This one starts out pretty baffling: everyone liked the victims and they were murdered in a horribly brutal way (the crime scene is one of the bloodiest I've seen on L&O, though it's shown only briefly). It leads into issues of drunkenness, child abuse and mental competency; given the latter, it's no surprise that Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet is called in to judge whether or not the defendant was aware of his alleged actions when he committed them.
I was surprised at how good the performances were: Eddie Malavarca, who is perhaps best known for his work on HBO's prison drama "Oz," really gives his all as the defendant; he's pathetic and tragic in equal measure. And his foster mother, Fran Brill, completely knocks it out the park too - there's a really heartbreaking court scene with her character, and you'll know it when you see it.
The main "ethical quandary of the week" here is whether or not McCoy is doing the right thing in trying to convict someone who might not be responsible for his actions - assuming he even did the deed in the first place.
It's yet another solid episode in what has so far been a great first season for the McCoy character. I loved Michael Moriarty as EADA Ben Stone too, but thanks to Sam Waterston he's now a distant memory.