Tommy is killed for killing a made guy, Billy Bats. Jimmy, who helped him - he held Billy for Tommy to stab him and shot Billy when he turned out to be still alive, remember - and Henry, who was at the killing at least, both are untouched. They aren't even worried about being killed when they hear of Tommy's death.
Why aren't they killed too?
Jimmy was an earner and his abilities were somewhat less than common. Henry did not have a reputation of being wild and reckless therefore dependable. Also, the way the movie lays out the dynamic Henry was somewhat close to Jimmy and Paulie whereas Tommy was not close to Paulie which was the only thing that mattered. You hear about a code of honor in the movies but the real world mafia does not operate that way and it is pragmatic which is to say the high profile earner and his trusted associate gets to stay while the dime per dozen hothead gets whacked.
shareThanks. It's a good answer for why Jimmy and Henry weren't killed. All the same, I'd have expected a little concern about their own lives from them.
Of course, perhaps Scorsese just couldn't resist the irony of showing a pair of murderous s.o.b.s breaking up over the death of an even more murderous s.o.b..