Law and Order
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== Quotes ==
 
== Quotes ==
''(Lewin addressing the press regarding her decision on the death penalty.)''
 
 
'''Nora Lewin''': My decision today continues this office's decision of objectively applying the laws of this state to the cases it's charged with prosecuting in this great city. Ours is an island but we are not untouched by the national debate or its dictates concerning the death penalty. That being said, my decision goes against my personal feelings, but as District Attorney, I took an oath to uphold the law which includes applying the death penalty fairly with due process of law. To do otherwise would be to substitute my own judgement for the judgement of those the people elected to make such decisions. Accordingly, I am forced to conclude that notice to the court of our intention to seek the death penalty in the case of the People versus Mitch Reagan is appropriate.
 
 
 
 
 
''(After Mitch Regan says the killing was an accident)''
 
''(After Mitch Regan says the killing was an accident)''
 
{{quote|Charge him with murder. A person doesn't lose the back of his skull unless the killer intends him to.|Jack McCoy}}
   
   
  +
''(Discussing seeking the death penalty for 18-year-old Mitch Regan)''
'''Jack McCoy''': Charge him with murder. A person doesn't lose the back of his skull unless the killer intends him to.
 
  +
{{conversation|What should be the standard to take the life of a teenager?|Nora Lewin|Where I come from, it's where the crime committed is so vicious, so cruel, he forfeits the right to get any older.|Abbie Carmichael|Where I come from a person can't forfeit that right. We can only take it from him.|Nora Lewin}}
   
 
''(Lewin addressing the press regarding her decision on the death penalty.)''
 
 
{{quote2|My decision today continues this office's decision of objectively applying the laws of this state to the cases it's charged with prosecuting in this great city. Ours is an island but we are not untouched by the national debate or its dictates concerning the death penalty. That being said, my decision goes against my personal feelings, but as District Attorney, I took an oath to uphold the law which includes applying the death penalty fairly with due process of law. To do otherwise would be to substitute my own judgement for the judgement of those the people elected to make such decisions. Accordingly, I am forced to conclude that notice to the court of our intention to seek the death penalty in the case of the People versus Mitch Reagan is appropriate.|Nora Lewin}}
''(Discussing sentencing'')
 
 
 
'''Nora Lewin''': What should be the standard to take the life of a teenager?
 
'''Abbie Carmichael''': Where I come from, it's where the crime committed is so vicious, so cruel, he forfeits the right to get any older.
 
'''Nora Lewin''': Where I come from a person can't forfeit that right. We can only take it from him.
 
   
 
== Background information and notes ==
 
== Background information and notes ==

Revision as of 08:41, 28 October 2011

"Teenage Wasteland"
L&O, Episode 11.12
Production number: E1315
First aired: 7 February 2001
  th of 456 produced in L&O  
th of 456 released in L&O
  th of 1271 released in all  
Mitch Regan
Written By
Barry Schindel & Aaron Zelman

Directed By
Constantine Makris


Plot

The beating death of a restaurant owner leads Briscoe and Green to thrill-seeking teenagers; McCoy and Lewin are forced to decide how young is too young for the death penalty.

Cast

Main cast

Guest cast

References

Tommy Ngai

Quotes

(After Mitch Regan says the killing was an accident)

Charge him with murder. A person doesn't lose the back of his skull unless the killer intends him to.

–Jack McCoy


(Discussing seeking the death penalty for 18-year-old Mitch Regan)

Nora Lewin: What should be the standard to take the life of a teenager?
Abbie Carmichael: Where I come from, it's where the crime committed is so vicious, so cruel, he forfeits the right to get any older.
Nora Lewin: Where I come from a person can't forfeit that right. We can only take it from him.

(Lewin addressing the press regarding her decision on the death penalty.)

Nora Lewin: My decision today continues this office's decision of objectively applying the laws of this state to the cases it's charged with prosecuting in this great city. Ours is an island but we are not untouched by the national debate or its dictates concerning the death penalty. That being said, my decision goes against my personal feelings, but as District Attorney, I took an oath to uphold the law which includes applying the death penalty fairly with due process of law. To do otherwise would be to substitute my own judgement for the judgement of those the people elected to make such decisions. Accordingly, I am forced to conclude that notice to the court of our intention to seek the death penalty in the case of the People versus Mitch Reagan is appropriate.


Background information and notes

Background information and notes

The story was inspired by the Jin-Shen Liu case, in which a Chinese deliveryman was lured to his death by five Queens teenagers. In the real-life case, none of the teenagers were charged above murder-two, and therefore none were facing the death penalty.

The sentencing issue mentioned towards the end of the episode eventually led the repeal of the death penalty in New York in 2004, three years after the episode aired. As portrayed in the episode, in New York law, when a defendant was facing jury sentencing in a death penalty case, the jury were only able to choose between two options - life without parole, or the death penalty. In addition, judges were legally obliged to inform the jury that if they were deadlocked and could not make a decision beween the two, then the judge would have to impose a mandatory third sentence - 25 to life with the possibility of parole. This provision was criticized as it was feared that many jurors would be 'scared' into going along with the death penalty as they did not want to take the risk of the killer ever getting out on to the streets. In 2004, the New York Court of Appeals ruled this provision unconstitutional, effectively ending the death penalty in New York. (see People v LaValle)


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"Teenage Wasteland"
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