MovieChat Forums > Dead Man Walking (1996) Discussion > did this movie make you more anti or pro...

did this movie make you more anti or pro death penalty?


pro for me.

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I'm pretty anti death penalty. This movie didn't really sway me either way.

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Same. Maybe I'll come back later to discuss it further, but I've gotta run, so ... cheers !

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This movie didn't sway me either way....

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it did for me.

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Which I'm guessing was the producer and director's point, if they were smart.
Like the movie Doubt or the old German film M, set up a situation where we shouldn't sympathize with someone, but the film makes you realize there is more than one way to think about it. They might manipulate you into feeling bad for an odious person, but then you will also understand there are facets to the story.

And I don't think anyone should be put to death by the State. That's just wrong. If a vigilante mob came out with the right outcome to a crime, that circumvents all the safeguards we have for not letting Mob Justice enact the Death Penalty.
There are so many good reasons to not have a DP. The only people who want it are Bloodthirsty.

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child killers, terrorists and mass shooters are all good reasons.

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No, they are not good reasons to kill. And even if they "deserve to die", what right do we have to kill them? How are we better than the people we kill?

Plus, executing a terrorist is the LAST thing we should do Why? Because they will become martyrs. That's exactly what they want. But if they rot in a cell in disgrace, that will prevent martyrdom. Better yet, if we can reach them and de-radicalize them and make them come out and tell their friends that it's wrong to do what they did, that would do a lot more good than making them martyrs.

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Do you mean that you watched the final scene and then told yourself "Yep, that's how it's supposed to be"? Do you mean pro as in Carl Vitello (Matthew Poncelet's friend) should have been executed also?

Personally, I'm so much anti-death penalty, the movie couldn't sway me. But I'm curious to know how you felt about the movie and about the final scenes. Me, I found the final scenes incredibly hard to watch and I don't think that they were right to kill him. But maybe that's just me.

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It didn't change my view. I'm very strongly anti-death penalty.

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I'm glad to see this. It's not being soft on crime, it's not a left-wing stance, it's a philosophical decision that State sanctioned killing sends the wrong message.
The ultimate result of tough-on-crime isn't law and order, it's citizens living in a police state because they haven't been educated and treated well enough to act like good citizens.

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No. Still pro-death penalty

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2 hownos - no offense of course and you are a good lad in general BUT...

Did you SERIOUSLY actually form a personal concrete opinion or stance on something based on a MOVIE?

As opposed to, say, some kind of real life experience or a factual book you've read or talking with people who somehow were affected by the issue?

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Even more pro than I already was. The nun's deep concern for the POS rapist/murderer, with hardly a thought for the victims' families, was disgusting and infuriating. The dirtbag's death at the end was the only good thing about it.

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