An African-American teenager shoots a police officer because he's angry about the lack of investigation into his brother's death. A reopening of that investigation aggravates some deep racia... Read allAn African-American teenager shoots a police officer because he's angry about the lack of investigation into his brother's death. A reopening of that investigation aggravates some deep racial tensions.An African-American teenager shoots a police officer because he's angry about the lack of investigation into his brother's death. A reopening of that investigation aggravates some deep racial tensions.
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- DA Arthur Branch
- (as Fred Dalton Thompson)
- Stevie Thomas
- (as Chad C. Tucker)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis is Gregory Hines first and only appearance on Law & Order which aired in March of 2003. He was suffering from liver cancer and died in August of 2003.
- GoofsOn the witness stand, Medical Examiner Gail Berardi says that her initials are on a folder. However, her initials are not on the folder, but her name is.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Detective Ed Green: Hey, lieu. We're in no rush to get home tonight?
Lt. Anita Van Buren: You know, I used to wake up in the morning, brush my teeth, comb my hair, look in the mirror, and see a cop looking back at me.
Detective Ed Green: Hmm. Stevie Thomas shattered that mirror?
Lt. Anita Van Buren: Now I got six eyes looking back. A cop, a black woman, a mother.
Detective Ed Green: That's lucky. You know what Eric Thomas sees? Nothing.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Law & Order: Profile - Jesse L. Martin (2004)
Despite every previous season of 'Law and Order' having at least one race-related episode, which goes to show how relevant it was/is and how big a problem it was and still is, it is a topic that warrants a lot of discussion, awareness raised and searching for ways to decrease it. Season 13's "Suicide Box" does a generally very good job with the topic, though there are other episodes of 'Law and Order' that handle it even more powerfully, namely Season 4's "Profile" and Season 5's "Rage".
Like quite a number of 'Law and Order' episodes, the second half is better than the first. The early portions of the episode are well done but are on the ordinary side. Elisabeth Rohm lacks personality as Southerlyn and has seldom looked comfortable.
It is agreed that it is very odd that McCoy objected to the defense argument so soon, which is pretty much the equivalent of not giving the defense a chance.
However, a lot is great here. Jerry Orbach and Jesse L Martin are typically great and have always loved their pairing, while Sam Waterston does authority and cunning so well. There are unsettling performances from Orie Faida Lampley and particularly Chad Tukker. His actions are uncondonable but the circumstances are pretty heart-breaking.
The production values as ever have slickness and grit, with an intimacy without being claustrophobic. The music has presence when it's used but does so without being intrusive, some of it is quite haunting too. The direction is also understated but the tension never slips, the second half being full of it. Script is taut and intelligent, while the story is lean, intense and emotional. Very little overwrought-ness or no preachiness, not easy with this topic to do.
Overall, very good. 8/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jun 15, 2022