History Recap / ColdCaseS4E19Offender

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Cliff Burrell is a twisted pervert who raped and murdered a 6-year-old boy, then framed his best friend (the boy'd ''father'') for his crime. Despicable as he may be, he did consider his own son to be "off-limits."

* AntiVillain: Mitch Hathaway spent twenty years in prison for the rape and murder of his six-year-old son. When he gets out, he kills a registered sex-offender every day until the cops find his son’s real killer.
* AssholeVictim: Mitch murders proven sex offenders to avenge his son who was raped and killed by a man. Ernie Grabowski is especially this trope, as he shows no remorse for being a pedophile and thinks it’s normal, and that one day, the world will accept pedophilia as normalcy. It’s really hard to feel sorry for him when he’s found dead.

* DeathSeeker: After everything he's been put through - falsely accused of raping and murdering his son, wrongully convicted and imprisoned, his wife turning against him and reputation destroyed - Mitch no longer cares about his own life and is content with dying as long as he takes his son's killer down with him. Fortunately, his ex-wife is able to talk him out of it.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Cliff Burrell is a twisted pervert who raped and murdered a 6-year-old boy then framed his best friend for his crime. Despicable as he may be, he did consider his own son to be "off limits."

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Scotty angrily tells Mitch about the photos when he thinks that Mitch was guilty after all. This is what ultimately allows him to deduce that Cliff was his son's killer, setting up the hostage situation in the climax.

* RedHerring: Damon bullied Clayton and his friend Johnny and Clayton's bike is found buried in his backyard. His status as the killer seems certain, but it turns out that he merely stole the bike in another incident and buried it to avoid being blamed for his murder.

* SurvivorsGuilt: Johnny has this, having long suspected or feared that his father was Clayton's killer, and worse yet, that it happened because his father couldn't bring himself to abuse ''him''.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Damon bullied Clayton yet again, this time injuring him. He hobbled off to get help. . . and encountered his killer.

* WhamShot: In Johnny Burrel's flashback we don't see the face off the man taking photos....and then the camera pans up and reveals it was Cliff.

* BittersweetEnding: Mitch's name has been cleared, his wife knows he's innocent and declares she still loves him, and his son's killer has been arrested. But he's clearly going back to prison for the murders he committed after release (though he might be institutionalized if he could claim mental anguish)

* BittersweetEnding: Mitch's name has been cleared, his wife knows he's innocent and declares she still loves him, and his son's killer has been arrested. But he's clearly going back to prison for the murders he committed after release (or maybe instituionalized)

* CreepyPhotoshoot: Mitch's wife is horrified to find pictures of a sleeping Johnny in her husband's possession and concludes that he's guilty of killing their son. But when the cops interview Johnny, he reveals that ''his'' father Cliff took those pictures of him. And with that, they realize that ''he's'' the killer.

* AntiVillain: Mitch Hathaway spent twenty years in prison for the rape and murder of his six-year-old son. When he gets out, he kills a registered sex-offender everyday until the cops find his son’s real killer.
* AssholeVictim: The men Mitch murders are proven sex offenders, to avenge his son who was raped and killed by a man. Ernie Grabowski is especially this trope, as he shows no remorse for being a pedophile and thinks it’s normal, and that one day, the world will accept pedophilia as normalcy. It’s really hard to feel sorry for him when he’s found dead.
* BestServedCold: After spending twenty years in jail for his son’s rape and death, Mitch finds out his trusted neighbor and friend Cliff did the crime, and kidnaps Cliff with the intention to kill him and then himself.

* LonersAreFreaks: Damon Childress.
* PetTheDog: Damon, who bullied Clayton and stole his bike, is seen in the ExitMedley working on a project that includes two boys riding on bikes past a dark kid, clearly influenced by Clayton and Johnny. Then we see Damon’s face, and he’s close to tears, heavily implying that he regrets bullying Clayton and is deeply upset over his horrible fate.

* VigilanteExecution: Mitch specifically targets proven sex offenders like the one who killed his son, killing one a day until the police find his son’s real killer.

* DespairEventHorizon: Mitch’s came when his own wife and child came to believe that he was guilty of raping and murdering their son and would not see him after he was convicted.

* StartOfDarkness: Mitch’s son and only child was found murdered with another man’s sperm all over him. He was accused and convicted of the crime, and even his wife thought he was guilty. After spending years in prison having lost his family, he is released when DNA analysis clears him of the crime. The first thing he does is start knocking off proven pedophiles like the one who took his son.

* PetTheDog: Damon, who bullied Clayton and stole his bike, is seen in the ExitMedley working on a project that includes two boys riding on bikes past a dark kid, clearly influenced by Clayton and Johnny. Then we see Damon’s face, and he’s close to tears, heavily implying that he regrets bullying Clayton and is deeply upset over his horrible fate.

* LonersAreFreaks: Damon Childress

* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: Clay’s full name is Clayton.