Richard and Matt
Richard was younger and stronger than Matt--you'd think at some point during the kidnap scene he would have tried to overpower Matt and disarm him. He probably could have done so easily!
shareI agree, Richard probably could have taken the gun away from Matt. I don't know exactly why he didn't try to disarm Matt, but here are a few ideas:
Richard was very afraid for his life, so perhaps he didn't want to take the chance of being shot during a struggle. He knew that Matt meant business when he cocked his gun. Richard was obviously shaken and terrified, almost like a little boy. He is a bully, and when confronted, bullies can become rather cowardly. He was even afraid of Ruth. When he saw her in the grocery store he couldn't get out of there fast enough, because he didn't want a confrontation with an angry mother.
He's not very smart either. At first he thought Matt was telling the truth about forcing him to jump bail, but most people would realize what Matt's real intentions were right away. Richard did seem suspicious during the ride up to Willis's cabin, so when they arrived, it would have made more sense to try to take the gun away from Matt, because otherwise Richard would end up dead anyway.