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Episode 12 of NBC's police procedural drama, Law and Order season 24, Duty to Protect, was released on February 13, 2025. The latest episode features a domestic abuse case, which leads to the death of a young girl. Through intense investigation and subsequent prosecution, the Law and Order team is able to bring the killer to justice.
Law and Order season 24 premiered on NBC on October 3, 2024. The show returned after fall break on January 16, 2025, and focused on various cases, including homicides, s**ual offenses, white-collar crimes, and controversial social issues. The recent episodes also address the characters' personal lives, especially Price dealing with his father's death.
In episode 12, the death of a young girl becomes personal for ADA Samantha Maroun when it is revealed the teen and her mother are victims of domestic assault. Price and Baxter want the mother to be prosecuted because she has a part to play in her daughter's murder. However, Maroun, whose sister is a victim of domestic violence as well, believes the mother needs help rather than punishment.
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Read along to learn how the Law and Order season 24 attorneys navigate this conflict.
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Law and Order season 24 episode 12: Maroun’s past influences her view of the victim's mother
In Law and Order season 24, episode 12, the team handles the case of a young girl who is beaten and strangled to death. The victim's family was under suspicion since the beginning because they made no effort to find their daughter or report her missing. While the team does its best to solve the case, ADA Samantha Maroun's personal history significantly shapes her view of the victim's mother, Michelle Burns.
When Price and Baxter fight to get Michelle prosecuted for her involvement in the crime, Maroun reveals that she has lost her sister to domestic violence. This instills in her a deep empathy for the victim's mother, who her husband and her uncle abused in the past. Michelle is accused of neglecting her daughter and facilitating her abuser's actions, but Maroun sees it as more than just criminal negligence.
She recognizes that Michelle's behavior may stem from a long history of manipulation and fear, elements that resonate with Maroun's knowledge of the violence that her sister faced. She argues with Price and tells him outside the courthouse:
"If you don't respect my opinion on this issue, then I don't know what the h*ll I'm doing in this office."
After Maroun advocates a more lenient approach for Michelle, Price agrees to grant her a plea deal. Michelle pleads guilty to endangering the welfare of her child and is given one year in jail and probation afterward. Ultimately, Maroun's past influences the case's direction in Law and Order season 24, episode 12. It urges her colleagues to look at the broader context of domestic abuse in determining accountability.
Kaitlyn's video leads the police to her killer in Law and Order season 24 episode 12
Initially, in Law and Order season 24, episode 12, the police struggle to identify the victim or determine who would want her dead. Through investigation, they confirm that she is Kaitlyn Lawson, a young model living away from home with little parental supervision. Her belongings, including her laptop, are found at her older boyfriend's place, which becomes a crucial lead in the case.
Her mother is a famous film director, Michelle Burns, and her adoptive father is Ron Lawson. When detectives search Kaitlyn's laptop, they find a recorded video in which she details years of abuse at the hands of her stepfather. In the video that she planned to upload on social media, she claims that he has been s**ually abusing her since she was fourteen.
Kaitlyn also discloses that she told her mother, but instead of supporting her, Kaitlyn's mother dismisses her claims and informs Lawson about the video. The team finds a clear motive through this information. Kaitlyn threatened Lawson's secrets, and he needed to silence her.
The police arrest Lawson, and when Kaitlyn's video is played in court, Lawson realizes he has no escape. In a desperate act, he grabs a court officer's gun and kills himself, bringing a tragic end to the case. Michelle is offered a plea deal, and Kaitlyn finally gets justice at the end of Law and Order season 24, episode 12.
Catch Law and Order season 24 on NBC on Thursdays.
