| "God Bless the Child" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | L&O, Episode 2.05 | → |
| Production number: 67404 First aired: 22 October 1991 | ||
 | ||
| Written By David Black & Robert Stuart Nathan Directed By E.W. Swackhamer | ||
A couple face trial after they deny medical help to their daughter because of religious beliefs and the child dies.
Plot[]
A couple faces trial after they deny medical help to their daughter based on their religious beliefs and their daughter dies of strep throat. Stone's prosecution hinges on whether or not the parents wanted to call for medical help. Things take a turn when the investigation uncovers another child that died under similar circumstances.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Paul Sorvino as Sergeant Phil Cerreta
- Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
- Michael Moriarty as Executive A.D.A. Benjamin Stone
- Richard Brooks as A.D.A. Paul Robinette
- Steven Hill as D.A. Adam Schiff
Recurring cast[]
Guest cast[]
- Henderson Forsythe as Lucius Carpenter
- Marian Seldes as Suzanne
- James Noble as Judge Nelson Kurland
- Byron Jennings as Ted Driscoll
- Caroline Aaron as Susan
- Joyce Reehling as Eleanor Harding
- Kaiulani Lee as Nancy Driscoll
- Biff McGuire as Reverend Morley
- Kenneth Tigar as Dr. Stanback
- Socorro Santiago as Cora Amado
- Edwin Owens as Chief Burke
- Peter Appel as Baumann
- Ted Neustadt as Fisher
- Aleta Mitchell as Joanne Preston
- Steve Boles as Metcalf
- Jose Ynoa as Angel
- Gonzalo Madurga as Dr. Guzmán
- Beth McDonald as Adele Tompkins
- Keith Randolph Smith as Madison
- Danny Dennis as Al Webber
- Sophie Maletsky as Elaine
- Dan Moran as Giordano
- Mike Girard Sheehan as Burton
- John Eric Bentley as Mike Carney
- Bob Gerardi as Bailiff
- Tom Paliferro as Joe Nicholas
- Michelle Trachtenberg as Dinah Driscoll (uncredited)
References[]
- Faith healing
- Swiss Brethren
- Church of All Saints
Quotes[]
- Captain Cragen: So, you wanna send it to social services? It's your call.
- Cerreta: The most we can get her for is endangering the welfare of a child.
- Logan: No, no. What we get her for is manslaughter.
- Cragen: Whoa, Mike. Slow down. We don't get her for anything you don't prove she knew the kid was seriously ill.
- Logan: All right. The housekeeper. What's her name? Uh, Amado. She knew damn well the kid was sick enough to get 2 cops.
- Cerreta: Oh, that'll put the parents away for sure. She was fired. She'll say anything.
- Logan: Getting fired? You think that's a reason to lie about the kid? [to the captain] You believe this?
- Cerreta: Hey! What I think, what you think, what he thinks don't mean diddly-squat! Because in court, she's not a credible witness!
- Logan: Credible?! The kid died!!
- Cragen: Well, well, what's this? Honeymoon over?
- Cora Amado: When my children are sick, I pray for their souls. For their bodies, I get a doctor.
- Phil Cerreta: Grandma fell down a flight of stairs. Daddy's beating up Mommy.
- Mike Logan: Car Accident. Boiler explosion.
- Mike Logan: Wanna move to a small town in Jersey? They got a nice police chief there.
- Benjamin Stone: They want to martyr themselves to religion, fine. They don't have the right to martyr their child.
- Stone: It never ceases to amaze me.
- Robinette: Juries?
- Stone: To weed through a complicated legal minefield, get bad instructions from the judge, and still come up with the right verdict.
- Paul Robinette: What do you think Judge Kurland will give them?
- Benjamin Stone: My guess? They won’t spend a night in jail.
- Paul Robinette: Then what the hell’s the point?
- Benjamin Stone: Well, it’s on the books, it got press. Maybe next week, next month, three years from now a parent will call a doctor ‘cause they remember this conviction. And a child won’t die. That’s the point.
Background information and notes[]
- This is actress Susan Blommaert's first appearance as Judge Rebecca Steinman.
- This was Michelle Trachtenberg's first TV role, although, she went uncredited.
- This episode shares similarities with the Alex Dale Morris case. Morris was 4-years-old in February 1989 when he began complaining of fever and congestion. The child was anointed with holy oil and the members of the Church's congregation prayed for Alex for 46 days. Even though a police officer, acting on an anonymous tip, had stopped by to check on the boy, everyone kept insisting he was fine. Alex died on April 15, 1989, of a lung infection that could have been easily cured by antibiotics.
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Home of Ted and |
Church of All Saints |
Supreme Court |
Supreme Court |
| 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|
|
Supreme Court |
Chambers of Judge |
Supreme Court |
| Previous episode: "Asylum" |
"God Bless the Child" Law & Order Season 2 |
Next episode: "Misconception" |