User Reviews

Just watched the episode death penalty :final appeal and I think it was not only one of the best cold case episodes but one of the most infuriating. While this story is obviously fiction, there are really some prosecutors, judges, and Lawyers out there that are that stubborn, that refuse to open closed cases even when they have compelling evidence that they were in the wrong. A really compelling episode that made me rethink my opinion on the death penalty. The ending where the girl is raped off screen (after an innocent man is already put to death) and ask you hear is her quiet whimper as the song hallelujah begins to play brought tears to me eyes. What an infuriating, compelling, and interesting episode of Cold Case.

This story was compelling from the get-go. I'm sure I've seen it before but I've been doing re-runs of this show which I always loved. In this episode Andre Tibbs is on death row for rape and murder. For some reason I believed he was innocent (I did not remember the outcome though I'm sure I had seen every episode of this series).

When I saw his boss, Wayne Nelson, I immediately told myself he did it (he actor often acts as a bad person). The ADA was so uncaring and would not listen when he was told that maybe the man is innocent. I know some say it's a compelling reason to remove the death penalty, but there are some criminals that in my opinion really deserve the death penalty (look at those who we know got their AK rifles and gunned down schools - why spare them)?

Back to the show. Tibbs was asked to tell more about what happened, and he declined. He waited until he was at death's door to spill. Why? He could have told what the letter said from the beginning. And the ADA could have let them see the letter. Maybe Tibbs' life could have been spared.

I cried when they were playing the song "Hallelujah" at the end. And on another note, I went to look up the actor Michael Jace who played Tibbs, only to find out he is actually doing time in jail for killing his wife in real life! How ironic! He got 2nd-degree murder. If he had gotten first, he too might have been on death row. What a story.

Anyhow, great, touching episode.

This episode which sees an innocent man being executed by lethal injection, only for the Cold Case squad to find the real murderer two days later, must be one of the most compelling cases arguing against the death penalty. The original conviction relied on the suppression of vital evidence not only by a crooked cop but also a complacent or crooked ADA (who is fired for his role in the investigation but gets to live) proving once and for all that as long as the law is executed by men and women who make mistakes, state-sanctioned murder is simply wrong. In this fiction the truth finally comes out, powerfully underlined by the haunting song, "Hallelujah", by Jeff Buckley, performed by John Cale. In real life such scandals would usually be swept under the carpet. It should make us all pause and question the morality of executions.

This is definitely one of the best episodes Cold Case has put out. This episode mainly surrounded Detective Jeffries and his conflicting emotions towards a man who was placed on death row for the murder of a 16 year old girl. The case is brought up after the cop who arrested the convict was found to be guilty of lying on the job. The convict stated when he was arrested he was framed by the cop. Jeffries feels up until the time of the execution the convict is guilty until he tells of what really happened that night which leaves the convict executed and innocent. Jeffries is desperate to find the truth, assaults the assistant district attorney after discovering he held back evidence which would have help save the convicts life. The story takes a turn to the convicts former employer whom sexually assaulted his daughter since she was 13 and had done the same the teenage girl the night of the murder and killed her after. The convict shows up after the stabbing to stay with the girl until her death, only to be executed himself for the murder.

This episode is actually a little creepy knowing that the man on death row is actually in jail now for murdering his wife!!! His wife was a gorgeous woman and this man took her life for no reason!! He deprived his children of their mother. Such an evil thing to do.

So heart breaking what happened to an innocent person. I guess that's why the death penalty is so flawed. Also sometimes people's egos get in the way. That's why people who have power need to have an open mind. Still not sure why he didn't spill the truth sooner or why he wasn't given the benefit of the doubt and more tests should have been performed as it was 10 years later. It's a good episode none the less.

As the story begins Kate Lange and her father, Terry, are seen moving to a new home. Kate is unhappy with the arrangement. She misses her mother terribly. Her father explains his wife can't be with them because she is in a mental institution where if all goes well, she will be helped, but unfortunately, the reunion between mother and daughter will not take place because Kate is raped and murder that night in the new house.

Andre Tibbs, one of the man helping the Langes with the moving, is a former convict. His boss, Wayne Nelson, explains to Mr. Lange he likes to give former prisoners a break so they can go straight. As Tibbs is taking a heavy mirror upstairs, he is offered help from Lange, and in refusing, Andre drops it, breaking it. Wayne is furious and fires Tibbs on the spot.

When Kate is found, Andrew Tibbs become a suspect because the police found drops of Kate's blood on his shoes. Because Andre Tibbs is a former con, all the circumstantial evidence point he killed the young girl. He is convicted of the crime and he is given the death sentence.

Detective Jeffreys recalls his involvement with the case, as he learns that in three days Tibbs will be executed. He goes back to talk to Andre, who swears he didn't do it. Jeffreys begins to see how he can help, but he is too late. Tibbs is given a lethal injection and dies. Jeffreys, who is not totally convinced of Tibbs' guilt starts an investigation that eventually unmasks the real killer based on a name Kate told Tibbs when he found her bleeding in her kitchen.

This is one of the most dramatic cases we have seen in the program. The only problem we have is one of credibility. In cases of impending death of inmates on death row, all possible alternatives are used by lawyers involved in the case. No one waits to go investigating again three days before a condemned man is scheduled to be put to death, as the writer, Sean Whitesell would like us to believe. Andre Tibbs had convincing arguments to reverse his own death, yet he only tells it to Jeffreys, who finds himself impotent to do anything, only three days prior to the execution, a terrible error in judgment on his part.

The death penalty should be abolished because it has been proved so many innocent people have died because, as it is the case of Andre Tibbs, his own ignorance, and an adamant D.A. have built a case against the only man that has been accused of the murder. No one takes the time to really investigate, although as proved, again and again, condemned men facing death can prolong their executions for years, something Mr. Whitesell doesn't even give it a thought and has Tibbs dying for dramatic purposes as shown on this episode. If Tibbs felt sure he didn't kill Kate, why wait to get Jeffreys' help with only a short time in which to prove his innocence?

So it's 1994. Dna is fairly new but it has been collected for decades.... And at the end the cop goes down and finds the note, seriously? Couldn't take 2 mins and go down before? Of course Hollywood hates the death penalty, unless it's a baby, so of course this episode has an agenda, the evil DA, the dumb cops, etc etc. A lot of mistakes that don't seem to ever happen all at once.

So it's 1994. Dna is fairly new but it has been collected for decades.... And at the end the cop goes down and finds the note, seriously? Couldn't take 2 mins and go down before? Of course Hollywood hates the death penalty, unless it's a baby, so of course this episode has an agenda, the evil DA, the dumb cops, etc etc. A lot of mistakes that don't seem to ever happen all at once.