- [first lines]
- Joe Biden: My dad used to have an expression. He said "The greatest sin any person can commit is the abuse of power." And the greatest abuse of power was rape. It takes a woman a long time to heal. And when the victim isn't believed, when she goes through the invasive process of having a rape kit put together, and then it's stuck on a shelf somewhere, and then the rape kit is never, ever tested, we fail. We fail her. We fail so many women. I'm proud to say today we did not fail. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of law enforcement, the whole legal system, the victim's advocacy groups, and particularly my friend here, Lieutenant Olivia Benson of SVU, congratulations, Lieutenant.
- Olivia Benson: Thank you.
- [as the room applauds]
- Olivia Benson: Thank you. Mr. Vice President, we are so honored to stand here today with you to announce that in beginning to clear the national rape kit backlog, we have taken rapists off the streets. We have prevented future crimes. We have given victims closure. And we have also righted a terrible wrong. Sixteen years ago, Sean Roberts was convicted of a rape here in New York City that he did not commit. By processing an untested rape kit in Detroit, we were able to identify the real rapist and set Sean free.
- Odafin Tutuola: Melanie, what happened?
- Melanie Harper: [scared out of her mind] Oh, my god. Oh, my god. I came down here and I... I found her like this.
- Odafin Tutuola: Did you see anything or hear anybody?
- Melanie Harper: [as her daughter is rolled past on a gurney] Here, I'm right here.
- [to Fin]
- Melanie Harper: I heard a man.
- Odafin Tutuola: Did you recognize his voice?
- Melanie Harper: [following the gurney out] I think it was Sean.
- Amanda Rollins: [having entered] Sean Roberts? The guy we just got out of prison?
- Rafael Barba: Ms. Harper, you blame yourself for your daughter's death, don't you?
- Melanie Harper: Excuse me?
- Rafael Barba: You caused Ashley's death. You sent him to prison where he was victimized and abused for 16 years. Thanks to you, he learned how to become a killer and a rapist.
- John Buchanan: Objection. Is there a question anywhere here?
- Judge Elana Barth: Get to the point, Mr. Barba.
- Rafael Barba: The point is, if you had not made that false identification 16 years ago, he never would've gone to prison which means he never would've killed Ashley.
- Melanie Harper: That's not true.
- Rafael Barba: That's not true or you don't want it to be true? Because in your mind, if he killed Ashley, you killed her and that's too painful to accept. That's why you don't want to testify.
- Melanie Harper: [crying] I-I sent him there. Every time he was beaten or raped, it was my fault. I turned him into a rapist, a monster. And it was my fault. I'm the... I'm the guilty one here.
- John Buchanan: [to Charlie Dobkins] So Detective Rollins encouraged you flirted with you to say you had seen Sean Roberts leave Ashley's home at 1:15?
- Rafael Barba: Objection. Mr. Buchanan is putting words in this witness's mouth.
- Judge Elana Barth: Overruled. Answer the question.
- Charlie Dobkins: No. I just wanted her to like me and she needed to solve her case.
- John Buchanan: So Detective Rollins encouraged you to see Sean Roberts, then you made her happy by saying you had seen him at 1:15 exactly?
- Charlie Dobkins: That's a good way of saying it.
- Rafael Barba: We got a guy on trial who was wrongfully convicted on bad eyewitness testimony, and you don't tell me that the kid waffled on the ID or the time.
- Amanda Rollins: He waffled. He did not lie. There is a big difference.
- Rafael Barba: Now you're parsing degrees of deceit.
- Olivia Benson: [to Rollins] Listen, Buchanan is gonna turn this into you manipulating the kid to defend Fin.
- Amanda Rollins: Charlie's telling the truth. He saw Sean leave the house, toss the knife after he and his girlfriend had sex, which was around 1:15 or so. That's the truth. I can't help it if the kid has a crush on me, or...
- Olivia Benson: Hold on, so you were aware that he had an affection for you, that he had a desire to make you happy?
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: Lieutenant, listen. I was there, all right? Rollins didn't lead him.
- Rafael Barba: Don't make excuses for her. That's not what the jury thinks.
- Amanda Rollins: Oh, come on.
- Dominick Carisi Jr.: You know what, Counselor? It's not Rollins's fault that Buchanan spun that kid upside-down and you didn't know how to stop him.
- Olivia Benson: Okay, thank you. We're done.
- Melanie Harper: [to Fin after he testifies in court] How'd it go?
- Odafin Tutuola: As well as it could have. Jury looks at a guy who was put away innocent, they hesitate.
- Melanie Harper: They should.
- Odafin Tutuola: Not this time, Melanie. He's guilty. There's no question about this.
- Melanie Harper: No, but that's what you said last time. None of us saw what happened. I mean, if you really think about it, I mean, we're all just we're just guessing. We're just filling in the blanks and and connecting the dots.
- Odafin Tutuola: I found Ashley's ring in his drain. How else could it have gotten there?
- Melanie Harper: According to Sean's lawyer...
- Odafin Tutuola: I did not plant that ring, okay? Why would I? Think about it.
- Melanie Harper: I'm sorry, I'm just... I was just... I was so sure last time, and then I was wrong, and I just... I just can't trust myself.
- Odafin Tutuola: Did you hear Sean and Ashley speaking that night? Yes or no?
- Melanie Harper: I'm not sure now.
- Odafin Tutuola: That's not what you told me that night at the crime scene. No one's asking you to say if he's guilty. That's the jury's job, not yours.
- Melanie Harper: He already served 16 years. What if I'm wrong again?
- Rafael Barba: Look, guys. This isn't about Melanie. It's about her daughter. We need to get justice for her with or without cooperation.