All spoilers are unmarked per policy. You Have Been Warned
Written By Julie Martin and Warren LeightDirected By Jean De Segonzac
The violent attack of an athletic coach by a janitor uncovers a history of sexual abuse suffered by said janitor in his youth at the hands of a school counselor. More victims are identified, including a prisoner on death row scheduled for execution soon. It's a race against the clock to get the execution stayed long enough to record the prisoner's testimony.
Tropes include:
- Amoral Attorney: The overall implication of the prosecution in Reggie Rhodes' case after they were proven to have committed prosecutorial misconduct by concealing evidence of the abuse he suffered, particularly because of the homophobic Politically Incorrect Villain flavor of how they conducted themselves.
- Crusading Lawyer: Bayard Ellis is on a crusade to get a stay on Reggie Rhodes execution as well as a re-trial.
- Dirty Old Man: Martin Schultz, of the pederast variety sprinkled with "avuncular charm" as Benson puts it.
- Fiery Cover-Up: How Schultz intended to destroy the evidence of his...activities. Too bad the boy he ordered to do it for him botched the job.
- Jailed One After Another: Schultz goes to the same prison as Dubcek is in. It is heavily implied that things won't turn out fine for the former.
- Jerkass: Pretty much everyone agrees that coach Alexei is an asshole, but he's not a criminal.
- Mistaken for Pedophile: Coach Alexei. Turns out it was a misunderstanding on the part of his attacker the Janitor brought upon by his own past trauma.
- Trauma Conga Line: Rhodes (and possibly other victims of Schultz, like Dubcek). As a boy he was molested by an uncle, his mother's boyfriend/pimp, his teacher, and finally Schultz, then passed around by Schultz to other perverts. This utterly ruins Rhodes' life, as a man who was paying him for sex (after he ran away to Cleveland) allowed three other men to come in and rape him. He returns the next day and murders the man, which is what lands him in jail.
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You Look Familiar: Johnny Dubcek, the janitor at Alexei's gym and one of Schultz's victims, is portrayed by Peter Scanavino. Scanavino would later go on to play Detective (and, eventually, ADA) Dominick Carisi Jr. as a series regular. In addition to Dubcek and Carisi, Scanavino has also portrayed three other characters across the different shows in the Law & Order franchise.
