The following contains discussions of sexual assault.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unitis heading into a historic season 27. With anew showrunner in former staff writer Michelle Fazekasand the return of several past characters,SVUis primed to revisit the past.
As a crime procedural, most ofLaw & Order: SVU’sepisodes are standalone. The longer story arcs are built from the personal lives of the ensemble. Every so often, however, the show will revisit a case from the past when a suspect or a victim reemerges.SVUshould do that with Victor Tate (Chike Johnson).
Victor Tate’s Wrongful Conviction Emerged In SVU Season 11
Victor Tate Is From Stabler’s Past
Victor Tateis introduced inSVUseason 11 when a sexual assault victim’s case proves to be too similar to a case for which Tate was convicted over a decade earlier. Tate, it is revealed, was arrested by Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) in 1998 - a year before theSVUseries begins.
Tate was convicted largely because the sexual assault survivor picked him out of a lineup. She falsely identified him, traumatized after her life changed drastically as a result of her experience.
In 2009, theSVUteam is able to follow a pattern of assaults and eventually a rape-murder investigation, which leads them to the real culprit. The man confesses to a series of rapes, including the one for which Tate was convicted.
It seems like the team would be all set to get Tate’s conviction overturned thanks to this new confession, butthe real perpetrator dies by suicide before anything formal can be done about Tate’s case.
The other man’s statement is ruled inadmissible and unable to be used in legal proceedings to free Tate from prison, leaving him to serve his original 25-year sentence. After that, Tate is used in another episode as something of a cautionary tale for others who have been wrongfully convicted when a mistake is made in a case.
Victor Tate appears in:
He has not, however, been seen since, though his sentence would have ended in roughly 2024.SVUSeason 27, which will be airing not long after Tate should have been released, would be a great time to follow up on his story.
Chike Johnson, after all, is still acting on television and has appeared in other Dick Wolf projects outside of theSVUseries. Johnson has played characters inChicago P.D.,Chicago Justice, and the originalLaw & Orderseries as well. He would likely be game to return to the role.
Victor Tate’s story remains one that outragesSVUfans over a decade later. There arestill active Reddit threadsthat began 12 years ago to hash out his story and lament the fate of the character.
SVU Should Follow Up On More Wrongful Convictions
Wrongful Convictions Are A Real Problem SVU Can Highlight
Bringing Victor Tate back toSVU- no matter what his ultimate fate is - would bea good way to acknowledge thatSVUmakes mistakes. The ensemble of characters at the center of the show might be the heroes of the story, but they are fallible.Part of the draw in a show like this is seeing the detectives learnfrom their mistakes.
Statistically, not every conviction inLaw & Order: SVUwould be a good one. There are likely to be some wrongful convictions in the bunch, especially in a series that relies so much on suspects confessing and on circumstantial evidence.SVUshould get the chance to see that conflict come up in the story.
It would make sense to see Tate’s case revisited by one of the many nonprofit groups that work to get wrongfully convicted individuals out of prison. It would also make sense if Tate went on to work for one of those groups himself.
Of course, Tate’s story would have less of an impact without Stabler, the original detective who put him away, being involved in the case. It’s lucky, then, thatSVUhas continued to utilize Meloni as a guest starin recent seasons so that Stabler could be involved in the story.
SVUdoes not have to become a show about overturning wrongful convictions, but a case or two once in a while is a great way to revisit some classic stories like Tate’s.
SVU Has Been Revisiting Classic Episodes
SVU Recognizes What Came Before
ThoughSVUis a procedural series, it is no stranger to following up on classic storylines. WhenSVUreached 300 episodes with “Manhattan Vigil,” it paid respect to the past by using footage from the first season for flashbacks. It also brought back actors from the pilot episode to play new roles.
The idea ofSVUhonoring classic episodes has become more prevalent nowthat the series is the longest-running police procedural in the U.S. Seasons 1-12 are thought of as the first era ofSVU. That’s when most of its best-known episodes occurred, thanks to syndication and streaming deals making sure more people saw them.
Season 25 revisited the classic season 7 episode “911”by bringing back the character of Maria Recinos.
Maria was a little girl who made a 911 call for help after she was held, assaulted, and photographed in a man’s basement. Olivia Benson spent the episode on the call.Mariska Hargitay won an Emmyfor the episode. She is the onlyLaw & Orderfranchise lead to win an Emmy for her work.
Hargitay’s Olivia Benson gets the chance to see what became of Maria in season 25 when Maria is graduating from the police academy, and then tackles her murder in season 26. While it’s not a happy ending for the character, it shows the interest exists for following up on the episodes that really stick with the fans.
Victor Tate’s story in season 11 ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unitis one of the stories from the classic era of the series that should be revisited.
