MovieChat Forums > Dead Man Walking (1996) Discussion > Are we supposed to feel sorry...

Are we supposed to feel sorry...


for a rapist and murderer? I just watched this for the first time and I'm left wondering why I'm supposed to be moved by this guy dying? This is what should happen to anyone who rapes and murders....at the very least.

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I actually don't think we were supposed to feel bad for him. One thing I liked about this movie is that (IMO) I did NOT feel like they were trying to make me forget what he did. They may be trying to make me feel like the death penalty is bad but to me it did not seem that they were trying to paint him in a sympathetic light. It seemed that when it started to possibly go that way we were ripped back into the grisly reality of what this guy did.

Shawshank Redemption is an example of a movie that DOES try to make you forget that the criminals are, in fact, criminals and that they are in there for a reason, even making it seem like they are innocent or something. I get that these are two different movies and all that but it's just the example that comes to mind of a movie that does seem to want us to sympathize with murderers.

This is, of course, just my opinion. Others are available. :)


"Why couldn't the monkey arrange this from INSIDE the garbage can?"

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As someone who supports the death penalty i thought it showed both angles and didn't really seem pro or death penalty, even though the film is based on the book from a anti-death penalty advocate.

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This POS monster raped and murdered innocent people. He deserved what he got. Did he have a sad childhood? I don't give a shit, that is no excuse. He knew what he was doing was wrong, and he chose to do it anyway. His crime was too horrible for forgiveness. If you believe in God, even God will send him to Hell. The way the nun devotes almost all of her energy and sympathy to him and his family, with barely a thought for the victims' families, is sickening. The only redeeming thing about this movie is that he gets put down in the end.

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Also, 2 OP JoesDreaming -

For all their undeniably terrible deeds and highly unlikable qualities, who told you that the death penalty as well as them being killed is what necessarily HAS TO HAPPEN and as a total fact full 100% with no nuances and other areas and that having any other feelings about such matter is totally incorrect?

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One of the messages I kind of got from this movie but ALSO from a lot of comments over here is that...

Although we shouldn't be too SOFT on violent crime, we shouldn't be too HARD on it EITHER and that its necessary to have a balance.

And some matters even in law should be controlled or not exist either.

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And I guess in that sense, whether we are TRULY supposed to feel "sorry" for our lead antagonist in this movie or simply agree with his punishment as "just desserts", well, its up to us and is overall not that important in the OVERALL picture, right?

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