Law & Order · Season 16 · Episode 3

“Ghosts”

Aired Thursday 6 October 2005

A criminal makes a surprising deathbed confession that compels Detective Fontana to re-open his own 10-year-old cold case file concerning the murder of a 12-year-old girl. Instead of the victim's father, whom Fontana is certain committed the crime, the new prime suspect is a former drug-addict whose jailhouse confession to the prosecution's most viable witness is disqualified on the grounds it was made in a spiritual context. Despite dwindling options, Executive Assistant D.A. McCoy continues to pursue a murder-two conviction despite a stern warning from his wary boss, District Attorney Branch, who cautions against the fallout of losing this high-profile case again.

S16 E3 discussion