Law & Order

Season 11 Episode 7

Amends

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Episode Summary

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Amends
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Under pressure from the department's top brass, a 20-year-old murder case, initally investigated by Briscoe's now retired boss, is reopened involving the slaying of a teen-age girl with the spoiled son of a politically connected family as the prime suspect.

Fan Episode Reviews (3)

SUBMIT REVIEW

  • Reopening a 20 year old case.

    9.0
    By DexterMorgan2, Mar 15, 2013
    With the departments solve rate at 22% the department feels under pressure so Briscoe opens a 20 year old case to bring the solve rate up Later they realize that the killers had a father with a lot of connections and was able to get a dirty cop to take evidence that could implicate him in the murder It was hard to open a twenty year old case and get the killer but it can be done and the victims family finally gets closure and they can put the murder behind them.moreless

  • The detectives reopen a 20-year-old cold case, only to find that the murderer's powerful father and a corrupt police detective let him get away. They manage to convict when a retired detective who helped cover up the crime makes amends by testifying.moreless

    8.5
    By SunStarCLN, Oct 31, 2011
    This episode deviates from the usual format at both beginning and end. Instead of opening with the discovery of a body, it begins when Lt. Van Buren's superiors tell her to raise her murder clearance rate--or else. As a result, Briscoe and Green reopen the 20-year-old murder of a teenage girl; part of the fun of the episode is watching them try to piece together a case so long after the fact and nail a murderer who's evaded the law for decades. At the end, instead of closing with the ADAs' reflections on the case, the episode closes with Lenny--out of uniform--visiting his old friend, the one who's finally made amends for letting the murderer off the hook in exchange for a promotion. These could have made the episode sentimental and overly dramatic, but in my opinion, they gave a nice view of the complexities behind the case and the characters.



    The heart of the episode, meanwhile, is vintage "Law & Order"--tight scripting, a few twists and turns, and a killer brought to justice. Guest actors give standout performances here in the roles of the retired detective and the murderer's over-the-top ambassador father. In short, this is an excellently written and memorable episode with a satisfying conclusion.moreless

  • A 20 years old cold case reopened.

    9.0
    By klecm5af, Oct 31, 2011
    In the intro we can see Lt. Van Buren being ordered by her superiors to raise the homicide clearance rate or she can can end up transferred.

    The detectives go through the cold cases and pick up one that seems most likely to dig up something new on. Most of evidence lost, witnesses deceased or unsure what actually happened 20 years ago, they put the case together rather slowly. We suspect, though, that the retired leading detective is not saying everything he knows. It's only at the trial on the stand he decides to tell the whole truth - defendant's influential father had his friends in NYPD sweep the case against his son down. Next day Jack offers the defendant a plea for a manslaughter and it is obvious he accepts it with relief - living 20 years with a burden of murder made him drink and led him several times to therapeutic groups that didn't help. Now he finally finds a closure, as well as victims' mother and the retired detective. The episode finishes with Lennie Briscoe forgiving his old friend.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

Jerry Orbach

Jerry Orbach

Det. Lennie Briscoe
S. Epatha Merkerson

S. Epatha Merkerson

Lt. Anita Van Buren
Sam Waterston

Sam Waterston

Exec. ADA Jack McCoy
Angie Harmon

Angie Harmon

ADA Abbie Carmichael
Jesse L. Martin

Jesse L. Martin

Det. Ed Green
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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

Ron Leibman

Ron Leibman

Barry Nathanson

Guest Star

Ken Marks

Ken Marks

Michael Sarno

Guest Star

Remak Ramsay

Remak Ramsay

Peter Sarno

Guest Star

Shawn Elliott

Shawn Elliott

Judge Joseph Rivera

Recurring Role

Merwin Goldsmith

Merwin Goldsmith

Judge Ian Fiest

Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (1)

    • Briscoe states that on February 5th 2001, it will be five years since his last drink. That would correspond to him falling off the wagon in the 1996 episode "Aftershock" (6x23).

  • QUOTES (4)

    • Tommy Brannigan: I let him go. He killed a young girl, and I let him go.
      Lennie Briscoe: You made a mistake. He's caught now.
      Tommy Brannigan: Can you forgive me, Lennie?
      Lennie Briscoe: All day long, Tommy, all day long.

    • Peter Sarno: I want what any parent in position would. An end to the persecution of my boy.
      Jack McCoy: It's prosecution, not persecution.

    • Lennie Briscoe: D.M.V. can't even spell my name right and they got a twenty year old ticket in the system?
      D.M.V. Clerk: Go figure.

    • Curran: I'd rather be in uniform. Too much politics in being a detective. I don't know how you guys do it.
      Lennie Briscoe: We're different. We're in it for the money.

  • NOTES (0)

  • ALLUSIONS (3)

    • This episode appears to be ripped from the headlines of the Martha Moxley and Michael Skakel case.

    • Briscoe: That's how they nabbed Berkowitz.

      "Son of Sam" serial killer David Berkowitz was ultimately caught because he received a parking ticket at the location of his final victim. He was arrested August 10, 1977 and is serving a 365 year prison sentence.

    • Nathanson: Your honor, they're pulling an OJ in reverse.

      Orenthal James "O.J." Simpson is a former American football star and actor who was put on trial in 1995 for the brutal slaying of his wife Nicole and Ronald Goldman. The defense argued that police planted evidence. He was acquitted in a criminal trial and found liable for both deaths in a civil trial.

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Season 11 Episodes

See All
Ep 24
Deep Vote
Ep 23
Judge Dread
Ep 22
School Daze
Ep 21
Brother's Keeper
Ep 20
All My Children
Ep 19
Whiplash
Ep 18
White Lie
Ep 17
Ego
Ep 16
Bronx Cheer
Ep 15
Swept Away - A Very Spe...
Ep 14
A Losing Season
Ep 13
Phobia
Ep 12
Teenage Wasteland
Ep 11
Sunday in the Park with...
Ep 10
Whose Monkey is it Anyway?
Ep 9
Hubris
Ep 8
Thin Ice
Ep 7
Amends
Ep 6
Burn Baby Burn
Ep 5
Return
Ep 4
Standoff
Ep 3
Dissonance
Ep 2
Turnstile Justice
Ep 1
Endurance

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