02x02 - Honor

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit". Aired: September 1999 to present.*

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"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" follows the detectives of New York City Police Department's Manhattan Special Victims Unit, based out of the 16th precinct, as they investigate s℮xually based offenses.
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02x02 - Honor

Post by bunniefuu »

In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as The Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

I found her moaning, half-naked, bleeding from her chest and privates.

Couldn't tell her age.

Her face was too badly beaten.

She moan anything you could make out?

Nothing that sounded like words.

We got this call 45 minutes ago.

Why is she still here?

They've only been here five minutes.

Moses wasn't available to part the morning rush hour.

Deep s*ab wound, left chest.

Hand me a 4 by 4.

I was afraid to move her.

I called for the bus, I put a rush on it.

What have we got?

Good old-fashioned stoning, New York style.

My guess, after the stabbing and r*pe.

What about the w*apon?

Nothing yet.

Any ID?

Still looking.

BP 90 over 60.

That's as good as we're gonna get.

Let's get her out of here.

What is this, open season?

A few drinks, a little smoke, a bunch of guys wet down a couple dozen women?

Wilding's back in vogue.

I hate that word "wilding."

Like it's some kind of party.

You ride, I'll cover the scene?

Law & Order: SVU
2x02 Honor

Original air date: 2000/10/27

Is there anything I can tell the chief of detectives when he calls me for the fifth time?

Female Jane Doe, probably in her 20s.

She was r*ped, stabbed, and beaten with stones. Left for dead.

No clue who she is?

We grid-searched, put divers in the pond.

The scene was pretty much trampled.

It could have been a dump job.

No ID, no Kn*fe.

I rode the bus with her.

She was mumbling something in Arabic or Hebrew.

Nothing that I could make out.

Thanks.

That was the hospital.

They got post-op photos for us.

They poured four units in her.

It's touch and go she'll survive.

What about the r*pe kit?

It turned up hair, semen, bruising, and blood from a freshly perforated hymen.

A virgin.

You know what the chief was telling me during our last conversation?

It's pucker time, folks.

Now, call every precinct, transit, and housing district.

See if anybody reported her missing.

Go talk to the park precinct captain.

See if there's any ongoing problems we should know about.

But be warned, that guy is a jerk times 10.

Crime in the park is the lowest in 30 years.

It was different today.

Today was an anomaly.

That's why I'm out here.

All we're asking is whether you have any wolf-pack type activity on your radar.

Like the wilding after the Portofino Day Parade.

Another anomaly.

Look, we get the usual isolated incidents, but no gangs.

Not in my park.

Captain, one more question...

Look, call me.

I got people waiting.

Had a nice chat with your superior.

Lovely guy.

Capt. Walson give you the not-in-my-park routine?

Why? You know different?

He's worried about getting his ass dragged down to the Morris Commission.

Why, what's he spooked about?

The brass versus big bucks, with him in the middle.

Bunch of private school punks on their mountain bikes trying to be gangsters who get their kicks lifting purses, or surrounding some pretty thing and scaring the hell out of her.

And he didn't tell us this because...

Because he didn't spot this pattern till yesterday.

Know who these kids are?

Yeah, I busted one of their leaders last week.

Apartment of Chris Lyons 63 West 88th Street Tuesday, September 19

Hi. I'm Detective Benson.

This is Detective Stabler.

What now?

Is Chris Lyons at home?

You want to talk to him?

Here, call our attorney.

Okay. We can either do this the easy way, or we can do it your way.

Now, your way means a search warrant.

Six officers inside your townhouse turning it upside down well into the evening.

I'm sure your neighbors would understand.

We'll meet you at our attorney's office.

Is there a reason you're harassing my client?

Yeah. Your client was arrested last week for threatening a mother walking her infant in a stroller.

She was a dime, yo.

I was just checking her out.

Chris.

We've already answered that charge.

Hey, yo, where were you early this morning?

My God.

You're talking about that woman.

The att*ck in the park.

How dare you accuse my son...

David.

I wasn't there.

He was home all night.

And don't you say another word.

How about we hear about it from him?

How about we don't?

He's 15.

Hey, yo, homeys, you walk the walk.

You got it in you to talk the talk?

So we like to look at the ladies.

But what happened to that lady, we're not down with that.

What are you down with?

Dot-comming.

From 1:00 in the morning till Pops here kicked me off.

Around 9:00.

You can check our records.

We'll be in touch with you.

What have we got?

Lab called. It's not what we thought.

Your victim only had one person's DNA inside her.

She was dumped after she was stabbed.

Are you sure about that?

Hospital says she lost half her blood volume.

We didn't find anywhere near that amount of blood at the scene.

Okay. Fibers?

White cotton.

Found in the blood, on her clothes, her legs and genitals.

Meaning she wasn't wearing any pants.

The att*ck followed the r*pe by maybe eight hours.

Anything on the rocks?

We found a bloody print.

Doesn't match the victim or anyone in the system. But this... may help you ID her.

She was wearing it.

CSU picked it up at the hospital.

Hanford.

You wanted to go back to college.

Now's your chance.

Hanford University Admissions Office Wednesday, September 20

Any of these?

No.

No. No. No.

We think she's from somewhere in the Middle East, maybe lsrael.

Wait. Elliot, look at this.

Amir...

Amir, Nafeesa.

23, School of Journalism.

Post office box...

That zip code looks like the East Village.

She's from Afghanistan.

Emergency notification, Daoud Tarzi, East Village.

We need to fax Munch that photo ID.

Mr. Tarzi?

He doesn't live here anymore.

What do you want?

Who are you?

David Hamoud.

How about some ID?

Anything with a photo on it?

No, I don't drive... and my passport's in my safety deposit box.

Have you seen this woman?

No. Who is she?

How long have you lived here?

I just moved in last week.

Do you know where Mr. Tarzi is?

I'd tell you who the super is if I knew.

I got a stuffed drain with his name on it.

You got that trying to fix it yourself?

Yeah, as a matter of fact.

I'm sorry, if you'll excuse me.

I'm late for a meeting.

I'll be back in the evening if you want to talk.

Oh, God.

Is that her?

I can't be sure.

She missed class this morning.

Is that unusual?

I've had Nafeesa in different sections each semester.

She's never missed a class.

Professor, you ever talk one-on-one with her?

Constantly.

She couldn't believe how free the press is here.

The Taliban government in Afghanistan controls the media the way they control women.

She came here to escape?

Well, unless she sneaked out of the country her parents must also be here.

Afghan women can't even leave their homes on their own.

She have any friends in the class?

Annette Fleming.

They were joined at the hip.

It's her.

I can't believe it.

When was the last time you saw her?

Just yesterday, in class.

How could this happen?

Well, maybe you can help us find out.

Was she acting like anything was wrong lately?

The opposite. Nafeesa was loving life.

She have a boyfriend?

She wouldn't talk about it.

I think it was her way of protecting herself.

Protecting herself from what?

Her father.

An Afghan diplomat.

She thought that he may have been looking for her.

If he had his way, Nafeesa and I wouldn't even be friends.

Sounds like a strict guy.

A control freak.

He wouldn't let her go out, made her wear the robes.

Like she had to back home?

She'd wear them when she left the house and change when she got to school.

She hated so much that she had to do that.

She was talking to Prof. Husseini, who was helping her to adjust.

And where did she keep these forbidden clothes?

In her locker.

You gotta sign for this.

Yep.

That's it?

That'll be all.

Thanks, guys.

Can you imagine what Maureen would do if you told her she couldn't wear jeans?

That's a place I wouldn't go.

Boyfriend?

Could be.

Her address. East Side.

Apartment of Saleh and Aziza Amir 719 Third Avenue Wednesday, September 20

This young woman was found in the park.

Do you recognize her?

It is our daughter.

She's in lntensive Care at Mount Sinai.

She's dead?

Actually, she's in critical condition, but she is still alive.

Nafeesa did not understand her place.

She chooses a man's work.

She turns her back on her traditions, on her family.

We still have a son, Jaleel.

But she is dead to us.

Sir, your daughter was beaten and r*ped.

It is zina.

Zina?

She has slept with a man who was not her husband.

Do you recognize this man?

No.

Your son is...

He's not here.

Please.

My wife and I suffer agony that she chose this life.

Please to leave us to grieve for our daughter.

What, it's her fault she was r*ped?

She brought shame and dishonor to her family.

They behead women for that where she comes from.

My first wife dishonored me.

I had to pay her alimony.

Look what we found in the knapsack.

Boyfriend, maybe? Suspect.

We're in the diplomatic community now.

Anybody know what her father does for the Afghanis?

Only that he's with the mission.

Well, let's get specific, people.

If they're covered by immunity and we go to them with anything but their daughter's condition the "G" is all over us.

Son of a bitch.

What?

It's that guy from the apartment.

Who said he never heard of her.

Right.

Well, maybe we should refresh his memory.

Pick him up.

He's halfway down the block.

He made us.

Hi. How are you?

Stick them in the air.

Nice tackle.

You won't find her!

I'll never tell them where she is!

Hear that?

I'll never tell them where she is.

Who's them?

You'll never find her.

We already did.

You have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

You have the right to an attorney...

Name's Daoud Tarzi, 33.

No priors.

Immigration said he got here in '88, alone, no family.

Became a citizen in '93.

And what does he do?

His own import-export business.

Fabrics.

Well, let's keep this out of the papers until we're sure he's the doer.

I want to see her.

Why? So you can b*at her up some more?

How bad is she?

Critical.

I'm responsible for this.

Okay, you want to tell us about it?

I love her.

We argued.

She ran out.

What did you fight about?

Does it matter?

Her father already won.

Won what?

His twisted sense of honor.

His revenge for her leaving home.

Well, he said she was dead to him.

Didn't sound like he wanted revenge.

What he doesn't want is a reputation for letting his women do what they please.

What do you want?

For her to stop acting like she's from some primitive tribe.

You couldn't handle that.

She wouldn't let go.

So you decided to do something about it.

I overreacted.

We argued.

I dared her to leave.

I never thought she'd leave.

I love her.

I wanted to marry her.

Find somebody who heard that argument.

I'll call Cabot for warrants.

Yeah, I heard them fighting.

In their first language.

English is definitely their second.

Anything you understood?

Before the screaming started she called him a control freak.

And something about her father.

Then what?

Then five minutes of gibberish.

Door slams, and one of them stomps down the stoop.

Just one of them?

Yeah, just one.

Whoever stayed turned on the TV.

They looked happy.

They all look happy.

Hey.

This was in the laundry.

Bed sheet.

There's blood on it.

Okay, lab says the bloodstain on the bed sheets, it's hers.

Semen's definitely his.

What about the stones?

No match on the prints but... they got an odd reading on the blood, so they're retesting it.

Print's not his or hers.

Even without the blood on the rocks, it's his semen.

Her blood on his sheets.

It's no problem.

Arraignment Court Part 69

Friday, September 22

People v. Daoud Tarzi.

"One count attempted m*rder, second degree"

"one count r*pe in the first degree."

Mr. Gibson, how does your client plead?

Not guilty on both counts, Your Honor.

Ms. Cabot?

Your Honor, this was a particularly brutal crime.

The victim was r*ped, stabbed, beaten, and left to die.

We're asking for remand without bail.

My client has no criminal history, Your Honor.

He's an upstanding member of his community he has his own import-export business...

Good. Let's make sure he doesn't export himself.

The defendant is remanded without bail.

What does that mean?

Her parents are here.

He wants me to tell you that her parents are here.

So noted.

He also wants me to tell you that he will take a lie detector test against my advice.

Our examiner.

I'll set it up.

Is your name Daoud Tarzi?

Yes.

Were you born in Lebanon?

No.

Were you born in Afghanistan?

Yes.

Did you r*pe Nafeesa Amir?

No.

Do you now live in Afghanistan?

Her parents were at the arraignment.

That's a strange way to show you don't care.

Do you now live in the United States?

Yes.

Did you s*ab Nafeesa Amir?

No.

How did he do?

Passed.

Or b*at it.

He's not the first person to fool the box.

If he can fool the box, he can fool the jury.

Maybe he's telling the truth.

If he proposed marriage to Nafeesa there has to be somebody else who knows about the relationship.

She wouldn't even tell her best friend about it for fear of how her family would react.

That Hanford professor.

He's a Mideast specialist.

He was counseling Nafeesa on adapting to life in America.

We were going to go talk to him until we thought Tarzi confessed.

Well, let's see if your professor can tell us why their love had to be such a secret.

Nafeesa Amir came to you for help.

Lots of students from my part of the world do.

To help them assimilate.

It's tough enough for a man.

It's even tougher for a woman.

How so?

They're tempted by all of the things they're not allowed to do back home.

Under the Taliban regime, that means almost everything.

Like having a job, going to school.

Leaving the house alone, or without every inch of one's body covered.

She would be scorned as a vice-monger.

What about her family?

They've been here for years.

Her family, like all the Afghan diplomats at the UN are holdovers from the previous government.

They treated women like something more than just indentured servants.

But when the Taliban took over, they put women under virtual house arrest.

There is nothing in the Koran that allows them to do that.

Well, tell their thugs.

It would be like the militia running this country.

That's why the UN won't recognize them.

It would be very dangerous for Nafeesa's family to try and go back home.

So Nafeesa's father is not a Taliban?

Maybe he's a Taliban mole.

Just because he doesn't wear their colors does not mean he isn't with them.

Nafeesa had to choose between her family and her future.

She wanted to live as a modern woman.

She had to leave her parents' home to do it.

Was there any reason she'd want to hide from her family?

If she tried this kind of thing in Afghanistan... women there have been m*rder*d for less.

Much less.

We have enough to convict you, Mr. Tarzi.

Even if you did pass the lie detector test, you confessed to the police.

Confession?

I never confessed.

You said, quote, "I am responsible for this."

I meant that I feel responsible, not that I att*cked her.

He passed the lie detector test.

It wasn't his DNA on the stones.

It was his DNA inside her.

We were from the same part of Afghanistan.

Near Kabul.

I helped her to find an apartment.

I wanted to help her find herself.

What was she looking for?

To be more than a factory for producing sons.

We fell in love... but we couldn't tell anyone.

She didn't want her father to find her.

Why? Was she afraid of him?

She's the reason he has his job... his apartment, his car with a driver.

How is it, in a society where a woman has no authority, she has all this power?

He promised her to the son of a government minister.

Turning her back on that was like spitting in her father's face.

And the night Nafeesa was att*cked?

I asked her to marry me.

Gave her a diamond ring.

She said yes.

She was a virgin.

You forced her.

No.

She didn't say no.

But I shouldn't have pushed her.

And she walked out?

She said I was trying to dominate her.

She throws the ring in my face.

Before I could stop her, she's out the door.

I should have tried to stop her.

Why all the lies?

You see this?

It's from a cop.

What cop?

Came looking for Nafeesa.

He had a gold badge.

I knew Nafeesa's father sent him.

If it isn't Bishop Tutuola.

John Munch. Ross Campo.

What brings you guys to this dump?

This.

It's yours.

What about it?

You laid it on the boyfriend of that girl we found in the park.

I got nothing to say about that.

He does. Especially the part about you breaking his head.

Like you never tuned anyone up on the job?

My pleasing personality usually does the trick.

You, on the other hand, weren't on the job.

So I do a little work on the side.
Help me out here, Fin.

Come on.

Better us bring this to you than IAB, right?

Last time I checked, cops weren't allowed to moonlight as Pls.

Three weeks ago... boss at the security company I work for gets a call.

Some diplomat looking for his missing daughter.

Says they're going back to their tent in the desert, wants to bring her with them.

Asked me to check it out.

You find her?

I got as far as the boyfriend.

Says he doesn't know her.

His mouth is moving, her picture's hanging behind him.

Like I'm some knucklehead.

So I tune him up a little.

But he still didn't tell you.

Said I might as well sh**t him, 'cause he was never gonna tell me.

And she never showed?

I sat on the place for two nights.

Nothing.

Final lab report.

And?

We've got a problem.

There were two types of DNA on the stones.

One was Nafeesa's, and the other was Tarzi's.

Well, if not him, then who?

That's why they retested the blood.

Lab says both DNA types have similar characteristics.

Meaning it was a family member.

Anything else we don't know about these people?

The State Department has the father listed as an attache.

Diplomatic rank.

Jaleel Amir just turned 21, graduated NYU.

He still lives with his parents?

Yes, he does.

But he's not a student?

Hello?

His immunity expired the day he turned 21.

She d*ed 10 minutes ago.

Has Nafeesa Amir been around lately?

Yeah. She was here Tuesday night.

What time?

Around 7:00.

Woman gets out of a cab, tries to run past me.

I didn't know it was Nafeesa.

She wasn't wearing the get-up.

She say anything to you?

Too busy crying.

I know she's family.

I just let her go up.

Did you see her leave?

No. But that doesn't mean she didn't.

I get off at 11:00. Ask the night guy.

Anyone else in her family, you see them come in or out?

Her brother came out.

Jaleel.

Bastard treats me like his personal sl*ve.

What time was that?

Around 8:00.

He calls, orders me to bring the big shopping cart upstairs.

Did you?

You kidding? The guy hasn't tipped me in four years.

Told him I couldn't leave the desk, come get it yourself.

Any idea what he wanted it for?

Whatever it was, he didn't bring it through this door.

Must have put it in his car in the garage.

I told you to leave us alone!

Sir, your daughter passed away, and you don't even care.

Saleh?

Go now. Where's your son?

Get out.

We know Nafeesa was here the night of the att*ck.

Doorman saw her come in.

Nobody saw her leave.

Because your son took her out through the garage and dumped her in the park.

Were you watching when he put the Kn*fe through her heart?

She was a whore, like you.

She was your daughter!

He is on his way home to Afghanistan.

Okay.

My son is protected by the Vienna Convention.

Arresting him is a violation of international law.

You need to take a refresher course in international law.

The day he turned 21, his number was up.

Would you like some?

No?

Juice?

No, thanks. We're just visiting.

Jaleel Amir?

I am proud I k*lled her.

She deserved to die.

This amuse you?

Jaleel Amir, you're under arrest for the m*rder of Nafeesa Amir.

You have the right to remain silent.

You think you can arrest me?

My father will have me on the next plane home.

I'll probably need Munch for trial.

Anticipating problems?

A diplomat's son?

I expect a very heavy g*n.

Captain. Ms. Cabot.

Something wrong, sir?

All I want to know is, did two of your detectives harass a diplomatic attache?

No, sir. We went looking for his son.

But what we should have done was arrest Saleh Amir as an accomplice to his daughter's m*rder.

If I may, I'd like to...

No, you may not.

Amir has filed a formal complaint against the US government for his ill-treatment by the NYPD, and the Feds are eating it up.

The case against Jaleel Amir is solid, Deputy, and frankly, it's out of your hands.

I've got two rogue cops who browbeat foreign officials two others who don't understand the basic Miranda warning.

Cases get dismissed for much less.

The suspect was properly Mirandized.

He did confess before he was warned, but it was an excited utterance.

Which makes it admissible.

The only way this case will not see the inside of a courtroom is if Jaleel pleads out.

I suggest that you reconsider your position.

And why would I want to do that?

To save your own skin?

I need the five on your tete-a-tete with Saleh Amir.

I'm cleaning it up right now.

If it's not pig Latin, "now" means now.

All right.

Where's the heat coming from?

The Commissioner.

Saleh Amir told the State Department that we violated Article 30 of the Vienna Convention because you grilled him about his son.

We didn't grill him.

If this had happened back home Jaleel would have done three months in prison and gotten a hero's welcome when he came out.

Well, this is the Afghanis playing hardball.

Chambers of Judge Alan Ridenour Thursday, October 26

They didn't Mirandize my client.

It was an excited utterance.

We have a planeload of witnesses.

Relax, Ms. Cabot.

I'm not about to penalize the police for doing their job.

Mr. Amir's confession was an excited utterance, and it's in.

In that case, Your Honor, my client is changing his plea to not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

Give me a break.

My client didn't know what he was doing was wrong when he k*lled his sister.

Ignorance of the law is not an affirmative defense.

He told the police he was proud of what he did.

That sound sane to you?

Your Honor, it's obvious what he's doing.

He can't hide behind the Fourth Amendment, so now it's insanity.

And if I ignore him, it could be reversed on appeal.

I'm ordering Mr. Amir be examined by a psychiatrist.

Rikers lsland Correctional Facility Friday, October 27

You have nightmares about Nafeesa?

The Koran says Nafeesa's shame before God is her own.

That it can't be passed to you, that she faces the consequences alone.

Did Abraham have a choice when Allah commanded him to k*ll his own son?

I can't talk about this.

Can't or don't want to?

I have nightmares.

Isn't that enough?

How long have you had the nightmares?

Since I was 8 years old.

When it happened.

Do they wake you up?

After he slits her throat.

Whose throat?

My...my aunt.

I can't do this.

Because you couldn't stop it?

I was a child.

My father made me watch.

How was I supposed to stop it?

Your father k*lled your aunt?

My grandfather.

His grandfather k*lled his aunt because she cheated on her husband.

Jaleel was just following the rules.

He's perverting holy scripture to justify m*rder.

It's what he was taught.

His rite of passage to manhood, to honor.

Meaning he doesn't know what he did was wrong?

I think he does.

I asked him if he has nightmares about his sister.

He wouldn't answer.

His body language said yes.

And a jury may be just as confused as he is.

Then you have to get a jury that can see past their confusion.

Mrs. Weinberger, would you have a problem finding a defendant from the Middle East not guilty?

Absolutely not.

Thank you.

Mr. Post.

We thank Mrs. Weinberger for her service, and ask that she be excused.

Approach, Your Honor?

Your Honor, all 10 of his peremptory challenges have been women or Jews.

I don't have to give a reason.

If this continues I'll have to ask for a Batson hearing.

You can't let her stack the jury...

With women?

People v. Blunt.

The appellate division specifically applied Batson to gender discrimination.

It applies to religion, too.

Your Honor...

Careful, Mr. Post.

Ms. Cabot is right.

You don't want a Batson hearing in this court.

Supreme Court Trial Part 78

Wednesday, November 1

We boarded the plane. The defendant was sitting in the first-class cabin.

Did he know you were there for him?

Yes. He smiled.

Tell the jury what happened next.

Before we could read him his Miranda Rights Mr. Amir confessed to having k*lled his sister.

What were his exact words?

"I'm proud that I k*lled her.

She deserved to die."

Thank you, Detective.

So, Mr. Amir showed no remorse for having m*rder*d his sister?

On the contrary, he was proud of it.

In fact, you said he seemed glad to see you.

I said he smiled.

He smiled at you and said he was proud.

Doesn't seem like something a sane person would do.

Objection! Detective Munch is not a psychiatrist.

Withdrawn.

Detective, how many people have you arrested in your career?

I don't know the exact number.

More than 100, correct?

Probably.

How many of them smiled at you and said they were proud of having k*lled someone?

One.

And the defendant is that one person, isn't that right, Detective?

Yes.

No further questions.

He shows signs of severe trauma.

What signs?

Delusional thinking... night terrors, vivid, recurring dreams that wake him.

He avoids talking about it if he can.

In your professional opinion, Doctor do these symptoms prevent Mr. Amir from knowing the difference between right and wrong?

No.

Thank you.

Dr. Skoda, you say the defendant knows what he did was wrong by our standards.

Yes.

Doctor, if I wake in the night and I hear a noise, and I take my g*n, and I sh**t an intruder in my house I know k*lling is morally wrong, yet I did what I had to do to save my family from harm.

How is that different from what the defendant did?

Objection. Relevance?

Goes to the defendant's state of mind.

If you're arguing self-defense, this is an insanity case.

And this question goes directly to what was in my client's mind.

I'll allow it.

Please answer the question, Doctor.

Jaleel's sister wasn't threatening to k*ll him.

But Jaleel thought his sister's actions threatened to destroy his life and the lives of his future children.

Isn't that right, Doctor?

It's not a valid comparison.

Please answer the question, Doctor.

Isn't it true my client believed his sister's actions threatened the lives of his family?

It's possible.

I can't say with certainty what he was thinking.

Exactly.

Thank you, Doctor.

In Deuteronomy, the Bible says if a man meets a virgin in a town and sleeps with her you shall stone them both to death.

But, Professor, honor k*lling isn't about religion.

No.

The Koran says all humans are equal.

It is about families and their honor that determines their status in society.

So if a man believes a woman in his family is sexually promiscuous she has reason to fear for her life.

Yes. But countries like Jordan and Egypt are trying to make honor k*lling as legally heinous as any other m*rder... with the same penalties.

Thank you, Professor.

Prof. Husseini, honor killings are part of ancient cultural tenets.

Yes.

Part of the cultural fabric that pre-exists modern society.

Yes.

So if you're raised in the tradition of this ancient culture what would you believe would happen to a family without honor?

The men could lose their jobs, the children could become outcasts the family could be scorned and mocked, with no chance of success... until the honor is restored.

And for a man, that means controlling his women?

Yes.

Isn't it true that last year, three out of every four murders in the Gaza Strip and West Bank were honor killings?

Yes. But the Palestinians...

Isn't it true that the only way these countries have to protect women from their own families is to put them in prison?

In protective custody, yes.

And isn't it correct, Professor that in this barbaric custom, the more brutal the k*lling the greater the honor restored to the family?

Yes.

So it's reasonable, having grown up in this world my client may have come to accept honor k*lling as necessary to survive?

Well, he may have accepted it, but I hardly think that it is reasonable.

I had to restore my family's honor.

We would never survive the shame.

You've had time to think about it.

Would you change anything that happened, if you could?

I would change what Nafeesa did to us.

Thank you.

You k*lled your sister because she was with a man.

Her marriage was arranged.

Being with another man was not her decision to make.

When you dumped your sister's body in the park why did you leave her half-naked?

To shame her as she shamed us.

And the stones?

That is what we do to whores in my country.

You're proud of what you did?

Yes.

Then, Mr. Amir, why did you run away?

What do you mean?

You're a man, aren't you?

A man stands up and takes responsibility.

A man isn't afraid to face the consequences of his actions.

I am not afraid.

No?

The police arrested you on the plane.

You were running away.

Does that sound honorable to you?

Does that sound like something a real man would do?

You are twisting everything.

Objection. Badgering the witness.

Even now, you were looking at your father to tell you what to do.

Does he tell you what to do?

Did he tell you what to do that night, too?

Objection! Irrelevant.

Move to strike.

The jury will disregard the previous mention of the defendant's father.

Move on, Ms. Cabot.

You were afraid of spending the rest of your life in an American prison weren't you?

That's a lie!

Because you knew what you did was wrong.

No! I did it for our family's honor!

I'm concerned the jury's buying Jaleel's act.

What? That anyone who kills his own sister has to believe he's doing the right thing?

Right. Which makes him guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

Hard to argue with that logic.

You can see my problem.

When we collared him, he was sitting in first class no cap, no beads, styling in totally westernized lnternet casual.

His wardrobe isn't helping me.

If the jury thinks Jaleel is culture-programmed to k*ll he gets his insanity verdict.

Well, we're out of people to say otherwise.

His culture didn't program him to k*ll.

His father did.

Jaleel is afraid of him.

Everybody is afraid of Saleh Amir.

Except for one person.

We're forgetting Mrs. Amir.

Mrs. Amir is out-of-bounds.

Anyway, Mrs. Amir would never give up her son or go against her husband.

She already has, on both counts when she told us that he was on a plane home to Afghanistan.

She testifies, she's sentencing herself to death.

She defied her husband once because he's the reason that her daughter's dead.

She wants justice for her memory.

We reach out to her again, I think she'll defy him again to get it.

We can't ask unless we're ready to protect her.

We're ready, 24-7.

Talk to her. Let her know that.

But don't cross the diplomatic line.

Apartment of Saleh and Aziza Amir 719 Third Avenue Thursday, November 2

I have already lost Nafeesa.

I don't want to lose Jaleel, too.

But Nafeesa hasn't lost her honor.

Have you lost yours?

You don't understand.

I think we do.

Nafeesa was your husband's ticket home.

He promised her to a Taliban, didn't he?

And when he found out that she was sleeping with somebody else he had Jaleel k*ll her in the name of honor.

We can offer protection to you.

I don't want your protection.

I want my daughter.

Nafeesa came home to be with us.

My husband asked her if she was still a virgin.

She wasn't.

What did he do?

Hit her.

She fell.

Then Jaleel tried to help her.

My husband said: "Let her lie there, like she lies with her American boyfriend."

What happened next?

My husband got a Kn*fe from the kitchen.

Jaleel, he begged him not to.

But my husband told Jaleel to k*ll her.. for our honor.

To k*ll her... to prove his manhood.

And he stabbed her.

And they took her away.

Has the jury reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

Will the defendant please rise?

On the charge of m*rder in the second degree, how do you find?

We find the defendant guilty.

This court is dismissed.

Captain?

Jaleel is convicted.

m*rder two.

Thanks.

You know, Saleh Amir didn't miss a second of this trial until today.

You'd think he'd want to hear the verdict.

He's gone.

Saleh Amir?

Left last night in a limo.

All that baggage, looked like it was for good.

What about the wife?

She wasn't with him.

Okay, we need the keys now.

Olivia.
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