The Sentence
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| The Outer Limits episode | |
|---|---|
| “The Sentence” | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 22 |
| Guest star(s) | David Hyde Pierce as Dr. Jack Henson, Andrea Roth as Dana Elwin, Garwin Sanford as Senator Meade, J. Douglas Stewart as Watts, Robyn Driscoll as Detective, Tamsin Kelsey as Dr. Glass, Dave Ward as Giant Convict |
| Writer(s) | Melissa Rosenberg |
| Director | Joseph Scanlan |
| Production no. | 44 |
| Original airdate | 4 August 1996 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| “Vanishing Act” | “Bits of Love” |
"The Sentence" is an episode of The Outer Limits television series. It first aired on 4 August 1996, and is the final episode of the second season.
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
Dr. Jack Henson creates a virtual prison — an environment in which convicts experience a life sentence in a harsh regime in just a few hours of real time.
[edit] Opening narration
- "Crime and punishment... an age-old dilemma. Man has long sought a solution to society's ills. But at what point does the punishment itself... become a crime?"
[edit] Plot synopsis
Dr. Jack Henson subjects a prisoner to his experiments despite the prisoner repeatedly claiming his innocence. When the prisoner begins to have seizures Dr. Henson enters his machine to bring the prisoner out within the 17-second time limit. Dr. Henson succeeds and with time to spare. However, the moment of relief was short as Dr. Henson is charged for reckless endangerment of the prisoner and sentenced to jail time. Dr. Henson decides to subjugate himself to the experiment to serve his punishment. Dr. Henson is tortured by other inmates and by the floors electrical discharge when he tries to escape. In the end it turns out he got the original prisoner free from the virtual prison in time, but was too late to escape himself. Dr. Henson had a change of heart as he found himself guilty in his own creation. He tries to destroy the machine only to be restrained and escorted out. The Senator impressed with the machine approves the use of it for the state.
[edit] Closing narration
- "Sometimes it is an easy thing for a man to cry out for retribution until he himself has walked in the footsteps... of those suffering the penalty."
