Deadlock (L&O)

"Deadlock"
←	L&O, Episode 17.09	→
Production number: 17009 First aired: 17 November 2006
	th of 456 produced in L&O
←	th of 456 released in L&O	→
	th of 1229 released in all
Written By David Slack Directed By Alex Chapple

Plot

An ambitious defense attorney tries to use a murder case as a referendum on the death penalty, but Jack is worried that her client may not be getting the best advice.

Cast

Main cast

• Jesse L. Martin as Detective Ed Green
• Milena Govich as Detective Nina Cassady
• S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
• Sam Waterston as Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy
• Alana De La Garza as A.D.A. Connie Rubirosa
• Fred Dalton Thompson as D.A. Arthur Branch

Recurring cast

• Patricia R. Floyd as Judge Rochelle Desmond
• Jordan Leeds as Judge Harold Gordon
• James Lorenzo as Arraignment Judge Albert Bryce

Guest cast

• Jeremy Davidson as Robert Purcell
• Craig Walker as Leon Vorgitch
• Catherine Dent as Defense Attorney Dena Carter
• Agustin Rodriguez as Pedro
• Keith Eric Chappelle as Defense Attorney Gavin Edlund
• Myk Watford as Detective Hannigan
• Cynthia Darlow as Delores Vorgitch
• Eden Espinosa as Mia Alvarez
• Ylfa Edelstein as Dr. Sheryl Burnett
• Lou Sumrall as John Garvey
• Greg Huge as Rex Mays
• Matt D'Amico as Carl Vorgitch
• Donna Blaszczyk as Nikki Hale
• Michael X. Martin as Justice #1
• Michael Warner as Justice #3
• Wayne Alon Scott as Corrections Officer Bennie Williams
• Anthony C. Mazza as ESU Team Leader
• Eric Morace as Corrections Officer Alfonso Ruiz
• Kate Guyton as Kelly
• Lenny Levi as Russian Street Vendor
• Louis Ozawa Changchien as Fugitive Team Director Nguyen
• Georgia Southern as Nurse
• K.B. Nau as Corrections Officer Nolan
• Eric Miller as Hospital Uniform
• Laurence Blum as School Uniform
• Roberto Cambiero as Clerk
• Alex P. Stephens as Foreperson
• Sherman Alpert as Courtroom Press (uncredited)
• Chris Edwards as News Reporter (uncredited)
• Rosemary Howard as NBC Press (uncredited)
• Kelly Anne Burns as Lisa Purcell (uncredited)

References

References

Quotes

Clerk: Docket #48215. People v. Leon Wayne Vorgitch. Charges are 8 counts of murder in the first degree, escape in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.

Judge Bryce: How does the defendant plead, Mr....

Leon: Kiss my ass! That's how I plead.

Judge Bryce: Control your client, counselor.

Edlund: I'll do my best, your honor. He pleads not guilty.

Judge Bryce: And since he's already serving three life sentences for mass murder, bail's not an issue.

Connie: But which cell he's returned to is, your honor. The defendant obtained the tools for his escape while incarcerated at Green Haven. People ask that corrections place him in a federal super-max facility pending trial.

Judge Bryce: Mr. Edlund?

Edlund: No objection, your honor.

Judge Bryce: So ordered. [bangs gavel]

Leon: [as the court officers escort him out] You can lock me up wherever you want, bitch.

Judge Bryce: We're done! Get him out of here!

Leon: You can lock me up wherever you want, 'cause that's all you can do. And next time I get out, I'm comin' straight for you, bitch! [to the court officers] Get your hands off me.

[McCoy discusses a plea offer with Leon]

McCoy: Murder-2 on all 8 charges.

Leon: Go to Hell, McCoy. Murder-1, 2, 3. What's the hell's that even mean? I want somethin' real. TV time. Conjugal visits.

McCoy: We're not here to offer perks, Mr. Vorgitch.

Leon: I want one of them flatscreens. That's my price. Take it or leave it.

McCoy: We'll leave it.

Leon: Fine. But every day I get on that bus and go to court is another day I don't have to spend in here. Another chance to escape.

Robert: I did exactly what you were trying to do. Everyone agreed he should die.

McCoy: I was seeking to have Vorgitch legally executed.

Robert: And I executed him. How can you come after me for that?

McCoy: Because New York doesn't have a do-it-yourself death penalty, Mr. Purcell.

Robert: I don't care what the law says.

Connie: That's hardly a defense.

McCoy: [after Robert has agreed to a plea deal] Judge Gordon approved a sentence reduction in exchange for Robert Purcell's testimony. Down from 20 years to 10. Eligible for parole in 3.

Branch: What about Dena Carter?

[McCoy shows his boss the headline of the New York Ledger; Carter has been indicted for Leon's murder]

Branch: [satisfied] Now that's justice.

Background information and notes

• The case is apparently based on the Allan Legere case. Legere was a Canadian convicted murderer who, in 1989, escaped from prison during a transfer. Much like Leon Vorgitch, he did not attempt to immediately get out of the country, but rather embarked himself on a revenge-driven killing spree, targeting people living in the community who had originally convicted him. He murdered five people before his eventual recapture.
• Vorgitch's original crime appears to have been based on the Wendy's massacre. In May 2000, John Taylor and Craig Godineaux entered a Wendy's in Flushing, Queens, to commit a robbery, but ended up killing five people and injuring two others. Taylor was condemned to death, but his sentence was eventually reversed in 2004, when capital punishment was deemed unconstitutional in New York.
• Robert Purcell's murder of Vorgitch while he was being escorted out of courtroom is reminiscent of the Gary Plauche case. In March 1984, Plauche shot the man who had sexually assaulted his son while the latter was being escorted to face trial.

Episode scene cards