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Summary and Discussion Guide
A Time to Kill
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Warner Brothers, 1996
Length: 150 minutes, Rating: R
Based on a book by the same title by John Grisham, attorney and novelist.
Description:
Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) was hard at work at a factory in a small Mississippi town when he learned that his ten-year-old daughter Tonya had been brutally raped by two racist thugs on a drunken spree. Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey), a struggling young liberal attorney—fresh out of law school—is eager but naïve about the ways of the old South. He takes on Hailey's case as lead defense attorney after Hailey shoots his daughter's assaulters in a passionate act of rage and retribution. Enter Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock), an ambitious and razor-sharp young law student at "Ole Miss" (the University of Mississippi) who wants to see justice done but does not understand the risk she is taking.
Hailey's trial sparks a resurgence of outwardly racist acts by members of the Ku Klux Klan who are anxious to keep their cause alive and desperate to reclaim their dying "glory days." The state's attorney, Rufus Buckley (Kevin Spacey), is a seasoned prosecutor and has a strong case against Hailey. In spite of close guidance by Lucien Wilbanks (Donald Sutherland), a veteran attorney and Jake's former law professor, Jake faces the fight of his life—in legal and personal terms—as he seeks a verdict of innocent for Carl Lee Hailey.
If they are to win the case, Jake and Carl Lee must find ways to transcend differences in race and class in order to work together for justice. Carl Lee is as much a teacher as he is a victim, while Jake is as much a learner as he is a lawyer.
To the Facilitator(s):
- Prior to the day of the event, in preparation for the discussion, review any version(s) of the Hebrew Bible (a.k.a. the Old Testament) you have at hand (e.g., Revised Standard Version, King James Version, New International Version). Read Ecclesiastes 3 and select a translation that you are comfortable with.
- After you have darkened the room, inform the group that the intent of the series is to deepen our understanding of the religious themes presented in the context of liberal religious values. Also inform the group of the film's rating and prepare them for several violent scenes and strong language.
- Watch the film.
- Immediately following the ending credits, read the following scripture from Ecclesiastes 3:1-3a, ending with the film's title: "To everything, there is a season, a time and purpose under heaven: A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot that which is planted, a time to kill ..."
- Ask the group to reflect upon the following question while they are on a short (10- minute) break: If we respect "the inherent worth and dignity of every person," is there ever a time to kill? Is deadly rage ever justified?
- After the break, facilitate a brief (10-minute) discussion of the reflection question.
- At an early point in the discussion, it is helpful to ask if anyone is confused about a particular scene and to offer clarification.
- Participants may wish to "vent" and to engage in aimless discussion about the film. Given the time limitations, it is your task as facilitator to guide the discussion to focus on questions about values, faith and religious--broadly defined. The following are guiding questions for the discussion--but facilitators/leaders should use their judgment about the group's energy and discussion interests.
Discussion questions:
- Why did Carl Lee Hailey take the law into his own hands? What factors led to his actions?
- Carl Lee Hailey not only killed two men but he maimed a police officer and injured the attorney who ultimately defended him. He indicated regret for the killings, but said that he was not sorry for his actions—that "they deserved to die." Should Carl Lee have had remorse for his actions or was his rage justified?
- "You could win this case and justice will prevail but ... you could lose this case, and justice will prevail" said Lucien Wilbanks, Jake's former law professor. What does justice require in this case (a) for Billy Ray Cobb and James Lewis Willard, the two men who raped Tonya Hailey; (b) for Carl Lee Hailey, Tonya's father, who took his own revenge; (c) for the member of the Ku Klux Klan who shot the guard on the steps of the courthouse; (d) for the Klansman who kidnapped law student Ellen Roark?
- Is there a difference between revenge and justice? If so, what is it?
- An expert witness testified that Carl Lee Hailey suffered from DID ("dissociative identity disorder"). Within the African American community, this phenomenon has also been called "Black rage." In your view, is DID or Black rage legitimate as a legal defense?
- Jake Brigance learned his best defense from his client, Carl Lee Hailey. How many people in your state or county are in jail because justice is not yet color-blind? What will it take for allies of European-American heritage to make justice truly color-blind?
- Thinking about the film, is there a place for reconciliation in your theology?
Closing thoughts:
In the end, this film is not only about relations between European Americans and African Americans in the old South. Nor is it only about the legal system. Rather, it is about the human condition—the depths of evil that human beings are capable of—and it proclaims that transcending social boundaries can lead to systemic change.
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