7x1 - Child's Play

September 16, 1993

Chief Gillespie is fired by the city council and Sparta's new police chief Hampton Forbes arrives in town.Bill's last case with Sparta P.D. is a murder investigation in which a young boy has been implicated.

7x2 - Hatton's Turn (1)

September 18, 1993

Hampton Forbes assumes the office of Chief of Police and Bill becomes the Sheriff of Newman county.Former Spartan Wade Hatton returns to Sparta hoping to make sense of his life and rekindle his relationship with Sarah Hallisey.Bubba and Covey take the new chief on a tour of Sparta and Bill takes Wade to visit some distant cousins.Meanwhile two young criminals involve a mentally handicapped young man in a terrible crime.

7x3 - Hatton's Turn (2)

September 18, 1993

Wade and Sarah try to keep young Henry from being punished for a crime he did not commit and Forbes and his officers search for the two men who are really responsible.

7x4 - A Depraved Heart

September 23, 1993

The daughter of an old friend asks Bubba to arrest the man who knowingly gave her AIDS.

7x5 - Incident at Brewer's Pond

September 30, 1993

A night of revelry at a local pond turns deadly.

7x7 - Singin' the Blues

October 28, 1993

Luann moonlights as a singer at a nightclub and finds romance with the clubs owner.Her happiness is shortlived when she realizes that the bartender is dealing drugs.

7x8 - Virgil Tibbs, Attorney at Law

November 4, 1993

Attorney Virgil Tibbs returns to Sparta and is soon assigned his first case as a defense attorney.

7x9 - Every Man's Family

November 10, 1993

Bubba travels to Atlanta to help his nephew after the boy overdoses on drugs.He soon teams up with a street wise cop to take down the drug ring.

7x10 - A Baby Called Rocket

October 25, 1993

A neglected baby stirs maternal feelings in Luann.

7x11 - Little Girl Lost

December 9, 1993

Tragic story of an alcoholic teen who accidentally kills a little girl while she is drinking and driving.

7x12 - Your Own Kind

December 16, 1993

7x13 - Good Cop, Bad Cop

January 6, 1994

Virgil defends Parker after he is falsely accused of police brutality by a drug dealer.The prosecution's main witness - the man's girlfriend, who was once engaged to Parker.

7x14 - Maybelle Returns

January 12, 1994

Maybelle's new phone sex business is a great success - until one her girls decides to moonlight as a prostitute.

7x15 - The Last Round

January 19, 1994

Forbes is delighted when his fiancee Angela comes to see him,but is disappointed when he realizes that they have very different plans for the future.

7x16 - Ches and the Grand Lady

January 26, 1994

Lonnie must protect his Aunt Cordelia when her cherished friendship with Ches Collins angers one of his cousins.

7x17 - Conspiracy of One

February 2, 1994

Virgil accepts a position at a prominent law firm.But as a former police officer he feels conflicting emotions when he realizes that one of their clients is guilty of murder.

7x18 - The Rabbi

February 9, 1994

A Rabbi returns to Sparta after many years.Racists vandalize his synagogue and soon after their Torah is stolen.Forbes investigates but the Rabbi refuses to trust Bill because of his inaction while investigating a hate crime many years ago.

7x19 - Hard Choices

March 9, 1994

Eugene tries to protect a friend who was an unwilling accomplice to a robbery and in doing so endangers his probation -- and his life.

7x20 - Time's Long Shadow

March 16, 1994

Harriet tries to stop an arrogant developer from destroying an important archeological site.

7x21 - Poor Relations

March 30, 1994

Comedic episode in which Parker's ne'er-do-well stepfather returns to Sparta with a new wife, a stolen painting and two inept art thieves who are determined to steal the painting back.

7x22 - Dangerous Engagement

May 4, 1994

Bill and Harriet's wedding plans are interrupted by a sniper who mistakes Bill for Sheriff McComb.

7x23 - In the Heat of the Night: Give Me Your Life

May 11, 1994

In the Heat of the Night: Give Me Your Life is a film directed by Russ Mayberry released on May 11, 1994.

7x24 - Give Me Your Life (2)

May 11, 1994

Bill and Harriet return home.The cult kidnaps the girl from her foster home.And Forbes and his men arrest a man who has been supplying drugs used to keep the cult members under control.Soon a standoff develops and the officers realize that they have no intention of surrendering.Sarah is taken hostage.As they attempt to rescue the women and children Lonnie and Parker find themselves defusing a bomb and Bubba risks his life to rescue a small child from the building.