Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series)

Part 33 (2019)

Paula Malcomson: Stella Russell

Quotes 

• Peter Stone : [to Annabeth]  Did your husband ever hit you, Mrs. Pearl? Did Tommy ever hit you?

  Annabeth Pearl : No.

  Peter Stone : Did he ever rape you?

  Annabeth Pearl : We had sex lots of times when I didn't want to.

  Peter Stone : Did you tell him that?

  Annabeth Pearl : No. I was too scared.

  Peter Stone : So in six years of marriage, you never once said "I'm not in the mood," "I have a headache" or "I... I just don't want to."

  Annabeth Pearl : No.

  Peter Stone : I'm sorry, Mrs. Pearl, but that's not rape.

  Stella Russell : Objection!

  Judge : You know better, Mr. Stone.

  Annabeth Pearl : That man was raping me from the moment I said "I do"!

• Dominick Carisi Jr. : There was an EMS team on the scene. They determined that she sustained no physical injuries. They also said that she was in shock.

  Stella Russell : Did the paramedic indicate how long she was in shock?

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : They didn't say anything about that, but it's it's possible that she was in shock before she fired that weapon.

  Stella Russell : Before?

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : Yeah, it's not unusual...

  Peter Stone : Objection.

  Judge : It's your witness, Counselor. Overruled.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : It's not uncommon for a victim to go into survival mode once they've been threatened. She may not have known what she was doing.

  Stella Russell : One more thing, Detective. This isn't exactly what the room looked like when you went into it, is it?

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : Uh, no. The television was on.

  Stella Russell : I'm confused. The apartment's not that big. If the TV was on when you walked in the front door, I think you would have heard it.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : Well, the TV was on, but the volume was muted.

  Stella Russell : Almost as if Tommy and Annabeth spoke before she shot him.

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : I wouldn't know about that.

  Stella Russell : But they might have, right? In fact, it is possible that Tommy said, "I love you, sweetie."

  Dominick Carisi Jr. : Yeah, it's possible. It's also possible he said, "You ruined my dinner, bitch. Now I'm gonna kill you."

  Peter Stone : Your Honor!

  Stella Russell : Nothing further.

• Stella Russell : [after Carisi testifies]  You look like your witness just committed treason, Peter.

• Stella Russell : What Mr. Stone didn't tell you was that Thomas took one bite of his New York strip, spit it out, and then told Annabeth he was going to give the rest to the neighbor's beagle. What Mr. Stone didn't tell you was that that dinner was the culmination of six years of continuous psychological abuse. The straw that crippled the camel, if you will. Criticism, insults, blame, all of which served to diminish Annabeth's dignity, destroy her self-worth, and erase her self-confidence. Now, Mr. Stone may call what Annabeth did "murder," but I call it self-preservation. I'm sure you will, too.

• Stella Russell : How did the gun make you feel, Annabeth?

  Annabeth Pearl : Weak. Scared. It was always where I could see it. It was like a lion showing its teeth to a zebra. "I'm the king. You're less than."

  Stella Russell : You are not less than.

  Annabeth Pearl : That's a joke. My heart pounds when I shop for food. Will Tommy like this, or will he dump it on the floor for me to clean up? My hand, it shakes when I answer the phone. It'll be Tommy telling me his friend saw me flirting with someone at the cleaner's. I used to take business classes at Hunter College. Tommy told me to quit. Said I was too stupid. It was a waste of money.

  Stella Russell : Did you ever tell your family about how he was treating you? How about a friend?

  Annabeth Pearl : I used to have friends. Lots of them. Tommy said they weren't good enough for us. Now all we have are his friends.