When a cult chief flexes his energy in opposition to his followers, who’s accountable for a member’s loss of life?
Regulation & Order Season 22 Episode 18 raised this query however did not present many solutions.
Jocelyn went to jail for 12 years, whereas “Lodestar” was killed in jail. Samantha stated somebody needed to reply for what had occurred to a promising younger lady, however was justice served?
This case was troublesome to make, irrespective of who the DA tried to carry accountable for Ava’s loss of life. Ava was now not round to inform anybody her mind-set or whether or not she was coerced into remaining on the cult web site reasonably than looking for medical consideration for her contaminated wound.
Because the protection lawyer stated, this case was based mostly on inference, and on prime of that, the women have been so loyal to Jocelyn and Zach that getting anybody to testify was practically unimaginable.
If the aim of this story was to point out how harmful cults could be, it was extremely profitable.
Ava’s loss of life was a completely preventable tragedy. If she’d gotten immediate remedy for her contaminated wound, she would have felt higher inside a couple of days. As an alternative, she died of sepsis — and Jocelyn threw her away like she wasn’t even human after she was gone.
Ava’s mom: What the hell occurred in there?
Samantha: It is solely the arraignment.
Ava’s father: I believed they’d maintain her.
Samantha: Bail is barely to make sure the defendant returns.
Ava’s mom: I do not want a lecture from you. I understand how the system works. The girl who killed my daughter, rolled her physique up in a carpet, and threw her in a dumpster will get to go house to her comfy loft whereas our daughter lies in her coffin in Woodland Cemetery.
Ava’s dad and mom had each proper to be indignant, disgusted, and need to throw the ebook at somebody. So did the DA’s workplace.
However the DA’s ways to get there did not really feel moral.
It felt unfair to supply Jocelyn immunity and renege as a result of Zach was killed in jail. It is also a nasty thought as a result of if phrase spreads that the workplace does not maintain its phrase, defendants will likely be reluctant to enter into plea agreements sooner or later.
It hardly appeared only for Jocelyn to do 12 years. She’d confessed to her half and was fascinated about breaking Zach’s maintain over her and the opposite women.
But Samantha was proper that somebody wanted to pay for the occasions that led to Ava’s loss of life.
A greater compromise would have been to let Jocelyn plead to illegally disposing of the physique and blackmailing the women and be sentenced for these crimes.
That manner, she might be held accountable for her half in coercing women, together with Ava, into doing issues they did not need to do, but be given a break on Ava’s loss of life in mild of the truth that she had been coerced too.
As an alternative, the DA’s workplace got here off as vindictive and dishonest by dealing with Jocelyn’s deal this manner.
The prosecution additionally engaged in coercion of its personal when it gave Sienna a selection between testifying and being charged as an confederate to Ava’s loss of life.
TV cops and prosecutors do that with alarming frequency. It isn’t precisely a violation of the uncooperative witness’ Fifth Modification rights in the event that they immunize them in alternate for testimony, nevertheless it feels prefer it.
Threatening to cost and prosecute if somebody does not testify is technically the identical as making a deal in alternate for testimony, nevertheless it’s far much less acceptable.
It is framed as a risk, so how can that testimony be admissible? We do not understand how the protection lawyer responded to this. We weren’t aware about how the protection lawyer cross-examined her after she testified that Jocelyn was beneath Zach’s management.
For all we all know, he felt that the prosecution had handed him an ideal protection and did not cross-examine. Nonetheless, he knew she was unlikely to testify, judging from his response to studying she was on the witness record.
He was an aggressive protection lawyer who was pulling out all of the stops for Jocelyn, so it is exhausting to think about a state of affairs the place he did not demand Sienna’s testimony be stricken from the report until he deliberate to make use of her claims about Zach as his protection.
The protection’s claims that the women have been free to come back and go as they happy have been undercut by the circumstances of Ava’s loss of life. If the cult leaders weren’t involved about Ava telling the medical doctors how she received that wound, why did not they insist she see a physician when she was clearly sick?
Sienna’s testimony was unusual, too. That should not have been the primary time anybody heard of “Lodestar,” particularly since that was the guiding pressure behind the cult.
The DA’s workplace retains falling down on the job. McCoy and Value each must do extra analysis earlier than shifting ahead with circumstances or witnesses!
After that stunning testimony, the case shortly shifted to discovering Zach and convincing Jccelyn that he had raped her.
This may have been an ideal Regulation & Order: SVU crossover storyline. Convincing a reluctant defendant that she was the sufferer of a intercourse crime is Benson’s area!
On the very least, I might have liked for somebody to seek the advice of along with her about how one can get Jocelyn to acknowledge the truth of what Zach had finished to her and comply with testify!
As an alternative, Jocelyn’s refusal dragged on and on till she was nearly convicted, after which as quickly as she agreed to testify, Zach’s loss of life negated her deal. What a sucky consequence!
Maroun was proper about one factor: too many victims grow to be abusers. Somewhat than sending victims to jail for years, getting folks assist earlier than they grow to be criminals is important.
As an alternative, Maroun pushed for an excessively lengthy sentence for Jocelyn and known as it justice.
What did you assume, Regulation & Order fanatics? Was Jocelyn’s punishment justice? Hit the large, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and tell us!
Regulation & Order will not air once more till April 27, however you’ll be able to watch Regulation & Order on-line while you’re ready for the following new episode.
Regulation & Order airs on NBC on Thursdays at 8 PM EST / PST.
Jack Ori is a senior workers author for TV Fanatic. His debut younger grownup novel, Reinventing Hannah, is obtainable on Amazon. Comply with him on Twitter.
