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Electric chair
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For other uses, see Electric chair (disambiguation).
Electric chair at the Florida State Prison
Execution by electrocution, performed using an electric chair, is a method of execution originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, conceived in 1881 by a Buffalo, New York, dentist named Alfred P. Southwick, was developed throughout the 1880s as a "humane alternative" to hanging, and first used in 1890. This execution method has been used in the United States and, for a period of several decades,[1] in the Philippines (its first use was in 1924, last in 1976).
Historically, once the condemned person was attached to the chair, various cycles (differing in voltage and duration) of alternating current would be passed through the individual's body, in order to cause fatal damage to the internal organs (including the brain). The first, more powerful, jolt of electric current is intended to pass through the head and cause immediate unconsciousness[2] and brain death.[3] The second, less powerful, jolt is intended to cause fatal damage to the vital organs. Death may also be caused by electrical overstimulation of the heart.
Although the electric chair has long been a symbol of the death penalty in the United States, its use is in decline due to the rise of lethal injection, which is widely believed to be a more humane method of execution. Although some states still maintain electrocution as a method of execution, today, it is only maintained as a secondary method that may be chosen over lethal injection at the request of the prisoner, except in Tennessee, where it may be used if the drugs for lethal injection are not available, without input from the prisoner.[4] As of 2014, electrocution is an optional form of execution in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Virginia. They allow the prisoner to choose lethal injection as an alternative method. In the state of Kentucky, the electric chair has been retired, except for those whose capital crimes were committed prior to March 31, 1998, and who choose electrocution; inmates who do not choose electrocution and inmates who committed their crimes after the designated date are executed by lethal injection. In the state of Tennessee, the electric chair is available for use if lethal injection drugs are unavailable, or otherwise, if the inmate so chooses and if their capital crime was committed before 1999. The electric chair is an alternate form of execution approved for potential use in Arkansas and Oklahoma if other forms of execution are found unconstitutional in the state at the time of execution. On February 8, 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court determined that execution by electric chair was a "cruel and unusual punishment" under the state's constitution. This brought executions of this type to an end in Nebraska, the only remaining state to retain electrocution as its sole method of execution.[5]
Contents
[hide]
1 Invention
1.1 The Gerry Commission
1.2 The Medico-Legal commission
2 First execution
3 Adoption
4 United Kingdom
5 Current use
6 Notable persons and events in the United States
7 Decline
8 See also
9 Footnotes
10 External links
Invention[edit]
In the late 1870s to early 1880s, spread of arc lighting, a type of brilliant outdoor street lighting that required high voltages in the range of 3000-6000 volts, was followed by one story after another in newspapers about how the high voltages used were killing people, usually unwary linemen, a strange new phenomenon that seemed to instantaneously strike a victim dead without leaving a mark.[6] One of these accidents, in Buffalo, New York on August 7, 1881, led to the inception of the electric chair.[7] That evening a drunken dock worker, looking for the thrill of a tingling sensation he had noticed before, managed to sneak his way into a Brush Electric Company arc lighting power house and grabbed the brush and ground of a large electric dynamo. He died instantly. The coroner who investigated the case brought it up at a local Buffalo scientific society. Another member, Alfred P. Southwick, a dentist who had a technical background, thought some application could be found for the curious phenomenon.[8]
Southwick, local physician George E. Fell, and the head of the Buffalo ASPCA performed a series of experiments electrocuting hundreds of stray dogs, experimenting with animals in water, out of water, electrode types and placement, and conductive material until they came up with a repeatable method to euthanize animals using electricity.[9] Southwick went on in the early 1880s to advocate that this method be used as a more humane replacement for hanging in capital cases, coming to national attention when he published his ideas in scientific journals in 1882 and 1883. He worked out calculations based on the dog experiments, trying to develop a scaled-up method that would work on humans. Early on in his designs he adopted a modified version of the dental chair as a way to restrain the condemned, a device that from then on would be referred called the electric chair.[10]
The Gerry Commission[edit]
After a series of botched hangings in the United States, there was mounting criticism of this form of capital punishment and the death penalty in general. In 1886, newly elected New York State governor David B. Hill set up a three-member death penalty commission, which was chaired by the human rights advocate and reformer Elbridge Thomas Gerry and included New York lawyer and politician Matthew Hale and Southwick, to investigate a more humane means of execution.[11]
A June 30, 1888 Scientific American illustration of what the electric chair suggested by the Gerry Commission might look like.
The commission members surveyed the history of execution and sent out a fact-finding questionnaire to government officials, lawyers, and medical experts all around the state asking for their opinion.[12] The questionnaires were a bit skewed because they pushed forward electrocution and did not include the choice of abolishing the death penalty, but, despite that, a slight majority of respondents recommended hanging over electrocution, and a few recommended the abolition of capital punishment. The commission also contacted electrical experts, including Thomson-Houston Electric Company's Elihu Thomson (who recommended high voltage AC connected to the head and the spine) and the inventor Thomas Edison (who also recommended AC, as well as using a Westinghouse generator).[13][14][15] They also attended electrocutions of dogs by George Fell who had worked with Southwick in the early 1880s experiments. Fell was conducting further experiments, electrocuting anesthetized dissected dogs trying to discern exactly how electricity killed a subject.[16][13]
In 1888, the Commission recommended electrocution using Southwick's electric chair idea with metal conductors attached to the condemned person's head and feet.[7] They further recommended that executions be handled by the state instead of the individual counties with three electric chairs set up at Auburn, Clinton, and Sing Sing prisons. A bill following these recommendations passed the legislature and was signed by Governor Hill on June 4, 1888, set to go into effect on January 1, 1889.
The Medico-Legal commission[edit]
The bill itself contained no details on the type or amount of electricity that should be used and the New York Medico-Legal Society, an informal society composed of doctors and lawyers, was given the task of determining these factors. In September 1888, a committee was formed and recommended 3000 volts, although the type of electricity, direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC), was not determined, and since tests up to that point had been done on animals smaller than a human (dogs), some members were unsure that the lethality of AC had been conclusively proven.[17]
Harold Brown demonstrating the killing power of AC to the New York Medico-Legal Society by electrocuting a horse at Thomas Edison's West Orange laboratory.
At this point the state's efforts to design the electric chair became intermixed with what has become to be known as the War of Currents, a competition between Thomas Edison's direct current power system and George Westinghouse's alternating current based system. The two companies had been competing commercially since 1886 and a series of events had turned it into an all-out media war in 1888. The committee head, neurologist Frederick Peterson, enlisted the services of Harold P. Brown as a consultant. Brown had been on his own crusade against alternating current after the shoddy installation of pole-mounted AC arc lighting lines in New York City had caused several deaths in the spring of 1888. Peterson had been an assistant at Brown's July 1888 public electrocution of dogs with AC at Columbia College, an attempt by Brown to prove AC was more deadly than DC.[17] Technical assistance in these demonstrations was provided by Thomas Edison's West Orange laboratory and there grew to be some form of collusion between Edison Electric and Brown.[18][19][20] Back at West Orange on December 5, 1888 Brown set up an experiment with members of the press, members of the Medico-Legal Society including Elbridge Gerry who was also chairman of the death penalty commission, and Thomas Edison looking on. Brown used alternating current for all of his tests on animals larger than a human, including 4 calves and a lame horse, all dispatched with 750 volts of AC.[21] Based on these results the Medico-Legal Society recommended the use of 1000-1500 volts of alternating current for executions and newspapers noted the AC used was half the voltage used in the power lines over the streets of American cities. Westinghouse criticized these test as a skewed self-serving demonstration designed to be a direct attack on alternating current and accused Brown of being in the employ of Edison.[22]
At the request of death penalty commission chairman Gerry, Medico-Legal Society members; electrotherapy expert Alphonse David Rockwell, Carlos Frederick MacDonald, and Columbia College professor Louis H. Laudy, were given the task of working out the details of electrode placement.[23][24][25] They again turned to Brown to supply the technical assistance. Brown asked Edison Electric Light to supply equipment for the tests and treasurer Francis S. Hastings (who seemed to be one of the primary movers at the company trying to portray Westinghouse as a peddler of death dealing AC current[20]) tried to obtain a Westinghouse AC generator for the test but found none was to be had.[23] They ended up using Edison's West Orange laboratory for the animal tests they conducted in mid-March 1889. Superintendent of Prisons Austin E. Lathrop asked Brown to design the chair, but Brown turned down the offer.[23] Dr. George Fell drew up the final designs for a simple oak chair and went against the Medico-Legal Society recommendations, changing the position of the electrodes to the head and the middle of the back.[16] Brown did take on the job of finding the generators needed to power the chair. He managed to surreptitiously acquire three Westinghouse AC generators that were being decommissioned with the help of Edison and Westinghouse's chief AC rival, the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, a move that made sure that Westinghouse's equipment would be associated with the first execution.[26] The electric chair was built by Edwin F. Davis, the first "state electrician" (executioner) for the State of New York.[27]
First execution[edit]
The execution of William Kemmler, August 6, 1890
The first person in line to die under New York's new electrocution law was Joseph Chappleau, convicted for beating his neighbor to death with a sled stake, but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.[28] The next person scheduled to be executed was William Kemmler, convicted of murdering his wife with a hatchet. An appeal on Kemmler's behalf was made to the New York Court of Appeals on the grounds that use of electricity as a means of execution constituted a cruel and unusual punishment and was thus contrary to the constitutions of the United States and the state of New York.[29] On December 30, 1889, the writ of habeas corpus sworn out on Kemmler's behalf was denied by the court, with Judge Dwight writing in a lengthy ruling:
We have no doubt that if the Legislature of this State should undertake to proscribe for any offense against its laws the punishment of burning at the stake, breaking at the wheel, etc., it would be the duty of the courts to pronounce upon such attempt the condemnation of the Constitution. The question now to be answered is whether the legislative act here assailed is subject to the same condemnation. Certainly, it is not so on its face, for, although the mode of death described is conceded to be unusual, there is no common knowledge or consent that it is cruel; it is a question of fact whether an electric current of sufficient intensity and skillfully applied will produce death without unnecessary suffering.[30]
Kemmler was executed in New York's Auburn Prison on August 6, 1890; the "state electrician" was Edwin F. Davis. The first 17-second passage of 1,000 Volts AC of current through Kemmler caused unconsciousness, but failed to stop his heart and breathing. The attending physicians, Edward Charles Spitzka and Carlos F. MacDonald, came forward to examine Kemmler. After confirming Kemmler was still alive, Spitzka reportedly called out, "Have the current turned on again, quick, no delay." The generator needed time to re-charge, however. In the second attempt, Kemmler received a 2,000 Volt AC shock. Blood vessels under the skin ruptured and bled, and the areas around the electrodes singed. The entire execution took about eight minutes. George Westinghouse later commented that, "They would have done better using an axe",[31] and a witnessing reporter claimed that it was "an awful spectacle, far worse than hanging".[32]
Adoption[edit]
Electric chair history and laws in the United States
Color key:
Secondary method only
Has previously used electric chair, but does not today
Has never used electric chair
The electric chair was adopted by Ohio (1897), Massachusetts (1900), New Jersey (1906) and Virginia (1908), and soon became the prevalent method of execution in the United States, replacing hanging. Most of the states that currently use or have used the electric chair lie east of the Mississippi River. The electric chair remained the most prominent execution method until the mid-1980s when lethal injection became widely accepted for conducting judicial executions.
Other countries appear to have contemplated using the method, sometimes for special reasons.
United Kingdom[edit]
See also: Capital punishment in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom considered replacing hanging with the electric chair (as well as considering the gas chamber and lethal injection) during the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment, the findings of which were published in 1953. The Commission concluded that the electric chair had no particular advantages over hanging, and so, the electric chair was not adopted for use in the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom performed its last execution in 1964, and abolished capital punishment for murder the following year, thereby rendering any debate over method moot.
Current use[edit]
A number of states still allow the condemned person to choose between electrocution and lethal injection. In all, twelve inmates nationwide - seven in Virginia, three in South Carolina, and one each in Arkansas and Tennessee - have opted for electrocution over lethal injection. The last use of the chair was on January 16, 2013, when Robert Gleason, Jr., decided to go to the electric chair in Virginia.[33]
After 1966, electrocutions ceased for a time in the United States, but the method continued in the Philippines.[34] A well-publicized triple execution took place in May 1972, when Jaime Jose, Basilio Pineda and Edgardo Aquino were electrocuted for the 1967 abduction and gang-rape of the young actress Maggie dela Riva.
Notable persons and events in the United States[edit]
The former Louisiana execution chamber at the Red Hat Cell Block in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, West Feliciana Parish. The electric chair is a replica of the original.
Serial killer Lizzie Halliday was the first woman sentenced to die in the electric chair, in 1894, but governor Roswell P. Flower commuted her sentence to life in a mental institution after a medical commission declared her insane.[35][36] A second woman sentenced to death in 1895, Maria Barbella, was acquitted the next year.[37] Martha M. Place became the first woman to receive the deadly current in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison on March 20, 1899, for the murder of her 17-year-old stepdaughter, Ida Place.[38]
In a botched electrocution at Sing Sing in 1903, Fred Van Wormer was electrocuted and pronounced dead, but, upon arrival in the autopsy room, he was seen to be breathing once again. The executioner had gone home, and was called back to re-electrocute Wormer. Before the executioner returned, Wormer had died.
The electrocution of housewife Ruth Snyder at Sing Sing on the evening of January 12, 1928, for the March 1927 murder of her husband was made famous when news photographer Tom Howard, working for the New York Daily News, smuggled a hidden camera into the death chamber and photographed her in the electric chair as the current was turned on. The photograph was a front-page sensation the following morning, and remains one of the most famous photojournalism photographs of all time.[39]
A record was set on July 13, 1928, when seven men were executed consecutively in the electric chair at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville.
On August 8, 1942, six German agents convicted of espionage and attempted sabotage in the Quirin case for their role in Operation Pastorius during World War II were executed by electric chair at the District of Columbia jail.[40]
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed by electric chair in 1953, after being convicted of espionage, involving sharing secrets related to the atomic bomb with the Soviet Union.
James French was executed on August 10, 1966, the last person electrocuted until 1979. French was the first person executed in Oklahoma since Richard Dare was electrocuted June 1, 1963, and the only person executed in 1966.[citation needed]
On May 25, 1979, John Spenkelink became the first electrocuted person after the Gregg v. Georgia decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1976. He was the first person to be executed in the United States in this manner since 1966.
The last person to be executed by electric chair without the choice of an alternative method was Lynda Lyon Block on May 10, 2002, in Alabama.[41]
Decline[edit]
The use of the electric chair has declined as legislators sought what they believed to be more humane methods of execution. Lethal injection became the most widely used method, aided by media reports of botched electrocutions in the early 1980s.
The electric chair has been criticized because of several instances in which the subjects were killed only after being subjected to multiple electric shocks. This led to a call for ending of the practice, because many see it as cruel and unusual punishment.[42] Trying to address such concerns, Nebraska introduced a new electrocution protocol in 2004, which called for administration of a 15-second-long application of electric current at a potential of 2,450 volts; after a 15-minute wait, an official then checks for signs of life. New concerns raised regarding the 2004 protocol resulted, in April 2007, in the ushering in of the current Nebraska protocol, calling for a 20-second-long application of electric current at a potential of 2,450 volts. (Prior to the 2004 protocol change, an initial eight-second application of current at 2,450 volts was administered, followed by a one-second pause, then a 22-second application at 480 volts. After a 20-second break, the cycle was repeated three more times.)
In 1946, the electric chair failed to kill Willie Francis, who reportedly shrieked, "Take it off! Let me breathe!", after the current was applied. It turned out that the portable electric chair had been improperly set up by an intoxicated prison guard and inmate.[43] A case was brought before the U.S. Supreme Court (Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber),[44] with lawyers for the condemned arguing that although Francis did not die, he had, in fact, been executed. The argument was rejected on the basis that re-execution did not violate the double jeopardy clause of the 5th Amendment of the United States Constitution, and Francis was returned to the electric chair and successfully executed in 1947.
Recorded incidents of botched electrocutions were prevalent after the national moratorium ended January 17, 1977; two in Alabama, three in Florida, one in Georgia, one in Indiana, and three in Virginia. All five states now have lethal injection as the default method if a choice is not made.
As of 2015[update], the only places in the world which still reserve the electric chair as an option for execution are the U.S. states of Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. (Arkansas and Oklahoma laws provide for its use should lethal injection ever be held to be unconstitutional.) Inmates in the other states must select either it or lethal injection. In Kentucky, only inmates sentenced before a certain date can choose to be executed by electric chair. Tennessee was among the states that provided inmates with a choice of the electric chair or lethal injection; however, in May 2014, the state passed a law allowing the use of the electric chair if lethal injection drugs were unavailable or made unconstitutional.[45] In the state of Florida, on July 8, 1999, Allen Lee Davis, convicted of murder, was executed in the Florida electric chair "Old Sparky". Davis' face was bloodied, and photographs were taken, which were later posted on the Internet. The 1997 execution of Pedro Medina in Florida created controversy when flames burst from the inmate's head. Lethal injection has been the primary method of execution in the state of Florida since 2000. On February 15, 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court declared execution by electrocution to be "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the Nebraska Constitution.[46]
Robert Gleason, executed in the electric chair at Greensville Correctional Center, Virginia, on January 16, 2013, is the most recent individual to choose electrocution over lethal injection.[47][48]
See also[edit]
Criminal justice portal
Capital punishment
Electric shock
Nicknames of various electric chairs
Gruesome Gertie
Old Smokey
Old Sparky
Yellow Mama
State Electricians
Edwin Davis (executioner)
Robert G. Elliott
Dow Hover
Footnotes[edit]
Jump up ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2004-11-07. Retrieved 2007-04-19. Philippines: The Death Penalty: Criminality, Justice and Human Rights
Jump up ^ The Effects of Electric Shock on the Body
Jump up ^ Order Upholding Constitutionality of the Electric Chair
Jump up ^ Tennessee electric chair use could spur legal challenges
Jump up ^ Liptak, Adam (February 9, 2008). "Electrocution Is Banned in Last State to Rely on It". The New York Times.
Jump up ^ Randall E. Stross, The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World, Crown/Archetype - 2007, page 171-173
^ Jump up to: a b Craig Brandon The Electric Chair: An Unnatural American History page 12
Jump up ^ Craig Brandon, The Electric Chair: An Unnatural American History page 14
Jump up ^ Craig Brandon The Electric Chair: An Unnatural American History page 21
Jump up ^ Craig Brandon The Electric Chair: An Unnatural American History page 24
Jump up ^ David Marc. "Southwick, Alfred Porter", American National Biography Online - 2000
Jump up ^ Craig Brandon, The Electric Chair: An Unnatural American History, page 54
^ Jump up to: a b Anthony Galvin, Old Sparky: The Electric Chair and the History of the Death Penalty, Skyhorse Publishing - 2015, pages 30-45
Jump up ^ Craig Brandon, The Electric Chair: An Unnatural American History, pages 57-58
Jump up ^ Jill Jonnes, Empires Of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, And The Race To Electrify The World, Random House - 2004, page 420
^ Jump up to: a b Richard Moran, Executioner's Current: Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and the Invention of the Electric Chair, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group - 2007, page 4
^ Jump up to: a b Richard Moran, Executioner's Current: Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and the Invention of the Electric Chair, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group - 2007, page 102
Jump up ^ Craig Brandon, The Electric Chair: An Unnatural American History, McFarland - 1999, pages 70 and 261
Jump up ^ Jill Jonnes, Empires Of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, And The Race To Electrify The World, Random House - 2004, page 166
^ Jump up to: a b W. Bernard Carlson, Innovation as a Social Process: Elihu Thomson and the Rise of General Electric, Cambridge University Press - 2003, page 285
Jump up ^ Mark Essig, Edison and the Electric Chair: A Story of Light and Death, Bloomsbury Publishing USA - 2009, pages 152-155
Jump up ^ Craig Brandon The Electric Chair: An Unnatural American History page 82
^ Jump up to: a b c Terry S. Reynolds, Theodore Bernstein, Edison and "The Chair", Technology and Society Magazine, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (Volume 8, Issue 1) March 1989, pages 19 - 28
Jump up ^ Mark Essig, Edison and the Electric Chair: A Story of Light and Death, Bloomsbury Publishing USA - 2009, pages 225
Jump up ^ Sarah Davis., A "Bungled" Execution and a Doctor's Guilt: The Horrifying Debut of the Electric Chair, December 4, 2014
Jump up ^ Mark Essig, Edison and the Electric Chair: A Story of Light and Death, Bloomsbury Publishing - 2005, pages 190-195
Jump up ^ Stuart Banner, The Death Penalty: an American history, Harvard University Press - 2009, pages 194-195
Jump up ^ Carl Sifakis, The Encyclopedia of American Prisons, Infobase Publishing - 2014, page 39
Jump up ^ "Electric Executions: The New York Court of Appeals Passes on the Question: The Famous Kemmler Case Decided", Lawrence Daily Record, Jan. 1, 1890, pg. 1.
Jump up ^ Justice Dwight, quoted in "Electric Executions", Lawrence Daily Record, Jan. 1, 1890; pg. 1.
Jump up ^ AC/DC: The Savage Tale of the First Standards War; By Tom McNichol
Jump up ^ "William Kemmler - Things To Remember While Reading Excerpts From "far Worse Than Hanging":, Excerpt From "far Worse Than Hanging" - JRank Articles". Law.jrank.org. 2004-08-19. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
Jump up ^ Green, Frank (January 16, 2013). "Va. man who killed two inmates is executed". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
Jump up ^ "Philippines: The Death Penalty: Criminality, Justice and Human Rights". Amnesty International. 30 September 1997. Archived from the original on December 27, 2009. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
Jump up ^ Robert Wilhelm. "The Worst Woman on Earth". Murder by Gaslight. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
Jump up ^ James D. Livingston, Arsenic and Clam Chowder: Murder in Gilded Age New York, SUNY Press - 2012, pge 64
Jump up ^ James D. Livingston, Arsenic and Clam Chowder: Murder in Gilded Age New York, SUNY Press - 2012, pages 64-65
Jump up ^ "On This Day: First Woman Executed by Electric Chair". Findingdulcinea.com. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
Jump up ^ Time-Life Books, 1969, p. 185
Jump up ^ "German saboteurs executed in Washington — History.com This Day in History — 8/8/1942". History.com. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
Jump up ^ "Lynda Lyon Block #775". www.clarkprosecutor.org. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
Jump up ^ "The Shocking Truth About Death in the Electric Chair". Archived from the original on 2008-02-02.
Jump up ^ Gilbert King, The Two Executions Of Willie Francis, Wednesday, July 19, 2006, washingtonpost.com
Jump up ^ U.S. Supreme Court case, Francis v. Resweber: 329 U.S. 459 (1947)
Jump up ^ Berman, Mark (May 23, 2014). "Tennessee has long had the electric chair, but now it's going to be available for more executions". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Cases determined in the Supreme Court of Nebraska" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-13.
Jump up ^ "Convicted Murderer Who Pleaded for Death Electrocuted in Virginia". Abcnews.go.com. 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
Jump up ^ "Home - WSLS 10 NBC in Roanoke/Lynchburg Va". .wsls.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Electric chair.
"Kemmler's Death by Torture", New York Herald, August 7, 1890.
Death Penalty Worldwide Academic research database on the laws, practice, and statistics of capital punishment for every death penalty country in the world.
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Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act 1913
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WSPU poster 1914 - Museum of London
The Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act, commonly referred to as the Cat and Mouse Act, was an Act of Parliament passed in Britain under Herbert Henry Asquith's Liberal government in 1913. Some members of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU, commonly referred to as suffragettes) had been imprisoned for acts of vandalism in support of women's suffrage. In protest to being imprisoned some of these suffragettes undertook hunger strikes. These suffragettes were then force-fed leading to a public outcry.[1] This act was a response to the outcry; it allowed the prisoners to be released on licence as soon as the hunger strike affected their health. They then had a period of time in which they could recover. After a predetermined period of time the prisoner would be rearrested to serve out the rest of their sentence. Conditions could be placed on the prisoner during the time of their release.[2] The hunger strikes themselves were now technically legal. However, the Act allowed for the re-imprisonment of the hunger strikers upon their recovery on their original charges. The nickname of the Act came about because of a cat's habit of playing with its prey (a mouse) before finishing it off.
Contents
[hide]
1 Government use
2 Background
3 Women writing about the experience of being forcibly fed
4 Unintended consequences
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Government use[edit]
After the act was introduced suffragettes were no longer force-fed during their time in prison, which had previously been common practice to combat the hunger strikes. Rather, suffragettes on hunger strike were kept in prison until they became extremely weak, at which point they would be released to recover. This allowed the government to claim that any harm (or even death) which resulted from the starvation was entirely the fault of the suffragette. After this, any wrongdoing on the part of the suffragette would see them put straight back in prison.
Background[edit]
To attain the goal of suffrage on the same basis as men, the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU, known colloquially as the suffragettes) engaged in acts of protest such as the breaking of windows, arson, and the "technical assault" (without causing harm) of police officers. Many WSPU members were jailed for these offences. In response to what the organisation viewed as brutal punishment and harsh treatment by the government at the time, imprisoned WSPU members embarked on a sustained campaign of hunger strikes. Some women were freed on taking this action, but this rendered the policy of imprisonment of suffragettes futile.
So, the government turned to a policy of force feeding hunger-strikers by nasogastric tube. Repeated uses of this process often caused sickness, which served the WSPU's aims of demonstrating the government's treatment of the prisoners.
Faced with growing public disquiet over the tactic of force feeding, and the determination of the jailed suffragettes to continue their strikes, the government rushed the Act through Parliament. The effect of the Act was to permit the release of prisoners who were suffering illness for them to recuperate; however, the police were free to re-imprison offenders again once they had recovered. The intention of the Act was to counter the tactic of hunger strikes undertaken by jailed suffragettes and the damaging consequences for the government's support among (male) voters by the force feeding of women prisoners. If anything, the Act lost the Liberal government support.
Women writing about the experience of being forcibly fed[edit]
In a book called Suffrage and the Pankhursts, Jane Marcus argues that forcible feeding was the main image of the women's suffrage movement in the public imagination. Women wrote about how the experience made them feel in letters, diaries, speeches and suffrage publications, including Votes for Women and The Suffragette.[3] One of the force-fed suffragettes, Lady Constance Lytton, wrote a book that suggested that working-class women were more likely to be forcibly fed in prison than upper-class women.[4] In general, the medical procedure of force feeding was described as a physical and mental violation that caused pain, suffering, emotional distress, humiliation, anguish and rage.[5]
Unintended consequences[edit]
The ineffectiveness of the Act was very soon evident as the authorities experienced much more difficulty than anticipated in re-arresting the released hunger-strikers. Many of them eluded arrest with the help of a network of suffragette sympathisers and an all-women team of bodyguards, who employed tactics of misdirection, subterfuge and occasionally direct confrontation with the police.[6] The inability of the government to lay its hands on high-profile suffragettes transformed what had been intended as a discreet device to control suffragette hunger-strikers into a public scandal.
This act was aimed at suppressing the power of the organisation by demoralising the activists, but turned out to be counter-productive as it undermined the moral authority of the government. The Act was viewed as violating basic human rights, not only of the suffragettes but of other prisoners. The Act's nickname of Cat and Mouse Act, referring to the way the government seemed to play with prisoners as a cat may with a captured mouse, underlined how the cruelty of repeated releases and re-imprisonments turned the suffragettes from targets of scorn to objects of sympathy.
The Asquith government's implementation of the Act caused the militant WSPU and the suffragettes to perceive Asquith as the enemy — an enemy to be vanquished in what the organisation saw as an all-out war.[7] A related effect of this law was to increase support for the Labour Party, many of whose early founders supported votes for women. For example, philosopher Bertrand Russell left the Liberal Party, and wrote pamphlets denouncing the Act and the Liberals for making in his view an illiberal and anti-constitutional law. So the controversy helped to accelerate the decline in the Liberals' electoral position, as segments of the middle class began to defect to Labour.
The Act also handed the WSPU an issue on which to campaign and rail against other parts of the British establishment - in particular the Anglican Church. During 1913 the WSPU directly targeted The Bishop of Winchester, Edward Talbot, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Randall Davidson, the Bishop of London, Arthur Winnington-Ingram, the Archbishop of York, Cosmo Gordon Lang, and the Bishops of Croydon, Lewes, Islington and Stepney. Each one was picketed by deputations at their official residences until granted an audience, during which the Church leaders were asked to protest against forcible feeding. Norah Dacre Fox led many of the deputations on behalf of the WSPU, which were widely reported in The Suffragette. At one point the Bishop of London was persuaded to visit Holloway personally in connection with allegations of women prisoners being poisoned during force feeding. The Bishop made several visits to the prison, but this came to nothing, and his public statements that he could find no evidence of ill treatment during force feeding – indeed, he believed that force feeding was carried out "in the kindest possible spirit" – was seen by the WSPU as collusion with the government and prison authorities. If the WSPU had been hoping to win support from the Church for their wider cause of suffrage by pressing on the issue of forcible feeding, they were disappointed. The Church chose not to be drawn into a battle between the WSPU and the authorities, and clung to a party line that militancy was a precursor to forcible feeding and militancy was against the will of God, therefore the Church could not act against forcible feeding.[8]
Research indicates that the Act did little to deter the activities of the suffragettes. Their militant actions only ceased with the outbreak of war and their support of the war effort. However, the start of the war in August 1914, and the ending of all suffragette activities for the duration of the war, meant that the full potential impact of the Cat and Mouse Act will never be known.
See also[edit]
History of feminism
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Manchester Guardian". 1912-08-24: 6.
Jump up ^ Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act, 1913. Chapter 4. 1913-04-25.
Jump up ^ Marcus, Jane (2001) [1987]. "Rereading the Pankhursts and Women's Suffrage". In Marcus, Jane. Suffrage and the Pankhursts. Routledge. pp. 1–17. ISBN 0-415-25693-3.
Jump up ^ Bulwer-Lytton, Constance (2016). Prisons & Prisoners: Some Personal Experiences. USA: Library of Alexandria.
Jump up ^ Purvis, June; Emmeline Pankhurst, London: Routledge, p 134, ISBN 0-415-23978-8
Jump up ^ Williams, Rachel (25 June 2012). "Edith Garrud: a public vote for the suffragette who taught martial arts". The Guardian.
Jump up ^ Bartley, Paula (2002). Emmeline Pankhurst. London [u.a.]: Routledge. p. 132. ISBN 9780415206518.
Jump up ^ McPherson, Angela; McPherson, Susan (2011). Mosley's Old Suffragette - A Biography of Norah Elam. ISBN 978-1-4466-9967-6. Archived from the original on 2012-01-13.
External links[edit]
How the act politicised the penal system
Further Cat and Mouse Act Information
1913 Cat and Mouse Act
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text:
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 18)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 18)
Season 18 promotion cover
Starring
Mariska Hargitay
Kelli Giddish
Ice-T
Peter Scanavino
Raúl Esparza
Country of origin
United States
No. of episodes
21
Release
Original network
NBC
Original release
September 21, 2016 (2016-09-21) – May 24, 2017 (2017-05-24)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 17
Next →
Season 19
List of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes
The eighteenth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit debuted on Wednesday, September 21, 2016, on NBC[1] and finished on Wednesday, May 24, 2017, with a two-hour season finale.
Rick Eid, who previously worked on Law & Order and Law & Order: Trial By Jury, became the executive producer and showrunner, following Warren Leight's departure from the series at the conclusion of the seventeenth season. Eid himself departed the series at the end of the eighteenth season and was replaced by Michael S. Chernuchin.
Contents
[hide]
1 Production
1.1 Storylines and cast changes
2 Cast
2.1 Main cast
2.2 Recurring cast
2.3 Guest stars
3 Episodes
3.1 Shelved episode
4 Reception
5 References
6 External links
Production[edit]
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was renewed for an eighteenth season on February 1, 2016, by NBC.[2] It was announced in March 2015 that season seventeen would be show runner/executive producer Warren Leight's last season on the show; he signed a three-year deal with Sony Pictures Television, his contract allowing him to work on SVU for one final season.[3] On March 10, 2016, it was announced that Rick Eid would replace Leight as showrunner on this season.[4]
The 400th episode of the series aired this season. "Motherly Love," directed by Mariska Hargitay, was filmed and billed as the 400th show. However, due to the shuffling of episodes during the season, the episode actually aired as the 399th episode. The 400th episode that was aired was the eleventh episode of the season, "Great Expectations," which aired on NBC on February 15, 2017, (after being moved from its initial air date of November 9, 2016, and a second air date of January 4, 2017).
At the end of production of the season, during upfronts SVU was renewed for a nineteenth season. Following the renewal announcement, it was revealed that show runner/executive producer Rick Eid had departed the show. He took over Chicago P.D. as show runner/EP starting with its fifth season, replacing C.P.D. co-creator/EP Matt Olmstead.[5] Michael Chernuchin, former showrunner and executive producer for Dick Wolf's Chicago Justice series, as well as a former executive producer and writer for many past incarnations of the Law & Order franchise, was selected as SVU's new showrunner.
Storylines and cast changes[edit]
It was announced at the end of the seventeenth season that recurring star Andy Karl (who portrayed Sergeant Mike Dodds) would be departing the cast due to his Broadway work. He was killed off on the season finale by corrupt corrections officer Gary Munson.[6]
It was announced on July 22, 2016, that SVU would do a ripped from the headlines episode based on Netflix documentary Making a Murderer. Henry Thomas appeared alongside Kelli Williams in the episode about a convicted rapist who is exonerated after DNA is freshly tested. Ice-T's character, Fin Tutuola, originally arrested Thomas' character 16 years earlier and then begins investigating him again when he is linked to a deadly crime. Williams played Melanie, a rape victim who initially identified Thomas' character. On August 20, 2016, it was announced that the season premiere would pit ADA Rafael Barba (Raúl Esparza) against Lt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) on opposing sides of the verdict.[7] The episode "Rape Interrupted" (which guest stars Anthony Edwards), was ripped from the headlines based on the Brock Turner sexual assault case, where Turner sexually assaulted an unconscious girl and was later convicted of three felony sexual assault charges. Turner was leniently punished as he only served three months of his six-month sentence, though he originally faced 14 years in prison based on charges. Executive Producer Julie Martin told The Huffington Post, "It is a phenomenon. Unfortunately, there have been several cases like that over the spring and the summer." Hargitay pondered if a similar case were to happen on the show: "Like if I was the detective on that case? It could be healing to somebody to see what should happen. [Seeing] justice," Hargitay continued, "If a judge would do a different sentence. You know, that's healing for people to see the right thing, the just thing happen."[8]
Cast[edit]
See also: List of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit characters
Main cast[edit]
Mariska Hargitay as Lieutenant Olivia Benson
Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
Ice-T as Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola
Peter Scanavino as Detective Dominick "Sonny" Carisi, Jr.
Raúl Esparza as A.D.A. Rafael Barba
Recurring cast[edit]
Robert John Burke as Captain Ed Tucker
Peter Gallagher as Deputy Chief William Dodds
Elizabeth Marvel as Defense Attorney Rita Calhoun
Erica Camarano as Officer Rachel Ortiz
Delaney Williams as Defense Attorney John Buchanan
Callie Thorn as Defense Attorney Nikki Staines
Lindsay Pulsipher as Kim Rollins
Ami Brabson as Judge Karyn Blake
Jenna Stern as Judge Elana Barth
Greg Germann as Derek Strauss
Bill Irwin as Dr. Peter Lindstrom
Jason Bowen as Detective Marcus Perry
Stephen C. Bradbury as Judge Colin McNamara
Bronwyn Reed as Lucy Huston
Barbara Miluski as Judge Lisa Peck
Steve Rosen as Defence Attorney Michael Guthrie
Michael Kostroff as Attorney Evan Braun
Tabitha Holbert as ADA Rose Callier
Jason Cerbone as Defence Attorney Lorenzo Desappio
Ami Brabson as Judge Karyn Blake
Sonia Manzano as Judge Gloria Pepitone
Betsy Aidem as Dr Sloane
Max Baker as Colin Bennett
Kirk Acevedo as Detective Ray Lopez
Meredith Holzman as Counselor Naomi Ziegler
Vincent Curatola as Judge Al Burtuccio
Guest stars[edit]
On July 29, 2016, it was announced that then-Vice President Joe Biden would appear in the September 28 episode ("Making a Rapist") as himself to talk about the backlog of rape kits.[9][10][11] Henry Thomas also appeared alongside Kelli Williams in the episode, Thomas portraying a convicted rapist who is exonerated after DNA is freshly retested.
On September 8, 2016, Hollywood Reporter reported that Anthony Edwards would guest star on SVU. Edwards starred on the NBC medical drama ER as Dr. Mark Greene; in season four of the medical series, Mariska Hargitay guest starred as Greene's love interest, Desk Clerk Cynthia Cooper.[12] Later, TV Guide announced that Edwards would be portraying Benson's very first partner out of the Academy, Sgt. Patrick Griffin in "Rape Interrupted". Griffin's son is the suspect in a rape investigation that puts Benson at odds with ADA Barba and Griffin.[13] Hollywood Reporter announced that rapper-actor Wyclef Jean was guest starring in the episode "Broken Rhymes" (originally titled "Bad Rap") as a famed music producer whose client is embroiled in an assault case. Mitchell Edwards portrayed Hype in the episode as well.[14]
On October 11, 2016, Hollywood Reporter reported that Gary Cole would guest star as a politician whose campaign goes haywire when several women go public with damaging accusations.[15] The character and the episode, titled "Unstoppable," drew comparisons to then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. The episode was originally scheduled to air on October 26, but was then delayed until November 16 after the election finished. The episode was pulled from the schedule a second time and is indefinitely shelved.[16]
Episodes[edit]
See also: List of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
Prod.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
390
1 "Terrorized" Alik Sakharov Rick Eid & Julie Martin September 21, 2016 (2016-09-21) 1801 7.83[19]
When Lt. Benson finds a boy alone in Central Park, he draws a gun on her. The SVU team finds the boy's parents as they execute a planned terrorist attack at the park. When the father is killed by police in a shootout in Central Park during an event, the boy's mother (Natia Dune) says that she was forced to carry out the attack, as she was raped and beaten for five years by the father and his brother. Benson and Barba are at odds over the mother's claims, with Benson pushing for leniency. Meanwhile, a distraught Deputy Chief Dodds accuses Benson of getting his son killed.
Episode inspired by the FBI–Apple encryption dispute[17] from the 2015 San Bernardino attack[18]
391
2 "Making a Rapist" Michael Pressman Kevin Fox September 28, 2016 (2016-09-28) 1802 6.09[20]
When a DNA rape kit is tested 16 years later, the man originally convicted of the crime, Sean Roberts (Henry Thomas), is released from prison. He befriends the victim and her daughter (Alexis Collins), being invited to the daughter's wedding. One month after Roberts' release, the daughter is found raped and murdered with evidence pointing to him. Meanwhile, Fin Tutuola is accused of framing Roberts as payback for tarnishing his arrest record, having been the original arresting officer.
392
3 "Imposter" Jean de Segonzac Rick Eid & Gavin Harris October 5, 2016 (2016-10-05) 1803 5.76[21]
The SVU team is sent to a fancy hotel when a woman (Paula Marshall) accidentally overdoses on drugs, claiming to have been raped by a man, Tom Metcalf (Wallace Langham), posing as the admissions director for Hudson University. As the investigation unravels, they learn that the man has victimized multiple mothers desperate to send their children to the university. When Metcalf is charged with rape, ADA Barba is forced to make a deal with the judge, who believes the case is not fit for prosecution, in order to get justice for the families, but things end terribly wrong.
393
4 "Heightened Emotions" Alex Chapple Julie Martin & Céline C. Robinson October 12, 2016 (2016-10-12) 1805 5.88[22]
A troubled, but determined athlete with a double life (Brit Morgan) claims she was raped after she is found by police officers drunk and bleeding. SVU come to help the woman, but the case eventually becomes very shaky when she starts to show signs of an undiagnosed mental illness. Meanwhile, Rollins' sister Kim is released from prison on parole, claiming to be totally reformed, and she and Amanda try to rekindle their relationship, but Amanda finds it hard to trust her.
394
5 "Rape Interrupted" Michael Pressman Julie Martin & Brianna Yellen October 26, 2016 (2016-10-26) 1806 5.85[23]
After Ellis Griffin (Corey Cott) the son of Olivia's former partner Patrick Griffin (Anthony Edwards), is accused of rape by a woman who attended a party with him, Olivia is faced with a tough decision to choose between loyalty or duty. Patrick's pressuring her to drop the investigation causes tension, both in the squad room and between Olivia and Patrick. Eventually, Olivia makes her decision and it leaves her saddened about the outcome that follows.
395
6 "Broken Rhymes" Adam Bernstein Rick Eid & Jeffrey Baker November 9, 2016 (2016-11-09) 1807 5.55[24]
After a transgender individual (Sabel Gonzales) is assaulted in a public bathroom, SVU questions the CEO of a record label (Wyclef Jean) who may be linked to the assault. The case is initially believed to be a hate crime, but things take a twist when the prime suspect reveals his connection to the victim and several people are found brutally murdered. With the victim's life on the line, things eventually become very intense for both the detectives and the suspects.
396
7 "Next Chapter" Fred Berner Rick Eid & Gavin Harris January 4, 2017 (2017-01-04) 1809 5.82[25]
A woman is sexually assaulted and she believes the perpetrator is the same man that went to prison for stalking her. The detectives investigate but the case eventually becomes extremely dangerous. Carisi's life is soon put in serious danger when he and Olivia visit the prime suspect's house and shots are fired from the house. Meanwhile, Tucker contemplates retirement and a possible future with Olivia, over which Olivia has mixed feelings about.
397
8 "Chasing Theo" Jean de Segonzac Julie Martin & Robert Brooks Cohen January 11, 2017 (2017-01-11) 1810 6.05[26]
A six-year-old boy is abducted from his bedroom after his mother (Rachelle Lefevre) throws a wild party with drugs involved. The case brings forward several suspects and the detectives are led to multiple locations and tip-offs. The case becomes distressing for Rollins and Benson, both mothers. As hours go by, the squad becomes desperate to find the boy, which makes the mother and her ex-girlfriend fret. Meanwhile, Benson breaks up with Tucker after several days of thinking, breaking both her and Tucker's hearts.
398
9 "Decline and Fall" Jean de Segonzac Ed Zuckerman & Robert Brooks Cohen January 18, 2017 (2017-01-18) 1811 6.46[27]
A powerful and rich family which owns a major retail empire closes ranks after a bartender (Ariane Rinehart) accuses one of the family members of rape. The bartender remembers nothing of the rape and it is quickly suspected that she may have been drugged or had her drink spiked. Benson treats the case seriously and it quickly becomes complicated. The case exposes the whole family's nasty secrets and several stories are told, frustrating the detectives.
399
10 "Motherly Love" Mariska Hargitay Rick Eid & Julie Martin February 8, 2017 (2017-02-08) 1812 6.93[28]
A teenage boy (Aaron Sanders) murders a person, later revealed to be his best friend, whom he believed was raping his mother (Sarah Wynter) at the time. The mother, a psychologist, claims that her son's best friend had an obsession with her. A seemingly open-and-shut case is revealed to involve layers of deceit and manipulation on the mother's part, who is not as innocent as she seems and may be hiding several secrets.
This episode was produced and announced as the 400th episode of the series but actually aired as the 399th episode.
400
11 "Great Expectations" Martha Mitchell Kevin Fox & Brendan Feeney February 15, 2017 (2017-02-15) 1808 6.00[29]
After a thirteen year old boy (Christopher Paul Richards) is sexually assaulted in what appears to be a vicious locker room hazing, the detectives investigate the players of a top youth hockey team and come up with a few suspects. The case eventually brings forward a boy (Lincoln Melcher) who has obviously been physically abused by his father (Brent Sexton) in the same way his brothers had been, but does not want to talk of it out of devotion to his father. Carisi takes the case very personally, which causes some conflict between him and Rollins. The case, however, goes horribly wrong and sacrifices are soon made by the abused brothers and their mother.
401
12 "No Surrender" Stephanie Marquardt Gavin Harris & Kinan Copen February 22, 2017 (2017-02-22) 1813 5.76[30]
Fin revisits his military roots when a fellow Army Ranger (Sarah Booth) is the victim of sexual assault and does not handle it well. SVU is soon called in to assist and it is revealed that the woman was sexually assaulted after a party she threw. The case becomes difficult when the victim refuses to cooperate and Olivia and Fin become convinced that the rapist is someone against her being a Ranger, but the rapist turns out to be someone unexpected after a secret is revealed.
402
13 "Genes" Michael Pressman Rick Eid & Céline C. Robinson March 22, 2017 (2017-03-22) 1815 5.19[31]
A woman comes to SVU saying she was raped. When the detectives go to arrest the assailant (Michael Torphy), he claims that he has a rape gene, that he can't help it having been born that way. The case becomes very controversial and causes extreme tension, both in the squad room and between the detectives and the DA's office. The man's claim causes Benson to think back to both her and Noah's rapist fathers, making her worry, albeit briefly, if Noah has any chance of following in his footsteps.
403
14 "Net Worth" Alex Chapple Rick Eid & Jeffrey Baker March 29, 2017 (2017-03-29) 1816 5.00[32]
An investment banker (Missy Peregrym) accuses one of her billionaire clients (Tate Donovan) of raping her. SVU is called in to handle the delicate case, but they must tread carefully, as the accused is extremely wealthy and one wrong move could ruin everything. The case, however, becomes complicated when several bribes and deals are offered. Meanwhile, Fin is promoted to Sergeant.
404
15 "Know It All" Jonathan Herron Ed Zuckerman & Kevin Fox April 5, 2017 (2017-04-05) 1814 5.07[33]
The detectives arrest a suspect (Chris Diamantopoulos) charged with the rape and murder of a young female coworker. However, the reputations of all the SVU squad members, Barba included, are put on the line when the suspect reveals he knows their intimate secrets and threatens to expose them if the charges against him aren't dropped. The secrets cause major conflicts within the squadroom and Barba reveals a secret that could cost him his entire career.
405
16 "The Newsroom" Jono Oliver Teleplay by: Julie Martin & Brianna Yellen
Story by: Warren Leight & Julie Martin April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26) 1817 5.22[35]
When a news anchor (Bonnie Somerville) makes a rape allegation against her boss (Christopher McDonald) on live TV, Benson, Barba, and the rest of the SVU squad ask corroborators to put their jobs on the line by confirming the allegations. However, they are very hesitant, afraid of losing their jobs or getting bad reputations. The defense complicates the case by making it seem as though the allegations sprung from the victim losing her job.
Episode inspired by the sexual assault allegations against Fox News reporter Bill O'Reilly and Fox News founder, chairman, and CEO Roger Ailes.[34]
406
17 "Real Fake News" Martha Mitchell Ed Zuckerman May 3, 2017 (2017-05-03) 1818 5.06[37]
The SVU squad is asked by a US Representative (James Waterston) to debunk sexual assault rumors currently against him, but it takes a surprising twist when they are led to something much more deplorable. Things eventually become extremely personal when Benson and Rollins are targeted by a news website of questionable validity, with pictures of them and their children spreading false rumours about the nature of their families. Both detectives become infuriated and upset, vowing to stop the website and the man running it.
Episode inspired by the Pizzagate conspiracy theory and the surrounding hysteria following fake news stories claiming that various pizza parlors were fronts for human trafficking rings.[36]
407
18 "Spellbound" Jean de Segonzac Gavin Harris & Kinan Copen May 10, 2017 (2017-05-10) 1819 5.01[38]
The team investigates the motives and career of a charismatic spiritual healer and hypnotist (Stuart Townsend) when a man comes into the squad room and says that his girlfriend was sexually assaulted by the healer. The detectives and Barba question whether hypnosis skills can be proven as the MO in a sexual assault case.
408
19 "Conversion" Alex Chapple Kevin Fox & Brendan Feeney May 17, 2017 (2017-05-17) 1820 5.56[39]
A church group from Indiana visits New York and reports to the Special Victims Unit that one of their members was sexually assaulted by another member. When the rapist is found, he claims it was curative intercourse to cure the girl of her homosexuality and that he was saving her soul. The detectives investigate and must decide whether the rapist is sincere in his beliefs or if something else happened to cause him to attack the victim. They end up finding out that the rapist is hiding a secret.
409
20 "American Dream" Jean de Segonzac Rick Eid & Julie Martin May 24, 2017 (2017-05-24) 1821 5.80[40]
An extremely brutal hate crime is committed against a Muslim family who owns a restaurant, resulting in two deaths. The detectives investigate, but things become extremely complicated when a crucial witness is suddenly and unexpectedly deported back to his own country. This forces Barba to drop the charges, causing extreme tension, anger, and violence between communities on opposing sides of the case.
410
21 "Sanctuary" Michael Pressman Rick Eid & Julie Martin May 24, 2017 (2017-05-24) 1822 6.22[40]
The Special Victims Unit continues to investigate the hate crime against the Muslim family who were viciously assaulted in their restaurant. When their main suspect in the crime is released from custody, Benson and Barba become caught between the Muslim family and the suspect's family, both seeking justice for their loved ones. Protests in the streets start to turn extremely violent and Benson is faced with a tough decision that she has never had to make before in her entire career in order to make an arrest and get justice.
Shelved episode[edit]
"Unstoppable", written by Julie Martin and Rick Eid,[41] inspired by the sexual misconduct allegations against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and starring Gary Cole, was originally scheduled to air on October 26, 2016,[42] but it was pulled from the schedule[43][44][45] and has since been shelved.[46] At the 2017 Television Critics Association winter press tour, Dick Wolf expressed his belief that the episode may air that spring.[47] NBC currently has no plans to air the episode, therefore shelving it indefinitely.[41]
Reception[edit]
No.
Title
Air date
Ratings/share
(18–49)
Viewers
(millions)
DVR
18–49
DVR viewers
(millions)
Total
18–49
Total viewers
(millions)
1 "Terrorized" September 21, 2016 (2016-09-21) 1.8/6[19] 7.83[19] 1.3 3.46 3.1 11.28[48]
2 "Making a Rapist" September 28, 2016 (2016-09-28) 1.6/5[20] 6.09[20] 1.1 3.23 2.7 9.28[49]
3 "Imposter" October 5, 2016 (2016-10-05) 1.4/5[21] 5.76[21] 1.1 3.24 2.5 9.00[50]
4 "Heightened Emotions" October 12, 2016 (2016-10-12) 1.4/5[22] 5.88[22] 1.1 3.00 2.5 8.87[51]
5 "Rape Interrupted" October 26, 2016 (2016-10-26) 1.5/5[23] 5.85[23] 1.1 2.96 2.6 8.82[52]
6 "Broken Rhymes" November 9, 2016 (2016-11-09) 1.3/4[24] 5.55[24] 0.8 2.20 2.1 7.75[53]
7 "Next Chapter" January 4, 2017 (2017-01-04) 1.5/5[25] 5.82[25] 1.0 2.99 2.5 8.86[54]
8 "Chasing Theo" January 11, 2017 (2017-01-11) 1.4/5[26] 6.05[26] 1.1 3.00 2.5 9.04[55]
9 "Decline and Fall" January 18, 2017 (2017-01-18) 1.4/5[27] 6.46[27] 1.1 3.16 2.5 9.62[56]
10 "Motherly Love" February 8, 2017 (2017-02-08) 1.6/6[28] 6.93[28] 1.2 3.23 2.8 10.15[57]
11 "Great Expectations" February 15, 2017 (2017-02-15) 1.4/5[29] 6.00[29] 0.8 2.20 2.2 8.20[58]
12 "No Surrender" February 22, 2017 (2017-02-22) 1.3/5[30] 5.76[30] 1.0 3.00 2.3 8.76[59]
13 "Genes" March 22, 2017 (2017-03-22) 1.2/4[31] 5.19[31] 1.1 3.16 2.3 8.35[60]
14 "Net Worth" March 29, 2017 (2017-03-29) 1.1/4[32] 5.00[32] 0.9 2.67 2.0 7.67[61]
15 "Know It All" April 5, 2017 (2017-04-05) 1.2/4[33] 5.07[33] 0.9 2.83 2.1 7.90[62]
16 "The Newsroom" April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26) 1.1/4[35] 5.22[35] N/A N/A N/A N/A
17 "Real Fake News" May 3, 2017 (2017-05-03) 1.0/4[37] 5.06[37] 1.0 2.87 2.0 7.93[63]
18 "Spellbound" May 10, 2017 (2017-05-10) 1.1/4[38] 5.01[38] 0.9 2.78 2.0 7.79[64]
19 "Conversion" May 17, 2017 (2017-05-17) 1.2/5[39] 5.56[39] 1.0 2.88 2.2 8.43[65]
20 "American Dream" May 24, 2017 (2017-05-24) 1.3/5[40] 5.80[40] N/A N/A N/A N/A
21 "Sanctuary" May 24, 2017 (2017-05-24) 1.4/5[40] 6.22[40] N/A N/A N/A N/A
References[edit]
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Jump up ^ "Law And Order: SVU Rips Into Fox News Harassment Headlines". Salon.
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Jump up ^ "Law And Order: SVU Donald Trump Episode When Will It Air?" Vanity Fair
^ Jump up to: a b c Porter, Rick (May 4, 2017). "'Empire', 'Modern Family', 'Criminal Minds', 'Chicago PD' adjust up, 'The 100' adjusts down: Wednesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b c Porter, Rick (May 11, 2017). "'Empire', 'Modern Family', 'Criminal Minds' finale, 'Chicago PD' & 'Speechless' all adjust up: Wednesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
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^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Porter, Rick (May 25, 2017). "'Empire' finale and 'Dirty Dancing' adjust up, 'Survivor' reunion adjusts down: Wednesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
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Jump up ^ Porter, Rick (May 22, 2017). "'Modern Family', 'Big Bang' gain the most, 10 shows double: Week 33 broadcast Live +7 ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
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Jump up ^ Porter, Rick (June 2, 2017). "'Modern Family', 'Designate Survivor' finales make biggest gains in week 35 broadcast Live +7 ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
External links[edit]
Official episode guide
Season 18 episodes at TV.com
Season 18 episodes at IMDb.com
[hide]
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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Characters
Detectives
Elliot Stabler
Olivia Benson
John Munch
Monique Jeffries
Fin Tutuola
Chester Lake
Nick Amaro
Amanda Rollins
Dominick Carisi Jr.
Commanding officers
Donald Cragen
Olivia Benson
Assistant District Attorneys
Alexandra Cabot
Casey Novak
Kim Greylek
Rafael Barba
Doctors
George Huang
Melinda Warner
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Barry Moredock
Brian Cassidy
Elizabeth Donnelly
Michael Cutter
Sonya Paxton
Jack McCoy
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Season 1
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Notable episodes
"Payback"
"911"
"Authority"
"Cold"
"Zebras"
"Behave"
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"Justice Denied"
"Father Dearest"
"Rhodium Nights"
"Lost Reputation"
"Above Suspicion"
"Acceptable Loss"
"Manhattan Vigil"
"Comic Perversion"
"Glasgowman's Wrath"
"Chicago Crossover"
See also
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