Jeraden

I thought this was a pretty weak episode. There really wasn't a whole lot of substantial math to it, except various tidbits thrown in that weren't really all that relevant to the actual case.

The episode in general kind of ticked me off though. More specifically, the fact that the guy in jail refused to say he was innocent. It really didn't make any sense. They are trying to help him out and get him out of jail, yet he still claims he did it, his wife is completely unhelpful and acts pretty rude to the FBI. Then at the end, the guy in jail has the nerve to complain about being stuck in jail for something he didn't do. The only reason he was in jail was because he confessed that he did it, so they stopped the investigation. Had they continued to investigate, they might not have put him in jail at all. So its the guys own stupid fault he was in there. They make a big deal about him maintaining his guilt, but they never really explain why he's doing it, other than a vague reference about him being less likely for parole if he claims he's innocent. I'd have just said screw him and not bothered trying to help out such ungrateful people.

Also, it featured another one of my pet peeves about crime shows. They ask the electrician guy what he was doing on April 4, 2004, which he is able to instantly answer like it was yesterday. It was the first time he was ever asked the question, so there is no way he would be able to remember in a split second what he was doing a full year ago on a particular day.

Patman

The mathematical psychology of having witnesses pick out suspects was the only minutely interesting thing that came out of the episode.

Barings

An episode of Frontline on PBS covered the subject better. It's not the prisoner's fault. Basically, he was railroaded by Rob's character almost like the husband was when he was interrogated for 48 hours.

The prisoner knew he was innocent all along, but made a bargain to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty due to the overwhelming "evidence". In order to get out of prison ASAP, he has to show repentance for his acts to the parole board. By stating he didn't do it, the board could claim he had not been rehabilitated and has not repented for his crimes and keep him in prison longer.

It is the catch-22 of the US justice system. He didn't trust Rob's character, but he willing put up with staying in prison for 7 or 8 years for the chance to see his son rather than admit his innocence and going to the electric chair.

Morf

Well stated. This episode was meant to be a turning point for Rob's character. Before, he was so committed to breaking a suspect and cracking the case. But after seeing that 2 innocents that he drilled had their lives affected forever because of direct contact with him, he sees that there are more important things to do. Like play baseball!

Full of faults or not, I still really like this show.