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}} "Scorched Earth" is the thirteenth season premiere of the police procedural television series ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and the 273rd episode overall. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 21, 2011. In the episode, which was inspired by the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case, an Italian diplomat is arrested when a hotel maid accuses him of rape. The District Attorney's office then brings the case to trial, which becomes increasingly complicated as the defense questions the maid's credibility. Meanwhile, Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) struggles to cope with the aftermath of the squad room shooting. The episode was written by David Matthews and was directed by Michael Slovis. It is the first episode to air since Christopher Meloni left the series as leading costar, and marks the first appearance of Kelli Giddish as Amanda Rollins, who was added to the main cast alongside Danny Pino in June 2011 following Meloni's departure. The episode featured guest appearances from Franco Nero, Stephanie March, and Linus Roache, who reprised his role as Michael Cutter from ''Law & Order''. "Scorched Earth" received mostly positive reviews, though the cast changes received mixed reactions. According to Nielsen ratings, the episode's original broadcast was watched by 7.63 million viewers. ==Plot== Hotel maid Miriam Deng (Anika Noni Rose) accuses an Italian diplomat, Roberto DiStasio (Franco Nero), of raping her. While Detective Benson (Mariska Hargitay) interviews Deng at the hospital, Detective Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish), who has recently transferred from the Atlanta Police Department, finds enough evidence of the assault in Mr. DiStasio's hotel room. Sergeant Munch (Richard Belzer) and Detective Tutuola (Ice-T) then race to the airport to arrest him before his plane departs for Italy. DiStasio quickly hires lawyer Marvin Exley (Ron Rifkin) and claims diplomatic immunity. After Deng positively identifies DiStasio from the lineup, Tutuola and Benson take him to Dr. Warner's (Tamara Tunie) office for a forensic exam. The results confirm that his DNA matches that recovered from the crime scene. Benson and Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) then warn Deng that DiStasio's defense team will claim in court that she fabricated the accusation for monetary reasons and ask her if she has been completely truthful; she replies that she has been. Later, the police and prosecution learn of a tape recording of Deng in which she admits that she could get a lot of money from DiStasio for assaulting her, weakening her credibility. However, Deng does not retract her accusation and insists that she was raped by DiStasio. During the trial, the defense presents evidence that Deng was convicted of prostitution two years ago. Deng denies the charge and says she had been gang-raped by the soldiers who killed her husband. Deng's credibility weakens further when the defense presents a surprise witness, Daniel Achok, who testifies that he had advised her to fabricate the gang rape on her application for political asylum. The jury deadlocks on the rape charge, but finds DiStasio guilty of unlawful imprisonment, and Benson says that he will likely serve a year in prison. Meanwhile, Benson anxiously awaits for the return of Detective Stabler (Christopher Meloni), who was put on administrative leave after the squad room shooting. After noticing two detectives from the Internal Affairs Board in the squad room, Benson reminds Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek) that the shooting was justified. However, Cragen tells Benson that Stabler will have to submit a psychiatric exam before he can return to work, having been involved in five prior shootings. At the end of the episode, Cragen informs her that Stabler has filed his retirement papers. Stunned, Benson leaves for the interrogation room and breaks down in tears as the episode ends. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Scorched Earth (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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