Harry's Law (2011) s02e11 Episode Script

So what do we do now? We wait.
If we see a duck, shoot.
We're just going to hang out in an igloo all day and wait? It isn't an igloo, it's a blind.
And, Tommy, quite frankly, for somebody who begged to come along, you've done nothing but complain.
I've got good reason to complain.
I'm freezing my balls off.
Oh, please.
You should be happy there's no snow.
What the hell?! Look! Oh, my God, it's a tiger.
Hey! - That I want on my wall.
- For God's sake, you can't shoot at that! - Why the hell not? We're hunting.
- Tommy! - Did you hit him? - No.
Tommy, you can't shoot the damn tiger.
That thing probably escaped from that zoo or something.
I thought they got them all.
Well, clearly they didn't.
No! I don't even see him anymore.
He run off? He's probably in the bushes.
Look, I'm not going to hang out in an igloo all day, with frozen balls Come on, we got to go report this.
Harry's Law 2x11 - Gorilla My Dreams Original air date January 11, 2012 You see the size of him, Harry? So majestic, so beautiful, so Could you imagine the joy of slaying a beast like that? I'll take the duck.
Put your safety on, cowboy.
Farmer's daughter? - Can I help you? - We're the hunters who leased your land through Hardy's.
I imagine you heard the shots.
You know you got a tiger running loose out there? There's there's a tiger out there? Yeah, he's big.
And he's not hawking frosted flakes.
He's probably one of the escapees we've been reading about, but he's a lot less dead than reported.
It was about 11:30 or so.
I'd just gone to bed, when I heard a noise.
And what happened next, Mr.
Gerson? At first I thought maybe a raccoon had got into the kitchen through the doggie door.
But it was no raccoon.
It was a woman dressed in a costume.
Do you see that woman in the courtroom today? I do.
The defendant.
Did she say what she was doing in your home? She didn't have to.
- I'm calling the police.
When I regained consciousness, I was in the hospital.
Broken nose, broken jaw, fractured skull, broken ribs.
And Mr.
Gerson, are you absolutely sure that the woman who assaulted you in your home that evening - is this woman sitting right here? - I'm absolutely sure.
Thank you, sir.
- That's your wife? - My ex-wife, yeah.
This is before you beat her up? After.
I dispute having done that.
- You were arrested for doing it.
- No.
The charges were dropped.
Because your wife refused to testify.
Primarily because she was too afraid you'd do it again.
- Objection.
- Sustained.
Look, I got into an argument with my ex-wife.
It got physical.
But I never did that.
As far as I know she did it to herself to get me in trouble.
She did that to herself? Got it.
Excuse me.
I don't mean to intrude, but aren't you a lawyer? Is it that obvious? Oh, I've just seen you on television.
What about me? Tommy Jefferson.
Can I talk to you for a second? Um, actually, I'm just here to shoot ducks.
Please.
It's really important.
Oh, balls.
I could be technically guilty, slightly, of kidnapping.
Perhaps false imprisonment.
"Slightly kidnapping"? "False imprisonment"? Well, the truth is, he came to me.
I just I took him in.
Okay We'll go in.
I'll close the door.
You know, just in case.
I I don't want to This is kind of, um, a safe room.
I don't normally Hey, Wenty? Wenty, are you in there? He'll be right out.
- Hi, sweetie.
- What the? This is Harry and this is Tommy.
Meet Wentworth Beaumont the Third.
He's perfectly docile.
I've had him since He just waved "Hello", by the way.
He knows some sign language and so do I.
I'm a speech pathologist by trade.
He escaped with the other animals, and it's been on the news that they're still looking for the gorilla.
That would be him.
- Oh, what's he doing? - He's going to rub your palm.
That's his way of introducing himself.
Oh, gee.
Okay, now you rub his.
Really? I'm so scared.
He's an ape.
Okay, here you go.
He likes you.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, he says you're scared.
Huh.
He's a perceptive ape.
Natalie, what is your end game here? This is a gorilla.
Well, I'm I'm not really sure.
I think that my endgame is is custody.
Custody? I want him to go to a wildlife sanctuary, but in order for me to have any say, I need guardianship.
And that's where I need you.
I want you to help me adopt him.
First of all, I don't know what legal standing you'd have here.
The ape doesn't belong to you.
Well, the word "belong", that suggests property.
And what I would want to do is establish - personhood for him.
- Beg pardon? Many people anthropologists, legal scholars alike, they say that great apes should be given personhood.
I've done the research, and several European countries, they've already done so.
Yeah, but that's Europe.
This is the United States of America.
We're not as evolved as either Europe or, in some states, apes.
- He's actually been living here a month? - In in the barn.
He just comes here during the day.
- Which is not ideal - This is a dangerous animal.
You're risking your life here.
I reported him to the police.
They would supposedly arrest him, but then he'd be out again, and he would just show up at my house.
Your ex-husband.
You people couldn't do anything.
And at some point you contacted the defendant? Yes.
She had a web site I'd heard about.
If the police couldn't help, she claimed she could.
She called herself Wonder Woman.
And I decided to meet with her.
And what happened at that meeting? Well, basically, she told me she took care of abusive husbands.
She gave me a cell number.
When my ex-husband showed up one night like he would do when he was drunk, I called the police and I called her.
She got there first.
And what happened? She broke both his legs.
Then she took his arm and she snapped that, too.
I told him, next time, it would be his neck.
Okay, turns out it's not as crazy as we might have thought.
Some countries in Europe do allow personhood status for apes.
Though I doubt it would fly here.
What about this thing knowing sign language or using remotes to watch television? It's not uncommon.
Some orangutans use iPads to video chat with orangutans in other zoos.
- Come on.
- Harry, they got an IQ of almost 90.
I'm not saying you can win, but you got a chance.
Harry, you want to see me? See what else you can find in the way of legal precedents, could you? Cassie tells me your girl may even be more out there than advertized.
At least she walks upright, as opposed to your client.
Cute.
She also mentioned that you're particularly close to this woman.
Old friends.
Uh-huh.
If you can't see straight on this, - maybe Cassie should first chair.
- I'm seeing straight.
I know what I'm dealing with.
- Really? - Really.
- Be careful, okay? - Will do.
A third of the women who are murdered, are murdered by an intimate partner.
One in every four women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime.
- You've researched this? - Yes.
And most DV incidents aren't reported.
In fact, it's probably the most chronically under-reported crime.
Why is that? Women are scared.
And with good reason.
It is incredibly difficult to get convictions.
Most cases are dismissed before they ever get to trial.
The victims are blamed.
What's more, many of the women feel so hopeless, that they just take the abuse.
This is why the law has been so anemic in dealing with the problem.
So you decided to get involved.
Yes.
I decided to fill a void.
- You're a vigilante.
- Okay.
And why Wonder Woman, Annie? It's a persona I retreat into that allows me to fight for the justice that needs fighting for.
You realize that vigilantism is illegal.
You can't just run around beating up people, even the bad ones.
There are exceptions.
Defense of others being one, necessity being another.
It's either I beat the bad husbands, or they beat their wives.
I would argue that I accomplish the lesser of the two evils.
Okay.
And what occasioned you to go into this line of work, if I may ask? We all have reasons for our various careers.
Yeah.
I'm asking, what was yours? Ever married, Annie? Ms.
Bilson please answer the question.
Were you ever married? A while ago.
It ended.
Do you recall why it ended? Annie, why did your marriage end? He raped me.
Your husband raped you.
He raped you once? No.
Over and over.
I told you not to go into that! - I had to go into it.
- No! Annie, I need to present every legal defense.
I am not a victim, Adam.
- And Wonder Woman - Yes, you are.
- No, I am not! - Yes, you are! No, I am not! Okay, let's play nice here.
Drinks later? You sure? She can totally take you.
Annie, you're ill.
I'm not ill.
I protect people.
You're looking at prison.
We have to present all of your defense options.
You have to let us do what we do.
Let us be your lawyers here.
Don't make us fight with our hands tied behind our backs.
If you could've seen her in high school Annie Bilson was the one who had it all together.
Beautiful, smart, star athlete, funny.
- She was - Wonder Woman.
Guardianship of a gorilla? Are you serious? A gorilla she stole.
She did not steal him.
He escaped from a local zoo, he ventured onto her property, perhaps intuitively, - since he - Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
You are? I'm Mike Horace, Your Honor.
I represent the Cincinnati Presbyterian Good Fellows Zoo.
That's a lot of names.
Well, my client owns this animal, - and I would ask - That presumes the animal is capable of being owned.
I would ask Your Honor to afford the gorilla the status of personhood for the sake of this proceeding.
I'm is this a joke? Your Honor, I've looked into this creature's eyes.
Apes are a lot less inhuman than we would like to think.
Our DNA and theirs is 98% a match.
The gorilla we're talking about today uses an iPad.
He knows sign language.
He thinks.
He reasons.
He communicates Counsel, counsel has any court in this country granted personhood status to an ape? No.
But other countries have.
And here at home, the great ape protection act was reintroduced to congress in 2011.
The day is coming, Your Honor.
There's a qualitative shift happening in the way we view the animal world, especially when it comes to apes.
Your Honor, I, too, looked into the eyes of this beast, and I felt a kinship.
How about you hear from our client, Natalie Dupree, who's been living with this beast for the last month.
Ms.
Dupree does not have any - standing to assert - She has foundation.
She studied primatology in college, she's been the primary caretaker of this gorilla.
If we're to consider the best interest of the ape, which I would submit we should, Natalie is uniquely qualified to bear witness on that.
This woman committed a theft.
And and we're to reward her by giving her a day in court? This isn't about her.
It's about the ape.
All right.
Where is this animal now? - At my client's farm.
- That's not gonna fly.
I'm gonna hear from your witness, but in the meantime, the gorilla goes back to the zoo.
That's all.
Are you Wonder Woman, Ms.
Bilson? Did you not hear my question? Are you Wonder Woman? Wonder Woman is an alter-ego I assume to fight for justice.
And once I assume that persona, I am her, yes.
You are her.
You know, I grew up watching Wonder Woman.
In fact, she was probably my favorite superhero.
I used to love the way that she would stop bullets with those silver bracelets.
Can you do that? No, I cannot stop bullets.
How about the lasso of truth? Do you have one of those lasso thingies? No.
Fly around in an invisible plane? I will admit, you do look a bit like her.
In fact, in the costume, from the pictures I've seen, you look fantastic.
And that's the point, isn't it, Ms.
Bilson? You look so great, you're kind of fun; you're like a folk hero of sorts.
One can almost lose sight of the fact that you are a barbaric vigilante who tortures people.
I fight for justice.
Justice.
Wow.
New face of justice, is it? There is a good samaritan act in Ohio, which which requires people to sometimes report an ongoing crime - Domestic abuse is an ongoing crime.
- but not right it.
And typically, it's chronic.
A citizen does not have the right to use deadly violence to prevent future crimes.
So who saves these victimized women, then? You? The police? 'Cause you're certainly doing a lousy job of it.
So people should just get the right to dress up as superheroes? You think domestic violence only happens in the ghettos, or with rednecks, or felons.
It happens everywhere.
To CEOs, even.
It is a widespread, - pervasive problem.
- Ms.
Bilson I'm talking.
It happens in secret, which makes it so difficult to root out.
- And that is why I am here today.
- Counsel - Annie! - I'm talking! Ms.
Bilson, I'm going to ask you, please, to contain yourself.
Can you do that? Hundreds of thousands of women are battered, afraid to come forward.
And that's why I we need Wonder Woman.
It's just going to be for a short time, Wentworth.
Okay? We're going to get you out.
But you need to go back, just for a short time.
Okay? Everything will be okay.
It's gonna be okay.
We're gonna fight for you.
We're gonna fight.
And everything'll be okay.
It's an extremely complicated dissociative state.
- How so? - Well She knows she can't fly around and stop bullets.
She knows she's not some immortal Amazon, born and raised on an all-woman island.
It's as if she's chosen to retreat into this persona.
And once in it, she takes on Well truthfully, I've never seen anything quite like it.
Let's cut to the chase.
Do you think that she voluntarily committed these acts against men? Not truly voluntarily, no.
I think she's driven by an intense need to fight for these victims.
Annie Bilson has a tremendous amount of rage inside her, because of her own history.
She processes her anger through this superhero persona.
It's a way she empowers herself.
For the first few years she got free of her husband, she was completely dysfunctional.
She couldn't work, couldn't much sleep.
The idea of intimacy was Once she started taking on the attributes of Wonder Woman, she now has a high-level job at a software company, she enjoys successful social relationships.
She also has her sense of humor back.
It's been incredible.
It's it's been extremely healthy.
At least for her.
But she knowingly retreats into this persona.
- Right? - That's hard to tell.
Well, you testified she makes a choice.
She's a bit on autopilot.
She dissociates.
It's an out-of-body experience.
In the moment that she confronts these wife-beaters, she is acting out her own uncontrollable rage.
And you've told her this during your treatment? I have.
Have you suggested, perhaps, some medication that could prevent her from going to what you call autopilot? I have.
She doesn't want it.
And this refusal to take medication that would be a voluntary choice she's made? That decision would be voluntary, yes.
Huh.
Thank you, doctor.
Well, I had just come home from work.
I had some groceries in my hand, and I got this feeling, like I was being watched.
And I looked over at the hedges and there were these big eyes sort of peering out at me.
Were you frightened? Of course I was.
There was a gorilla in the bushes.
I was scared to death.
And then he came walking out.
- At you? - Very tentatively.
I could see that either he was afraid himself, or that he somehow was sensitive to my fear.
That's what I remember being struck by first, was his powers of perception, if not empathy.
So then what happened after he came out of the bushes? Well, he kept walking forward.
And from his body language, I could tell that, like I said earlier, that somehow he sensed I was afraid.
And so he took my hand, ever so gently, and he caressed my palm, like what he did with you and Harry.
And then then he signed "Hello".
I think I gasped.
This was this was like straight out of a Disney movie.
So Ms.
Dupree, where did you think this ape had come from? I'd seen the reports on the news about the zoo escape, so I knew that his name was Wentworth, that he was very docile.
Now I understand you brought along some video.
Yeah, I did.
Just a little footage, - just to give you an idea.
- I'm going to roll it, - and then you can tell us what we're seeing.
- Okay.
So I brought him an iPad 'cause I'd read the chimpanzees and orangutans were using them.
And that's what he did to the first one.
But then, a day later he's doing puzzles and finger painting.
Ms.
Dupree, you haven't manipulated this footage in any way? Judge, orangutans are using these things to video chat with other orangutans in different zoos.
Oh, he likes opera.
How smart, in human terms, would you say he is? I would say he's the equivalent to a two or three-year-old child.
Oh, and I I probably should've edited this out, but it gives you a sense.
He wasn't toilet trained at the zoo, by the way.
He learned that in two days.
People magazine.
You have reason to think he's been mistreated at the zoo? Yes.
Yes, he's the only gorilla there.
That's mistreatment? In the wild, gorillas lead extremely social lives.
They have friends, they have family.
They love, they laugh, and they're active.
In your zoo, he sits alone all day and does nothing.
But he could never be set free.
He doesn't have the skill set to survive in the wild.
Yeah, but there are sanctuaries, there are other zoos where there's other gorillas.
At least he'd have some sort of social and emotional life.
I'm sorry, but it's cruel to stick him in isolated captivity in Cincinnati Presbyterian.
Because he can use an iPad? No, because it's inhumane.
He has an IQ of almost But where do we draw the line? Dogs especially service dogs have displayed extraordinary intelligence.
Should we grant them personhood status? What about ducks? I've been told ducks are smart.
You lease your property out to shoot ducks, right? Isn't that how you first met Ms.
Korn, and Mr.
Jefferson? Look, I'm not an animal activist.
I eat meat, I wear leather and yes, yes, I make a little money leasing my land out to duck hunters.
But this case is about great apes.
They're different.
We use apes for biomedical research.
- Are you against that? - 100%.
Children dying of leukemia this research could cure them.
But you say, no, better the ape be happy.
Mr.
Horace, if you want to make the argument that sacrificing an ape is worth saving a child, then go on ahead, but that's not what we're talking about, are we? We're talking about the cruel and abusive treatment of sticking an intelligent being in a zoo and charging people admission for entertainment.
And last time I checked, that did not cure leukemia.
But it's an animal, you've come into this court asking the court to treat him as a person.
Now if we actually do that, what do we say to the next guy out there who happens to love dolphins? She severely beat three men.
Almost killed a fourth.
Broken bones, fractured skulls, serious bodily injuries.
In the movies, we love vigilantes Batman, Wonder Woman.
Buford Pusser in Walking Tall I think he was my favorite.
He would take his home-made bat to the heads of very bad people.
It was visceral.
It was vengeance.
It was justice.
In real life, vigilantism is against the law.
No matter how hot you look in the outfit.
And even if we were to believe the doctor who said the defendant would lose herself in this superhero, the fact is, she knew she was prone to doing it.
She refused medication and willfully, voluntarily kept doing it.
That's the same as knowingly taking a pill that makes your crazy homicidal.
She made a sane, conscious choice to become this deadly character.
And that is reckless disregard for human life.
And diminished capacity is no defense.
I feel for Annie Bilson.
She was a victim of horrible domestic violence.
Rape.
And God knows it is an underreported epidemic that happens in every town, in every state.
I'd love to pick up Buford Pusser's bat myself but I don't.
Because our best defense against these crimes and others is to cling to the notion our most cherished principle, in fact that we are a nation of law and order.
I knew Annie Bilson in high school.
Outgoing, bright, a smile for everybody.
A generous, charitable heart.
I had the biggest crush on her.
Then something happened to her.
Sorry.
I didn't see that coming.
Uh, she was raped.
Repeatedly.
Beaten by the man she married and loved.
It left her well, I'd say, "you can imagine", but you probably cannot.
After being rendered dysfunctional for a few years, emotionally lobotomized, she finally decided to seek haven inside the persona of a childhood role model.
And she opted to process her anger in a way that might help other victims.
As the District Attorney states, domestic violence is epidemic.
One-third of all female homicide victims are murdered by an intimate partner a third.
One in every four women are victims of domestic violence.
That's hard to fathom.
And we can't seem to stop it.
Annie was raped.
She didn't leave.
She was raped again.
She didn't leave.
Ms.
Radan showed you pictures of the men she attacked.
Have you seen the pictures of Annie? Her husband did that.
I realize we can't have people running around pretending to be superheroes.
And Annie needs to stop.
But the goal today should not be so much to punish her, as to get her help.
I, uh, I admit I'm biased here.
I asked her to the prom.
She, uh I wish you knew her like I She got a little lost helping defenseless women who so desperately needed help.
Today, uh I guess she needs a little help from you.
The DA has offered three years at Summit.
You wouldn't even have to go to prison.
A psych ward?! We think you should take it.
Well, talk about a fall from grace.
Going from Wonder Woman to mentally ill.
Annie, you are ill.
We don't want to risk prison.
And you don't think I might be acquitted? You might be, but under the law We don't want to risk it.
You could be looking at six years of hard time with no promise of treatment, which Just take the deal.
And I would have to give up being Wonder Woman? Look, with the doctors' help, you can get back to being Annie Bilson full-time.
Let's take the deal.
We need to, honey.
Prison is We don't want to risk that.
Look, uh, my client, too, loves this animal.
And not just because people pay admission to see him.
But he is an animal.
To somehow call him a person, even for the sake of a legal proceeding why? Because, uh, he's pretty smart? A lot of animals are.
Dolphins, dogs.
Because it feels emotions? Well, so do elephants.
Elephants will mourn the loss of family members for years.
Like it or not, we do practice speciesism.
We eat animals because they taste good.
We kill them for clothing, sometimes vanity.
We use them for medical testing.
We whip their behinds coming down the home stretch.
We coop them up, and we own them.
We own them.
Under the law, these animals are considered property, under the law, this animal is the property of the Cincinnati Presbyterian Good Fellows Zoo.
It's as simple as that.
Well, I'm glad you called it for what it is: speciesism.
'Cause that's what it is.
Following Mr.
Horace's logic suppose a being from another planet showed up, IQ of 300, had the wherewithal to reverse climate change and told really funny jokes.
I mean, he'd get no rights here 'cause he's nonhuman? We could just throw him in a zoo and charge admission? I don't think that's what any of us want.
And yet, under Mr.
Horace's argument, the law is the law.
Your Honor, the law evolves as we learn.
Always has.
I understand there's a slippery slope problem.
Today it's a gorilla; next it's a dolphin.
Soon people will be trying to stop me from shooting a lousy duck.
Which I look forward to.
I like shooting ducks.
I don't know where we draw the line here.
But if we have a being of real intelligence, capable of showing compassion, one that possesses self-awareness, has language skills, a being that lives a social and emotional life, I have no problem drawing the line there.
And as I said at the beginning, I've looked into this gorilla's eyes.
I challenge anybody here to do the same and not see something a little human.
But in the end, it's not about the ape's humanity, is it? It's about ours.
How do we, as a species capable of feeling and crying and caring, how do we lock up another being that This ape laughs.
He learns.
He reasons.
He plays jokes.
He grieves.
He worries.
And right now, he's worried sick about having to stay at the Cincinnati Presbyterian Good Fellows Zoo.
I certainly agree with you, Miss Korn.
The law is evolving on this, and we're seeing the legal rights of animals expanded by the day.
But the problem with granting actual personhood status is: what's the test? Can't be IQ.
As we've seen, certain animals have more intelligence than some humans.
Emotion? Well, how do you measure that? Maybe it's the empathy chip.
But most of our successful CEOs are missing that one.
This is why speciesism has always been very pragmatic, at least from a a legal standpoint.
I completely support, even cheer, the continued expansion of legal rights for animals, especially when it comes to the great apes.
But looking at where the law stands today, animals, even the great apes, are considered property.
And the property in question belongs to the zoo.
The motion for legal guardianship is denied.
Thank you.
Hey.
Hey.
Check out the new wardrobe.
Hey, Cassie.
Hey.
First, the good news.
I had my first meal.
It was only the second-worst one I've ever had.
That's good.
I've gotten two proposals, three basic conjugal offers, and an invitation to knit moose-hunting sweaters from a sweet lady who claims she can see Russia from her window.
Well, you're keeping your sense of humor, anyway.
Keeping that.
But they've confiscated the costume.
Just as well.
It would only result in more conjugal offers.
You okay? I'm okay.
Listen, thank you.
Both of you.
I know this is the best we could've really hoped for.
You just get better, and you'll get out of here.
Yeah.
Thanks.
Hey, Adam I got you a little gift.
In lieu of a fee, I guess.
I love presents.
Wow.
I can have it? I can't.
Hospital rules.
And, yes I want you to have it.
Thanks.
Don't even think about it.
Get well, Annie.
We're cheering for you.
I know.
And when I am well, assuming you're still a single man how about you ask me out? I won't blow it this time.
He's been a little grumpy today.
Tell me about it.
Hey, where's that tiger I shot at? You got him here? Would you get over the stupid tiger.
Hey, Wenty? Oh, he can sulk with the best of them.
Oh, yeah, I've seen it.
Hey, Wenty.
Will you come over here, please? Hey, stop being childish.
I want to talk to you for a second.
Show him your ass, Harry, that'll get him over.
Show him yours.
Hey, honey.
Hey.
We're gonna try to get you out of the zoo, okay? We tried very hard, and we're gonna still try.
But you just you have to live here just a little bit longer.
What she said.
Do you think he knows we're really trying? Wenty? Wenty? We're gonna get you out somehow.
All right? We'll we'll get you out.
What was that? He, um I miss you, too.
I really think we should go home.
I don't want him to see me cry.
Bye, Wenty.
We'll be back.
Okay? I'll be back.