True North

Episode aired Dec 9, 1998
TV-14
45m

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

334

YOUR RATING

Crime Drama Mystery Thriller

The Manhattan DA's office finds itself in the middle of a battle over the death penalty when it asks the Canadian government to extradite a Canadian-born woman facing multiple murder charges... Read allThe Manhattan DA's office finds itself in the middle of a battle over the death penalty when it asks the Canadian government to extradite a Canadian-born woman facing multiple murder charges.The Manhattan DA's office finds itself in the middle of a battle over the death penalty when it asks the Canadian government to extradite a Canadian-born woman facing multiple murder charges.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

334

YOUR RATING

6User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

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Trivia
This episode appears to be based on two separate cases/incidents:
The 1995 Patrizia Reggiani (a.k.a. "The Black Widow") case. Reggiani, an Italian convicted criminal and former socialite, was convicted in a highly publicized trial of hiring a hitman to kill her ex-husband, Maurizio Gucci.
The 1999 Stanley Faulder case. Faulder was the first Canadian citizen to be executed in the United States since 1952. Faulder, a Jasper, Alberta native, was convicted of murdering Inez Scarborough Phillips, a 75-year-old woman, in Texas in 1975 during a robbery in her house. He was caught, convicted, and sentenced to death in 1977. Faulder had previously served three years in prison for auto theft in Canada. Despite diplomatic complaints by the Canadian government, Faulder was executed by lethal injection on June 17, 1999. His last appeal was rejected about an hour before his death.

Goofs
When Detective Curtis discovers the bag of white powder in the toilet tank that he believes to be cocaine, he dips in a finger and tastes the substance, No police officer, especially an experienced NYPD detective, would ever taste an unknown powder. Tasting it proves nothing, and the bag could be filled with poisonous chemicals as well as any potential drug.

Quotes
Patrick Sinclair: Mrs Harker used drugs. Mrs Harker ran around with a bunch of low lifes. Mrs Harker was a lousy mother to Mr Harker's daughter.
Detective Rey Curtis: The girl wasn't hers?
Patrick Sinclair: No, from his first marriage. Mrs Harker spent his money like water. Mrs Harker was having an affair.
Detective Lennie Briscoe: But she baked delicious oatmeal cookies.

User reviews6

Review

Featured review

8/10

A Poster Child For The Death Penalty

Was Steven Hill right in this one, do we really have to post warning signs at the Canadian border that in the USA we still have the death penalty? If there ever was a poster child for it it's Bellamy Young who plays the white trash Canadian girl from Niagara Falls who marries a rich American and then kills him when she finds out he was planning to dump her. Bad enough, but she also kills the man's minor daughter and a friend of her's to cover up her crime. No mental illness defense possible here.

Not even that there is some suspicion though it can't be proved because the trail is way too cold that Young also murdered her husband's first wife plus a lover she had in Canada. No doubt if the Canadians believed in the death penalty Young would be first on the list for lethal injection.

But they don't and that is the crux of this episode of Law And Order. Some wire money transfers from a Canadian bank are an element in Sam Waterston's and Angie Harmon's case and the Canadians balk at providing evidence that might execute one of their citizens.

Merits of the death penalty notwithstanding they don't get to make that call. I believe Waterston and Harmon handled the situation appropriately.

Bellamy Young's portrayal of the amoral perpetrator however is what really drives this episode. And her rather pathetic plea for mercy when the penalty portion of the trial is on is really an incredible piece of acting. I was moved by the performance, but unmoved by the plea.