S17, E9: When convicted mass murderer Leon Vorgitch (guest star Craig Walker) kills two prison guards and escapes from prison, Detectives Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin) and Nina Cassady (Milena Govich) rush to apprehend him but not before he ruthlessly murders two more innocent people. With Vorgitch already serving seven life sentences, District Attorney Arthur Branch (Fred Dalton Thompson) urges A.D.A.s Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Connie Rubirosa (Alana De La Garza) to expedite the process and push for a guilty plea, but Vorgitch doesn't bite as an extended trial only means a delay in his transfer to a maximum security prison - and more time for him to escape. McCoy is then left with little option but to ask the judge to bypass the law and authorize a death penalty case. S. Epatha Merkerson also stars.