The Ledger

9.8 Punk

In this episode (9.8), which I feel like I have seen and written about a million times, a young female convict arranges the murder of a male corrections officer who raped her repeatedly and threatened her child. Briscoe and Curtis investigate, though Abbie Carmichael plays a prominent role.

The episode begins with two kids playing football in a small paved park. One kid discovers the victim's body near the bathroom in the park. The man was shot with a 9mm pistol. They learn he was a corrections officer, and they talk to cons who may have had a problem with the victim, Charlie Tyner. One con they talk to says that Tyner was corrupt. Another convict, a female, says Tyner used to treat certain females as favorites. I wonder why. They learn about another convict Tyner dealt with, Alice Minelli, who once refused a drug test. Tyner had accessed her medical records shortly thereafter. They talk to Minelli, who is aggressive and defiant. She's a member of the street/prison gang the Paganos, and is angry at Carmichael, who she says has a vendetta against her. It turns out that the reason Minelli is in prison to begin with is that she wouldn't make a deal with Carmichael on a drug offense, and she refused to roll on others, so Carmichael sent her away. Briscoe and Curtis talk to one of the leaders of the Paganos, a guy named Pacheco. As they talk to him, he starts towards his toolbox and then moves away. Curtis notes this, and checks out the toolbox. Inside, they find the murder weapon. Pacheco takes off, but Curtis quickly catches him and punches him in the face to subdue him. They talk to his sister, a prison friend of Minelli's, who very reluctantly gives them a little bit more info. Minelli is indicted for Murder 1. At her arraignment, she demands that Carmichael be taken off the case, but that motion is denied.

Recurring character Danielle Melnick comes in as Minelli's defense counsel, and reveals more details about the relationship between Minelli and Tyner. Meanwhile, Minelli suffers a miscarriage. She was pregnant! Guess who the father was. We learn that Tyner had arranged for a fellow CO to give a condom to Minelli's young daughter in the park, telling her to tell her mom about it. Melnick, disgusted by everything she's heard from her client, tells McCoy "I'll put the system on trial."

Back on the Pacheco trial, Pacheco gets the gun suppressed, and the case against him is dismissed. McCoy prepares to cut a deal with Minelli because of the setback, and Carmichael is mad at him.

At Minelli's trial, Carmichael cross-examines her, and she discusses how she was repeatedly raped by Tyner. She says she never reported it because she was ashamed. She demands of Carmichael, "Haven't you ever been raped?" This provokes a silent, but visible, reaction from Carmichael. The jury is out deliberating for three days when Abbie tells McCoy to make a deal with Minelli. How about Attempted Man I, and she testifies against Pacheco? Well, how about I just tell you where he got the gun instead. OK.

As the episode ends, Carmichael tells McCoy that she was raped by a 3rd year law student when she was a freshman in college. She starts crying and says she blamed herself. End of episode.

Quick casting note: the sister of Pacheco the Pagano is played by Karina Arroyave, who went on to play Jamey Farrell, the hot computer tech on the first season of 24.

Posted by adm at April 9, 2004 06:56 PM

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