"Law & Order" Thinking Makes It So (2006)
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Law & Order
ACT_l — 9 years ago(January 11, 2017 06:10 PM)
"Law & Order" Thinking Makes It So (2006)
http://www.imdb.com/board/10773937/
Original Air Date: 29 March 2006 (Season 16, Episode 18)
Wed. Jan. 11 8:00 PM Thinking Makes It So #16.18
Plot:
Fontana is accused of using excessively violent tactics
to force a kidnapping suspect to reveal the location of the victim.
Prosecutors are left to decide whether the ends justified the means
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Burge
Jon Graham Burge (born December 20, 1947)
is a convicted felon and former Chicago Police Department detective
and commander who gained notoriety
for torturing more than 200 criminal suspects between 1972 and 1991
in order to force confessions.
On January 11, 2003, having lost confidence in the state's penal system,
outgoing Republican Governor George Ryan
commuted the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois death row
On April 14, 2015, the Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel,
announced the creation of a $5.5 million city fund
for individuals who could prove that they were victimized by Burge
ACT1 -
Xeliou66 — 9 years ago(January 12, 2017 04:55 PM)
A totally different situation and absolutely stupid comparison. Fontana never used excessive force in any other case, he was trying to save the life of a 6 year old girl and he stuck the guy's head in a toilet. He was not a dirty, abusive cop who beat up suspects on a regular basis, like that Chicago cop was. I have a feeling you have never watched the episode or the show, and just thought you would look smart by posting that, not realizing you made yourself look like a retard.
One thing I liked about that episode was that it didn't condone Fontana's actions as right by making the guy a monster who had abused the girl, he treated her well, nor did it condemn his actions as wrong by making the suspect innocent, he had kidnapped the girl and she was found as a result of Fontana's actions. It left the viewer to decide if Fontana was justified or not. Great episode, and your comparison is stupid. -
scrabbler1 — 9 years ago(January 13, 2017 06:10 AM)
To me the question in that episode was if the DAs could use the suspect's toilet-bowl confession as admissible evidence against him. The suspect was being truthful when he said he confessed under those conditions while Fontana lied when he said it didn't happen that way. Sometimes, when it is the "cop's word against the suspect's word," the suspect is being truthful and the cop is lying even though the ruling ends up going the other way. I have seen this happen frequently in both L&O and in SVU.
Borgia thought of an "inevitable discovery" scenario which saved the day, making the discovery of the kidnapped girl not fruit of the poisonous tree and enabling the DAs to get the suspect convicted (or he took a plea).
I found Fontana's actions reprehensible as a cop but admirable as a humanitarian. -
Xeliou66 — 9 years ago(January 17, 2017 09:39 PM)
I agree, it was bad for a cop but justifiable from a human perspective. I am anti-torture, but when there is an innocent person's life at stake, especially a child's, I think it is okay as a last resort. Very good episode, terrific writing that dealt with a thought provoking issue and gave no easy answers.