After threatening two boys (John Aaron Bennett, Zach McLemore) who trespassed on his property, a dangerous man (Jason Byce) is shot dead in his home. With Carroll O'Connor.
Gillespie becomes sheriff; the murders of two Spartans link to a mentally impaired youth; guests Stacy Keach, Burgess Meredith.
Bubba's friend Lorie Foster is accused of murder following the death of the man who infected her with AIDS.
Gillespie discovers a major New Orleans mob real estate scam is behind the scheme to force his daughter from her home and acquire her land.
Chief Gillespie (Carroll O'Connor) attempts to trap a pair of lovers (Grainger Hines, Clare Wren) who have murdered the woman's husband. Guest star: Tim Griffin.
Sparta's first black female cop is killed while on duty, and an angry Chief Gillespie assumes responsibility for tracking down her killer.
Sweet (Geoffrey Thorne) defies Chief Gillespie (Carroll O'Connor) when he takes a personal interest in saving a 13-year-old crack addict (Dana Barron).
Released by his kidnappers, Chief Gillespie hunts for Dugan's killers while attempting to prevent the assassination of a civil rights leader.
The death of a stranger has serious repercussions for Parker when the woman he loves is linked to the unfortunate occurrence.
Bubba (Alan Autry) becomes a target after fatally shooting a former Spartan during an attempted robbery. With Carroll O'Connor and Howard Rollins.
An Amerasian suspected of robbery and murder claims to be the son of a former Sparta cop. With Carroll O'Connor and Howard Rollins.
After the wife of a close friend dies because of a doctor's misdiagnosis, Gillespie fights his suspicions when the doctor is murdered.
A murderer (John Diehl) is on the run, and Gillespie (Carroll O'Connor) does everything he can to prevent him from killing again. With Alan Autry.
A councilwoman (Denise Nicholas) tries art therapy on a mute boy who may have witnessed his father's murder.
A retired detective (Ken Curtis) assists Gillespie's probe of a murder at a rest home; guest Louise Fletcher.
Althea suspects a student has problems at home, then learns one parent is dead, the other is missing.
Bubba downplays the gossip that he is the father of a baby left on his doorstep; blackmail and murder surface in the search for the baby's parents.
When a fundamentalist preacher is found dead, an ironclad alibi prevents Gillespie from pursuing the case against a traveling madam.
Althea finds a woman's death especially tragic, and Gillespie investigates whether the woman's ex-husband ran her down.
Althea (Anne-Marie Johnson) does not know that a visiting friend (Patrice Chanel) is a fugitive from justice. With Carroll O'Connor.
Tempers flare over the arrest of a black man (Steve Coulter) suspected of murder. With Howard Rollins and Carroll O'Connor.