by Hal Erickson
synopsis
Friday (Joe Friday) and Smith (Ben Alexander) spend the better part of a year trying to crack a case in this episode, which was adapted from the Dragnet radio broadcast of April 12, 1951. The detectives are stymied by the fact that the victims of a series of robberies and beatings refuse to testify against the two suspects. Obviously, the victims have been intimidated into silence--and in at least one case, the son of a crime witness has been beaten as a "warning". Eventually, one of the perpetrators is arrested out of town on another charge...but chief suspect Marvin Carter is still very much at large. An ironic ending caps this labyrinthine tale of justice delayed and justice denied.
