Recently I watched an episode of Law and Order Special Victims Unit (SVU) - one of the most popular shows in the long list of Dick Wolf’s creations. The show follows a particular unit within the NYPD Police department that focuses on Sex Crimes. The show generally follows the order of: crime done, becoming acquainted with the victim and then the task of finding the perpetrators through different methods that at some point lead to the role of the Assistant District Attorney (ADA) as he/she argues the case for the Unit in Court.
The SVU episode that I watched took a slight turn. Instead of the expected and routine order of the show, in which the ADA would argue to put the criminal away, the ADA-Rafael Barba, represents himself. Barba is brought before the court for assisting a mother in ending the life of a terminally ill baby, an act that brought with it the charge of Murder in the second degree, which means intentional Murder without prior planning (premeditation). Although on its surface the episode dealt with this charge, on a deeper level it also looked at some central worldview issues that are worthy of discussion here. In particular, though not said explicitly, the episode examines the right to life; how we view law and morality through black, white and grey areas; and lastly the idea of truth. I think it comes down to this: words are never ‘just words’, they are congealed thoughts.