#leslie stone

PREMISE: In the criminal justice system, breaking a pinky swear is considered especially heinous. These are the stories of the brave officers who chop the pinkies off of the scum who have broken pinky swears.

CHARACTERS: Leslie Stone is a tough-as-nails detective who has no patience or sympathy for anyone who breaks a pinky swear. She’s an expert marksman who once shot the pinky off a fleeing perp who was over 100 yards away (S01.E04 – “Little Finger, Big Mistake”).
           Douglas Humboldt is Stone’s partner. He’s a college boy, and a bleeding heart liberal who believes that pinky swear breakers should only have part of their pinky cut off after a first offense, so that they can have a second chance at doing pinky swears like an upstandin, law-abiding citizen. Stone is fond of pointing out that all pinky swear breakers do get second chances, since everyone has two pinkies. Humboldt uses a tiny guillotine of his own design to lop off the pinkies.
           The Man With No Pinkies is Stone and Humboldt’s mysterious arch-nemesis. With no way to make promises, he lives a horrifying life on the fringe of society, periodically resurfacing to torment the two detectives.

NOTABLE EPISODE: At a sleepover, seven middle school boys make a pact to stay up all night. When the light of dawn reveals that all but one of them has fallen asleep, it’s time for Stone and Humboldt to get out the cleaver (S08.E19 – “And Then There Were Nine”).

CATCHPHRASE: “You have broken your oath.” / “Pinky swears aren’t a goddamn game.”

TRIVIA/MISCELLANY: Texas is the only state where breaking a pinkie swear is still punishable by death.