The Setup: Detective Chris Raven wakes up strapped to the Mercy Chair, charged with murdering his wife Nicole. With his guilt probability at 97.5%, he has 90 minutes to bring it below 92% or be executed.
Red Herrings: Digital evidence shows Nicole's blood on Chris's suit and doorbell video of him entering the house while intoxicated. Investigating Nicole's burner phone leads to Patrick Burke (Jeff Pierre), revealing an extramarital affair. However, Burke has an alibi, causing Chris's guilt score to rise.
Uncovering the Killer: Chris reviews video from a recent family barbecue and notices Nicole's distress over missing work chemicals (urea). He connects this to Nicole's coworker and his own AA sponsor, Rob Nelson (Chris Sullivan). SWAT is sent to Rob's house, finding plans for a chemical bomb intended to blow up the Mercy Court building.
The Key Twists:
- Rob's True Identity & Motive: Rob is the brother of David Webb—the very first person executed by Judge Maddox under the Mercy program. Rob murdered Nicole to frame Chris, force a trial, and bring a fertilizer bomb into the building to destroy the system.
- Police Corruption: Maddox re-examines David Webb's original trial logs and discovers that Chris's partner, Jacqueline "Jaq" Diallo, intentionally suppressed exculpatory evidence to secure Mercy's inaugural conviction and guarantee the program's approval.
The Resolution: Exposing the missing evidence drops Chris's guilt score to 0%, releasing him from the chair. SWAT and Chris neutralize the bomb threat, Jaq is taken into custody, and Chris reconciles with his daughter Britt. Judge Maddox updates its operating model, concluding that human intuition and machine processing must work in tandem to prevent errors.