NARRATOR: 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.
Now, if this were a real busy street,
there'd be lots of cars and people, okay?
I'm telling.
Now, I want everybody to take your buddy's hand,
all right?
I don't want to hold her hand.
Now, what do we do when we get
to the crosswalk?
Anybody remember?
ALL: No.
We stop, we look, and we listen.
And then we walk to the other side.
Now, stay inside the lines of the crosswalk, okay?
And walk very, very fast.
I'm going to go first.
Okay, no running, and no pushing, please.
I hope a cab doesn't splatter you
all over mid-town, you little brats.
Me first.
Take them inside Melody, now.
Go.
Come on kids, let's go.
( children chatting loudly )
Let's get inside now, come on.
White male, twenties, naked,
wrapped in a set of Queen-size sheets and a blanket.
Condom's in there with him,
fluids on the body,
which is why we called you guys in.
Do you have any idea how long the body's been here?
Trash collection worked this street at 11:00 last night.
No body then. Neck's broken.
Bruising goes all the way around.
Back of his scalp is pretty torn up,
and there's white powder in it.
See this blue stuff on the sheets?
It's not wax, it's more like melted plastic.
MAN: Detectives,
the building super around the corner
pulled this pillowcase out of the bushes.
It matches the sheets?
His clothes?
Check for a wallet.
BENSON: There's no wallet in here.
Got something.
"Seventh and Bleeker, Thursday, 7:00 p.m.."
Last night in the village.
Maybe that's where he met his killer.
Must have shown him a real good time
before she did the deed.
Marvin, right now is a good opportunity
for you to learn.
An erection is often a side effect of asphyxiation.
Oh, yeah?
'Cause I was going to say,
the guy was scared stiff.
Captioning sponsored by UNIVERSAL NETWORK TELEVISION
and NBC
We've got six restaurants, two bars, 13 businesses
and over 400 residents near Bleeker and Seventh.
That is a hell of a lot of doors to knock on.
Not to mention, it's 100 blocks away
from where the victim ended up.
If his date killed him in the village,
that's a long way to lug a body.
Meaning one of them lives near the dump site,
or she had help moving the body.
What did Missing Persons say?
Nobody's missed him yet, and we got no hit on the prints.
WOMAN: Detectives.
This turned out to be a challenging one.
Well, what did the lab find?
Substance in the hair turned out
to be gypsum particles and flakes
of flat latex paint in eggshell white.
Somebody bashed his head against the wall.
It's a common brand of paint.
It won't help you much with the location.
The bed sheets were a little more interesting.
We put that blue substance
under an infrared spectrometer.
It's nylon,
specifically used for sports apparel.
Somehow, it melted all over the sheets.
STABLER: Like maybe from
a faulty dryer?
You know, it runs too hot,
you put a pair of running shorts in there with the sheets,
you ruin the whole load.
Killed in an apartment with white walls
and a crappy laundry facility.
I think I live there.
Yeah, but I'm guessing you didn't kill the guy.
We blood-typed the semen found in the sheets.
Two types.
Your victim spent his last night with another man.
CRAGEN: Well, there's two bars
in the village on your list.
You and Olivia see if any of them cater
exclusively to gentlemen.
BENSON: You ever seen this guy?
Sorry, I don't recognize him.
How late did you work?
Till 4:00 in the morning.
It's kind of a blur after 10:00, though.
( laughs )
Benefits of working
at a gay bar-- I never have to buy my own drinks.
STABLER: What kind of clientele you get in here?
Hustlers strolling for work?
No, mostly just neighborhood guys.
What about lovers spats getting out of hand?
Bouncer handles that.
Hey, Tony?
Police.
He come in here last night?
Never seen him here, but I know that face.
I think he's a model or something.
Like in a magazine?
No, posters.
You know, the kind
they plaster all over those construction site fences?
Lawbreakers.
He said the poster was advertising
some dating service.
Sure it wasn't Captain Zippy's Rave,
or fantastic, potent, herbal Viagra?
This might be something.
"We chose the path to love."
That's him.
Looking pretty heterosexual.
ReGenesis.
Doesn't sound like a dating service.
HUANG: It's a Christian Ministry,
advocating freedom from homosexuality
through prayer and counseling.
It started in the '80s
as the so-called "ex-gay" movement.
Here we go, "ReGenesis."
"A second chance at a new beginning."
Started by Kelly and Derek Singer,
both ex-gays themselves.
So, former gays turn gay bashers?
Not quite.
ReGenesis doesn't condemn homosexuality outright,
but it does believe that it's a sin,
and like all sins, one has to resist it
in order to enter
the kingdom of God.
Meaning, if I pray hard enough, I'll be straight.
Or celibate.
Most ex-gays consider themselves successful
if they resist same-sex behavior.
The movement's still controversial.
Yeah, but if somebody really believes
that being gay is a sin,
what's wrong with trying to change?
HUANG: The assumption that one can change.
ReGenesis claims that members of its ministry have actually
become heterosexual, but offer little proof.
Most psychiatrists believe it doesn't work.
So, the poster boy for the ex-gay movement
is still sleeping with guys.
I mean, that's going to piss a few people off.
Find out how much.
And let's put a name to this face.
WOMAN: James Reed. I can't believe it.
James Reed.
When was the last time you saw him?
Over six months ago.
I tried contacting him by phone.
I-I sent letters, and he never answered.
Did you guys have a falling out or something?
He thought we were judging him,
but we loved James.
As long as he was straight.
No. That would make us hypocrites.
But your straight now, right?
So, you're following God's law, but he wasn't.
You think that we're just these bunch of religious fanatics
who think God turned us straight?
It's a struggle, Detective.
And Kelly and I fight it together, every day.
STABLER: So, how was it that James
wound up on the poster?
It was his idea.
He felt that people should know
you can be accountable to God and have joy in your life.
Homosexuality doesn't have to control you.
BENSON: But he changed his tune six months ago.
He had doubts.
I told him, we all have crises of faith.
BENSON: In other words, he had a boyfriend?
Now, that doesn't look good for ReGenesis.
Are you suggesting that we killed James?
STABLER: Someone may have felt betrayed.
You have this ad campaign.
Must have cost you a lot of money.
There's James Reed, your poster boy for success,
until he starts sleeping with a bunch of guys again.
It makes your organization look like a sham.
I wouldn't have cared if James had
100 boyfriends, if it made him happy.
I knew it didn't.
Look, we were just hoping James would come back.
We would have welcomed him.
Yeah, you wrote him, uh, those letters?
Yeah. We'll need that address.
There's no blood.
Doesn't look like James Reed was killed in his apartment.
A syllabus for a clinical psych class,
Hudson University.
Looks like he was going for his masters.
"Me and Phil, Thousand Islands, June '03."
They're happy.
Unless Phil's the one he spent his last night with.
Look at this.
Four letters from Derek Singer, all unopened.
I guess he was telling the truth.
Those two were depressing.
Trying to convince themselves
and everybody else that they're happy.
Maybe they are.
Elliot, you can't tell me
that repressing your sexual desires
makes a gay person a good Christian.
I don't know.
Maybe some people choose to be gay,
others choose to be straight.
Oh, so you chose to be heterosexual?
Me? No.
Check this out.
"All queers
"will burn in the eternal fire
of hell, so sayeth the Lord."
Somehow I don't think that's a direct quote.
Hate mail.
Yeah, about 20, 30 pieces of it,
all coming from Nebraska.
No return address.
I guess word of Reed's defection slipped out.
Let's see if the boyfriend
in the picture knows who sent them.
Phone number for Phil Sona.
MAN: I read about James' death
in the paper.
I'm just sick about it.
I find it odd you didn't report your boyfriend missing,
though, Doctor Phil.
Ex-boyfriend.
We broke up three months ago,
but James doesn't have any family,
so I'm taking care
of the funeral arrangements.
Look, I know you guys have a job to do,
but I didn't kill James.
I was at a seminar in Detroit
the night he died.
Why the breakup?
Just wasn't the love of my life.
I wasn't his, either.
We both got what we needed at the time.
A reason to leave ReGenesis.
That is where we met.
Taking the reorientation therapy, support groups,
prayer groups.
Then we turned to each other.
We're, like, "What the hell are we doing here?"
You thought the whole thing was a crock?
No. For a long time,
I thought things would be easier
if I was straight.
Now, I can't imagine wanting to be anybody
other than who I am.
And that is the one good thing
that I learned at ReGenesis.
BENSON: Do you think
that any ReGenesis member would be angry enough
to go after James?
I doubt it. They're basically good people.
They just believe
that God has given them a road map for how to live.
And I don't think it's that easy.
These letters--
you know who wrote them?
If that's more hate mail,
it could have been anybody.
James had written some angry articles
bashing ReGenesis.
I said, "You're making a target of yourself."
BENSON: Dr. Sona, James may have been
with a man the night he was murdered.
Do you know if he had a new boyfriend?
He said he was seeing somebody.
I don't know who.
It didn't sound like it was going to work out.
The guy was way in the closet.
STABLER: Maybe he'll come out
long enough to attend the funeral.
( people shouting loudly )
What the hell is this?
Devoted members from the Church of Eternal Providence,
visiting from beautiful Danville, Nebraska.
Found our hate mailers.
They got permits for the sidewalk.
I'm waiting for one of them to step over it,
so I can shut 'em up.
You get a line on the boyfriend?
So far, nobody claims to be,
or claims to know who was dating Reed.
MAN: God hates you,
you hypocrites! Get the hell out of here.
The Lord said
all sodomites should be put to death.
Whoa, his might has been shown to all those who believe...
Are you just going to stand here and let them do this?
Dr. Sona, just walk, come on.
The Reverend has a right to free speech.
The Lord Almighty killed James Reed
for being a disgusting faggot...
Oh yeah, that's right.
We're all fags, and we're not going anywhere.
He's burning for all eternity in the flames of hell.
All you want, we're going to be sitting here,
laughing our asses off.
Okay, the protest is over Rev.
This is a legal demonstration.
Well, not anymore. Look down.
You're trespassing.
Reverend Mitchell Shaw.
You really get around.
Protesting in Vermont, at the Supreme Court...
...cheering at the funeral
of a six-year-old who died of AIDS.
Maybe you should switch to a career in publicity.
The Lord asked me to do his work.
Did he ask you to ignore all that, uh...
"Love thy neighbor" stuff?
"If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman,
"both of them have committed an abomination.
"They shall surely be put to death.
Their blood shall be upon them."
Leviticus.
The Bible also says I can sell my daughters
into slavery and be put to death if I work on Sundays.
Twelve years of Catholic school.
Anybody can memorize the words, Reverend.
Doesn't make them righteous.
This city is full of sodomites,
and you waste your time protecting them...
and yet you wonder why so many other NYPD brothers
were struck down on September 11.
Do you not see
the Lord's judgment upon you?
I see a scared, shriveled up piece of trash
who uses God to justify his bigotry.
This guy doesn't believe half of what he says, Elliot.
He's trying to get his name in the papers.
I speak the truth.
Well, then, you won't deny calling James Reed a fag...
an AIDS-infested fag.
You can't prosecute me for writing letters.
We can if you killed the guy.
The Lord passed his own judgment on James Reed. You're just doing
his work for him? Is that it?
I wish I had
sent Reed to hell...
but I was a thousand miles away.
Go back in there and strangle the son-of-a-bitch.
I love the guy; I want to invite him to the Christmas Party.
The Lord spoke to him.
The Lord sent an angel to talk to the mother of his only son,
but he spoke to Reverend Shaw.
He's a very special guy.
How's his alibi?
Danville PD confirmed it.
Had their hands full with another picket
organized by the reverend the night of Reed's murder.
Then he's nothing to us.
Cut him and the rest of his people loose.
BENSON: He targeted Reed.
One of his followers could've taken him seriously.
You connect one of the members of Shaw's congregation
to the murder, I might be able to get him
on the fighting words doctrine.
Till then, First Amendment says
he can enjoy his civil liberties like everybody else.
We'll check out his followers anyway.
In the meantime, if we're thinking Reed's killer
was the last person he slept with,
there's a real problem with this theory.
None of Shaw's people would ever have had sex with Reed.
They just would have killed him.
Well, we've still got the mystery boyfriend out there somewhere.
What'd you get from the people at Reed's funeral? Not much.
After the fight broke out, a bunch
of people left before we got their names.
Yeah, but we got their pictures.
Where the hell's that from? MUNCH: One of Reverend Shaw's
church members-- he must have left it behind.
I didn't hear that. CRAGEN: Get it back to him, John.
I'll be happy to-- I'd even develop his film for free.
Show the pictures
to the people you talk to at Reed's funeral.
Maybe they can help ID the ones that got away.
I told you at the cemetery I...
I really only knew James as his advisor.
I-I-I don't know his friends.
And he never mentioned dating anyone, Dr. Waldman?
All we talked about was his research.
A shame-- it was shaping up to be quite provocative.
How so? He was planning a long-term study
on reparative therapy:
the idea that same-sex attraction is a form
of arrested development and can be cured.
Don't most shrinks think that's crap?
They do. Reparative therapy is experimental
and unproven at best.
And at worst?
Early research indicates
that patients can develop anxiety, depression,
and an increased risk of suicide.
Now, what's so provocative about James' research?
That reparative therapists know
their treatment doesn't work,
yet they prey on vulnerable patients,
and take their money for a snake oil cure.
That could've ruined a few careers.
Might be a motive for murder.
I'd agree, except no one outside the three professors
on the thesis committee had read the proposal.
We're going to need their names.
Of course.
Actually, there was a fourth professor,
but he resigned.
And who was that?
Roger Tate.
He's a proponent of reparative therapy,
which is why I wanted him to sit on the committee,
but he thought there were
methodological problems with the study.
We want to talk to him first.
Mr. Reed and I had differences of opinion,
but I liked and respected him.
We've debated each other over the past few months
in several symposiums.
These debates, um...
he thought being gay was okay, and you didn't?
I personally have nothing
against homosexuals,
but Mr. Reed believed homosexuality
was a natural occurring variant,
like left-handedness.
I believe it's a complex pathology.
And you can cure it?
No,
but by understanding the root of their neurosis,
they can begin to control their neurotic tendencies.
When homosexuals know the causes of their condition,
they're more able to change their behavior
if they choose to do so.
So, what causes that condition?
My research has shown that an over-bearing mother
combined with a distant father
often influences psycho-sexual development.
A boy longs for a relationship with the father,
and when he doesn't get it, he seeks it out in other men.
It must have really burned you
that Reed's research was going to torpedo all your work...
or at least torpedo your wallet.
His methods were shoddy.
I doubt if his research would ever have been published.
I may have disagreed with Mr. Reed,
but I didn't hate him.
If nothing else, I felt sorry for him.
I treat men every day who are trying to fill
their empty lives with anonymous sex
and loveless relationships.
Reed spent so much energy trying to convince himself
that he was normal, happy...
but how could he have been?
If an over-bearing mother
and a distant father cause homosexuality,
how come I'm not gay?
Maybe you're in denial.
That'd explain a lot.
Excuse me, was that Elliot Stabler?
No, that's Ian, Dr. Tate's son.
My mistake.
What was that?
I recognized him from his picture.
Ian Tate at Reed's funeral,
20 years old, no record,
enrolled in a university upstate,
dropped out halfway through the first semester.
Now he's at a community college.
His mother died when he was 12 years old.
His father pays for his apartment,
which is half a block away from where we found James Reed's body.
We dumped Ian and Reed's phones.
Past two months, there were over 50 calls,
including one from Ian to Reed
the night he was killed.
They knew each other well enough
for Ian to go to his funeral. So, we're saying
Dr. Homophobe's son is gay and killed his boyfriend?
Well, if he was ashamed of his sexual identity,
then he may have been driven
to destroy the man who personified it.
With a father like Tate,
no wonder he'd try to hide it.
"You're not gay, son, you're just crazy."
A lot of gay people suffer
from some kind of internalized homophobia.
They all grew up in the same culture that we did,
where being gay was considered weird,
or sick, or evil.
Combine that with Dr. Tate spending years
promoting the idea that homosexuality
is unacceptable... Son must hate himself.
And he might do anything to keep the illusion
that he was straight.
See if you can break it.
STABLER: Ian Tate!
We need to talk to you.
Why don't you come on down to the station with us?
I can't. I've got class.
I'm already late.
BENSON: It's about James Reed.
Never heard of him.
You've never heard
of him-- you've been talking
to him for two months.
We've got the phone records to prove it.
He's dead.
I didn't do it. Ian...
there's lots of ways this could have gone down.
You guys were together, you got into a fight,
things got out of hand... That's sick.
He was harassing me.
STABLER: Why?
Because of my father.
I met him at one of Dad's talks.
Guy just starts in on me.
Freaking faggot. Faggot?
Boy, Ian, buddy, you're a walking clichÃ©.
Most homophobes are actually repressed homosexuals,
you know that?
This is going to be a lot easier if you're honest with us.
I'm not gay...
and I didn't kill him.
You get it? Need some help?
Why don't you come with us down to the station.
Give us a DNA sample,
we'll leave you alone.
No.
Don't have cause to compel a swab.
Why don't we collect ourselves some evidence?
Faulty dryer maybe?
Public area, don't need a warrant.
This one looks clean, too...
...but it's barely giving off any heat.
This one's on fire.
Liv...
That looks like
blue melted nylon to me.
And that should get us a warrant
for Ian's apartment.
STABLER: Place has been cleaned.
It smells like somebody painted in here.
Guy had drywall in his hair.
His walls aren't even chipped.
The mattress looks like it's brand new.
Luminol didn't pick up any blood.
He didn't bleed that much.
Elliot...
feel that.
It's uneven.
Like it's just been patched.
Right at head level.
Got a saw? Yeah.
Bring it.
( saw buzzing )
TATE: What the hell is this?
MAN: Sorry, you're not allowed in here.
What are you doing?
Where's your warrant?
Enjoy.
TATE: I'm calling a lawyer.
You can't destroy private property.
Ian, let's go.
Let's see what we find here first-- just relax.
I got blood... and hair.
All that plastering for nothing, huh?
All right, Tate, you're under arrest
for the murder of James Reed.
Don't say anything. I'm getting you a lawyer.
Say nothing.
Docket ending 247,
the People vs. Ian Alexander Tate.
One count murder in the second degree.
Emma Dishell for the defense.
JUDGE: How does the defendant plead?
Not guilty.
Your thoughts on bail, Ms. Novak?
The People request remand, Your Honor.
The defendant committed murder because of his hatred
for homosexuals.
We consider him a danger to the community.
My client was defending himself
after being sexually assaulted by the decedent.
Your Honor, there was no evidence or report of assault.
In fact, this is the first time anyone's mentioned it.
And as the ADA for Special Victims,
you should know that rape victims
often delay reporting their attacks.
The defendant's semen was found at the scene.
If a woman has an orgasm
when she's raped, does that mean she really wanted it?
Eh, that's beyond the scope of these proceedings.
Now, you say you have proof of a rape,
Ms. Dishell, uh, present it to a trial judge.
Until then, the defendant's remanded.
Next case.
NOVAK: Ian Tate wasn't raped.
It's just a lame attempt at a gay panic defense.
He came on to me so I killed him.
That defense rarely works.
You know the trial judge in the Matthew Shepard case
didn't even allow that theory to be presented.
But in New York, gay panic falls
under extreme emotional disturbance.
And juries still don't buy it.
Then why are you so worried?
Because you know this isn't about the letter of the law.
It's about the jury and their prejudices.
And if even one juror thinks
that gays are predators and sinners,
then your murder conviction gets knocked down
to manslaughter.
If not an acquittal.
The Supreme Court may have advanced
gay rights in that Texas case,
but they also incited a bit of backlash.
All right, so what am I supposed to do about that?
Take the juice out of the defense.
Prove the defendant himself
is a homosexual, and gay panic goes out the window.
You can't lose your mind over a homosexual advance
if you're gay.
Now, the tricky part is not playing the politics.
They want to make this about straight versus gay.
You make it about murder.
BENSON: Ian Tate is a loner.
I mean, the only person that he talks to
on a regular basis is his father.
He's got no friends at school, none in his building.
What about financials--
tab from a gay bar, magazine subscriptions?
Nothing. He probably didn't want to leave
a paper trail that could out him.
And he's never dated anyone else?
I wouldn't be surprised
if James Reed is the only person that Ian ever dated.
MUNCH: Hey, guys.
You're late.
I got a good reason.
Bad news.
What is it?
My guess-- Exhibit "A" for the defense.
The night of James Reed's murder,
the 2-9 received a call from Stuyvesant's E.R.,
patient reporting an assault.
That's the 61.
Victim's name, Ian Tate.
Checked in at 11:05 that night.
14 centimeter lac on his right arm,
minor contusions to his torso.
Said he got mugged.
Well, the precinct wasn't called until 7:30 the next morning.
Welcome to Thursday night at the Knife and Gun Club, detective.
We were slammed, and he had a long wait.
Any sign of sexual assault?
If I thought he had been, I would have asked.
Men underreport as it is.
Okay, after he checked in,
could he have left and come back?
Nope. You leave, you lose your spot.
Thanks.
61 says the precinct cops
got Ian's report at 8:10 that morning;
at 8:30, Reed's body is found seven blocks from here.
And the body wasn't there at 11:00 the night before
when Ian was already on the way to the hospital where he spent the night.
So, when did he find the time
to get rid of the body of a 165-pound man?
Had to be the father.
Nobody else in Ian's life is going to dump a body for him.
We got to place Daddy at that scene.
You guys were right.
What did you find?
That's your victim's blood.
We rushed labs to get the match
once your suspect was in custody.
No more rush.
Until now.
Show and Tell time.
The cheap and fast way to fix a wall is to put a patch
behind the hole, hold it steady with a string,
and plaster over it.
I found another blood sample after the patch was removed.
When you chip away all the plaster used to fix it,
you find the perimeter of the initial damage.
Now, if I take your head and bash it through the wall?
My hand is going to go through as well.
So, when I pull my hand out...
That's the killer's blood.
And it's not Ian Tate.
DNA came back matching only his Y chromosome.
The killer is a close male relative.
No one's closer then Dad.
ATTORNEY: I'm listening.
Unless the next words out of your mouth are man two,
we've got nothing to talk about.
Well, I think I can do better than that...
if your client recants his statement.
My statement is the truth.
He forced himself on me and I fought back.
And you dumped the body
on the street near your house.
Yeah.
When did you do that?
That night or the next morning?
I don't remember.
What does this matter?
I think your client knows
exactly why this matters.
He caught you, didn't he?
Shut up.
Ian, going to jail isn't going to help.
I did it.
We found your father's blood in your apartment.
We know what happened.
If you have evidence implicating his father,
you have an obligation to drop the charges
and get my client out of here.
If your client wants to avoid accessory charges,
you'll sit down now.
You have no idea.
No...
but I can imagine how you must feel.
James knew what you were going through, didn't he?
He knew what it felt like to hate yourself,
to want to change and know you can't.
For the first time, somebody understood you.
Now, he's gone.
You didn't go to the hospital
because James attacked you.
Your father did.
He didn't mean to.
He was shocked seeing me like that.
Tell them that, okay?
He wasn't himself.
It wasn't his fault.
What the hell?
This is completely...
Completely what?
What is it, Doctor? Sick? Unnatural?
So is murder.
Roger Tate, you're under arrest
for the murder of James Reed.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
She rides her bike to work--
that is so environmentally conscious.
Ms. Novak, right?
Your office told me you would be riding up.
Dave Seaver, representing Roger Tate.
Yeah, I remember your name-- state Senate elections.
I didn't vote for you.
Neither did most of New York, but that's okay.
My shrink says it's made me less self-destructive.
A little advice, Dave:
you want to court the conservative vote, be my guest.
But I'd find another client.
Roger Tate's no defender of family values.
He's just a killer.
He was defending his son from a rapist.
Yeah, you know, that might have worked
before Ian Tate said the sex was consensual.
My client was mistaken,
which, under the law, is still justifiable homicide.
Your Honor, my client believed he saw a man
raping his son.
Article 35 of the Penal Code states
that one can use deadly force to prevent forcible sodomy.
Justification is not a defense for stupidity.
The test is, would a man with the same background
and experiences as my client, respond in the same manner?
A reasonable man, Mr. Seaver.
And no reasonable person believes
two men having sex automatically constitutes rape.
My client's research
focused on aggression, promiscuity
and deviant behavior in homosexual males.
It's not just a crazy belief; he's done the studies
to back it up.
Your Daubert test requires theories to be accepted
by the scientific community.
Dr. Tate's work was not.
I'm not presenting
my client's work as accepted scientific theory,
but as irrefutable proof of his state of mind.
Tate's own son is homosexual.
And he didn't know that.
Your Honor,
did my client possess
the culpable mental state required
to commit a crime? The answer is no.
This defense is an attempt
to encourage and exploit bigotry against homosexuals.
He's going for jury nullification.
Ms. Novak, I'm not convinced
that a defense should be rejected
simply because a jury might believe it.
Defining reasonable is a very difficult issue.
And it's one that I believe is better decided
by 12 of Dr. Tate's peers.
NOVAK: The night James Reed was killed,
how did your father get into your apartment?
He has a key.
He was bringing over dinner.
But you thought he was out of town,
and that's why you invited your boyfriend to spend the night.
Yes.
And he caught you in bed with James Reed.
What did he do?
He pulled James away from me.
Then what?
Then he pushed James into the wall two or three times.
I heard a crack.
James stopped fighting; he was dead.
Your father then attacked you.
What did he say?
He kept asking me
how I could do this to him.
Meaning, how could you threaten his life's work
by being homosexual?
Objection. Calls for speculation.
Withdrawn.
Nothing further.
When did you tell your dad you were homosexual?
I didn't.
And you've known for how long?
Since I can remember.
So, you've been a liar your whole life?
It must have been difficult
hiding that kind of lifestyle.
You even made up a girlfriend, didn't you?
Sandy?
That was high school.
But you must have found some other outlet
for your predilections? Gay pornography.
Objection, assuming facts not in evidence.
Tone down the rhetoric, Mr. Seaver.
Objection sustained.
Your dad knock you around a lot?
No. Never.
Ever see him get into a physical altercation with anybody?
Once. This kid at school beat me up.
My dad got in a fight with the kid's father.
Broke his nose.
So, he's only violent when he's defending you?
Ian, why did you confess to James Reed's murder?
What nobody gets...
is this happened because of me.
Because of what I am.
If I weren't so sick,
I could've controlled myself.
It was my fault.
I didn't want my dad going to jail for my mistake.
Dr. Cahill,
what was the first study you and Dr. Tate conducted?
CAHILL: We analyzed over 10,000 questionnaires
on male sexuality.
And what conclusions did you and Dr. Tate draw?
That homosexuals solicited sex from minors,
engaged in high-risk behaviors
and had violent sexual relations more than heterosexuals.
Taking all of Dr. Tate's research
on homosexual behavior into account,
what do you believe are the general conclusions?
Homosexuals suffer a multitude of psychological problems.
They are more likely to be depressed, alienated
and have issues with rage.
Thank you.
No further questions.
Where have these studies been published?
Which one?
Any of them?
They're still being considered
for publication.
Oh.
Well, good luck with that.
So, you say gay people have more sex with minors
then straight people?
Why does almost
every other study say
pedophiles are far more likely to be heterosexual?
That is evidence of the bias
within the so-called mainstream psychology.
So, when the American Psychiatric Association
removed homosexuality
from its list of mental disorders in 1973,
and every other major medical association followed suit,
you're saying it's all a big conspiracy?
Objection.
Nothing further.
I'm ashamed to say I...
I never suspected Ian was a homosexual.
I wish I'd known.
Why?
Wouldn't you have disowned him,
committed him to a mental hospital?
No.
I loved my son.
I would have done anything to help him.
No further questions.
You and Ian were close?
Yes.
But you claim you didn't know he was gay,
so not that close I guess.
I love my son.
And yet, you let him take the fall
for causing James Reed's death.
So, maybe the truer statement would be,
you love Ian, but not as much as you love yourself.
I'm on trial
for protecting my son from a man
I thought was raping him.
Why dump the body?
Why conceal the evidence?
Why not call the police
and tell them what a righteous guy you are?
Objection.
I love Ian.
You keep saying that, Dr. Tate.
You can't tell me
how I feel about my son.
How dare you presume to know anything about our relationship?
Because, he's been sitting in this court room
while you mount a defense
that calls him a deviant.
Now you tell me again how much you love him.
Hey, how did it go with Tate?
Jurors eight and ten believe him.
Enough to hang the jury?
Maybe.
In which case, all I've done is out some poor kid,
it's not exactly my favorite legal strategy.
You didn't have a choice.
You got kids, you ever wonder if one's gay?
I don't know, I haven't asked.
Elliot, you know your kids,
you'd know if one of them was gay.
Exactly,
and Tate's whole defense is predicated on the fact
that he never suspected his son was gay.
You don't buy it?
No, but I can't prove it.
Ian had a girlfriend all through high school.
For all appearances,
he was straight.
We never found a girlfriend when
we were looking at Tate's past.
'Cause we were looking for boyfriends.
Well, if Ian knew all along that he was gay,
I bet you that the girlfriend did too.
Find out.
I haven't talked to Ian
in a couple of years,
I don't know how much help I'm going to be.
We appreciate anything you would tell us.
One of the guidance counselors
said that you and Ian dated all through high school?
Um, we were good friends, but I wouldn't say we dated.
No? What would you say?
He just wasn't very interested in the physical part,
which was okay,
I really loved him, and he loved me.
So, he wasn't really attracted to women.
Well, he never like
came out to me or anything.
I just knew.
I was happy to be there for him
so people wouldn't harass him like they did the other guys.
Did you ever tell anybody
that Ian was gay?
Like, his father maybe?
Oh God, no, no way.
Ian would have killed me.
I told him.
Mom, are you crazy? Why?
He was such a sweet boy.
He spent so much time around here,
he was like a second child.
I could see how much he was suffering,
and I thought Roger should know.
When did you tell him?
The kids' senior year.
I called Roger and I told him,
"Roger, you should talk to Ian, he's very depressed."
I just told him, I said, "Roger, your son is gay,
"you're making an incredibly difficult situation worse,
you need to be a father."
How did he respond to that?
He thanked me,
and he asked me never to contact him again.
Ian, what are you doing here?
Why don't you try this brilliant manipulation
on some little legal aid attorney, Ms. Novak,
and stop wasting my time.
Let's go.
A one-time offer, gone as soon
as you walk out that door.
Murder Two, 20 to life,
I don't pursue sentencing enhancement
under the Hate Crimes Act,
and Doctor Tate gets the prison of his choice,
and might I suggest the security
of a federal prison.
20 years?
With that jury, he's looking
at a man-two, probation.
They haven't heard my rebuttal witness.
Laura Klein.
Consider this your notification.
You remember her, don't you, Dr. Tate?
Sandy's mother.
You knew.
All this time.
All these years,
you knew.
Ian, it's not like that.
Yes, it is Dad.
You know how many times I told myself,
"It's okay if he thinks gays are sick.
"Freaks, evil.
"Because, if he knew about me, if he knew me,
"he wouldn't say it.
He wouldn't think it."
I didn't do this to hurt you.
But, it did hurt me, Dad.
Every day.
And I made myself take everything you said,
all that crap,
because I really thought you wouldn't try
to hurt me on purpose.
I mean, who would do that to
somebody that they really love?
To their own son?
I can help you.
What makes you think you can make me
any more straight than what I've already tried
to do to myself?
All you've done...
is made me wish I was dead.
They took the plea.
It's so weird, you know?
I've been sitting here for a while,
and everybody walks by, I wonder, does he know?
Does she?
James used to always talk
about how happy he was that he was gay.
He said guys are so much more fun.
Yeah, I agree with James.
Everything's different now, you know?
No matter what I do,
nothing will be like it was before.
Ian, I had my job to do,
and I made you deal with something
you weren't ready for.
I'm sorry.
Yeah.
I'm not.
Captioning sponsored by UNIVERSAL NETWORK TELEVISION
and NBC
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org
( wolf howling )