MovieChat Forums > A Time to Kill (1996) Discussion > Do you think they deserved to die?!

Do you think they deserved to die?!

posted 16 years ago by stenlis
132 replies | jump to latest

There was a moment in the trial that didn't make any sense to me. It's when the prosecutor asks Carl 'Do you think they deserved to die?' and Carl admits he does. The film portrays this as a big victory for the prosecution - the music, the victorious grin on prosecutors face, Carls lawyer looks devastated...

But from judicial point of view it doesn't make any sense. Sure, usually it's a strong point to have the defendant admit he thought the victim deserved to die. But that's only when he denies killing him/her. This question (or the answer to be precise) establishes a motive. In Carl's case, nobody in the world would doubt his motive and nobody could have expected a different answer to that question from him.

So - the prosecutor achieved only one thing with this question - he showed us that the writers of this movie know nothing about murder trials.

[–] cosmic_quest 14 years ago

Yes, those scum deserved to die and the father should have got a medal for what he did. The only problem I saw was that their deaths were too quick compared to the years of trauma and pain that the little girl would face.

"I always pretend to root for Gryffindors but, secretly, I love my Slytherin boys."~ Karen, W&G

[–] bfuente1 13 years ago

i agree. their deaths were a little too quick. carl lee should have kidnapped them when they got out of jail on bail then imprisoned them & tortured them. that's a movie in itself. they should have been repeatedly beaten & raped as well.

[–] dotto-210-321465 12 years ago

Sounds JUST for the shameful time in America. Granted it is still hung up on race, now it's with or without money. I feel he should be granted a pass due to the gross injustice that was and the injustice that is. We Americans have a long way too go. Mahalo. Dotto.

[–] herbertanchovy 14 years ago

Yes absolutely they deserved it.the only problem I had was that it was too quick for them. a quick blast of machine gun fire and its all over. the little girl's life was ruined.

[–] dotto-210-321465 12 years ago

Long time but I liked your reply to the movie. This movie is one of the most infuriating is the lack of justice. Color of one's skin dictates the level of justice then the amount of money in the bank of the accused. Atleast now it's more the money in the pocket than the color of the defandant. I guess this is a step forward?...I think it's a broke system. I am a 47yr old single white guy. I can only imagine the pain of loss of this kind. I believe karma works but think justice should prevail: They should both be sodomozed to death instead of a quick death. Turn about is fair play. Screw these racist *beep* Dotto.

[–] Mr_Black_35 13 years ago

YES THEY DESERVED TO DIE AND I HOPE THEY BURN IN HAIL!!!

"I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just gonna bash your brains in. I'm gonna bash 'em right the f_ck in!"

[–] sadsayeed 13 years ago

I guess if you/someone truly and honestly can close your eyes and visualize this story....you can answer yourself.....regardless of skin-color......

This is a story about a little girl walking home from the grocery store one sunny afternoon. I want you to picture this little girl.........................Now they climb on, first one then the other, raping her, shattering everything innocent and pure -- vicious thrusts -- in a fog of drunken breath and sweat.

And when they're done, after they killed her tiny womb, murdered any chance for her to bear children, to have life beyond her own, they decide to use her for target practice. So they start throwing full beer cans at her...............................................................they pick her up, throw her in the back of the truck, and drive out to Foggy Creek Bridge and pitch her over the edge. And she drops some 30 feet down to the creek bottom below.

Can you see her? Her raped, beaten, broken body, soaked in their urine, soaked in their semen, soaked in her blood -- left to die.

Can you see her? I want you to picture that little girl.

NOW IMAGINE SHE IS YOUR LITTLE DAUGHTER..........

[if someone is still confused about the baby girl's father's action or the child-rapists deservedness.....then i've nothing more to say to them....they'll find out eventually.]

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] fp_ff_fp 13 years ago

This part should've been handled better. In fact the whole temporary insanity thing is a bit wierd - the conclusion whether you're sane or not is that these 2 men committed a heinous crime for which they deserve the death penalty is the thinking.

When the DA (Kevin Spacey) asked this question - "do you think they deserved to die?" the answer by Carl Lee Hailey should've been "at this time, now, I think maybe they deserve to be tried and sent to death penalty but back then I wasn't thinking properly and all I wanted was to see them suffer death for their crime against my kid. Either way, they deserved death - whether I was thinking under temporary insanity or whether I'm thinking about it now more rationally".

End of story for the DA.

[–] Olahn 13 years ago

Killing the two red necks to me is doing service to the public similar to assassinating people who are threaths to society and freedom. If you work for the government and you kill for the good of the general public they call the kills as jobs.

Bottom line it depends on the perspective. Killing is subjective, especially for people who are employed to do so... Laws are there to protect us from each other and eliminate the threath from society to do any more harm.

SLJ character us not a threath to society post killing the two scum that caused him to react the Wat he did...

[–] rg182 13 years ago

It's one thing to kill another human over hate or anger, but to rape a child...that deserves death. No bargaining, no pleading, just a slow painful death,because on a sick sick person can do something like this.

[–] Qaoz 12 years ago

rg182, you just said that only a sick person can rape a child. You're implying that sick people should be put down. That's a bit disturbing.

The moral in this story is completely messed up. It's basically saying murder is justifiable (to a degree where you can get away with it) if you feel slighted by the justice system.

Two guys rape a kid because they're racists. An inexcusable crime that they should be punished for in a court of law. Kid's father decides to take the law in his own hands and kills the two guys. The father is acquitted for double homicide because his lawyer plays the racism card.

Seriously?

People should watch Law Abiding Citizen. A memorable quote from that movie, by Gerard Butler's character after he successfully convinces the judge to let him get out on bail after killing two people he believed deserved to die:

You see, this is what I'm talking about. You were about to let me go. Are you kidding me? This is why we're here in the first place. [...] Because apparently I just killed two people, and you were about to let me walk right out that door! How MISGUIDED are you? I feed you a couple of bull[crap] legal precedents, and there you go - you jump on it like a [female canine] in heat.

Edited out profanity.

He's right. You can bend the justice system and the human moral to a point where letting two men walk away from rape is bad, but letting a man walk away from double homicide is okay.

That is just messed up. Those two guys should have been convicted of rape, assault, battery and attempted homicide (they tried to hang her). They should have been locked away for a good long time while some shrink tried to figure out what the hell was wrong with them.

Likewise, the father should have been convicted of double homicide and been sent away for a long time as well. He could plead temporary insanity and whatnot, but he should not be able to walk away from double homicide.

He was acquitted because the jury felt guilty of racial bias. His lawyer basically pulled the racism card and the jury blushed and decided to rule in his favor.

Wow. Just... wow. I'm not a racist, but that is messed up. It would have been equally messed up if the roles had been reversed. Two black men rape, beat and attempt to kill a white child. Child's father kills the two black men. Father walks away from it because his lawyer argues that the court is racist.

For real? Could you ever see that happen? No. Why not? Because racism only goes one way in this world. If a black man says "I'm black and proud of it!" white people applaud him and admire his ability to break free from the social norms. If a white man says "I'm white and proud of it!", white people gasp and call him a Nazi racist.

Great world. Can I move to another?

[–] bodryn 12 years ago

I found this movie very entertaining and exciting, and with lots of good acting; but at the end of it, I realized it was just one big MELODRAMA. As such, I just could not take it seriously.

[–] cheluzal 12 years ago

To answer the OP, of course they should die--anyone who abuses or assualts a child like this should not breath air, but it should've been via a fair judicial system, not a father living in a crooked town.

Real LOSERS spell 'loser' looser!