CSI Season 9 Episode 21: If I Had A Hammer

ET’s Henry Thomas guest stars as a convicted killer from Catherine’s first case as a baby CSI. I’ve tried to work a “phone home” joke into this recap but it just wasn’t working. I’ll at least be calling him Elliott throughout, mostly because I can’t be bothered to remember his character’s name.

Episode Summary

Elliott, in prison for 18 years for murdering an old man during a home robbery, wants a new trial on the grounds that his lawyer kind of sucked. It’s granted, so Catherine has to re-visit her first solo case. She explains the details to the team: Elliott was convicted based on a fingerprint found on the rock that smashed the old man’s window and a shoeprint that matched Elliott’s size but not any of his shoes. When she lays it all out, even Catherine has to admit that the evidence sounds lame. But that’s what worked 18 years ago.