The Movie: A Time To Kill (Appealing to Justice)

A Time To Kill (Appealing to Justice)

    A time to kill is a film based on a novel released in 1989 by the writer John Grisham. The story is set in Canton, Mississippi. The films projects shocking and disturbing scenes against an innocent little black girl by two vicious white men. The innocent child died as consequence of the horrendous criminal act. The child’s father, Carl Lee Hailey became distracted, sad, furious, impotent and outraged. He asked a recent graduated lawyer to represent him. The lawyer agreed to support Carl Lee and advised him not to do “something stupid”. However, the lawyer expressed him what he would do as consequence of such outrageous act against his own daughter. Carl Lee determined to make justice by his own arms and killed the two men with a rifle. Carl Lee was taken to trial by a segregated court justice after he revenged his innocent daughter. 

     Representing Carl in a segregated society was not an easy task. There were always white people who stepped out and supported the black people cause. In the film, a valorous young man, named Jake Brigance, represent an example of those white men who supported the black people cause in past segregated times. He was willing to represent his friend until the end despite of the hostile prejudices against the black class. During the trial, lots of threaten and criminal actions were carried out against the black community and those white people who supported the judicial case of Carl Lee. The defendant’s lawyer was shot, intimidated and threatened to death because his support to Carl. In general, it was a time that those individuals who supported the black man judicial case were considered enemies. Then, violent acts continued such as burning crosses, confrontations, seizing and murdering people were actions carried by a mob named Ku Klux Klan composed by white supremacists. The evident inequality of those time was represented in this movie, it transmitted us the necessity of validating the Civil Right act for everyone in this land. 

     The justice system of Clanton had bias in their political ideologies in detriment of black community. Despite the horrendous and outrageous act committed by two white men, the justice system leant in favor of white people. This was clear when the young lawyer Jake Brigance expressed to Carl Lee the possibility that the rapists would walks free because he knew about the political thinking of those times. After Carl decided to revenge his daughter, he was prosecuted by a corrupted district attorney named Rufus Buckley of the Ford County. The judge presiding over Carl Lee’s trial refused Jake’s request for a change of venue despite that the Ford County were composed by an all-white jury. Carl was trapped in a judicial system that was greatly swayed by racism. The justice system in this county projected a supremacist white ideology in favor of white class dominant in the region. 

     The state of Mississippi was evidently segregated. There were hatred against the black community all over the state. It can be perceived since the beginning of the movies until the end of the footage. The outrageous and horrendous crime committed against a ten-year-old black girl was one of the many criminal act that the black community suffered in the Southern state. The unfair representation of a segregated justice system was another form of latent and evident crimes upon African-American individuals. Intimidation and violent acts make clear the hatred behavior of white supremacists. White faction with sick politic ideology intimidated the judge Omar Noose. Then he denied the petition made from Jake for changing the location of the trial despite of knowing that a white jury integrated Ford County. Secretary’s husband of Jake was killed and she was tied at a stake and the house of Jake Brigance was burned by KKK mob composed by white men. Threaten by shooting and bombing, the young lawyer remained fighting against the unfair justice system and won the case of Carl Lee. All somewhat horrendous activities were carried out to destroy and debilitate the fair support that Carl deserved by true justice. 

     A time to kill film depicts the particular attitude of the southerners during former times. Through the victorious trial in favor of Carl Lee, Southerners were described as intransigent people who fought for their rights and got victorious battles over slavery and civil rights. In addition, it represents the traditional spirit, courage and strength that characterizes the south black community in the past. Through ordeal experience, threaten, intimidation, suffering and battles, the southerners conquered their freedom as this film portrayed through the fair triumph of Carl Lee. However, the movies still apply today. It encourages fighting for our rights and demanding for it. There were always a ray of hope to those who fight for justice and the case presented in the film is an example of this. Stand for righteousness, stand for justice, and God will exercise forever.