History Recap / LawAndOrderS15E11Fixed

* SmugSnake: Dr. Lowenstein.

* ContinuitySnarl: When discussing the case, the prosecutors say Lowenstein got a lenient plea deal because it wasn't a slam dunk case. ''[[{{Recap/LawAndOrderS1E9Indifference}} Indifference]]'' ended with Lowenstein being convicted by a jury.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Green and Fontana comment on this when they see Cheryl crying over Jacob in hospital.

Jacob Lowenstein, recently released after serving a jail sentence for his daughter's murder (per the Season 1 episode ''[[{{Recap/LawAndOrderS1E9Indifference}} Indifference]]''), is severely wounded in a hit and run. Lowenstein shows no remorse for his crimes, denies all responsibility, and has already broken the terms of his parole by moving in with his fiancee Cheryl and her children. The detectives are led to Joyce Draper, Lowenstein's therapist as part of an experimental treatment program he undertook in jail. She has no alibi, and DNA on her car is matched to Lowenstein. Van Buren and Southerlyn discover that Lowenstein had taunted Draper during the therapy sessions, threatening to re-offend as soon as he was released. She had checked up on Cheryl's family and learned that Cheryl's daughter broke her arm in an "accident" right after Lowenstein moved in. The detectives arrest Draper for the murder of Lowenstein, who has now died.

* AssholeVictim: Jacob is designated as this.

* IntercontinuityCrossover: Cragen makes a guest appearance from ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''.

* SmugSnake: Dr. Lowenstein.

* TheAllegedExpert: Lowenstein studied law in jail and earned money on the side helping other inmates with their legal appeals - which tended not to go so well, since he wasn't as skilled as he claimed to be.
* BackForTheDead: Lowenstein, since his previous appearance on the show.
* BrokenBird: Lowenstein's ex-wife Carla, who is still living in terror of him.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Green and Fontana comment on this when they see Cheryl crying over Lowenstein in hospital.
* HappilyAdopted: Lowenstein's son Ezra, since the previous episode.
* HateSink: Lowenstein is designated as this.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Draper's spirit was slowly broken by Lowenstein over the course of their therapy sessions until the point of driving her to murder just like he did.

* MayDecemberRomance: Lowenstein and Cheryl, who's the same age his daughter Didi would have been if she'd lived.
* RippedFromTheHeadlines: Based on the national interest in Joel Steinberg (on whom Lowenstein was originally based) after his release from prison.
* SameCharacterButDifferent: In "Indifference", Lowenstein was motivated more by his drug addiction and sexual perversion; his daughter died because he didn't bother to help her after her mother violently beat her. In this episode, he's a calculated sadist who actively enjoys and planned to harm children.
* SmugSnake: Lowenstein.

* BrokenBird: Carla Lowenstein, who is still living in terror of him.

At trial, the jury is shown tapes of Lowenstein's therapy sessions with Draper, in which he all but openly threatened to harm Cheryl's children. She denies killing Lowenstein, but can't explain why she didn't try to speak to Cheryl herself or go to the police. The defense tries to argue that, since Draper's car was kept in a public place, anyone else could have had access to it and killed Lowenstein. In his summation, [=McCoy=] says that while Draper is a sympathetic defendant, this is no excuse for taking the law into her own hands when she could have stopped Lowenstein legally. The jury acquits and the [=DAs=] reflect that this was reasonable behavior.

Jacob Lowenstein, recently released after serving a jail sentence for his daughter's murder (per the Season 1 episode ''[[{{Recap/LawAndOrderS1E9Indifference}} Indifference]]''), is severely wounded in a hit and run. Lowenstein has broken the terms of his parole by moving in with his fiancee Cheryl and her children. He has no memory of the hit and run, and shows no remorse for his crime, blaming his ex-wife Carla for their daughter's death and the media for making him a target. A fellow inmate points the police toward Joyce Draper, Lowenstein's therapist as part of an experimental treatment program he undertook in jail. She has no alibi, and DNA on her car is matched to Lowenstein. Van Buren and Southerlyn discover that Lowenstein had taunted Draper during the therapy sessions, threatening to re-offend as soon as he was released. She had checked up on Cheryl's family and learned that Cheryl's daughter broke her arm in an "accident" right after Lowenstein moved in. The detectives arrest Draper for the murder of Lowenstein, who has now died.

At trial, Draper's former supervisor testifies that she quit her job at the prison a week after Lowenstein was released. She was a perfectionist who couldn't stand to fail, and Lowenstein had completely crushed her belief that everyone is redeemable. The jury is shown tapes of Lowenstein's therapy sessions with Draper, in which he all but openly threatened to harm Cheryl's children. Draper denies killing Lowenstein or that he was the reason she resigned. However, she can't explain why she didn't try to speak to Cheryl herself or go to the police. The defense tries to argue that, since Draper's car was kept in a public place, anyone else could have had access to it and killed Lowenstein. In his summation, [=McCoy=] says that while Draper is a sympathetic defendant, this is no excuse for taking the law into her own hands when she could have stopped Lowenstein legally. The jury acquits and the [=DAs=] reflect that this was reasonable behavior.

* CrossoverEpisode: Cragen makes a guest appearance from ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''.