Character John Franchetta has just been paroled after serving 20 years of a life sentence for second-degree murder. Briscoe tells him that if he doesn't provide them with an alibi, he is looking at serving another 20 years in prison. However, if Franchetta had committed another murder at any point in his life after the first conviction, the second murder could be charged as a first-degree murder. This would mean that Franchetta would get a minimum sentence of life without the possibility of parole or possibly the death penalty.
Carmichael tells John Franchetta that there is no statute of limitations on sex crimes against minors, which is only partly true. In 1968 legislature was passed in New York that removed the statute of limitations from certain serious felony sex crimes where the victim is a minor. The crimes which had their statute of limitations removed when dealing with a minor were: rape in the first-degree, criminal sexual act in the first-degree (a criminal sexual act is unlawful oral or anal sexual contact), aggravated sexual abuse in the first-degree (aggravated sexual abuse is penetration with a foreign object that causes injury) and course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree (course of sexual conduct is an adult subjecting a minor to sexual contact on at least two different occasions within a three month period). All other felony sex crimes involving minors must have charges filed within five years of the minor turning 18.