Anthony Chisholm

As serial killer Matthew Brodus (guest star Nick Chinlund) awaits his imminent execution in three days, Detective Stabler (Christopher Meloni) races against time to determine if the convicted man also murdered and raped another victim whose assailant was never identified -- thus giving the slain woman's parents (guest stars William Hill and Laura Hughes) a measure of closure.

The renovations may be complete, but the mayhem is starting all over again! It's a new year, and Emerald City's got a brand-new look. But inside the hearts and minds of the prisoners, Oz is just as dark and dangerous as ever. In its fifth season premiere, Oz re-opens in the wake of major renovations that had to be completed following a gas explosion. Rev. Cloutier--who had been bricked up behind a wall--barely survives the blast. Meanwhile, Arif wants O'Reily blamed for O'Keenan's death, but O'Reily has other plans in mind.

In the Season Four finale, Hill discovers where his true allegiances lie in Oz. Redding's plot to use the Colonel against Morales has an unexpected outcome, forcing the two drug leaders to consider a real truce. Cloutier runs into trouble from both his church on the outside and his disgruntled parishioners in Oz. Hughes 'revolutionizes' Unit J. The last basketball game is a very different contest without Brass. White gets a little too close to McManus. Beecher's agony about his parole hearing leads to a shocking season climax.

McManus thinks White may reform if he spends quality time with Said; Alvarez offers Guerra a unique solution to their dispute; O'Reily's mother, Suzanne Fitzgerald, begins a community service term teaching music at Oz; and the FBI stirs up trouble over Hank Schillinger's death.

Brass wants to know who cut his tendon; Redding and Morales form another uneasy alliance; the burned Rev. Cloutier's mysterious influence over his followers grows more intriguing; and Keller returns to Oz, only to be hit with an ID from an old murder charge.