MovieChat Forums > 12 Angry Men (1957) Discussion > How is this premeditated murder? (Spoile...

How is this premeditated murder? (Spoilers)

posted 9 years ago by Funky12345
1 reply | jump to latest

This is one of my favorite films, but one question did come to mind...

In the end, of course, the Henry Fonda character convinces everyone that the boy is innocent and that they should go in with a verdict of not guilty. But what if they had stuck to the original outcome? The men, in the beginning, agreed that the boy and his father got into an argument, killed his father and ran off. That’s not premeditated murder because he didn’t plan it out ahead of time.

He won. Get over it.

[–] hero-de-celluloid 9 years ago

After getting hit by the father he goes out and buys the murder weapon just hours before killing him. He also yells he's going to kill him just seconds before. To be premeditated it doesn't have to be a drawn out "to do list". Premeditation can literally take place seconds before the murder. In this case he states he is going to kill the father and then does kill the father - that is premeditation in the law (varies in some states). But he also goes out and buys the murder weapon after just hours before the murder and after getting hit by the father - that in itself is very damning evidence towards premeditation (a definite piece of the puzzle).

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