Amends (Season 11, Episode 7)
Premise: Pushed to raise her squad’s clearance rate, Van Buren has Briscoe and Green reopen the 1981 killing of a 16-year-old girl, and the case leads to an ambassador’s son and a cover-up by Briscoe’s old boss.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 11, Episode 7
- Detectives
- Det. Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach), Det. Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin)
- ADAs/DA
- Exec. ADA Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), ADA Abbie Carmichael (Angie Harmon)
- Guest stars
- Ken Marks as Michael Sarno, Remak Ramsay as Ambassador Peter Sarno, Ron Leibman as defense attorney Barry Nathanson, Brad Sullivan as Tommy Brannigan, James Hanlon as Officer Charlie Curran
- Ripped from the headlines
- The story draws on the 1975 killing of Martha Moxley.
- Director
- Matthew Penn
- Writers
- William N. Fordes
Summary
The Investigation
“Amends” starts when department brass threaten Van Buren’s command unless her homicide clearance rate improves, sending Briscoe and Green into the cold-case files. They choose the 1981 killing of 16-year-old Marybeth Mosley, bludgeoned on West 92nd Street with a ratchet, a case once led by Briscoe’s retired former boss, Tommy Brannigan. The original suspect, plumber Fred Jenks, still has a solid alibi, and the property room can no longer find the girl’s clothes or the weapon.
A former acquaintance names Michael Sarno, son of an ambassador and nephew of a senator, who once dated Mosley. Officer Charlie Curran says he wanted Sarno pressed back then and was returned to a foot post after going over Brannigan’s head. Sarno’s college reveals he was suspended at the time over a complaint by Stephanie Luchien, who says he raped her and his father paid for her silence. A 1981 parking ticket puts the family’s red Triumph in Manhattan on the day of the murder. Chris Paley then comes forward: a man in his rehab group once said he beat a girl with a ratchet. After a private talk with Briscoe, Paley’s account leads to Sarno’s arrest for murder and rape.
The Trial
Defense attorney Barry Nathanson wins suppression of the rehab admission when the judge rules that psychologist-client privilege extends to a supervised group session. Curran testifies that a one-inch ratchet was missing from the Sarno garage workshop, and Mosley’s friend Janice Trainor recalls Sarno groping Mosley and boasting about her, though police notes of her old statement are gone. A retired property clerk recalls a driver for Inspector Alvin Holsick signing out a wrench. Sarno admits lying about being at college but denies being in the city or killing anyone.
Called by the defense, Brannigan says he cannot recall much. On McCoy’s cross he admits that Holsick, who later drew a large salary from the ambassador, told him Sarno was not the killer, promised him first-grade detective, and took charge of the murder weapon.
Spoiler, the ending: McCoy offers a manslaughter plea with a recommended sentence of eight and one-third to 12 years, warning that otherwise the ambassador faces obstruction charges. Over his father’s objections, a visibly drunk Sarno agrees to plead guilty, subject to a sober formal plea. Briscoe later finds a shamed Brannigan in his garage and tells him he is forgiven.
Why it stands out
- A suspect’s admission in a supervised group-therapy session is suppressed under psychologist-client privilege.
- The cold case turns on a retired detective’s confession that he let a well-connected suspect go in exchange for a promotion.