Law & Order: Criminal Intent Episode 7.01 Amends

Goren, in his apartment on leave, hears his phone ringing. Wracked with indecision, he decides to ignore the call, but ultimately gives in and answers it. On the other end of the line is Eames, informing Goren of the news and urging him to meet her at the hospital. Goren agrees. In the emergency room we come across some startling information which hits Eames hard: the murdered cop was her husband's partner on the night he was killed.

Ross reminds Goren that he's still got two week's personal leave, but Goren foregoes his time off. A cop has been killed and Goren wants to be a part of the case. Goren, Eames and Ross ask initial questions of the fallen cop's partner, Copa, who feels that the murder could be gang related. As our detectives finish questioning him, Eames locks eyes with the murdered cop's wife, Theresa. Eames has been there before, and it's clear to Goren and Ross that she is stricken by the encounter.

Goren and Eames bring Copa out to the crime scene where he illuminates the details of the murder for our detectives. Copa claims he can make an ID of the suspect if presented with the opportunity. He gives information about the neighborhood witness they were protecting on the night of the murder, and Goren and Eames quickly realize they need to speak to her. However, uncooperative and scared, the witness is of no help to the case. If the cops can't protect themselves, how can they protect her?

As a person of interest is being discussed in the squad room, Eames meets with Theresa to share their common experience. Meanwhile, Goren is going over some details about the murder with Copa, making sure he's got all of the specifics of the crime down pat. Copa alludes to a particularly troublesome local Korean gang member as a suspect. Soon, we see the ESU ready to smash through the criminal's door with a battering ram. The police barge in and capture Sang, a tough Korean thug. Sang is forced to walk through a gauntlet of glaring cops, who watch the suspect as he is escorted into police custody. They've got their man.

Copa identifies Sang as the shooter, but Goren isn't so sure. Goren presses Copa and goes so far as to challenge the officer's ability to make a proper ID of a suspect. In fact, Copa exhibits the early stages of macular degeneration, making his testimony inapplicable in a court of law. Goren, in his honest effort to get the right man, incurs the wrath of the police force. They thought they had their cop killer.

A new development in the case hammers Eames: a drug dealer, gunned down in a park, had testified against the shooter in her husband's murder trial years ago. It is now clear to Eames that her own personal involvement in these murders is deeper than she originally presumed. The burden has fallen on her to solve her own husband's murder to shed light on these new cases. Hunting down DNA evidence in forgotten corners of the NYPD archives, Eames is overwhelmed by the emotions of having to revisit her darkest hour.

Meanwhile, Goren works tirelessly to examine forensic evidence and present a case of revenge-killing in the most recent murders. He deduces that a young man, furious over the incarceration of his innocent father, has taken the law into his own hands. While Goren works to put this killer away, Eames confronts the devastating task of having to meet her husband's murderer.