For the Reaction and Critique assignment, I chose to analyze the episode, “Ripped (2005),” of the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The episode was interesting and captivating, featuring principle actors Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni. Three criminal acts took place in the episode, assault, controlled substance abuse, and attempted murder. The series is known for its accurate depiction of criminal behavior and acts. This episode provided insight precise insight on a perpetrator that committed acts due to manic moments cause by a hormonal imbalance, previous parental abuse, and highlights the conflict of interest between detectives and accused individuals.
The perpetrator of the episode, Luke “LT” Thomas Breslin, is a star high school athlete and son of a NYPD police officer. Breslin attacks his best friend, Pamela Sawyer, after she refuses his sexual advance. As Breslin has no history of violence, the criminal psychologist diagnoses him as bipolar due to his episodes of mania and depression. As the investigation continues detectives find steroids in Breslin’s gym locker, leading them to believe the criminal act was due to a hormonal imbalance leading to ‘roid rage.’ Due
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This episode would have made me think criminals are victims of their environment, as the character would not have been on steroids if his father lessened the pressure on him and give him better examples of appropriate behavior. I would have deemed that the criminal justice system has some flaws due to Stabler’s act of wanting to let the accused off for his father. Although this episode only portrayed some criminological theories, it highlighted that there are alternate reasons criminals behave in violent matters. Overall, the episode was interesting, insightful, and clearly depicted criminal activity from a variety of