Based on two separate cases:
- The Candace Newmaker case, which involved 10-year old Candace, a Colorado girl that was smothered to death after several adults sat on her during a "rebirthing" ceremony that was meant to help bring her closer to her adoptive mother.
- The Susan Smith case. Susan was convicted of murdering her two children, three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander. Her case gained international attention because of Smith's false claim that a black man had kidnapped her sons during a carjacking. Her defense attorneys, David Bruck and Judy Clarke, called expert witnesses to testify that she suffered from mental health issues that impaired her judgment when she committed the crimes. Smith was originally sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years' imprisonment.
Wendy Makkena (Janet Weston) previously played the role of Officer Nicki Sandoval in Episode 1.13, A Death in the Family (1991).
Opal Alladin (Rochelle Diggs) previously played the role of Trina Fleming in Episode 9.8, Punk (1998).
The victim, Paula Weston, was murdered on January 7, 2002.
Debra Monk has played three different characters over the course of the series:
- Episode 5.2 Coma (1994) - Kathleen O'Brien.
- Episode 12.16 Born Again (2002) - Dr. Madelyn Stahl.
- Episode 15.23 In God We Trust (2005) - Judge G. Proctor.