A promising young writer confesses to the murder and robbery of a cabbie and demands that he receive the death penalty.A promising young writer confesses to the murder and robbery of a cabbie and demands that he receive the death penalty.A promising young writer confesses to the murder and robbery of a cabbie and demands that he receive the death penalty.
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Fred Thompson
- DA Arthur Branch
- (as Fred Dalton Thompson)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode appears to be based on two separate cases:
- The 1981 Jack Abbott case. Abbott wrote the acclaimed book In the "Belly of the Beast" while in prison. He was granted parole in 1981 then moved to New York City and became a star of the literary scene until he killed a waiter at a restaurant 6 weeks later. He returned to prison and committed suicide in 2002.
- The 1976 Gary Gilmore case.
- GoofsIn several scenes, Detective Ed Green is seen conversing with author Nelson Lambert and they allude to the fact that they are both drinking Lambert's Scotch. In fact, Lambert is seen pouring their drinks from a Maker's Mark bottle which is Kentucky Bourbon, not Scotch.
- Quotes
[after Ed had an informal discussion with a suspect that led to a partial confession]
Lt. Anita Van Buren: Five hours? I hope the hell he called you in the morning.
Det. Ed Green: Hey, the best way to get a drunk to open his mouth is to let him drink, isn't that right, Lennie?
Det. Lennie Briscoe: [looking up from his desk] Hear, hear!
Featured review
I can't think of a better candidate for execution. Albert Einstein kills Jack the Ripper
Some teenagers were playing American football on the street when one of them noticed a body stabbed to death beneath a cab. The victim was a supporter of KKK movement and the cab belongs to an Asian guy who used to borrow his vehicle to the victim to help him make ends meet (they forged a close bond in A.A. meetings, much to Briscoe understanding). Fingerprints inside the cab lead detectives to two well-known writers of crime novels, both addicted to alcohol. They spent together the night drinking booze at a local pub; totally drunk, one of them killed a cabbie after a petty argument and stole some bucks from his wallet. The perp had priors, having spent many years behind bars for selling drugs in his freshman year, and inside the prison he committed a murder in the laundry room in the same way (by stabbing in the chest). McCoy was stunned when the defendant tells him he deserves the death penalty: then it's up to the psychiatric and the judge to determine if he's mentally insane or not.
An original episode: no defendant is willing to go to the death row, but the writer explained he'd rather end up his life than living his life in prison the same way day by day.
An original episode: no defendant is willing to go to the death row, but the writer explained he'd rather end up his life than living his life in prison the same way day by day.
helpful•121
- Mrpalli77
- Nov 26, 2017
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