab wounds
that say that's exactly what this is.

I don't understand, Serena.

If Mrs. Payton
wants to assert self-defense,

why doesn't she just waive her
son's doctor-patient privilege?

Maybe she's too proud.
Maybe she's ashamed.

Maybe she doesn't want the world to
know that her son was beating on her.

That's a lot of maybes.

I don't see
what the big deal is.

We get Mrs. Payton removed
as administratrix,

we talk to Danny's doctor
and we can find out for sure.

The only problem is that the new
administrator would be the next of kin,

who might very well wanna keep the
Paytons' family secrets secret.

It's not a problem. The next
of kin is Hartley's mother.

Great. When do we get to call on
Uncle Bernie as the eyewitness?

You know what, Jack? Self-defense
is in the books for a reason.

If that woman doesn't deserve to be
in jail, I don't wanna put her there.

Let me get this right, the defendant
is the decedent's mother?

HARTLEY: That's correct,
Your Honor.

The statute is very clear on
appointing administrators, Counselor.

It is also very clear that a person should
not be able to profit from their crime.

Mrs. Payton murdered her son. As
administratrix to his estate,

she'd be entitled
to a statutory fee.

Mrs. Payton hasn't been convicted
of anything, Your Honor.

She confessed to stabbing
her son seven times.

HARTLEY: The confession
was questionable at best.

Ms. Hartley's motion to exclude
has already been denied.

Danny Payton was a murderer,
Your Honor.

Doesn't my client get any credit
for getting him off the street?

You can't be serious, Counselor?

Zealous representation,
Your Honor.

This court is in favor of removing
Diane Payton as the administratrix

of the estate of Danny Payton

and issuing new
Letters of Administration

in accordance with Surrogate's
Court Procedure Act,

Section 1001.

(GAVEL BANGS)

I don't understand.

What does this mean?

There's a chance
Danny was abusing his mother.

So what?
My daughter is dead.

Somebody has to go to jail.

Mrs. Payton may not be legally
responsible for what she did.

Responsible?

If she were a better mother,
Emily would be alive.

If she's not responsible,
who is?

Danny's doctor's name was Trask.

I'll have a waiver signed and
delivered to him right away.

DR. TRASK: Danny Payton
was schizophrenic,

but he was released from St. Justin's
as not being a threat to himself.

You see, with pharmaceuticals, he
could lead a normal, productive life.

Meaning he wasn't a
threat to anyone else?

Correct. You
gotta understand,

most schizophrenics
are not violent at all.

Danny Payton ran somebody over
and fled from the scene.

(SIGHS)

Can you tell me about his
relationship with his mother?

I recall they were
extraordinarily close.

So are you saying
he wasn't abusive to her?

No, what I'm saying
is quite the opposite.

His mother was the only
thing that kept him alive.

Look,

I'll send over all the
records if you want.

Feeling good, are we?

Yeah, it really makes my day when a mother
kills her son for no reason whatsoever.

Call Hallmark. Maybe they'll
print up a special card.

I thought that you'd be happy, Hartley
loses her affirmative defense.

And pops up with another
more ridiculous one.

Ah, Kay Hartley.

With friends like that...

Defense of third parties?
You must be kidding me.

Danny already killed
Emily Milius.

His mother killed him so he
wouldn't hurt anybody else.

It's a legitimate
affirmative defense.

If there was an imminent threat
of Danny hurting someone.

As far as I know, there was no
one in Danny Payton's apartment

other than the woman
who stabbed him seven times.

Look, I know that
it's a long shot.

I'm just trying to win my case.

By using me?

You needed privilege waived so you could
get Danny's mental state into evidence.

Your aunt wouldn't waive it because
she knew it wasn't self-defense.

I did what I could to get justice for
my client in an imperfect system.

If you want to know
why it's imperfect, Kay,

look in the mirror next time you
put on your Tiffany earrings.

Look, my aunt came home
to find her car missing.

The next thing she knew,
Danny was telling her

he used it to kill someone
he didn't even know.

What was she supposed to do?

Calling the police would've
been a very good start.

At least I work for my earrings.

That's right. Not all of us have the
luxury of playing at saving the world.

An acquittal
of a confessed murderer

and the powers that be at Wittman,
Worth will have no choice

but to put my name
on the letterhead.

Surprise, surprise, Serena.
Well, it's a game, right?

And the point of a game
is to win.

I'll see you in chambers.

Judge McNeil actually bought Ms.
Hartley's argument?

He called defense of third parties
a question of fact for the jury.

The man goes to school for seven
years, practices law for 15,

sits on the bench for five, then
passes the buck to three housewives,

four salesmen, two plumbers, a
couple of construction workers,

and a dental hygienist.

I take full responsibility.

None of this would be admissible
if I hadn't pulled that stunt

in Surrogate's Court.

I seem to recall giving you
the old "atta-girl."

I didn't.

But you never knew Kay Hartley.

I'm beginning to think all of
this was bogus from the get-go.

She never thought
it was self-defense.

She only needed a way to let the jury
know that Danny was mentally ill.

You seem to have less faith in
our noble profession than I do.

The problem is now
I have to go into court

and argue that this woman
belongs behind bars

even though she killed her son only to
prevent him from killing three housewives,

four salesmen, two plumbers, et
cetera, et cetera, et cetera...

Hartley's gonna have to offer
up some kind of proof.

She has proof enough.
Emily Milius.

I'll explain the whole
thing to Judge McNeil.

And he'll give us the "Soft
Touch of the Year" Award.

VAN BUREN: We talked about children.
How tough it is raising them.

Mrs. Payton had it particularly
tough since her husband left her.

And it would be particularly hard with
a young boy with mental problems.

She never mentioned any kind of mental
problems with regard to her son.

JACK: Maybe that's
because he was on medication.

VAN BUREN: She never
mentioned that, either.

Like I said, she never talked
about mental problems, period.

But she did say
that she killed him?

Yes. And she signed
a confession to that effect.

JACK: Thank you, Lieutenant.

During that
45-minute interrogation...

I said it was a
conversation, Counselor.

Fine.
During that 45-minute chat,

did you ever once ask Mrs. Payton
if her son was mentally ill?

As I just said...
Yes or no, Lieutenant?

No.

Did you ask Mrs. Payton if her son had
ever threatened to kill anyone else?

No.

HARTLEY: One more thing,
Lieutenant.

Did Mrs. Payton ever say
she loved her son?

Yes.

RODGERS: The lack of defensive wounds
indicates that the victim was unaware

that he was being attacked.

He was sleeping?

Sleeping or unconscious.

So, in other words, this was
like shooting fish in a barrel.

Objection.

Withdrawn, Your Honor.

Out of those seven stab wounds,

two were what you call hesitation
wounds, is that correct?

Yes.

So could you say that Mrs. Payton struggled
with her decision to stab her son?

That's certainly
one explanation.

About two months ago, Doctor, did you do
an autopsy of a man named Ethan Richards?

Objection. Relevance.

Relevance will become clear
shortly, Your Honor.

I'll let it in
subject to connection.

Answer the question, Doctor.

Yes, I worked on
the Richards case.

And what were your conclusions?

There were shoe prints
on the victim's torso,

so we concluded he died of internal
hemorrhaging due to kicking.

HARTLEY: Just to refresh
your memory, Doctor,

would this be the murder
we're discussing?

Yes.

Could you please read
the highlighted portions?

"Forensic scientists have
confirmed

"that the shoe was a size
12-and-a-half Frye boot."

To your knowledge, was there ever
an arrest made in this case?

No.
Thank you.

That's all.

Danny Payton was schizophrenic.
He lost touch with reality.

He often saw and heard things
that weren't there.

JACK: How did you treat him?

In addition to daily
counseling and group therapy,

I also prescribed the
anti-psychotic drug, Clozaril.

After eight weeks of treatment,

Danny stopped hearing the voices
and having the delusions.

In other words, Doctor, he was
able to function in society?

I wouldn't have signed
his release if he wasn't.

Last year, did Danny's mother ask you
to take him back into the hospital?

Yes.

Why is that, Doctor Trask?

Mrs. Payton said that Danny
was hearing voices

telling him to kill people
at random.

HARTLEY: And you didn't
take that seriously?

DR. TRASK: Of course I did.

But then Mrs. Payton told me that Danny
had stopped taking his medication

three months earlier.

HARTLEY: And what did you do?

DR. TRASK: I told her
it was unacceptable.

Look,

in a perfect world,
I would have readmitted Danny.

But it is not a perfect world.

It is New York State and we don't
have the funding, staff or beds

available for someone who is perfectly
able to function on medication.

Tell me, Doctor, when a patient
is admitted to your hospital,

what do you do with the personal
effects he brings with him?

They're recorded and stored.

I don't see the relevance,
Your Honor.

I'm just connecting
earlier testimony.

Proceed.

Doctor, do you recognize this?

Yes.

It's the record
of all of the items

Danny had with him when he was
admitted to St. Justin's.

Could you focus your attention on
item number 10, labeled footwear?

What does it say?

"A pair of size 12-and-a-half
Frye work boots."

HARTLEY: I have nothing
further, Your Honor.

Looks like this guy's gonna
clear up all of our open cases.

While his mother becomes
a folk hero

for pushing the off button
on a killing machine.

She's a vigilante.

She was also a mother who killed the
child she loved more than herself.

Well, so were Susan Smith
and Andrea Yates.

And if I remember correctly,
they were both convicted.

They weren't preventing
otherwise inevitable murders.

Only the statute doesn't say
"inevitable threat."

It says "imminent threat."

Well, pardon my French, but I don't think
the jury's gonna give a damn either way.

Deal it down.
That means the next guy...

Before you go there, Serena, the only
"sending a bad message" argument that I buy

is the bad message
we send when we lose a trial.

If you read the fine print, it also says
that when the going gets tough, run,

even when the law
is on our side.

Do you really think we're gonna
get jail time for this woman?

Please. If she was on the road
to canonization,

she wouldn't have gone along
with Kay Hartley's games.

I haven't even cross-examined
the defendant yet, Arthur.

Well, you got in this hole,

I guess it's up to you
if you want to keep digging.

So how much of that
was personal?

The letter of the law, Jack.
That's all.

HARTLEY: But you tried
to get Danny help?

Danny belonged in a hospital.

But Dr. Trask just testified he'd
be fine if he just took his pills.

Pills are supposed to help.

They gave him
migraine headaches.

They made him like a zombie.

He said the only reason
he even knew he was alive

was because he vomited
an hour after he took them.

How was he supposed
to live like that?

Still,
that's a small price to pay...

I was his mother,
not some prison guard.

I can't physically force him
to take his medication!

I can't look over him
all the time!

They say a mother's worst fear
is the death of a child.

Let me tell you,
it's a million times worse

when he kills
someone else's child.

Let's turn our attention
to the night Danny died.

Could you please tell us
what happened?

Mrs. Payton?

That morning,
Danny borrowed my car.

Taking long drives
helped clear his head.

When he didn't return
the car by 10:00,

I went over to his apartment

to see if anything was wrong.

He was sitting on the floor,

banging his head
against the wall.

He told me what he did
to that girl.

I calmed him down,

and helped him into bed.

And then...

(SOBS)

I didn't know what else to do.

Stabbing Danny
was your only option?

He was sick.

That hospital wouldn't take him.

He killed at least two people.

I'm sure the prison system would
have been glad to have him.

Is there a question?

Withdrawn.

Yes or no, Mrs. Payton.

When you were stabbing Danny,

were you thinking
of Emily Milius?

Were you thinking of the man
Danny had kicked to death?

Were you thinking of the next innocent
person Danny was going to kill?

You said that Danny was
delusional, isn't that correct?

Yes.

That he had hallucinations.

That he heard voices
telling him to kill?

Yes.

Then why, Mrs. Payton,

why in the world

did you lend Danny
the keys to your car?

JUDGE: Re-direct, Ms. Hartley?

No, Your Honor.

Then we'll pick up
tomorrow morning.

Kay told me that Danny
stole her keys.

So either she lied to me, or Mrs.
Payton just lied on the stand.

Why would someone lie
to appear more guilty?

She wouldn't. Conference
room, 20 minutes.

So I misspoke.
What's the big deal?

That's one possibility. The other is
that you intentionally lied to me.

What's going on?

Your niece is a very smart
lawyer, Mrs. Payton.

She knows that if you gave
Danny the car,

that you'd be legally responsible
for the death of Emily Milius.

It's called
reckless endangerment.

My guess is that she told you
to lie on the stand,

but you didn't,
and I don't think you forgot.

Let's go.
Let me ask you this.

Did she tell you that we offered her
a deal before we went to trial?

I didn't think so.

She didn't tell you
because she knew you'd accept.

My God, you killed your own son.

And I should rot in Hell for it.

You deserve to walk out
of that courtroom.

Why, Kay?
Because she's not guilty,

or because you want
a corner office?

(SOBBING) Kay?

You have to trust me,
Aunt Diane.

Come on.

We'll see you in court.

Let's think about why
we send a person to prison.

First and foremost, we don't want
the son-of-a-bitch to do it again.

Mrs. Payton killed her son because
of who he was and what he did.

She's not going to do it again.

So there must be
another reason to punish her.

Okay, how's this? We've
got to rehabilitate her.

From what? From trying to save the
lives of people she doesn't even know?

Now, that doesn't sound right.

That should be a good thing
and not a punishable offense.

Okay, I know
what you're thinking.

This woman snubbed her nose
at the laws of this state

and a person just can't do that
and get away with it scot-free.

It was the State
that let her down,

and maybe, just maybe, we owe
her something in return.

I ask you, what act could
possibly be more courageous

than sacrificing your own son
for the greater good?

Should that really be a crime?

Did Mrs. Payton call
the police?

That would have been
an act of courage.

But she didn't do it.

Did she tell her son's doctors

that he had already killed
innocent people?

That would've been courageous.
But she didn't do that, either.

Yes, she's sympathetic.
I have a child myself,

there but for the grace of God.

But consider this:

Mrs. Payton had an
opportunity to tell you

that she killed her son
to save other people's lives.

And she didn't do it.

She had an opportunity
to tell you that she acted

to stop her
disturbed son's suffering.

And she didn't tell you that,
either.

Yes,

hers is a tragic story.

But it's not a defense
to murder.

JUDGE: Will the defendant
please rise?

Have you reached a verdict?

FOREPERSON:
We have, Your Honor.

On the sole count of the indictment,
murder in the second degree,

we find the defendant guilty.

JUDGE: Thank you.
You are hereby...

FOREPERSON: Excuse me, Your
Honor, but we have a question.

I mean,

do we have to send
this defendant to jail?

Fortunately, the Penal Law
guarantees her jail time.

So Kay Hartley called
to take me to lunch.

She probably wants to weasel a
sentencing recommendation out of you.

Good night.
Good night.

JACK: Good night.

It seems the only person who wants Mrs.
Payton in prison is Mrs. Payton.

Well, we all do our emotional
penance in our own way.

Including Kay.

She'll have to work that much
longer to get her name on the door.

Shame.
Yes, it is.