A serial killer who targets the New York S&M crowd claims that television is responsible for his violent behavior.A serial killer who targets the New York S&M crowd claims that television is responsible for his violent behavior.A serial killer who targets the New York S&M crowd claims that television is responsible for his violent behavior.
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Jane Elliot
- Randi Smolin
- (as Jane Elliott)
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Did you know
- TriviaJack McCoy says the defendant "could blame it on moonbeams or Twinkies..."
On November 27, 1978, San Francisco Supervisor Dan White carried out the premeditated assassinations of fellow San Francisco Supervisor Supervisor Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone but fled and turned himself in before committing the 2 other murders he had planned.
During his trial his defense team and his doctors claimed that White went from being upbeat and health-conscious to depressed and consuming almost nothing but sugary drinks and junk food. They claimed the diet caused or deepened his depression, leading to such an altered his mental state that he didn't realize what he was doing was wrong.
The jurors bought it and White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter instead of murder, receiving only 7 years in prison. White served only 5 years of the 7 year sentence before being paroled.
While Twinkies were not specifically blamed by White or his defense team, the media latched on to their mention and coined the term, "The Twinkie Defense". It is not actually an accepted legal defense but it is a notorious one.
- GoofsOne of the kids Briscoe and Curtis interviewed said he saw the victim buying codeine from a street dealer, that it is used often as a party drug and a sex drug. However it makes no sense for codeine to be used to enhance a sexual experience. Codeine, like all opiates, actually dampens sexual desire in both men and women, but especially men because it greatly reduces testosterone levels. One of the most common side effects of opiates for both sexes is a decreased sex drive and in men opiates often cause erectile dysfunction.
- Quotes
Detective Lennie Briscoe: [finds a man hiding in the closet with a golf club] You got a permit for that putter?
- ConnectionsReferences Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Featured review
Lab experiment for the dead bang guilty
In a case based on the Andrew Cunanan spree serial killings Mitchell Lichtenstein,
an aging party boy is charged with the murder of five people, two in the New York
County jurisdiction and investigated by Jerry Orbach and Benjamin Bratt. I've run
into a few like Lichtenstein who don't turn homicidal. But believe me there's
nothing more pitiful than one who is showing his age as Lichtenstein and trying
to act 21 again. There's always someone younger and prettier coming up, a
universal constant like death and taxes.
But this particular case is turned into a lab experiment by his pro bono defense attorney, Alan Dershowitz like Dennis Boutsikaris. Since the man is dead bang guilty he wants to try a new and different kind of defense. Prolonged exposure to TV violence as a kid made him value human life less.
A defense like this abrogates personal responsibility, something that Sam Waterston just can't allow.
In real life Andrew Cunanan never lived for a trial preferring to take his own life as law enforcement closed in. God only knows had he taken his chances with the criminal justice system what might the outcome have been.
Hey, Twinkies worked for Dan White.
But this particular case is turned into a lab experiment by his pro bono defense attorney, Alan Dershowitz like Dennis Boutsikaris. Since the man is dead bang guilty he wants to try a new and different kind of defense. Prolonged exposure to TV violence as a kid made him value human life less.
A defense like this abrogates personal responsibility, something that Sam Waterston just can't allow.
In real life Andrew Cunanan never lived for a trial preferring to take his own life as law enforcement closed in. God only knows had he taken his chances with the criminal justice system what might the outcome have been.
Hey, Twinkies worked for Dan White.
helpful•103
- bkoganbing
- Jan 3, 2018
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