CSI: If I Had A Hammer

"If I Had a Hammer..." was marketed as the episode which had the CSIs likely releasing a person who was convicted of a crime that he had no part in. The episode started out this way, but it quickly turned into something different, leaving me feeling a little duped.

It was Catherine's first solo case and the technology and requirements for conviction were primitive compared to 2009. Jeremy Kent was convicted for robbery and the murder of an elderly man. What Kent didn't know at the time was his court-appointed attorney was conspiring against him and had another one of his clients testify in trial, saying that Kent made a full confession while in his cell.

I was taken aback by this, quite frankly. To think that your lawyer would do such a thing is pretty frightening, especially for someone facing a murder rap and would be facing the possibility of life in a state penitentiary.

After eighteen years of reading books about the law, Jeremy Kent decided it was time to file an appeal and managed to get the evidence reviewed once again. It's rare for this show to depict a guy representing himself in court.

Kent wasn't innocent of the murder. He was involved, but what the CSIs did learn was that he wasn't the only one who was guilty. His then-girlfriend was an accomplice. She was pregnant at the time and went on to have the child while the father rotted away in prison.

Sabrina was in for quite a shock when the police showed up on her doorstep and brought up what happened that night. She had a husband and a few kids and thought that she was done with that night.

Kent seemed to know that he wouldn't get released from prison, but at least with Sabrina going to court, he'll finally get to see the son he has never seen. It's too bad that Sabrina kept the boy from his father like that - Kent probably would have never appealed the conviction. This story seemed to take a while to get where it was going, but it proved entertaining nonetheless.

At times CSI reminds me of House when there are glaring science problems. In this case, I had an issue with the recovery of the hammer. It's unfathomable to think that the blood and the fingerprints would have survived. Wind, rain, and the tree encasement, all would have removed those pieces of evidence from the murder weapon.

This ridiculous use of creative licensing with the science and the terrible acting in the scene where Sabrina and her husband parted ways dragged down what was only a decent story to begin with.