Season 8 had a lot of little character moments and 'Bad Girl' resolves some while others take off. Van Buren's (S. Epatha Merkerson) lawsuit with the NYPD over racial discrimination. DA Adam Schiff (Steven Hill) worries about reelection after offending his powerful supporter Carl Anderson (Robert Vaughn). Lastly Det. Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) can't help his daughter Cathy (Jennifer Bill) when she messes up with drugs. That's not even getting into the main plot about a slain police officer, the female suspect that finds religion in prison and gains support.
A gunshot finds two people down in a park. One is deceased off duty cop Dana Flynn who's been stabbed and the other is a young man who appears to be the suspect shot in the head but who survives. Briscoe (Orbach) & Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) find out about a missing piece of jewelry and when Monica Johnson (Isabel Gillies) story as a witness doesn't add, it becomes clear she was the attacker. At trial she's found guilty and is given the death penalty. From there it's social political groups trying to save her life as McCoy (Sam Waterston), ADA Ross (Carey Lowell) and Schiff (Hill) battle with the issue differently.
What I most took away from this episode is the double standards at work and they don't shy away from illuminating it. Of course it's also one of those "ripped from the headlines" tales largely based on Karla Faye Tucker case. In that piece of true crime, the convicted female had a male accomplice who was sentenced to death too, but no one lobbied for his life to be saved. One can suggest it was because he was a man and didn't find God. 'Bad Girl' reminds us actions have consequences no matter the sex.