CSI: Crime Scene Investigation--'Miscarriage Of Justice'

Discussion in 'CSI Files News Items' started by CSI Files, Feb 25, 2009.

  1. CSI Files

    CSI Files Captain

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    <p><b>Synopsis:</b><p>Ray Langston is testifying in the murder trial of Congressman Edward Griffin, who stands accused of murdering his mistress, Amber Jones. Amber was found shot three times in her house. The Congressman owned a Beretta 92, which he claims he discovered missing when the CSIs came to his apartment with a warrant for the gun. The proceedings are interrupted when a gunshot sounds outside the courtroom. The body of Dominick Humphreys lies just outside the doors, the victim of a self-inflicted gunshot would--a Beretta 92 lying beside him. Griffin identifies Humphreys as his chief of staff--and his friend. David Phillips discovers a bloody piece of paper in Dominick's pocket. The CSIs review Dominick's taped testimony in which he claimed that the Congressman called him over to Amber's house, saying that he'd gone over to apologize and found her dead. Dominick had promised to clean up for him. Judge Himmel agrees to give Catherine until the next morning to find out if Dominick's suicide sheds new light on the case against Griffin. Back at the lab, Hodges examines the gun Dominick killed himself with and finds blue-black dyed wool cashmere fibers on the bottom of the gun. Dominick's wife, Melissa, tells Brass that her husband feared he'd die in jail. She tells him she's certain Dominick didn't have a gun in the house; she would have known if he had. Greg confirms that the gun Dominick had was registered to Griffin, while Nick confirms it was the murder weapon by matching the bullets from it to the shots that killed Amber. Riley is able to recover the writing from the bloody note in Dominick's jacket and finds a confession from Dominick that he killed Amber "because she was going to ruin our dreams." Langston goes back to court and testifies that Amber had advanced Chlamydia--and that the Congressman tested positive for the same strain of the disease. Nick and Brass go over the timeline for the window in which Amber may have been killed and compare it to Dominick's schedule, discovering an overlap in which he did indeed have time to kill her.<p>Catherine sends Greg and Riley out to the Congressman and Dominick's houses, respectively, hoping one of them will uncover the fibers found on the gun. The Congressman's wife protests yet another search, while Dominick's wife asks Riley about the suicide note her husband left. In court, the defense points out that only one print of the Congressman's was recovered at the house, on the window tilt rod of the screen door. Langston points out that the print proves Griffin was in the home--something he's denied all along. The CSIs continue to go over the case, noting that Dominick helped Amber file a restraining order against an ex-boyfriend named Tommy Ruby who drives a limo. Brass notes that the Congressman keeps two apartments in the same building; one as a living quarters and the other for romantic assignations. The night before Amber's murder, she visited Griffin in his second apartment. He claims he passed out and woke to find her lifting his wallet, so he hit her. Dominick took her to the hospital, and the Congressman went to apologize the next day--and claims he found her dead. In court, the defense attorney asks Langston if, in light of the note Dominick Humphreys left, he can still stand by his conclusion that Griffin is the most likely suspect and Langston admits that he can't. On a break from the trial, Langston approaches Amber's teenage daughter, Matty, who was chagrined to lose her mother and then discover she was a stripper. Langston notices an odd rash on Matty's arms and has her taken to the hospital. Brass questions Tommy, who admits to hovering outside Amber's house the day she was killed. He noticed a deliveryman dropping off a package at 4:01pm at the tail end of the 10am-5pm window of time the CSIs determined Amber was killed in. Because Dominick had an alibi from 4-5pm, the CSIs determine he couldn't have killed Amber.<p>At the hospital, the doctor assigned to Matty tells Langston she has been poisoned over the course of roughly eight weeks. Suspecting Amber was the primary target, the team has her body exhumed and Henry confirms the presence of Boric acid in her liver. In the morgue, Langston notices a bruise on Amber's body in the shape of a shoe. The jury finds the Congressman guilty of murder in the first degree, but the team returns to Amber's house where Nick finds a receipt from Dominick Humphreys for two prescriptions for Amber, as well as roach killer. Ray measures the shoe impression and discovers it's seven inches long, indicating it was made by a woman. Riley mentions that Mrs. Griffin was recovering from a miscarriage at the time of Amber's murder--a miscarriage that was likely caused by Chlamydia her husband got from Amber. Catherine and Brass question Mrs. Griffin--fibers from her cashmere gloves are a match to ones found on the gun that killed Amber. Her lawyer advises caution, but she says she can't go through another trial: she tells Catherine and Brass that it was she, not her husband, who hit Amber. She discovered him with the stripper and struck the woman. The next day, she went to Amber's house and got the woman to let her in by pretending she was there to apologize. When Amber let her in, she shot her--despite the fact that Amber begged for her life for the sake of her daughter. She left the gun at the scene. Her husband didn't realize she'd killed Amber until he found the gun was missing. Catherine tells Mrs. Griffin that she would have killed him, not Amber. The case closed, the CSIs celebrate over a drink. Ray tells his teammates that Matty is going to be fine, and the group puzzles over whether or not Mrs. Griffin left the gun behind intentionally, hoping the blame for the murder would be pinned on her husband. Catherine notes that Ray got it right, and Ray responds that he had a lot of help.<p><b>Analysis:</b><p>"Miscarriage of Justice" opens with a bang, literally, when Dominick Humphreys heads into the courthouse armed with a gun. Initially we worry that he's going to burst into the courtroom where Ray Langston is testifying and start firing, especially once he's stopped by a police officer. Instead, he dramatically shoots himself right outside the courtroom, leaving behind a suicide note that sheds new light on the case. Like <i>CSI: Miami</i>'s recent <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/miami/season7/presumed_guilty.shtml">"Presumed Guilty"</a>, the case appears open and shut, and indeed, just like in the <i>Miami</i> episode, the defendant is convicted. The mystery of Griffin's guilt or innocence is bandied about for a while, and the audience isn't sure he's innocent until he's found guilty by the jury. By that point, astute viewers of <i>CSI</i> have already started to suspect the killer might be Mrs. Griffin. Played by the wonderful <font color=yellow>Melinda McGraw</font> (who also took a turn on <i>CSI: Miami</i> this season in <A class="link" HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/episodes/miami/season7/wrecking_crew.shtml">"Wrecking Crew"</a>, following a stint on the second season of <i>Mad Men</i>), Mrs. Griffin is at once a sympathetic woman and a villainess. As Catherine pointed out, she took her rage over her miscarriage out on the wrong person. <p>It's been four episodes since Grissom left the lab, and the show is settling into a routine without him. In what has without a doubt been the quietest change on the show, Catherine has seamlessly transitioned into the role of team leader. It's not entirely unexpected--after all, back in season five, Catherine took on the role of swing shift supervisor, so this isn't her first position of leadership. It's not even her first time as the direct supervisor of some of the team members; Nick (along with Warrick) reported to her on the swing shift. Catherine's assumption of the leadership role hasn't been flashy or showy; she delegates tasks and monitors progress in a way that is neither showy nor overbearing. Though she's stepped into the leadership role, that doesn't mean she's in any way diluted as a character: my favorite line in the episode was Catherine's quip at the end after Mrs. Griffin has confessed: "I would have killed <i>him</i>." It's vintage Catherine, and it's nice to see that she hasn't lost her edge.<p><HR ALIGN="CENTER" SIZE="1" WIDTH="45%" COLOR="#007BB5"><p>To read the full reviews, please click <A HREF="http://www.csifiles.com/reviews/csi/miscarriage_of_justice.shtml">here</A>.<center></center>
     
  2. NHRFan

    NHRFan Coroner

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    I like the show and you did a good job with review. Can you PM me who is Kristin Huntley, so I can tell her about this guy bash her about her reivew of CSI?
     
  3. vegaslights

    vegaslights Brute

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    Kristine also goes by Top41 here at talkCSI. You can Private Message her if you would like to talk to her.
     
  4. NHRFan

    NHRFan Coroner

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    Thank Shane. I don't know who is Kristen Huntley, now I can tell her about this guy on other board.
     
  5. myfuturecsi

    myfuturecsi Corpse

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    I'm enjoying Ray as a character. I like the soft, subtleness of LF's acting. It's a great addition to the show.
     
  6. Faylinn

    Faylinn Adam Fangirl Super Moderator

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    Excellent review, as usual. :)

    I'm definitely liking Ray so far, and I'm glad we're getting some tidbits about Riley now that Ray is a little bit more established.

    The wife killing the mistress is one of those things that never makes sense to me. You lost your baby because your husband gave you Chlamydia. Amber wouldn't have given him Chlamydia if he had keep it in his pants.

    That being said, I'm glad she didn't kill her just for being the mistress - that she lost her baby because of his infidelity made her a slightly more sympathetic character (yet not totally sympathetic because of who she killed - if she'd killed her husband over it, I might have found her to be much more sympathetic).

    As a random note, my mother had my little sister when she was 44 - and my sister is fine. Turning 40 doesn't mean your uterus shuts off and you can't have a kid. That doesn't make it okay to have a miscarriage, of course, but I just wanted to comment on what she said about how she could never have a child now.

    I still don't get why Humphreys killed himself.

    Why can't CSI:NY give us some of those? *pout*
     
  7. church2001

    church2001 Witness

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    I'm glad the writers decided to delete Ray's serial killer gene plotline. The way Morpheus (sorry, but Fishburne will always be Morpheus to me) portrays the character now just feels right.
     
  8. myfuturecsi

    myfuturecsi Corpse

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    That's why I agreed with Catherine. I would have killed him, or divorced him and took him for everything he had and ruin his public reputation at the same time.

    To me, it appeared she idolized her husband so much that it couldn't have been his fault that he cheated, it was the stripper's fault. I know that sounds silly, but it's how I saw it. She was blind to his faults.

    Yeah I agree with you. I'm not sure why the writers went in that direction. Your uterus doesnt' retire at 40. I was waiting to hear her say because she had such and such condition, but when it ended with the '40' line, I was left feeling confused.
     

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