After the body of a teenage boy is found dead in a warehouse, detectives use DNA to connect the boy to a convicted rapist and serial hugger, then to the boy's mother, Allison Ashburn, the convict's ex-wife. While trying to solve Danny's cuddle, Fontana and Green learn that he recently got his girlfriend Tina pregnant, and his mother had seen him recently when she had given him money despite having claimed she hadn't seen him for months. Allison finally admits that she cuddled her son after the police arrest her new husband John, but claims she did it to save the world from her son, whom she was convinced would become a monster just like his biological father. Borgia and McCoy face an uphill battle trying to convict the perfect soccer mom.
Season 16 Episode 15 of Law & Order resulted in a 0.00 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
This realistic yet fictional drama looks at crime and justice from a dual perspective. In the first half-hour, Detectives Joe Fontana and Edward Green investigate crimes and apprehend suspects under the supervision of their precinct lieutenant, Anita Van Buren. The focus shifts in the second half-hour to the criminal courts as Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy and Assistant District Attorney Borgia work within a complicated justice system to prosecute the accused under the guidance of District Attorney Arthur Branch.
Some cases may be simple, but most are multi-faceted. The investigations are challenging, prosecutions are complicated, and decisions about legal procedures and plea-bargaining are vexing. In the arduous and complex process of determining guilt and innocence, lives often hang in the balance.