One of my favorite show is Law & Order. Now there are different versions of Law & Order, my favorite is Criminal Intent. I still watch all the other ones. Well I was watching SVU(Special Victims Unit) today and they had the episode Doubt on. Doubt was a great episode that kept you going back and forth on whether there was a rape or if the sex was consensual. They build you up all the way till the end and then the frustration sets in!
The episode starts with Myra, a graduate school student, claims she was raped. She tell the officers that she was raped by a man named Ron, one of her professors. When Ron is brought in for questioning, he tells Detective Stabler and Benson that the sex was consensual. When asked about all the bruises and marks all over Myra's body, Ron said she asked him to do that. Ron says he did not want to do it, and when he refused Myra would drag her nails across his back and arms until she drew blood. At that point he want it to be done, so he choked her and man handled her as she wanted.
Right away the two detectives are split between whether the professor raped his student or not. Stabler thinks that Ron did not do the rape because of him being divorced from his wife for putting in all his time into his teaching job. Also because of the divorce, he had limited custody of his daughter. Stabler saw him as a man with to much to lose, and did not think he was guilty. Ron also completely cooperated with the police and let them take DNA samples and pictures. Another reason that Stabler thought Myra was lying is when Stabler was bring Myra home after she gave her statement at the Police Station, she fell back in Stabler arms as they were walking up the stairs to Myra's apartment. The next day, Myra tried to calm that Stabler tried grabbing her and wanted to rape her. She later said that she was lying about Stabler.
Detective Benson on the other hand saw Myra only as a victim. Believing that Myra would not have gone through the process of being photograph naked or having the rape kit used on her if she was lying. Benson saw the marks on Ron as Myra trying to fight him off. She also believed that as badly as Myra was bruised and beat up, there was no way that she would have asked for Ron to do that to her. The way Myra was so passionate about her being forced to have sex with her professor made Benson see her as a typical victim of rape and nothing else.
When Doubt got towards the end of the episode, they were in court. Both side pleading there case. The lawyers going back in froth pointing there fingers at both party's. Then came the verdict. The jury foreman was asked to read what the jury decision is. The foreman reads "We find the defendant..." The show ends and the credits role.
The whole idea behind this was to make the viewers come up with there own opinion of what the verdict should be. After the episode aired, NBC put up a poll for viewers to vote on what they thought the verdict would have been. 60% of viewers voted for the side of the professor and a not guilty verdict. 20% said that the student was raped and the professor was guilty. Leaving 20% unsure not knowing who they wanted to side with.
This is a great episode even though it drove me crazy not knowing what the verdict was. When they showed the foreman getting ready to read it, I was at the edge of my seat fully focused on the TV. Lets just say there was a little bit of yelling and hair pulling when the credits hit. I could not believe that they would do that to there viewers. It drove me crazy, and its just a TV show. In my opinion the verdict should have been ........
The episode starts with Myra, a graduate school student, claims she was raped. She tell the officers that she was raped by a man named Ron, one of her professors. When Ron is brought in for questioning, he tells Detective Stabler and Benson that the sex was consensual. When asked about all the bruises and marks all over Myra's body, Ron said she asked him to do that. Ron says he did not want to do it, and when he refused Myra would drag her nails across his back and arms until she drew blood. At that point he want it to be done, so he choked her and man handled her as she wanted.
Right away the two detectives are split between whether the professor raped his student or not. Stabler thinks that Ron did not do the rape because of him being divorced from his wife for putting in all his time into his teaching job. Also because of the divorce, he had limited custody of his daughter. Stabler saw him as a man with to much to lose, and did not think he was guilty. Ron also completely cooperated with the police and let them take DNA samples and pictures. Another reason that Stabler thought Myra was lying is when Stabler was bring Myra home after she gave her statement at the Police Station, she fell back in Stabler arms as they were walking up the stairs to Myra's apartment. The next day, Myra tried to calm that Stabler tried grabbing her and wanted to rape her. She later said that she was lying about Stabler.
Detective Benson on the other hand saw Myra only as a victim. Believing that Myra would not have gone through the process of being photograph naked or having the rape kit used on her if she was lying. Benson saw the marks on Ron as Myra trying to fight him off. She also believed that as badly as Myra was bruised and beat up, there was no way that she would have asked for Ron to do that to her. The way Myra was so passionate about her being forced to have sex with her professor made Benson see her as a typical victim of rape and nothing else.
When Doubt got towards the end of the episode, they were in court. Both side pleading there case. The lawyers going back in froth pointing there fingers at both party's. Then came the verdict. The jury foreman was asked to read what the jury decision is. The foreman reads "We find the defendant..." The show ends and the credits role.
The whole idea behind this was to make the viewers come up with there own opinion of what the verdict should be. After the episode aired, NBC put up a poll for viewers to vote on what they thought the verdict would have been. 60% of viewers voted for the side of the professor and a not guilty verdict. 20% said that the student was raped and the professor was guilty. Leaving 20% unsure not knowing who they wanted to side with.
This is a great episode even though it drove me crazy not knowing what the verdict was. When they showed the foreman getting ready to read it, I was at the edge of my seat fully focused on the TV. Lets just say there was a little bit of yelling and hair pulling when the credits hit. I could not believe that they would do that to there viewers. It drove me crazy, and its just a TV show. In my opinion the verdict should have been ........
In the real world, 20% voting for guilty is not a conviction. In the real world, jurors have to talk to each other and reason together. Perhaps the 20% would have been swayed by the 80% who perceived doubt (having insufficient information is doubt). Or perhaps the 20% would have persuaded the 80% to convict. An online poll bears no resemblance to jury deliberations, just as Law and Order bears little relationship to the criminal justice system
ReplyDeleteYes I know that Law and Order has nothing to do with the real criminal justice system. I believe that they ended that episode the way they did so that the viewers to come up with there own opinion of what the verdict would be. As far as the online poll goes, that too was just another tool for fans of the show to vote for what the verdict would have been. At the end of the day its all for fun. I hope you enjoyed the post and will enjoy not only my other ones, but future ones too. Thank you for the comment!
DeleteJust saw this today. I don't think there is any way he would get convicted. The false allegation against Stabler was the nail in her coffin.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. I believe there is no way he could be convicted after seeing that she tried crying wolf about Stabler. But you know how these shows can go either way, or give last minute info to change your mind. But once again, do believe she was no victim.
DeleteFound this after Doubt just aired on a rerun.
ReplyDeleteI find it weird that the poll assumed that Not Guilty means you side with the professor. As a juror I would have said Not Guilty even though I believe Myra was raped, because all the defence has to prove is the existence of reasonable doubt. That and Casey's closing argument was rubbish. If it were real, I'd complain about the quality of the prosecution.
Well I believe whether she did or didn't get raped, she blew the case when she tried to pull the same thing on Stabler. But I see where your coming from. Thanks for the comment, I hope you enjoyed my other post also.
DeleteLook again at the episode right before the jury read the verdict, I think the surprised look on the judge face says it all.
ReplyDeleteWell what do you think the surprised look meant Matt? If anything I would think it was a not guilty verdict. Thanks for the comment!
DeleteThat's how I took her reaction not guilty
ReplyDeleteWell personally I feel like she was lying and the sex was consensual! Damn these great shows!!
DeleteI can't wait to see if they cut out olievia from the new season coming up......should be a good one
ReplyDeleteLock that whore up.
ReplyDeleteI agree! She is not a victim!!
DeleteSeiously dude: There vs their vs they're. It takes a couple of minutes to learn, and using the wrong one over and over is really distracting
ReplyDeleteWell I can understand your frustration with that. I am far from being a good writer and I am not claiming to be. Grammar and spelling was always my worst subject. The more I write, the better I can get!
DeleteI am a L&O: SVU fanatic, I've seen almost every episode and still watch them repeatedly, but the end of this episode drove me crazy!! Since I first started watching SVU I could usually tell who was guilty, in this particular case, I believe she is an attention seeker! You cant tell me she had the hots for this guy, wore a "teddy" to his house at night, drank, kissed and then didn't want it when he offered. Makes absolutely no sense. Not only that but the way she looked at Stabler when she got to the door and he didnt offer to come in said everything. Seems to me she doesn't take rejection too well! Im a little ticked about the ending but either way she was lying in my opinion! Btw I love Olivia, but, I do feel like her personal life clouds her judgement sometimes. Someone says rape and she automatically believes them. Myra's story wasn't consistant, Ron's was. #Love #L&O #SVU
ReplyDelete