MovieChat Forums > Law Abiding Citizen (2009) Discussion > Plea Bargain?

Plea Bargain?

posted 8 years ago by keith-96918
4 replies | jump to latest

If this has been addressed before, I apologize.

In the beginning, due to bad crime scene work and the judge throwing out the evidence, Rice made a deal with Darby....in exchange for testifying against his partner, Ames, Darby was offered and took the third-degree murder charge. So Ames got the death penalty.

Knowing from Shelton that Darby committed the rape and murders, why didn't Rice offer the deal to Ames? He could have testified against Darby, who would have rightly received the death penalty.

I'm not a lawyer, but I know in some states, participating in the robbery means Ames can be charged with murder even though he wasn't the one who actually killed Shelton's wife and daughter.

I was distracted during the first few moments of the movie, so did I miss why Rice chose to offer the plea bargain to Darby instead of Ames?

Thanks for the help.

[–] blurredoasis 8 years ago

I wouldn't be surprised if he did offer it but I think Ames refused to testify against the other guy. He probably didn't think Darby would turn against him, and, wanting to be loyal to a friend, he didn't turn against him. Once Darby accepted the deal, it probably didn't matter what Ames said, it was too late.

[–] oldgoatee 8 years ago

He probably offered the deal to both and told them first one to accept wins. Darby accepted first and Ames lo

[–] iporto 7 years ago

Hey, I'm a brazilian law student and we dont have a equivalent to the institutes of plea guilty or barganing, so I dont get the particulars.

In brazilian law at least if you participate in a robbery and your partner kill somebody, you are accountable for the murder most of the times.

If you can prove that you didnt have domain over the deed (domínio de fato) and you didnt want kill the victim you only have to face the robbery charge.

This part of the movie is kinda inconsistent like you pointed out, I'm guessing they had less evidence against the bad guy... So it was easier to persue the conviction against the not so bad dude.

The blood on the shirt should be enough to put those imbecils in jail, but because some unknown reason the judge considered ilegal/tainted evidence and dismissed... If this kind of *beep* really happens in US I truly dont know.

[–] micirisi 7 years ago

In brazilian law at least if you participate in a robbery and your partner kill somebody, you are accountable for the murder most of the times.

That legal principle also applies in the USA though each state has their own rules. In the state of Florida where I live a man looked out his window and saw two thieves trying to steal a motor off his boat. He opened his back door and shot one of the thieves dead. The other thief ran off and was caught and later convicted of the murder of his partner. Nothing happened to the shooter.

He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator.