| “ | Oh, I'm so sorry to embarrass you by getting raped! | „ |
| ~ Harlan lashing out at her mother. |
Leslie Harlan is the main antagonist of the Law & Order episode "Hot Pursuit". She is the willing accomplice to a series of robberies and murders committed by Leon Trapp, the man who kidnapped her.
She was portrayed by Amanda Peet, who also played Judith Fessbeggler in Saving Silverman.
Early life[]
Harlan was born into a wealthy, but dysfunctional, family, with a domineering mother and an emotionally distant father who both held such high standards for her that she couldn't help but fall short. She rebelled by partying and dating men they didn't like, including her married French teacher, which only made their relationship more contentious. She was kicked out of three high schools and dropped out of college, all to spite her mother, who in turn called her a failure.
Six months before the events of the episode, she was kidnapped and held for ransom by Leon Trapp, a psychopathic career criminal and heroin addict, and his cousin Eddie. Her parents paid the ransom, but Trapp refused to let her go; he shot Eddie dead right in front of Harlan to cow her into obedience, and held her as his prisoner and sex slave, beating and raping her repeatedly. He also threatened to kill her and her parents unless she did as he told her.
Over time, however, Harlan developed Stockholm Syndrome, bonding with her captor to the point that she willingly participated in a series of robberies he committed, even holding the people they robbed at gunpoint and driving their getaway car.
"Hot Pursuit"[]
One night, Harlan and trap rob a bar, killing the bartender and a customer and kidnapping the manager. Minutes later, they rob a convenience store and kill the clerk. The following day, they rob yet another convenience store, and kill the manager afterwards, leaving her body in the trunk of their car, which they abandon after stealing another one.
While buying beer and cigarettes at a gas station, Harlan and Trapp are stopped by NYPD Homicide Detectives Lennie Briscoe and Rey Curtis, who have been tracking them since the robbery and murders at the bar. Trapp grabs a customer and holds her at gunpoint, while Harlan panics and freezes. Before Trapp can do anything to the hostage, however, the gas station attendant shoots him in the back, killing him instantly. Briscoe and Curtis arrest Harlan, who tearfully thanks them for saving her and asks to see her parents.
Briscoe, Curtis, and Lieutenant Anita Van Buren hold Harlan in custody at their station house, where she is reunited with her parents. She insists that Trapp forced her to help him, but Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy and Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid still charge her with four counts of murder.
Harlan's lawyer, Danielle Melnick, enters an insanity plea on her behalf, arguing that she was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome while Trapp held her captive and is therefore not responsible for helping him commit his crimes. Forensic psychiatrist Elizabeth Olivet evaluates Harlan, who maintains that Trapp was holding her prisoner, but also expresses bitterness toward her parents and mentions that she thought about robbing their country club with Trapp. Olivet concludes that Harlan enjoyed being Trapp's accomplice, even though she truly believes that she had no choice.
McCoy wants to throw the book at Harlan, while Kincaid feels some sympathy for her because of the abuse she suffered at Trapp's hands. Meanwhile, Briscoe investigates further and discovers a liquor store robbery that Harlan and Trapp committed in which she fired a gun into the air while Trapp took customers' wallets. This new information convinces even Kincaid that she is criminally responsible, and they go forward with the prosecution.
During the trial, McCoy calls as a witness Trapp's friend Michael Murvis, who testifies that Trapp frequently left Harlan alone while they were staying with him, and that she shared the same bed with him. Melnick counters by asking Murvis about an episode in which Trapp had stabbed him in the hand as punishment for changing the channel to a TV show he didn't like. Harlan's mother testifies that her daughter was depressed at the time she was kidnapped, which made her susceptible to Trapp's manipulation. McCoy cross-examines Mrs. Harlan and brings up her daughter's history of acting out.
Harlan testifies in her own defense, fighting tears as she describes the abuse Trapp inflicted upon her. While cross-examining her, McCoy confronts her with testimony from Trapp's friends who said that she was affectionate toward him and accuses her of taking part in the robberies because it excited her. When she off-handedly refers to the bartender Trapp killed by his nickname, McCoy realizes that she had been to the bar before and gets her to admit that it was her idea to rob it.
Knowing that the jury will convict Harlan, Melnick tries to negotiate a plea bargain with McCoy in which Harlan would plead guilty to manslaughter and serve eight years in prison. She refuses, but her parents, who are present at the meeting, urge her to take the deal, saying that they cannot bail her out this time; her mother then berates her for "embarrassing the family". Harlan still refuses to take the deal, insisting that she did nothing wrong. Nevertheless, the jury finds her guilty, although McCoy later says that he will not oppose her parents' request to give her a lenient prison sentence.
Trivia[]
- Harlan is loosely based upon Patty Hearst, who is even mentioned in the episode.
External links[]
- Leslie Harlan on the Law & Order Wiki
