Tonight on NBC Law & Order returns with an all-new Thursday, May 18, 2023 episode and we have your Law & Order recap below. In tonight’s Law & Order season 22 episode 22 “Open Wounds,” as per the NBC synopsis, “A senator is gunned down at his daughter’s wedding. McCoy pushes for a severe sentence and squares up against a formidable DA – his own daughter.
Price aims to stay neutral but can’t help but empathize with the defendant over a shared trauma.”
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Tonight’s Law & Order finale episode begins with a wedding, the father, Senator Chandler, is walking down the stairs with his daughter, the bride, Nicole. The photographer takes photos, then shots are fired and the dad falls to the ground.
Cosgrove and Shaw are on the scene, nobody saw anything, a lot of people saw him run off, white male but not much else. The Commissioner arrives on the scene.
The shooter shot Chandler and ran off, nobody tried to grab him. Dixon tells Cosgrove and Shaw they are running point, a whole team is going into the park to see if they can find anything. Shaw finds a white COVID mask, the same that the shooter was wearing. Cosgrove sees a man and shouts, a police dog goes after him and stops him from taking off. The man’s name is Jim Bronson, he sleeps in the park. He says he saw someone run through the park, he points the way, it was west. The dogs are barking, its because they are close to the city, the perpetrator is gone.
Nicole is being interviewed, she says she saw or heard nothing, she was so scattered. She says she was arguing with her dad before the gunshots, they had a complicated relationship. Chandler’s wife, Victoria is speaking to Shaw when Carla, Chandler’s Chief of Staff walks in and says it doesn’t feel real, Chandler was going to be President one day. Victoria says she saw her husband arguing with a waiter an hour before he was shot. They look back at video coverage of the wedding and it looks like a waiter didi it, well at least he was dressed like one.
The waiter who was arguing with Chandler was fired for the argument, they bring the guy into the station and he admits he yelled at him and pushed him. He says he waited on Chandler about five years ago and he stiffed him for a hefty tab, so he called him on it when he saw him at the wedding. He was at a bar when Chandler was shot, his alibi checks out.
Outside the wedding venue, there was a blue Prius that was not registered to any of the staff, that stayed in the parking overnight, the owner is Derek Quinn. He only went back to his car the next morning. The team heads out to speak to Quinn.
At Quinn’s house, his wife filed a police report the night before, he is missing, the last time she saw him was yesterday at breakfast, he was distracted and said he had to take a drive to New Hampshire and they don’t even know anyone there.
Coney Island, Quinn’s cell phone pinged off a tower close by. Shaw sees him, he is in pursuit. The catch him, but he has a gun and is about to blow his head off. Shaw says his wife is really concerned about him. Quinn shouts that Chandler got what he deserved. Shaw does a great job of talking him down, they take him in.
The Commissioner holds a press conference saying that they arrested a suspect in the Chandler killing. McCoy speaks and says they are prosecuting this is in state court. McCoy recognizes his daughter Rebecca in the audience. She drops the ball on her father that she is representing Derek Quinn. McCoy didn’t know she was doing murder cases. She says he is not the monster he described. He tells her that he appreciates the heads up.
Later McCoy and Rebecca grab a coffee, she tells him that she and her husband are in counselling, and her son is waiting to hear back from law schools. She has a favour to ask, she wants to delay Quinn’s arraignment so she can have him evaluated. He tells her that he cannot be involved, they can’t discuss the case and she needs to speak to Price.
Arraignment court, Quinn is pleading not-guilty due to mental disease or defect. He is suffering post-traumatic stress for surviving one of the most deadly school shootings off all time, 16 students were killed, Quinn was one of the wounded. He is a victim and needs help. Bail is not set, he is remanded.
McCoy tells price that Quinn doesn’t get a free pass because he took down a school shooter. This was a premeditated attack on a United States senator, murder one, and McCoy doesn’t want to budge.
Nicole is on the witness stand, she says her father was so happy, but all of a sudden, this man walks right up to them and shoots her father. He was very calm, he aimed he gun at her father and shot twice. Price brings out Nicole’s wedding dress with all the blood on it to show everyone.
Quinn is on the stand, his lawyer brings up the school shooting, how he rushed towards the shooter, the chaos, how he was shot in the chest, 16 kids were killed in his class room in front of him and 11 people were wounded. He is crying and saying it was his deepest regret that he couldn’t protect the children. As a result he became a gun activist. He thought Chandler was a good man, he believed he would vote in favour of the gun control bill and he didn’t. He felt betrayed and scared. So he drove to new Hampshire and bought a gun. Price redirects, he tells Quinn he was angry when he bought the weapon. Quinn says he wasn’t thinking clearly. Price takes out the weapon that was used to kill Chandler, asks for a recess and walks out.
Price is walking out the courthouse, he just needs time to prepare some exhibits. He tells Maroun that Quinn’s testimony was compelling and he has empathy for him.
In court the next day, Dr. Gold is on the stand, she is an expert with post traumatic stress and talks about victims in mass shootings. She evaluated Quinn and says he suffers from severe post-traumatic stress and was unable to understand what he was doing.
Price passes Rebecca in the hallway and she tells him that he should be embarrassed, he should not be trying Quinn.
Rebecca goes to see her dad, she tells him that Quinn doesn’t deserve to die in prison. McCoy reminds her that he shot a US Senator in cold blood at his daughter’s wedding and he will not discuss it anymore with her.
Price goes to see McCoy, he tells him that he doesn’t want to usurp his authority, but he thinks they should offer a plea. Every damn person on that jury believes Quinn deserves empathy, the system failed him, they need to take that into consideration, they might even acquit him. Price goes to see Rebecca, he offers manslaughter one. She say no, she needs something more reasonable.
In court, the jury has come to a verdict, on the charge of murder in the first degree, they find Quinn guilty.
Rebecca is leaving the courthouse when her dad catches up with her, he wants to talk. He tells her she tired a good case and did everything she could. She says damn him, and refuses to have dinner with him. Then she tells him that his grandson got accepted to law school, he starts in the fall, she will tell him he said hi.
THE END!