What Was It She Went To Jail For?
I don't remember.
The Godfather Part II:Greatest Ever
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Manslaughter... murder.
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MovieChat Forums > The Spitfire Grill (1996) Discussion > What Was It She Went To Jail For?
She killed her good for nothing stepdad who molested her all through her childhood. She should have NEVER went to jail.
shareFrom the age of 9 she was being molested by her stepfather. Her mom did nothing about it. Eventually she got pregnant, he got drunk and hit her, killing the unborn. Naturally, she lost it (heat of passion) and killed the guy. Killing in the heat of passion is Voluntary Manslaughter. She probably could have asserted self defense or defense of another, her baby, but this is a movie, so just go with it. =)
shareActually it's a little worse than that: Percy's mother *did* do something -called Percy a liar and beat her to make her shut up. It's sad but I've heard that it often happens that way.
...of her baby, since it was already dead. (If anything, she was exacting revenge in the name of her baby, which doesn't fly in court.) And she couldn't legally claim defense of herself, since she killed her stepdad when he was passed out and, thus, not an immediate threat to her. Five years is a rather short term to serve for voluntary manslaughter, especially when the crime is as violent as this one, but the history of abuse obviously persuaded the judge to be lenient.
shareWhat about all the times he raped her and then beat her causing her baby to die? Kidnapping since he took her from the hospital? We do not know if her stepfather was passed out or not. She never said that. I know this is only a movie and I am not a lawyer, but these facts had to have come into play.
share...it is specifically stated that he was passed out when she killed him. It also states she slashed him more than 20 times with a razor, which would be considered excessive brutality even if he had been conscious.
I already acknowledged that the history of abuse and the circumstances of the baby's death must have caused the judge to be lenient, and your point about the kidnapping is also a good one. But the fact remains that self-defense is not a valid plea unless the killing occurs while the killer is in immediate danger from the person killed. If he was passed out and she was not tied up, she could have escaped and called the police. She didn't because she wanted to kill him, out of anger at all he had done to her and the baby. Though this is understandable, it is not legally condonable; hence, her sentence.
No where in the movie did it say Percy killed him when he passed out. We can however assume it happened that way. ANd she never said she slashed him more than 20 times. Looks like the movie and play were a bit different.
Did you like the play or movie better?
...particularly in the way they resolve the story. But since the play came after the film, and was written with Mr. Zlotoff's approval and subsequent praise, we can also assume it represents the author's "final thoughts" on the matter.
The play is a musical, btw, and features a beautiful score. I like the movie very much, but I prefer the play, particularly after I had the opportunity to direct its Maryland premiere.
She could certainly have asserted self defense, at least from what little movie told of it (I haven't seen, likely will never see, the play/musical). When someone is beating on you, you don't have to know whether the baby in the womb is already dead. Also, you're defending yourself from the beating as well. Thus both arguments can easily be argued and probably won.
From what I gather in reading some of the other comments, the play/musical says that she waited until he passed out and then she slashed him a number of times... that's different from what the movie imparted. Even so, if the circumstances were that he beat her, and while he was passed out she *soon* figured out in some that her baby was dead, one could still argue heat of passion and voluntary manslaughter... which is what the play may have contemplated to overcome lawyers in the crowd from squirming in their seats thinking they could have got her completely off the charges.
If not heat of passion, and she simply decided to kill him while he was passed out, as said below, then perhaps she simply got lucky with a nice plea bargain. But if it went to trial with the judge as the trier of fact, then she got lucky by having that particular judge because most, imo, would probably find her guilty of murder under those facts.
...that her baby has already died before the murder. Her stepfather drags her out of the hospital and takes her to a motel room, where the murder takes place. It may not be as clear in the movie, but I believe the implication is not that she kills him while he is in the act of killing her baby. That would indeed be self defense, and she would probably have gotten off with no jail time at all. The fact she did have to serve 5 years -- a long time, considering that some murderers are eligible for parole in 2 or 3 -- suggests the circumstances must have been more incriminating, as the musical makes clear.
Hope you do get to see the musical someday. It really is a lovely show.
I hope someday I will get the chance to see the play. But seeing someone other than Alison play Percy would be pretty strange. She just did just a great job in the movie you know.
Hey bkamberger, how was the actress in the play you seen?
Of course, I'm prejudiced, since I directed her, but I really do think her acting was worthy of being spoken in the same breath as Alison's, and she had a marvelous singing voice, too.
shareWhy didn't she go to the police? Problem solved.
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