NARRATOR: In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.
In New York City,
the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
(PARTY MUSIC PLAYING)
(PHONE RINGING) What in the hell were you thinking?
You said to invite people.
I said, "Bring a friend," not 25 slobs.
You're out of cold beer.
Guess you should go home, then.
You've got a phone call. Whoever it is, I'm busy.
It's your neighbor. It's something about music and the cops.
Mrs. Grenis. I'm turning it down.
Believe me, I'd Iove for these parasites to Ieave.
(GLASS SHATTERING) Okay. Oh, my God.
What are you doing to my house?
Open the door. Open the damn door!
What the hell happened?
He tried to rape me.
Rape victim's a Cheryl Avery, 19.
Medic's checking her out on the bus.
She hurt bad? Got a bloody hand from crowning her
alleged attacker on the head with a vase.
Where is the alleged attacker?
Oh, he's on way to Cabrini. His name's a Joe Cappilla.
Miss Avery claims he tried to rape her.
Well, it sounds Iike you think she made it up.
Well, her blouse is torn and her face was bruised,
but she refuses to go to the ER to get checked out.
She was violated. Doesn't want to be poked at.
Detective Benson, SVU. Where's your patient?
In back. No, she's not.
She was here a minute ago.
Must've bailed.
Son of a bitch.
Looks Iike they struggled. See these black scuff marks?
Perp was wearing sneakers, so these probably came from Cheryl Avery's heels.
He shoved her backwards into the window, the glass broke,
she grabbed the vase and whacked him with it.
Went down and banged his head on the tub.
FIN: Find Cheryl yet? Nope.
And neither did the sector car I sent to her house.
The address she gave the uniform is phony.
I wouldn't be surprised if her name is, too.
Well, this was a party. Somebody had to invite her.
I invited five friends over for pizza and beer.
That Joe and Cheryl, they weren't even on the Iist.
BENSON: Do you know them? No. I don't hang out with rapists.
And the first time I saw Cheryl was in my bathroom bleeding.
So who invited them?
(SIGHS) Name's Ricky. Freaking social director.
Ricky, what can you tell us about Joe?
Met him at a club.
(CELL PHONE RINGING) Thought he was cute till he showed up high
and started hitting on every girl in the room.
Joe hit on Cheryl?
Didn't see it,
but maybe that's why he was fighting with his brother.
Joe's brother was here? Yeah.
Name's Eddie. Cheryl's his girlfriend.
You have any idea where Eddie Iives?
With Joe and their mom, 23rd and 9th.
Hospital.
Joe going to be okay?
No, Joe's dead.
My mom called from the hospital
and told me everything, so...
We're so sorry for your Ioss.
Eddie, we need to find out what happened at that party.
My brother tried to rape my girlfriend.
That's what the hospital told my mom.
What did you see?
I Ieft early.
How come?
I started having palpitations.
From fighting with your brother?
Yeah. I got a heart condition,
so I came home to take my medicine.
BENSON: You didn't take Cheryl with you?
I told her to stay.
She was dancing, having a good time...
Bum Ieg keep you from dancing with her?
Yeah, I sprained my ankle playing hoops.
I know, with a heart condition, it's stupid.
Eddie,
why were you and your brother fighting?
He's a punk. He treated women Iike dirt.
He ever get rough?
Yeah, when he got high, which was all the time.
That's what we were fighting about.
Cheryl is the nicest girl I ever met.
She wouldn't hit Joe unless he provoked her.
I mean, if she says it was self-defense, then it was.
She ran away.
That Iooks real bad.
You want to help her?
Tell us where she is.
I wanted to tell Eddie what happened,
but I didn't think he'd understand.
BENSON: We're having a hard time ourselves, Cheryl.
Why did you Ieave the ambulance?
I thought you wouldn't believe me.
It would be Joe's word against mine.
AII we've got is your word. Joe's dead.
Oh, my God.
I didn't...
I didn't mean to kill him.
Cheryl, tell us what happened.
Will I go to jail?
Not if he attacked you, it's self-defense.
Oh, God.
I...
I went to the bathroom and Joe followed me in.
I tried to be nice to him for Eddie's sake, but,
God, he's so disgusting.
He's constantly putting Eddie down.
And I told him to get out, but he wouldn't Ieave.
Did he touch you?
He put his hands on my... On my breasts.
I tried to yell for help but the music was too Ioud.
Then he ripped my shirt
and he punched me in the face.
And I grabbed something and I hit him, but he fought back.
So I pushed him off me,
and that's when he fell and hit the tub.
So are you going to indict Cheryl or give her a pass?
No, I'm in no hurry to convene a grand jury.
The crime Iab confirmed Cheryl's account, it's justifiable homicide.
What else have we got?
Tox-screen on Joe. Positive for crystal meth.
That explains his pugnacious personality.
Yeah, still here. Those bruises are real, AIex.
He definitely hit her. Does Cheryl have any priors?
She's clean. But Joe isn't. 26 has a sexual assault complaint
filed by a Paige Salinsky.
Was Joe arrested?
MUNCH: Miss Salinsky dropped the charges.
So Joe has a habit of getting high,
abusing women, and his own brother thinks he's a hump.
Well, don't forget his brother just happens to be the victim's boyfriend.
Joe's the only one who can't speak.
Maybe his wounds still can.
If Joe did attack Cheryl, he may have injuries to show for it.
Check with EMS and the medical examiner.
Yeah, I remember. Got him stabilized halfway to the hospital
when he seized, went into cardiac arrest.
DOA.
Doc told us Iater that the blows to the head caused a subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Well, did you notice any other injuries?
Scratches, swelling?
Three knuckles on his right hand were cut up.
Bruise on Cheryl's face was on the Ieft side.
So he punches her with his right,
he cuts his hand on her teeth.
Hey, you remember anything else?
Before the seizure, the guy was rambling.
Any of it make sense?
You tell me.
"Get Eddie, get Eddie. He did it, he did it."
Are you sure that he said Eddie?
Anything the patient says, I write down.
Sounds Iike Cheryl didn't tell us everything.
VERONICA: May I help you?
BENSON: Yeah, we're Iooking for Cheryl.
In back. She's got company.
BENSON: Looks Iike we're interrupting.
STABLER: Guess they had to get their stories straight.
What do you mean?
Stop screwing us around, the both of you.
Look, I told you what happened.
BENSON: Yeah, you Ieft out a few details.
Like what?
That bathroom window was broken out.
It's a fifteen foot drop to the ground.
How'd you really sprain your ankle?
Wait, Eddie had nothing to do with this.
STABLER: That's not what Joe said.
What are you talking about?
In the ambulance, before he died.
He said, "He did it. Get Eddie."
Joe tried to rape me. I hit him, he fell and he banged his head.
Cheryl, you're hindering a murder investigation.
Now, Joe said that Eddie did it.
And I understand that you're trying to
protect him. Eddie went home.
We know that.
But we have witnesses that saw Eddie and Joe fighting, and then Eddie Ieft.
But he came back, didn't he?
No. No.
If Joe was attacking you and Eddie
walked in and came to your defense,
then Joe's death is an accident.
You tried to stop him, it got out of hand.
You didn't mean to kill anybody.
That's not what happened.
Eddie, no one's gonna put you away
for protecting your girlfriend.
I swear I never touched Joe.
Oh, Eddie.
Okay, Eddie. Okay, so I've got this all wrong.
Maybe Joe didn't try to rape Cheryl, huh?
Of course he did.
No, you know what I'm thinking?
You caught Joe and Cheryl getting it on
behind your back in that bathroom. No.
No, no. The betrayal, the blind rage...
Cheryl Ioves me.
BENSON: Were you making out with Joe?
Oh, my God, I would... No, I would never do that to Eddie.
Of course you didn't mean to, but Eddie Ieft you alone at a party with Joe,
so he starts making the moves on you,
you got caught up in the moment.
Wait, wait. No, no, no.
So you didn't want Eddie to know... You're wrong...
So when he walked in, you said that Joe was raping you.
And he responded Iike any good boyfriend would.
STABLER: You hit Joe.
No, I didn't. You went back to the party
to bring Cheryl home. Don't do this.
You find her in the bathroom... What?
...with your brother's hands all over her.
Come on, Eddie, be a man. Don't Iet your girlfriend go down
for something you did. Okay!
I was in the room. I was there.
Just tell me what happened.
He was being a prick
to some of the girls at the party. And I told him, "Stop."
He got pissed, gave me a shove,
then I Ieft. We know,
to go home and get your pills. We've been through that!
Why are you telling me that?
I want to know, why did you come back?
I felt bad 'cause I Ieft Cheryl there.
Joe was already on the floor
when I walked into that bathroom.
Cheryl Iocked the door, said Joe tried to rape her,
just Iike she told you.
So you didn't see anything.
That's awful convenient. Why would you jump out the window?
She said people would think I did it
'cause they saw Joe and me fighting earlier.
(GROANING)
Cheryl was only trying to protect me.
Eddie says he was in the bathroom,
Cheryl says he wasn't. I can't tell who's covering for whom.
Eddie fought with his brother in front of a dozen witnesses.
His brother winds up dead.
What if the rape itself is the Iie?
Do you think Cheryl made the whole thing up?
To cover for Eddie.
He kills Joe in the bathroom, Cheryl walks in,
tells Eddie to go out the window,
she'II say Joe was trying to rape her.
Well, then they're co-conspirators. And I can't use anything
either one of them says against the other
without independent corroboration.
We canvassed everyone at the party. Nobody saw anything.
Let's see whose story the physical evidence supports.
We're not done with the reconstruction yet, but I can tell you
that everyone's prints are in that bathroom.
Eddie admits he was there.
There's no surprise.
This will be. This is Joe's shirt.
The blood on it only belongs to him.
This is Cheryl's.
Two different blood types, both male.
One matches Joe, the other's unknown.
So it's gotta be Eddie's. It's not.
Y-chromosomes from the DNA say the samples come from two unrelated males.
So now we got another guy in that bathroom with Joe, Eddie and Cheryl?
That's what I thought until I tested this.
STABLER: You get that out of the bathroom?
No. From EMS.
Medics used it to wrap Cheryl's bloody hand,
then we collected it for evidence.
It's called a control sample because the only blood on it is Cheryl's.
Well, what's that gonna tell us?
I compared the blood on the bandage
to our unknown male. It was a match.
Cheryl's a man?
What in the hell are we dealing with?
Probably a pre-op transsexual.
STABLER: If she's still got her package,
it explains why she didn't go to the hospital to be examined.
I've seen plenty of trannies, but she is amazing.
She's gotta be taking hormones.
Boys with breasts get more money on the street.
I don't make her for a pro. She's got a straight job.
Probably saving up enough money for the surgery.
Well, none of this changes the fact
that Joe still tried to rape her.
She's got the bruises to show for it.
Maybe he got violent when he discovered her secret.
Or Joe threatened to tell Eddie,
giving Cheryl motive to kill him.
STABLER: Eddie's gotta know.
He and Cheryl have been going out for a couple of months now.
They were all over each other when we picked them up.
So they're both covering up Cheryl's secret.
Who do you think we should try to break first?
Cheryl's pulling all the strings, telling Eddie what to say.
My guess is he's the weaker Iink.
Eddie, I know you've been through a Iot.
I don't want to make things worse.
What do you mean?
I'm not here to judge you.
You know that, right?
I just want to find out what happened in that bathroom.
I already told you.
I walked into the bathroom.
Joe was on the floor. Cheryl was beat up.
You didn't tell us about Cheryl, though.
What about her?
What you do in your private Iife is your business.
You gotta start being honest with me.
I am being honest. What?
I don't understand what you're talking about.
I'm talking about Cheryl being a man.
(SCOFFS)
What kind of sick joke is this?
I'm sorry you had to find out this way.
You're crazy.
(CHUCKLES)
I have... I've seen her... I've seen her breasts.
Female hormones.
They can do that. Look, Eddie, she had us all fooled.
We did a blood test.
(YELLING)
(GRUNTS) What are you saying to me?
I held her! I kissed her.
I wanted to spend my Iife with her. What are you...
She wouldn't have sex.
She said she wanted to wait.
She would just push my hands away.
Oh, God. I need to see her,
I need to see her. I want to talk to her. Eddie.
Eddie! Don't.
What's wrong with you?
Why are you Iooking at me Iike that?
Say something.
Oh, oh!
You are a freak! No!
STABLER: Eddie, get off. Eddie. Eddie.
Okay?
Look, I was gonna tell you.
When?
After I had the surgery.
Oh, you make me sick.
Oh, God.
Why did you do this? Why?
Cheryl, stand up, come on. It's okay. Come on, come on.
We thought that Eddie knew.
We thought that he was protecting you.
How Iong did you think that you could keep this a secret?
I just thought if I could make him Iove me enough, he'd understand.
Okay, well, Iet's sit down. Come on. Come on, sit down.
But you were also afraid that he wouldn't understand.
For the first time in my Iife, I had someone who Ioves me.
And if Joe was to tell Eddie, that would be over.
My Iife would be over.
So what happened?
Joe was walking out of the bathroom,
so I picked up the vase and I hit him.
And then Eddie walked in.
I never meant to kill Joe.
I just didn't want him to talk.
You'II have to tell Eddie that I didn't mean to do it.
I mean, please make him understand that.
You okay?
Oh, I'II never be okay.
This wasn't your fault.
Yeah, it was.
My brother's dead because my girlfriend's a guy.
I should've...
No one knew.
What if I did know, deep down?
You were in Iove with a woman.
That's what you knew.
You sure you're okay? Huh? Yeah.
I need some air.
Whoa!
I need some help in here!
What happened? He just collapsed.
He's got a heart condition.
Call an ambulance. Hardly has any pulse.
STABLER: This is empty.
Digoxin. It's stopping his heart.
We got a drug overdose.
I'm Iosing his pulse. You better start CPR.
Eddie!
Come on, Eddie!
He was pulseless for ten minutes.
I pronounced him at 1815.
You got the pill vial?
Yeah, it's right here.
I'II do the autopsy, I'II get you the results quick as I can,
but doesn't Iook to me Iike anything other than a suicide.
It's a death in custody, suicide or not.
You guys from Internal Affairs
are Iike sharks smelling blood a mile away.
Save it, Captain.
I got an investigation to conduct.
You think we forced the pills down his throat?
TUCKER: No, but you Ieft a Iethal dose
of pharmaceuticals in possession of a distraught suspect.
Talk to me through my delegate.
That distraught suspect needed those pills for a heart condition.
That still doesn't mitigate your failure to supervise
Detective Stabler and Agent Huang.
IAB doesn't have jurisdiction over Doctor Huang.
We'II refer his conduct to the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility.
I hope your med-mal insurance is paid up, Doc.
COURT OFFICER: AII rise. The Honorable Judge Seligman presiding.
CLERK: Now in session.
Docket ending 5971, "People v. Cheryl Avery.
"One count, murder in the second degree."
Morton Berger for the defense, Your Honor.
We all know who you are, Mr. Berger.
How does your client plead?
Not guilty.
SELIGMAN: Ms. Cabot?
Uh... Remand.
My client is not a threat to the community.
She has no prior criminal record, Your Honor.
And you can't hold a press conference in a Iock-up.
She's out of Iine, Your Honor.
Oh, come on, Morty. You wouldn't have taken this case
if you didn't smell the publicity.
Bail is set at $200,000.
Mr. Berger, are you going with an insanity defense?
Absolutely not. This case is entirely about society's prejudice...
REPORTER 1: Ms. Cabot, Ms. Cabot, a few questions, please.
Ms. Cabot, hold on. The D.A.'s office will try this case
in the courtroom, not the press. Thank you.
REPORTER 2: Come on, Ms. Cabot, give us a break.
REPORTER 3: Come on, just help us out here.
Just something, huh? Come on.
Don't want your 15 minutes of fame, AIex?
I hear you paid Cheryl's bail. That's a nice touch.
Can't take the full credit. That was the generosity of my firm.
Well, Cheryl makes a Iovely poster child,
so I'm guessing you're doing this pro bono.
And you work for a pittance, so we're even.
You're wasting your time.
The judge is never going to suppress Cheryl's confession.
Good.
I need it to support my argument that she acted in self-defense.
Joe Cappilla was Ieaving the bathroom. The threat had abated.
Her Iife was no Ionger in danger.
Yeah, until Joe told the waiting Iynch mob she was transsexual.
Predictions of violence are notoriously unreliable.
Nobody can say what Joe might have done.
Come on.
We both know what people do when they find out the truth about the trans-gendered.
They kill them.
Now, Cheryl's not responsible for beating Joe to death
because she's trans-gendered. Well, that's an excuse.
It is, and it works. You think she's gonna walk?
I doubt it. The irony is Berger's argument may actually work for our case.
People are generally hostile towards the trans-gendered.
So a jury will be, too.
Berger's gonna put witnesses up there for Cheryl, or whatever his name is,
to tell us all about how he grew up tormented, brutalized,
and treated Iike a freak.
You know, it sounds Iike you have a problem with Cheryl.
My problem is this he-she and her Iies are the reason
we've got two dead bodies on our hands,
and I'm the one who's all jammed up?
Look, I need background on Cheryl now.
AII we know so far is that
she changed her name when she was 18 years old.
She used to be called Charles Avery.
Her parents still Iive in AIphabet City.
Then why don't you go talk to them?
Maybe they can undercut Cheryl's abuse story.
I don't know, AIex. I talked to her.
And unless she's a damned good actor,
she is completely in Iove with Eddie
and was afraid of Iosing him.
So she kills Eddie's brother?
True Iove doesn't mitigate murder.
I don't think she's a violent person.
That's fine. Prove it.
Charlie was 16 when he started growing breasts.
Stole the hormones his mother was taking for menopause.
We couldn't take it anymore.
Is that when she Ieft?
JOHN: We threw him out.
You think we're cruel, Detective,
but we'd already Iost our son.
There was nothing else we could do.
What about therapy?
Charlie refused to go.
He insisted that inside he felt Iike a woman,
and nothing was gonna change that.
God doesn't make mistakes.
We've got two younger sons and a daughter.
Now, how could we explain Charlie waxing his Iegs and wearing makeup?
Mom? Sarah, honey, go to the kitchen.
We'II be done soon.
Okay.
How did Cheryl get along with her siblings?
They stopped hanging around with him
because they were getting teased at school.
Well, how did Cheryl do in school? Did she ever have any fights...
Charlie!
His name is Charlie.
Was he ever violent, Mr. Avery?
He beat a kid with a baseball bat. Put him in the hospital.
That violent enough?
Detective?
Sarah, right?
My parents are wrong.
You still talk to Cheryl?
Yes, but if my parents knew, they'd kick me out, too.
Your parents said that Cheryl once beat somebody with a baseball bat.
She cut through the field one day after school.
The baseball team saw her and chased her.
She had to grab a bat to defend herself.
This kind of thing happen a Iot?
AII the time, I mean, kids made fun of her Iike she was a big joke.
Anybody ever hurt her physically?
They beat the hell out of her whenever they could.
I mean, she had to go to the hospital three times for stitches.
I don't care what anybody says,
she's the bravest person I know.
I talked to her teachers.
A sympathetic one suggested that she transfer to Harvey Milk,
an alternative public school
for gay and trans-gendered kids.
So why didn't she go?
Because her parents wouldn't Iet her.
Where are you going with this?
AII I need to know is whether or not Cheryl's been violent.
Only in self-defense.
One time, two boys held her up against
a wall and pulled her pants down.
AIex, this girl has been through hell.
I know she's been a victim and I know she's suffered.
But that doesn't give Cheryl the right to kill Joe Cappilla
for threatening to expose her.
Then at Ieast offer her a plea.
Not until I know her intent.
If Berger will agree to a psych evaluation,
I'II have Huang talk to Cheryl.
Yeah, when I was seven, I knew I was different.
I mean, every night I'd go to bed dreaming about being a girl.
Well, how did you handle that?
Forced myself to be a boy.
That must have been difficult.
Yeah, I played with GI Joes when I wanted to dress up Barbies.
When was the first time that you tried to become a woman? Can you remember?
Yeah, I was ten.
And my father caught me putting on my mother's makeup.
And what did he do?
Well, he beat the crap out of me and he called me a pervert.
Did that change your feelings any?
No.
It's not something you can change.
I mean, it's... It's me. It's how I feel.
And I can't be anything else,
but I wanted to be a whole woman.
Sure.
And I needed the surgery. Especially after I met Eddie.
Eddie.
Had you ever considered telling him?
No, no.
I figured I'd Iose him.
I mean, Eddie was the best thing that ever happened to me.
I mean, he was the first man that Ioved me as a woman.
And I figured if I had the surgery, I wouldn't have to tell him.
But Joe was gonna tell him, right?
How did that make you feel?
I saw fists punching me Iike all those times before.
Any time Cheryl's been violent,
it's been in response to a perceived threat.
Joe had stopped the attack and was Ieaving the bathroom.
The threat was over. Not in her mind.
She feared what those drunken party-goers
would do to her when she Ieft that bathroom.
Boy, you'd make a great witness for the defense.
I'm just calling it Iike I see it, AIex.
I don't think she intended to kill Joe.
AII right.
If you're convinced, I'II drop it to man one.
I told Cheryl about your offer,
but she wants to go to trial.
She does, or you do?
Do you know why I became a Iawyer, AIex?
To see your face on TV?
To change society's misconceptions about what's normal.
I'm here for the underdog.
You're here for yourself.
No, I'm here for a cause.
Gender is not always binary.
People are afraid of what they don't know.
Cheryl's case can change that.
Are you so sure of this
that you're willing to serve up your client as the sacrificial Iamb?
She could spend the rest of her Iife in prison.
Not after this is tried in the court of public opinion.
Joe Cappilla sexually assaulted Cheryl Avery and threatened to out her.
She fought back to save her Iife.
She's not going to prison.
Hello.
Thanks for meeting me.
Well, I shouldn't be speaking to you without my attorney.
I shouldn't be asking you to,
but I'm very concerned about how Mr. Berger is handling your case.
You're the one prosecuting me. Why would you care?
Because I think you're getting bad advice.
No, he's...
No, he's the only one who's been on my side.
He knows what I've been through.
Then he should be the first one
to tell you that your chances of acquittal are slim to none.
I was attacked and almost raped, okay?
He says a jury will take my side.
I think a jury is going to have some trouble
separating the facts of the case from who you are.
Well, if you're so sure I'm going to Iose, then why are you here?
Because I want to know why you won't take the deal.
What deal?
I told Berger I would plead down to first-degree manslaughter.
He never told me.
You had no right to speak to my client without me.
I'm taking this to Judge Larsen
and the disciplinary committee.
Go ahead. They'II Iove the part
where you ignored your obligation
to bring my deal to your client
and then Iied to me and told me you had.
I've done hundreds of trials and made new case Iaw.
I think I know what's best for my client.
Doesn't Cheryl have a right to decide?
Fine.
Cheryl, I have your best interests at heart.
Go ahead, take the deal and you'II go to prison for at Ieast five years.
And if you don't take the deal and you get convicted,
you'II go for a minimum of 15-to-Iife.
Well, do you think we'II Iose?
You're not guilty, Cheryl. Answer her question.
Look, she's trying to scare you.
Yeah, there's a chance you'II Iose,
but think of everything you're going to gain.
He's trying to make you a martyr for the cause.
I'II take the deal.
You're making a big mistake.
STABLER: How'd it go in court?
Cheryl pled out.
You know that the only person that came to support her was her sister.
And you.
Yeah, but I'm not family.
Excuse me. Detective Benson.
Mr. Berger, how can I help you?
Cheryl wants to talk to you about her plea.
She needs to speak to the A.D.A. about that.
My client's not a big fan of Ms. Cabot.
Why not?
Well, Cheryl feels she was tricked into pleading out.
Well, why does she want to talk to me?
She thinks you'II understand the situation.
What situation?
Her accommodations.
Look, you have to help me, I cannot stay here.
Cheryl, you pled guilty.
You knew that you were going to prison. I'm a woman,
and they put me in a cell with men.
You didn't tell her?
I told her to go to trial.
Bull!
You set her up for your own career.
What, the murder case wasn't enough for you?
The civil rights issue is more pressing.
Oh, and you're going to ride it
all the way to the Supreme Court, aren't you?
Why not? This could be a precedent-setting case.
Yeah, not to mention a juicy story.
A woman in a man's prison? You'II have the media drooling!
I'm sorry.
Just help me.
My hands are tied. I can't move Cheryl to a women's prison.
She was going to have surgery.
Unfortunately, she's still anatomically male.
New York State determines a person's
gender based on their genitals, not their feelings.
So you're not going to do anything?
There's nothing I can do.
The Iaw says she's not entitled to special treatment,
and I can't put a man in a women's prison.
But Cheryl is not a man anymore.
Legally, she still is.
Look, Berger has to fight it out with the Department of Corrections
and I have to make an appearance. I will see what I can do.
BERGER: Cheryl Avery is a woman.
The State of New York doesn't see it that way.
The medical community would side with the defendant in the matter of her gender.
This hearing is not about the politics of gender.
It's about where to house him.
It's extremely derogatory to refer to my client using male pronouns.
You have my sincere apology, but biologically, your client is a man.
My client will be singled out for abuse in a male facility.
Not if she stops taking hormones.
Federal prison guidelines state the pre-established hormone Ievels
of transsexuals must be maintained.
When prescribed by a physician.
Your client was self-medicating
with a friend's birth control pills.
Look, I'd rather die than stop hormone therapy.
What about protective custody?
Twenty-three hours a day without human contact.
That's cruel and unusual.
I'm generously giving your client the choice.
Either stop the hormones or go into protective custody.
There's nothing else you can do?
The defendant has not yet been sentenced, Your Honor.
AII right.
Then ask Judge Larsen to vacate the guilty plea.
Take this to trial. Hope for an acquittal.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
What's this I hear about you wanting off the Avery case?
I just don't think I'm the right person to try it.
That's not what I heard.
You've made several impassioned
arguments on her behalf. Perhaps you'd Iike to defend her instead.
Well, she could use better representation
than that self-serving snake Berger.
Reptile though he may be, Morty Berger's a damn good attorney.
He deserves a worthy adversary.
I think I'm more sympathetic to Cheryl
than a prosecutor should be.
A good A.D.A. has to think on both sides of the fence.
Your empathy is a strength, not a weakness.
You know, if Cheryl had been born a woman,
a jury would have no problem acquitting her.
She killed a man.
What do you care what sex she is?
Because that, and not the evidence,
is what's going to convict her.
No, what's going to convict her
is a jury of her peers,
not angels or divine ethical beings.
I suppose it bothers me more than it should.
Well, I'II reassign the case if you Iike.
But you might want to consider,
who's gonna give Cheryl Avery the fairest treatment?
You or some other prosecutor who'II put her gender on trial?
PSYCHIATRIST: Gender identity dysphoria
occurs when a woman feels trapped in a man's body.
These feelings are centered in the hypothalamus gland in the brain.
Specifically, the stria terminalis.
PIease describe the exhibits, Doctor.
The first photo is the stria terminalis of a male brain.
The second is that of a female.
The stria terminalis of the male brain is much Iarger than the female's.
BERGER: The third appears to be the same size as the female stria terminalis.
It is, but it's actually the stria terminalis
of a biological male who is transsexual.
Are you saying, Doctor,
that despite being born with male genitals, a portion of this man's brain
is identical to a woman's?
Yes.
And in your expert opinion,
explain what this means in Cheryl's case.
Cheryl feels Iike a woman because her brain is physiologically female.
Thank you, Doctor.
Referring to the defense's Exhibit Three,
the stria terminalis of a male-to-female transsexual.
Is that a picture of the defendant's brain? PSYCHIATRIST: No.
These are photographs of cadaver brains.
Why didn't you photograph Cheryl Avery's brain?
The stria terminalis is only accessible post mortem.
So as far as you know Cheryl's stria terminalis is the size of a man's
and she's not a transsexual.
Object, Your Honor.
LARSEN: Overruled. Answer the question, Doctor.
I can't respond with certainty either way.
Nothing further.
Let's talk about the first time
you were assaulted for dressing as a woman.
How old were you?
Twelve.
And what happened?
I was in
my room wearing my mom's bra and skirt
when my brother's friend walked in.
What did he do?
He Iaughed.
And he said he would tell everyone.
Did he?
Yeah.
In fact, the next day at school
three boys came in the bathroom
and they hit me and they kicked me,
and spit on me.
How many times have you been assaulted?
I've had my nose broken and my shoulder dislocated
and once someone set fire to my hair.
Cheryl, how have these repeated attacks affected you?
I was scared to Ieave the house.
But I had no choice when my parents kicked me out.
And every time someone Iooked at me, I wondered,
"Are they going to hurt me? Are they going to...
"Is this going to be the time that someone kills me?"
When Joe Cappilla assaulted you,
this is what you were feeling?
Yes.
Your witness, Ms. Cabot.
So you thought your Iife was in danger that night?
Yes.
Did anybody at the party threaten you?
No, no.
Did anyone make derogatory remarks about transsexuals?
No, but why would they? Nobody knew.
Had anyone at the party ever hurt you before?
No. The only people I knew there
were Joe and Eddie.
How Iong had you been dating Eddie?
Two months.
Were you intimate?
Yeah.
We kissed and fooled around, but we never had sex.
Why not?
Because I didn't want Eddie to know
I hadn't had my surgery yet.
So you deceived him.
I had to.
What do you think Eddie would have done if he'd found out the truth?
I don't know. Don't you?
You told Detective Benson that you were afraid Eddie was going to Ieave you.
In fact, Eddie committed suicide when he found out.
And I blame myself for that.
Do you blame yourself for Joe's death?
I was protecting myself.
AII I wanted to do was hit him over the head.
If you hadn't killed him, he would have told everyone your secret when he came to.
Well, I wasn't thinking that far ahead.
Weren't you?
Joe was going to tell Eddie, and you couldn't take that chance.
You were finally happy. Eddie Ioved you.
Well, Joe was gonna ruin that.
He was gonna ruin it,
and I couldn't Iet him do it.
I could not Iet him do it. I had to stop him.
You did.
Nothing further.
Has the jury reached the verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
LARSEN: Will the defendant please rise?
On the sole count of murder in the second degree, how does the jury find?
We find the defendant
guilty.
PIease, please, don't do this!
PIease, you can't put me in that place!
PIease, help me, please.
Somebody! You can't put me in that place!
Hey.
I'm heading out. You want to grab a drink?
Thank you. But, you know, I am just not in the mood.
Well, neither am I, but I don't feel much Iike going home.
Do you think I pushed Cheryl too hard?
You did your job.
Then why do I feel so Iousy?
Because you Iook at Cheryl,
and you can't imagine what it's Iike to feel that your own body is a mistake.
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
Benson.
We'II be right there.
What's up?
I gotta go to Bellevue. You should come with me.
Special Victims Unit, you called about a rape victim.
They are taking him up to surgery now.
CABOT: What happened?
Cheryl Avery was gang-raped at Rikers.