Self-Defense (Season 3, Episode 7)
Premise: A Greek immigrant jeweler shoots two armed robbers, and Stone must decide whether chasing one into the street turned self-defense into murder.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 3, Episode 7
- Detectives
- Sgt. Phil Cerreta (Paul Sorvino), Det. Mike Logan (Chris Noth)
- ADAs/DA
- Exec. ADA Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty), ADA Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks), DA Adam Schiff (Steven Hill)
- Guest stars
- Adam Arkin as George Costas, Ron Rifkin as defense attorney Alex Drakos, Marissa Chibas as Christina Costas, Frank Savino as Nick Fortas
- Director
- Ed Sherin
- Writers
- René Balcer & Hall Powell
Summary
The Investigation
“Self-Defense” begins with brothers Garland and Cecil Booker found shot dead near 28th Street and Lexington Avenue, Garland in his car. Both had criminal records, and Garland’s girlfriend says Cecil had promised to repay a debt that night. Jeweler George Costas, whose shop has a security cage and suspiciously fresh paint, hands over a .38 that does not match. Pressed about a second gun registered to his wife, Christina, he admits the brothers came in armed and says he fired back. He kept quiet, he explains, because he is not yet a citizen and fears Immigration.
Insurance records reveal a surveillance camera, and brother-in-law Nick Fortas admits Costas asked about destroying the tape; his lawyer, Alex Drakos, hands it over. The detectives learn Costas once shot a robber dead at an earlier store in Fort Lee, New Jersey. A seventh bullet found in Garland’s car shows Costas reloaded and shot him in the back as he reached toward the floor for his keys. Cerreta sees self-defense; Stone sees an execution, and Costas is charged with two counts of second-degree murder.
The Trial
A judge suppresses Costas’s statements to the police because he was questioned without Miranda warnings, but the tape stays in. Drakos releases a short clip to the press, and public support swells. Stone offers a manslaughter plea; Costas refuses. On the stand he says Garland was reaching for a weapon, though he concedes he never saw the crowbar under the seat.
Drakos subpoenas Cerreta, an expert on deadly force who has found 19 police shootings justified. Cerreta testifies that what the tape shows was justified, but on cross-examination says he would not fire until he saw a weapon and would arrest a citizen chasing someone with a gun.
Spoiler, the ending: The jury acquits Costas of killing Cecil Booker and convicts him of murdering Garland. Costas appeals with backing from a defense fund and the gun lobby, and four jurors tell reporters they felt pressured to convict.
Why it stands out
- Cerreta is called as a defense witness and testifies partly against Stone’s case.
- Both Costas and the prosecutors invoke the Goetz case when weighing how the public will see him.
- The jury splits its verdict between the two brothers.