Russky walks into Em City, wearing a sweet nylon tracksuit. Busmalis is questioning him about being from Russia. Russky says he did seven years in a Soviet gulag, so Oz will be a piece of cake. He stops and asks about Miss Sally on the television. The prisoners are making typical Miss Sally remarks. Busmalis stares at the television wistfully. Russky walks into his cell and starts arranging his belongings. He ask Busmalis if they are near death row, because he knew a man named Alexander Vogel and would like to shake the hand of the man who killed him. Busmalis helpfully informs Russky that Richie Hanlon would be the killer.

Shirley is knitting in her cell, and asks Richie to hold up his arm so that she can figure out how long to make the arms of her sweater. Richie does so, while never lifting his eyes from the book he is reading. Vern arrives with the mail. He flirts with Shirley while delivering a teapot. That seems like it should be a euphemism, but it isn't. Shirley says her new lawyer is filing an appeal, so she figures she's going to be around a while longer, and Vern is glad to hear it. The guard finally breaks up the love fest. Vern turns to Richie, telling him that he gets no mail today. Vern speculates, "All [Richie's] little fag friends are too busy getting their legs waxed [to send him mail]." Richie spits an insult at Vern, and manages to mispronounce Schillinger, which never fails to crack me up, because it gets Vern so riled up. Vern leaves.

Shirley asks what's up with all the animosity between Vern and Richie. Like someone needs a reason to hate Vern besides the fact that he's evil. Richie tells her that Vern and a friend killed a Russian guy, hung him by the ankles in the gym, and carved "Jew" in his chest. Luckily, we get to see a flashback of that. Lovely. Vern told Richie that if he didn't confess to the murder, they would kill him. Shirley figures that it's a death sentence either way, and wonders why Richie doesn't tell the truth now. Richie says that Vern's friend is dead, so it's Richie's word against Vern's, and he has no proof. Shirley suggests that Richie lie and say that he and Vern committed the murder together. Richie finally takes his eyes off his book for the first time and asks how that saves him. Shirley says that it doesn't, but it would get Vern on death row. Richie thinks it over as Shirley tells him that it's "just something to consider."