Hayes Morrison needs to dig herself out of what could be a publicly embarrassing situation. She makes a clandestine deal with her adversary, Conner Wallace, to take on the Conviction Integrity Unit and justice system in order to save face for herself and her family. The first case Hayes pushes her team to consider is that of Odell Dwyer, a handsome former high school football player who has been in prison for eight years for murdering his girlfriend.
Wallace's career-making case is reexamined by CIU team, but there are unforeseen complexities in this rape and robbery case, and the woman at the center of the crime becomes victimized again, this time by the press.
The CIU team tries to exonerate a political activist with suspect views who is serving a life sentence for bombing a mosque and killing an influential Imam and three followers.
Hayes and the team tackle the case of a mother convicted in the death of her autistic son.
Hayes launches into damage-control mode following her controversial nationally televised interview, seeking to limit the repercussions within her family and to her mother's Senate campaign. Meanwhile, the CIU takes on the case of a young man from the wrong side of the tracks, convicted for killing a wealthy woman whose privileged family took him in and treated him as one of their own.
The accidental death of a young African American boy, shot by a cop, sparks a racial firestorm and inspires Hayes to re-examine the controversial case of Porscha Williams. Williams, a devoted African-American civil-rights activist and leader, is serving time for killing a white female cop at a race equality rally five years ago.
The next case Hayes accepts for the CIU is that of Leo Scarlata, a man with diminished mental capacities, imprisoned for burning down his family’s restaurant with fatal repercussions. Hayes realizes she may have taken on more than she bargained for, especially when a documentary crew approved by Wallace begins following the team.
CIU revisits the case of Sierra Macy, a teenage girl who was kidnapped ten years ago and assumed dead—until she manages to escape her captor’s home after he suffers a heart attack and dies.
Wallace brings the case of a death-row inmate, Earl Slavitt, to the CIU. Earl was convicted of murdering federal prosecutor Tom Simon, one of Wallace’s best friends. Simon did not believe in the death penalty, and Wallace, along with Simon’s widow, want to ensure that Earl did in fact commit the crime. With only days left before the execution, the CIU team shifts into high gear, looking for possible errors in the case.
After Hayes and Wallace share a passionate night together, Hayes returns to reality and cautiously considers sticking her toe into relationship waters with Wallace. Simultaneously, she also tries to make amends for her bitter loss in the death penalty case of Earl Slavitt. Hayes implores the CIU team to aggressively pursue the case of Sophie Hausen, a young woman serving a life sentence for murdering a popular college basketball player, whom she accused of raping her.
While Hayes and Wallace struggle to balance their professional and personal lives, they are summoned to a crime scene that fits the M.O. of the infamous “Black Orchid Killer.” Is the latest murder the work of a copycat? Or is the man now in prison for the earlier crimes actually innocent? As the investigation accelerates, the CIU team, spearheaded by unlikely serial-killer expert Tess, closes in on a suspect who may have committed all the murders – but will it be too late?
Former President Morrison pays Hayes an unexpected visit and lobbies her (and CIU) to take on the case of Omar Abbas, a Muslim-American citizen held for years without trial in a military facility for allegedly planning a chemical attack on Manhattan. But taking on the federal war on terror is a hot-button issue, and Hayes and the CIU find themselves battling the authorities in their search for the truth.
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