A Time to Kill

A Time To Kill is seen by a number of people as one of the best black movies about the struggles that African Americans went through to gain equal rights amongst their peers and about the gray areas of the American justice system. The movie A Time To Kill is based in Canton, a town in Mississippi, and it follows the plight of a 10 year old girl and her father. When the character Tonya Hailey is brutalized and violated by two racist white males she is found and then rushed to the nearest hospital. During this time the two who did it were found in a local bar bragging about the crime. Her father’s name is Carl lee Hailey and he remembers when a similar crime happened just one year prior to the time of the current brutalization and is determined not to let the men get away with it so when the two men get busted for the crime and are subsequently being led up the courtroom steps on their court date Carl Lee Hailey opens fire on them with an assault rifle and kills them for what they have done to his daughter.

The movie predominately features how Carl must be put on trial after the killing and what he goes through during the process. Some key events in the movie were how Carl invites the help of an attorney named Jake Brigance instead of relying on the help of the powerful NAACP lawyers when they offer the help. Carl also has been fired from his job because of the accusations and his actions and in addition to this the brother of one of the men Carl killed seeks revenge. His name is Freddie Lee Cobb. Cobb wants revenge so much that he seeks help from the KKK in Mississippi. At this point the doctor confesses to Carl’s wife that the two who had brutalized his daughter had done so to the point that she will not be able to have kids in the future. A KKK member in a following scene is seen trying to plant a bomb under Jake’s porch. These events show the struggle of Carl and the level of racism present in the south at this time All of these events and more make this an great black movie for anyone to see.