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8.0

Law & Order•Season 5•Episode 19

Cruel and Unusual

8.0/10 · 403 votesApr 19, 199548 min

Ranked #7 of 23 in Season 5•+0.2 vs season avg

The death of an autistic youth in custody reveals a multitude of unusual and possibly illegal therapies being used, but also parents reluctant to pursue a prosecution.

Directed byMatthew Penn

Written byRené Balcer, Michael S. Chernuchin

Previous episodeE18 · Privileged Next episodeE20 · Bad Faith

Seasons26

All 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Cast6

Jerry Orbach

Jerry Orbach

Lennie Briscoe

Chris Noth

Chris Noth

Mike Logan

S. Epatha Merkerson

S. Epatha Merkerson

Anita Van Buren

Steven Hill

Steven Hill

Adam Schiff

Sam Waterston

Sam Waterston

Jack McCoy

Jill Hennessy

Jill Hennessy

Claire Kincaid

Crew7

M

Matthew Penn

Director

R

René Balcer

Writer

M

Michael S. Chernuchin

Writer

J

Jeremy R. Littman

Story Editor

C

Constantine Makris

Director of Photography

N

Neil Felder

Editor

M

Michael S. Chernuchin

Co-Executive Producer

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Episode Summary

"Cruel and Unusual" is episode 19 of Law & Order season 5. It scored 8.0/10 from 403 votes, ranking #7 of 23 episodes this season (season average 7.8). Directed by Matthew Penn and written by René Balcer, Michael S. Chernuchin, it aired on April 19, 1995.

Next: E20 · Bad Faith Best of Season 5