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There are numerous witnesses to the murder of Henry Ware, who was shot dead in a busy park in broad daylight. The killer even cycled past a crowd of people as he fled the scene. Henry's friend Jimmy Connor, and a girl named Shayna Rosario, identify a local drug dealer named Foster Keyes. Henry hit Keyes' girlfriend for making fun of him, so Keyes killed him. Keyes is charged with murder.
Shayna and Jimmy both receive death threats so Shayna refuses to testify. Jimmy testifies at a Grand Jury hearing but is then murdered as well. The case is dismissed. The prosecutors learn that Keyes' cousin Ronald "Slug" Duggan has an extensive history of witness intimidation. He hired his friend Calvin Rivers to kill Jimmy, but Rivers is also too afraid of Slug to testify. So the prosecutors convince Shayna to appear in court and promise to protect her.
Slug, Rivers, and Keyes are all tried for Jimmy's murder. Shayna becomes reluctant to testify and privately tells the judge and McCoy that Slug got his lawyer, Gerald Wills, involved in trying to talk her out of testifying. Wills denies this, and then Shayna's forced to admit that Slug bribed her and offered her a large amount of money. This is more than enough for Wills to convince the jury that she's a liar. Ultimately Slug and Keyes are acquitted of all charges, and only Rivers is found guilty.
This episode contains examples of:
- Amoral Attorney: Wills was involved with convincing Shayna not to testify.
- Creator In-Joke: Briscoe makes a joke about a surprising number of men named Bernard visiting prisons. In real life, "Bernard" was Jerry Orbach's middle name.
- Eye Scream: Keyes has lost the sight in one eye due to meth abuse.
- Jury and Witness Tampering: Slug worked hard to convince Shayna not to testify, including bribery and threats.
- Karma Houdini: Slug has repeatedly got away with violent crimes by threatening or bribing witnesses. He gets away scot-free with Jimmy's murder too.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Henry was mainly known by his street name "Big Boy". Ronald Duggan is only ever known as Slug.
- Out-of-Context Eavesdropping: Keyes was heard to say "keep your hands off the goods" before he shot Henry Ware. The detectives initially think this is to do with drugs, but it was actually referring to Henry hitting Keyes' girlfriend.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Slug successfully gets rid of all credible witnesses and gets away with murder.
