  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | I'm not delusional. Anyone who doesn't see that this country is being taken away from guys like you and me is the one who's delusional. | „ |
| ~ Burrows defending his racist beliefs to Dr. Emil Skoda. |
Ray Burrows is the main antagonist of the Law & Order episode "Prejudice". He is a white supremacist who murders a Black man during a dispute over a taxi.
He was portrayed by Steven Rishard.
Early life[]
An unrepentant white supremacist, Burrows spent his entire life believing that Black people were inferior and that "they" were conspiring to deny him the success, wealth, and happiness that he felt was his by right as a white man. He regularly read racist literature containing pseudoscience that "proved" that Blacks were genetically inferior to whites and responsible for all of society's ills. He also unsuccessfully petitioned his condominium's co-op board to evict an interracial couple from their apartment.
Burrows brought his racism with him to work at his real estate firm, regularly demeaning and behaving aggressively toward Black coworkers and refusing to sell property to Black clients. When his boss ordered him to sell an apartment to a Black client, Burrows treated the man with barely concealed contempt, to the point that he complained to Burrows' superiors, who reassigned his account to a Black salesman named Lester Harkins.
Burrows accused Harkins of stealing clients from him and threatened him with a pistol, all while insulting him with racial slurs. He was immediately fired, meaning that he could no longer afford the rent for his condo, for which he was facing eviction. He blamed all of his misfortunes on Harkins and Black people in general.
"Prejudice"[]
One night, after having a drink with his friend Scott Turner, Burrows gets into an argument with a Black man named Thomas Reddick over a taxi. The driver gives Reddick the fare, which makes Burrows so angry that he hails another taxi and tells the driver to follow Reddick, which they do for 20 minutes. When Reddick exits the taxi, Burrows ambushes him and shoots him in the chest, killing him instantly, as a horrified Turner looks on. Burrows then hides Reddick's body under a nearby stairwell.
While investigating Reddick's murder, NYPD Homicide Detectives Lennie Briscoe and Ed Green track Burrows down after questioning the cab driver who gave him and Turner a ride. After questioning Burrows' former coworkers, including Harkins, they find out about Burrows' history of racially motivated violence; they also talk to Turner, who admits what Burrows did under threat of arrest. Briscoe and Green get a search warrant for Burrows' condo, where they find traces of Reddick's blood on his clothes. They arrest him for murder, but Burrows refuses to let Green, who is Black, put handcuffs on him, angering Green to the point that he forcibly restrains him and takes him into custody.
Burrows' lawyer, Al Archer, tries to have a racial slur-laden letter his client wrote to his co-op board seeking to have the interracial couple evicted excluded as evidence, arguing that it would unduly prejudice the jury. Burrows, however, insists that the jury be allowed to read the letter, convinced that a jury of his peers - meaning other white people - will acquit him if they hear "the truth". Trial judge Rebecca Stein allows the letter to be included into evidence, giving Burrows what he wants even though it damages his case.
Knowing that the evidence proves Burrows' guilt, Archer enters an insanity plea on his behalf, arguing that Burrows' racism is so extreme that it amounts to a mental illness that prevents him from knowing right from wrong and controlling his actions. Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy and Assistant District Attorney Serena Southerlyn have Burrows examined by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Emil Skoda, to whom Burrows rants about Black people being "out to get him" and white people being an "endangered species". Skoda finds that, while Burrows is indeed a bigot, he is legally sane because he knows he did something wrong and appreciates the consequences of his actions; he simply does not care.
During the trial, Archer calls psychiatrist Dr. Paul Bernard, who is Black, as a witness to argue that racism is a mental illness; McCoy cross-examines Bernard and gets him to admit that racism has not been recognized as such by the psychiatric community and is not listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Burrows testifies in his own defense, blaming Black people for the loss of his job and his home and saying that Reddick "stealing" the cab from him had sent him over the edge. During his cross-examination, however, McCoy says that Burrows had apparently been sane enough to hide Reddick's body, while the fact that he has not attacked any of the Black members of the jury proves that he can control his actions when he wants to.
Ultimately, the jury finds Burrows guilty of second-degree murder as a hate crime, and he is sentenced to life in prison.
External links[]
- Ray Burrows on the Law & Order Wiki
