See Also: 'Whacked' Episode Guide

CSI Files sources today revealed the details of the penultimate episode of CSI: Miami's third season.

According to sources, the episode takes us to the Miami-West Detention Center, where inmate Alan Kramer is awaiting his execution. His last meal is brought in: steak, mashed potatoes, chocolate cake, and a glass of milk. In the execution room, correctional officers are getting three needles ready; each one will mark the last breaths of Kramer's life. Sodium penthonal will be administered intravenously, followed by a saline flush - unlike the murders he's been accused of committing, Kramer's death will be quick and painless. The inmate is brought into the room after his meal. His arms are strapped to a chair, the three liquids in the needles are cleared of air bubbles, and the correctional officers make plans for the night when the unprecedented occurs: Kramer receives the phone call every death row inmate prays for – his execution has been stayed.

Assistant State Attorney Don Haffman intercepts Horatio back at the lab with a very important envelope in hand, containing the details of Alan Kramer's case. Horatio is confused. Why was Kramer's execution stayed when he was found guilty? Haffman explains that due to Valera's mistake, the Florida Supreme Court has asked the state to review every death row case she ever worked on, even one that occurred five years ago. Horatio is reluctant, but his protests are mere whimpers when weighted against the Supreme Court's orders. Perplexed, he has no other choice but to relieve the details of a murder so gruesome the only punishment considered severe enough was death.

Five years ago, Mike Lewis and Sheri Vanover were enjoying a peaceful night in their beach house when a man knocked on their door to ask if he could use their phone. When let inside, the man proceeded to attack the couple. Sheri was raped and hacked to pieces with an axe, while Mike was strangled to death. Speedle and Delko worked the case that ultimately led them to Alan Kramer as the primary and only suspect, and five years later, Horatio and Ryan find themselves working the case as if it had taken place just the night before. Speedle's notes reveal Kramer had no connection to Mike and Sheri, but the CSIs know from experience that a murder so brutal is very rarely impersonal. Drag marks on the pools of blood left by Sheri's murder indicate that Mike was dragged away, and the erratic pattern that he was alive, therefore murdered second. But why did the killer leave his biggest threat for last, and why wasn't Mike hacked like his girlfriend?

While Horatio and Ryan go over the crime scene photos, Delko and Calleigh begin by examining the clothes Mike and Sheri were wearing that night. The blood spatters are consistent with her cause of death, but when put under further scrutiny the clothes reveal something strange – faint marks of two hands where Sheri's shoulders should be, indicating she was held down while she was being raped and murdered. There is only one explanation for this and a very obvious one: the killer had a partner. But who, and why did Kramer take the full blame for the murders?

Horatio visits Alan Kramer in prison, but the inmate quickly makes it clear he won't cooperate with the authorities or confide in his lawyer, and is perfectly content in being put to death and take his secret to his grave. No amount of persuasion can get him to talk, and without Kramer's cooperation and imminent death, Horatio is forced to figure out a way to find a killer that may still be holding a grudge and who, as per the evidence's suggestion, is intending on killing again soon.

Please note that the above plot details have not been confirmed by CBS, Alliance Atlantis or Bruckheimer Films, and until such time you should treat this information as you would any other rumour. The above information comes from early script drafts and the details of the episodes are liable to change before the episodes are shown.

"Episode 23" is set to air on May, 2005.

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