This episode appears to be based on the 1987 Tawana Brawley rape allegation case. In 1987, at age 15, in the small town of Wappingers Falls, New York. Tawana Brawley, a teenage African-American girl from upstate New York, was found beaten, her clothes tattered, and racial epithets written all over her body. She stated that she had been raped, though no DNA evidence was ever found. Her case received national media attention in the U.S., primarily due to Brawley's accusing six prominent white men from her town (including police officers) of gang rape. After hearing evidence, a grand jury concluded in October 1988 that Brawley had not been the victim of a forcible sexual assault and that she herself may have created the appearance of the attack. It was eventually revealed that the whole thing had been a hoax. However, Brawley's family has maintained that the allegations were true.
Ruben Santiago-Hudson has played four different roles over the course of the series:
- Episode 1.11 Out of the Half-Light (1990) - Mr. Gaines.
- Episode 5.6 Competence (1994) - Detective Brian Keene.
- Episode 9.12 Haven (1999) - Defense Attorney Winters.
- Episode 11.18 White Lie (2001) - Defense Attorney Winters.
- Episode 14.6 Identity (2003) - Dr. Paul Jackson.
- Episode 18.14 Burn Card (2008) - Defense Attorney Winters.
Chris Noth (Detective Mike Logan) & Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Mr. Gaines) also worked together on Loser Edit (2015) (episode 6.18), as Peter Florrick & Charles Jinks respectively.