Bruce Elwin is a murderer who turned from racism to born-again Christianity, which his defense tried to argue was grounds for dismissal despite his insistence to plead guilty.
History[]
Bruce didn't want his sister, Nancy Harvard, marrying Justin Lennard, a Black man. Drinking bourbon earlier that day, Bruce pulled a gun on Justin when he was leaving his job at Kinkos. According to his account, Justin tried to grab the gun, which caused Bruce to cut his hand when a window was broken. Bruce then shot Justin three times before fleeing. He hid the gun in the vent of an adjacent building, left three young Black kids take suspicion for hassling the store earlier, and got away with the crime for nine years. Nancy eventually remarried but never got over Justin's death completely. After contemplating suicide by jumping into the Hudson River, Bruce heard church bells ringing, which made him remorseful enough to turn to Christianity and devote himself to giving up his material possessions and paying his dues through charity activities and the worship of Christ, even donating a percentage of his salary to people in need.
When the building that the gun was hidden in was set on fire, the gun went off due to the flames, shooting fireman Sean Grafton's leg and causing him to lose his balance and plunge out of the building to his death. The arsonist, John Gruner, was arrested, and ballistics of the recovered gun matched Justin's shooting; Bruce's hand injury tied him to the crime. Out of remorse, he came to the police and confessed; he was ready to plead guilty to the charges. Wendy Weiss was hired to replace Bruce's counsel, filing a motion to dismiss on the grounds of his religious faith and even making the presiding judge recuse. The subsequent motion hearing ultimately recommended leniency for his sentence but still validated his charges valid and sent Justin to trial.
Bruce again pleaded guilty to murder and accepted his risk of life in prison. (L&O: "In God We Trust")