An off-duty cop is stabbed to death, and her assailant is critically wounded. Eyewitness Monica Johnson tells detectives Lenny Briscoe and Rey Curtis that she saw the man follow the victim into the park—but holes in her story lead them to arrest her for the officer’s death. District Attorney Adam Schiff faces political pressure to seek the death penalty for the cop killer. After prosecutor Jack McCoy gets Monica to confess on the stand, she undergoes a religious transformation and chooses not to fight her execution. McCoy and ADA Jamie Ross debate whether a repentant killer should face the death penalty. Monica’s cause is taken up by both left-wing and right-wing lawyers, who petition to spare her life.

Meanwhile, Lt. Anita Van Buren’s discrimination suit against the NYPD is dismissed, and Briscoe’s daughter is pressured into participating in a dangerous sting operation to take down her drug dealer.

We’re talking about Law & Order season eight, episode 21 “Bad Girl.” Our returning guest is Mark Blankenship. The episode was inspired by the case of Karla Faye Tucker.

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